The army corps will undertake an environmental impact statement and look for alternative routes [Image: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images].

Dare we hope that, after a nightmarish year, the tide is turning and we may hope to see sanity return to world politics?

It’s far too early to suggest that we can hope for more of the same, but this is a hugely encouraging sign.

The struggle at Standing Rock is not over, and it will be important to maintain vigilance against corporate encroachment from now on.

But everybody who travelled to Standing Rock to lend their support, who raised awareness both in the States and internationally, and who kept up the coverage in the social – and mass – media can take heart from this knowledge:

We can make a difference.

The [US] Army Corps of Engineers will not grant the permit for the Dakota Access pipeline to drill under the Missouri river, the army announced on Sunday, handing a major victory to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe after a months-long campaign against the pipeline.

Assistant secretary for civil works Jo-Ellen Darcy announced the decision on Sunday, with the army saying it was based on “a need to explore alternate routes” for the crossing.

The army corps will undertake an environmental impact statement and look for alternative routes, the tribe said in its own announcement.

While the news is a victory, Jan Hasselman, an attorney for the tribe, cautioned that the decision could be appealed.

The announcement came just one day before the corps’ deadline for thousands of Native American and environmental activists – who call themselves water protectors – to leave the sprawling encampment on the banks of the river. For months, they have protested over their fears that the pipeline would contaminate their water source and destroy sacred sites, and over the weekend hundreds of military veterans arrived at the camps in a show of support for the movement.

As word spread in the main camp, protesters broke out in jubilant celebrations, and with nightfall a few fireworks burst above the tents and campfires.

Source: Standing Rock: US denies key permit for Dakota Access pipeline, a win for tribe | US news | The Guardian

See also: Army corps blocks Dakota Access oil pipeline route

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