From: We Are Power Shift
Ash Lauth, The Vote Solar Initiative, Prescott College
Today we gave the smack-down. Again. And boy did it feel good. Even though we know that this is a tenous win that might be revived (again) in another insipid form, I can't even express how wonderful it feels to rub it in Big Oil's face!
The whole vote I thought about all the work we've put into this, the fact checks, the calling fouls, the protests, the blogs, the petitions, the endless hours. How again and again, we've toiled away on congress to listen to the American people instead of the corporate dollars.
Then I saw my Senator from North Dakota, John Hoeven, introduce his amendment to approve Keystone XL, and shouted (literally) with excitement when the final vote count was announced. 56 to 42. I felt joy. I felt proud. I felt the excitement of possibility. And most of all, I felt relief.
I felt relief because an issue that I deeply
care about, the Alberta Tar Sands, has been held hostage within the
cage of the DC beltway by this *@#$*^#$%*^ pipeline and Big Polluters!
The real issues have been cast aside for this tit-for-tat political
squabble fueled by dollar signs of Big Oil. Frankly, I'm just flat out
elated that (fingers corssed) we can move beyond KXL and back to the
reasons that inspire me to fight every day: the tar sands, extreme
extraction, and corporate polluters.
Booya KXL!
Now let's get back to fighting the real deal. Seriously.
KXL was adreneline shot to the heart; it was THE issue that defibrilated the self-pitious environmental movement off it's laurels and into action. Not action in a sexy Greenpeacey kind of way. Action in a holistic, robust, vibrant, substantive kind of way. You remember?
But along the way, it turned into a monster all it's own. It detached itself from the tar sands and the meaning it meant and instead became the embodiement of Big Oil vs. the people; of cronism vs. democracy; and eventually, of Republicans vs. democrats. The pipeline was, essentially, the fight for political power and election clout. And the captive it dragged along with it? The movement that had fought so hard for climate, environmental, economic, and social justice.
We have played this political game again and again and again and again. We've won every time. This is enough, and I'm tired of playing. I want to fight again.
And even if there's no guarantee that this win will last, I'm still excited. Not only do I get to see my corrupt senator's Big Oil hopes crushed, but because I can say, with the force of an entire movement who I've organized with, that We > Oil, and we are DONE with beltway bullsh**. We're going after the heart of the matter - the tar sands themselves - and we're going after the root causes - corporate polluters, dirty money, and the fossil fuel 1%. MORE
Ash Lauth, The Vote Solar Initiative, Prescott College
Today we gave the smack-down. Again. And boy did it feel good. Even though we know that this is a tenous win that might be revived (again) in another insipid form, I can't even express how wonderful it feels to rub it in Big Oil's face!
The whole vote I thought about all the work we've put into this, the fact checks, the calling fouls, the protests, the blogs, the petitions, the endless hours. How again and again, we've toiled away on congress to listen to the American people instead of the corporate dollars.
Then I saw my Senator from North Dakota, John Hoeven, introduce his amendment to approve Keystone XL, and shouted (literally) with excitement when the final vote count was announced. 56 to 42. I felt joy. I felt proud. I felt the excitement of possibility. And most of all, I felt relief.
I felt relief because an issue that I deeply
care about, the Alberta Tar Sands, has been held hostage within the
cage of the DC beltway by this *@#$*^#$%*^ pipeline and Big Polluters!
The real issues have been cast aside for this tit-for-tat political
squabble fueled by dollar signs of Big Oil. Frankly, I'm just flat out
elated that (fingers corssed) we can move beyond KXL and back to the
reasons that inspire me to fight every day: the tar sands, extreme
extraction, and corporate polluters.Booya KXL!
Now let's get back to fighting the real deal. Seriously.
KXL was adreneline shot to the heart; it was THE issue that defibrilated the self-pitious environmental movement off it's laurels and into action. Not action in a sexy Greenpeacey kind of way. Action in a holistic, robust, vibrant, substantive kind of way. You remember?
But along the way, it turned into a monster all it's own. It detached itself from the tar sands and the meaning it meant and instead became the embodiement of Big Oil vs. the people; of cronism vs. democracy; and eventually, of Republicans vs. democrats. The pipeline was, essentially, the fight for political power and election clout. And the captive it dragged along with it? The movement that had fought so hard for climate, environmental, economic, and social justice.
We have played this political game again and again and again and again. We've won every time. This is enough, and I'm tired of playing. I want to fight again.
And even if there's no guarantee that this win will last, I'm still excited. Not only do I get to see my corrupt senator's Big Oil hopes crushed, but because I can say, with the force of an entire movement who I've organized with, that We > Oil, and we are DONE with beltway bullsh**. We're going after the heart of the matter - the tar sands themselves - and we're going after the root causes - corporate polluters, dirty money, and the fossil fuel 1%. MORE
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