Tar Sands White House protest photos, video, Van Jones

[Willinois]

Sunday was the big rally with thousands at the White House asking Obama to not approve the Keystone XL pipeline.

Grist has a statement from Van Jones.

Quote:We have a duty to support the president when he is right (for instance, fighting for the jobs bill). And we have an equal duty to oppose him when he is wrong. And if he is even considering approving this monstrous, planet-killing proposal, President Obama is flat-out, absolutely, and 100 percent wrong.

Let the message be clear: We, the People, cannot accept this. If the White House lets the proposal go forward, there should be nonviolent civil disobedience and mass arrests along every mile, foot, and inch of the construction route -- until it is impossible to complete. August was the beginning of the "people's veto" of this whole proposal; we will never give up until the very idea of Keystone XL is dead and buried.

Calling for civil disobedience along the construction path is pretty radical. I wouldn't be surprised if some activists follow his advice.

Tar Sands Action has a good photo album on their facebook page. Lots of people had signs with quotes from Obama about climate change and getting off oil.



They surrounded the White House with an inflatable pipeline. I've seen videos with chants of "Hey Hey Obama we don't want no climate drama!" "Yes we can!" and "We are the 99%!"

[Willinois]

I liked this NRDC blog post.

Quote:This remarkable assembly of Nebraska ranchers, Midwestern union members, First Nations leaders, and environmentalists from across the country was so large our ring around the White House was ten people deep at points. I have been an environmental advocate for more than four decades, and this was the largest environmental demonstration I’ve ever witnessed. Earth Day events may be bigger, but those are celebrations. This was a protest against a polluting and dangerous project.

Quote:Reverend Jim Wallis told the crowd, “Whenever you have an addiction, you've got to have an intervention. This rally is an intervention.” He also observed, “I'm a preacher, and this feels like a revival for the clean energy future.”

Roger Toussaint, the president of Transit Workers Union said this clean energy future will deliver jobs. “We need to stand against the lies and deception that this pipeline will create jobs,” he told the crowd. “President Obama, we want jobs, but not jobs as gravediggers for the planet.”

[atomic]

I am really nervous about this runaway train. It's been in the works for a long time. Hillary's ties (Keystone's chief lobbyist Paul Elliott was on her presidential campaign staff) are deep and the environmental impact reporting corrupt (they basically evaluated themselves). The Dakotas tribes are dead set against it, plus it passes through agricultural states where it will almost certainly contaminate the groundwater.

I do hope President O puts the brakes on this mess.