ExxonMobile has reported a “major spill” due to a rupture in one of its crude oil pipelines running through the town of Mayflower, Ark. The leak was discovered the afternoon of March 29, by which time several thousand barrels of oil had spilled, requiring that homes in the area be evacuated.
This latest disaster intensifies discussion regarding construction of the massive Keystone XL pipeline now under consideration by the U.S. State Department. The 1,702-miles-long pipeline would carry crude tar sands oil from Canada through some of the most environmentally fragile lands in the United States. Despite scientists’ warnings regarding the high certainty of ecological contamination voiced in the mobilization of thousands of activists, President Obama has yet to respond critically to the issue by using his veto power.
The pipeline, which will be a partnership between Canadian oil giant TransCanada and the U.S. government, reveals the role of the environment under capitalism. Like all companies, TransCanada seeks to maximize profit at the expense of people and has no consideration for the land on which we all survive. Corporate ties between government officials and such companies underline the inability of the U.S. political system to respond progressively to the issue. So far, the Obama administration has protected private interests, not the people, nor the environment, by arresting activists who oppose the Keystone XL pipeline, while continuing to shepherd the project through the system.
Construction of the Keystone XL pipeline will only increase the rate of disasters like this latest spill in Mayflower and the rapidity of global climate change. Mass protest is important in the immediate struggle, and if large enough numbers are mobilized can stop the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Socialism, however, is the only long-term solution to these environmental threats. Socialism puts people’s needs before corporate profits and is therefore built on the protection of the environment. Under socialism, companies like TransCanada and ExxonMobile could not profit from such controversial practices that so often result in disaster.
