Native Americans March to the White House to Protest Pipelines

by Theodora Filis

Following months of demonstrations in North Dakota, thousands of Native Americans along with their supporters marched to the White House to express outrage at President Trumps continued support for the Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines.

Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux, Dave Archambault, spoke at the rally asking communities around the world to stand with them today, as they had done in the past. The Cheyenne River Sioux and Standing Rock lost their bid to legally halt the construction of the last link of the oil pipeline under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. Completion of the pipeline is expected on April 1, 2017.

Tipis were erected on the National Mall by protesters.

Some protesters were wearing traditional tribal outfits, carrying signs that read Native Lives Matter, Water is Life, and Protect the Water while marching.

While speaking to the crowd, Archambault was often times interrupted by those supporting him with cheers, and others who booed him. There were many who accused him of selling them out by allowing the main anti-pipeline protest camp, Oceti Sakewin, to be clear out.

Archambault told the crowd that he wasn't bothered by them being upset, and tried explaining that the only reason he was attending the rally was for the sake of the youth and the future of the Sioux people.

White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The pipeline is now being constructed after Trump signed an executive order last month clearing the path for construction to continue. Trump also opened the way for another pipeline -- the Keystone XL project -- that will carry Canadian crude into the United States.

One of President Trump's first acts in office was to sign an executive order reversing the decision by the previous administration, of Democratic President Barack Obama, to delay approval of the $3.8 billion Dakota pipeline project by Energy Transfer Partners LP.

Although the fight seems to be over, and construction is underway, opponents of the pipeline have vowed to continue protesting.

Scott Pruitt Denies C02 Emissions Primary Cause of Climate Change

By Theodora Filis

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headed by Scott Pruitt, has denied the scientific claim that climate change is caused primarily by carbon dioxide emissions.

Pruitt said that to measure human activity on the climate is challenging and that because of the tremendous amount of speculation surrounding the impact humans have on climate change he would have to disagree that it's a primary contributor to global warming. He went on to say that the EPA needed to continue the debate, review, and analyze findings.

These comments have placed Pruitt in a difficult situation with the EPA. For more than a century, science has proven that CO2 traps heat. Scientists have concluded that atmospheric concentrations of the gas have increased by more than a third since the industrial revolution, driven by the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.

Gina McCarthy, Pruitt's predecessor, condemns his comments.

The EPA states on its website that carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas that is contributing to recent climate change. This statement is backed by NASA, which calls CO2 the most important long-lived forcing of climate change.

A report, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, summarized the findings of 2,000 international scientists. The report claims that it is extremely likely that the steep rise in CO2, along with other greenhouse gasses such as methane, has caused most of the global warming experienced since the 1950's.

Gina McCarthy claims the world of science is about empirical evidence, not beliefs. That when it comes to climate change, the evidence is robust and overwhelmingly clear that the cost of inaction is unacceptably high. McCarthy said she can not imagine what additional information the administrator might want from scientists for him to understand that.

A core EPA function is the regulation of greenhouse gasses.

Prior to heading the EPA, Pruitt was the attorney general who sued the EPA in order to stop Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which imposes emissions limits on coal-fired power plants. Under the Trump administration, the Clean Power Plan is probably going to be cut. President Trump as called the EPA a disgrace and has said he would reduce it to tidbits in hopes of creating economic growth.

Pruitt is scheduled to review the EPA's role in vehicle emissions standards, methane emissions, and protection of America's waterways. Severe cuts are expected under the new White House budget proposal.