The following letter to the editor was written by Thom Krystofiak of Fairfield, Iowa.
The public comments submitted to the Iowa Utilities Board regarding the proposed Bakken oil pipeline are available online. Reviewing these, and having attended the informational meeting about the pipeline in Fairfield, I find that a pattern emerges.
Many of those who support the pipeline are either (1) supporting their own personal interests – like the union members who hope to gain some temporary but lucrative employment during pipeline construction; or (2) reporting that they have not personally been hurt by pipelines in the past – like the landowners who say that there has been a pipeline on their land for years and they themselves have not yet experienced a leak; or (3) looking for some increased tax revenue so their own taxes might go down; or (4) looking for some direct benefit from this oil (however illusory that may be).
The opponents have a very different focus. Rather than thinking about personal gain, or whether or not some other pipeline has thus far been safe on some particular acreage, or whether they will “get something out of” this development, their concern is with the welfare of all the people. They find that the pipeline poses serious risks for a large swath of the state – for the people of Iowa, and for the environment on which we depend for clean water and soil – because of the continuing history of disastrous breaks and leaks. Many are also convinced that we simply cannot keep focusing on ways to make it easier to extract ever-greater amounts of fossil fuel, given the mounting perils of climate change. Our resources should instead be channeled into renewable energy (Iowa already leads the nation in wind power), with far greater impact on our state economy.
Some things can be financially attractive in the short run but still be just no good. Sometimes it is necessary to set aside visions of immediate personal gain to protect values that are broader and more fundamental, that benefit not just ourselves but our children and future generations. This oil will flow right through Iowa and be exported to other nations. The primary beneficiaries will be the distant corporate owners of the pipeline, and the distant multinational energy companies who deal in oil. It will not help us, and it can hurt us in a number of serious ways.
Thom Krystofiak
Fairfield