Pipelines, Property Rights, and Environmental Justice

In 2016, protests erupted in opposition to a proposed pipeline that would cross through four U.S. states and transport as much as 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day. As objections increased, two large ideological factions emerged: one regarding the Earth as property and commodity, maintaining the right to exploit its natural resources; and the other an environmentalist perspective, underscoring the finitude of the planet and its resources and the necessity of sustainable practices. Assuming the latter position is correct, that we are obligated to address the realities of resource depletion, this paper will explore the philosophical underpinnings of property rights and ownership and examine the duty to conserve. I will argue that the government ought to regard our most basic necessities, such as clean water and air, as common property; therefore, the state is obligated to take measures to ensure all can use them.