By Karyn Campbell
Sometimes advocacy is about more than just our community. It is sometimes about issues that affect us but are not specifically blindness-related. Such is the case in a recent advocacy fight both my husband and I were involved in, with me getting involved before him.
The Beginning
It started last fall with a story we heard about on the news. I chose to go after it and, upon doing some digging, did not like what I was hearing. I filed comments regarding the issue on multiple occasions and attended a local meeting regarding the issue. This advocacy would continue for several months and culminate in a victory that is not 100% guaranteed yet.
The Issue
What is the issue, you might ask? It is Carbon Capture Transport and Sequestration (CCTS) which involves the transport of carbon dioxide (CO2) in liquid form under very high pressure through pipelines to a final site where it is to be buried underground and forgotten. There are many problems with this highly unsafe and vastly underregulated activity. Carbon dioxide, when it leaks from a pipeline, forms a heavy gas which asphyxiates anything in its path: human, animal, and internal combustion engine. Corrosion of the pipe can lead to formation of carbonic acid, which endangers water resources.
This is important to all of us because, like everyone else in the community where this type of activity is contemplated, our safety is at risk. As noted above, no one would be able to escape, whether blind or sighted. Think such a leak can’t happen? Well, yes it can. Just ask our friends in Mississippi, as it did happen in Satartia, which is near Vicksburg. Forty-nine people were sent to the hospital, and many still have lingering effects from that leak. Fortunately, there were no deaths, but I’m afraid they came awfully close.
Results
We got the company proposing the project to scrap the project altogether, which is a huge victory that did not come easily. There was a local community meeting last July which I attended, and both my husband and I were thanked for bringing up issues that had not been addressed by the company, or anyone else, for that matter. This just shows the impact you can have working in coalition with others. In this case, it was with environmental activists and landowners.
Conclusion
We cannot take our eyes off this issue as much still needs to be done, including commenting on proposed rules at the federal level regarding CCTS, especially the transport of such a hazardous waste product.
I could say much more but won’t. Sometimes we have to work outside our community on issues that impact all of us. Don’t be afraid to make your voice heard.
ACB Voices 