WASHINGTON, DC -- In a recent news conference President Obama made several statements about his willingness to tackle the climate crisis. 350.org is helping to lead a
rally at the White House TODAY, Sunday, Nov. 18, over the Keystone XL pipeline. 350.org Executive Director May Boeve issued the following statement:
"The climate silence is broken, and now the President can show us he's serious with a decision already on his desk: rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline would unlock so much carbon that climate scientists say, if it were built, it would be 'game over' for the climate.
"The president can stop this dangerous pipeline with his pen; and, if he does, the American people will support him. This pipeline is not in the national interest."
IEA confirms Bill McKibben’s "Do The Math" numbers
OAKLAND, Calif. -- This week the International Energy Agency released its World Energy Outlook and confirmed estimates that the overwhelming majority of known fossil fuel reserves (75-80 percent) will have to be kept in the ground to avoid two degrees Celsius temperature rise. 350.org founder Bill McKibben, who is on a national tour discussing this math, issued the following statement:
"A week after we launched the nationwide 'Do The Math' tour, the planet's chief energy watchdogs put out a huge report that essentially confirms what we've been saying: most of the carbon in the fossil fuel industry's reserves has to stay below the ground if we're going to keep the planet from disastrously overheating.*
"For American leaders, keeping carbon in the ground means blocking the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, stopping coal ports on the Pacific Coast, ending mountaintop removal, and cracking down on rampant fracking. Easy long-term gestures aren't enough any more; we've delayed so long that we have to stop exploiting new extreme energy.
"This is the basic, horrifying math of the planet we live on. Business as usual will bust it -- that's why we're on the road all month and why a divestment campaign is suddenly building out of nowhere."**
Shirley Galbraith of Houghton (in orange vest, to left of "No Tar Sands" sign) holds hands with Canadian journalist Naomi Klein during the Nov. 6, 2011, protest in front of the White House -- aimed at convincing President Obama to say "No" to the Keystone XL Pipeline. (Keweenaw Now file photo © Allan Baker)
Following 350.org’s "Do the Math" event at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC, today, thousands will gather in Freedom Plaza and then march around the White House to
show President Obama that he has their support if he stands up to Big Oil and says no to the destructive Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. A rally will follow the march and will feature Bill McKibben, Sierra Club President Allison Chin, Oklahoma-based environmental leader Earl Hatley, and music from folk singer Nahko.
Notes:
* More information on the tour is at math.350.org.
** 350.org and partners are building a nation-wide campus divestment movement. Endowments at the country’s universities exceed $400 billion and they should not be invested in an industry that is cooking the planet. More information is at http://gofossilfree.org/.
Editor's Note: Click on the following links to read Keweenaw Now's coverage of the 2011 protests against the Keystone Pipeline in front of the White House by guest reporters Kate Flynn, Shirley Galbraith and Allan Baker.
"Protesters continue White House sit-in against pipeline for tar sands oil," by Kate Flynn (Aug. 31, 2011).
"Sit-in against Tar Sands XL Pipeline concludes peacefully Sept. 3; national campaign to follow," by Kate Flynn (Sept. 6, 2011).
"Houghton couple report on DC protest against Keystone XL Pipeline, Tar Sands oil," by Shirley Galbraith, with photos and video by Allan Baker (Nov. 11, 2011)
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