Exercise #3: Connecting Past and Present
April 17, 2026 By: Alexander Charlton
Trans Mountain Pipeline and Deforestation
Article: https://globalnews.ca/news/11574208/trans-mountain-pipeline-fine-2024-flooding/
This article by Global News looks at why the Trans Mountain pipeline was issued a fine after environmental lapses. When the January 2024 storm hit the area, there was an insufficient number of workers on site which led to a small landslide, and sediment-laden floodwater. Global News writes “measures to control erosion needed maintenance and pumps needed repairs, the inspector noted. Sediment-laden water was also getting into a nearby stream.” This shows non-compliance and disregard for the regulations that are put in place to stop these disasters from happening. What stood out to me is that something like a pipeline project, which is engineered to safely carry resources across long distances, is still affected by the same floodplains, slope stability, and rainfall that shaped the Fraser Valley long before industrial development came to this region. This connects to Pinchot’s conservation ideas from Unit 3, where nature should be treated as something to be managed thoughtfully and used efficiently for long-term yield. Rather than scar the land with the pipeline project, the development is being highly regulated to make sure the impact on the land is efficient. The natural systems will be sustained for continued extraction, with the extreme rainfall in this case showing how frail humanity’s controlled systems are, especially without proper oversight. The monetary fine and inspections show that a point is being made to make sure that the pipeline is put in place sustainably and in a way that prevents unnecessary waste and destruction.
This article by CBC discusses a study that nearly half of the landslides during the 2021 atmospheric river in BC were linked to areas where wildfires occurred or resources were extracted. The study looked at landslides that occurred during the 2021 atmospheric river demonstrating that “14 per cent occurred at or below roads used by resource industries, and an additional 15 per cent stemmed from logging cut blocks.” This connects to what we looked at in Unit 3 which showed how “wilderness” is not actually untouched. The mountain ranges that I look up at and the trails that I explore in the Fraser Valley are filled with logging roads and have evidence of such activities. All these human marks become part of what people explore as wilderness. This ties into Cronon’s argument of how wilderness is a cultural idea, because what we often think of as natural disasters are actually tied to human decisions made long before the event occurs. Ideas such as Pinchot’s sustaining yield seem to leave the wilderness more-or-less intact, reducing environmental risk. This unit has helped me see that every action leaves a mark, and how often we are just shifting environmental impacts into the future where they show up as floods, landslides, and instability.