I am disappointed that the Senate passed approval for the Keystone XL Pipeline construction. But am I really surprised? No. I guess you could say I am pretty pessimistic about the federal government doing anything positive for climate change. Even though it is non-binding currently, I am sure it will eventually be fully passed and construction will begin. Many representatives and even the President like to give nice speeches about how they will help the environment, but really they care most about re-election campaigns.
“The Democrats who supported the legislation — most of them vulnerable incumbents facing tough re-election races next year — include Sens. Max Baucus (Mont.), Tom Carper (Del.), Bob Casey (Pa.), Chris Coons (Del.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Kay Hagan (N.C.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Mark Begich (Alaska), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Tim Johnson (S.D.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Joe Manchin (W. Va.), Jon Tester (Mont.) and Mark Warner (Va.).”
- Lucia Graves on The Huffington Post
This often means not getting too involved with an environmental agenda. I would think President Obama would be a bit past this since it is his second term, but not many people have a backbone against big energy companies.
Another issue is people wanting results now. They don’t want to wait around for renewable energy technology to advance or become more affordable; they want resources now. This means they will stick with what they know, and that is fossil fuels. Sadly this is not good for climate change. I keep hoping we are going to make a turn for the better but then stuff like this happens and makes me want to go live in a hole.
But on the upside, since this bill is not yet binding, you can still contact your senator, especially if they voted for this initiative and tell them you don’t support it and that we should focus on renewables instead.