This week’s post is going to veer from the pipeline a little, but I felt the need to address something that happened recently. For those of you unfamiliar with Omaha, NE, there is a lovely little area called the Dundee district. I could go on and on about this area of town. It’s one of my favorite spots to visit. It’s got local coffee shops and bars, restaurants and a movie theater that does midnight showings of cult classics.
Recently, there were plans to put a CVS in this area. The plans for the layout were awful (you can see them on facebook). It would have been an eyesore and not very pedestrian-friendly, among its many flaws. Sadly, it looked like it was a done deal. CVS had decided to build and the spot they wanted even got deemed as “blighted”, making it seem like a CVS was somehow going to be a vast improvement. People didn’t really want it there, but what could they do? It seemed like yet another case of big business getting final say, as opposed to the people who actually lived there.
Then something happened. People, only a few at first but more as time went on, got ticked off. They wanted a say in how their neighborhood developed. They decided they weren’t going to just sit back and let CVS determine what did or didn’t get built in their neck of the woods. The best part? They won. The Omaha City Council shut down the construction of the CVS in a 4-3 vote.
What does this have to do with the Keystone XL? You probably already figured it out. TransCanda is Nebraska’s CVS. They want to come into our state and determine what happens. They claim it’s for development. They claim we need them. Funny, that’s what CVS said to people about the Dundee district. I say, let’s take a page from the people who organized against CVS. Let’s tell TransCanada we can come up with better solutions for our energy needs. Please join us.
Colleen
Soooooo glad. One victory down. Just remind people, all is not lost.