"Climate change is a fact” were the words spoken by President Obama in his recent State of the Union address. Well done, Mr. President. Really, George W. Bush would have never said something that obvious about global warming when he was in office. Still, it doesn’t let Obama off the hook. He can say he’s all for combating climate change, but his words don’t amount to a hill of beans if he doesn’t demonstrate his executive authority on this issue.
I say this because I didn’t hear the words “Keystone XL Pipeline” in his State of The Union address. Also known as KXL, it’s a proposed pipeline that would specifically extract crude oil from tar sands in Alberta, Canada to be transported all the way down to Texas for it to then be sold on the world market. The process that would extract the oil from the tar sands is called “fracking” (isn’t that a fun word?) and it is incredibly damaging to the environment.
But what makes KXL unique is that, ultimately, it is up to the president of the United States to use his authority to either approve or disapprove this international development project. At this point in time, nobody can say with total certainty where Obama will swing on this issue. However, Secretary of State John Kerry apparently seems to be for KXL. In an “environmental impact statement” released last Friday, the State Department claimed that KXL won’t have a “significant” increase on carbon emissions, leaving environmentalists all around the country anxious of what is to come in the next 90 days when Obama is expected to make a decision on the pipeline.
On Monday night, I took pictures at a vigil organized by a collection of environmental groups right in front of the downtown Federal Courthouse. Braving the freezing weather with signs and projectors, these activists let their voices be heard. From college students to grandparents, this diverse collection of ordinary citizens has one thing in common: They are all concerned for the future of our planet.
And they should be concerned. The scientific community has determined climate change is real; it is indeed influenced by man’s excessive release of carbon and methane gasses into the atmosphere, and it is getting out of control.
In a New York Times column, NASA climate scientist James Hansen-—who’s been researching the effects of excess fossil fuels in our atmosphere since the 1970s—said the Keystone XL Pipeline would mean “game over” for the climate and that continued dependence on fossil fuels would be “apocalyptic” for our children. After all, the amount of carbon in our atmosphere has already reached 400 parts per million, a level unprecedented in human history. If this recent polar vortex is any indication of the changing climate patterns, maybe “apocalyptic” isn’t such an exaggeration.
What are we waiting for, fellow Badgers? Maybe 10 years ago there would’ve been some room to debate this issue, but not anymore. We re-elected a president who acknowledges climate change, but that doesn’t mean that he can fix this problem alone. Whether or not you are a fan of President Obama, there is a sort of patriotic duty our generation must take on now so that we can enjoy a healthier planet in the future, rather than one with climate so extreme that coastal cities are doomed to exist underwater (I’m talking to all you Coastie Badgers right now).
We all know that Wisconsin is not a shy place. Badgers are vocal; we have a passion for changing the world by taking on challenges that we can best overcome when we are working together. There are roughly 40,000 of us on campus, and we have the potential to redirect the conversation over climate change like never before.
First, we need to actively support the idea of the university beginning the process of divestment from fossil fuel. We shouldn’t let companies profit off of us burning their fossil fuels, especially when our faculty agrees that it is unsustainable for the environment. This is a dialogue that college campuses around the world are beginning to have, so it’s important that UW-Madison be a trendsetter and take action! Divestment would not only be a responsible decision for the environment, but it would encourage harnessing energy from renewable sources. After all, who doesn’t think solar panels, hydroelectricity and windmills are the way of the future?
Instead of believing that global warming will be the death of us, we should be excited about the potential the millennial generation has to shape the world in a much more sustainable manner that will encourage our children and our children’s children to cherish the only planet on which we can support life. We are only doomed if we sit on the sidelines and let transnational corporations determine how we obtain our energy.
Whether it be through participating in a rally to support those willing to risk arrest in order to stop the KXL Pipeline, or through supporting efforts for the University of Wisconsin- Madison to divest in fossil fuels and invest in renewable sources of energy, we can all do our part to actively address this climate crisis.
And for those trolls out there- the ones who continually choose to deny global warming—please do the planet a favor and politely “frack” off.
Should the Keystone pipeline continue construction? Is it worth the environmental risk it presents? Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
