jesse's lobbying idea

What I am lobbying for is a stricter curfew instead of increasing in fines. Jail time should occur for repeating offenders who break this law. For example A first violation of Philadelphia's curfew law will result in the imposition of a $250 fine and/or community service. Parents are held responsible for the actions of their teens.  The fine for the first offense of breaking curfew is $300 and up to $500 for the second offense.

People who support the curfew would be all adults for example Polices, City Council, Mayor, Parents and many other adults out there.

People who don’t support the curfew is teens who think they can disobey rules when being told.

 



According to love to know.com/ facts about teenager curfewsOf the 72 cities that have daytime curfews, all showed a drop in truancy and daytime burglaries.

The motivation for me choosing the Curfew policy for teens was because this has been a re- occurring issue that is always talked about on the news day and day out. Teens still disobey the rules no matter what is said to them.  The majority of teens have a no care attitude and that they would do anything that they want to do in life


resources:

http://www.legalinfo360.com/2011/08/teens-arrested-breaking-new-philadelphia-curfew-law/

 

 

http://teens.lovetoknow.com/Facts_About_Teenagers_Curfews
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Lobbying Against Curfew

I am lobbying about the new curfew. The only reason why I don't like it it because some teens work. And the curfew is a push because no one wants to be stopped, thinking that they're doing something wrong, or to get a fine just because you're on your way home from work. 

It's not really directed to be because I don't work, but I am in the process of looking for a job, and I'm thinking ahead on these type of issues when I start working. My motivation is always thinking of what if I was stopped, accused of being a flashmobber. It is basically why the curfew was made in the first place. But maybe that isn't the only reason. I need to research what(else) started the new curfew, who, why, and how would the government think it'll last. 

I am speaking for teens that work until their curfew time, and directing this towards the government. Well, the curfew law was set on September 22, 2011. But what I would like to see is the government come up with a way to check those teens that work, because no teen would want to be accused of doing something else. Its kind of like, they made the law but don't know what trouble is caused afterwards. It isn't really trouble, but it's just little conflicts that can start up. And little conflicts, can turn into huge ones.

Rail Funding Lobbying - Blog 1

​For this quarter's American Government assignment, I will be lobbying in support of federal rail funding. Since the 1970s, the National Railroad Passenger Coprospration (commonly known as Amtrak) was founded to operatate the nation's failing railroads under a federal subsidy. Since then, American dependence on railroads has quickly grown. From the rural routes in the Midwest, to the heavily-traveled Northeast Corridor, passengers use Amtrak as a green alternative to other forms of travel. With a growing need and want for high speed infrastructure in the United States, federal funding needs to offset some of the high costs needed to invest in a brighter future for American travel. As one who frequents Amtrak and worked as an intern in their engineering department, I am aware of the high costs required to fulfill the growing need for high speed rail.

Current legislation ensures that Amtrak receives funding, through the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970. However, many leaders in the Republican party suggest that Amtrak funding should decrease, if not stop, due to the current American budget crisis. Many Democrats feel as through the funding should continue, as it provides a green alternative to modern train travel. In the coming time, I would like to see some of the federal budget changed such that money from environmental advancements and highway maintenance programs are spent on the creation and service of a true high speed rail network throughout the United States (which would serve the goals and interests of all three departments).

External Resources

Overview of Amtrak and Possible Privatization: http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/Research/pirp.pdf

C-SPAN Congressional Amtrak Subsidy Re-Evaluation: http://www.c-span.org/Events/Congress-Evaluates-Amtrak-Funding/10737420766/

National Association of Rail Passengers - Possible Cuts to Funding: http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/narpblog/more/amtrak_threatened_with_shutdown_budget/

Information about Current Subsidies: http://subsidyscope.org/transportation/direct-expenditures/amtrak/analysis/

Lobbying Against Curfew In Philadelphia

I am lobbying against and to change the curfew for minors in Center City and University City, Philadelphia during the weekends. In August 2011 Michael Nutter (mayor) enacted a curfew for every child under 18. The curfew restricts any one under 18 from being in the Center City, University City regions of Philadelphia after 9pm. If any minor is found in either region after 9pm they will be apprehended until parents pick them up. This curfew was enacted after several incidents involving “Flash Mobs” in Philadelphia.  Mayor Nutter refers to any one participating in the flash mom as “a tiny minority of ignorant, reckless fools.” (http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/08/01/nutters-office-condemns-violent-flash-mob-promises-response/).

         My reasoning form lobbying against the curfew for minors because I am a minor. I like to go out with my friends on the weekends in center city and go to restaurants. Or just get ice cream at scoop devils. But with the new curfew that make it impossible. I work on the weekends as well and I normally don’t get off until 6. SO when I get to center city its about 9. And I just don think its fair for everyone to suffer because of one group of people. And the main supporters lobbying this change in curfew such as Mayor Nutter, and parents of children in Philadelphia don’t understand the need to for kids to go out and enjoy their selves.  They don’t look at the new curfew from a child’s point of view. We feel as though all of our freedom is being taken away.

         Although it is said that the curfew is not permanent I feel as though soon it will because nothing is being done to change the curfew. I do suggest that instead of taking the curfew completely away we raise the time limit for older teens.

 

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Lobbying Blog #1: Fracking

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 In the past few years, people have discovered a wealth of natural gas in the shale, which reaches across Pennsylvania to New York, Ohio and West Virginia. Pennsylvania saw this as an opportunity to make money and let Oil Companies perform Hydraulic Fracturing with loosened restrictions on safety. While this is providing jobs across Pennsylvania, many people are becoming sick and finding that they are unable to drink their tap water.

For my lobbying project, I have chosen to lobby against the Hydraulic Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale. Specifically, I would like to see our government in Pennsylvania begin to tighten the restrictions on the Oil Companies and force them to reveal what harmful chemicals they put in the water used in the process. This would be helpful for, not only the citizens who have these chemicals in their water, but workers at water treatment plants who are finding that they don't have enough technology to fix the water that comes to them. This is what I want Governor Corbett to do. 

Many groups are asking for the same thing I am. My dad receives numerous emails asking him to sign petitions against fracking. Groups such as the Environmental Protection Agency, who are doing their best to study the effects of Fracking on local rivers. See Epa's Work HERE. Another group, Protecting Our Waters, is organizing protests and mass call-ins to the Governor. A link to their website can be found HERE

However, there are other groups that have high stakes in the Oil Companies and are doing everything they can to keep Fracking as it is now. Big Oil Companies like Cabot Oil and Gas say on their website "345, 000 people employed" and "Landowners paid 30 billion in royalties". But, after snooping around on their website, I found that they aren't as friendly and helpful as they seem. In one of their documents they say that they will gladly screen your tap water upon request however, they will not help you understand your results nor do they say much to how they would fix any damage. The other problem with the opposers of my lobby is that they are involved in the government. In one article it says that Governor Corbett gave authority over Fracking to Walker who was once a CEO of an energy company and owns several trucking businesses (Fracking requires A LOT of trucks). To see this article click HERE

Recently, Governor Corbett did respond to the pleas of lobbyers like myself, he ammended the Gas Act, which would require companies to provide detailed plans on the impacts of every well they make for fracking. This Act can be found HERE.

While I think this is a big step, I still believe we need to act more harshly to radically change the way these companies are running.
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Lobbying: Healthier School Lunches

Obesity is a problem everywhere in the US, and it's everybody's problem.  According to a study, said the Society of Actuaries in a press release, the economic cost of obesity to the US is about $270 billion a year.  This is an appallingly high price we pay as a country for something as preventable as obesity.

Few groups are at higher risk for obesity than Philadelphia children of low socioeconomic status, of which an estimated 51% are obese.  Much of the obesity problem among Philadelphia's low-SES kids comes from the fact that they live in food deserts, or areas in which healthy, affordable food is hard to come by.  The USDA's handy Food Desert Locator shows various food deserts along the Schuylkill, and a large one in northeast-most Philadelphia.

The first step to lowering this number seems obvious to me: provide Philly's low-SES children with healthier food by having public schools serve more nutritious, less fattening lunches.  I'm certainly not alone in my thinking.  Michelle Obama's highly publicized "Let's Move!" campaign seeks to lower child obesity rates by providing access to healthy food for all families and helping children become more physically active.  In December of 2010, President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act into law, authorizing funding to increase low-SES kids' access to healthy food.  The Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project seeks to implement science-based guidelines for food and drinks sold in schools, as well as more rigorous food safety guidelines, and ensure that schools have the resources to train cafeteria workers and provide necessary equipment.

The most outspoken opponent of these anti-obesity efforts is probably My Food. My Choice!, which argues that the government is overstepping its boundaries by trying to control what people eat.  The group was founded by conservative columnist Orit Sklar, who gained notoriety after suing Georgia Tech for the right to verbally harass gay students.  Mayor Nutter also proposed a two-cents-an-ounce soda tax as a way to reduce soda consumption among Philadelphia children, as well as bring in an estimated $77 million.  However, after much lobbying by the American Beverage Association, the measure was rejected by the city council.

I think that My Food. My Choice! has a valid concern, but they feel more threatened than they should.  It seems to me that they've misinterpreted trying to help people get access to healthier food as trying to cut off access to unhealthier food.  The current obesity epidemic is a serious threat to our country, and arguing about what counts as the government infringing on our right to exercise dangerous habits will only prevent us from giving help to those who need it most.

Pipeline Monologue Project- Jeffrey Schwartz

The purpose of this project was to fully express the pros and cons of the tar sands oil project, in a way that show you know what you’re talking about and in a descriptive story format. Also it is important to show the US or global priorities and the relationship between humans and the environment.

 

MONOLOUGE 1

( I am writing on a small piece of paper speaking what I am writing.) (Left arm is holding paper does not move throughout monologue.) Jack! Watch out!” The last words I heard before the ground crumbled from under me. It gave way with no resistance at all. I plunged weightless into a dark hole. My hands scraped against the wall of the cave as I fell. I could feel myself tumbling down and incline fast. The light above me became smaller and smaller. I could here the yells of my friends become fainter. Rocks continued to drive themselves into the back of my head.(switch to other side of business card) I tried to extend my arm to slow down my fall, up to my shoulder was quickly caught in a deep rock formation. I heard a loud crack as my arm bent against my elbow.(Cringe slightly) It became limp.( Arm is still at side not moving) The excruciating pain pumped me with adrenaline, and I pulled on my arm. I could barely remove it from the hole. How would I get out?

(take out new business card)

Journal entry #2

I tried to make a makeshift splint out of an old Forbes magazine I had in my back pocket. I had to tie my belt to it, hard. My bones moved around as the cast slipped and belt broke. A red-hot spike wedged itself into my arm with every clench of my hand.  And every time I did that my grip tightened. So far I have been able to drink from a slow refilling puddle. It has been pretty bad. (Look to right as if staring at mud puddle) I have no idea if this pipeline will be worth it. 900,000 barrels of oil a day sounds pretty nice, but if there’s a leak all hell would break loose. Maybe that would happen I don’t know. But just before I fell into this hole I worked with the steel to build the pipe. It’s weak stuff, brittle and bendy. They say it would be like the BP oil spill but on land, if it did leak. Also I hear it’s going over this real important fresh water source for like two million people. Even so, I guess I need this to be built. I need money and a job hasn’t been the easiest thing to get recently. I watched the news and they said that around 4000 jobs would be created just to build the pipeline. I need that now. I don’t know if anyone would find these last notes but I just wish they know how I’m going to end.

            Journal entry #3

(Pretending to right on a business card) I’m down to my last business card to right on. And my pen dots each letter with its remaining ink.(Shake pen as if you need more ink.) I was lying there using a boulder on my lower back to boost my posture; maybe it would make me more comfortable. They told us that this would help America. Raising the economy, and all that. Only a simple pipe, traveling from Canada to Texas to make this dream come true. “yea right,” I thought, “Only!” Only doesn’t fix my arm or help me out of this cave. Only won’t make the lives of countless Americans livable and fulfilling, just because they got more oil. I never thought like this. But now I think I see how important it really is.

 

 

 

MONOLOUGE 2

( Reading his thoughts aloud)

“What do you think I’m doing? Where’s my suit, is it ironed? Wait in the car!” I looked in the mirror. My suit, not ironed, was wrinkled and blue. (Gingerly touching the suit trying to manually straighten the bends.) My suave slick hair became streamlined with every comb stroke. (slowly combing hair) My black and striped suit matched it.

I needed this win. How couldn’t I get it? I’m sure everyone is “ok” with a few more billion dollars floating around. (Chuckle)  One would put me ahead. I know how much I need this, how much America needed this. Common all it takes is a narrow pipeline from Canada to Texas, quick and easy. No harm done. I laughed (chuckle some) at my sure to work plan, while knotting my tie. (Knot tie) I picked up my jacket slung it over my shoulder and made my way out the door. (My smile drooped) with the sight of my wife. An early fight scarred this evening. I tried to forget about it.

(I poured a sip of celebratory wine, loosened my tie and kicked off my shoes.) I took control from my legs and they placed me on the bed. Blood gushed to my feet, hurting them more. (Squeeze and hold feet, as if in pain) I had won. They accepted the pipeline; with a 64% approval I was all-powerful.

Being the general manager of soon to be the biggest and most important company in the world made me think. Was it all worth it? Did America need more oil, supplies, and money? 900,000 barrels a day would be great! What am I thinking of course we needed it? All it is, is just a practical incision here or over a unused lake there. Now were talking! I was on my way. On my way to becoming the most powerful man in the world!

 

 

 

MONLOUGE 3

(Bent over somewhat crazy looking, very angry) (Man is talking to himself)

“Practical I’ll show them practical.” (Rubbing hand together as if plotting) “I’ll just go there now and tie myself to a tree. That’ll show ‘em. Of course it is dangerous, but what choice did I have?” (Has a sadder look now, not hunched over anymore) “If the only thing in my way was that dreadful Politian with his greased hair and posture, then I was gonna do it. (Angered face returns) I was going to stop the Tar sands pipeline by myself. I don’t need any help I never have.” (starts to smile) “Honey, where are those chains I bought last week?”

(Wife answers back, that she has no idea.) (Man becomes furious wheezing and yelling.) (Speaking to himself again.) “After all I’ve done for her, after all we’ve been through, she can’t keep an eye on my chains! It’s ok ill go alone, she doesn’t deserve me!”

(In Canada where the pipeline will begin.)

(Construction worker is trying to get crazy man down from the tree. Crazy man is responding to construction worker.) “ Don’t you think I know it will create jobs? Yes, thousands! But protecting the environment is vastly more important. They built a pipeline just like this and said it would only leak one time in the next seven, already it has leaked over 12 times! I know that your just a construction worker but you have to understand how important this really is. I don’t care if your doing your job I’m not leaving this spot!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eiB56Hrjio



 

Lobbying: Safe Chemicals Act (blog post 1)

When I first started to brainstorm topics to lobby, I wanted to focus on environmental protection. Ever since my trip to the Dominican Republic, I have been interested in this issue. I started to look at statistics about Philadelphia's environmental protection policies, as compared to those of other cities. To my surprise, I found that Philadelphia is actually doing a good job, and is also steadily improving. Mayor Nutter even has a website dedicated to his Greenworks Philadelphia plan. At first, I thought I would move up to state level, and focus on Pennsylvania's plentiful environmental policy issues. I considered talking about fracking, but many other students in my class were already focused on that issue.

In the end, my topic found me: I was reading Scientific American, and spotted a brief article about the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 (PDF here), a bill that would act to control the dangerous chemicals that so often show up in everyday items. The act, introduced by Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, would give the Environmental Protection Agency more freedom – and responsibility – to test and regulate chemicals. Currently, under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, the EPA has little power over industry's use of chemicals.

As I researched the Safe Chemicals Act, I found a group, Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, which strongly supports the bill. The describe themselves as "a nationwide effort to pass smart federal policies that protect us from toxic chemicals". They are pushing hard for reform on the Toxic Substance Control Act, and think that the proposed Safe Chemicals Act would be a major improvement. They want to "hold industry responsible for the safety of their chemicals and products".

The American Chemistry Council is perhaps less enthusiastic, but not against the bill. According to a statement by President and CEO Cal Dooley, the ACC is "strongly aligned on the need to modernize the 35-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act." However, they believe that Lautenberg's proposal "contained provisions that would not have produced the benefits intended by its authors" and "could put American innovation and jobs at risk."

I believe that the Safe Chemicals Act would be a step forward. According to the article in Scientific American, "even extremely low levels of some environmental contaminants may have significant damaging effects on our bodies." This is a serious risk, and I believe that the health and safety of all citizens should be a high priority for the government.

Pipeline Monologue Project

Intro Paragraph: My goals in writing these monologues. Is to show how many views there are. Whether you are for or against the pipeline. I wanted to show all the different emotions of this situation, sadness, anxiety, rage, regret, confidence and many more. I want to show the government how much they are hurting their citizens.

 

Monologue #1: Are You Serious

Setting: outside of her house, showing the factories. In her hand is  

      I’ll tell you how hard it’s been to live here. My community has had illnesses like throat cancer, if they build the pipelines, what’s going to happen? When did they start building factories? They’ve been making different factories across the street from my house ever since I was in kindergarten. This isn’t worth losing more people. I would come home and smell this horrible smell that was deadly. Money is going to be wasted. They need to make wiser choices.  We have all these different factories that’s causing odors. I think about the pipeline situation from time to time and people will have jobs if we have pipelines. But while the pipelines are being made it’s damaging, and causing problems.

      What’s your final answer about this situation, should this happen or not? Do you see this newspaper in my hand? Almost every time I read the news it doesn’t say specifically if Obama is going to let this happen, and once he makes up his mind. Once 6 months pass, with change or no change, then I’ll make up my mind, but for right now I’m not too sure. This situation is bittersweet, it’s going to help people out financially because people will be provided jobs but then again they’re going to be wasting billions of dollars.

 

Monologue #2: Will This Be The Right Choice?

       

Setting: At school taking a test.

 

     Here I am twirling my lucky pencil in my hand, and holding a test in front of my face not rushing to do my test to be the first person to be finished but I’m…wondering… Re-playing the whole phone call I had with my dad yesterday

He said though I’m an a little young to really rap my head around the situation

He has to decide weather he should deny the permit for the oil Pipelines or not.

Pipelines – Transports goods through a pipe.

He also told me that people would be given jobs, if the pipeline happens.

Will my dad make the right choice?

     I know I’m only ten years old, and have no say in weather we should resume with pipelines or not… But I think that my father should pass it. People will be provided jobs, right? That would be great, because people have been getting laid for the past 3 years.  

     I did some research after talking to my dad…and it said that a pipeline is a network that delivers the nations crude oil such as gasoline, jet fuel and home heating oil, is that good or bad?

Will that be hurting the environment or improving the environment.

 

Will he make the right choice?

 

 

 

Monologue #3: It’s all about the workers and to heck with the Environment, I need a job!

 

 Setting: At the site of one of the pipelines. Getting interviewed

       Honestly I think that they need to pass this, I need a job, this will be providing for hundreds of unemployed people at the moment.  Even If it’s going to be polluting the earth. Right about now we need, no I NEED a job. For the past years thousands of people have been unemployed – I’ve been unemployed. And right here these pipelines are jobs that will be able to give to the thousands of people who are unemployed.  Are you trying say that the only thing that you care about right now is yourself? No, not exactly, I’m just saying that we’ve started with the pipeline and the construction and all of a sudden we had to stop, no money is flowing through! Obama wants a solution for these unemployed citizens and its right in front of our faces! So close that I can - we can all taste it. We will be one step closer to have a better economy, not environmentally. I’m all for the environment, but I’m ready to sacrifice this environment so I can have a job.

 If you already had a job, and was asked about the Pipeline situation, what would you say?

     To be honest I would be on the side to try to save the environment, because

if this happens, its hurting Mother Nature. These Pipelines aren’t healthy for this environment. But I need to provide for family-my children…

 

Monologue #4: You're So Greedy

*The goddess of the earth says this with a lot of passion and a little bit of rage.

I give and give and give! All I get in return is this crappy piece of nothingness. (these 2 sentences are said with a bunch of rage) Yes, I am a goddess but there is only so much that I can do. In the beginning it was ok. People respected my earth because they really acknowledged that it was all they had to survive.(Happiness/calm in these 2) All of a sudden my guests got extremely greedy and started destroying my work. Cutting down my beautiful forests, polluting my oceans, taking more than what is needed and killing my master pieces of animals.(anger and rage) I did a pretty good job making this little sphere of joy, but maybe I didn’t do such a good job of protecting it. That is going to change soon.

Then the government thinks there all tall and mighty and decides to ruin the last of my work with a pipeline that goes from Canada to Texas. In this pipeline there will be nasty black, gooey and just unclean oil. It is all about the money to you people. What are you going to do if you have nothing else left? Oh, that’s right you are going to die. The “Bad Guys” say “It will be good for the economy and we will be able to live better lives.” DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING! I made this earth to the best of my ability and you the greedy ones are destroying it.

Now you’re scared because I am finally taking a stand and getting angry. All of these natural disasters, all of the people dying are your doing. I am just showing you what you have been doing this entire time. I have tried to be understanding and loving, but there only so much that I can take. I demand respect! My earth needs to be respected!

Not only have you betrayed me by making this decision, you have betrayed all of the earth. For billions of years the Earth that has hosted you on this planet. You do have a chance to make it better. The first step is to not make this pipeline that will destroy what you have left of your world. I now leave it in your hands to make this huge decision. Hope you make the right one.

 

Monologue # 5

*A man in a jail sell regrets his decision for standing up for what is right. He is anxious and debating weather or not he made the right choice protesting.

         Why did this happen to me? Why did I make such a bad decision. I have 2 kids and a wife at home I need to take care of. Right now they think i am on a business trip in Los Angeles. What is my wife going to say when she find out where I actually am. I am the man of the house I need to bring home the bacon for my family. I want to say I was being selfish but I am really just trying to protect my home. I grew up in South Dakota 2blocks from where they are going to rip up the earth and place that monstrous pipeline. All of my childhood memories will be destroyed. Where will my parents go? They are to old to handle this type of change.

This jail cell is so cold and damp. I am going to ruin my good work clothes. I didn’t know I was going to be arrested. I just wanted to do the right thing and defend our mother earth. Bad decisions, after bad decisions. Money in my family is really tight because of the economy. Now my family has to pay bail for me to get out. I don’t even want to tell them, I am scared that they will not trust me any more. I wasn’t thinking straight, I didn’t think about the consequences of protesting. Will i loose my job? How will this affect my reputation? I really hope that I am setting a good example for my kids. I don’t want them to end up like this. In a 6 by 6, cold, dirty and damp space regretting a decision that was made.

When I think about it i think I am being selfish, but also standing up in what I believe in and protecting my family. When my grand kids are born I want them to have a world to live in that isn’t a piece of crap. My generation and generations before have ruined our future generations home. I feel bad that they have to clean up our mess. Maybe I did do the right thing and my family will understand that I was fighting for them.


 

Pipeline Monologue Project by Ryan Shaw

​This monologue Project has taught me a lot. Not just about the environment, but also about acting, and monologues. They are hard to write, but only because Mr. Block pushes you to strive. In my monologues, I wanted to show what could happen, and that's why all of them are in the future. The first one is the President of the United States in the year 2059. The next one is a young man with respiratory problems, where he can't leave his home because the air is so polluted. The final man, is a historian, that is giving a lecture at a college about Obama's decision. My goal was to directly show how the future could be affected by his plan, but to show that it's because of our hunger for petroleum that's doing it, and that the pipeline is just a way to get it to us.

"An Address to a Dying Nation."

The president of the United States sits down to address the nation, in 2059, live, on national Television, in a dark, smoggy picture of New York, New York in the background.


Nation, I’m here tonight to talk about the increasing risk of natural disasters in our nation. In this year of 2059, I think it’s possible for everyone to sit down and have a serious discussion with the rest of your family about what they can do to help the environment. The carbon level is over 400, and if we don’t get it down soon... then there won’t be a nation to save. The water levels have swallowed the entire state of Florida. The evacuations helped, but there were those who stayed. Millions dead, San Fransisco is in the worst flood in the history of the US with every rainstorm with Atlanta following suit. While the coasts are flooding, the plains are having the worst drought in years. In a few locations, there has been recorded less water than most deserts. Hawaii is wiped off of our maps, leaving millions dead. The Earth that we so love, has turned against us. Our days of taking oil in any from her is over. The United States of America could’ve avoided this had it not been for the permission of major oil companies from the previous presidents to drill, and to import oil. Our world is suffering because of us, our ancestors, and our leaders’ mistakes. Please, America, do whatever you can to help the environment and stop these disasters. From the United States President, signing off. God Bless America. 

Camera Clicks and reporters asking questions as President John Jacob Jinglehimer-Schmidt exits the room.



"The Result"


In a hospital bed, a young boy is breathing from oxygen, and he has to take frequent breaths while speaking. (in the future)

All of my life, I’ve been here, in this hospital.
Takes a deep breath.
Ever since I was born, I’ve had a resipiratory disease. I can’t breathe the air outside.
Takes a deep breath.
The air outside is so bad now. Maybe-
Takes a deep breath.
Maybe I could’ve been able to breathe, years ago, when the air wasn’t so bad.
Takes a deep breath.
But now, now the air is horrible. I’ve only been outside once.
Takes a deep breath.
I had to take a tank of oxygen, and I could only visit the hospital garden before I had to go back inside.
Coughs multiple times before he calms down and relaxes.
It was beautiful. The Garden. I’ve seen pictures of the rest  of the world though.
Takes a deep breath.
It’s so smoggy. The world might’ve been a better place had we made better decisions.
Takes a deep breath.
It’s just so unfair!
looks over at the oxygen tank.
I have to breathe with this stupid tank all of my life while the other kids get to run around and have fun!
Breathing becomes more rapid.
Why am I paying for someone else’s mistake?!
Takes a deep breath.
I could’ve lived a normal life, but no! I had to be stuck in this hospital all of my life, paying for people before me’s mistakes!
Breathing becomes extremely rapid, before fainting from lack of oxygen.

World History Keystone XL monologue project

    The purpose of these monologues was to illustrate different viewpoints on the construction and use of the Keystone XL Pipeline. While on the surface there seem to be only two sides of the argument, it’s actually a much more complex issue. The First Monologue is meant to depict the point of view of an opposing company, who would want the profit for themselves. but for the sake of public relations probably wouldn’t want to say so out right. The Second Monologue is from my own point of view, your average teenager’s ideas about the pipeline and what it means for my generation’s future. The third is from the point of view of an investor in BP, and is meant to depict a purely economic viewpoint, or what this might mean for certain individuals.

Monologue 1:

As the C.E.O of Green Gas Enterprises.

Dear Mr. Obama,

 

I think that the tar sands of Canada are undoubtedly one of the most reliable energy sources known to man, however we at Green Gas Inc. strongly protest that Exxon Mobile and TransCanada are given any access to it. Doing this would be both economical and environmental suicide. Exxon mobile would have us believe that this oil will save our country’s economy, but the reality is it would give them a near monopoly on the country’s oil market. If one corporation is given that much power it’s very possible that they could take a lot of the government’s power.

Aside from that, TransCanada, their partner company has already pushed to violate standard safety laws. We feel if we had access to this oil we would handle the oil with better environmental practices as well as distribute the benefits among oil companies. We also would be able to transport the oil using cheaper and safer methods by running a pipeline down to Montana, the second largest oil production state, shortening the pipeline by about half a country. This not only reduces the cost but also lessens the chance of leakage along the pipeline. Furthermore the jobs that Exxon and trans Canada would provide wouldn’t last more than a year or two except for a few hundred high requirement jobs only available to a certain set of highly qualified individuals. We however can hire a regular staff of day-to-day maintenance workers. Please act now and give Green Gas Inc. the rights to the Keystone XL Pipeline.

 

Thank you for your time,

 

 

Howie Thrive

C.E.O., Green Gas Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monologue 2:

 

Writing as: Myself

9/23/11

Dear diary,

            This week in world history we’re learning about the Keystone XL Pipeline, which is a giant pipeline that will run all the way from Canada to Texas, transporting billions of gallons of oil per day. The oil in the tar sands of Canada, and getting it out involves pouring thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, making it borderline toxic. TransCanada, the company responsible for building the pipeline, seems to be openly corrupt. There are allegations that the engineers who built the pipeline tried to violate the safety regulations for the minimum thickness and maximum pump pressure. There’s also the risk of spills, since the pipelines run through several peoples’ homes and through several natural parks and reserves. The forests it goes through are very remote so if a leak occurred somewhere along the pipeline it could be days before anyone found out.  I strongly doubt they will take the appropriate safety measures to prevent this. On top of that Exxon Mobile is literally the wealthiest oil company in the world, so if they are given this opportunity it would generate a huge imbalance in the world’s economy. We may be forced into a dystopia, where giant corporations like Exxon Mobile have the final say on everything. Personally I would love to be out there with the protesters right now, but that kind of thing takes time that I don’t have. 

 

 

 

Monologue 3:

 

Written as: an Exxon shareholder:

 

[Wakes up in bed to phone ringing, reluctantly answers phone]

            H’lo?

[Pause]

            Exxon what now?

 [Pause]

A pipeline?

[Pause]

             How much oil are we talking?

[Pause]

[Sits up in bed and starts smiling]

 Well yea I want you to buy more shares, do you know how much profit they can make off that? It’ll boost at least a hundred dollars or so per share. Who else knows about this? Have you told the rest of the Firm?

[Pause]

Well people against it aren’t exactly gonna invest now are they?

[Pause]

             Just wait until this gets to the presses, Wall Street’s gonna go crazy. Hell if this all works out we could retire early!

[pause]

What?

[Pause]

Drawbacks? What are they? How could there be drawbacks to something like…

 [Pause]

             Leaks? They can’t just patch it if that happens?

[Pause]

That’s just ridiculous, 50,000 gallons per hour?

[Pause]

[Stands up slowly and begins to pace.]

Ok here’s what we’ll do. We’ll wait till the pipeline is running, then about a month in pull EVERYTHING out of the market before something bad happens. And I mean hell if something bad does happen its not like Exxon is gonna go outta business, if we sell our shares, and then something happens we can re buy them at a lower price. In fact its probably better for our sake if something does happen.

[Pause]

All right, you inform the rest of the firm and I’ll look into this more. I’ll call you back at 2 o’clock.

 

 

Written by Cameron Klales

Pipeline Monologue Project

The purpose of these monologues were to illustrate different point of views of the pros and cons about the Keystone XL Pipeline. Mr. Block had assigned 3 monologues and my point of view was from a Protestor, Police Officer, and a Farmer. These people will tell you what they think about the Keystone XL pipeline project. 

​Voice of a Protestor

From a long day at work, I sat down in my comfy couch and turned on the television to see what was on to watch. Flipping through channel to channel, the news had reported an impact and issues about the pipeline.  My name is Stephanie Zhu. I live in Canada and I am thoroughly against this pipeline situation. There are many reasons why I’m against Keystone XL pipeline.  Canada has been one of the biggest and most supplier of oil, exporting two millions barrels per day. United States has been using Canadian Tar Sands oil and the more oil that is being exported, the harder it is to find. The oil in Canada is made from Bitumen which is really expensive, and yet we have been receiving dirty and cheap stuff, which isn’t the best thing we could have here.This is where the protests had begun. I drove all the way from Canada to the White House to support the rest of the protestors about this pipeline tragedy. There were hundreds and thousands of people rising above one another outside the White House protesting about the KeyStone XL pipeline project. I was there too, and got arrested.

 “Nothing isn’t going to change my mind, officer.” 

I hesitated. I chose to be locked up. know it was illegal to protests outside the White House, but I was just trying to help others support this oil situation.
The officer pulled my hands together behind my back, handcuffed me, and threw me in the car.


Pipeline Point of View from Officer Berkle William 

Hi, I’m Berkle William and I’m an officer who have yet involved in this protesting tragedy. 

(Gripping his hands together as he speaks)


 I’ve been out here all day arresting more than two hundreds people who has been standing outside of this White house protesting about the KeyStone XL Pipeline. I don’t get why these people are here trying to wait for Obama and other people in the White House to accept their words? Why here though? They’re making my job even harder. It’s even more difficult when I tried to convinced all the protestors to go back to their place. There were two options for them, two options for all the protestors to choose. Either vacate from this property or lock up. They all hesitated and decided to go for the jail house. I then realized this isn’t a game for them, they were all serious about this project. This is horrible. I have to come out here and handcuffs hundreds of people on something I am totally not against disagreeing about.There’s nothing that I can do about it. The president can’t just sit still and ignore this, he needs to do something about it. What’s even worse? Having to hear the protestors scream and yell all over the place. It’s like a nightmare. Hopefully, this tragedy will be situated. I’m tired from all this complaining. Please, do something about this.

 (Hand motions gesturing; speaking in an aggressive tone) 

Point of view from a Farmer Mary Jane 


Hi, my name is Mary Jane and I’m a farmer of my own farmland in Zionsville, Canada.

There has been major issues occurring in the farmland for the past few months, and it relates to the Keystone XL pipeline. I didn’t know it was happening, but many companies had canceled their order from exporting my products. I was very concerned to why this is happening. From then on, I’ve been observing the farmland day by day, and there were just many crops and produce that weren’t in good condition. I find it really strange until I read the news paper and found out about the Keystone XL Pipeline project. I want this pipeline situation to stop. It can’t be happening. The chemical of cheap and dirty stuff from the pipeline is affecting the produce and the business . Not only that, but it affect the family. We have been working hard; sweating from our head to toes each day. I’m very disappointed  and it really upsets me when this had happened to our family farmland. If the business is down, I can’t afford to fix this. I wanted to know more about this Pipeline, so I then searched up on the internet to see some updates on this tragedy and how might this problem be solved

[Sits in her office desk in an aggressive mood and read through each pages of the Pipeline stories. ] [sighed in relief as she scrolled from pages to pages]

There must be a way out, but I have to get this problem situated or else the business will go out of luck.

Pipeline Monologues Projects

This project started off with us watching a video called 'The Story of Stuff.' The video was about the journey of how we get our materials that we use for a normal day. Then, we learned about a company called TransCanada, and about their new project. They are planning to make a series of pipelines from Alberta, Canada all the way to Texas. The pipelines would carry crude oil from Canada to different refineries in the midwest and to refineries in Texas. The project is called Keystone XL Pipeline. 

We read about different point of views of what people think about the pipeline, and then we were suppose to write three different monologues from a person/thing/animal affected by the pipelines. I picked to be a Native American, a protester (against the pipelines), and a bobcat (living in the area). I wanted to take point of views that don't really get to express their opinions. The Native Americans can protest but, nobody will actually listen to them. The protester is locked up for protesting and nobody actually will sit down to talk to them. Finally, I picked a bobcat because the people who started to project didn't care about the wildlife, they just acted like they did to please the public. I want people to know from all the research how these mammals would feel and what they have to worry about because of this pipeline project. These monologues are how I think they would feel. I hope for everyone who reads to understand and look at their point of view because they matter too. 


Monologues


Rally For The Cause

Makya Sparrow, the best hunter of the whole tribe, stepped up to the stage. She had something important to say and she wasn’t holding it back. Everybody has been thinking about it, she is going to say it. Makya grabs the microphone.

I’ve never seen anything more disrespectful than this. Why can’t they just leave us alone? They already forced us onto this reservation. The reservation isn’t even a place of high quality, we are forced to use horribly built houses, use food stamps, and there are barely any jobs. Now, they want to build pipelines through our sacred land! This is the land where we buried our ancestors, laid them to peace! Building these pipelines mean they are going to have to bury them up our people.

With every word, Mayka tightens her grip on the microphone.

Every time, they find something new here. They just want to take and take. We can’t just stand here and not do anything! We have to stand up for ourselves! We have to go to Washington D.C and show them they we can protest and stand up for our rights. We have to show them that no matter what they take from us, we will always have our pride.

We have to show them they can’t take our land again! They can’t contaminate our water with their crude oil. We don’t pollute the atmosphere; they don’t give us enough supplies to even try!

Why do we have to suffer for their mistakes? We shouldn’t have to! TransCanada say that we will be able to work in these factories and refineries that they will have. They say they will keep us updated about what it going on with the pipeline. But, we know from experience they won’t. I learned that there were 12 spills in 1 year for one of the TransCanada pipelines! We can’t let that happen to us.

Come my people. Let’s move from the rocks and hills of the reservation. We need to make our way to Washington D.C and stand up for our land.

WHO IS WITH ME? 

Makya thrusts the microphone in the air. 

Stand Tall

Alice Hall just got arrested for protesting in front of the White House. She gets into the jail and a police officer takes an interest in her. He starts to question her.

My name is Alice Hall. I am from Montana, 3 miles away from Yellowstone National Park.

I’ve lived there for my whole life.

Alice starts to get an attitude.

No, I am getting arrested for a legitimate reason. 

I don’t care if this on my ‘permanent record’. I am not five years old. I am standing up for what I believe in. I believe that the Keystone XL Pipeline is totally and utterly wrong.

What’s my problem? What is your problem? I was taught that if I didn’t agree with something, that I should state it in a non-violent way. And I am standing up for my opinion just like the 120 others in this jail with me.

I’ve lived in Montana for my whole life. My house was home to 4 generations of my family before me. I’ve live 3 miles from Yellowstone National Park; I got married in that park. My family and I have seen the park evolve into what it is today. I was there when they put the Yellowstone Pipeline in, I was there when the pipeline had a leak, I was there when everybody had to evacuate. I saw the horrid faces on the people that lived around the park, when they saw the oil slug start to run down their own streets. The whole place was filled with grief all we did was cry. The animals were soaked in the oil and most of them died we couldn’t even help. We weren’t specialized in the removal of oil, what do we do? We watched on the TV 750 to 1,000 barrels – 42,000 gallons of oil was leaked into the river for a half hour before the shut it down.

And now they want to build another pipeline? What makes this pipeline anymore safer?

How can they guarantee that the pipeline won’t leak? The same place where the pipeline leaked is the same place where they want to build the new pipeline. They cross each other over 4 states. I will not let my children grow up into a world where the water and national parks are polluted. I am standing up for what I believe in, you can call me an environmentalist. I don’t care.

I Hate Humans

Betty just had her 3 cubs 70 days before; they have finally opened their eyes. So, they are finally able to eat their own food, but first Betty has to get food for them to eat. Betty walks a few feet from her cave when she hears noise and sees things. She goes to check them out.

What are those noises? Are those people over there? What are they doing with those different machines? I have to go in and get a closer view.

Betty goes up into a tree to watch the people from above.

Okay, I am in a good spot. I should listen in now. Pipelines? Crude Oil? More jobs? Dirty water? What? So, they are building pipelines right under the aquifer and the pipelines are suppose to be moving crude oil from Canada all the way to Texas. Apparently, the pipelines leak too, they leak more than predicted most of the time.

Betty digs her nails into the tree.

Pipeline carrying the dirtiest oil is supposed to go through my neighborhood. I can’t allow that. My babies, my newborn babies. What happens to them? What happens to them when they have to go a hunt for food and land in a puddle of oil? I can’t stand humans. They just take and take until they have nothing else to take. Some of my friend animal species are already endangered. They were living so peacefully without the humans, they lived so peacefully when the humans didn’t even care about this area of the forest. My babies have to live to see tomorrow, but I don’t want them to see tomorrow if they can’t drink tomorrow’s water. I have to protect my children. I have to keep my children healthy. I can’t let them see this nonsense. They can never come this way. I will make a mark on this tree, so they know to stop right here. So, they know not to go any far.

Betty scratches a hexagon into the tree.

My food supply, what will I do about that? I have to watch out for animals with diseases. Some animals may not be smart enough to not drink the dirty water. I have to think about my family. I have to go up higher in the mountains to find my food, just to make sure my kids are safe. Being on the ground, may be too dangerous for my cubs. Maybe I can just move them. I need to figure this out before they all die. Before I die.

Humans, I hate them.

 

 


ETHAN REESE MONOLOUGE

SIGNING OFF FROM TEXAS U

( Student at Texas university majoring in economics uncertain about the tar sands making a third blog video about the tar sands )

Hi, this is my third video blog this month regarding the tar sands XL pipeline, I have been unemployed for almost two years now. (pause) My whole life my family has struggled with money, (rub eye) and I always wanted to go to my dream college Texas U. With no money and no where to get it I had to work twice as hard as other kids in school did, but now I’m sitting here in my dorm at Texas U doing this blog. When the professor gave my class this project he suggested I should look into the tar sands XL pipeline and tell him my thoughts on it. From what I understand the pipeline will be carrying 56,960,000 dollars worth of oil a day and the profit will be made on day 123 which is relatively fast compared to the 7 billion dollars that are being put into the project. My father a highly renown high-school engineering teacher and grandfather one of the heads of the project got the company to give me a job offer. I have been unemployed for two years and on a resume this job would look amazing the job would keep me employed for at least four years. But I grew up in a house with some of the greatest minds in the world and they taught me everything has a price and i think this pipeline is going to have a steeper price than 7 billion dollars. I think that the release of these tar sands will cause a domino effect ultimately coming back to bite us in the butt, once the climate becomes unable to ignore than the real price of the pipeline will become obvious. I studied economics to become a CFO of a company like Trans Canada, if their was ever a opportunity to make that dream come true it is this. The thing I guess I’m most afraid of is being used as a scape goat in case this project just doesn’t turn the overall profit. I feel like i  should say no to the job this oil is dirtier than  normal oil it’s twice  as harmful I know what the repercussions of releasing it is, but this job is well paying low hours and a way  to get my foot in the door with larger companies. I’m against this  100 percent but i cant let my family down i cant let my professor down...(sigh and turn from camera ) i cant  let myself down. I cant pass this up ( Pause as you  hear sound of a watch ) Until next time  this is Robert Walsh signing off from  Texas U ( Give two finger salute sign off ).



 THE FACE OF OIL

Oil...  the blood of America, the blood of money. To answer your  question directly you must understand oil’s place in global economics... oil is the greatest money maker the modern world may ever encounter. It is traded,sold,bought by the tons it is a trillion dollar industry that i being a former CEO of BP know the ins and outs of. Let me take you into the mind of the CEO of trans Canada, right now he is sitting on the largest source of oil known to current  date, with Canadas low reliance on oil they will turn the largest profit  this industry has ever seen by selling it to  countries with a high dependence on oil like the U.S, this is their plan. Moving through this pipeline everyday will be 800,000 barrels of oil a day to put that into a number that you will understand 56,960,000 dollars worth of oil a day flowing from Canada to Texas.This will only take 123 days to turn a profit on the 7 billion dollar investment, which is relatively fast given the  size of this project. Though i will play devils advocate the pipeline like any has the chance of a costly leak and a big spill or leak can cost big money, the  total loss of money during the BP oil spill was  12.5  billion dollars  in cleanup, repair, and the spilled  oil. So although the profit is coming  quick it could all be lost by  a major spill or leak, this isn’t a rare thing either on average a  pipeline leaks  12 times  a year. I see this as the push that might get us out of debt but might put us in debt  even further. I’ m all for the pipeline America was formed on a  gamble and that’s how we have to save it, i say take the risk its your  only  realistic option right now. So Obama i’m going to say this once and hope you listen approve the pipeline...

  

Pipeline Monologue Project

For this project we needed to write monologs from the perceptive of someone that had to do with the Keystone pipeline project. This project helped me understand more about what was going on with the Keystone project. The best thing about this project was the knowledge I gained from the research I needed to do to be able to write my monologs. I wanted to look at the project from different perspectives which is why i wrote one monolog from each side of the matter.

Written By Rose: My Land
Talking to a truck dealer, given him the tomatoes, and complaining about the pipeline

“He’s just some environmentalist person who happens to be living in Texas.”  That’s probably what some people think when they hear my story. But it’s not true. I’ve lived here all my life. Passes box of tomatoes to the driver as he starts to pack them into his truck to sell. Once I was old enough I bought my old land, and started my family on that land. Where I live had never been a problem and it had always been my land until TransCanada decided to show up one day. They randomly showed up on my land, I wouldn’t have even known they were there unless I had seen the stakes they had placed through out my property, later that month I received a letter in the mail asking for my permission to look at my property. To bad for them, I had already pulled out the stakes and made up my mind that I wouldn’t be a part of this. A couple months latter I received another letter telling me that if I didn’t accept they would take me to court. Of course I quickly accepted and let them come under the conditions that they would give me a 24 hour warning and that I would be with them every time. But they only followed through on that agreement once. After that time I would find them on my land claiming it must be a misunderstanding of some sort. Now I’m not just being an over protective landowner. I have concerns that are legitimate. I’m this pipeline ends up happening it will take up 50 ft. of my land. Once the pipeline is placed that land can never be replanted. There is also the strong possibility of erosion from the pipe rusting. Lastly the pipeline would be harmful to many people due to the fact that the pipelines have to be heated. This is a bad thing because it will affect the grounds temperature and plants are very sensitive to ground temperature. Altogether there is another side to the Keystone XL pipeline that TransCanada and our government it not telling us. Passes the last box to the man and the truck driver responds with a solemn node and tells him he understands what hes going through.

Written by Rose: What to do?

“There seems to be a lot of controversy over this matter sir” “Do you really think risking our environment is worn the money?” Questions and questions are asked to me about this project. The Keystone XL pipeline could possibly be the most controversial project I’ve worked on yet. This project started out with only benefits in my mind. Think about it, our economy is going through one a huge crisis. We need whatever help we can get to boost our economy. Why don’t people just see it that way? This project will provide 20,000 high wage jobs. Not to mention the amount of money that our nation will gain from this. The tar sands have so much oil that we can depend on it being around and providing us oil for at least a hundred years. This will give us more energy security then we have had in the past. As an organization we are dedicated to minimizing environmental impact. The possibilities of a spill are highly unlikely and if they do spill we understand that it is our full responsibility to clean up. Also we understand our responsibility for an alternative water supply if ground wells are affected. Why don’t people see the positive things this project has? Have they completely ignored the fact that pipelines are the safest, most reliable economical and environmental way to transport oil? I just wish people would look at the other side of the matter and see that there are positive things this project could bring to the table.

Written by Roger:

Are My Hands Clean?

Every time I clock into my job I wonder, how all this oil I’m extracting is really making my hands any cleaner then they really are?

(Grabbing my gloves and jumps suit off the rack)

Working for a job that is extracting too much of the tar sand here in Canada and is overflowed with oil, they say they have a plan to move it to a United States refinery in Texas. I’ve been working with Shell to provide for my wife and kids back home, by mining the tar sands of Canada, which are not a pretty site to behold. Usually more of a barren land without nature, some say lands wealth, but I see nothing but destruction of our earth. Plus building a full proof pipeline through 6 states seems impossible to many workers and not just me. Just this past summer while shipping oil through the pipeline placed in Montana, the oil from Exxon exposed major spills through out the pipeline. Causing the land around it to become devastated with oil ruining the Yellowstone River and contaminating their major water source. I can’t imagine anything worst then building one through 6 well populated US states, and even guarantee that it won’t leak and cause big problems around those areas. I wonder am I contributing to these acts since I’m currently working for shell my hand can’t be as clean as I think they are. Causing destruction to the earth just to make an honest dollar and provide for my family. I wish I was in a higher position so I could do something better for this abundance of oil, there has to be another way out of this mess; but seeing as though I’m just a worker what can I do. Losing my job couldn’t be an option because the wealth around here is made through the trade of oil. Working with oil makes me feel that every day we take for granite our earth’s resources to make a profit, but all we are doing is soiling the ground that we eat, drink, and sleep off of.

Written by Roger:

Jail of Opinions

(Sitting against cold wall in Washington D.C. Jail looking through the bars of the cell staring at the Poster of Barack Obama)

            Back in 2008 I chose Barack Obama to be my president of the United States, now that the keystone pipeline bill is getting pass by congress we can now see why we chose him to be our leader. He can save us from being a country that only cares of money and energy, to being the country that is willing to make the right decisions for our environment. I’m sitting in a cellblock in Washington D.C. jail, not because I’ve done something wrong only because I’ve spoken my opinion, yelling through the outer gates of the White House. Like many others I sit here because our government care only about profit and will stop at nothing to get their top dollar. They only are proving this when they decided to pass this bill for the formation of a mile lone pipeline that would run from southwest Canada through 6 state well-populated states to a refinery in Texas. I’ve seen the BP oil spill of the gulf and read of how it effected their waterways and killed animals and sea life. At this point I believe we are almost reaching a point where we have a choice to make, to save our earth or make a profit off of it. To me this choice is obvious save the earth we need to take care of our planet instead of building a pipeline that would be prone to leaks and spills that would affect our earth. Obama decision could be game over for the environment or a lucky save that would help our days on earth stretch a little longer. This jail cells are cold, but if I’m ever going to get my opinion heard I have to keep protesting the Keystone XL pipeline.

Written by Roger Bracy and Rose Knibbe: Pipeline

That little bird, with its hatching eggs, doesn’t know that soon that tree will be along one of the biggest pipelines in the U.S. The future for this bird is not going to be bright while I’m around. There is so much controversy over me. There are environmentalists who don’t want me to be around and then there are the planners of this project. They act as though I am there new best friend. I am the keystone XL pipeline. To be honest I am a little bugged that no one has asked me my opinion on this project. They probably just assume I want to be placed on strangers land. But if they asked me I would tell them I didn’t know how I feel about this project despite the fact its revolved around me. Sure of course I want to exist but is that all worth sacrificing peoples land? I would need a lot of up keep and I can’t tell if they would be able to take care of my high demands. Seeing as Trans Canada is trying to make me 1,700mi long, I can’t remember the last time they built one of my pipes this long. Also the pressure that is put on me to 800,000 barrels of hot crude oil is just too much not to leak. The area I’m around is counting on me to keep their waterways clean, if I do leak they will never forgive me. Plus laying my pipeline would create erosion around the land and kill and disrupt the environment. 

 

Pipeline Monologue Project

Are My Hands Clean?
(written by Roger Bracy)

Every time I clock into my job I wonder, how all this oil I’m extracting is really making my hands any cleaner then they really are? 

(Grabbing my gloves and jumpsuit off the rack)

Working for a job that is extracting too much of the tar sand here in Canada and is overflowed with oil, they say they have a plan to move it to a United States refinery in Texas. I’ve been working with Shell to provide for my wife and kids back home, by mining the tar sands of Canada, which are not a pretty site to behold. Usually more of a barren land without nature, some say lands wealth, but I see nothing but destruction of our earth. Plus building a full proof pipeline through 6 states seems impossible to many workers and not just me. Just this past summer while shipping oil through the pipeline placed in Montana, the oil from Exxon exposed major spills through out the pipeline. Causing the land around it to become devastated with oil ruining the Yellowstone River and contaminating their major water source. I can’t imagine anything worst then building one through 6 well populated US states, and even guarantee that it won’t leak and cause big problems around those areas. I wonder am I contributing to these acts since I’m currently working for shell my hand can’t be as clean as I think they are. Causing destruction to the earth just to make an honest dollar and provide for my family. I wish I was in a higher position so I could do something better for this abundance of oil, there has to be another way out of this mess; but seeing as though I’m just a worker what can I do. Losing my job couldn’t be an option because the wealth around here is made through the trade of oil. Working with oil makes me feel that every day we take for granite our earth’s resources to make a profit, but all we are doing is soiling the ground that we eat, drink, and sleep off of.

Jail of Opinions 

(written by Roger Bracy)

(Sitting against cold wall in Washington D.C. Jail looking through the bars of the cell staring at the Poster of Barack Obama)

Back in 2008 I chose Barack Obama to be my president of the United States, now that the keystone pipeline bill is getting pass by congress we can now see why we chose him to be our leader. He can save us from being a country that only cares of money and energy, to being the country that is willing to make the right decisions for our environment. I’m sitting in a cellblock in Washington D.C. jail, not because I’ve done something wrong only because I’ve spoken my opinion, yelling through the outer gates of the White House. Like many others I sit here because our government care only about profit and will stop at nothing to get their top dollar. They only are proving this when they decided to pass this bill for the formation of a mile lone pipeline that would run from southwest Canada through 6 state well-populated states to a refinery in Texas. I’ve seen the BP oil spill of the gulf and read of how it effected their waterways and killed animals and sea life. At this point I believe we are almost reaching a point where we have a choice to make, to save our earth or make a profit off of it. To me this choice is obvious save the earth we need to take care of our planet instead of building a pipeline that would be prone to leaks and spills that would affect our earth. Obama decision could be game over for the environment or a lucky save that would help our days on earth stretch a little longer. This jail cells are cold, but if I’m ever going to get my opinion heard I have to keep protesting the Keystone XL pipeline.

My Land

(written by Rose Knibbe)

(Talking to a truck dealer, given him the tomatoes, and complaining about the pipeline)

“He’s just some environmentalist person who happens to be living in Texas.”  That’s probably what some people think when they hear my story. But it’s not true. I’ve lived here all my life. 

(Passes box of tomatoes to the driver as he starts to pack them into his truck to sell.)

 Once I was old enough I bought my old land, and started my family on that land. Where I live had never been a problem and it had always been my land until TransCanada decided to show up one day. They randomly showed up on my land, I wouldn’t have even known they were there unless I had seen the stakes they had placed through out my property, later that month I received a letter in the mail asking for my permission to look at my property. To bad for them, I had already pulled out the stakes and made up my mind that I wouldn’t be a part of this. A couple months latter I received another letter telling me that if I didn’t accept they would take me to court. Of course I quickly accepted and let them come under the conditions that they would give me a 24 hour warning and that I would be with them every time. But they only followed through on that agreement once. After that time I would find them on my land claiming it must be a misunderstanding of some sort. Now I’m not just being an over protective landowner. I have concerns that are legitimate. I’m this pipeline ends up happening it will take up 50 ft. of my land. Once the pipeline is placed that land can never be replanted. There is also the strong possibility of erosion from the pipe rusting. Lastly the pipeline would be harmful to many people due to the fact that the pipelines have to be heated. This is a bad thing because it will affect the grounds temperature and plants are very sensitive to ground temperature. Altogether there is another side to the Keystone XL pipeline that TransCanada and our government it not telling us. 

(Passes the last box to the man and the truck driver responds with a solemn node and tells him he understands what he's going through.)

What to Do?

(written by Rose Knibbe)

“There seems to be a lot of controversy over this matter sir” “Do you really think risking our environment is worn the money?” Questions and questions are asked to me about this project. The Keystone XL pipeline could possibly be the most controversial project I’ve worked on yet. This project started out with only benefits in my mind. Think about it, our economy is going through one a huge crisis. We need whatever help we can get to boost our economy. Why don’t people just see it that way? This project will provide 20,000 high wage jobs. Not to mention the amount of money that our nation will gain from this. The tar sands have so much oil that we can depend on it being around and providing us oil for at least a hundred years. This will give us more energy security then we have had in the past. As an organization we are dedicated to minimizing environmental impact. The possibilities of a spill are highly unlikely and if they do spill we understand that it is our full responsibility to clean up. Also we understand our responsibility for an alternative water supply if ground wells are affected. Why don’t people see the positive things this project has? Have they completely ignored the fact that pipelines are the safest, most reliable economical and environmental way to transport oil? I just wish people would look at the other side of the matter and see that there are positive things this project could bring to the table. 


Pipeline

(written by Roger Bracy and Rose Knibbe)

That little bird, with its hatching eggs, doesn’t know that soon that tree will be along one of the biggest pipelines in the U.S. The future for this bird is not going to be bright while I’m around. There is so much controversy over me. There are environmentalists who don’t want me to be around and then there are the planners of this project. They act as though I am there new best friend. I am the keystone XL pipeline. To be honest I am a little bugged that no one has asked me my opinion on this project. They probably just assume I want to be placed on strangers land. But if they asked me I would tell them I didn’t know how I feel about this project despite the fact its revolved around me. Sure of course I want to exist but is that all worth sacrificing peoples land? I would need a lot of up keep and I can’t tell if they would be able to take care of my high demands. Seeing as Trans Canada is trying to make me 1,700mi long, I can’t remember the last time they built one of my pipes this long. Also the pressure that is put on me to 800,000 barrels of hot crude oil is just too much not to leak. The area I’m around is counting on me to keep their waterways clean, if I do leak they will never forgive me. Plus laying my pipeline would create erosion around the land and kill and disrupt the environment. 


Pipeline Monologue Project

This project was a very productive project, it makes me really put my self in other peoples lives and take on the effect that the Pipeline will have on people.This projects really helps people to decide what their opinion is on the the pipeline. Last it helps to show people what the government is willing to do for a better economy. 

The single mother takes action.

{As she gets up form her front seat and steps up to the microphone}

I am Bon Qui Qui a loving single mother of four. I want to voice my opinion on the TransCanada XL Pipeline. {She says while picking up the paper with her speech written on it.

 I think this is very important factor that could change my children’s lives and me in both positive and negative ways. I would 1st like to thank my state representative for picking me as one of the people to speak at this meeting. She grips the microphone as if she was nervous and then says

 “ I Love my Children” but I also would love for them to have a better future. This is a plan that is proven to provide many more jobs, but the jobs aren't safe working around air-born chemicals eight hours or more a day. Also it is not safe because if the XL pipeline were to break, crack, or get a leak there may be chemicals that could endanger the workers. This is where loving my kid’s come into factor. Since the love I have for my kids is the thing I put first she says as she releases her tightened grip on the microphone and smiled. I love my kids and this what makes me both for and against the TransCanada XL pipeline the life of my children could be put into danger if the chemicals were to be spilled out or leaked into our water resources which can be dangerous for my children to drink. If this does happen to the faucet water the there would be no other way for me to provide water for my children since I am already unemployed and bottle water is to expensive to fit into my budget.

Put two things that are important to me in life hand and hand I’m not quite sure if I’m for it or against it because I want to best possible future for my children and I would love to get them the things the want when they want it, which consists of getting a good enough job. Also I would love to give my children as much safety as possible and the TransCanada XL Pipeline is not guaranteed to be safe. So with that said I think it should be held off until it is completely safe. She stoops toward the microphone and says “Thank You”. Then walks off while being applauded. 

 

Making a good end of career reputation.

Hello, everyone and Welcome to the TransCanada XL Pipeline meeting. I am Ed Stelmach and you all know me as the Political Leader of Alberta Canada. Today I will be addressing my views on the XL pipeline.  He puts his paper on the podium.

I will be backing down from office on October 1st and my decision is to go with the XL Pipeline. I would support the TransCanada pipeline because Alberta Canada is such a beautiful and natural place and with the XL pipeline being a provider of natural oil that will make our economy better I think this was a very brilliant plan. He Picks up his paper and begins to read the viewpoints of his speech.

Alberta Canada will be very lucky if this plan goes through because it will bring many tourist, many allies and, many other countries to rely on our natural resources. This will provide Canada with help if we ever need it and a bundle of money coming from different things. This also will not take up as many resources as it will be producing. This wont be using as many resources because after the needed resources are used once they are reused. An example of this is the water that the XL pipeline uses, once it is used once it is used continuously for the rest of the process. He flips his page and begins to look over it as if decided not to say everything he had written.

I want the best for my citizens and I would like to lift the burdens of poverty, a failing economy, and higher taxes. I would like for them to have things like better education, easier living styles, and less of a stress form working tremendously hard every workday for their families. This is the opinion that I have and after being in office like I was it might make you have the same opinion because this seems to be the turning point for us. I know that my opinion counts because every opinion counts but mine will change minds, decisions, and life styles. Hopefully the next person in office see’s it the way I do. Thank you for attending and caring enough to listen. He grabs his papers, folds them and leaves the stage.

 


Losing a Father

                                                                                                Oct 16, 2015

{She sat at the kitchen table and wrote}

Dear Ed Stelmach and President Obama

            I am Shanayia Roland and I am a United States citizen. I don’t know much about the Canadian government but I know enough about the US government to address my opinion on the TransCanada pipeline leak. I am a 12-year-old girl living in Montana and my father was one of the 5500 people who took the job, but was also 1out of the 500 people died while working. I would like to address the leaks in the TransCanada XL Pipeline. She fiddles with the work jumpsuit that she holds in he hand, she smells it and then begins to speak as she writes:

 I guess this is what failure and lost lives smell like, that would be the smell of tar sands. The tar sands smell stuck in my fathers work jumpsuit as I hold it in my arms and mourn about my father’s death. I don’t blame you guys for the failures of the XL pipeline I just blame you for not making sure that this plan was safe before you guys did it for the better economy purposes. The economy was not worth 500 lives lost because of the leaks in the XL pipeline. Also 7 billion dollars was put into the pipeline that is now wasted because of the leaks. Now my mom and me are trying to save as best we can on water because faucet water isn’t safe. Tears from her eyes failing onto his jacket as she writes more:

We struggle with out my father he supplied our income, now my mother will have to find two jobs which will be even harder to find now because there will be a rescission even bigger there the one in 2011.

I thank you guys because you are both leaders but my fathers gone and I’ll never get him back. It’s as his life is as important to me as the economy is to you. As he sat stuck under slowly running out of air the economy slowly become the worse it ever was before. It was like two hearts failing at once. She hugs the jumpsuits tight as if it were her last hug to him, tears we’re pouring down her face she finished by writing:

 I don’t know if you’ll read this but my voice is little now but it will get bigger. In loving memory of Percy Roland.                                                                                                                                                 Sincerely,

                                                                        Shanayia Roland 10/16/2015

Pipeline Monologue Project

With my monologues, I want all of my viewers to see how much time and thought my class/stream spent the last two weeks on this topic. We;ve learned about everything from how things are made in different countries to how far politicians will go for more money in their pockets. I want people to see and read about the different stories and views the monologues provide. I want them to keep in mind how the pipeline effects every one around it from the view of a child to the view of a worker. ENJOY!

Monologue #1: From the Movie: Splash to Making a Splash in “Dirty Oil”!

Daryl Hannah’s Internal Thoughts:

Daryl Hannah is an actress. She’s acted in many movies, we’ve seen in the movie theaters through out the nation. Today, she was arrested because she wouldn’t move out of the way for the police to get through, so her and a couple of her other companions were arrested and taken to the slammer. In the main holding cell, Daryl is accumulating more anger for the pipeline and realizes she has to keep her protest for what she knows is right!

“No to the Keystone pipeline!” was the last thing I shouted to my fellow protestors to keep their faith and continue protesting as more were taken a long with me. With that one cry for change, the U.S Park Police zip-tied a nylon cuff restraint onto my writs and threw me into the back of the car and I was brought to the slammer. Surprisingly, it’s quite bright in the back of the car because as I was driving away, I saw all of the posters, signs, and banners everyone made for the sit in. They all had pictures that held exactly eight million words. The same amount of barrels of dirty crude oil that will be transferred through out part of Canada and across the great plains of America. On other banners there was this familiar pipe, the “Keystone Pipeline”, this one pipe would pollute all the water, plains, and skies surrounding it. All it costs to build is a mere thirteen billion dollars, coming out of our back pocket. Now that’s just peachy.

When I entered the musky, humid holding cell, the police men gave us nothing but quiet time to use our imagination, imagine the dents the government were making if this proposal was past in a few weeks…harmful dents stretching from Hardisty, Alberta to Port Arthur, Texas. Also in between parts of Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma and so many other states. I pulled out a picture of a group of ranchers, their kids, and I standing on their crop ranch back in the summer of 2009. The owners of the ranch being close friends of my parents, I've been going there ever since I was a little girl. The ranch has been passed down from generation to generation but now the ranch is sitting on top of the place where the pipeline is going to be.

Their ranch,…my second home…is slowly being taken away from us. I’ve been to breath-taking lands and have seen it all, but what about the future generations? Have the politicians even thought about them and the toll this pipeline will take on them? No, because these politicians have the audacity to build a pipe, demolishing not only the lustrous grasslands residing there but also because the natives living there to experience the leaks and pollution the pipes will cause.

The current Keystone pipeline running from Hardisty, Alberta to Patoka, Illinois has leaked about twelve times throughout the year. The proposed pipeline is supposed to stretch from Hardisty, Alberta to Port Arthur, Texas. So why does no one pay mind to the harm the pollution will do to our future generations? Although the politicians aren't pay mind, many people worldwide have been working hard to reduce CO2 levels but they are still climbing. Even though we know how to stop and reduce the rates, we cannot put a dent in the CO2 levels unless the number of people working to lower it increases!


Monologue #2: “Stay in School, Kids”

Pipe Liner: Zack Saunders: Internal Thoughts:

 Zack Saunders is a pipe liner living in Hadisty, Alberta. As any pipe liner, Zack has to leave his home in order to make a living for his family of four, including himself. He doesn’t know what to do. Should he stay and kill the environment on a high salary or should he make a dent in the pollution levels and help his kids. 

            I haven’t always been like this. Thinking about two angels every day for the past two weeks and giving everything up for them. I always thought that I had the best job out there in this tough economy. But now…I’m like what…what am I doing? I’m holding a wrench in one hand and a screw in the other, slowly and painfully building the pollution for my two daughters and the whole future generation to come.

            This wrench was holding me from going home to them: my kids, my wife, and my home. Pipe liners have to move to where they are building the pipe and find housing there. This wrench was helping my crew and I build a pipe through out the country. The pipe that would cause so much pollution to everyone and everything around it. This wrench, I could be using to fix Emily and Oscar’s leaky pipe in their bathroom, their race car-princess bathroom. Those two can never agree on anything. And this screw was put into place to hold together the pipe. To hold together what everyone sitting in front of that white and all around the world is trying to change. This screw and many other screws that would soon allow the pipe to leak and burst out oil like Old Faithful, the geyser itself. The screw I could be using to fix my wife’s swivel chair. But with out me there, the chair was never fixed, so a new one was bought and the pipes still get leaky. The leaky water is slowly peeling off their racecar – princess wallpaper. An example of what could happen if we -I mean with my help also- build the thirteen billion dollar pipeline running across the great plains of our land.

            You’d have to be the worst dad in the world to be doing this. But, I can’t go home. This is the only fine paying job offered to a high school dropout and it sucks. But what can I do about it? Sulk as I work? I already do that. I can’t leave my job to go protest because no one would pay for the bills, pay for the clothes my family wears. I can’t protest if I’m the one helping build this monstrosity! No one would pay for the Twinkle Toes Sketchers Emily want. No one would pay for there’s nothing left to do but to let the President Obama end my torture, hopefully. He can say no to this and then I can go home to my country, to my family, to my house, to my happiness.


Monologue #3: “Taking Our Land, Once Again!”

Mark Mountainpeak’s Internal Thoughts:

Mark is a Native American living in South Dakota on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. His homes are one of many that are being in the thought process of being demolished by Big Corps for the Keystone Pipeline XL. With him today is an interviewer.

My hands were beet red, veins popping out of my arms, and my voice box close to exploding into a million pieces. The reporter didn’t know what to do next because she didn’t know whether I was going to go off at another question. But after a few seconds, I fixed my posture, loosened my grip on my cup of apple juice, and gave her a reassuring look.

How does the pipeline affect you and your home?” she said with friendly smile.

Wait…why is she smiling!? It’s not her house…is she stupid?! My home, our reservation, my family…we’re loosing everything and here she sits and asks!? She isn’t living on some money loving Corp’s pipeline. She’s not being asked to move even though, her property WAS PROMISED TO HER. No, this isn’t happening to her so she doesn’t give two shits about…wait, I had to do something…what was it? I looked up at her with her intensive eyes and she nods her head for an answer.

Oh yes, I have to answer this idiotic question: “My home is sitting on top of what you people call the next big money maker. My home is going to be knocked down because Big Corps can come in and steal our things. My home, should stay! It also not only affects my home but who would want to wake up to a pipe next door every day. Especially, if it is constantly leaking dirty oil into our drinking waters and polluting everything and anything around it. I don’t want anything to change on the Res. WE DON’T WANT THE PIPE LINE. Why are they---”

My…anger…is…before I could finish that thought the reporter obviously sees my rage and concludes the interview.


Monologue #4: Losing My Dad, Life, and Past:

Janey’s inner thoughts:

            Janey has too move because her mom doesn’t want to live near the pipeline and Janey has to face losing her past and her most cherished memories!

Montana, mountains, lakes, clear skies. And I’m leaving them, my mountainside view of the lake and the clear skies reflecting off of it. My mom says to pack what ever I want to bring to the new house. We cant live here anymore. I have to leave my friends, school, and the life I was making for the past 16 years in Montana.

I know you never talk back and all you do is keep us shaded every year but hear me out. We’re going to have to leave you soon. We’re going somewhere very far away, far way from you too. I remember when daddy and I planted you here, Bruce. You were just a small gingko tree and now look what 10 years has come and done to you. Daddy and I planted you. Now daddy isn’t here anymore and we have to leave you behind.

You probably wont last that long with out us unless you can absorb dirty oil and chemicals like you do to water. I mean you could get water but you’re going to have to play tug a war with the amount of clean water you get. Mommy was googling about the pipeline and I think it’s a bunch of baloney. I mean what is an extra couple thousand of jobs going to do for this broken economy? Nothing, so why build a pipeline right next door to our home. The way big corps are treating the environment isn’t fair. We need the environment to stand strong for us to walk upon in. Mommy says that the pipeline is bad because all of the pollution and CO2 that is going into the atmosphere. She says we already have too much.

I tried to argue back saying we’re leaving you, our view of everything, and our memories but she coldly said: “It won’t be here when the pipeline moves in. The pipe liners have to clear off everything. Everything will be gone but we’ll soon be gone before it.”

At that last line Janey cries into Bruce, the tree.

 

 

History monologue

Maryam

Biuibrahim

 

First monologue:

 

Its Monday morning as Michelle Obama is getting ready to say her speech to every one that disagrees with the pipeline situation, she’s nervous she is not sure if she knows how to react to angry people, almost one hundred and 50 people got arrested in front of the white house because they were trying to say there opinions, to reject the key stone pipeline, her husband is not there to say the speech, so she has to step up and take his part, she is trying to rephrase the words in the head, it was a hot day she’s sweating, she looks out the window she sees hundreds of people waiting for her, she needed a drink of water , she knew that when she gets out there she had to look strong , deep down she does not agree with the pipeline she know that it’s wrong she also know that it will harm a lot of people , but she closed her eyes and put her opinion to the side , she made sure she had a lot of security, she never knows what might happened , the security guard walked her down , as she stands in from of hundreds of people , she took a min to look around , she saw innocent faces looking up to her as she sais:

Good morning every body, I know that you are hear to fight for what you believe in, and I know no matter what we do we can not change your opinions , but am speaking for my husbands behalf , and if he was here he would of told every one that we know that the pipeline is dangerous , and we know that it harm a lot of people, but at the same time we have the think about the positive things that comes from it , the economy it getting worst people are suffering to get jobs to feed there family, and if the pipeline can get people a lot of jobs why should we take that away, and I hope that people can try to think about the positives as well, before getting angry at us , we want the best things for every one , and I know people want a clean environment , but we cant change that in one that , it takes time to reach a goal , so all I want to say is that people need to be patient .

She decided to give a couple of people the chance to ask questions:

Question one: we know that yours speaking for your husband but is that what you really think?

She wanted to say no but she said yes we are one person and we take the same decisions.

Question two: how long do we have to wait until we see a change?

Patience is key that all I have to say.

The more questions she was getting she started thinking did they even try to change anything during the 2 years, thoughts were going trough her mind as she exists.

 

Second monologue:

Its Saturday night as the Canadian guy is watching the news about the pipeline situation and how it is affecting Canada in a lot of ways, he is a single 39 years old guy, that likes to write , after he finished watching the news , he wanted to say how he felt to someone , and the only thing he could find is his computer to talk to, he sat down with a cup of coffee  in his hand , took a deep breath and started typing :

“ I usually don’t talk about things like this in my diary but it is really upsetting me in a lot of ways so I will talk about it, its bad enough that the world is not an equal place, and that some places are suffering more then others, but they say that they cant do nothing about it so we try to understand but when it comes to a point when you can stop something this bad in a heartbeat and people are still questioning if they should , then that’s careless , I feel like America only cares about jobs and what they can get from poor people, the pipe line is not only hurting America but its hurting my people too, I don’t understand why cant they find other way to make jobs available , without hurting other they don’t know that they may be hurting a single mother, a dad, a son , a daughter, or a sister , I feel like they need time to go trough what they’re doing . Because enough is enough.

He got really mad he couldn’t even finish his writing, so he said to him self with a strong look on his face that he will go to Washington to fight for what he believes in.

 

Third monologue:

Its Texas its an early rise as the a hard working father wakes up to do his farm work, he has five kids there all girls and in his back yard there is a pipeline, he did not think it was bad until he herd about the oil leak in china , he started getting worried about it a lot every time he wakes up he goes in his back yard and just keep looking at it , he wants Obama to stop it , maybe then he could get some sleep at night , he is worried that if the oil ever leaks what would he do , how would he survive , and all his hard work will be gone , every time he thinks about it he shakes , he has so much anger inside he just wants to say why does no one care about what were are going trough some people cant sleep  because of this pipeline, some people just want to leave everything they worked hard for just to go some place were they can be safe , but of course if he say that we get arrested , we should have freedom of speech and we should fight for what we believe in.

 

 

Pipeline Monologue Project

This Project had us research the Trans-Canada Keystone Pipeline Project and learn both sides of the story. We then had to write a series of monologues to illustrate what we'd learned. My stories show the lives of an Amish and Trans-Canada employees.


(An Amish Farmer is distressed about a decision he made under stress)

(Pacing back and forth) I didn't have much of a choice when I was offered the chance to have the pipeline run through my land. But how will my neighbors react to it when I tell them? (Waves arms) The Amish of Kansas don't let this sort of thing happen, I should have been a better person and put the land and nature before myself, but I needed money.

I don’t make much money as it is, I never really have (sigh and glance down). The farming business isn’t something I’m good at, but it’s my only option, it's all I know. When TransCanada came to offer me money for the land they needed for the big pipe they were building, I wasn’t doing very well back then either. I was in between plantings after a failed harvest and I needed money pretty bad. These men offered me a deal; they would pay me lots of money if I let them cut through my land with big machines. And lay down this big pipe that would pump thousands of barrels of dark, crop killing oil from Canada to Texas.

            I’M A FARMER! (Shouts) What was I thinking? One mistake along any inch of that huge thing could completely destroy my work, my house, and I wouldn’t be able to plant for years afterwards. Not even the huge amount of money they paid me would be able to help me then. I’d have to leave everything I know behind. That poisonous fuel would forever taint all of my work, my father’s work, and his father’s work.

        I can’t turn back now. I’ve already signed a contract. I just wanted to be able to support myself, but I might end up destroying myself. I can only hope that our president stops the company from building the pipe. It might be selfish, because I know it will give a lot of people jobs. But if I ever have kids, I guess I want them to carry on my legacy here on the farm.

 

A Change of heart

(Trans-Canada employee wonders if what he does for a living is ethical)

 

I’ve worked on these oil sands for most of my adult life, long before these protesters started objecting to what we did over in America. I’ve taken part in setting up a lot of the more recent extraction plants too. (Shakes head) I grew up here in Alberta and witnessed the start of the dirty oil era. (Stretch arms and yawn) My life hasn’t really taken off yet though. At least, I hope it hasn’t. I spend all day operating the steam extraction machinery, and the pay isn’t great. (Cough) I’ve been wondering lately if working like this is worth the years taken off my life from inhaling the fumes.

Maybe those people down in Washington have the right idea; they’re working for a good cause fighting against the new Keystone pipeline. They’re passionate about what they believe in.

For a long time I saw the oil as a good thing. It was a miracle of modern science that we could extract fuel directly from the earth, without expensive drilling equipment. I was proud to work for the sake of helping people drive and provide oil to the world. I felt like a pioneer, leading my country forward.

(Nods) These Americans have opened my eyes though. If I help with the Keystone project, I could take a huge part in the pollution and destruction of North America. Sure, I might help a man get to work, but I might also kill someone by polluting his or her water supply. I don’t want that blood, or oil, on my hands.

 

Russ Girling (CEO of TransCanada):

 

            Walks into room and sits on couch. Today was a tough day at work. It’s hard to hear myself think with so many protestors yelling outside your window. I know a lot of these people just see me as some greedy CEO that will do anything to get more money. Is that really me? I know I wouldn’t see myself as that, but if I look from their perspective, put myself in their shoes and look at myself? What am I? This pipeline would bring so much money to this company, and would benefit Canada and the USA in many ways. Jobs, money, oil. Does all that outweigh any potential environmental impacts? Right now we need oil, and we need a lot of it. In the future we may not need oil so much, but right now we do. This would at least postpone the energy problem for a while, until we have the means to postpone it further, or maybe even finally solve it. But is that what we really need? Would that make the problem worse? I doubt there will be any problems caused by this while I’m alive, but what about my children? No, I don’t think this pipeline will make or break the environment. It’s just one pipeline, and what people really need to do is stop wasting so much. Besides, if you ignore the environmental impacts this may or may not have, this is only beneficial to everyone.

 

Bill Mckibben:

 

            We have lived and taken from our planet for tens of thousands of years. We started off just taking what we needed, but then we kept taking more and more and more, and now look at what that’s gotten us. We are polluting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. At the same time unemployment is rising, along with gas prices and debt. It seems as if every single unsustainable thing we’ve been doing in the history of this country has finally collapsed on us at once. We need money, and oil, and jobs. We also need to conserve the environment. If we aren’t mindful of how much we waste, and render the planet uninhabitable with our pollution, the planet will be fine. After a few thousand years, the planet will repair itself, and be back to the way it was before humans. The only thing we’d be killing is ourselves, and everything we share the planet with. The XL pipeline would do two things. It would bring money, oil, and jobs to America. And it would be another nail in the coffin of environmentalism. Will this completely destroy the environment in one fell swoop? No, but will it solve our debt, and job problems? No to that too. What we have to do is weigh what options would be best overall. Should we build it and generate a few thousand jobs, and billions of dollars in revenue, or should we not build and save countless plants and animals, and reduce our oil dependency. Transcanada says their pipes will not leak, but can we really believe them when their own pipes leaked 12 times? We can’t risk it leaking, because the pipeline goes over a major aquifer that people drink from. And it would pollute the drinking supply of millions with crude oil. I don’t think we should build the pipeline, because I believe that there is other ways of improving the economy, but there is only one way to protect the environment right now, and that is to stop the XL pipeline from being built.

 

Kenneth Hewitt:

 

    I’ve been unemployed for almost a year now, and my unemployment benefits are starting to run out. I’ve been living out of this crummy apartment in this terrible neighborhood for about as long. I was laid off from my first job as a construction manager, and for the first few months nobody would hire me. After that nobody was hiring me because of how long I’d been unemployed. I heard about this new pipeline TransCanada is planning to build between Canada and Texas. I could maybe get a job helping building this, it shouldn’t be too difficult since it’s such a big project, and they’d need to hire a lot of people. Sure, it wouldn’t be permanent, but it would be something to put on my resume so employers wouldn’t immediately ignore my application due to not having been employed for a long time. But at the same time, do I want to help this project? So many people are protesting this because huge negative environmental implications. Maybe I could get a different job somewhere else, but where? This is the surest bet. But what do I care about more, my own wellbeing, or the wellbeing of my children and their children. Then again, the world’s already messed up for my kids; surely this one pipeline wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But if it’s not such a big deal, why are so many people protesting it? I can’t turn down work, but is this the work I want to do? I guess if this is going to be built I have no choice but to work on it, my only other option being unemployment. But I hope Obama blocks this from being built, so I don’t feel obligated to work on it.

 

 

Monologues-Teige and Isabela

Stressful Mess

Scenery:
sitting at a desk, face in hands, veins clearly visible in her cheeks and forehead.


I took a deep breath, inhaling all the tension I felt in the room and then letting it out. “I just don’t know what else to do” I told Bill, my husband “Nothing I do will satisfy everyone. I really think these tar sands will help raise the economy levels here. It’s a great deal I just don’t think we can pass up...these people don’t think I've done my research” Bill nodded sympathetically, a thin line that were his lips pressing together. I knew he didn’t fully understand the stress that I was under. I pressed my fingertips into my temples and let out a shaky breath. If anyone in my field, or anyone aware of the choices I make every day saw me like this they would cringe. “Hilary can’t keep it together” they would snicker, so I always held my head high. But right now, it hung low. in between my hands I stared at my desk. I know the risks and precautions we have to take to ensure this project comes out well. But that’s our job! I will make sure those precautions are taken, that people stay safe, and on top of that that our economy rises. We need this oil, we need this fuel to ramp up our economy. These natives are taking it too far, they want something to fight for but all their fighting is leaving a heavy anchor on my shoulders, me! The person who’s only trying to do what’s best for them! I moved my fingers through my hair and sighed “I just hope they realize I'm doing this for their benefits, not for my own”. (By Isabela Aznar)




Think about the future
(giving a speech)

I am proud, of everyone who went to the white house to protest this crisis in the making. To protest against buying Tar Sand. I am now confident, that I don’t stand alone in this war for our planet. I look outside, and I see children playing, birds singing, trees swaying, water flowing. But if I look outside in 5 years, what will I see? shaking his head Dirty streets, filled with gas guzzlers, and rivers polluted to the point where water prices need to rise? Animals going extinct, children having to take a million other precautions that didn’t exist when I was born? How can anyone be willing to throw away the most beautiful things we were given? The natural? takes deep breath I cringe at the fact that this is what we’ve narrowed our people down to, Users, abuser, and over-consumers. And after everything our people did to conserve our lands? Our trees? Our waters? Our crops? After our environment has reached it’s breaking point, we keep pushing it to break further? We’re willing to put ourselves and our children, and our environment at risk of harm?
        If you ask me, these companies have no idea the impact their going to make. start pacing back in forth They like to play coy, and dumb, as if they don’t know how much harm they may cause. As if they know exactly what their doing, as if they know they won’t screw up. But I know. I know they’re going to screw up. This is far from a fool proof plan, and in a society like ours we need to look at the pros and cons of every situation. We can’t just stand by and let a tragedy begin, especially when it’s something so ridiculously horrible for our people, and our planet. Thank you. bows head

(By Isabela Aznar)





Only an Animal

I grew up in a river near Canada, close to the famous…or should I say, infamous tar sands. I would wake up every morning and see the sun, and i’d crawl out of my cozy lodge, and bathe in my crystal clear river water. The trees and plants were healthy, and good for eating. Those were the days. One day, my brother began to grow weak. He was always swimming, chestnut coloring could always be seen in the river, but one day after a long swim he came into our lodge breathing heavily, his ears perked down. One of the many tar sand pipe leaks had passed through into our river, and now my family, and my ancestors pristine, beautiful, home had to suffer. So there I was, being forced to leave the only home I ever knew. The fresh waters were no longer fresh, but filthy and completely toxic. My little brother had to DIE so that these selfish Americans could have their toxic oil. And I being only an angry animal, who couldn’t even communicate my anger in any effective way with Americans, just gathered up my family. And had to move. We found another, smaller river in which we could live. But in this river there was hardly ever enough for all of us to eat, and we all fear the day that this home, won’t even be enough anymore either. My question is why? Why did they do this to me? What did we ever do to deserve this? Our sacred home and land? Gone. The land in which I was raised, the water that I cared so much for. Ripped away from me, like a branch falling from it’s tree. (By Isabela Aznar)

http://www.vimeo.com/30172243 <----video monologue!

President Bush stands in front of a room of journalists and gives his speech.
Regrets from a president

When I was the 43 president of America, and like 42 presidents before me, I would have never let anything like this happen. If it were still up to me, we would not get involved. While I was president, I signed legislation that said that tar sands are to dirty for the American government. This law was made just to stop the use of tar sands. It is my belief this type of fuel is not in our best interests. I know some people say that this is hypocritical. My answer to this is that I have learned from my mistakes in the past and that even though I say this, I still believe that we should drill for as much crude oil as we possibly can. This is because it can benefit our economy and give us the push we need to put us back on top of the world. Also that now that I am not in the oval office, I am free to say what I want without any fear of who will support me after I say it. It is my belief that if we use this tar sands oil, then we will be dealing a harsh blow to the environment. This oil is one of the dirtiest forms of energy that we can get. It causes dirty water and causes dirty pollutants. When I look at my family ranch and think of the problems that this generation can cause for the next. I feel terrible that my ranch might not be in existence in a couple generations, because of the tar sands.

 (By Teige Dougherty)


Native American: (Shema of the fire tribe)


      Earth Less
Does no one care anymore? Is the earth worth less than this tar sands? I believe the world is at a breaking point and it is getting closer and closer to breaking, and this will be the straw that broke the camels back. When I look at my children I think of all the countless injustices that we are doing to them. I do my part to not pollute, but not everybody is doing the right thing. These companies are trying to get as much money as possible while the earth goes up in flames. Is that fair to the animals? Is that fair to the planet? I ask you, is that fair to your children, your own flesh and blood? If we just stopped now and take all the money that we are putting into this, and put it into making wind farms we could make enough energy to power 175,000 house holds. This energy would be continuously renewable and would never run out. It would even create jobs for many people in production and to keep them working. This is the kind of energy people can feel good about. Its the kind of energy that could help keep this plant of ours from reaching its breaking point. I’m not asking everyone to live like me or my tribe, but if we all just did our part and invested our money in responsible companies that would work towards a brighter future. A future that I can feel good about leaving to my family when I leave the world to them. (By Teige Dougherty)



Worker in the factory: (sam jacobson)
Sam kneels in front of his bed praying.

New country for old men

Growing up as a little boy in Texas, y’all know to recognize ai good thing when it happens. When I heard about the tar sands projects, I jumped for joy! I could finally be able to support my children, so they could go to college and have the life that I never had. They could go from college and get a better more worth while job than me and be able to support me when I get older and can’t work. It was tough for them growing, with their mother dieing of cancer when they were only 2 and all. Poor Sara, and Violet. They are only 17 now, and can’t get really jobs here in Texas. The only jobs a person with out a college degree can get down here are the jobs working on oil refineries, and they are to dangerous for my precious girls to work at. Just like the ones that are opening up to refine the tar sands. The other day I talk to the man in charge of the plant. He done gave me a job. With the money from this job, I can fix that leak in the roof, or fix our old broken truck. These tar sands are your way of giving us a break for all the tough times that you has given us in the past few years. I prayed every night for a job like this, and you finally answered, you finally did it. My only question is why didn’t do it sooner? From what I understand the pipeline will create 20,000 jobs. Why are people so hesitate on this? It is perfect for a time when American needs jobs. I don’t want to seem ungrateful or something. So any way thank you god and please watch over my family and friends. Amen (By Teige Dougherty)





Pipeline Monologue Project

My monologues are about a little girl who doesn't know much about the Keystone XL pipeline except her fishy might get flushed, a farmer who's land is going to get dug up so the pipeline can run under his farm, and a Hydrologist at a college with strong points and disagreements about the pipeline. 

Monologue 1

 Sophie comes up to her fishy and sprinkles fish food in the bowl

 Sophie: Hi, fishy.

 Sighs

 Sophie: I’m upset. Mommy says that some oil company in Texas is gonna run some kind of pipe allllllll the way up to Canada, right through here in Nebwaska. And the oil might get in our water that we dwink, and that we use for your fishy tank. She says that if that happens, we might have to con… con… um, save water. That means we cant use any extwa water at all. And, and, we wont be able to clean you’re fishy tank anymore… w-we could have to flush you bye bye.

 Sophie starts to get upset, starting to cry now

 Sophie: I’m scared… I don’t wanna send you away to fishy land… I love you fishy! B-but mommy says it-its going to be bad… ‘Cause its tar sands oil.. Whatever that means… its supposed to be dirtier than regular oil… so its gonna be even worse. Oh, fishy, I really wish I was a grownup; I don’t even get a choice what happens! Mommy said that its because our country doesn’t have enough money… I made a lemonade stand and when I make enough money, I’m gonna send it to Mr. Obama, but mommy says that’s not how it works. I don’t get it! Grownups are so mean! Why cant we just all be grateful for what we have like mommy says? Maybe, Mr. Obama will say no-no, and then I can keep you forever my little fishy.


Monologue 2

 Farmer Thompson fades in wearing a pair of tattered overalls and a straw hat and starts working his crops

 Farmer Thompson: Boy, howdy! I could sure use a glass of lemonade! Hell, i'ma need a thousand glasses of lemonade after that there TransCanada oil company slicks its pipes right through my own backyard. How am I supposed to make my money then? My wife and I done lived here in Merrick County, Nebraska for 35 years a-raising cattle and a-tillin’ the land, all the while lookin after our son Randy, why, he’s a cattle buyer now, all grown up. He just went to a discussion at his church about this here Gosh dern pipeline, talking about our farm.

 It starts to rain

 Farmer Thompson: Awe, Shoot! Well, might as well get all the water it can get now. Wont be much of my crops left after this pipe is in. Hell, wont be much of my farm left if this pipe should leak into this old field. I even heard that Trans Canada already has a pipeline a-runnin past the east side of that same Aquifer here in my state.  How greedy can ya get! Wanting to squirt more of that there dilbit into the water! I’m a voter, and sonny I voted for Barak Obama because he said he was gonna help the environment. I’m a man of my word; now my question is whether or not he’s a man of his. He needs to tell that there Trans Canada oil company not to run this dang pipe over my crops!



Monologue 3

 Jason Gurdak, a hydrologist at San Francisco State University, gives a presentation to a group of students. He writes on a board as he goes

 Jason: So, in essence, we’re pretty much just taking a bunch of contaminates, mixing them together, and dumping them in the water! Lets look real quick at something called dilbit, shall we? Dilbit is short for diluted bitumen, water mixed with tar sands oil. It contains toxic heavy metals like arsenic, and chemicals like benzene, a cancer causer. This stuff isn’t just regular oil here. Its a lot more corrosive than just crude oil alone, meaning it’ll break down the inside of the pipe quicker and almost guarantee a leak, which we cant detect as quickly underground. Plus, you got the aquifer right there, and a bunch of porous soil that’s just gonna sponge all this Dilbit up, and create a mess for the water. The Dilbit is denser and heavier than other contaminates, meaning its going to do WAY more than just float on top, its going to sink to the bottom, causing so much more damage that could create a plume.

 He tosses his marker

 Jason: And TransCanada is just saying that this is the safest way to transport the petroleum and that any spills “would be limited to a small area!” You’re kidding me right? Really! ‘Cause this crap has happened before, and I gotta tell ya, that wasn’t a “small area.”

 He holds up air quotes

 Jason: July 2010, just one year ago, a river in Michigan got Dilbit spilled in it and Lo and Behold! The waterway was closed for more than six months! Look, I’m not going to keep complaining about this, but come on, obviously I cant be the only one here that doesn’t see the stupidity behind this.


My Sources:
http://www.theindependent.com/articles/2011/09/22/news/local/13936546.txt

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/09/110919-keystone-xl-tar-sands-pipeline-groundwater/

http://www.wgbh.org/content-download/?revision_id=4004392

 

Pipeline History Monolouges

In this project we created monologues from the perspective of different people who would have an opinion on the XL pipeline that would be built from Canada to Texas. If you worked alone, you would do three monologues, and if you worked with someone else, you would do five. Each person would then have to make a video for one of the monologues they wrote. My personal goal for this project was to make it more opinionated and personal, because I tend to make my writing very factual, which would not have worked for this type of project.

Amish Farmer (James Prell):

(Pacing back and forth) I didn't have much of a choice when I was offered the chance to have the pipeline run through my land. But how will my neighbors react to it when I tell them? (Waves arms) The Amish of Kansas don't let this sort of thing happen, I should have been a better person and put the land and nature before myself, but I needed money.

I don’t make much money as it is, I never really have (sigh and glance down). The farming business isn’t something I’m good at, but it’s my only option, it's all I know. When TransCanada came to offer me money for the land they needed for the big pipe they were building, I wasn’t doing very well back then either. I was in between plantings after a failed harvest and I needed money pretty bad. These men offered me a deal; they would pay me lots of money if I let them cut through my land with big machines. And lay down this big pipe that would pump thousands of barrels of dark, crop killing oil from Canada to Texas.

            I’M A FARMER! (Shouts) What was I thinking? One mistake along any inch of that huge thing could completely destroy my work, my house, and I wouldn’t be able to plant for years afterwards. Not even the huge amount of money they paid me would be able to help me then. I’d have to leave everything I know behind. That poisonous fuel would forever taint all of my work, my father’s work, and his father’s work.

        I can’t turn back now. I’ve already signed a contract. I just wanted to be able to support myself, but I might end up destroying myself. I can only hope that our president stops the company from building the pipe. It might be selfish, because I know it will give a lot of people jobs. But if I ever have kids, I guess I want them to carry on my legacy here on the farm.

Transcanda Employee (James Prell)

I’ve worked on these oil sands for most of my adult life, long before these protesters started objecting to what we did over in America. I’ve taken part in setting up a lot of the more recent extraction plants too. (Shakes head) I grew up here in Alberta and witnessed the start of the dirty oil era. (Stretch arms and yawn) My life hasn’t really taken off yet though. At least, I hope it hasn’t. I spend all day operating the steam extraction machinery, and the pay isn’t great. (Cough) I’ve been wondering lately if working like this is worth the years taken off my life from inhaling the fumes.

Maybe those people down in Washington have the right idea; they’re working for a good cause fighting against the new Keystone pipeline. They’re passionate about what they believe in.

For a long time I saw the oil as a good thing. It was a miracle of modern science that we could extract fuel directly from the earth, without expensive drilling equipment. I was proud to work for the sake of helping people drive and provide oil to the world. I felt like a pioneer, leading my country forward.

(Nods) These Americans have opened my eyes though. If I help with the Keystone project, I could take a huge part in the pollution and destruction of North America. Sure, I might help a man get to work, but I might also kill someone by polluting his or her water supply. I don’t want that blood, or oil, on my hands.

Russ Girling (CEO of TransCanada) (Seamus Kirby): 

            Walks into room and sits on couch. Today was a tough day at work. It’s hard to hear myself think with so many protestors yelling outside your window. I know a lot of these people just see me as some greedy CEO that will do anything to get more money. Is that really me? I know I wouldn’t see myself as that, but if I look from their perspective, put myself in their shoes and look at myself? What am I? This pipeline would bring so much money to this company, and would benefit Canada and the USA in many ways. Jobs, money, oil. Does all that outweigh any potential environmental impacts? Right now we need oil, and we need a lot of it. In the future we may not need oil so much, but right now we do. This would at least postpone the energy problem for a while, until we have the means to postpone it further, or maybe even finally solve it. But is that what we really need? Would that make the problem worse? I doubt there will be any problems caused by this while I’m alive, but what about my children? No, I don’t think this pipeline will make or break the environment. It’s just one pipeline, and what people really need to do is stop wasting so much. Besides, if you ignore the environmental impacts this may or may not have, this is only beneficial to everyone.

 

Bill Mckibben (Seamus Kirby):

 

            We have lived and taken from our planet for tens of thousands of years. We started off just taking what we needed, but then we kept taking more and more and more, and now look at what that’s gotten us. We are polluting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. At the same time unemployment is rising, along with gas prices and debt. It seems as if every single unsustainable thing we’ve been doing in the history of this country has finally collapsed on us at once. We need money, and oil, and jobs. We also need to conserve the environment. If we aren’t mindful of how much we waste, and render the planet uninhabitable with our pollution, the planet will be fine. After a few thousand years, the planet will repair itself, and be back to the way it was before humans. The only thing we’d be killing is ourselves, and everything we share the planet with. The XL pipeline would do two things. It would bring money, oil, and jobs to America. And it would be another nail in the coffin of environmentalism. Will this completely destroy the environment in one fell swoop? No, but will it solve our debt, and job problems? No to that too. What we have to do is weigh what options would be best overall. Should we build it and generate a few thousand jobs, and billions of dollars in revenue, or should we not build and save countless plants and animals, and reduce our oil dependency. Transcanada says their pipes will not leak, but can we really believe them when their own pipes leaked 12 times? We can’t risk it leaking, because the pipeline goes over a major aquifer that people drink from. And it would pollute the drinking supply of millions with crude oil. I don’t think we should build the pipeline, because I believe that there is other ways of improving the economy, but there is only one way to protect the environment right now, and that is to stop the XL pipeline from being built.

 

Kenneth Hewitt (Seamus Kirby):

    I’ve been unemployed for almost a year now, and my unemployment benefits are starting to run out. I’ve been living out of this crummy apartment in this terrible neighborhood for about as long. I was laid off from my first job as a construction manager, and for the first few months nobody would hire me. After that nobody was hiring me because of how long I’d been unemployed. I heard about this new pipeline TransCanada is planning to build between Canada and Texas. I could maybe get a job helping building this, it shouldn’t be too difficult since it’s such a big project, and they’d need to hire a lot of people. Sure, it wouldn’t be permanent, but it would be something to put on my resume so employers wouldn’t immediately ignore my application due to not having been employed for a long time. But at the same time, do I want to help this project? So many people are protesting this because huge negative environmental implications. Maybe I could get a different job somewhere else, but where? This is the surest bet. But what do I care about more, my own wellbeing, or the wellbeing of my children and their children. Then again, the world’s already messed up for my kids; surely this one pipeline wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But if it’s not such a big deal, why are so many people protesting it? I can’t turn down work, but is this the work I want to do? I guess if this is going to be built I have no choice but to work on it, my only other option being unemployment. But I hope Obama blocks this from being built, so I don’t feel obligated to work on it.

 

Pipeline Monologue Project

​This project was to get different people opinion on the pipeline and how they see and view how it effects people and the economy. Through this monologue I wanted people to see the thoughts of the people on on the pipeline and how it effects them. The issues I wanted people to see was the pros and cons of this pipeline.


The Story No One Hears

*As Obama walks into the pressroom. He looks in the solemn faces of the people in the room and he feels sorrow*

My people hear me speak as a person not as the president talking into a microphone and listen to me and think of me as one of you. I, Obama have heard the concerns about the pipeline. But everyone puts the blame on me. But no one knows the back-story … my story of this pipeline. I do everything for this country and I try to do what is right but it can never be enough. As soon as anything goes wrong everyone points the finger at me. I try and try but I can do no right. If I have to have millions of people to hate me even though I am doing what is right for this economy so be it. If I have to ignore the screams and cries of the world because of this pipeline then I have to. If I have to look at people in the tearful eyes saying I have to do what is right for the economy and put their feelings aside then I’ll do it. But no one knows the guilt I have to face every time I open my eyes to a new day and close my eyes to end one. My family supports me in every decision I make. But I am afraid that they wont be able to look at me after the decision I make. My children will be ashamed to call me their father. This is my true horror. I’ll just sit and put in my headphones and close my eyes to blur out the screams and the tears of what this pipeline will do to people. If I have to live with guilt on my hands forever. So be it. But in the end I hope people don’t look at me as a monster but a person who try to do something right. 

Bryon E Hancock


One thing can destroy everything. 

·      He walks up to the stage of the assembly in his town and looks at everyone will a sad face with his family looking at him in the front row*

 The tar sands pipeline. People surveying my land and mumbling to each other. Those images have been staying in my head for many months on and on. How can the president just do this? How can he do this to his people? Why this land? Why does he have to kill the land I live on just for this pipeline? What did I do to deserve this sad life? All these questions just stay in my head and will never have an answer. This pipeline will destroy this land I have lived on for 15 years of my life. My family grew up on this land. I want my children to love this land and learn about when they grow up. I want my children to inherit this land. Why is one pipeline is going to take that all away from me. It will leave my family with out our home and my children without any memories of where they lived. My children will grow up and never see the land they lived on.  How can one pipeline people say with better us but is it taking away so much? Why else will it take in the years coming? What will our children have to look forward to? What state will our ecosystem be in? The tar sands pipeline is a nightmare that appeared in front of me. The nightmare of tar sands pipeline appeared on my doorstep and hasn’t left since. Will this nightmare ever end? Will it ever get better from here on?


Michel C.Weerd

 The good of the future

 *Walks on the stage full of protestors who doesn’t want the pipeline*

I have seen and heard the people voices of this pipeline but nobody sees what better it can do for our lives. People need to see the state this economy is in. We are so close to having a second depression. And people are protesting this pipeline? Why are they so selfish? Ok what if this pipeline doesn’t happen and we go down to an economic slump. What can the protesters do now? Absolutely nothing. With this oil we can look towards a new future and new beginnings. We can looks towards a brighter future. We can stop out dependence on foreign oil and stop this war over oil perhaps. All these points you just heard are the pros of this pipeline and obviously the pros outweigh the cons. This pipeline will be for the better and everyone needs to see that. Stop bashing the pipeline and see what good it will bring to this economy. This will make all the problems we have today disappears. We need this pipe like no one knows. This could be a better brighter future for us Americans. So protestors need to put their feelings aside and see the bigger better future. They need not to so selfish and see that this will affect many people lives for the better then the worse. This pipeline will fix everything and create many jobs, which we Americans are lacking and this can fix our downfall in the jobs area. We need this pipeline more then it needs us. With this pipeline the economy will hit a all time high. So people need to change their thought on protesting this pipeline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

















Pipeline Monologue Project

  In this project the goal was to show different perspectives about this environmental issue. Tar Sands oil and the XL Pipeline. My purpose was to have a typical citizen's point of view. Since this is a topic isn't known by most of America, I wanted my monologues to slowly form an opinion on this issue, assuming these people didn't have prior knowledge. This project is about the domestic concern for the XL Pipeline, that might cover six states. 

Monologues: 

Rich Loris:
All I saw were angry, concerned people outside my favorite window of the White House. My window had a clear view of all the action happening outside. *read slower* Picket signs….. Banners…. Police…. *pick up a bit more speed reading*I could barely hear the chants from my window, but they had a sense of confidence in each one. *talks slower* Canada….. *sound confused*Tar Sands…? Oil…. Nasty oil… Crude oil….. Foreign oil…. Oil…. Oil…. *gets angered* OIL! That’s all it ever is! *gets calm again* *takes a deep breath* That’s all I ever hear from my colleagues, I can’t do anything. I can’t say anything. If I do, I’ll seem like a threat. A threat to their self being. They only worry about themselves. I’m just the head of security. I don’t make any decisions. I just protect the man that does.

Hey, *shurgs*I even voted for him myself. The man had a dream I agreed with. It was different. I thought it was nice to have some color in the White House. This man’s dream opened my eyes to something more than what it should have been exaggerated to. I realized the place we live on won’t last forever. The way we live on this planet now, it’s destined to not be safe enough for our kin. Something needs to change. My actions may not make a dent in earth’s health, but it makes a dent in how I see things now.

It’s hard to hear men joke about this. They ultimately think it’s going to blow over and a 1700-mile pipe will cover six states of our domestic territory! The idea just doesn’t sit right with me. I cared too much for some unknown reason. I didn’t know the actual impact of this, in my heart it didn’t seem legit. It didn’t seem….moral.

I couldn’t help what I felt at the time, but I didn’t think twice about running out the door towards the dedicated protesters. I was about 200 meters from them. All I wanted to do was join then. Join a triumph waiting to happen. *clenches fists so veins show**takes a deep breath* I was tackled. I believe his name was Ben… Ben Hanks. I’m the one in charge of him, I should definitely know his name. I tried to pry his grip off me, but a sting in my left side *places his left hand on his left side* and I was out.

I woke up here. This jail cell. With a cold floor, a silver, metallic toilet and serious talking. *feels the floor and shivers* Then I looked up to a red haired girl blankly looking at me. 

Laury Ellis:

*Sits in a cornet near the bars of her cell

I woke up this morning with a purpose. I woke up to march… March for a relevant cause to my president. *fixes shirt* He is the one who can stop it all. He’s the man I have all my hopes in right now. I tied my hair back for a serious persona and dressed in a simple pair of nice of jeans and a Obama shirt I got at the beginning of his election. I bought an extra shirt just in case I was displeased at the president for a moment. I knew I was going to out there for awhile, but I didn’t think I’d end up in a jail cell at the end of the day. All I Americans were allowed to express what their opinions were. Right or wrong, it can still be said. But I guess when it goes up against the White House, it’s always going to be wrong. I realized that today.

            *Speaks in a “matter-of-fact voice* I’ve seen that the no one had denied a permit for the pipeline. All permission was given. Canada wants to get rid of it and the U.S. is willing to take it, since it’s an ally’s oil. I also checked out what TransCanada is doing about the land their taking from domestic owners. In addition to the government getting millions of dollars in revenue, around 600 million to be exact, their giving a small portion of the profits to the landholders their taking away property from. I couldn’t argue with that. I mean… I’ve my land was taken, I’d probably take up the offer of getting some type of compensation. But I’m seriously worried about what it’d to the environment. Plowing through acres and acres of lands that houses animals, plants, and freshwater. It’s a shame to see what could be lost with this pipe. It there any other way this could be done? Instead of a pipeline, maybe thousands of truck drivers and money to be put in oil transportation? I don’t know. That might be worse… A lot is at jeopardy, but I’m just a citizen. I can’t do anything. I can only stand for something.

            Now, I stare at this man. Dressed in a suit and tie with ear piece that you usually see officials. I don’t know who he is. He seems interested. Maybe he knows something about it all. 

Ben Hanks:

*Ben sits at the bottom of a tree trunk with his head in his hands.*

I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t know he had more authority than me. I didn’t know anything about this man. I didn’t know what my boss looked like. *Slowly lifts his head out his hands.* He could have been Indian for all I cared.

            I was told to watch for anyone making trouble. That’s my job. That’s what I’m paid to do. The protesters were pretty much under control. The picket signs were all too offensive, so I wasn’t worried about today. Things seems relatively fine. I stood there, at my guard and I was prepared for anything.

            I kept hearing things about this “crude” oil. I couldn’t look it up on my blackberry at the time, but it didn’t seem bad. These people seemed to be against what I thought is   exactly what we need. Oil from a place close by. Right? It’s better than getting overseas in that terrorist country. We fight for all of what we have and why not take a chance and get something we deserve. It’s said that the pipeline won’t leak and that’s good enough for me. Hey, it’s not going to impact me in D.C. so why should I worry about it? I sorry for those who live out there, but my living arrangements aren’t at all going to be ruined.

            As I was contemplating about this issue a man runs across the White House field. I couldn’t tell who he was, nor where he came from. My first instinct was to tackle him. He tried to struggle out of my grip so I tazed him. I cuffed him and gave to the others. I was then informed later on… He was the big boss.