This pipeline must be stopped.
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Kelcy Warren, the chairman and chief executive of Energy Transfer Partners, said in a memo to staff members on Tuesday that “misinformation” had colored debate over the pipeline, and company leaders meant to meet with officials in Washington “to understand their position and reiterate our commitment to bring the Dakota Access pipeline into operation”. “With the Dakota Access Pipeline, the administration’s recent attempts to change the rules, in the middle of the game, set a risky precedent for our country that could threaten other infrastructure projects like bridges, roads, and electricity transmission”.
The California Faculty Association stands in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the coalition of Native leaders and activists defending their cultural heritage, sacred grounds, right to protest, sovereign rights, and right to clean water. The tribe has claimed the pipeline infringes on their burial grounds and will affect their water resources.
The issue has escalated into a national one in recent days, with protesters and media from across the country descending on both Bismarck and the site where the pipeline would cross the Missouri River near the reservation. It’s also captured the attention of the Obama administration, which last week restricted the company’s access to the site. Thousands of people from hundreds of tribes are now gathered there.
Tensions over the Dakota Access pipeline have mounted steadily throughout the summer, after the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sued to temporarily halt construction, arguing that they were not adequately consulted. The stock is down about 13 percent since the close of trading on Thursday, prior to the court ruling and government’s decision. The anti-pipeline demonstrations took place in Lebanon and Lancaster counties, as well as in Philadelphia, where President Obama made a visit to stump for his former rival, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. “We’re not here just to stop one section, we are here to stop the pipeline in it’s entirety”.
“Energy Transfer Partners has demonstrated time and time again that the bottom line for them is money”, he added. Numerous groups also fought the Keystone XL pipeline, which the Obama administration rejected in November.
“It’s the Standing Rock Sioux’s principled and courageous efforts that galvanized the country and inspired these unity events”, said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune.
The Cherokee Nation didn’t sanction the rally, but the tribal council passed a resolution Monday night showing support for the Standing Rock Sioux. She said this fight is far from over. She noted it was important for her to be a speaker at the rally because, “We hear speeches of politicians, we hear speech of our headmen, we hear speeches from our chiefs, but we never hear speeches from our youth telling us what they want, how they feel about all this because this is going to directly affect them”. “My mom always taught me that good things come to people who wait”.
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Inside Energy is a public media collaboration supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, focusing on America’s issues.
