This could very well be the most significant environmental issue facing President Obama. He promised to show leadership in reducing factors contributing to global warming - now is the time for him to keep that promise. What a shame, then, that so many Americans are being arrested for simply asking him to keep his word.
An estimated 50 more Americans expect arrest at the White House today as part of an ongoing sit-in to pressure President Obama to stand up to Big Oil and deny the permit for the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The total number of arrests is now at 322 people as the protest enters into Day 7.
Today’s protestors will hold a banner at the White House fence that reads: “OBAMA: THIS IS OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.” This morning’s protest comes on the day that a new US State Department Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed pipeline is released. According to a piece in the Washington Post, the State Department is likely to find that the project will have “limited adverse environmental impacts.”
The Environmental Protection Agency has blasted the two previous State Department reports for lacking critical information about the environmental impacts of the pipeline. Concerns over the State Department’s objectivity have also surfaced.
For more info see tarsandsaction.org
See also today's NY Times front page article on this topic.
See also this letter signed by:
Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund
Michael Brune, Sierra Club
Frances Beinecke, Natural Resources Defense Council
Phil Radford, Greenpeace Larry Schweiger, National Wildlife Federation
Erich Pica, Friends of the Earth
Rebecca Tarbotton, Rainforest Action Network
May Boeve, 350.org
Gene Karpinski, League of Conservation Voters
Margie Alt, Environment America
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