Letter writer: Divest from pipeline madness

Graphic by Lori Deaton

Water is life. We all keep hearing it over and over again. But — it really is. Turn off all the digital stuff for just a minute — and appreciate that simple fact. Water is life.

Without clean water, we cannot live healthy and productive lives. Without clean water, we cannot brew quality craft beers (just trying to get someone’s attention here). Clean water is essential in our everyday lives. And most of us take it for granted.

After years of neglect and abuse, and despite the awareness generated back in the ’70s which led to the Clean Water Act, the fresh drinking water we have left on this planet is under attack as never before. Existing and proposed pipelines, along with the fracking boom, are ticking time bombs ready to pollute what’s left of our precious water resources. We don’t hear about most of the spills. Only the surrounding communities experience the true consequences of a spill, large or “small.” And they just keep happening.

So what can we do?

Divesting from those institutions that help fund and support the destructive and dangerous construction of new pipelines is one very powerful and effective tool. Divestiture helped to bring down entrenched apartheid in South Africa. It could also be a last resort to help save what clean water we have left in the United States.

New pipelines are being proposed around the country to lock us all into fossil-fuel servitude. Here in North Carolina, the Atlantic Coastal Pipeline hopes to bring us all fracked gas from West Virginia through Virginia to a theater near you! Let your thoughts be known if you would rather our state resources be used to protect our precious water supply and promote clean energy instead of supporting destructive pipelines that will dig their way through our beautiful communities and put them in danger at the same time.

More info about which banks are helping to fund the pipelines is available at defundDAPL.org.

Cities and communities around the nation are choosing to divest from those institutions that wish to profit from the pipeline madness that threatens our most precious resource. I’m hoping Asheville will be the next one to do so. There is a better way. Water is life.

— Gardner Hathaway
Asheville        

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

One thought on “Letter writer: Divest from pipeline madness

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.