It's been at least 30 years since we've known that we need to stop burning fossil fuels. The fact that it has taken this long to actually begin the transition reveals a terrible failure of global political leadership - and the US government is one of the worst culprits.
The cost of solar power dropped as rapidly as it did because governments - in particular the government of Germany, though others followed along with similar programs - chose to heavily subsidize solar panel installations. This stimulated a rapid increase in the level of investment in solar panel technology and in the factories which produce them, which led to a rapid improvement in both power-generation efficiency and manufacturing efficiency; the whole industry scaled up, and now we live in a world where generating electricity via solar is cost-competitive with fossil fuels, with no further need for subsidy.
The fact that "the pipeline will function for the rest of our lives" is exactly why we need to stop building pipelines. We don't have the rest of our lives to wean ourselves off this petroleum addiction. It's not about replacing the pipeline with ships or trains; it's about making petroleum expensive and inconvenient so that non-petroleum-based solutions can become more competitive. We need petroleum to become more expensive, and we need the cost to rise quickly, because that's the only way we're going to stimulate the kind of investment that will enable the kind of scale-up that will let us accomplish the enormous infrastructure reinvestment we should have started working on long ago.
Yes, it sucks for the people of North Dakota that their lifestyles are unsustainable, and it's going to be hard times ahead for them as they figure out other ways to live. It's going to suck much, much more for the many millions of people around the world on the verge of being displaced, impoverished, and probably even killed as a result of the climate change we are creating by continuing to burn petroleum products.
No, it won't happen overnight, but this is not overnight. We've known this for decades. We have already been running down the clock. We can't just magically demand more time, and more time, and more time, while continuing to do things the way our parents and grandparents did them.
If you think we can continue living this way for the rest of our lives, you really don't understand climate change. One way or another, our lives are all on the verge of changing. Do you want to choose how that change happens now, or wait til it is forced on you?