With just one month left before Donald Trump returns to the White House, we are running out of time to lock in protections for our climate and communities. One critical action President Biden can take right now is to permanently shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
The pipeline is currently operating illegally, even as the ongoing legal battles surrounding it are reaching a critical point. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe continues to fight against corporate and state interference to protect their sacred land and the safety of surrounding communities.
In 2020, concerned citizens urged President Biden to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, and he listened. Now, we must continue to press him to take immediate action on DAPL before Trump takes office. The risk of further environmental harm and disruption to Indigenous land is too great to ignore.
President Biden must prioritize the permanent shutdown of DAPL in his final days in office. The fight for a cleaner, safer future is in our hands, and we cannot afford to miss this opportunity.
Marcelino Sepulveda
Buellton
This article appears in Year in Review 2024.
Shanti Harris’s rants remind me of the words of a poet:
Politicians and the lies
Tell me what’s the point of pickin’ sides
Tell me why I can’t get no relief
Wonderin’ when they’ll come for me
A paranoid man makes paranoid plans
I’ll do what I can, but it’s out of my hands
Strugglin’ just to find my peace