Wednesday 7 November 2012

We All Fall Down


Book Summary

We all fall down, a classic novel by Canadian author Eric Walters. Will Fuller, a high school student nearing the end of a history class in New York City. Will tells his class that he will be accompanying his firefighting father to his office near the top of the world trade center on September 11, 2001.

Will and his father, John visits the observation deck before arriving at his office on the 85th floor of the South Tower. Suddenly a loud bang rocks the building, American Airlines Flight 11 has just struck the neighboring North Tower. John orders an evacuation of the intact South Tower. On the way out of the building United Airlines Flight 175 has just struck their tower (South Tower), They suddenly head towards the bottom of the building, straight towards the point of impact. At the impact point they find a foreign woman named Tang, they then carry her down the staircase. They alternate carrying her down. After an eternity Will, John and Tang finally make it to the lobby. John has decided to stay with Tang to look at her injuries, Will leaves the building with an officer when he is knocked to the ground by a powerful force, the building collapses. Will explains to the police officer that we wants back to the building to find his father, the police officer won’t let him stating it is too dangerous. Suddenly he sees his father emerge from the building. He tells the police officer “this is my dad, can we go now”.

My Position on the Northern Gateway Pipelines


My Position on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines

By Sam Clark


Recently we have been studying different views on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines. After reading several articles and watching two videos for and against the project I believe that it is a better idea to build the pipeline than not to build it. The Northern Gateway Pipelines are supposed to deliver diluted bitumen from Bruderheim to Kitimat and Natural Gas Condensate from Kitimat to Bruderheim. The pipelines are going to stretch 1777 km and be expected by 2015. I believe that the pipeline is a good idea because:

The St. Albert Gazette states that it will be great for their local economy and Canada’s economy. More specifically it will increase Canada’s gross domestic product by 270$ billion over a 30 year period. A video that Enbridge created regarding how they build and maintain their pipelines states that they will respond quickly and effectively to any problems. The video more specifically states that company builds their pipelines from “quality pipe” and monitors them 24/7. The video shows farmers and other landowners stating that Enbridge will deal with any problems regarding pipelines crossing land. One key argument is that Enbridge even shows the ongoing, state of the art monitoring process that in my opinion is not a lie. The process involves monitoring all of their pipelines and turning them off if there is a leak. Enbridge said they hold open houses inviting aboriginal groups and stakeholders regarding any problems that the pipeline may pose. However, the other video against the pipeline states that spills from previous leaks have caused medical issues such as seizures and migraines. I believe that the video against the pipeline did not do a great job of convincing me that the pipeline is a bad idea. News Corporations such as the Vancouver Sun, Times Colonist and the aboriginal group, Beaver Lake Creenation also failed to convince me that the pipeline is a bad idea.

Overall I believe that Enbridge will develop a safe and efficient pipeline that will be great for Canada’s economy.