Utilities Board should deny the Bakken pipeline
Iowa has a proud history of leadership on controversial issues. In 1839 the Iowa Supreme Court advanced racial equality by refusing to treat a human being as property. In 2009 that court again stood for equality by ruling in the Varnum case that same-sex couples have a right to marry under the Iowa Constitution.
Iowa led the way on gender equality issues in the mid-1800s, becoming one of the first states to permit women to own property in their own names, having the first state university (University of Iowa) in the U.S. to admit women, and being the first state to permit women to practice law.
In 2008 the predominantly white Iowa caucuses laid the foundation for the first African-American to become president of the United States.
None of these positions was universally popular at the time. As we know from the aftermath of the Varnum decision, individuals sometimes paid a professional price for their courage.
Today, Iowa has another opportunity to lead, to put people before profit and polluters. That challenge is squarely on the shoulders of the three members of the Iowa Utilities Board who can, and should, refuse to grant Dakota Access, LLC a permit to bury a hazardous crude oil pipeline across our state.
We are playing a dangerous game. Global warming is real, imminent, and life-changing. Burning fossil fuels is the problem. Lack of action dramatically raises the ante with each passing year. Iowa can make a difference by pointing the way toward a healthy, sustainable future based on renewable energy. But private corporations and the 30 pieces of silver they offer in exchange for the right to foul our precious water and topsoil must first be rejected. The Iowa Utilities Board must deny the Bakken pipeline permit!