There’s nothing like the feeling of when you’re standing on top of the world. The wind brushing your soft hair against your rosy cheeks, the sweet aroma of pine, and the voice of the mountains. When I look past the fiery sunset and the tall evergreens. The vast amount of the rivers and crystal clear waters below welcome me.There are no words, no picture, or no song that can express nature, but only nature itself. I won’t ever be able to express the feelings I felt, the day I conquered Cypress. Now if i only imagined what others would be feeling, to have this taken away from you? To watch it slowly fade away, and disappear.  The Northern Enbridge Pipeline expansion is an ineffective idea as it endangers the environment, impacts the economy and creates hazards to people who will live near the expansion.

              Our environment is our home; it’s where we are kept safe. But with the pipeline expansion our environment is at risk. With this pipeline covering over a distance of 1,170km and 25,000 barrels from Edmonton to Kitimat, the percentage of oil spills increases . Oil spills are huge problems that cannot be fixed, and in the long run create a dent in our environment forever. The oil leaks damage natural habitats, and animals that live in them to die. For instance, the popular fish that we all have come to love: sockeye salmon will be greatly at risk as they die quickly from the intoxicated oil spills and also endanger their prey. The Great Bear rainforest is also at risk with the only ecosystem containing the majestic spirit bear. Secondly, the construction process of building this pipeline, and the complex extraction techniques creates an extra  one hundred MT Co2. For example, “there is so much pollution in the air that if it weren’t for our lungs there would be no place to put it at all, “- Robert Orben. With British Columbia being known as a beautiful province, the pollution creates even more devastation to our home. Lastly, Enbrigde is a company has a spotty history with many spills in the past. One cannot learn to trust them, as they have had more than enough chances to decrease their spillage rate. The company also told employees to cover oil up with sand, marshy grass areas, and under woods. Bring back the Gulf of Mexico disaster massive oil spill in 2011, the damage can still be seen today.One hundred, thirty three thousands barrels of oil  have been reported to been spilled over the decade that Enbridge has been shipping oil.Or the other catastrophes from Enbridge alone. Not only does this expansion affect where we live, but how we shall live.

“Money makes the world go round,” this cliché is undeniably true. The economy is prominent in our society and allows the world to go on and about their daily lives. However, this expansion will impact our economy dramatically. First, the expansion is a huge project that will be around five billion dollars! That amount of money is an incredible amount, which can be implemented to be of more use with other prominent problems that are arising like health care. Secondly, the oil spills damage our tourism rates. British Columbia is known as the one of the world’s most magnificent places to visit, and with the pipeline expansion creating major spills, the reputation can be easily ruined.

Furthermore it does not only affect only the tourism industry but the fishing industry as well. The animals that are affected by the oil spill not only die off, some may poison humans, which choose to eat the delicious smoky salmon or other popular fish. The rise of the gas industry has much more than what meets the eye. The raise of twelve percent will create a dip for other main industries, resulting in no extreme benefit for the whole economy. Not only does the pipeline expansion affect the economy but our social relationships with the Aboriginals, but also our culture.

The project will be invading into Aboriginal traditional lands and creating major disruption for the people that live there. The Aboriginals clearly do not want others to intrude onto their lands and destroy many of their ecosystems in the process. Their culture and traditions rely heavily on nature, and respect it as well. Bryan Joe Jr. of the Coast Salish people said,“as First Nations, we put value in everything that the Creator has given us.” The rest of the Idle No More movement have shown that First Nations have woken up and will not stay silent.“I never want to dip my paddle in oil. I want future generations of First Nations to experience what is left of our culture and regain what has been taken from us.” Enbridge is taking more than their tradition, but their soul and their passions. More than half the population contradict with Enbridge, and there’s more than just a handful of reasons, there are plenty.Furthermore, hundreds of people reported having seizures due to the exposure of crude oil, and even a few were reported dying. Many residents are at risk from the spills that have occurred, and the ones that are going to happen.

All the pain and damage is simply not worth it. The impact on our environment, our people, and the nation we love will last forever. The Enbridge pipeline is a risky gamble for British Columbia. With Enbridge going through two mountain ranges, a dangerous channel, and shipping across the roughest ocean waters in the world, it puts us all at risk. A risk we can’t accept at any price. Are you willing to gamble away thousands of rivers, forests, ecosystems, wildlife and coastal communities for five hundred sixty long term jobs?