Snoopy doin' the happy dance
One of my friends called me this weekend to see how happy I must be now that the Obama Administration announced that they are denying the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. My friend knows how involved I’ve been with Tar Sands activism since I was arrested last summer in front of the White House in an act of civil disobedience.
Has President Obama proven to be a friend of the environment by saying “no” to the big oil bullies this time around? Have we really won this fight? I’m not yet sure whether a happy dance is called for at this time.
We’ve had some momentary victories in the past few months, but big oil has deep pockets and responds each time with a new twist and turn. These are interesting times indeed.
Its important to note that whether we keep the giant pipeline from being built is not the core issue!
With or without the Keystone XL pipeline, the Tar Sands are now being extracted from the earth and are already being refined all across the US in increasing amounts. BP is expanding their refineries in places like Toledo, Ohio, where they are spending billions of dollars so that they can refine the gunky crud. This process will spew extremely toxic byproducts loaded with heavy metals and sulfur into the air, land and water around facilities. No doubt, this will be spun somehow to seem like “jobs”. Ugggh.
This giant machine strips the earth to get to the tar sands
The Tar Sands is without a doubt the most environmentally destructive project ever unleashed by man. To get to the bitumen requires strip and open-pit mining, and the refining process is unusually energy-intensive. To produce just one barrel of oil, it takes three tons of tar sands and several barrels of water.The photos of Alberta Canada, where once intact and beautiful ecosystems are being ravaged can bring tears to your eyes. Click here to see them.
So while I may be doing a short happy dance for the fact that President Obama said “no” (for now) to the pipeline, I’m well aware that the battle to save our mother earth from this distruction must continue.
The Tar Sands pipeline will continue to be an important battle. The longer we can delay the infrastructure that ties the world’s future to oil sands or fracking or mountain top removal, the better our chance to switch to clean, renewable energy.
But most importantly, whatever happens with the pipeline, it marks the turning point when the environmental movement woke up from its “sign this petition” armchair activist mentality. We have now realized that showing up and putting your body at risk is powerful and effective. My experience in front of the White House last summer transformed my perspective on fossil fuels and climate change, many of my fellow “jailbirds” would agree. Direct action works.
The core issue is we need more people to care enough to show up.
There will no doubt be more opportunities, so stay tuned!
Also if you haven’t already, visit www.TarSandsAction.org and join their mailing list.
This Ted X presentation gives a visual journey of Canada’s tar sands. I highly recommend you watch it and share with your family to get up to speed on this important story.
