Activist Wednesday: The Keystone XL Pipeline? STILL?!
Posted on: February 20, 2013
- In: Ecology | Energy | Morning Widdershins | Obama | Open Thread | Politics
- 12 Comments
As Uppity Woman would say (albeit about our reproductive rights, but it still applies)…
XL Pipeline. Really?!
It’s like someone somewhere says, “Hey, I have an idea that would cause environmental disaster and only temporarily make a few people wealthy. What could possibly go wrong?” And then, when someone demonstrates again and again and AGAIN that it is the Worst F*cking Idea Ever, the Idea People go scuttle into a dark corner somewhere. Now, I have no problem with them going and hiding in that corner, if only they would JUST STAY THERE!!!
What the hell is our allegedly Democratic Presnit doing playing footsie with these XL shysters? Every other civilized country is starting to realize that hey, we can’t drill, baby, drill our way out of our energy crisis. No matter what, we are going to run out of fossil fuels. So why go to the devastating extreme of fracking, or blowing the tops off mountains to get to coal and shale, or, as the pipeline proposition would do, build a thousands-of-miles-long conveyor system to carry toxic waste throughout the country?
Well, we know Obama was the only Democrat to vote for Cheney’s energy bill, so I guess it’s not surprising he just can’t seem to say no to this Really, Really Bad Idea. Maybe the protests this weekend will stiffen his resolve.
Thousands of environmental activists flocked to the national mall on Sunday to protest proposed legislation for the Keystone XL pipeline project. If passed, a roughly 1,700 mile pipeline would be built from Alberta, Canada, across the American border into the U.S. Midwest. The pipeline would transport thousands of gallons of tar sands to refineries in Oklahoma and Texas, providing needed energy to the nation. However, the project has sparked a firestorm among environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, and other groups which claim the pipeline could hurt the ecosystem along which it would travel. The climate rally was among the largest of its kind in history, and may highlight growing public pressure against the pipeline which would force President Barack Obama to drop support for the project.
[snip]
Now that the pipeline project may be on the verge of being green-lighted, thousands flocked to the Capitol in protest. The Sierra Club launched their rally “Forward on Climate” on Sunday and amassed an estimated 40,000 people. The term “forward” was strategic in that Obama helped coin the word in both his presidential campaigns.
The main outrage sparked by the pipeline plan is that it promotes the continuation of excess fossil fuel consumption. In an age where climate change is starting to dominate the national conversation, and with the Sierra Club being one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington, environmentalists may be successful in their anti-pipeline push.
Oh man, I wish I could have been there. I am so proud and excited to be a part of this era, when people are rediscovering the power of feet on the street once again. Viva activism, and viva those protesters who braved the chilly weather to show up on Obama’s front lawn and shout, “NO TO KEYSTONE XL!”
I didn’t want to end this Activist Wednesday without mentioning another extremely important development: FLOTUS got bangs! Discuss. (Now you know I’m not a fan, but I think she looks pretty fabulous.)
ZOMG she has the bangz
This is an open thread.
12 Responses to "Activist Wednesday: The Keystone XL Pipeline? STILL?!"
February 20, 2013 at 9:14 am
I feel like we are sailing on the Carnival Cruise ship “Triumph”.
Drifting and circling in a sea of sh*t with nobody in charge.
Not unlike the passengers we are on our own!
February 20, 2013 at 2:05 pm
I am proud as I can be. This generation is finding its voice, although there appear to be a number of my contemporaries out there. I remember when the Iraq War began, some of my generation on street corners with “STOP THE WAR” signs.
February 20, 2013 at 3:03 pm
Now, riddle me this — what is wrong with this picture — gas prices are up 50 cents or more a gallon in the last couple of weeks, demand is down, supply is stockpiled — what is wrong with this picture? We hear the same lame excuses from the buffoons who squawk for these companies year end and year out. The new one is that China’s demand is up — well, little hint, China doesn’t use the blend of gasoline we refine in the states.
And then we have to build a slurry-fare 2,500 miles through the heart of the country to deliver toxic byproduct of an environmental travesty in order to create heightened air toxicity from its refining in aging, obsolescent plants owned by the most profitable companies in the history of the world. Really.
February 20, 2013 at 4:45 pm
Hey TransCanada and Enbridge are determined to poison pristine wild lands up here too. The Northern Gateway pipeline will be just as bad, as it will go from Alberta across the Rockies to the fragile and dangerous BC coast where it will be loaded onto tankers and (wait for it) be shipped to both China and down the coast to California. Exxon Valdez anyone? Hasn’t been approved yet, lots of protests but….. And now they want to build a pipeline from Alberta right across to New Brunswick. Now you know that the best place would be through the southern regions close to the border – we’re royally screwed.
Re the cost of gas – same thing happening here and we are a major exporter to you folks. Someone’s making a lot of money.
February 20, 2013 at 4:50 pm
Prolix, the latest excuse I heard last night was that the refineries are in the middle of “switching blends” from winter to spring/summer fuels. Really??? This soon?
And actually i thought they had put the Keystone thing on hold. My bad!
February 20, 2013 at 6:38 pm
Totally off topic but thought you might be interested in this youtube on bullying. For me it’s quite moving because I was bullied way back in the day. Feel free to skip over.
February 20, 2013 at 8:43 pm
I like Michelle’s bangs. Her new hairstyle is chic and flattering.
That’s all I got. Carry on…
February 20, 2013 at 9:35 pm
Beata said: That’s all I got. Carry on…
I think we are all suffering from what JJ at skydancing called S.S.D.D.,
Same Shite, Different Day.
February 20, 2013 at 10:13 pm
Heh Beata, I agree. You go girl.
Thanks for the comments, everyone! Chat, I saw your contemporaries in New York too. It’s not just young people out there…
February 20, 2013 at 10:52 pm
Gas prices are high because of extortion. The same people who set the prices are invested in the pipeline and fracking.
February 22, 2013 at 10:14 am
I’ve had the same question since forever: Why is Big Fossil Fuel doing this? I mean at a certain point, ruining the planet so you can get your next six month bonus starts to look stupid even to the people doing it. Why don’t the companies even try to transition to something intelligent?
Then I read something that made sense. The value of proven reserves owned by a company is important to its valuation. (Duh, right?) Apparently, for Big Fossil generally, that value is in the couple-of-trillion dollars.
What happens to that value when you start transitioning to solar, wind, etc, for real? Ultimately, it goes to nothing. The only way to keep the valuation of reserves high is to avoid, prevent, stop, kill any transition. Any real move away from Big Fossil means big stock price drops now, loss of fortunes, loss of cush executive jobs, etc., etc., etc. It’s not just about a few million dollar bonus.
I’m probably the only person for whom this felt like a big new insight. But what it means to me is that the fight for better energy policy may depend more on accounting laws than sense. Short term, we have to fight Keystone XL because what else can you do? Long term, we also need to figure out ways to reduce valuations of reserves preventively, so to speak. Carbon taxes, for instance, make reserves less valuable, but trading pollution credits doesn’t. You’ll notice which one is “politically feasible.”
Comments are closed.
February 20, 2013 at 7:58 am
Council of Canadians were there. A couple of pictures at this article.
http://ecosocialismcanada.blogspot.ca/2013/02/50000-protest-against-keystone-xl.html