UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Land Ethic Under Attack: Keystone XL and the War Over Domestic S(OIL)

Identification

Public canonical key

openalex:w157742224

Authors

Heather Culp

Reported year

2013

Reported language

en

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:04:47.967550+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:10:07.956657+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Documentary abstract — original language

The Keystone XL pipeline has caused recent controversy and renewed the debate over the future of fossil fuels in the United States. The project pits largely conservative groups, who argue that the pipeline will create jobs and decrease America’s dependence on foreign oil, against environmental advocates, indigenous tribes, and private landowners, who are attempting to fend off the project because they believe it will displace them of their own lands as well as disrupt the natural ecosystems that lay in the pipeline’s path. In the wake of a presidential veto of the project and renewed sentiment by the pipeline’s manufacturer to move forward with the project by an alternative route, public outcry as to the safety of the pipeline and the environmental consequences of continued exploitation of the Canadian tar sands has increased. This article analyzes the Keystone XL pipeline project through the lens of Earth Jurisprudence: a growing movement in the United States focused on changing the way humans view the environment when confronted with political and legal decisions that have direct and often adverse affects on the Earth. The teachings of Aldo Leopold and Thomas Berry encourage humans to re-imagine the legal system in a manner that broadens its focus to include current and future generations of humans, plants, animals, and ecosystems as equal parts of the whole rather than a chain of command where humans reign supreme. This article discusses several concepts and principles that are based upon or derived from the earth jurisprudence movement and applies these * Heather Culp received a Juris Doctorate from Barry University School of Law with an Honors Certificate in Environmental and Earth Law in May 2013 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the Florida State University in 2010. The author would like to thank her friends and family for their unwavering love and support, and owes special thanks to Sister Patricia Siemen and Charles Prior for their valuable comments and suggestions throughout the writing process. 2013] LAND ETHIC UNDER ATTACK 127 concepts to recent events surrounding the Keystone XL project. Ultimately, the author seeks to show readers that the Keystone XL pipeline is a temporary fix to America’s problems and the risks associated with the project will cause irreparable political, economic, and environmental harm that will be felt for generations to come. 128 ENVIRONMENTAL AND [Vol. III EARTH LAW JOURNAL

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W157742224

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

article

Jurisdictions studied — explicit sources

US

Natural entities mentioned

Ecosystem

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1

• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W157742224

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.