WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–September 3, 2011. The final day of the tar sands pipeline protest will see an unexpected surge of Americans willing to be taken from the White House in handcuffs while trying to push their president to stand up to big oil and deny the permit for a dangerous new dirty tar sands oil pipeline.
As hundreds join a rally in Lafayette Square park, more than 200 people are expected to be arrested in the final day of the two-week sit-in that has already led to the arrest of 1,009 people. The rally will feature speeches from protest leaders and the delivery of a petition with 617,428 names urging President Obama to deny the pipeline permit.
“Given yesterday’s baffling cave on ozone standards, the need for a fighting environmental movement has never been more clear,” said Bill McKibben, who is spearheading the protest. “That movement is being born right here in front of the White House and reverberating around the country.”
WHY: The President must live up to his campaign promises to fight climate change and get the country off of oil. The Keystone XL pipeline is a key litmus test of his commitment before the 2012 election. If he chooses to permit the pipeline he risks alienating a key voting block—youth and environmentalists.
The proposed 1,700 mile Keystone XL pipeline would carry dirty, tar sands oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. A rupture in the pipeline could cause a BP style oil spill in America’s heartland, over the source of fresh drinking water for 20 million people. NASA’s top climate scientist says that fully developing the tar sands in Canada would mean “essentially game over” for the climate.
Source: tarsandsaction.org