Pipeline Monologue Project

​ For the first history project of the year, we studied something that is not at all in our past, but is, in fact, very current. The KeystoneXL Pipeline is a pipeline-extension project proposed by TransCanada, a Canadian Oil company, that has been projected to run through the center of America starting in Alberta, Canada, and traveling down to Southeast Texas, where it will meet with refineries, and be shipped out to other countries.

Being in charge of our own oil, having our own pipeline- one big enough for the country to

access as a whole- is something fresh and new for Americans, something we’ve long awaited. It means lower gas prices to some, more tax revenue to others, and easily accessible oil to many. Not only does it provide these benefits, but it supplies thousands with promising jobs and shines light on an end to whatever "War on Oil" that may be left with unfriendly countries.

However, with many things in America, there is a cache of hidden information, because this pipeline is absolutely too terrible to be true. Drilling miles into the ground, uprooting forests, contaminating essential groundwater with toxic tar sands, releasing methane into drinking water so that people can light their faucets on fire in their own homes; the chance that things like these could happen is very, very high. This the face of the KeystoneXL Pipeline. Whether or not the pros outweigh the cons, or vice versa, is for everyone to decide for themselves.

Yet, before delving further into the issue, here are some key pointers on the situation:

• The pipeline will carry crude oil/ tar sands from Hardisty, Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska. It will then be sent further south to refineries in southeast Texas.(TransCanada)

• Conspiracy and cover-ups: The ERM (Environmental Resources Management) lobbies for TransCanada on behalf of this very project, and “...the State Department’s favorable report on the Keystone XL was written by a company that works for TransCanada and over a dozen other companies that have stakes in the Alberta tar sands.” (FriendsoftheEarth, Climate&Capitalism)

• “[This pipeline] will create thousands of American jobs and decrease our dependence on unfriendly nations for energy...like Venezuela and the Middle Eastern dictators by depriving Americans of oil when gas prices are around four dollars...” -Congressman Ted Poe during a KeystoneXL Pipeline Press Conference (Youtube)

• Because the pipeline crosses an international border, President Obama has the final say on the matter. Legislation has been passed by the House of Representatives that forces him to make up his mind by November 1. (MotherJones)

• Many scientists have noted that, not only is the pipeline environmentally harmful, it’s nonsensical. (MotherJones)

This brings us to the creative portion of this project, the monologues.

1.) Sacrificing Virtues to Compensate for Vices

Beatriz has just finished a conversation with her son, who works for the ERM. He called to tell her that she needs to move off her farmland to a place where she can do what she loves without the KeystoneXL pipeline adversely affecting it. She protests, feeling nostalgic. She begins explaining the situation and her feelings to her younger sister, Alexis, and her young daughter, Castalia.

“ I have to irrigate because this farm is so damn big and I can’t get around it all by myself...I used to have Paolo here every day when I was younger and he’d always take samples of the water and make sure it was the best quality for watering whatever we were watering. He’d help around the home, doing what he loved to do. His intelligence got hooked on the money, though. He relished in working with me, making a healthy profit off the land, doing things that will later benefit the earth. I'm afraid he just kills the earth to abide by his company's [wishes]”

Read the entire monologue here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/172897278/Sacrificing-Virtues-for-Vices

2.) Concerned, Not.

Francesca is in a meeting that’s just about to end, advocating on behalf of the benefits of the KeystoneXL Pipeline. She loves her job as he gets to interact with all types of people, especially being from New York and moving up to Canada. She’s never loved interaction with people more than she does now. However, she’s noticing, as she is a marketing director for TransCanada, that with all big companies come corruption. She wants to tell people the truth, but there are two obstacles: her job versus her daughter.

“Ah, we were on questions, yes. Alright, so I guess we’ll have to do things a bit elementary, raising hands is the way to go [chuckling]....don’t all raise your hands at once, now.....Ma’am in the blue button down, what would you like to know? Yes, you in the lovely baby blue top. Your name? Samantha, I’ve got an answer. The pipeline is totally safe, but we must first realize the fact that this is American made with most workers actually from states out here like Nebraska, some as far down as Texas [she names the state as if it were a far off land]. This is a great American feat for brilliant American people [she finishes with a smile worthy of a commercial].”

Read the entire monologue here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/172910933/Concerned-Not

3.) The Genius Behind the Evil

Melissa has just gotten off the phone with her mom to finish working on an article addressing the pros and cons of the Keystone XL Pipeline. She’s discussing the situation with her boyfriend, partner in activism, and classmate, Tim. Working for an online publication aimed towards a younger audience, her mentor often calls on her to produce controversial articles pertinent to current events- and to produce them as unbiasedly as possible. Though she loves her mom, she often bashes her employer, TransCanada,  for their lack of empathy for life in all its splendor, but praises the genius behind the evil and tries to learn from their persuasiveness as a writing tactic of her own.

“....I almost....y’know what..no [she slams her pen down] I do applaud TransCanada for getting this far without someone shutting their entire operation right down. Look on their website, yo. They have two paragraphs about the pipeline. TWO. [laughing] That’s all! The way they’re pulling this together is brilliant. [mumbling information to herself] “....crude oil refineries in the Gulf Coast...” They said nothing about American jobs, nothing about the price, it’s crude oil for Christ’s sake!”

Read the entire monologue here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/172938739/The-Genius-Behind-the-Evil