he world will continue to to rely on fossil fuels for most of its energy needs. Political, economic, and technological realities make it impossible that advances in solar and wind technologies could work a wholesale shift in energy sources in just a matter of decades. However, environmental activists, convinced that they can alter this reality, often deploy dubious strategies to thwart promising fossil fuel development projects. A recent example of how this process has evolved is the invocation by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of two international agreements concerning indigenous people's rights to halt the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). This paper reviews the flaws underlying the SRST's legal claims.
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