This is the latest in the ongoing saga of the Keystone XL Pipeline vs the environment. The southern route of the pipline recently sprung a leak in Tyler County in Texas. The 20,000 gallon leak that contaminated the Neches River is the latest in a series of recent spills and leaks, and it was detected by a resident, not by leak-detection technology.
The Neches River is designated as one of Texas’ last remaining “wild” rivers, extending more than 415 miles. The river and its tributaries flow through the Big Thicket National Preserve and feeds numerous water supplies for Southwest Texas.
In other news, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, announced this week that employees will no longer be able to work from home. She contends that productivity will increase if people have to show up at the office. to turn around the ailing company. So, employees will have to add driving time to their daily schedule, deal with interruptions and distractions at their cubicles, attend numerous meetings, and still try to get a reasonable amount of work done.
Doesn’t sound like a smart move to me. Every person who has worked at home has told me that they are more productive when they are able to get up, have breakfast, walk into their home office and work for several hours. They screen calls, so they are not interrupted by family or friends, and they don’t have any of the distractions that occur in a large office area.
Then, too, there is the environmental impact of forcing everybody to come to an office. Think of all those cars on the road every day, burning gas, polluting the atmosphere.
On a personal note, I have some good news. A new mystery, Boxes For Beds, has just gone live on Amazon for Kindle and Kindle Apps. This is an historical mystery set in the 60s near Hot Springs, Arkansas, at a time when the mob ruled the resort town and police corruption was rampant. When babies start disappearing in a nearby small town, a desperate sheriff wants to blame it on the lady who just moved in and may be one of those Yankee do-gooders who are trying to tell folks in the south how to treat their “nigras”.
Besides the short stories I’ve published on Amazon, this is the first truly indie book for me, and I am happy that it is now available. It has taken almost a year to complete the manuscript, work with an editor to get a final draft, and get a cover made. I can now see why it takes traditional publishers so long to get books out.
If you do happen to pick up a copy, I would love it if you could do a quick review at Amazon. Reviews are so important in helping to spread the word about a book you have enjoyed.
That whole pipeline thing makes my heart ache.
Best of luck on Boxes for Beds.
Thanks LD. My heart aches over the pipeline, too. When I drive down our county road and see the area they have cleared to put the pipeline in, I want to cry.