Divest to Defeat DAPL

All life on this planet depends on clean water.

On December 4, Water Protectors at Standing Rock, ND, celebrated news that the Army Corps of Engineers denied the permit to drill the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) beneath the Missouri River. Soon after, Energy Transfer Partners, the corporation behind construction of DAPL, officially announced it expects to complete pipeline construction under Lake Oahe.

While the oil industry insists that pipelines are safe, between 2010 and 2015 over 3,300 incidents of over 7 million gallons of crude oil and liquefied natural gas leaks or ruptures have occurred on U.S. pipelines, leaving 80 people dead and 389 injured.

DAPL remains a threat, as does the recently approved Trans Mountain Pipeline project in British Columbia to transfer 890,000 barrels/day (37.38 million gallons) by tanker to China. Also controversial are the Trans Pecos in Texas and Sabal Trail Pipeline projects through Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, and the battle to stop Arctic oil development.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. explained the battle was “over the transition from an old energy economy to a new energy economy,” adding, “Today, wind and solar are much cheaper than traditional, old energy fuels.”

One of the most powerful actions anyone can take is to divest from the 38 banking institutions funding DAPL. Since November 25, divested funds reportedly come to over $22 million. Tell your bank to stop funding dirty oil and to shift financing toward clean renewable energy. Find out more at DeFundDAPL.org, and for information on how the Water Is Life movement affects dolphins and whales, go to peggyoki.com.