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Bill McKibben: Is the Keystone XL Pipeline the “Stonewall” of the Climate Movement?
from TomDispatch:
Is the Keystone XL Pipeline the Stonewall of the Climate Movement?
And If So, Is That Terrible News?
By Bill McKibben
A few weeks ago, Time magazine called the fight over the Keystone XL pipeline that will bring some of the dirtiest energy on the planet from Alberta, Canada, to the U.S. Gulf Coast the Selma and Stonewall of the climate movement.
Which, if you think about it, may be both good news and bad news. Yes, those of us fighting the pipeline have mobilized record numbers of activists: the largest civil disobedience action in 30 years and 40,000 people on the mall in February for the biggest climate rally in American history. Right now, were aiming to get a million people to send in public comments about the environmental review the State Department is conducting on the feasibility and advisability of building the pipeline. And theres good reason to put pressure on. After all, its the same State Department that, as on a previous round of reviews, hired experts who had once worked as consultants for TransCanada, the pipelines builder.
Still, lets put things in perspective: Stonewall took place in 1969, and as of last week the Supreme Court was still trying to decide if gay people should be allowed to marry each other. If the climate movement takes that long, well be rallying in scuba masks. (Im not kidding. The section of the Washington Mall where we rallied against the pipeline this winter already has a big construction project underway: a flood barrier to keep the rising Potomac River out of downtown DC.)
It was certainly joyful to see marriage equality being considered by our top judicial body. In some ways, however, the most depressing spectacle of the week was watching Democratic leaders decide that, in 2013, it was finally safe to proclaim gay people actual human beings. In one weekend, Democratic senators Mark Warner of Virginia, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, and Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia figured out that they had evolved on the issue. And Bill Clinton, the greatest weathervane who ever lived, finally decided that the Defense of Marriage Act he had signed into law, boasted about in ads on Christian radio, and urged candidate John Kerry to defend as constitutional in 2004, was, you know, wrong. He, too, had evolved, once the polls made it clear that such an evolution was a safe bet. ...........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175684/tomgram%3A_bill_mckibben%2C_how_do_you_solve_a_problem_like_the_democrats/#more
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Bill McKibben: Is the Keystone XL Pipeline the “Stonewall” of the Climate Movement? (Original Post)
marmar
Apr 2013
OP
True, but the momentum's also been building quite a bit faster than with gay marriage, though.....
AverageJoe90
Apr 2013
#2
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)1. As the author says it's good news and bad news.
We don't have 40 years to build momentum before actual change. We need to do it now.
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)2. True, but the momentum's also been building quite a bit faster than with gay marriage, though.....