Press Releases
This page contains the most recent press releases from Tar Sands Action.
Contact
Jamie Henn, 415-601-9337, jamie@tarsandsaction.org
Daniel Kessler, 510-501-1779, danieljkessler@gmail.com
Press Releases
Nov 10, 2011
WASHINGTON — In response to the news that the Obama Administration will be requesting a 12-18 month review for the Keystone XL pipeline, effectively killing the project according to most analysts, Tar Sands Action had the following reactions:From activist Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org who spearheaded protests against the pipeline:
“A done deal has come spectacularly undone. The American people spoke loudly about climate change and the president responded. There have been few even partial victories about global warming in recent years so that makes this an important day. The president deserves thanks for making this call–it’s not easy in the face of the fossil fuel industry and its endless reserves of cash.
Six months ago, almost no one outside the pipeline route even knew about Keystone XL. One month ago, a secret poll of “energy insiders” by the National Journal found that “virtually all” expected easy approval of the pipeline by year’s end. As late as last week the CBC reported that TransCanada was moving huge quantities of pipe across the border and seizing land by eminent domain, certain that its permit would be granted.
“The president should know that nothing that happened today changes our position–we’re unequivocal in our opposition. If this pipeline proposal reemerges from the review process intact we will use every form of nonviolent civil disobedience to keep it from ever being built.
“We take courage from today’s announcement. It’s an unspoken salute to the power of people who come together in the open to demand action; it gives us some clues about how to fight going forward.”
From Jane Kleeb, founder of BOLD Nebraska, who led pipeline protests in the state:
“President Obama is making the right and tough decision. We hope he continues to consider climate, health and the impacts of extreme energy like tar sands on our land and water while creating a path to real energy independence. The bottom line is, when President Obama stands up to big oil, we stand with him.”
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More information on the fight against Keystone XL:
This August, 1,253 people were arrested as part of a two-week sit-in at the White House, putting Keystone XL on the national agenda for the first time. Demonstrations spread throughout the fall, with pipeline protesters meeting President Obama at nearly every public campaign stop and visiting Obama campaign offices to make their opposition known. Last Sunday, more than 12,000 people surrounded the White House, instigating a chain reaction of administration announcements that culminated in this afternoon’s decision.
More information on what a delay means for the Keystone XL pipeline:
Most energy analysts believe that a 12-18 month delay may be fatal to the Keystone XL project. TransCanada’s President and CEO Russ Girling:
“If the administration delays the project long enough where it becomes a low probability it will ever get through the process in time to meet [the shippers’] needs. They need crude oil by a time certain.”
Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67874.html#ixzz1dKIMMj6c
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November 5, 2011
10,000 Will Surround White House to Protest Keystone XL Pipeline this Sunday
Mark Ruffalo, Bill McKibben, Nobel Prize and Medal of Freedom recipients, and top environmental leaders will lead demonstration
WASHINGTON – The battle over the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline will reach a decisive moment this Sunday when nearly 10,000 people are expected to join hands around the White House and show President Obama he has the support he needs to stand up to Big Oil and stop the pipeline.
In an interview Tuesday, President Obama took full ownership over what has become the most important environmental question facing him before the 2012 election: whether or not to grant the necessary permit for a 1,700 mile pipeline which would carry toxic tar sands oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
Who: Nearly 10,000 people and top environmental leaders and celebrities, including actor Mark Ruffalo, activist Bill McKibben, Sierra Club executive director Mike Brune, Medal of Freedom recipient and NRDC founder John Adams, Nobel Prize recipient Jody Williams, and more.
Where: Lafayette Square Park across from the White House
When: Spokespeople will be available for interviews between 1:00 – 2:00 pm, opening rally begins at 2:00 pm, crowd will encircle the White House from 3:00 – 4:30 pm, closing rally begins at 5:00 pm.
Why: President Obama is currently considering whether or not to grant a “presidential permit” for the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The project requires the special permit because it crosses an international border with Canada. The Keystone XL would carry tar sands oil, the dirtiest fuel on the planet, over 1,700 miles across America’s heartland, risking a BP-style oil spill over one of our largest sources of fresh drinking water. America’s top climate scientist says that fully exploiting the tar sands could mean “essentially game over for the climate.” This August, 1,253 people were arrested during a sit-in at the White House protesting the pipeline.
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For immediate release
Oct 24, 2011
Obama hire Broderick Johnson was Keystone XL Lobbyist; “It Stinks” Says Bill McKibben
WASHINGTON, DC — Campaigners protesting the proposed Keystone XL pipeline reacted with anger today to the news that the Obama campaign had hired a former lobbyist for the pipeline as a new senior advisor to the president’s 2012 re-election campaign.
Records show that Broderick Johnson lobbied Congress on the Keystone XL pipeline while working for Bryan Cave LLP, a top lobby firm in Washington, DC. During the fourth quarter of 2010, the firm spent $120,000 working on the issue. (1) Bryan Cave LLP reported earnings of $1.08 million between 2009-2011 lobbying on behalf of pipeline company TransCanada, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. (2)
“The news about Mr. Johnson comes on top of the revelations that Hillary Clinton’s former deputy campaign manager became the lead lobbyist for the pipeline firm TransCanada, and that the State Department literally let TransCanada pick the company that would conduct the environmental review of its project,” said Bill McKibben, of TarSandsAction.org, which has been spearheading protests against the pipeline. “It stinks. I don’t think you could conceive a more elaborate way to disrespect not just the environmental community but also Occupy Wall Street, because this is simply a reminder of the way that corporate lobbyists dominate our politics. Forget ‘Hope and Change’–it’s like they want their new slogan to be ‘Business as Usual.’”
McKibben said the only saving grace was that Johnson was working for the campaign, not the White House. “Maybe, just maybe, Barack Obama himself still hasn’t made up his mind about the pipeline. That’s why we’re going to surround the White House on November 6, carrying signs and banners with words from his 2008 campaign about the need to end ‘the tyranny of oil’. We want to see if we can somehow jog his memory.”
Thousands of people are expected to join the November 6 White House demonstration. Earlier this morning, Tar Sands Action released a video of actor Mark Ruffalo encouraging participants at Occupy Wall Street to join the Keystone XL protest. (3)
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CONTACTS: Daniel Kessler, 510-501-1779, danieljkessler@gmail.com; Jamie Henn, jamie@350.org, 415-601-9337
Notes:
1. Q4 Lobbying Report for Broderick Johnson: http://disclosures.house.gov/
2. TransCanada Lobbying on Open Secrets: http://www.opensecrets.org/
3. Actor Mark Ruffalo endorses Keystone XL protest: http://www.tarsandsaction.org/
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Oct 17, 2011
Contact: Daniel Kessler, 510-501-1779, Email: danieljkessler@gmail.com
Former Obama Organizers To March on Campaign HQ, Demand Rejection of New Fossil Fuel Projects
New York City – Current and former supporters of President Obama, including donors, campaign staff, and student leaders, are marching to the President’s 2012 Campaign office in Manhattan on today to demand that he reject two massive new fossil-fuel projects currently under review: the Keystone XL Pipeline and hydraulic fracturing regulations in the Delaware River Basin. In total, 0ver 200 people are expected.
For more information, click here.
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Sept 16, 2011
Protest Against Keystone XL Pipeline Spreads Across North America
WASHINGTON, DC — The fight over the Keystone XL pipeline has become the marquee environmental bout of the 2012 election season, with serious implications for President Obama’s campaign and the future of the North American environmental movement.
For more information, click here.
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Sept 3, 2011
Ozone Decision Spikes Arrest Numbers at White House Pipeline Protest
WASHINGTON– The largest environmental civil disobedience in decades concluded at the White House this morning with organizers pledging to escalate a nationwide campaign to push President Obama to deny the permit for a new tar sands oil pipeline.
For more information, click here.
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Aug 31, 2011
President Obama Risks Alienating Youth Voters Over Oil Pipeline
Former Obama for America youth organizers to risk arrest tomorrow at White House; Joining more than 700 already arrested to stop Keystone XL pipeline
Washington — Talk about an enthusiasm gap: a group of former Obama for America youth staffers and volunteers will lead more than 100 people in civil disobedience at the White House tomorrow to demand President Obama deny the permit for a major new tar sands oil pipeline.
For more information, click here.
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Aug 29, 2011
Largest Day of Arrests Yet at White House Pipeline Protest; NASA Climate Scientist and Religious Leaders among 140 Americans Arrested
WASHINGTON, DC – America’s top climate scientist and a large group of religious leaders were arrested at the White House this morning with 140 other Americans to push President Obama to deny the permit for a massive new oil pipeline. (1)
“If Obama chooses the dirty needle it will confirm that the President was just green-washing all along, like the other well-oiled coal-fired politicians, with no real intention of solving the addiction,” said NASA’s Dr. James Hansen, who was arrested at the White House this morning.
For more information, click here.
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Aug 26, 2011
54 More Arrested at White House as Environmental Community Excoriate New State Department Report
WASHINGTON, DC — As almost the entire environmental community condemned the release of the final State Department report on the environmental impact of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, another 54 Americans were arrested at the White House today to push President Obama to stand up to Big Oil and deny the pipeline the permit necessary for construction.
“The U.S. State Department’s final report on the Keystone XL today is an insult to anyone who expects government to work for the interests of the American people,” said the Sierra Club in a press release this morning. “The Sierra Club and our 1.4 million members and supporters are looking to President Obama for bold action and we urge him to reject this abomination.”
For more information, click here.
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Aug 25, 2011
47 More Arrested on Eve of Potential State Department Report
WASHINGTON, DC — Another 47 Americans were arrested 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.
For more information, click here.
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Aug 24, 2011
Nation’s Largest Environmental Organizations Stand Together To Oppose Oil Pipeline
Washington, DC — The heads of the nation’s largest environmental organizations—often at odds on the best strategy for combating climate change—released a letter today calling on President Obama to block the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would span from the tar sands of Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico. (1)
For more information, click here.
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Aug 23, 2011
Actors Margot Kidder and Tantoo Cardinal among at 60 Arrested White House Pipeline Protest
WASHINGTON, DC — The iconic Canadian actors Margot Kidder and a Tantoo Cardinal were arrested this morning at 11:30 AM in Washington, DC as part of an ongoing sit-in at the White House to pressure President Obama to deny the permit for a massive new tar sands oil pipeline.
For more information, click here.
Aug 20, 2011
70 People Arrested at White House to Stop Massive Oil Pipeline
WASHINGTON, DC — 70 people arrested from across the country were arrested today at the White House for taking part in a sit-in to pressure President Obama to deny the permit for a massive new oil pipeline.
Those arrested included leading environmentalist Bill McKibben, former White House official and Yale dean Gus Speth, and gay rights activist Lt. Dan Choi. Over 2,000 more people are expected to take part in similar sit-ins at the White House every day for the next two weeks. The Park Police arrested the first protestor, a young woman from Wasilla, Alaska, at 11:30 AM this morning and were still arresting people one-by-one at 12:30 AM.
For more information, click here.
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Aug 19, 2011
Massive White House Sit-in Will Pressure Obama on Key Environmental Decision; Two Week Protest Begins This Saturday
WASHINGTON, DC — Bill McKibben, Mark Ruffalo, Dr. James Hansen and over 2,000 people from all 50 states are expected to take part in a two week sit-in at the White House beginning this Saturday, August 20, to pressure President Obama to deny the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. The controversial 1,700 mile project would carry tar sands oil from Canada to the US and has become the most important environmental decision facing President Obama before the 2012 election.
For more information, click here.
August 7, 2011
Sen. Sanders Offers His Support for Keystone XL Protest
Washington, DC — This morning, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) added his voice to the growing opposition to the Keystone XL, a 1,700 mile pipeline that would carry tar sands oil from Canada to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico.
In a video message released by TarSandsAction.org, Sen. Sanders said, “Building this pipeline will keep America addicted to oil, and while it might be a good idea for Koch Industries, which supplies and refines large volumes of Canadian tar sands oil, it is a bad deal for our country,” said Sen. Sanders.
For more information, click here.
July 20, 2011
As Congress Moves to Fast-track Keystone XL Pipeline, Environmental Leaders Call for Civil Disobedience at the White House
Washington, DC — On the same day as the Republican-led House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to approve a text saying that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “should promptly authorize” the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, the executive directors of leading environmental groups released a letter calling for massive sit-ins at the White House this August to pressure President Obama to deny the pipeline the permit necessary for construction.
For more information, click here.
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June 22, 2011
A Call for Civil Disobedience on the Keystone XL Pipeline
Washington — Eleven veteran environmentalists on both sides of the border today called for demonstrations outside the White House later this summer to block the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from the tar sands of Alberta.
“This is one issue where the president has total control–he has to grant or deny the necessary permits. Congress can’t get in the way” said Bill McKibben, author of the first book for a general audience on climate change. “It’s where Obama can get his environmental mojo back. But we need him to lead.”
For more information, click here.
