Opinion

Op-Ed: Why Keystone is Different

Published

10 years ago

November 12, 2015

By Hunter Cutting, Huffington Post

In the United States the saying goes that politicians often lead from the rear. Our elected “leaders” actually follow the crowd more often than they lead, charting their course with poll numbers rather than principles.

That can be the sign of a healthy democracy where the popular vote matters more than the moneyed interests. However, once in a while a politician steps forward and truly leads, moving the country where it needs to go even though many don’t see it yet. Obama’s rejection of the Keystone pipeline is exactly one of those rare moments.

Obama not only rejected Keystone, he did it in the face of polls saying that a majority of Americans support the pipeline. He did it undaunted by the power of the fossil fuel industry. He did it strongly and loudly. And most importantly he made it clear that the rejection was about saving our climate.

Obama used the moment to deliver perhaps the most important message that any leader can send about climate change: the time to act is now. Most Americans support action on climate change, but they don’t see it as a top priority. Poll after poll shows that Americans see climate change as a distant threat for the future. In poll after poll, Americans rank climate change last among the issues our leaders should tackle now.

But the science and the economics tell a very different story. America, and the world, must make a dramatic course change, and we must begin that correction right now. The path we choose to travel over next 5-15 years will determine our future.

We have to start reducing emissions now, and we must eventually bring them all the way down to zero by mid-century. Carbon pollution doesn’t wash out of the atmosphere; it only builds up. Warming will only get worse over time. We can put out only so much carbon pollution before warming becomes catastrophic. There is no going backward. We have a budget and we’re eating it up fast.

However, at this moment, we’re still at a place where we can easily avoid the worst impacts of climate change. We can make the transition to zero pollution with ordinary effort if we immediately stop investing in fossil fuel infrastructure and instead direct all new investment into renewable energy.

That’s the easy glide path, the path that not only avoids the worst impacts of climate change but also builds our economy. Renewable energy is not only clean; it’s now the cheaper choice going forward. Due to the dramatic transformation of the energy industry over the last 10 years the prices for wind and solar have plummeted through the floor. Clean energy is now competitive, if not outright cheaper, than fossil fuels for most activities.

On the other hand, if we stay on the business as usual course, in just 10-15 years we will have blown through our remaining budget and we will then be faced with only bad options. At that point our choices will be simple.

We could stay the course and face truly cataclysmic impacts of global warming. Or we could desperately attempt to halt most emissions by turning off our fossil fueled energy sources much, much faster than we could possibly replace them with clean energy. And in doing so we would crash dive the global economy.

The fork in the road is clear. From now on, every dollar we spend on new fossil-fuel infrastructure is simply throwing good money after bad.

Even the World Bank has concluded that we have all the pipelines and power plants we need in order to burn through all the fossil fuel we can while staying in our carbon budget. From now on, every pipeline, every export terminal, every gas-fired power plant we start building will have to be shut down before it reaches the end of its useful life.

In contrast, every dollar we invest in wind and solar power means even cheaper energy down the road. Clean energy has pulled even with fossil fuel as the cheapest energy source. And the price of wind and solar will only get even cheaper as investments scale and technology improves because the fuel is always free.

In rejecting Keystone Obama put a bright light on that fork in the road. And he put spotlight on a very clear, bright line: no more investments in fossil-fuel infrastructure. No more throwing good money after bad.

Throwing light where there is darkness is a hallmark of leadership. And in America we are blessed to still have those kinds of leaders.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 11 = 17, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 11 – 17, 2026

Published

2 days ago

February 16, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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#NNPA BlackPress

COMMENTARY: The National Protest Must Be Accompanied with Our Votes

Just as Trump is gathering election data like having the FBI take all the election data in Georgia from the 2020 election, so must we organize in preparation for the coming primary season to have the right people on ballots in each Republican district, so that we can regain control of the House of Representatives and by doing so, restore the separation of powers and balance that our democracy is being deprived of.

Published

1 week ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper. File photo..

By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper

As thousands of Americans march every week in cities across this great nation, it must be remembered that the protest without the vote is of no concern to Donald Trump and his administration.

In every city, there is a personal connection to the U.S. Congress. In too many cases, the member of Congress representing the people of that city and the congressional district in which it sits, is a Republican. It is the Republicans who are giving silent support to the destructive actions of those persons like the U.S. Attorney General, the Director of Homeland Security, and the National Intelligence Director, who are carrying out the revenge campaign of the President rather than upholding the oath of office each of them took “to Defend The Constitution of the United States.”

In California, the primary comes in June 2026. The congressional races must be a priority just as much as the local election of people has been so important in keeping ICE from acquiring facilities to build more prisons around the country.

“We the People” are winning this battle, even though it might not look like it. Each of us must get involved now, right where we are.

In this Black History month, it is important to remember that all we have accomplished in this nation has been “in spite of” and not “because of.” Frederick Douglas said, “Power concedes nothing without a struggle.”

Today, the struggle is to maintain our very institutions and history. Our strength in this struggle rests in our “collectiveness.” Our newspapers and journalists are at the greatest risk. We must not personally add to the attack by ignoring those who have been our very foundation, our Black press.

Are you spending your dollars this Black History Month with those who salute and honor contributions by supporting those who tell our stories? Remember that silence is the same as consent and support for the opposition. Where do you stand and where will your dollars go?

Oakland Post

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Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

1 week ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.