BREAKING: 48 arrested at the White House to tell President Obama to lead on climate and stop Keystone XL

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tarsandsaction/sets/72157632761399084/

February 13, 2013

Contacts:
Eddie Scher, Sierra Club, 415-815-7027
Maggie Kao, Sierra Club, 202-675-2384
Daniel Kessler, 350.org, 510-501-1779

JULIAN BOND, BILL MCKIBBEN, MICHAEL BRUNE, AND OTHERS ARRESTED IN FRONT OF WHITE HOUSE IN CALL FOR ACTION ON CLIMATE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This morning, 48 environmental, civil rights, and community leaders from across the country joined together for a historic display of civil disobedience at the White House where they demanded that President Obama deny the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and address the climate crisis.

Among the notable leaders involved in the civil disobedience were Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club; Bill McKibben, Founder of 350.org; Julian Bond, former president of the NAACP; Danny Kennedy, CEO of Sungevity; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Connor Kennedy, and Daryl Hannah, American actress.

After blocking a main thoroughfare in front of the White House, and refusing to move when asked by police, the activists were arrested and transported to Anacostia for processing by the US Park Police Department.

“The threat to our planet’s climate is both grave and urgent,” said civil rights activist Julian Bond. “Although President Obama has declared his own determination to act, much that is within his power to accomplish remains undone, and the decision to allow the construction of a pipeline to carry millions of barrels of the most-polluting oil on Earth from Canada’s tar sands to the Gulf Coast of the U.S. is in his hands. I am proud today to stand before my fellow citizens and declare, ‘I am willing to go to jail to stop this wrong.’ The environmental crisis we face today demands nothing less.”

Continue reading “48 Environmental, civil rights, and community leaders engage in historic act of civil disobedience to stop Keystone XL pipeline” »

**Wednesday, February 13 at 10:45 AM ET**

**Attention Photo/TV Desks – Great Visuals***

Contacts: Daniel Kessler / 510-501-1779 / daniel@350.org; Eddie Scher / 415-815-7027  / eddie.scher@sierraclub.org

Sierra Club, 350.org and Committed Citizens to Engage in Civil Disobedience Today at White House to Stop Tar Sands, Keystone XL pipeline

What: Fifty American leaders–including Michael Brune (Sierra Club), Bill McKibben (350.org), Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr. (Hip Hop Caucus), civil rights legend Julian Bond, actress Daryl Hannah, Nebraska rancher Randy Thompson and others on the frontlines of climate change–will risk arrest in front of the White House to demonstrate the depth of their support for decisive action against climate change. For the first time in its 120-year history, the Sierra Club will participate in this civil disobedience action to convey the severity and urgency of action on climate.

Where and when:
10:30AM Media availability in Lafayette park for those risking arrest.

11:00AM Activists and supporters will gather in Lafayette park for photos and speeches.

11:30AM The civil disobedience will take place around at the East Gate of the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, just east of the picture-postcard zone.

Why: 2012 was the hottest year on record, half the country is in severe drought, and Superstorm Sandy just flooded the greatest city in the world–New York. A global crisis unfolds before our eyes and immediate action is required. President Obama has the executive authority to make a significant and immediate impact on carbon pollution, and he can begin by saying no to Big Oil by rejecting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

Civil disobedience is the response of ordinary people to extraordinary injustices. Americans have righted the wrongs of our society – slavery, child labor, suffrage, segregation, and inequality for gays and immigrant workers – with creative nonviolent resistance. Climate change threatens the health and security of all Americans, and action proportional to the problem is required–now.

The full list of participants, along with photos and bios, is available at tarsandsaction.org.

The participants risking arrest have released the following letter to explain their collective action.

Continue reading “Sierra Club, 350.org and Commited Citizens to Engage in Civil Disobedience Today at White House to Stop Tar Sands, Keystone XL pipeline” »

For immediate release Nov. 6, 2012 Environmentalists Announce New Keystone XL Demonstration at the White House on November 18 Oakland — In the wake of President Barack Obama’s re-election, environmentalists today called for a demonstration outside the White House on Nov. 18 to show the president that he has their support if he denies the permit for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The demonstration will follow 350.org’s “Do the Math” event at the Warner Theatre and will feature thousands of activists, a 500-foot pipeline, and several speakers–including Bill McKibben, who led the Keystone XL protests last summer in which…

These days, it’s easier to kill pipelines than “conventional wisdom.”

In a news analysis published today, the New York Times concludes that while the tax bill provision on Keystone XL will likely kill the project, the victory will do little to stop future pipelines, stall tar sands development, or slow down global warming. After all, the world needs energy, the tar sands have it, and therefore, they’re going to be developed, atmosphere be damned.

It’s a compelling argument that’s been made over and over again during the fight against Keystone XL. Here’s why it’s wrong.

Time and again, public opposition has stopped things that made “economic” sense. That’s why ever mile of the Colorado river isn’t dammed, why we haven’t cut down every last inch of Brazilian rainforest, or, to pull from another time period, why the British Empire finally abolished the slave trade even though it was great economics. As it turns out, there are other forces in the world than supply and demand. Just because morality is hard to quantify, doesn’t mean it can’t change history now and then.

As political opposition to the tar sands grows, it’s going to be nearly impossible for oil companies to build the pipelines they need to get tar sands oil out of landlocked Alberta. You thought the fight against the Keystone XL pipeline was contentious? Just check out the struggle over the Enbridge Northern Gateway, a pipeline that was slated to be built from the tar sands out to the coast of British Columbia. Thanks to the opposition from indigenous communities along the entire pipeline route and people up and down the coast, the Canadian government has been forced to stall the project for yet another year of environmental review. The delay, along with the news on Keystone, has fired up the anti-tar sands movement even more. When Goliath teeters, David puts another stone in the sling-shot. Continue reading “Keystone XL Victory Will Help Stop the Tar Sands” »

Terrific talking to everyone tonight! Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Continue reading “Movement Strategy Session Video Chat” »

Throughout this struggle, the Tar Sands Action has been grateful for the support from our allies the Indigenous Environmental Network. Next month they will bring their message to the President himself at the White House Tribal Summit. Here is their message, from their Facebook Page: On December 2, 2011 IEN will support half a dozen Tribal Leaders to hand deliver the Mother Earth Accord to President Obama at the White House Tribal Summit. No pipelines now, not in 18 months Not Ever-Shut Down the Tar Sands! Here is a video celebrating this small victory of stalling the project…we still have…

We’re watching the news coming out of Nebraska closely this evening. It looks like TransCanada is agreeing to a re-route around the Sand Hills and a new Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the state of Nebraska. We’re going to be waiting on clarification from the White House on what this means for the federal process, but our understanding at the moment is that this decision does nothing to replace the need for the State Department to conduct a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the re-route, as well as a new national interest determination process that takes into account climate change and a variety of other concerns.

Here’s a reaction from Bill McKibben:

“We’re awfully happy that the Ogalalla Aquifer is going to be safe, and the Sand Hills, and that only leaves the entire atmosphere of the planet to worry about. We’re expecting White House clarification tomorrow on the process, and what we expect to hear from them is: whatever happens with the State Department Environmental Impact Statement, there is going to be a full consideration of climate and public health issues surrounding tar sands oil before any presidential permit is granted.”

Continue reading “The news coming out of Nebraska” »

There’s going to be a big announcement this afternoon about the Keystone XL pipeline, happening within the next hour.

We’re going to have an official reaction soon. Follow @tarsandsaction for updates on Twitter.

Media, please grab Daniel and Jamie’s contact info on the press page and give us a ring.

Continue reading “Big Announcement Today” »

Check out this great video of Bill McKibben on Democracy Now! It’s got some beautiful footage of the rally and clips of President Obama addressing the pipeline question directly:

Continue reading “Bill on Democracy Now!” »