If you’re still seething with anger over Trump’s election win for the job title of most powerful man on earth, here is a way to stick it to that man — like the literal man — and at the same time, help protect Mother Earth. Wow! My two most favourite things to do!
I hope, President Obama will leave President-elect Donald Trump with a parting gift by shutting down the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline for good.
You can easily tweet Obama @BarakObama, @POTUS, and @WhiteHouse to tell him what you think and provide him with links that support your cause.
I’m not sure how much luck you’ll have making and keeping a post up on the White House’s Facebook wall, but it’s amazing to know that at 7:00 am on Friday November 25, 2016, Standing Rock was the top trending topic on Facebook with over 1 million people talking about it.
When you actually break it down, there isn’t too much time left for Obama to act to shut the pipeline down.
President Obama’s legacy must include pulling the permits on a pipeline project that is slated to carry 470,000 barrels of Bakken crude oil per day, with a growth potential of up to 570,000 barrels, over environmentally sensitive areas, as it makes its way from the Dakotas to oil refineries along the Eastern Seaboard.
This proposed Dakota Access pipeline — which is set to cost around $3.7 billion — would start in North Dakota and that is why you are hearing about the Standing Rock Indian Reservation today.
As of right now, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it was delaying the project until further analysis and consultation with the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. This said, the Army Corps had sent a letter to tribal leaders that they want the demonstrators gone by December 5, 2016.
President Obama had previously stated that the Army Corps was exploring options for rerouting the pipeline, but that is simply not safe enough. At the very least, a full environmental impact study should be done. Why this wasn’t done already is beyond me.
There is no safe way to transport the volatile liquid, even if you plan to drill deeper so the pipeline can pass under the Missouri River or if you double-line the steel pipes.
The track record on pipeline spills is dismal. There has been over 220 significant pipeline spills in the U.S. this year alone.
I have a feeling that Obama could be smart and sensitive enough to understand why protecting water from catastrophic contamination is a good thing to do. Especially since I know he knows the mind and heart of President-elect Donald Trump, who supports the billion dollar Dakota Access pipeline.
In fact, we know that Trump holds stock in the company that’s building the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline.
Trump’s 2016 federal disclosure forms show he owned between $15,000 and $50,000 in stock in Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners.
It is investments like that which spreads concerns about Trump’s bias which might come in the way of him making good policy judgements.
Any potential conflict of interest this financial relationship might have or bring about could be resolved by placing his investments in a blind trust, but that’s a move that Trump has so far resisted.
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Nick Seebruch, editor
