Friends,
Wednesday morning, as news of President Obama’s new climate goals spread, a new poll was released showing Keystone XL is less popular than ever — particularly with the President’s own party.
But by that afternoon, the most oil-soaked Senators in Congress were on the floor pushing for a vote to force approval of Keystone XL. That vote is now coming on Tuesday.
That’s how out of touch Big Oil’s friends in Congress are — out of touch with science, with progress and with the public. Keystone XL doesn’t even have a permit in Nebraska and South Dakota.
What’s worse: politicians who say they support climate science and the President’s new climate goals are saying that they might vote for Keystone XL, joining ranks with climate deniers fighting tooth and nail against even the President’s modest steps forward.
In particular, two Senators who have voted no on Keystone in the past are saying they’ll join the march backwards: Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware and Sen. Michael Bennet from Colorado.
They need to hear from everyone that voting for Keystone XL is voting for climate denial, and that’s unacceptable. Can you call Sens. Bennet and Carper now? Click here to give them a ring.
Voting for Keystone XL is rolling out the carpet for Sen. McConnell and denier-in-chief Sen. Inhofe, who are making oil production their top priority next year. Building the pipeline is like cutting a $100 billion check to Koch Industries, the top financiers of climate denial in America.
The bottom line: if Sens. Bennet and Carper aren’t climate deniers, they shouldn’t be voting like climate deniers.
I want to point out that the Obama Administration has said that they plan to veto legislation to build the pipeline, and that the President himself spoke out more strongly than ever this morning about the folly of building Keystone. Next year, with the new denier majority in Congress, and the clock ticking on international climate action we’ll really need to be on our toes to mobilize even more strongly.
2014 is on track to be the hottest year on record. Now more than ever we need members of Congress who are willing to stand up to Big Oil, not do them favors.
Tell Sen. Bennet and Sen. Carper to think twice and vote no on Keystone XL
The vote is scheduled for Tuesday evening, Eastern. I’ll let you know how it goes and what comes next when the tally is finished.
Duncan