Don’t double down on dirty oil

Mni Wiconi. Water is life. That’s not a slogan, it’s a unifying principle.

On Sunday the Standing Rock Sioux, the Water Protectors, and millions of Americans across the country had their voices heard when the Obama administration refused to grant the final easement to complete the Dakota Access Pipeline, just as the people of Bismarck, N. D., had their voices heard

Pipeline project threatens safety of community

when this same dirty and dangerous pipeline threatened their city’s water supply and was rerouted to avoid it.

History shows that it’s not a question whether a pipeline will spill, but when. A comprehensive environmental review will reveal that this dirty and dangerous project would threaten the safety of any community it cuts through.

The Dakota Access Pipeline should be rejected not only because of the threat it poses to the Standing Rock Sioux’s home, history and heritage, as well as all the other communi- ties on its route; it should also be rejected because we don’t need, and can’t afford, more of this dirty fuel.

Clean, renewable energy continues to grow at an accelerating rate. Twenty cities ( including San Diego, the nation’s eighth largest) and one state ( Hawaii) are already on track to get 100% of their energy from clean sources such as wind and solar.

Last year alone, renewable energy accounted for nearly half of all new generating capacity worldwide. Battery technology for electric vehicles continues to drop in price, making them increasingly costcompetitive with gasoline-burning cars. We are poised to transform our transportation system through electrification — making this the worst time to double down on dirty fuels like fracked oil.

The Dakota Access Pipeline is a threat to our water and to public health. This, combined with the fact that America must move beyond all dirty fuels to 100% clean energy, is why the Dakota Access Pipeline must be rejected.

Water is life, and it will never mix with oil.