– from Peace and Social Concerns Committee

Michael Klare, a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College, writes in a recent essay about the Obama administration’s use of energy as a weapon in US foreign policy. In this context, the unprecedented expansion of oil and gas production in the United States under the Obama administration is in part a national security strategy. American production reduces our consumption of global supplies, creating the opportunity to enlist allies otherwise dependent on others to join the US in sanctions on countries like Iran and Russia. The weaponization of energy may help explain in part why Senator Tim Kaine has signed onto legislation to expedite the export of liquefied natural gas and why both of our Senators and Governor McAuliffe are supporters of off-shore drilling in Virginia waters.   It’s not just about the purported jobs and economic growth fossil fuels generate, it’s about wielding power in the world.

Virginia is on the frontline now in the vast expansion of infrastructure to enable the export of natural gas. The proposed Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines are massive 42 inch pipelines that will cross the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Mountains, two national forests, the Appalachian Trail, hundreds of streams and rivers, hundreds of farms, home places, businesses and communities. The Governor is an advocate and proponent of the projects and our senators are standing on the fence saying that the federal process for pipeline proposals should be followed. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has never turned down a pipeline proposal.

The political influence of Dominion, and the industry generally, as well as the “national security” imperative undergirding energy production and export makes this is an uphill fight. As we consider ways to act in the world to promote peace and stewardship of the earth, the pipeline proposals call out for our response. If you are so led, the advocates in the path of the pipelines have many resources available to take action, including sample letters and information. Please see Friends of Nelson, http://friendsofnelson.com/; Preserve the New River Valley, http://preservethenrv.com/, and Appalachian Voices, http://appvoices.org/tag/mountain-valley-pipeline/