Privileged Hollywood Elites Call On Biden To Kill Dakota Access Pipeline
Signatories include Leonardo DiCaprio, Cher and Ava DuVernay
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More than 200 environmentally-conscious celebrities are now calling on Joe Biden to kill the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Biden only recently made the decision to kill the Keystone XL pipeline, causing thousands of job losses.
According to The Hollywood Reporter:
“More than 200 people have signed a letter addressed to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris urging them to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline after a court ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration broke the law when it pushed forward with construction during his tenure in the White House."
“Some of those include Leonardo DiCaprio, Cher, Ava DuVernay, Jane Fonda, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Jason Momoa, Kerry Washington, Sarah Silverman, Amy Schumer, Chelsea Handler, Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany, Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara,” the report continued.
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The Hollywood signatories called on Biden to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, and made the case that it violated the sovereignty rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
The letter states:
"In 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe became the epicenter of a global climate justice movement to stop the illegal construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline."
“The pipeline had originally been slated to cross the Missouri River north of Bismarck, ND, yet the risk of an oil spill on the city’s 90% white inhabitants was deemed too great.
"The new crossing site shifted the risk to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, in a location of key religious and cultural importance, including the burial grounds of their ancestors."
"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved several of the required permits without conducting an Environmental Impact Statement or adequately consulting with the Tribe.”
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“After several months of peaceful demonstrations and the advocacy of tens of millions of Americans, President Obama listened to the demands of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe,” it continues.
“He declined to issue the final pipeline permit. Then the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced they would conduct a full environmental review, which would focus on the Tribe’s treaty rights.''
"However, Trump stopped the review and fast-tracked the pipeline hours after he took office, further violating tribal sovereignty.”
The letter says that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and others fought Trump in court until the U.S. District Court ruled in March of last year that the “pipeline was operating without the proper permits and needed to have a full environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act.”
“The Court ordered the U.S. Army Corps to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement. In July 2020, the Court ordered the pipeline be shut down."
"After an appeal, on January 27th, days after your Inauguration, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the pipeline is operating illegally and gave your Administration the authority to shut down the pipeline,” it argues.
But as the privileged Hollywood elite virtue signal over the environment, many workers are now losing their jobs.
One of those is an American construction worker, who lost his job when the Keystone XL Pipeline was canceled by the new administration, he gave an emotional statement in response, warning that Biden is "going to hurt a lot of people, a lot of families, a lot of communities."
"We start projects knowing that once it's complete, we're getting laid off," Neal Crabtree wrote.
"We depend on these temporary projects though to make a career."
