October, 29 2010, 02:16pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Kelly Trout, 202-222-0722, ktrout@foe.org
Alex Moore, 202-222-0733, amoore@foe.org
Senators Rebuke Clinton Over Controversial Pipeline
WASHINGTON
Eleven influential senators sent a letter
to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today rebuking her for stating
support for a controversial pipeline before her own agency has completed
a legally mandated environmental impact analysis.
The letter criticizes remarks
Secretary Clinton made October 15 at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club
indicating that she is "inclined" to approve the controversial pipeline.
"Approval of this pipeline will significantly increase our
dependence on this oil for decades," the senators wrote. "We believe the
Department of State (DOS) should not pre-judge the outcome of what
should be a thorough, transparent analysis of the need for this oil and
its impacts on our climate and clean energy goals."
The eleven senators, led by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), included
several members of the Foreign Relations Committee and other committees
with jurisdiction over the State Department. Senator Leahy, as chairman
of the State Appropriations Subcommittee, controls the State
Department's purse strings.
"We applaud Senator Leahy's leadership in championing clean energy
over more dirty, dangerous oil," said Alex Moore, dirty fuels campaigner
for Friends of the Earth. "The senators raise necessary questions about
the thoroughness and transparency of the State Department's review
process."
Moore added, "Secretary Clinton's comments were inappropriate and
she should heed these senators' concerns. Secretary Clinton must not
fast-track this process: The public has the right to know just how
dangerous and unnecessary this pipeline and tar sands oil are."
"The Keystone XL pipeline is an environmental disaster in the
making. It would double our country's dependence on the dirtiest oil
available and exacerbate climate change. The threat of spills in
America's heartland and the additional air and water pollution it would
unquestionably cause make this pipeline dangerous for people all along
its path," Moore said.
The letter is the latest in an outpouring of criticism Secretary
Clinton has confronted after her remarks regarding the pipeline. Last
week, Senators Mike Johanns (R) and Ben Nelson (D) of Nebraska, one of
the states in the pipeline's path, were joined by Senator Jeff Merkley
(D-Ore.) in urging Secretary Clinton to let her agency complete its
legally mandated review of the dangers the pipeline poses before rushing
to conclusions about the outcome. The Ogallala Aquifer, a drinking
water source for Nebraskans, would be crossed and endangered by the
pipeline.
The Keystone XL pipeline would be constructed by Canadian oil and
gas giant TransCanada. If approved by the Obama administration, it would
bring high-carbon, dirty tar sands oil from Canada through the plains
states of the U.S. to Gulf Coast refineries near Houston at a rate of
900,000 barrels per day.
The pipeline has been opposed by environmental, agricultural, and
tribal organizations, and more than 50 members of Congress have also
voiced strong concerns. More than 48,000 activists joined Friends of the
Earth in urging the Obama administration to reject the pipeline during
the State Department's public comment period.
The text of the letter, signed by Senators Leahy, Merkley,
Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Dodd (D-Conn.), Shaheen (D-N.H.), Menendez
(D-N.J.), Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Burris (D-Ill.),
Sanders (I-Vt.), and Cardin (D-Md.), is available below. Click here to view the pdf with signatures.
More information about the Keystone XL pipeline is available here: https://www.foe.org/keystone-xl-pipeline
###
October 29, 2010
The Honorable Hillary Clinton
Secretary of State
Department of State
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Madam Secretary,
Thank you for your personal commitment to making progress on climate
change. It is in light of this commitment that we write to you about our
concerns with the proposed TransCanada Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
As you recently stated, tar sands oil is "dirty oil". Approval of this
pipeline will significantly increase our dependence on this oil for
decades. We believe the Department of State (DOS) should not pre-judge
the outcome of what should be a thorough, transparent analysis of the
need for this oil and its impacts on our climate and clean energy goals.
As you know, serious concerns have been raised in the comments on the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that your agency recently
issued for the pipeline proposal. These concerns describe, among other
things, the significant environmental degradation caused by the
extraction of oil from Canadian tar sands, the emissions of greenhouse
gases from this extraction, and the risks associated with transporting
this oil into and across the United States. These concerns caused the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue the DEIS its lowest
possible ranking, and led the Department of Energy (DOE) and the
Department of Interior (DOI) to request significant additional analysis.
We write to request your answers to the following questions:
1. The DEIS fails to estimate the additional greenhouse gases that the
pipeline will produce by increasing the production of tar sands oil,
which has a significantly higher life-cycle of greenhouse gas emissions
compared to conventional oil. EPA states that, "[I]t is reasonable to
conclude that extraction will likely increase if the pipeline is
constructed."
- Does the Department of State (DOS) agree with EPA, that extraction will likely increase if the pipeline is constructed?
- Assuming that production is increased to fill the pipeline, how many tons of greenhouse gas emissions would this produce?
- Does DOS plan to ask EPA to provide an estimate for lifecycle emissions for tar sands?
2. While substantial expansion of tar sands oil production is planned,
this presumably depends on producers being able to transport and sell
the oil. The DEIS states that "Producers in Canada have indicated that
if the U.S. market is not available to them, much of the crude would be
shipped outside of North America, particularly to Japan, China, and
India . . ."
- What is the current status of the pipeline proposals to the West Coast?
- What is the capacity of these pipeline proposals relative to the
capacity of pipelines to the U.S., with and without Keystone XL?
- Given that existing U.S. pipeline capacity for tar sands oil will
soon be around 2 million barrels a day and Keystone XL would add close
to another 1 million in potential pipeline capacity, will Canada have to
increase its production to fill these pipelines?
- Could Keystone XL open up a market for refined tar sands products through the Gulf Coast?
3. The DEIS does not address the trans-boundary impacts that would result from the production of oil to fill the pipeline.
- Does DOS plan to incorporate the CEQ guidance on trans-boundary impacts and climate change in a revised DEIS?
- What is the impact of the production to fill the pipeline and the pipeline itself on migratory birds?
4. The pipeline would commit the U.S. to a high carbon source of oil for many decades.
- Is it possible that the wider use of fuel efficient technologies,
advanced biofuels, and electric vehicles could offset the need for the
pipeline?
- What types of disincentives would expansion of tar sands imports into the U.S. pose to achieving reductions in oil use?
5. Local communities and first responders may not have access to the
emergency response plans submitted by TransCanada. Please provide us
with draft copies of the Emergency Response Plan, Facility Response
Plans, and Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plans for
Keystone XL.
- Will DOS require TransCanada to give landowners, first responders,
and local government officials the opportunity to review and comment on
these plans?
- Will they be published in a revised DEIS?
6. Both the Athabasca watershed, downstream from the tar sands oil
extraction, and the Ogallala Aquifer, through which the pipeline would
extend, are at risk of contamination by tar sands oil production and
transportation.
- Has the DOS considered the potential for adverse impacts to the Ogallala Aquifer along the pipeline route?
- What design changes will be made to Keystone XL, in light of the fact
that the Keystone pipeline has already had two leaks - at the Roswell
and Carpenter pump stations.
7. TransCanada has withdrawn its application for a special permit from
the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and DOT is
therefore no longer conducting a separate Environmental Assessment of
pipeline safety issues.
- Will DOS provide additional analysis in a revised DEIS that details
pipeline thickness, quality, construction, operating procedures, and
potential environmental risks?
8. EPA raised concerns about the impact on communities already
experiencing high levels of air and water pollution surrounding the
refineries that would refine tar sands oil from the Keystone XL
pipeline.
- Will DOS evaluate the environmental issues associated with potential
impacts to communities near the refineries and other facilities
associated with the pipeline?
- Will DOS analyze the combined impact of the refineries that would
refine tar sands oil and industrial facilities already contributing to
exposure in communities?
9. Please provide us with a time-line for revising the DEIS. Please
also provide us with any additional agency comments that were submitted
to DOS.
- Will DOS publish a revised DEIS with the opportunity for full public comment?
- Will DOS conduct and include the additional analysis requested by the
EPA, DOE, and DOI and include that analysis in the revised DEIS?
10. Once DOS has completed a final EIS, it states that it will conduct a
National Interest Determination under Executive Order 13337.
- Will DOS make public its criteria and procedures for making its National Interest Determination?
- Will there be an opportunity for public comment on the criteria and procedures in advance of the determination?
Thank you for your assistance in answering these questions. We
believe it is in the national interest to do a careful assessment before
reaching a decision about this project.
Friends of the Earth fights for a more healthy and just world. Together we speak truth to power and expose those who endanger the health of people and the planet for corporate profit. We organize to build long-term political power and campaign to change the rules of our economic and political systems that create injustice and destroy nature.
(202) 783-7400LATEST NEWS
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Warring factions in North Darfur state must "avoid locating military installations within or near densely populated areas, including towns and camps for internally displaced people," said one U.N. official.
Apr 26, 2024
The United Nations' top humanitarian affairs officials on Friday called for an immediate deescalation of hostilities in Sudan, where rival factions in the military government have been fighting for a year and where an attack on the city of El Fasher is reportedly imminent.
About 800,000 people in the city, the capital of North Darfur state, are in "extreme and immediate danger," U.N. aid operations director, Edem Wosornu, told the U.N. Security Council earlier this week, as she reported that clashes between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) are nearing El Fasher.
Fighting between the two groups has intensified in recent weeks, forcibly displacing an estimated 40,000 people.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Friday that the security situation in North Darfur has left more than a dozen aid trucks with relief supplies for 122,000 people stranded in neighboring Northern state, unable to proceed into the only capital city in Darfur that is not controlled by RSF.
"A patchwork of armed actors, including the Darfur Joint Protection Forces, the SAF, and the RSF control different parts of the El Fasher area," Human Rights Watch reported this week. "Tense calm alternating with episodic fighting has prevailed for months."
Since April 14, when RSF began to push into El Fasher, at least 43 people—including women and children—have been killed due to fighting between the SAF and RSF.
"Civilians are trapped in the city, afraid of being killed should they attempt to flee," said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk. "This dire situation is compounded by a severe shortage of essential supplies as deliveries of commercial goods and humanitarian aid have been heavily constrained by the fighting, and delivery trucks are unable to freely transit through RSF-controlled territory."
The lack of humanitarian aid in North Darfur has pushed the state toward a famine, with one child dying of starvation every two hours, according to a February report by Doctors Without Borders.
In December, the U.S. State Department announced an $85 million sale of radar and other military equipment to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which The New York Times reported last year has been covertly supporting the RSF.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) proposed a joint resolution to block arms sales to the UAE in January, in light of its support for the paramilitary group.
Omar was among several lawmakers who wrote to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this week, urging them to "deliver urgently-needed humanitarian assistance" and to help end the hostilities.
Sudanese-Australian writer Yassmin Abdel-Magied urged Americans on Friday to pressure lawmakers and the White House to take more action.
"There is a tiny window of opportunity for us to find a way to get the UAE... to make the RSF to stop in their tracks," said Abdel-Magied. "Maybe there's a way that we can avoid this massacre."
OCHA called on the warring parties to "take constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects in the conduct of military operations."
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The Tennessee win "is breaking the brains of Republicans in that region. They're truly astonished that workers might not trust their corporate overlords with their working conditions, pay, health, and retirement," Thom Hartmann wrote in a Friday opinion piece.
"The problem for Republicans is that unions represent a form of democracy in the workplace, and the GOP hates democracy as a matter of principle."
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Just before voting began in Chattanooga, GOP Govs. Kay Ivey of Alabama, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Henry McMaster of South Carolina, Bill Lee of Tennessee, and Greg Abbott of Texas claimed that "unionization would certainly put our states' jobs in jeopardy" and the UAW is "making big promises to our constituents that they can't deliver on."
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As workers gear up for the election, the Alabama House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 72-30 for a bill that would withhold future economic incentive money from companies that voluntarily recognize unions rather than holding secret ballots. The state Senate previously passed a version of the legislation but now must consider it with the lower chamber's amendments.
The Associated Pressnoted that "Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed similar legislation on Monday" and that Tennessee already has one on the books.
With his signature on Senate Bill 362, "Kemp's aim is to thwart future organizing attempts by workers at automotive plants in Georgia, such as those operated by Hyundai Motor Group," according toThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
As the newspaper detailed:
Georgia has been a right-to-work state since 1947, when Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act, allowing workers to refuse to join a union or pay dues, even though they may benefit from contracts negotiated by a union with their employer. Just 5.4% of workers in the state belonged to a union in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, protects the right for workers to form a union and collectively bargain for better wages and working conditions.
The new Georgia law is expected to be challenged in court, labor experts have said.
Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su told the AP on Thursday that she is not sure if the department will challenge the laws, given the National Labor Relations Board's responsibilities, but she stressed that "there are federal standards beneath which no worker should have to live and work."
In terms of joining a union, "that choice belongs to the worker, free from intervention, either by the employer or by politicians, free from retaliation and threats," Su said. "And what we are seeing is that workers who were thought to be too vulnerable to assert that right are doing it, and they're doing it here in the South."
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Devex's Colum Lynch reported that the confidential communication—entitled Famine Inevitable, Changes Could Reduce But Not Stop Widespread Civilian Deaths—states that USAID "assesses the government of Israel (GOI) does not currently demonstrate necessary compliance" with a February 8 White House memo requiring the secretary of state to obtain assurances from governments receiving U.S. military aid that such assistance is used in compliance with human rights law.
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The document states that the "deterioration of food security and nutrition in Gaza is unprecedented in modern history, exponentially outpacing in six months the long-term declines that led to the only other two famine declarations in the 21st century: Somalia (2011) and South Sudan (2017)."
"Adequate health, nutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene... an immediate cessation of hostilities, and sustained humanitarian access will be required," the memo continues. "Absent these conditions, all available evidence indicates rising acute food insecurity, malnutrition, and disease will lead to a rapid increase in non-trauma deaths, particularly among women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities."
During congressional testimony earlier this month, USAID Administrator Samantha Power answered in the affirmative when U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) asked whether "famine is already occurring" in Gaza.
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Biden's February directive states that "the recipient country will facilitate and not arbitrarily deny, restrict, or otherwise impede, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance."
Not only has Israel blocked aid from entering Gaza as children there die of malnutrition and dehydration and millions teeter on the brink of starvation, Israeli troops have attacked Palestinian and international humanitarian workers attempting to deliver aid and desperate Gazans trying to receive it.
Observers say these attacks—which include the infamous " Flour Massacre" and the drone strikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen staffers—were deliberate, which Israel denies.
The blocking of humanitarian aid is a key component of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) genocide case against Israel brought by South Africa and supported by more than 30 nations. On January 26, the ICJ issued a preliminary ruling that found Israel is "plausibly" committing genocide in Gaza and ordered it to prevent future genocidal acts. Critics argue Israel has ignored the order.
According to Lynch:
The paper was cleared by 10 USAID officials, underscoring its widespread backing of the findings. But Sonali Korde, the agency's deputy assistant administrator and head of the Bureau for Humanitarian Affairs, signed off on the document with the phrase INFO, bureaucratic shorthand for passing it up the chain of command without committing to its conclusions. Blinken is required to formally certify to Congress in the coming weeks whether Israel complies with the White House determination.
Last month, the Biden administration
said that Israel's use of U.S.-supplied weapons complies with international law, an assessment lambasted by many observers including Palestinian American political analyst Yousef Munayyer, who called it "absolutely scandalous."
Palestinian and human rights advocates and more than two dozen congressional Democrats have challenged the Biden administration's claim that Israel is using U.S.-supplied weapons in compliance with domestic and international law, pointing to the use of 2,000-pound bombs—which can wipe out an entire city block—in densely populated areas and other potentially illegal actions. In December, Biden acknowledged that Israel's bombing was "indiscriminate."
Critics including progressive members of Congress have called for an arms embargo on Israel. However, Biden this week signed the biggest-ever U.S. aid package for Israel and has
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