Greens to participate in the Feb. 17 protest in DC against the Keystone XL Pipeline, after the Green Party endorses the event

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org
 
For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
 
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
 
 
Greens to participate in the Feb. 17 protest in DC against the
Keystone XL Pipeline, after the Green Party endorses the event
 
• Obama hints in his 2013 State of the Union address that he might
approve the pipeline; Greens promote the 'Green New Deal' and say
environmental groups must stop allowing Dems to take support for
granted; Obama's "executive action" to curb climate change won't work
if he keeps promoting more oil and gas production
 
• Green Party response to the 2013 State of the Union, with 2012
presidential nominee Jill Stein (Green Party Livestream)
http://livestre.am/4l4JE / http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus /
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0wUkBNWOBc
 
• Green Party members and friends will gather 11:30 a.m. on Sunday at
the carousel in front of the Smithsonian Institution Building (Castle)
on the south side of Mall, at 1000 Jefferson Drive; #ForwardOnClimate
Rally begins on the Mall (northeast corner of the Washington Monument)
at noon: http://act.350.org/signup/presidentsday
 
• Green Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on climate
change http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-GlobalWarming.php
 
 
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States has formally
endorsed a protest outside of the White House planned for Sunday,
February 17, against the Keystone XL Pipeline. Greens from all over
the U.S. plan to travel to Washington, DC, to participate in the
event.
 
The demonstration has been initially proposed and planned by 350.org
and the Sierra Club (http://350.org/en/stop-keystone-xl). The goal is
"for thousands to form a massive human pipeline, and to tell the
President that we expect leadership on climate change, beginning with
a rejection of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline." Arrests for civil
disobedience have already been reported at the White House
(http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/02/13).
 
The Keystone XL tar-sands pipeline would carry 800,000 barrels a day
of the dirtiest oil on earth to U.S. ports for export. Green Party
also opposes the proposed Enbridge pipeline, which would carry
Canadian tar-sands oil to the coast of Maine.
 
The resolution was introduced by the Green Party of New York and
passed by the Green Party's National Committee on February 10
(http://gp.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=695). Both the Canadian and
U.S. Green Parties are on record opposing the pipeline:
http://www.greenparty.ca/media-release/2011-09-09/canadian-greens-oppose-keystone-pipeline
http://gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=583
 
President Obama hinted in his 2013 State of the Union speech on
Tuesday that he may be willing to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline,
when he promised safer pipelines: "I'm also proposing a Partnership to
Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our
businesses need most: modern ports to move our goods; modern pipelines
to withstand a storm..." (The mention of ports is also relevant, since
the pipelines' destinations, along the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico
and Maine, indicate that the oil is meant for export to foreign
markets rather than for domestic energy independence.)
 

"While President Obama addressed climate change in the speech, he
advocated market-based solutions, with continuing profits for industry
and more growth. The U.S. will not be able to address the climate
crisis adequately as long as the White House and Congress keep
insisting that corporate profits and unrestricted growth must come
first. Any effort to prevent climate disruption will be undercut by
President Obama's 'all-in' energy policy, which means more fossil-fuel
production and consumption," said Darryl! LC Moch, co-chair of the
Green Party of the United States.
 
"There are ways to boost the economy while reducing the climate threat
-- such as the job creation program laid out in the 'Green New Deal'
(http://www.jillstein.org/green_new_deal) advanced by 2012 Green
presidential nominee Jill Stein and other Green candidates. Until such
a program is enacted, and until environmental groups stop allowing
Democrats to take their support for granted, no such solution will be
possible. Instead of praise for President Obama's delays in announcing
a decision on the pipeline, we need increased public pressure and a
promise of political consequences if the pipeline is approved," said
Mr. Moch.
 
Tar Sands Blockade is a coalition of Texas and Oklahoma landowners and
climate justice organizers using peaceful and sustained civil
disobedience to stop the construction of TransCanada’s Keystone XL tar
sands pipeline (http://www.tarsandsblockade.org). On October 31, 2012,
Dr. Stein was arrested in Texas for trying to deliver food and
supplies to Blockade participants.
 
The proposed multi-billion dollar 1,700 mile Keystone XL pipeline
would connect the tar sands oil fields in Alberta, Canada, to
refineries in the U.S. The pipeline would pose a threat to the
Ogallala Aquifer, water source for many millions in the US.The tar
sands deposits are the second biggest pool of extractable carbon on
the Earth.
 
Northern Alberta, the region where tar sands oil is extracted, is home
to many indigenous populations. Important parts of their cultural
traditions and livelihood are coming under attack because of tar sands
operations.
 
See also:
 
"Green Party urges national protest against the proposed Keystone XL
and Trailbreaker pipelines"
Green Party press release, January 31, 2013
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=583
 
"Five Executive Actions Against Climate Chaos: What the President
Should Announce in State of the Union Speech"
Center for Biological Diversity press release, Common Dreams, February 11, 2013
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2013/02/11-0
 
"Pipe Dreams? Jobs Gained, Jobs Lost by the Construction of Keystone XL"
Report by Cornell University Global Labor Institute
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/globallaborinstitute/research/upload/GLI_KeystoneXL_Reportpdf.pdf
 
 
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