Protesters at California Fundraisers Urge Obama to Reject Keystone XL
April 5, 2013
Cross-posted from Democracy Now!
President Obama has wrapped up a two-day swing through California to raise money for Democratic candidates in the 2014 midterm elections. In San Francisco, Obama was met by hundreds of protesters urging him to reject the Keystone XL oil pipeline as he attended two fundraisers. One of the events was held at the home of the hedge fund billionaire Thomas Steyer, who has vocally opposed the Keystone XL. In his remarks, Obama appeared to justify his failure to aggressively tackle global warming by claiming it is not a top priority for working-class Americans. Describing his take on the typical mindset, Obama said: “You may be concerned about the temperature of the planet, but it’s probably not rising to your No. 1 concern. And if people think, well, that’s shortsighted, that’s what happens when you’re struggling to get by.”
Six Things You Need to Know About the Arkansas Oil Spill
April 4, 2013
Cross-posted from Salon / by Tara Lohan
This article originally appeared on AlterNet
By now, you already know that at least 84,000 gallons of crude spilled from an ExxonMobil pipeline, swamping an Arkansas subdivision on Friday, and causing the evacuation of 22 homes. In addition to the loss of wildlife, damage to property, and environmental and human health hazards posed by the spill, it may have implications for the Keystone XL pipeline currently under consideration by the Obama administration.
There is a lot more to the story that’s important to understand. Here are six crucial things. Read MORE HERE.
TransCanada goes forward with West-East Canadian pipeline
Cross-posted from The Wall Street Journal Market Watch /by Claudia Assis April 2, 2013TransCanada Corp. said Tuesday it is looking for customers for a proposed pipeline that would transport western Canada’s crude oil to refineries in eastern Canada, a project that would convert an existing natural-gas pipeline and build another 870 miles of new line.
The new crude flowing in through the proposed line, called the Eastern Oil Pipeline, would displace crude imports, TransCanada said. Canada imported about 600,000 barrels of oil a day in 2012 to supply its eastern refineries, the company added.
The project would have capacity to transport as much as 850,000 barrels of oil a day, depending on how much interest it can drum up among producers. The line could be operational by late 2017, TransCanada said. The call for commitments — which means rounding up commitments from producers to ship a given volume of crude through the line each month — ends in June.
Producers and refiners have scrambled to connect oil-rich but landlocked and isolated areas to refinery hubs, and pipeline companies have responded by announcing new projects, reverting flows in existing pipelines, and expanding lines.
The industry has also resorted to shipping crude by rail and by barge to circumvent the infrastructure limitations.
The projects also generate plenty of controversy, particularly as Exxon Mobil Corp. is still mopping up the streets of Mayflower, Ark., following a rupture in its Pegasus oil pipeline over the weekend. Exxon has recovered 12,000 barrels of water and oil from Mayflower and 22 homes were evacuated.
Last week, a train derailment caused a spill from a tanker car in Minnesota.
March 25, 2013Cross-posted from Tar Sands Blockade
Over 55 actions and events happened this week to directly confront the corporate profiteers bankrolling the Keystone XL pipeline and the broader tar sands industry. These actions come at a critical time as investor confidence in Alberta’s tar sands is waning due to major delays and resistance to Keystone XL’s construction timeline.
Katuah EF! Shuts Down TD Bank in Protest Against Keystone XL Pipeline
March 22, 2013
Cross-posted from Katuah Earth First!
Four arrested at lively protest against fossil fuel infrastructure
Asheville, NC - 60 people took to the streets today to protest the Keystone XL pipeline in downtown Asheville. After a rally in Pritchard Park, the march made its way to TD Bank, a major investor in the Keystone XL pipeline and occupied the lobby, forcing the bank to close for the rest of the day. Protestors carried banners reading, “Obama, Your Pipedream is a Nightmare” and “TD Bank, divest from dirty oil.” Police arrested four protesters who refused to leave until TD Bank agreed to divest from the tar sands industry.
Katuah EF! Tar Sands Blockade Action at TD Bank
The action was organized by Asheville based Katuah Earth First! and is part of a week of nationwide protests called for by Tar Sands Blockade a coalition of Texas landowners and environmentalists fighting the southern leg of the pipeline.
“We are going to hold accountable the companies that threaten our future with their dirty investments. With every dollar TD Bank invests in the Keystone XL pipeline we can feel the noose tightening around our necks,” said Patty Petroluse, a student in Asheville. TD Bank holds over 13 million shares in Transcanada, the company building the Keystone XL pipeline.
“In a time of escalating drought, wildfires, and super-storms fueled by climate change it is suicidal to invest billions of dollars in new fossil fuel infrastructure. The Keystone XL pipeline would be delivering the dirtiest fossil fuel imaginable, tar sands oil”, said Henry Lowry.
If built, the pipeline would tear through thousands of miles of sensitive ecosystems, farmland, and Native American tribal lands in order to deliver Canadian tar sands oil to Gulf Coast refineries. Contrary to industry claims, the vast majority of the oil would be destined for export, not for US consumption. Canada’s tar sands oil has been labeled by environmental groups as the “dirtiest project on earth.” Extraction of tar sands requires massive strip mines that have already destroyed hundreds of square miles of Canada’s boreal forest. Tar sands oil production is extremely energy intensive and produces far more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil.
The week of protest has seen protests in over 30 cities around the country and over 40 arrests as activists express their opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline. Katuah Earth First! is proud to contribute to the nationwide movement against new fossil fuels infrastructure.