Or so claims Charles Pierce from his eyrie at Vogue err...Esquire... in today's article on the XL pipeline.The Fix is In.
We are, of course, talking of the fabled XL Pipeline which is crossing Canada into the United States and will end up spewing its garbage in Texas for sale to China and other oil hungry nations. One wonders why this sounds like a good idea to those who support it. I mean what could possibly go wrong? Well, I'm no expert but pipelines have a history of breaking in the oddest places, at the oddest times. And when they carry things like tar sands and oil the results get ugly fast. This past week was such an example for those who believe in Murphy's Law. And here is the response from one of the leaders involved in this stupid taunting of Mother Nature
Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers said on Sunday that crews had yet to excavate the area around the pipeline breach, a needed step before the company can estimate how long repairs will take and when the line might restart. "I can't speculate on when it will happen," Jeffers said. "Excavation is necessary as part of an investigation to determine the cause of the incident."What we all know, and Pierce, points out that oil companies lie, they lie about jobs, they lie about safety, they lie everytime they open their mouths about this hideous project. But they do it under color of delivering an essential product with jobs the carrot in this whole fevered dream.
So let's look at the facts that we have: regular oil leaks or spills which are already a nightmare ecologically and financially to clean up. They often devastate communities for an extensive number of years, jobs are lost, families are displaced and the immediate pristine beaches and other lands are destroyed.
James Hansen of NASA, has something to say about this
Moving to tar sands, one of the dirtiest, most carbon-intensive fuels on the planet, is a step in exactly the opposite direction, indicating either that governments don't understand the situation or that they just don't give a damn.How Much Will Tar Sands Oil Add to Global Warming?
So what can be done to stop this latest iteration of outdated policy and outdated energy sources? Why protest it of course! And so it was by 40,000 in DC and in many other cities and communities across the United States. Of course many felt it was time to also protest against Arctic drilling and other environmental abuses such as regulating smokestacks and refineries. Michael Brune of the Sierra Club was quoted thusly
It’s inspiring. This is the largest rally on climate change in U.S. history, People have come from almost all over the country, from every state, to really send a strong message to the president that we have his back every time he stands forward on climate change and clean energy, and we want him to use his full executive authority to fight this throughout his whole term.Thousands rally in D.C. against XL Pipeline.
Conservatives have another angle, they are protesting President Obama's delay on the Tar Sands pipeline. They don't think we need anymore stinkin' reports on environmental impacts, "Just Do It Already!" might be their motto, somewhat modified from Nike's famous motto. They usually don't care about stealing artwork or songs for their questionable policy goals but their recent re-branding seminars have had some effect. Reince Priebus is very proud of this. But Conservatives whine that they want the underpaid, and unhealthy jobs surrounding this project. They don't care about the health of those doing it because it won't be their lily white asses exposed to toxins. Since the XL pipeline will cross Native American reservations and those ranches in the North Dakota area which have already lost land to this project.
But Native Americans will protest this as voiced by the Lakota Indians of Pine Ridge Reservation.
This training is a message to Obama and TransCanada that if they try to build KXL we’ll be here to meet them with our moccasins on the ground,” said Oglala Lakota Debra White Plume, founder of the local non-profit Owe Aku (Bring Back the Way).Native American adversaries of Keystone XL Pipeline train cadre to resist.
So this is where we are. If, as Charlie Pierce states in his article, the fix is in. What do we do? We have to keep up the protests - it's obvious that Bill McKibben, James Hansen, Van Jones, Debra White Plume, and Michael Brune won't be going away. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse gives weekly addresses on Climate Change in the Senate, John Kerry is at the State Department and he needs to be encouraged to act on what he has always believed. Likewise with President Obama.
But it also is up to you, to every single one of us to help them block this for the future of our nation and for our children. Enough is enough!
If you already have signed the petition, you can also keep up to date on actions and news at Tar Sands Action.