End Stall on Climate Solutions

This is a letter to the editor in response to,
“End Stall on Keystone.”

I was incredulous that the Advocate’s editorial, “End stall on Keystone,” completely failed to address (or even mention) the potential impact of Keystone XL on climate change. The pipeline has been the centerpiece of a national climate movement because the Alberta tar sands are an enormous source of carbon pollution (much dirtier and more carbon-intensive than conventional oil). Dr. James Hansen, a well-known climatologist and a former NASA scientist, wrote in the New York Times (referring to tar sands reserves), “If Canada proceeds, and we do nothing, it will be game over for the climate.”

Despite the fact that coastal Louisiana is ground zero for climate change impacts, the phenomenon isn’t a concept that our state likes to acknowledge — in politics, industry, or even the media. Our intimate relationship with the fossil fuel industry and significant role in the global crisis might explain why both Democrats and Republicans from Louisiana have sponsored Keystone bills, ignoring the potential implications of carbon pollution on our eroding coast.

But regardless of climate change, Keystone XL is not the prosperity creator lauded by Landrieu or Cassidy. The State Department published a study that concluded the pipeline would create 35 permanent jobs. In addition, much of the oil produced from the tar sands will be shipped abroad to countries like China, meaning that Americans are unlikely to see a change in prices at the pump.

At a time when we need to urgently shift to clean, carbon-free fuels in order to avert catastrophe, the Advocate boldly states — without providing evidence or debate — that we should move forward with one of the dirtiest fossil fuel projects in America. I consider the editorial to be sloppy and irresponsible journalism at best — a hollow echo of Governor Jindal’s specious talking point that Keystone “will create thousands of jobs.” I would hope that in the future our media might retain some form of objectivity when formulating opinions with grave implications for our culture, heritage, and posterity.

-Captain Planet (a.k.a. Jenna deBoisblanc)