Keystone XL Protestors
The Keystone Pipeline system is an oil system used by the United States and by Canada. It transports oil from Texas to northern states and parts of Canada(Linker p1). Even though the Keystone pipeline system is a safe way to move oil, it has its risks. Having this system can be awful for the environment. It has caused political debates and many protests to break out in recent years. There is a group called the Keystone XL Protestors and they fight against the use of the Keystone Pipeline oil system. Keystone XL Protestors could be considered modern day trancendentalists. There are a few reasons why they could be considered so. One way they do is with nature. They represent nature by fighting for the safety of the environment. Another way they show transcendental ideas is through civil disobedience (“Civil Disobedience”,p1). Civil disobedience is protesting peacefully and non-violently, and that is what the Keystone XL protestors are doing.

         
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The Keystone XL protestors could be considered modern day transcendentalists because they want to protect nature. They are trying to protect the environment by protesting the use of the Keystone Pipeline System. Transcendentalist ideas talk about how nature should be kept clean and treated with respect. That is a big reason why people protest the Keystone XL pipeline. If anything goes wrong, this system is very hurtful for the environment. It contributes to global warming and it might reduce the United State’s GDP by 2%(Hughes p5). Even though this system is the one of the safest and most effective ways to transfer oil from one place to another, it still has major risks of an oil spill. The pipes go through the Red, Yellowstone, and Missouri Rivers. If the pipes were to have an oil spill, it would damage anywhere around the spot of the spill, and kill many lifeforms living in the rivers. the oil traveling through the pipes in tar sands oil which is very corrosive. It being very corrosive, means that it would cause  the air quality to be bad in surrounding populated neighborhoods(Hughes p10). The protestors don’t want the Keystone pipeline’s because they don’t want to see there beatiful and clean rivers, destoyed and trashed. They also want clean air.  Without these pipes, they wouldn’t have anything to worry about, but the risk of an oil spill worries the protestors. If they
          
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can protest long enough and make good enough points to congress, then maybe congress will ban Keystone pipling and the protestors wouldn’t have to worry about dirty water and air.
The other way that the Keystone XL Protestors could be considered modern day transcendentalist is how they represent Civil Disobedience. Civil Disobedience is represented by protesting non-violently and peacefully (“Civil Disobedience”,p1). The Keystone Protestors show Civil Disobedience because they do this. They go to certain sites, and protest peacefully. Recently, over a thousand students came together and started a protested at Georgetown University. They then walked to the White House where they continued there protest. “Our future is on the line. The climate is on the line.”, said one student. They were peacefully protesting to send a message to Obama. These students don’t want to see there future climate become ruined by the pipeline system. The protestors are now waiting for President Obama to make his decision on the pipeline system. In 2012, Obama blocked the decision whether to allow the Keystone XL pipeline system because he wanted to have more time to review the sitaution(“Hundreds arrested at Keystone XL White House sit-in protest”, p6). The
                       

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protestors keep fighting the cause all over and country and won’t stop until the pipeline system is banned.
Keystone XL Pipeline protestors are modern day transcendentalist in my opinion. They are trying to keep there environment cleanby fighting something that hurts it(the Keystone XL Pipeline). That is an example of nature. The other thing that makes them transcendentalists is how they represent Civil Disobedience. They show this by protesting non-violently and peacefully.