Counter-Currents
624 words
As the drought intensifies in California an old idea comes to mind.
Donald Baker, an engineer with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power dreamed up the idea of shipping surplus northern water south and in 1964 took his idea to the Parsons Corporation where the North American Water and Power Alliance (NAWAPA) was born.
The idea was made immortal by Technocracy and its dream of a united North American continent from the North Pole to Panama, which terrified Canadians as they envisioned their land of lakes going the way of the Aral Sea. The idea is kept alive today by Lyndon LaRouche and YouTube, although rumors abound that the scheme is being quietly built in dribs and drabs.
The known facts are that while the Southern States and the Prairie Provinces are low on water, fresh water is wasted by draining north into the Arctic. The idea is to turn some of the water flowing north to the parched Southwestern states via the Rocky Mountain Trench which would be dammed. The downtown of Prince George, the northern capital of BC, would be submerged. The water would also flow east into the Canadian prairies to the Great Lakes and to the American industrial belt. The water and electricity from the dams would revive the America industrial heartland, industrialize BC, and make Alaska a transportation hub. Along with the reindustrialization of America there would be a revival of the railroads to move the goods produced.
Honoring an election pledge not to sell BC Rail, Premier Campbell leased its Vancouver to Prince George Railroad to Canadian National for 999 years. CN subsequently combined with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp to form North America’s largest railroad company. The old BC Rail which terminated at Prince George is extending north to the Bering Strait on its way to London England.
It is an old idea which the New York Times first reported on August 2, 1906. The then czar authorized the American syndicate led by Baron Loicq de Lobel to build a railroad from Siberia to Alaska by bridging and tunneling the Bering Strait. The project never did get off the ground, but interest in it still turns up now and again, and with the completion of the Channel Tunnel and a bridge from Sicily to Europe, the prospect of a crossing at the Bering Sea certainly looks plausible.
Canadian retirees can and do live up to seven months of the year in the dry Southwestern States so bringing some water with them is only fair. The Mexicans too, would appreciate some fresh water being added to the Colorado River, which I am told is almost dry by the time it reaches the sea.
The fear that Canadians have regarding losing their water is best illustrated by the series of books published in the 1970s by the Vancouver based writer Stanley Burke and cartoonist Roy Peterson. They produced mythical tales about a Swamp named Canada where the beavers lived. To the south lived the Eagles, the richest and most powerful of the animals. The books really caught Canada’s fear when Frog Fables and Beaver Tales, which had Canada solving all its internal disputes, ended with the ominous, “Until the day the Eagles started to drain the Swamp.”
At Blaine, Washington on the US/Canadian border stands the Peace Arch, visible to all coming and going between our two countries. A large inscription on the American side reads, “Children of a common mother” while the inscription on the Canadian side reads, “Brethren dwelling together in unity.” Perhaps Canada could share a little water to hydrate its pensioners luxuriating under the hot southern sun and in turn the replenished California farmers could send food north to sustain the workers of Fortress North America?
Enjoyed this article?
Be the first to leave a tip in the jar!
7 comments
This is an interesting post. It opens up a can of worms for me about where our food comes from.
One day when I was in the grocery store and buying onions, I was frozen and gobsmacked. There were onions there from BC, Washington State, California and New Zealand. The cheapest onions were from New Zealand, same size and weight but from NZ. I pondered this for a while. How could that be? It was not by a couple of cents. It was at least $2 cheaper. — a special shipment? How did they get here? Is it cheaper to ship by boat than by trucker? Who is making the money here? How much did the farmer get? His workers? Or is it some big company? The more I looked into this, the scarier it got. I decided to go local as much as possible to support local farmers, then my province and then US states and Mexico. I read labels now, especially place of origin. I also understand why so many third world countries are mad at the west. The food corporations go in there and destroy the local economy and force farmers to grow what will sell in the first world. Water for food? Sorry I will keep the water and grow my own food. Food preservation for the winter months. I would sell it to certain sustainable farmers who took care of their land. Corporations, no.
Interesting, from what I read. I just don’t understand what it has to do with white nationalism.
When the FTA was being negotiated with Canada, the question of Canada’s water arose. Our Tradwe Representative, Mickey Kantor, said water was a tradeable item.
Peter Quint in blockquote:
Why should the water go any further south than, say, the states of the Northwest Republic?
Note that water offers water power – hydropower – a clean source of energy that is used, if memory serves, in BC to pull water up into the dams, during the night, when power demand is low, and drain it through the damns during the day, when power is expensive. It is then sold to the Lower Forty-Eight.
Covington has long argued for the necessity of economic autarchy for the Northwest Republic, and this includes self-sufficiency in power. Large-scale and micro hydro offer us all of the power needed to run our irrigation systems, and our locomotive manufacturing plant in Hamilton, Montana. (All Part of The Plan!)
Incidentally, solar enthusiasts are in for a rude awakening. Senator Marco Rubio has argued for taxing the solar panels on your roof, and this will be done in Spain, an economically collapsed country. Hydro offers us a way out of that, along with superinsulation techniques.
The first step, of course, is to contribute to counter-currents, each and every month, without fail.
Contemplating these grandiose, Faustian infrastructure projects — as with the space program — gives us a sense that only a few generations ago, we were ruled by a different race: a heroic race. And we were: white men ruled themselves. No longer. But we’ll be back.
I like your reply better than Fourmyle of Ceres’. Now I understand. Good job.
The deal will come down to Canada will ask the US for the Keystone pipeline and the US will get its badly needed water to the West.
No pipeline -no water. This is what the Canadian “Nous” for the next Prime Minister.
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2013/11/12/BC-Water-Sustainability-Act/
Comments are closed.
If you have a Subscriber access,
simply login first to see your comment auto-approved.
Note on comments privacy & moderation
Your email is never published nor shared.
Comments are moderated. If you don't see your comment, please be patient. If approved, it will appear here soon. Do not post your comment a second time.
Paywall Access
Lost your password?Edit your comment