Standing Rock Is Not a Victory for the Earth

The Dakota pipeline being rerouted is a great victory for the Sioux nation, the area’s residents and, all the others who fought so valiantly to force the pipeline away from sacred Sioux land and water. Seeing soldiers and vets join the occupation that helped was astonishing and what actress Shailene Woodley said about keeping our boots strapped to continuing the struggle is uplifting albeit, as the entire effort in the end felt, misplaced.

Al Gore said on "All in With Chris Hayes" that he understandably couldn’t talk about his recent meeting with the President Elect but he believed America would meet its Paris accord levels agreed upon regardless of our politics. His efforts, just as those at Standing Rock seem sadly likewise misplaced because what should be focused on is setting a goal towards banning Fossil Fuels. That must be the focus; that is where the activist energy and “occupy” capital should be. A few nations and some cities are beginning to make the move toward 100 % renewable energy and nothing less is acceptable with a hard deadline of 20 to 30 years from now.

It’s shocking how absent the need for banning fossil fuels is from our discussion and political discourse. Due to Trump’s uncertainty and tendency to be fungible on policy stances now is a perfect time for activists to demand change despite some of the names that have been mentioned as possible administration appointees and his financial ties to the industry. Activists and perhaps more importantly the media must influence Trump into seeing the opportunity that exists not only with green energy but with subsidizing fossil fuel companies. Yeah that’s not a typo, it seems rather clear to me that the energy companies, their shareholders and, lobbyists would be glad to melt and flood the earth surviving enough to retire on a newly formed island somewhere. It is imperative that this 1 % be included and bribed into turning 100 % renewable. Exxon, BP, Gulf, Shell, Mobil, Chevron, what have you; they must be paid, subsidized to create the infrastructure we need for the future. This or a similar incentive should one exist must be legislated together with a ban on fossil fuels. Free trade should even begin to mandate the ban. Prolonging the inevitable is childish. There is only one earth, let us fight for her not just the Sioux.