The California Environmental Justice Alliance stands in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux nation and all frontline communities united to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. This struggle resonates with many of our members, who are committed to fighting everyday against the Big Oil industry that pollutes our air, water, and soil, makes our families sick, and displaces us from our homes. The leadership of indigenous peoples standing their ground against Big Oil is an inspiration to the transformative possibilities of a new relationship to our land and resources.
The Dakota Access Pipeline has desecrated sacred lands, threatened worker safety, and violated the self-determination of the Standing Rock Sioux to protect their precious water and control their energy democracy. This project only perpetuates the biggest crisis of our existence — climate change. Indigenous peoples, low-income communities, communities of color, and workers are hit first and worst by the current climate crisis and are also at the forefront of the fight for a more sustainable future.
The Dakota Access Pipeline is another example of Big Oil railroading over communities of color and sovereign indigenous nations for profit. As a leading environmental justice coalition that has long combatted profit hungry energy corporations and dirty fracking policies, CEJA denounces the Dakota Access Pipeline and instead calls for just climate and energy policies and practices.
We don’t need more pipelines and we will not accept that good jobs and a healthy environment are mutually exclusive. We believe the time is now to transition off of dirty fossil fuels and invest in community-led solutions that both create good paying jobs and directly benefit the quality of life for our communities and our planet. We applaud the many labor unions working to create a new economy with good jobs and more sustainable employment opportunities for all.
CEJA demands strong and immediate action to put an end to the Dakota Access Pipeline construction and urges President Obama and the incoming President to support solutions that cut our dependence on dirty fossil fuels and invest in an equitable energy economy that benefits the communities most impacted by climate change. We stand together with all frontline communities in the struggle for dignity and respect for people and planet.
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#NoDAPL #KeepItInTheGround #WaterIsLife