The Tale of Keystone is Longer than its Tail...

There are only about thirty days before Keystone XL will either be signed in, or rejected. The idea of it being allowed is alarming. It has been said countless times that this pipeline would mean, "game over for climate change" by Hansen, a former NASA scientist. Already, they are clearing forest and "removing" bears to make room for the construction of Keystone XL. The Boreal Forest is in the path of Keystone, and it is likely large parts of it will be destroyed– this forest is home to over 35,000 animal species! The thought of all this destruction is appalling. People who are in favor of this dirty pipeline are only thinking of themselves and the convenience for the human race. They never think of other species out there who are unwillingly dying for our comfort. How would you feel if you and your family were forced to leave your home, or worse, be executed just because you were an inconvenience? Not only will those things occur, the dirtiest fuel in the world would be making its way down to Texas, and once there, would pollute the air, only adding to the large amount of greenhouse emissions already present. If this doesn't bother you, the fact that the pipe will travel near the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest supplies of water in the U.S., will. If the pipe spilled, it would be catastrophic for you and other species. This is plausible, as a previous, smaller pipeline built last year [2011] had twelve spills in the first six months of it being built. Green energy creates more jobs, with Keystone only creating 35 permanent jobs, and is better for the environment in the long- run. 

The piece above is something I wrote in the ninth grade; that is how long I have been following the tale of Keystone XL Pipeline. Unbeknownst to me back then was how long it would take for Congress to make their final decision on the pipeline. It is 2015 and I am still awaiting their decision, which is said to be next week sometime. However, they have been saying that same thing for the past five years... Keystone XL might just reveal how ineffective our government has become. 

After studying AP US History back in high school, all I can remember is Teddy Roosevelt and how quickly it seemed he and the U.S. government could make decisions. His term was eight years, but he managed to do so much more in that time. Nowadays, it seems as though nothing ever gets done. I am not sure if that is true to others or not, but it is just the feeling I get from what I hear and read. 

Among the constant emails I get from Sierra Club and NRDC about Keystone XL lately, one thing is clear to me, Congress is just wasting time. From what I have been reading in the newspapers and my emails, I see that Obama has promised to veto any approval of Keystone XL by Congress. My question is only, why are they spending so much time on trying to pass this pipeline (which is bad for the environment by the way) when they know all their efforts will only be in vain? Yes, they will try to get the necessary amount of votes to override Obama's veto, but couldn't they be spending their time more wisely trying to figure out how to fix our education system? Disturbingly enough, our government cannot even accept that climate change is real; this past week, Congress voted against stating that climate change was real and humans are causing it. Regrettably, I am beginning to believe that there is not enough time for us to get our acts together.