Assemblyman John McKeon, who just yesterday introduced legislation (ACR-224) opposing construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), sounded the warning alarms on Tuesday as Donald Trump signed executive orders allowing construction on both DAPL and the Keystone XL Pipeline to resume.
“New Jersey is no stranger to the threat posed by encroaching oil pipelines. We’ve been fighting tooth-and-nail to prevent the Pilgrim’s Pipeline from encroaching into North Jersey and my district, as well as the PennEast Pipeline in central and south Jersey.
“Like DAPL and Keystone, these pipelines pose a two-fold threat in terms of their immediate impact on the air, water and soil of the communities they trample through, as well as the long-term threat our continued obsession with fossil fuels poses to the global environment.
“For those who urged that we give President Trump the benefit of the doubt, his actions now lay bare the disregard for the very real threats posed by fossil fuels and their impact on climate change. This appears to be just the beginning of the environmental catastrophes we feared. The latest reports cite him telling automakers that ‘environmentalism is out of control.’
“It’s clear he has no regard for what scientists consider the most pressing issue of our time. The fact that very real threats to our survival as a planet have somehow been politicized is baffling. It’s time for every lawmaker in this country who is concerned about their children’s and their grandchildren’s future to stand up and say enough is enough.
“I hope the Assembly will move forward with my measure opposing DAPL soon so we can send a message to lawmakers in Washington that we will not tolerate this blatant disregard for our precious natural resources,” said McKeon (D-Essex/Morris).