by Ben Jealous
āSpend your energy figuring out whatās the one thing that you can agree on with a political foe,ā Gen. Colin Powell told me years ago. āFigure that out and you can get a lot done.ā
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Weāre seeing that proven across the Midwest from Illinois to NorthĀ Dakota where unlikely allies with different interests and perspectives are joined in fighting against severalĀ multi-state carbon dioxide pipelines proposed by huge agribusiness and fossil fuels companies.
For some, itās a simple as private companies trying to take private land that belongs to someone else to make private profit for themselves. For others, the pipelines would extend our reliance on dirty fuels and prolong pollution from industrial farming and the ethanol producers it supplies. Together they see the pipelines as unnecessary,Ā destructive to precious land, andĀ potentially dangerous.
āWe might not agree on a lot of things, but this is something we will all oppose, these pipelines,ā says Kim Juncker, who farms land with her husband in Butler County, Iowa, that could be grabbed for whatās called the Navigator project. āWe will lock arms on this one.ā
Juncker calls herself a āconstitutional conservativeā and explains her political leanings and in her view those of many landowners simply: āWe like our property rights and we like ourĀ freedom.ā
Environmental activists have seen that opposing pipelines demands the voice of the people who own land that they donāt want to sell to the developers.
For their part, landowners appreciate that environmental groups bring their organizing experience and theirĀ capacity to monitor the smallest details in the fight. One of the biggestĀ challenges is farmers are busy farming and canāt make opposition a full-time job.
Tim Baughman, who owns land with his sister in Crawford County, Iowa, that could be disrupted by the Summit pipeline, attended a safety meeting with the developer last week; the only reason he learned of the session was hearing about from a farmer in another part of the state. In turn, he does his best to keep two other landowners informed. Theyāre among nine in the county who havenāt signed voluntary easements for the pipeline to cross their land and are less connected to the digital world, he says.
More than 150 landowners now join weekly Zoom calls withĀ environmentalists to share information and strategy. One outcome is that more than 460 landowners have filed to intervene when the Iowa Utilities Board holds its hearing in a few weeks over the Summit pipelineās request to take land through eminent domain. Thatās no small feat as Baughmanās own filing to intervene was 51 pages long.
Our system allows for the power of enough people to thwart the power of money, which the pipeline developers certainly have. Thatās how opponents have managed to claim some big wins.
In North Dakota, the public service commission last week denied Summit the permit it needs to move forward, citing issues from impact on cultural sites and wildlife areas to property values; the company can reapply. In Iowa, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would haveĀ significantly limited the pipelinesā ability to take land involuntarily with nearly two-thirds of Democrats and 80 percent of Republicans in support (the bill unfortunately was killed in the state Senate).
To really harness that people power, we need to build coalitions that are uncomfortably large. Thatās what pipeline opponents have done.Ā
People who will question whetherĀ carbon is damaging the climate are fighting alongside people who will question the role of biofuels inĀ prolonging our fossil fuel addiction.
In a country that can feel so divided, thereās promise in that beyond theĀ pipeline fight. As General Powell told me, āAs you win one victory together, you might just discover along the way that thereās something else you agree on.ā