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Today's Top News
D.C. Protests That Make Big Oil Quake
The White House was rocked Tuesday, not only by a 5.9-magnitude earthquake, but by the protests mounting outside its gates. More than 2,100 people say they’ll risk arrest there during the next two weeks. They oppose the Keystone XL pipeline project, designed to carry heavy crude oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. 
Obama has the power to stop the pipeline. (photo: Josh Lopez / Tar Sands Action)
A “keystone” in architecture is the stone at the top of an arch that holds the arch together; without it, the structure collapses. By putting their bodies on the line—as more than 200 have already at the time of this writing—these practitioners of the proud tradition of civil disobedience hope to collapse not only the pipeline, but the fossil-fuel dependence that is accelerating disruptive global climate change.
Bill McKibben was among those already arrested. He is an environmentalist and author who founded the group 350.org, named after the estimated safe upper limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of 350 ppm (parts per million—the planet is currently at 390 ppm). In a call to action to join the protest, McKibben, along with others including journalist Naomi Klein, actor Danny Glover and NASA scientist James Hansen, wrote the Keystone pipeline is “a 1,500-mile fuse to the biggest carbon bomb on the continent, a way to make it easier and faster to trigger the final overheating of our planet.”
The movement to oppose Keystone XL ranges from activists and scientists to indigenous peoples of the threatened Canadian plains and boreal forests, where the tar sands are located, to rural farmers and ranchers in the ecologically fragile Sand Hills region of Nebraska, to students and physicians.
Asked why the White House protests are taking place while President Obama is away on a family vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, McKibben replied: “We’ll be here when he gets back too. We’re staying for two weeks, every day. This is the first real civil disobedience of this scale in the environmental movement in ages.”
Just miles to the east of Martha’s Vineyard, and almost exactly 170 years earlier, on Nantucket, Frederick Douglass, the escaped slave, abolitionist, journalist and publisher, gave one of his first major addresses before the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Douglass is famous for stating one of grass-roots organizing’s central truths: “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
Demanding change is one thing, while getting change in Washington, D.C., is another, especially with the Republican-controlled House of Representatives’ hostility to any climate-change legislation. That is why the protests against Keystone XL are happening in front of the White House. Obama has the power to stop the pipeline. The Canadian corporation behind the project, TransCanada, has applied for a permit from the U.S. State Department to build the pipeline. If the State Department denies the permit, Keystone XL would be dead. The enormous environmental devastation caused by extracting petroleum from the tar sands might still move forward, but without easy access to the refineries and the U.S. market, it would certainly be slowed.
TransCanada executives are confident that the U.S. will grant the permit by the end of the year. Republican politicians and the petroleum industry tout the creation of well-paying construction jobs that would come from the project, and even enjoy some union support.
In response, two major unions, the Amalgamated Transit Union and the Transport Workers Union, representing more than 300,000 workers, called on the State Department to deny the permit. In a joint press release, they said: “We need jobs, but not ones based on increasing our reliance on Tar Sands oil. … Many jobs could also be created in energy conservation, upgrading the grid, maintaining and expanding public transportation—jobs that can help us reduce air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency.”
Two Canadian women, indigenous actress Tantoo Cardinal, who starred in “Dances With Wolves,” and Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane in “Superman,” were arrested with about 50 others just before the earthquake hit Tuesday. Bill McKibben summed up: “It takes more than earthquakes and hurricanes to worry us—we’ll be out here through Sept. 3. Our hope is to send a Richter 8 tremor through the political system on the day Barack Obama says no to Big Oil and reminds us all why we were so happy when he got elected. The tar sands pipeline is his test.”
Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column.
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39 Comments so far
Show All"In response, two major unions, the Amalgamated Transit Union and the Transport Workers Union, representing more than 300,000 workers, called on the State Department to deny the permit. In a joint press release, they said: “We need jobs, but not ones based on increasing our reliance on Tar Sands oil. … Many jobs could also be created in energy conservation, upgrading the grid, maintaining and expanding public transportation—jobs that can help us reduce air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency.”
There is the key, the argument, the rational response to the continued reliance on a disppearing energy resource.
Amen.
Yes, I agree. This is important.
The interview that Amy Goodman did yesterday with Bill McKibben on this topic was well done. But while McKibben made some very good points about the pipeline he also inexplicably held out hope that Obama would finally take a firm stand against this pipeline project. It was reminiscent of when Cornel West criticized Obama on Democracy Now! a few weeks while also holding out hope that Obama would somehow do the right thing.
It would appear, to risk a cliche, that hope dies hard among many liberals.
ERROLL: It could be a good strategic move that forces more Obama apologists to FACE what the guy is truly about. I'm hoping Obama will make some noise along the lines of "further study" is required, to at least put off the OK on this eco-suicide pact masked as a jobs creation project. Maybe he'll hedge his bets and let the next sell-out Prez face the music here... as thus:
"In one corner, we have big money and its deep pockets, and in the other, the American public, with children suffering from breathing disorders in the front row. Now Mr. President, which set of interests will you elect to serve?"
Maybe McKibben knows that Obama is a sell-out, but by forcing the issue into public awareness, he exposes the turncoat.
Meanwhile, I think Earth Mother sent the shock wave in support of the protesters. How about that crack to the Washington Monument... as Hurricane Irene just may slam D.C.
Sometimes Pacha Mama votes, too.
If Obama is passing the buck to State then we are doomed. Hillary will sellout the American people for a few Shekels more.
Amy.BS- Hope it does not land on you, but I would not move an inch if I had your measure of confidence. On a serious note, what are you posting for? Why not include some more so we can be enlightened by your position? It is called fighting for what you want- so what do you want?
Obama, of course, will not do the "right thing." But that doesn't mean these protests aren't important. I asked my son's father if he had seen any of this reported on News 12 in their national news reports -- nada. Of course, there was also no reporting on the Obama Administration pressure on AG Schneiderman which, being an NY station, you would think ... Oh, well. So, for those of you who watch MSM TV news and cable TV like MSNBC, is this being given any coverage?
I see. Well at least we know that the coverage had to be "fair and balanced", right?
amiable- you certainly are not. What else is it we are not allowed? Why not include a little more so we can get a real flavor for your tactics?
While I commend the people protesting the pipeline, why do they think Obama will do the right thing? Obama has sold out his base time and time again!
It's terrible what they have to do to the land to extract the tar sands. It's like mountaintop removal without the mountain.
Would it be too much to consider reducing energy use? We use twice as much per capita as Europe does, and I don't think their people are living in caves.
I doubt that Big Oil is "quaking."
Me too. This is either wishful thinking or grandiose egoism. I think very highly of Amy Goodman, but while she makes a strong stand on the "issues" she never turns to face the "problem".
Big Oil/Obama/Congress/Wall Street/The Corporation/Monsanto/etc will not even feel a tremble until the problem is addressed.
The ironic thing is that once the problem is addressed so will the issues be addressed. Amy, Bill, Naomi, etc. are always barking...just up the wrong tree.
It is heartening to hear Green public transit expansion and jobs as critical
to energy conservation. It is the most decisive action we can take to save oil,
greenhouse emissions, 30,000 plus American deaths and green lands being destroyed by ever expanding asphalt jungles.
Obama is not a decider.
Direct democracy
Politicians keep people jobless or in corporate wage slavery.
Denruter,
You said, "Direct democracy would have kept SLAVERY in place".
Not really. Even with 2/3 of a person credit given to count blacks in the south by our elite corrupted and compromised constitution, the black vote (In direct democracy, they ARE allowed to vote) was at least 2 to one over the white pro slavery vote there.
I know the stats say otherwise (14% black during the civil war). I disagree. The entire economy was based on slavery in the south. You need a LOT more black people than they now claim existed for that to work. Also, only the white elite where the major beneficiaries of that system with poor whites being the overwhelming majority. How long would poor whites support slavery if they understood that wages for poor whites were kept suppressed precisely because slavery existed? Not long, I think.
Direct democracy is the only way to sane national policies from war to economics..
What really gets me is that by now, the second decade of the 21st century the use of fossil fuels should be a thing of the past. We have known of the problems both in supply and pollution for at least 40 years. Jimmy Carter was chided for his urging to conserve. What if just one oil company had invested money in alternative energy research and even if half of the money that has gone to NASA (and therefore up in smoke) had been spent , on R&D we could now have a whole range of Green sustainable energy industries (probably second generation) that those companies which USED to be fossil fuel based could now be profiting from. We hear about how the technology is expensive, will take time etc....well we have HAD time for goodness sake and the opportunity to make money has been there, but the quick buck won out. There is no desire to replace fossil fuels or nuclear if it comes to that, if there was a national will there would be a way. Big Oil just doesn't want to see that they could have transformed themselves into a very lucrative Big Alternative!
MARL: Because American politics is GREASED in oil (and a slew of related oily dealings) progress has been retarded. Literally retarded. My sister pointed out how much other nations have moved forward with greener industries and technologies, but the U.S., like the crazed, rich uncle still fixated on his old warrior days, only perceives power through that which can assert force-first (i.e. militarism).
It takes a LOT of oil to fuel the killing machinery. I have no idea what it would take to alter those machines to work on a different fuel source?
The U.S., begun on July 4 as a "living" entity, and thus falls under the sign of Cancer. That sign is about THE PAST. It's also heavily into security, family, and preserving its own interests. Nothing about the sign is progressive or oriented towards cutting edge inventions. (The nation's Moon sign, which represents its people, happens to be Aquarius, and that sign IS very inventive.)
Interestingly enough, it was James Carroll (Boston Globe) writing an essay about the essence of the nation (for July 4) who articulated the paradox of our country's character in a way that deeply reflected the truth of its sun-moon relationship. These two signs do not blend, and therefore there will always be a silent clashing between the ideals of the visionaries (and those on the cutting edge), against the interests of entrenched elites. They represent the powers that are invested in yesterday, and those prepared to stand strong to block progress and new initiatives.
Some may argue that these polar forces are inherent to every nation. Inasmuch as all signs factor into the make-up of every nation's citzenry, that is true. However, as is the case with many things, in our own nation, these two factors dominate by intensity and degree.
malborough
Although I agree wholeheartedly that we have missed the boat by a long shot by now.... I have read that the amount of money that comes from oil AND oil products.... is overwhelmingly more than can be made from producing solar panels, wind turbines etc......since these things last....long term.....etc.... so this is one of the reasons, that the oil barrons won't switch...like they say....".you can't make me switch" remember that cigarette commercial...( just remembered that out of the blue)...When you are dealing with extremely greedy and probably sociopathic personalities... there is no reasoning.....oh, did i mention maniacally power hungery?
Most Americans are too busy on Facebook or watching celebs on TV to care, so why should Obama do anything differently. Protest all you want, the campaign contributions keep coming in, and whoever looks the best on TV wins!
licketrightatthehole- Thanks for your permission to protest-that was what we all were waiting on.
1) Keep in mind that to Obomba the phrase "Do the right thing" is what he hears from the oil companies and his advisors. "The right thing" is to approve the pipeline and assure some more energy that doesn't originate in the middle east.
2) What the heck is with the picture at the top of the article? 20 people in front of the White House? Was that the protest or a tour group? We get more of a turnout at a local PTA meeting. Is that the true extent of the protest or is it just a poor photograph? Also, their timing sucks giving the media's fascination with Libya, Perry, Bachmann, Palin, and their purposeful ignoring of Ron Paul. Why would they care to report on 20 people at the White House?
" Why would they care to report on 20 people at the White House?"
What they are only capable of reporting one story at a time?
..
Rampaging corporate hooligan Obama can be counted on to ignore this pathetic last gasp of humanity. I bet you Obama never hears a peep about this from deep within the bubble AIPAC, the MIC and Wall Street keep their pet spokesmodel president.
FAKE: Maybe Earth Mother will wait till he gets back to send a stronger quake.. that way he'll be forced outside, and wow... even notice the protesters! Stranger things have happened, and insane times call for unconventional motivational devices!
Obama will HAVE to be forced to put a delay on any final decision on this pipeline. Siouxrose is right-maybe there is an outside chnce that the amount of noise being made will cause Obama to pause and give this more thought. Or, he may just do it as a gesture of "caring", when in reality he knows he's already gonna sign this baby and just wants to patronize McKibben and others to make 'em think he cares. Despite my cynicism, I hope the sheer force of the brave folks out there hs a positive impact. Yes, hope does die hard with a liberal, but I am not naive about Obama; I simply believe hope is sometimes the only medicine we have.
Denuter wrote:
Hope is an ADMISSION of failure. It's crossing the fingers which we all know does not work. That is why Obama gave us HOPE he can CON on. And, people bought it while crossing their fingers and their toes.
* * * * *
My Reply:
Denruter,
That is a rather peculiar and pessimistic definition of the word "hope."
I do not think that there is any chance or any hope that severe consequences of global warming and catastrophic climate change can be avoided. After all, severe consequences are already here.
That is an admission of failure.
But I do think that there is still a chance that the very worst consequences of global warming and catastrophic climate change can be avoided. I hope, while I am acting with others to counter global warming and climate change, that the very worst consequences can be avoided.
Even when there is no longer a chance or any hope that the very worst consequences of global warming can be avoided, people will still have reason to act and to hope. I will hope, while I am acting with others to make the best of the catastrophe, that as a society and as communities we can work together in everyone's interest rather than decend into epidemic violence and even more war and destruction.
In fact even if we do act together so that the very worst consequences of global warming and catastrophic climate change can be avoided, we will still need to work together as societies, as communities, and as human beings in everyone's interest, if we are to avoid decending into epidemic violence and even more war and destruction. I plan to act and hope we will act together in this way.
I disagree with you about Obama voters too.
I don't think that Barack Obama voters "bought it while crossing their fingers and their toes" in 2008, I think most of them genuinely believed in Barack Obama.
If Michele Bachmann's $2.00 a gallon gas ever happens oil from tar sands will be unprofitable.
On the other hand the only way we'll ever get $2.00 gas is with the 40% unemployment rate we'll have when the dollar tanks and the MSM starts using the "D" word; Depression.
It can happen here.
For all of you who think the protests are going to stop the CO2 emissions, think again. It doesn't matter if the US rejects the Keystone XL pipeline. China is buying up the tar sands through its China National Oil Company and other companies. They will take all of the tar sands oil and have told the Canadian government this. There are already discussions about a pipeline from Alberta to the BC coast to ship the crude oil to China. So the oil will be consumed and the CO2 will be emitted. The only question is who is going to consume it - the US or China or both.
I vote to let China. Afterall it's China that's manufacturing all our goods today. They need it more than we do.
manotick wrote:
There are already discussions about a pipeline from Alberta to the BC coast to ship the crude oil to China.
- - - - -
Excerpt from "D.C. Protests That Make Big Oil Quake" by Amy Goodman:
The movement to oppose Keystone XL ranges from activists and scientists to indigenous peoples of the threatened Canadian plains and boreal forests, where the tar sands are located, to rural farmers and ranchers in the ecologically fragile Sand Hills region of Nebraska, to students and physicians.
* * * * *
The following Comment was previously posted in response to manotick's Comment in the thread under the article "I Will Be Sitting in Front of the White House" by Carol Smith.
Article URL: www.commondreams.org/view/2011/08/22-10
- -
manotick wrote:
There is already talk of a pipeline being built from Alberta to the BC coast to ship the oil to Asia if the Keystone XL pipeline is rejected by the US.
- - - - -
moonpie wrote:
They'll be plenty of time to deal and monkey wrench with this pipeline and plenty of bulldozers to actually "put your bodies on the line" in front of later.
* * * * *
My Comment:
manotick,
Thank you for bringing this up.
I know there are already groups of indigenous people working to stop the pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia.
Bill McKibben did mention something about "handing off" the protest and civil disobedience to the Canadians after two weeks of protest and civil disobedience in Washington, D.C.
We here in the United States need to do our part, but as you have pointed out stopping the exploitation of the tar sands in Alberta requires the efforts of people in both Canada and the United States.
If no one tries, nothing happens.
As moonpie pointed out in the first comment posted to this thread approval of the Keystone XL pipeline across the United States is not the end of the battle. The same is true for the pipeline in Canada.
P.S.
manotick,
Aside from risng carbon emissions China has a huge pollution problem that is harming it economy and the well being of its people.
Shutting off tars sands oil by preventing the contruction of the spigot in Canada or in the United States would benefit everyone in the long run.
But whether or not that happens China still has to deal with the serious ill effects of coal mining and coal powered electricity generation and many other kinds of industrial pollution.
China is making some efforts toward that end, but like the United States and other countries needs to do much better for its own sake.
unnecessary wars, bankster fraud and market manipulation, deep sea drilling spills and pollution, gas fracking pollution, chemtrail geoengineering with aluminum aerosol, deforestation, electronic election rigging, corporate ownership of all levels of government, privatization of everything, constant propaganda to distract from all of this - Obama is neither willing nor able to stand in front of that train, especially when his role is to further the corporate agenda while pretending he cares for the human beings whose lives he is destroying
I appreciate the effort to protest, and I appreciate the effort to report on it, and I believe we must do even more. I believe we first have to become aware of just who is behind this destructive agenda, and acknowledge what's going on, and then envision alternatives to replace fear with love, despair with joy, and opposition with cooperation. A new consciousness for America and the world, where we take responsibility for what's happening instead of continuing to be victim's.
Sssssoooooo, if Obama signs this pipeline into existance....does that mean you all give up and go home? H*ll, that is when I would just get started..... His signing it into existence is just AN ACT OF WAR...... AND YA KNOW, I WOULD STILL NOT VOTE FOR ANYONE ELSE, BECAUSE THERE IS NOT ANYONE WHO EVEN HAS A CLUE AS TO WHAT IS NEEDED ..... OBAMA MAY BE LACKING, BUT I SURE DO NOT WANT A PERRY, PALIN, BACHMAN OR ROMNEY IN THER INSTEAD...
All this does is show that the system is rotten along with the people, those running and some of those voting... That begs the question....WHAT'S NEXT....