Sep 26, 2013
They've constructed a wind and solar-powered barn, near York, Nebraska, in the direct path of the proposed pipeline--billing it as an alternative to dangerous and dirty tar sands oil, and daring the Obama administration and TransCanada to destroy their community building.
"This is clearly a challenge to the president to say you can choose our families and clean energy, or you can choose a dirty pipeline," Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska told Common Dreams. "It is a clear line in the sand."
Kleeb told Common Dreams that a coalition of ranchers and farmers with the Nebraska Farmer's Union joined with organizations including Bold Nebraska, 350.org, Sierra Club and Credo, as well as billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer, to construct the creative protest building.
A dedication ceremony this weekend was timed to coordinate with nation-wide actions across 49 U.S. states calling for Keystone XL pipeline construction to halt and for tar sands oil to stay in the ground. Over 100 volunteers gathered Sunday at the barn that sits on the land of a family of farmers who will use the space to store their supplies and host community meetings.
Nebraska residents charge that the proposed pipeline would not only expand tar sands oil extraction and deepen environmental and climate crises, but it would also threaten the health and livelihoods of people throughout Nebraska.
"If someone had an oil spill on their property and that got into thir well, there would be no way to clean it and it would destroy their water," Kleeb told Common Dreams. "A lot of ranchers are organic farmers and provide whole foods and have organic certification. A tar sands spill would ruin their certification. Furthermore, this pipeline would make the government use eminent domain laws to force landowners to give up their land."
"This barn symbolizes our ties to the land and water in the state," she added. "We wanted to show President Obama the energy future we want and what's at stake if he approves the pipeline."
_____________________
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
They've constructed a wind and solar-powered barn, near York, Nebraska, in the direct path of the proposed pipeline--billing it as an alternative to dangerous and dirty tar sands oil, and daring the Obama administration and TransCanada to destroy their community building.
"This is clearly a challenge to the president to say you can choose our families and clean energy, or you can choose a dirty pipeline," Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska told Common Dreams. "It is a clear line in the sand."
Kleeb told Common Dreams that a coalition of ranchers and farmers with the Nebraska Farmer's Union joined with organizations including Bold Nebraska, 350.org, Sierra Club and Credo, as well as billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer, to construct the creative protest building.
A dedication ceremony this weekend was timed to coordinate with nation-wide actions across 49 U.S. states calling for Keystone XL pipeline construction to halt and for tar sands oil to stay in the ground. Over 100 volunteers gathered Sunday at the barn that sits on the land of a family of farmers who will use the space to store their supplies and host community meetings.
Nebraska residents charge that the proposed pipeline would not only expand tar sands oil extraction and deepen environmental and climate crises, but it would also threaten the health and livelihoods of people throughout Nebraska.
"If someone had an oil spill on their property and that got into thir well, there would be no way to clean it and it would destroy their water," Kleeb told Common Dreams. "A lot of ranchers are organic farmers and provide whole foods and have organic certification. A tar sands spill would ruin their certification. Furthermore, this pipeline would make the government use eminent domain laws to force landowners to give up their land."
"This barn symbolizes our ties to the land and water in the state," she added. "We wanted to show President Obama the energy future we want and what's at stake if he approves the pipeline."
_____________________
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
They've constructed a wind and solar-powered barn, near York, Nebraska, in the direct path of the proposed pipeline--billing it as an alternative to dangerous and dirty tar sands oil, and daring the Obama administration and TransCanada to destroy their community building.
"This is clearly a challenge to the president to say you can choose our families and clean energy, or you can choose a dirty pipeline," Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska told Common Dreams. "It is a clear line in the sand."
Kleeb told Common Dreams that a coalition of ranchers and farmers with the Nebraska Farmer's Union joined with organizations including Bold Nebraska, 350.org, Sierra Club and Credo, as well as billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer, to construct the creative protest building.
A dedication ceremony this weekend was timed to coordinate with nation-wide actions across 49 U.S. states calling for Keystone XL pipeline construction to halt and for tar sands oil to stay in the ground. Over 100 volunteers gathered Sunday at the barn that sits on the land of a family of farmers who will use the space to store their supplies and host community meetings.
Nebraska residents charge that the proposed pipeline would not only expand tar sands oil extraction and deepen environmental and climate crises, but it would also threaten the health and livelihoods of people throughout Nebraska.
"If someone had an oil spill on their property and that got into thir well, there would be no way to clean it and it would destroy their water," Kleeb told Common Dreams. "A lot of ranchers are organic farmers and provide whole foods and have organic certification. A tar sands spill would ruin their certification. Furthermore, this pipeline would make the government use eminent domain laws to force landowners to give up their land."
"This barn symbolizes our ties to the land and water in the state," she added. "We wanted to show President Obama the energy future we want and what's at stake if he approves the pipeline."
_____________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.