Pipeline Opponents Celebrate President Obama’s KXL Veto Pledge & Urge Rejection
Photos: https://bit.ly/1xPGQii
Washington, DC — A large crowd of activists, DC residents, and opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline rallied outside the White House this afternoon to celebrate President Obama’s commitment to veto Congressional legislation forcing approval of the project–and push the President to reject the pipeline once and for all.
“We have never been more confident that the President will reject the Keystone XL pipeline,” said Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, Director of Programs at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The event was coordinated by a broad coalition of organizations, including 350.org, Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Oil Change International, the Energy Action Coalition, CREDO Action, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Hip Hop Caucus, and the Indigenous Environmental Network.
“Dear Mr. President,” said Reverend Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus, leading the crowd in a chant directed at the White House. “We’ll stand with you, when we know you’ll stand with us. No Keystone XL!”
Other speakers at the rally included Tara Houska, a Tribal Rights Attorney and representative of the Indigenous Environmental Network, and Suzanne Polzkill, a student activist from Nebraska who is attending American University.
“We live in a very red state, but this isn’t a partisan issue at all. This isn’t Republican versus Democrat. This is TransCanada versus our neighbors,” said Ms. Polzkill.
“I’m angry that we even have to be here to protest for clean drinking water,” added Ms. Houska. “The President shouldn’t put one corporation’s greed over the human rights of people along the pipeline route.”
President Obama has committed to veto any bill that takes away his authority to make the final call on the pipeline. The recent decision by the Nebraska Supreme Court approving the project’s route means that the President is now free to finish the State Department review process and make his decision. Pipeline opponents are increasingly confident the President will reject the project because of its potentially devastating impact on the climate.
###