ON Feb 17 I went to DC with my daughter and participated in the rally for forward thinking on climate change. It was organized by the Sierra Club
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageServer#.UToV99bvvoI and 350.org
http://350.org/
The main focus of this rally was to ask the congress and president to BLOCK Keystone pipeline, which is an environmentally dangerous project.
I always think of it as an ecological issue. However, it is also a human rights issue, which I was made aware of by the first set of speakers we heard. They were the chief of the Cree and the Ojibwe chiefs were there too, speaking about their human rights...the fact that their life is on the land of tar sands and the land where the pipeline goes through. They spoke of how since tarsands started to be extracted, the cancer rates are through the roof for the people who live in the area.
This article in daily kos speaks to the human right issues of climate change "why people of color should care about Keystone Pipeline"
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/15/1187348/-Why-People-of-Color-Should-Care-about-the-Keystone-Pipeline?fb_action_ids=10200704629036676&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582 and of course many minorities live right among the places where they extract and refine oil:
"And it gets worse. Mining tar sands oil wipes out huge swaths of forest, destroying the planet’s natural ability to fight global warming. The extraction process kills wildlife and leaves behind pools of poisoned water and sludge. High levels of arsenic, mercury, and lead have been found at Canadian tar sands sites. It’s not surprising then, that the indigenous tribes who live near these operations have spoken out about staggeringly high rates of cancer and illness in their communities. "
The ecological issue of course is that every single oil pipeline has spills. see map."
Two Decades of Spills: Since 1990, over 110 MILLION GALLONS of mostly crude and petroleum products have spilled from the nation’s mainland pipeline network. More than half of it occurred in three states — Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana — where more pipelines exist."
and that this one goes right through a massive aquifer...which provides CLEAN WATER for many US citizens: Ogallala aquifer...and Sand hills. Which just last year the environmental impact statement turned down Keystone omn the science that it would damage this BIGGEST MOST INTRICATE WETLAND IN THE UNITED STATES!!!
"
In a report (2011-11-10) on the Keystone Pipeline Project Presidential Permit Review Process, the U. S. State Department rejected TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline (Hardisty-Baker-Steele City) proposal. "[G]iven the concentration of concerns regarding the environmental sensitivities of the current proposed route through the Sand Hills area of Nebraska, the Department has determined it needs to undertake an in-depth assessment of potential alternative routes in Nebraska [...] The comments were consistent with the information in the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) about the unique combination of characteristics in the Sand Hills (which includes a high concentration of wetlands of special concern, a sensitive ecosystem, and extensive areas of very shallow groundwater) and provided additional context and information about those characteristics. The concern about the proposed route’s impact on the Sand Hills of Nebraska has increased significantly over time, and has resulted in the Nebraska legislature convening a special session to consider the issue." [8]"U.S.State Department (November 10, 2011). Media Notes on Keystone XL Pipeline Project Review Process: Decision to Seek Additional Information (Report). Retrieved March 22, 2012.
Then I read Birchbark House , which led me to become enamored with the old Ojibwe lifestyle, how intricately they were woven with and throughout nature...and how the decimation of their tribes happened through small pox , which originated by European culture and caused anhilation.
But the people exist and persist.
I found on website on information of Ojibwe for children...they had a picture of babies then and babies now in their nation...showing how they maintain some of their culture but are current too:
And this got me wondering, where do they live? where is the Ojibwe nation, and why were the native americans at the Keystone rally?
Their nation in canada is right where tar sands is...
horrifying!
The attack on indigenous people continues. I keep thinking of Omokayas and their tribes ways and the two bears and the birchbark houses and it just breaks my heart.
WE HAVE TO STOP attacking nature and native people and sacred land and so forth.
we need more green energy. we need alternative energy.
I have started an investigation of my own into what companies can i buy clothes from who have some sort of ecological and socially responsible consciousness:.jpg)
I wrote letters and received responses. http://questionsthoughtsoneducation.blogspot.com/2013/10/continuing-my-research-on-sustainable.html
