The State Department's Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) only came out late Friday afternoon. But by Monday, as noted on Twitter, Bill McKibben's final count of NoKXL vigils came to 280 in 49 states. If the president was listening, he will have heard a unifying message that we don't want this pipeline because it fails the President's climate test.
Seeing beautiful pictures, hearing inspiring reports from #nokxl vigils across the continent tonight. This is how movements build!
— Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) February 4, 201449 states threw down for #NOKXL vigils. The only state we don't have is WV and they're a little busy with problems of their own. @350
— Sara Shor (@Sara_Shor) February 4, 2014
People on both sides of the aisle are weighing in on what the President's decision will be regarding the Keystone Pipeline. It's easy to let fear, anger and frustration take over with so much at stake. But a few days after the release of the State Department's report, people are beginning to look at this a little more positively. Michael Brune, fellow Kossack and executive director of the Sierra Club, writes that there are numerous reasons for President Obama to reject the Keystone Pipeline and send a clear message that the United States is committed to clean energy.
Biased as it is, though, the report sets the stage for President Obama to reject this dirty, dangerous manifestation of Big Oil's greed, by abandoning the contention in earlier drafts that KXL would have no significant impact on climate. Instead, it concludes that the pipeline would contribute the equivalent of an additional 6 million cars on the road to annual greenhouse gas emissions."The verdict is in: Keystone XL fails President Obama's climate test."Tell President Obama to keep his pledge to reject the pipeline… because the project would "significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution."
Frances Beinecke, President of Natural Resources Defense Council, says the review gives President Obama everything he needs to reject the Keystone XL pipeline.
Most significantly, the State Department reported that the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline could accelerate climate change by pumping more carbon pollution into our air. The surge in pollution would be similar to putting up to 5.7 million extra cars on the road, the review said.Congressman Mike Honda (CA-17) on Facebook:The pipeline fails the climate test President Obama said he would use to evaluate this project. It’s time to reject it once and for all.
...But lost in those reports is that in the FEIS, the U.S. Department of State acknowledged for the first time that #KeystoneXL could accelerate #climatechange. With climate change posing one of the greatest threats to our nation today and in the future, President Obama should strongly consider this finding as he decides whether the project is truly in our national interest.
Note: if you live in or around Silicon Valley, please contact Glen The Plumber to join Silicon Valley Kossacks. We will use this group to support Mike Honda in his reelection campaign. Follow New Day for upcoming events.
For more on the Keystone XL political decision, see Meteor Blades diary today, Former Energy Secretary Steven Chu concedes the obvious: Keystone XL a political decision
noise of rain documents Overpass Light Brigade, KXL Night of Action. The Coalition Builds!
It was cold tonight. So cold that batteries start to get weird, that cameras quit working, that you stand amazed when over 100 people turn out to protest dirty oil, the scraping of the Canadian Shield, the delivery of toxic sludge to an international market for the rich to get richer. The Overpass Light Brigade brought the "sidewalk soapbox" out tonight; our portable PA system that allowed for spirited chants which kept us warm. We held the sign KXL = CLIMATE CRISIS, having decided to focus on what it is and what it will do rather than the political question of who will approve or reject it. We even had the first DIY Drone Brigade action: a video drone as part of the citizen produced media circus, rising into the air over the streets, almost swatted down by a passing city bus, capturing entirely new video views. Did I say it was cold? It was so cold that the drone camera couldn't even focus!Keystone XL Pledge of Resistance
Taking the KXL Pledge of Resistance is an important decision for any activist to make. The only thing stopping me from making this pledge is the promise I made to my daughter not to get arrested. I do feel strong enough in my convictions to be arrested, and would happily do so along side Meteor Blades, but in the end, I promised my husband I would keep the promise I made to my daughter.
This assessment was a vehicle for the White House to test the waters and see if the public will stand by, and buy this false and cynical argument that the tar sands will just get burned anyway. That while NASA's chief climate scientist's assertion that Keystone XL will spell 'game over' for the climate may be true,3 it is essentially irrelevant. That we should let the bankers and the oil companies profit while the planet inevitably burns.Well, we won't. And so, that day reminded us of something else, too: Those two weeks in August of 2011, when the peaceful and dignified arrest of 1,253 people over two weeks at President Obama's front door effectively stopped what was considered a virtually guaranteed presidential approval of Keystone XL. There is still time to convince President Obama to change his mind and reject Keystone XL.
Heading downtown Milwaukee for a vigil. One in Madison as well. Cold out, but gotta be visible! @350@NOKXL#NOKXLpic.twitter.com/bxAIK0GJdT
— OverpassLightBrigade (@OLBLightBrigade) February 3, 2014Heading to #nokxl pipeline rally in sf with best sign ever! pic.twitter.com/g9UHOJngFg
— Forecast The Facts (@ForecastFacts) February 4, 2014A small towns family #nokxl vigil on their land in nebraska @boldnebraska more photos soon pic.twitter.com/0SKHaUndZW
— Jane Fleming Kleeb (@janekleeb) February 4, 2014Young activist protest the KXL Pipeline at the Seattle Federal Building. #NoKXL@yesmagazine@350@350seattlepic.twitter.com/ZDCj0rYROY
— Alex Garland (@AGarlandPhoto) February 4, 2014Moving moment when folks at SF State Dept vigil sing together to insist #NoKXL May our voices travel to DC! pic.twitter.com/BTHeUTf38R
— Lindsey Allen (@lrallen) February 4, 2014Thousands gather across the nation to say #NoKXL
As 6pm on the West Coast approaches as this blog is being published, another wave of vigils is about to begin. But one thing is already clear tonight: the movement to stand up against Big Oil, dirty tar sands, and disastrous pipeline projects is strong, determined, and beautiful.
These vigils were organized just 72 hours after the final environmental impact statement for the Keystone XL pipeline was released by the State Department.
