Ed Fallon’s Blog, January 3, 2022
We humans. We’re a mischievous bunch. When one says “don’t,” our natural response is “do.”
Thus, my thinly-disguised attempt at reverse psychology WANTS you to look up … or more, specifically, to watch Don’t Look Up.
I also want you to look down … down at the 1,600 miles of Iowa farmland that could be torn apart by two proposed CO2 pipelines. Here’s the quick-and-dirty as to why the Summit and Navigator (Valero) pipelines are wrong and wrong.
EMINENT DOMAIN. These pipelines can’t be built without forcibly taking farmers’ and landowners’ property. Much of the top leadership of both major political parties is bought-and-paid-for, but we’ve got a shot with our state legislators. If enough of their constituents are against these pipelines, lawmakers could feel compelled to take action. State lawmakers need to know that they’ll be booted out of office next fall if they don’t work to prevent eminent domain from being used for this strictly private purpose. NOW is the time to talk with them.
DAMAGE TO SOIL AND FARM INFRASTRUCTURE. As with the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), Summit and Valero, tell farmers construction won’t cause any major problems. Rubbish. Landowners I’ve talked with along the DAPL route have plenty of evidence to demonstrate otherwise.
CLIMATE CHANGE. CO2 pipelines are billed as a climate solution. They’re not. Sequestering what’s already in the atmosphere is a climate solution. Merely capturing new carbon emissions with some high-tech boondoggle isn’t going to make a dent in our climate problem — though it will make a few corporate CEOs even richer. Which brings us to …
WASTE OF TAX DOLLARS. It’s doubtful that Summit and Valero would even consider these pipelines without taxpayer handouts. An informative article from Inside Climate News points out that the Build Back Better bill (much of which is needed) “could also funnel tens of billions of dollars to fossil fuel companies and other polluters over the next two decades.”
PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY. Ask the residents of Satartia, Mississippi, what happens when a CO2 pipeline ruptures. Last fall, I spoke with Summit’s COO, Jimmy Powell, about that risk. His dismissive response was shocking. He blamed the poisoning of Satartia on hydrogen sulfide in the pipeline, saying, “We’ll have the purest form of CO2 available. You breathe CO2 every day. It’s in the air.” Yeah, right. Tell that to the 49 Satartia residents who went to the hospital, or to the 1,700 people who died from CO2 poisoning in Cameroon in 1986.
So yes, look down. Even though Iowa’s precious, life-giving soil is snow-covered, most of us know and appreciate its beauty and incomparable fertility. Pick any one of the above reasons to help Bold Iowa stop these pipelines from being built.
And when you’re done, check out Don’t Look Up. As Leonardo DiCaprio said, Don’t Look Up “held a mirror to our society and how we deal with the climate crisis, that we just let it continue and don’t take the actions that we need to take in order to survive on this planet.”
Look up. Look down. Take action. Thank you, and Happy New Year.
Ed Fallon