AJ Bonanno

10th Grade Humanities

Energy Justice Monologue
Energy Equality

I’m sure we can all picture a time as a kid when we indignantly yelled, “That’s not fair!”
As children, we have this innate sense of what is and isn’t right. But, somehow, we lose this as
adults. Something about growing up makes us accept injustices that we see around us, and just
let them happen without giving them a second thought. A prime example of this is in our energy
industry. Every day, we take for granted the fact that we can flip a switch and instantly have
light.
Our current system allows us to reap all the benefits of the processes that happen to give
us access to seemingly limitless electricity while facing none of the burdens. We’re able to have
this sort of “Out of sight, out of mind” mentality.
The huge burdens instead go to other less fortunate people, areas, and communities. One
of the biggest examples in our area is the destruction that results from oil and gas drilling. A
hotspot for this is the Greater Chaco Canyon area. According to San Juan Citizens Alliance, oil
and gas drilling in the Chaco area can “...release immense amounts of pollution into the
atmosphere…”, as well as have an “...irreversible impact on the region’s landscape.”
Every day, these burdens occur for the people of the Greater Chaco area. Yet, the people
of that area are not the ones who receive the benefits that come from all the pollution and
destruction. This is not right.
I believe that the number one priority in our situation needs to be equity. According to
John Rawls, “Without a fair chance at success, people are not truly free.” The people of Chaco
Canyon are not truly free, and neither are we. The best way to go about remedying this problem
is to equally distribute the benefits AND burdens that the drilling provides.
An easy way to do this would be to let the Native people of that area in on the energy that
comes from the drilling. This wouldn’t fully solve the problem, but it would be a very good way
to make this more equal for everyone.
There are a lot of flaws in our energy system now, and lots of them are very complicated
issues. That’s why we need to stop ignoring them as a society and start taking action. We have to
be the change that we want to see. Nothing is going to come from sitting around and
complaining. Being part of an energy cooperative means that if we want change, we can have our
voices heard. This is an excellent opportunity for us to try to remedy some of these injustices.

WORKS CITED

Rawls, John. Justice as Fairness: Political Not Metaphysical. 1985.

“Greater Chaco.” San Juan Citizens Alliance, 11 Mar. 2020,

www.sanjuancitizens.org/chaco.