This summer, we were led by a woods woman guide into the Boundary Waters, into the deep quiet and stunning life of otters and loons. While there, I read Mary Pipher's book "The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture." It tells of Nebraskans' response in 2010 to Trans Canada's plan to build a 2,000-mile pipeline that would carry crude oil extracted from tar sands across the Nebraska Sandhills, across the Ogallala Aquifer and most of the river systems west of the Mississippi.
This book is compelling. It has scientific information, recipes and stories of these Nebraskans who turned fear into action. And all the while, as we canoed through our treasured BWCA, I wondered how we will respond to Minnesota's Line 3 oil pipeline which runs through sensitive areas in northern Minnesota — including the Mississippi headwaters, wild rice water, forest and wetlands, and threatens proximity to our beloved Boundary Waters.
Jan Bucher, Minneapolis
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