On April 18, people converged in Nebraska to speak out about the Keystone XL Pipeline at the State Department’s only public comment session. Farmers, ranchers, climat activists, and people of all stripes and colors spoke out in opposition to the pipeline.
It’s still entirely unclear if the Keystone XL pipeline can be built and managed safely. Moreover, its construction would delay the critical conversion to a non-fossil fuel based economy on which our future depends. Secretary of State John Kerry, who once spoke out bravely against the Vietnam War and who has stressed the dangers of climate change, could stop it. Sometime soon, the State Department will issue a final environmental impact statement on the pipeline, followed by a determination on whether it is “in the national interest.”