Contact: Chanelle Blackwell, 350.org, [email protected], 1-571-239-8983
350.org and their allies paraded a giant 200 yard inflatable pipeline around the Capitol Building before the State of the Union to demand that the President Obama reject the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
(Washington, D.C. – 1.28.14) – This afternoon, over a hundred people paraded a giant pipeline around the Capitol Building to protest the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline in advance of tonight’s State of the Union. The protest was organized by 350.org, CREDO, Energy Action Coalition, Friends of the Earth, National Wildlife Federation and other pipeline opponents.
On the giant inflatable pipeline were the words, “Pipeline President or Climate Champion? NO KXL,” a message meant to embolden President Obama to take a stance against the controversial project. Protestors made their way around the Capitol chanting, “1,2,3,4. Kick that pipeline out the door!” Armed with hot chocolate and coffee the activists created a bold image, with the Capitol Building as a backdrop and a pipeline, signs, and buttons displaying their opposition to Keystone.
Photos: https://bit.ly/KXL-SOTU-pics
Rebecca Wolf, a member of the American University Fossil Free/Divestment Campaign, attended the rally and commented, “The KXL pipeline represents an energy infrastructure committed to terrorizing our planet and our people, especially on the front lines of the project. It’s time for Obama to take some positive action on this egregious issue and injustice.”
“If President Obama aspires to be a climate champion, it’s long overdue for him to ditch his All of the Above energy approach, starting by rejecting Keystone XL,” said Whit Jones, Campaign Director with Energy Action Coalition, a coalition of youth climate organizations. “Young people will be there to remind him of that every step of the way.”
Former Obama Campaign staffer, Ishmael Buckner, said: “Young people like me elected President Obama, and now we’re demanding he reject Keystone XL if he wants to be seen as a leader on climate change in the eyes of our generation.”
The Keystone XL pipeline would be a climate disaster and threaten communities and the environment along its entire route. Climate scientists have called the tar sands “the largest carbon bomb on the planet.” Despite shoddy analysis by industry contractors working for the State Department, there is no doubt that approving Keystone XL would have a dramatic impact on the climate and should be rejected immediately by President Obama as not serving the national interest. While pipeline protestors aren’t holding their breadth waiting for a mention of Keystone XL in the State of the Union, they feel that the speech would be an excellent time to reject the project and embrace a clean energy future. After this afternoon’s rally, it will be even harder for President Obama to avoid the “pipeline in the room.”
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