OTISFIELD — On Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Otisfield Town Hall on Route 121, the Otisfield Conservation Committee will be showing “Pipe Dreams,” a 45-minute documentary film about Canadian tar sand oils by Leslie Iwerks, narrated by Darryl Hannah. A 17-minute Ted talk by Garth Lenz documenting Alberta’s tar sand enterprise will also be shown. The showing is free to the public and all are welcome.

Exxon-Mobile Corporation’s plan to pump toxic tar sands slurry through the lakes region of western Maine via a reverse flow of the Portland/Montreal pipeline threatens beautiful and fragile water resources.

“Pipe Dreams” tells the story of the epic struggle shaping up in America’s heartland as landowners fight to protect their land, water and livelihood from the Keystone XL Pipeline, which will ship tar sands slurry from huge open pit mines in Alberta, Canada to refineries in Texas. This slurry is highly corrosive and must be transported through the pipes under great pressure. Despite industry’s assurances that leaks are unlikely, existing tar sands pipelines have a history of ruptures, often with devastating effects on the environment.

While the Keystone XL Pipeline grabs national headlines, Exxon-Mobile has quietly moved ahead with a plan to reverse the flow of the aging Portland/Montreal pipeline so it can transport tar sands from Canada to Portland. From Portland, tar sands oil will be shipped overseas. The Portland/Montreal pipeline, which currently carries crude oil from Portland to Quebec, crosses the Crooked River six times and the Androscoggin River twice, and runs within 1000 feet of Sebago Lake, a drinking water reservoir for more than 200,000 people.

The climate and topography of the American Midwest differs from northern New England in many regards. But both regions share a reliance on precious water supplies that are being put at grave risk in the name of corporate profit. “Pipe Dreams” explores the science behind tar sands pipelines, and is equally relevant to western Maine as it is to the American Heartland.

For additional information about the film, visit www.pipedreamsdoc.com.