Another Slap In The Face To Our Planet
Once again the people in charge of this country show just how blatantly they disregard any concerns about the well being of our planet. This project is a massive disappointment in my eyes, as well as any other environmentalist. It is just another example of the federal government being completely out of touch with the true needs of their citizens. This pipeline will cost an astounding 8 billion dollars to construct. All the while tearing through previously undeveloped natural land in Alaska, one of the few states left with a sizable amount of mostly intact wilderness still preserved. This pipeline will have devastating effects on the ecosystems it runs through. The construction will result in a large loss of habitat for many species causing displacements and decline of those local species populations. The pipeline itself carries many risks of further polluting the ground or infecting the ground water around it, which will further poison the local ecosystems and harm biodiversity. All the while the funding for this project could have been used to further any number of sustainable projects that work towards mitigating climate change and paving the way for a better future, rather than speeding up the process as this pipeline does. The 180,000 barrels produced per day will result in ever increasing greenhouse gas emissions from this country. As this contributes to the ongoing positive feedback loop pof climate change we will only see the effects such as higher temperatures, and increased droughts become more and more prevalent.
One of the saddest parts of this article is the fact that this entire project was almost completely avoided. It explicitly states that this was proposed under the Trump administration but was shut down 2 years ago because a federal judge was able to see that the environmental impact from such a project was not worth a slightly lower price at the pumps. For us to be so close to avoiding this massive setback in the national environmental movement only for an administration supposedly much more focused on addressing climate change is frankly appalling. The Biden administration went out of their way and spent extra time and resources in court to argue for this plan to pass, they say it was because of the recent surge in gasoline prices due to the Russia and Ukraine war. I argue this just gave them a convenient excuse to do so. I don’t believe that this current administration is any more concerned with climate change than any have been in the past.
This sets up so many dangerous precedents. Instead of showing a commitment to saving the planet and trying to slowly pivot to a sustainable and lower, hopefully one day net zero, emission society, those in charge continue to embrace the status quo. This gives no incentive for any of these major energy corporations to invest in the research and development of new sustainable technologies. Why would they change the way they do anything when they rack in billions, and billions of profit off the exploitation of these non-renewable natural resources that have devastating effects for the planet in the form of greenhouse gas emissions. It just encourages these energy companies to, if anything, become more aggressive with plans like this. Especially when so conveniently given an excuse like the conflict occurring in Ukraine. Overall this is just another dark day in a string of many for the climate movement. It is another example of an administration saying things they have no intention of backing up. Biden himself has come out many times against the expansions of the oil industry in the United States and come out in support of many sustainable projects. Yet in practice none of those sustainable projects are truly being acted upon, especially not when compared to an 8 billion dollar investment to something that directly opposes those sustainable ideas.
These government officials need to be held accountable for their actions, and for being so beholden to the monstrous energy corporations that seem set on destroying any chance we have of saving our planet. I urge all people reading this to protest this kind of legislation in any way they can. Whether that be in the form of social media protests as stated in the article or actual boots on the ground protests anything helps that brings attention to these issues. The federal government has to know that we as a public are not okay with these kinds of decisions. We are running out of time to truly be able to mitigate the effects of climate change to a point where catastrophic changes can still be avoided. However if we do not change the way we think about, and pass legislation around these issues before too long it will be too late and we will all have to live with the consequences for many because of the decisions and actions of a few.
