Pipeline Monologue Project
Our first investigation in World History class was a current issue – The Keystone XL Pipeline. If built, this pipeline will stretch from Canada , through America's heartland, all the way to Texas. There are many different views from which people support or oppose the building of this pipeline. My class was given the task of showing these different views through monologues.
My three monologues are a fish, a middle school child,and a drill.The fish and the boy are against the Pipeline, but for two entirely different reasons(the fish is worried about the environment, and the boy is worried about the people that will be displaced). The drill is for the economic appeal of the pipeline.They all show different opinions about the pipeline and I tried to bring their characters to life; they have personalities and personal trials.
Hey you! Yeah you,
no
hard feelings eh?
I
know I just roughed you up and chained you to this pipe here,
but
think about it this way,
you
are going towards a greater good,
I've
been
out of work for a while, my hand and I
its
been a minute since this old bit has whirled,
with
all of the layoffs and whatnot
my
hand's company moved a lot of their jobs to China,
now
some 13 year old kid is doing a grown man's job
at
least you have stability,
this
is one of the only times its okay to be screwed over ,
hahaha
at
least you have stability,
I'm
stuck here,
waiting
at the mercy of my hand's country's regime
this
O'canner guy
what?
Its
Obama?
Okay,
if you say so
well,
at least I have some work done, we've started the southern part of
this pipeline, so the humans must know something that I don’t,
I
mean, why would they start something they may not be able to
finish!
laughs
nervously, then goes to a more reserved tone of voice
My
hand, he always tells me about his three little girls,
Mary,
Margaret and Marlene,
He
has children, and they don't just need oil or a battery charge like
me and you,
and
to think of the nerve of the Texans that are uniting against this
project, his fellow Texans,
are
trying to keep him and 20,000 other hardworking Americans away from
an honest paycheck
and
away from the tools of their trade,
I
mean would you
say
no?
goes
aggressive
you
would love to see me rust, wouldn't you??
sit
here and watch my drill dull
and
my metal mode,
calms
himself, though
you
can still hear anger in his voice
Okay,
its not you, I’m sorry,
but
I, me and my hand and I really need this job.
“War Between Worlds”
Walking home, the air is crisp. Luke looks at the surrounding white around him. Speaking to no one. One of his classmates has just left.
Bye Tommy, see you after the New Year!
“Bye Luke!”, they all say
“Bye Luke, have a good holiday break.”
They don't know that there are no holidays in my house and that no one calls me Luke at home,
Bye Luke, Please
Arrluk, Arrluk, come here. Get ready, we are going to the reserve to see your grandparents
I can't wait until they're all moved off their land.
Wait, that was terrible to say,
You know something funny
We were learning about the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline and how some people would lose their homes, some indigenous people
And no one asked me how i felt
how all of this affected me
to them I'm just Luke
to myself I'm just Luke
laughs
Arrluk is the one who wouldn’t care Americans are calling the oil theirs, but he would care that his ancestors may be out of a home,
Arrluk would care if the precious environment of the Tar Sands was uprooted, leaving waste and destruction in it's path
I mean Luke does despise the American politicians, never looking out for their people and now coming to Canada to wreak havoc.
gets hostel, stops walking, stands still, in the cold, shivering
Are there not enough Native Americans in their country left to oppress, now its the Inuits' turn?
confused
But wait, who cares about that? Luke? Arrluk?
Why isn't the Government/company working on alternative energy instead of wasting 7 billion dollars on something we already have?
When using all of the Tar Sands, almost 12 parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere will be added,
Whatever happened to the 305 initiative?
Whatever happened to Arrluk, I mean,
Luke
See video for "War Between Worlds" below
Swims ahead, furiously, clearly distraught
No!!!
I don’t believe it,
I mean those plastic soda thingies should've shown me that these people are capable of anything
but not this,
not this,
anything but this,
My precious water,
They’re planning to use it to refine this,
this so called tar sands,
for oil,
Oil is the main cause of problems for us fish,
my cousins Bait and Tackle told me about that oil spill in the Gulf by BP,
they said
in a country voice
Cuzzin’ Bubbles, oil is a dangerous thang, try to stay away from it, you're lucky you don't live where oil is.
regular distressed voice, agitated,
And I had the nerve to assume myself safe just because I live in one of the Sandhills’ lakes
But they want to run this pipeline through the aquifer,
The aquifer that waters all the crops and feeds all of the bodies of water,
Begins to smack at the water furiously with his fins
You’ll be ruined,
RUINED!
and they want to waste even more water on these toxic waste lakes,
My home will be a toxic waste lake if they have their way,
or maybe I’ll be lucky and die a fast death,they’ll drain the lake to use,
it takes MORE of my precious water, to actually make this stuff,
oil,
I mean, who even heard of tar sands,and thought oil?
The first words out of the others’ mouths was “Don’t try to fight it, you won’t win”
You know what, I’m gonna’ die trying, because I’m going to die either way!
- The oil will be shipped 1700 miles from Canada to refineries in Texas.
- Building this will cost 7 billion dollars
- 800 thousands barrels of oil a day will be produced
Tar Sands Pipeline Plan Renews Energy vs. Environment Debate. 2011. Film. 1 Oct 2012. <http://video.pbs.org/video/2110582932> - Tar sands oil extraction and production emits three times more carbon dioxide than average from production of conventional oil consumed in the United States.
- Extracting the fossil fuels in tar sands from the sand, silt, and clay requires enormous amounts of water.
"Friends of the Earth." Friends of the Earth. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www.foe.org/projects/climate-and-energy/tar-sands>.
- "fully exploiting the Canadian Tar Sands would lead to an increase in Carbon Dioxide of between 9 & 12 parts per million,"
- Named after a Northern Plains tribe, the Ogallala provides water to farms in eight states, accounting for a quarter of the nation’s cropland, as well as municipal drinking wells.If the pipeline should spring a leak where it touches the aquifer or even above it, Kleeb and other opponents say, oil could quickly seep into and through the porous, sandy soil.
Mufson, Steven. "Keystone XL pipeline may threaten aquifer that irrigates much of the central U.S.."Washington Post 06 008 2012, n. pag. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/keystone-xl-pipeline-may-threaten-aquifer-that-irrigates-much-of-the-central-us/2012/08/06/7bf0215c-d4db-11e1-a9e3-c5249ea531ca_story.html>.
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