At Bill’s suggestion, I just now submitted the following letter to the editor of my town’s newspaper (they have a 200-word maximum and 30-day minimum policy):

Did you hear about the pipeline that will carry Canadian tarsand oil to Texas? People from North Dakotas to Texas are up in arms about it, but it won’t affect us in Hayward – or will it?

The proposed pipeline is called Keystone XL. If built, it will be “game over for the environment.” Tarsand oil is very carbon-intensive, and burning it has as much negative impact on our environment as burning coal for electricity.

Tarsand oil requires heating water to remove oil from the tarsand, so the carbon-dioxide emissions are greater than burning conventional oil that is produced from oil wells. And excavating thousands of acres of land to mine the tarsand decimates the forests, lakes and streams. That is also devastating to humans as well as other living things in too many ways to list here in only 200 words.

Only President Obama can stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Help send the message that heavy tarsand oil must be left in the ground, and that outdated technology of burning it needs to be replaced by clean carbon-free energy technology. Join the demonstration in Washington DC August 20 to September 3. (Please visit http://www.tarsandsaction.org/)