Lucas,
The campaign to stop the tar sands pipeline continues to heat up.
Tens of thousands of people across the country have already raised their voices in opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline by letter, email, phone call, and at public hearings and demonstrations. Public Citizen members alone generated 6,500 comments to the State Department!
Read an account of the Stop the Tar Sands Pipeline rally held on October 7.
Now, we are planning to culminate this intense opposition in an event that will join thousands in encircling the White House to stop the pipeline on Sunday, November 6.
Can you join us?
President Barack Obama has indicated that he will make a decision on the pipeline by the end of the year. However, mounting evidence against the legitimacy of the pipeline review process as moved 14 lawmakers to request an investigation by the State Department's inspector general.
The lawmakers cite serious concerns regarding conflict of interest throughout the review process for the proposed 1,661-mile pipeline. These concerns include:
- The cozy relationship between TransCanada lobbyist Paul Elliott, who was deputy campaign manager for the 2008 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, and State Department officials.
- The Environmental Impact Statement review for the proposal was conducted by a company chosen and paid by TransCanada itself. Consequently, the company determined the pipeline would produce "limited adverse" effects.
- The recent hiring of former TransCanada lobbyist Broderick Johnson to be a senior adviser to Obama's re-election campaign.
Read Public Citizen's statement on Obama's hiring of former TransCanada lobbyist Broderick Johnson.
The November 6 demonstration will echo the need to release the oil industry's grip on our political system by reminding the president that the White House belongs to the people, not Big Oil.
And we will also remind President Obama of his campaign promises by carrying signs with quotes from President Obama himself, words like "We must be the generation that ends the tyranny of oil."
The thousands of people that it will take to complete the circle around the White House will send a powerful message that simply can't be ignored.
Let us know if you can join us on November 6.
It's time to bring our influence to the White House door.
Thank you for all you do,
Allison Fisher
Outreach Director, Public Citizen's Climate & Energy Program