It turns out Dr. Seuss' The Lorax holds weight in court. A panel of federal judges referenced the book when they rejected a controversial pipeline proposal.
The 604.5 mile pipeline was set to transfer natural gas across parts of West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina, according to CNN. However, the proposed route had the pipeline moving through 21 miles of natural forest in Virginia and across a path in the Appalachian Trail. This raised several concerns as pipelines have a history of massive leaks that could damage the conservation areas. As a result, the panel of judges decided to channel Dr. Seuss' 1971 environmentalist book when shattering the pipeline's hopes.
"We trust the United States Forest Service to 'speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues,'" the statement read, quoting TheLorax. The ruling then went on to detail the dangers of the pipeline and why they decided against its construction.
This ruling was praised by many local groups, including the Southern Environmental Law Center, who've filed several appeals to the court to stop the pipeline.
"The George Washington National Forest, Monongahela National Forest and the Appalachian Trail are national treasures," the center's attorney Patrick Hunter told the publication. "This pipeline is unnecessary and asking fracked gas customers to pay developers to blast this boondoggle through our public lands only adds insult to injury."
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