Friends,
Congratulations: thanks to your calls, emails and actions, a bill to force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline just failed to pass the Senate. Again.
Even counting the new climate-denying members who will take seats in January, Big Oil could not override a Presidential veto of Keystone XL next year.
He has the support he needs — from us, and from the facts. The only question is whether the President will hold true to his own climate test.
Last week the President struck a historic climate agreement with China. Approving Keystone XL now would be like pledging to quit smoking and then buying a new carton of cigarettes. Rejecting the pipeline would be a bold step forward to meet his new goals. Can you send a message to the President that now is the time to reject the pipeline?
Click here to tell President Obama that it’s time to reject Keystone XL.
Over the last week, we’ve flooded the Senate phone lines. Today, activists occupied the offices of two Democrats, Senator Bennet and Senator Carper, who joined with Big Oil in supporting the pipeline. The pressure worked.
Next year we will face new obstacles — incoming Majority Leader McConnell already promised today that it will be a top priority of the next Senate, but it appears he won’t have the votes to override a veto.
Now is the time for leadership. President Obama should end this debate and reject the Keystone XL pipeline. This week he said “I won’t hide my opinion about this, which is that one major determinant of whether we should approve a pipeline shipping Canadian oil to world markets, not the United States, is does it contribute to the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change.”
That can only point to rejection. An 830,000 barrel per day pipeline of the world’s dirtiest oil will obviously contribute to climate change.
Rejecting the pipeline would show the President’s commitment to action, and open a new chapter in the fight against climate change.
May