It's time for us to stop putting the oil companies in charge of protecting our natural environment. They're telling us that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline will be good for us because it will create jobs.
They neglect to admit that sometimes these things spill and cause messes. They forget to tell us that they have to kill all sorts of trees, plants, birds and other animals just to make a barrel of oil. They have to poison air and water to make that oil, too.
Why do we need so much oil? Because we haven't decided to find ways to use less of it. Let's tell our congressional leaders that we don't want the Keystone XL pipeline. Let's tell them we want to find ways to use less oil and still live good lives.
We can figure it out now, or we can wait until all of the oil is gone and the planet is wrecked.
HARRY L. DAVIS, ELK RIVER
