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Friends,
It feels to me like we’re getting close to the endgame on Keystone XL.
Last week the Canadian government sent a letter to President Obama offering vague promises of reducing carbon emissions from the tar sands in return for the right to build the pipeline. Scientists and energy analysts quickly pointed out that this was nonsense — it’s as if you were to begin your diet with two dozen jelly doughnuts, or plan to quit smoking by buying another carton or two of cigarettes.
I think this means the Canadians are getting a little desperate. They know the tide has turned against this pipeline in the U.S.
We only arrived at this point because of the heroic work you’ve put in — a point that is made quite well by this video that I hope you’ll share around. It shows the beautiful work everyone has done for the past two years, and it’s an excellent energizer for this critical stage of the fight:
An article in The New Yorker magazine this week called the fight over Keystone XL “the most prominent environmental cause in America.” The article also pointed out that now there are TV ads airing around the country telling the truth: that this is an export pipeline that will threaten every town it passes with ugly spills.
Just two years ago everyone told us this was a done deal. Now we’ve clearly got a chance.
The Canadian government is going all-out right now, and we need to do so as well. September 21st is the day — that’s when we will Draw the Line to oppose the pipeline and the tar sands it would carry. The President has made his promises, and now he needs to keep them. That means stopping the pipeline, and stopping it now.
Click here to find an event near you to Draw the Line on Keystone XL:
Extra innings, overtime, at the buzzer: pick your sports cliché, but now’s the moment. Stopping Keystone XL won’t stop global warming — but it would keep a huge pool of carbon in the ground, and perhaps begin to turn the tide against the relentless greed of the fossil fuel industry. That would be a big deal indeed.
With fingers crossed, and fist clenched,
Bill McKibben
P.S. Here’s a link to that New Yorker article, it’s quite good: www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/09/16/130916fa_fact_lizza
Sources:
“Canada Offers a Worthless Bargaining Chip in the Fight Over Keystone XL” The New Republic, Sept. 9 2013
www.newrepublic.com/article/114644/keystone-xl-pipeline-and-canada-history-empty-promises