My 1,700-mile hike across the XL Pipeline. I saw a country marked by apathy, and flickers of hope

[octoberlib]

Of the landowners in the U.S., I gathered that most were opposed to the XL, but all of them spoke with resignation about it. To them, the XL was inevitable and unstoppable. Threatened with eminent domain, many swallowed their pride and took generous compensation checks. Others, victims of the oil industry’s propaganda campaign, happily acquiesced, thinking that the XL will bring America jobs, oil and national security.

But I’d learn that the Keystone XL will offer none of these things. TransCanada, the company that will build the pipeline, has falsely claimed that there will be upward of 20,000 jobs. An independent study, conducted by Cornell University, determined that the pipeline would create only 2,500 to 4,650 jobs, almost all of which will be temporary, and only between 10 to 15 percent of the jobs will be local, in-state hires.

As for the “we need oil” claims, few realize that much of the oil won’t be used in the United States. The oil will be pumped down to Port Arthur, Texas, where it will be refined and shipped off to foreign nations. Valero, one of these refining companies (which will get 20 percent of the Keystone XL oil), will not have to pay taxes on the exported oil since Port Arthur is in a Foreign Trade Zone.

And as for national security, few think to question whether climate change may pose a bigger risk than a few hostile nations in the Persian Gulf (where we get only 13 percent of our oil).

“Climate change,” in these parts, is a dirty term. It’s rarely uttered, and when it is, it’s with skepticism and disdain, even during a freakishly warm winter and the worst drought the Midwest has seen in a generation. I’ve tried to talk with folks about it, but they quickly steer the conversation in other directions, scoffing that climate change is nothing but “hype,” or that while, yes, the planet’s warming, it has nothing to do with us.

http://www.salon.com/2013/01/20/my_1700_mile_hike_across_the_xl_pipeline/

The folks in the Midwest need to stop believing everything they see on Fox News. They're being directly affected by climate change right now in the form of crop shortages and water scarcity. What will it take?

[think]

1. And now avoiding taxes gets thrown into the mix.....

[freshwest]

2. It's part of the survivalist mentality.

[freshwest]

3. They believe in climate change, no matter what they say. But don't know what to do and blow it off.

The Bible tells them it's the End Times and they can do nothing about it except get more and more into that - also, take care of their own and not be involved anything outside their immediate lives. They move to escape areas they know are having trouble. There isn't any long range thinking on this, just fear.

[octoberlib]

7. +1 That's the conservative worldview in a nutshell nt

[progressoid]

4. "inevitable and unstoppable"

Yep. Our corporate run government has already decided.

[freshwest]

8. From a book penned two thousand years ago. Leads to a disposable planet view.

Doesn't matter what you do, it's all been preordained, so go for broke, live it up, since 'God wants you to be rich.'

Al Gore spoke of that world view, how it's replaced the Biblical idea of humanity working in the garden. And how mankind was meant to be humble stewards and protectors of life, not the destroyers. The Bible speaks of leaving part of the crops for the poor to glean the fields, as well as leaving the hedgerows for wildlife to glean food by. And there was the Year of Jubilee to fight social stagnation, within some levels of society. RW religion does not believe in any of that, they're GOP.

I knew old Christian farmers who always forbore in favor of wildlife, even insects, under their belief that their property and the life on it was 'God's fields and they were part of his plan.' Needless to say, none of them were rich, they had no luxury other than living in the country.

In Al Gore's book, Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit the RW evangelicals could never forgive him for taking that view, since it ate into profits and would require government regulation to protect life on Earth, like the ESA and the EPA, etc.

The GOP and media went non-stop to mock and destroy that older view. And we don't seem to have an adequate replacement, since going libertarian everymanforhimself doesn't tackle the global issues.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Earth_in_the_Balance.htm

Check the reviews, then the RW reviews with bagger spelling at the Amazon re-print:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0017U74TW/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B005M4TFV4&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1A0M4JB43B96GYHBSHA7

[cantbeserious]

5. American Denial As Bad Or Worse Than American Exceptionalism

eom

[iamthebandfanman]

6. just another object for terrorists to attack :p

that give us no benefits but makes a great target.

they dont have to worry about environmental terrorists, as theyd be afraid theyd cause an oil spill...
actual terrorists on the other hand...
or just loony bin johnny down the street,,

[stuntcat]

9. loony bin johnny

kissin cousin of Endtimes Esther who thinks destroying the planet will make Jesus come back faster.

[gtar100]

10. The new story for them is that climate change is being caused by a normal cycle of the sun.

For such "self-made" people, they sure don't take much responsibility for their actions.

Tragic. Hard for me to feel much hope seeing the hardness in their minds. It's going to take effort from everyone to pull us back from the disaster of world-wide climate change, yet they are compelled to do nothing. I have no respect for that.

[Nihil]

11. The sooner that they remove themselves from the gene pool the better.

What will it take?

Starvation, thirst and child mortality.

Let 'em wait - it'll get to them soon enough - and they can f*ck their "End Times" then,
on their own without help from anyone else.