One of the major environmental dilemma we are facing in modern day is the decision to build or to not build the Keystone Pipeline. This has been a huge controversy among the environmentalists who believe that the building of this pipeline, along with various others negative environmental ramifications, will be a step in the wrong direction in relation of green energy. There is a planned protest next Saturday, April 26, in D.C. that is being sponsored by Bill McKibben's group 350.org to urge President Obama to not approve of the plan. I personally believe that the building of the pipeline is a completely unnecessary action. Our main focus should be on clean, renewable energy and not the transportation of "dirty" oil. We have already reached peak oil and trying to obtain every last drop of oil is not a solution. We need to convey the message that green energy is the step we need to invest in. The pipeline is a symbol of the current actions we are taking to please the oil-loving masses, I just don't understand why the focus isn't on renewable energy. It is a known fact that we will run out of oil in the near future, so why is the world still dependent on it? All of our efforts should be on making this planet sustainable for the next generation, and the refusal from the President to build the pipeline is a step in the right direction. If you are interested in the protest, you should check out the link below!
http://350.org/campaigns/stop-keystone-xl/
I agree completely, I think we ought to begin concentrating on renewable energy. However, as we have previously discussed in class that is not at all where the money is, and all of the economic elite who support those creating policy are deeply invested in oil. It is a very messy situation that will be very difficult to dig ourselves out of.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. In my Senior year of high school, I took a class at MCLA, and did a project on the keystone pipeline, and did a lot of research on it. I know that a lot of the reason that people aren't looking at alternative energy is that big corporations are steering the public away from the environment, and trying to sell the pipeline as offering people many more jobs, which would help our economy, and reduce poverty, but in reality, there are much more jobs in the alternative energy. I think that in order to steer the public away from things like the pipeline, and more towards alternative energy in our society, we need to emphasis the jobs that can gotten in this industry.
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