Community | August 20, 2011 | 15 comments

U.S. Media Ignores the Largest Climate Change Civil Resistance Protest -- Begins Today

source: http://october2011.org/blogs/kevin-zeese/us-media-ignores-largest-climate-change-civil-resis...

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y Kevin Zeese - Posted on 20 August 2011

The U.S. media is not reporting it but the largest civil resistance action in history for dealing with climate change begins today. At issue is a pipeline that would bring oil from tarsands in Canada into the United States. If it occurs it will add a massive amount of carbon to the atmosphere that will put the world over the tipping point. The decision on whether to build the pipeline is up to President Obama. Congress has no role in the decision making.
Massive protest at White House against Alberta tar sands pipeline

Campaigners say the two-week protest will be the biggest green civil disobedience in a generation

By Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent.
The Guardian, guardian.co.uk,
August 20, 2011
White House
The White House Photograph: Ron Edmonds/AP

A protest at the White House against a pipeline from the Alberta tar sands is emerging as the biggest green civil disobedience campaign in a generation, organisers said.

Approximately 1,500 people signed up to court arrest during the two-week action outside the White House, which begins on Saturday morning.

The campaign is seen as a last chance to persuade Barack Obama to stop a planned 1,600-mile pipeline that will carry oil from the tar sands of Alberta across rich American farmland to the Gulf of Mexico.

The State Department is expect to produce its final environmental analysis of the pipeline by the end of the month. Obama will then have 90 days to decide whether going ahead with the project would be in the national interest.

The Keystone XL project has been a major focus of environmental protests. Greenhouse gas emissions of tar sands crude are 40% higher than conventional oil, and the open-pit mining has devastated Alberta's boreal forest.

Recent pipeline accidents in Michigan and Montana have also deepened fears about potential dangers along the pipeline's route through prime American farmland.

The veteran environmentalist Bill McKibben, who is leading the protest, describes it as the biggest civil disobedience action in environmental circles for years.

It also puts Obama on the spot to make good on his promises as a presidential candidate in 2008 to act on climate change.

Congress failed to act on the main plank of Obama's green agenda – climate change legislation – and pressure from Tea Party activists has forced the Environmental Protection Agency to delay or weaken regulations on dealing with climate change.

This time though, Obama has freedom of action – or at least that is McKibben's hope.

Obama must personally sign off on the pipeline, if it is to go ahead. "We think we may have a chance because for once Obama gets to make the call himself. He has to sign – or not sign – the permit," McKibben said.

"As environmentalists this is the one clean test we are ever going to get of Obama's real commitment to climate issues."

The protest will begin at about 11am on Saturday morning when a first group of 100 activists will gather at the gates of the White House, an area that is supposed to be kept clear, and wait to be arrested.

Unlike other campaigns, the next fortnight's actions have geographical reach – with protesters descending on Washington from areas along the pipeline's route.

One group from eastern Texas, has hired an RV to make the journey.

The campaign against the pipeline has steadily been gaining in momentum amid concerns about pipeline safety.

The pipeline route crosses rich farmland and important aquifers.

Campaigners argue the thick heavy tar sands crude could do far more damage than conventional oil, and that the State Department has rushed through its environmental review.

The oil industry, meanwhile, pushed back with a study this week claiming the pipeline would create 20,000 new construction jobs.
  1. groups:
    Community,   Actual News,   Educating America,   Activism,   7 more
  2. tags:
    Environment,  Protest,  Civil Disobedience,  oil pipeline
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15 comments // U.S. Media Ignores the Largest Climate Change Civil Resistance Protest -- Begins Today

  • SoCalFramer
    • 0
      SoCalFramer  

    • Jobs are good and they need to be created but not this way. Screw the pipeline. It is being sold for pennies on the dollar. It is worth one million jobs because we would need to offset the pollution with cuts else where. When will the dems start holding polluters hostage to cut green house gasas cap green house gasses and balance green house gases. Yea, I said it CUT, CAP and BALANCE green house gases you asses.Not you guys are asses.

    • 9 months ago
  • wolfess
    • +1
      wolfess  

    • The oil industry, meanwhile, pushed back with a study this week claiming the pipeline would create 20,000 new construction jobs.

      Have we ever met an oilman who WASN'T a reptard? Reptard and LYING are synonymous -- just ask Michael Steele. I would say the chances are pretty good that NO AMERICANS will be hired to work even if jobs are created.

      p.s. Now that our illustrious president is talking about jobs you can bet he'll sign off on this just so he can say, "This was a painful choice for me to make, but we need to put America back to work." Please, Mr. President, PROVE ME WRONG!

      Pwr 2 the peons! Dismember ALL lying elected infidels!

    • 9 months ago
  • ampersand
    • +1
      ampersand  

    • The lesson from the late sixties (and I was in the street then) was that the vested interests saw that the draft affected too many people (officers getting fragged definitely caught their attention) so they created a fully paid army (and later, private mercenary armies).They created a "work around" to continue policy as usual.

      At the time, Humphrey was seen as LBJ's poodle, and many of us sat that one out; Nixon got his first term. Nixon's "southern strategy" exploited the racism and resentment of the south and blamed "the hippies" for turmoil in the country. They tagged McGovern in the next election as the candidate of "Acid, Amnesty and Abortion" and swept the states.
      While Nixon was taking campaign contributions to insure exemptions for diesel fuel standards and the introduction of untested high fructose corn syrup on the human diet, in the U.S., his Vice President, Spiro Agnew, was taking bags of cash for personal bribes in public restrooms.
      Public media slammed the "hippy" ideals using cliches not seen in Hollywood since "Birth of A Nation" to demonize and marginalize the threat of change in business as usual.
      Nixon also passed some odd legislation making it a federal crime of "conspiracy"
      to even talk about taking action against the regime. That law is still on the books and has been used whenever any investigation got too lazy or too sloppy. They could always mop up with that one.

      It would be great to see a mass movement actually effect profound policy change in the U.S., but sadly, I don't see it happening.

      Not to discourage, though. We should still be there in the streets, but also contemplate how we start to match the five very well funded financial industry lobbyists for every single Congressman.
      We do have the numbers, but I haven't seen them in the quantity needed in the street yet.

    • 9 months ago
  • americaDuff
    • +1
      americaDuff  

    • It's
      1968 all over again. The only change this country has ever achieved was born in the street. The majority rules, not the minority of billionaires. Obama was 7 years old in
      1968. Let's show him what it looked like in 68.

    • 9 months ago
  • Frosty46
    • +1
      Frosty46  

    • The owners of US Media Outlets--the Republicans, do not want global Warming reported upon so it is not in the United States of Corporations!

    • 9 months ago
  • AJILIVIZION
    • 0
      AJILIVIZION  
    • Frosty46:

      Do not get hung up on political parties. The true label for the politicians that work for the benefit of corporations would be "Corporatists"; and they can be found in both parties. It is true that the majority of the Republican Party are Corporatists, but not all Corporatists are Republicans.

    • 9 months ago
  • Hardytoo
    • +3
      Hardytoo  

    • We've started a "virtual protest" of the Keystone pipeline (not being covered in the MSM).
      PLEASE, if you can, go to the story and add one line, starting with the word "NO."

      The headline is:

      UPDATE: Protesters arrested outside White House/Dirty Oil-Stand up against Keystone XL pipeline: virtual protest

      Thanks everybody

    • 9 months ago
  • artemis6
  • ClassicalGas
    • +2
      ClassicalGas  

    • The powers that be seem to think that if they ignore it, it will go away. Call Al Jazeera, if the MSM won't give it coverage, let's see how our media likes being left in the dust.

    • 9 months ago
  • JanforGore
  • artemis6
    • 0
      artemis6  
    • JanforGore:

      It is my understanding that Jimmy Carter has been arrested . I have not verified that with two other sources . If true , It is good to know he has the courage of his convictions .

    • 9 months ago
  • Lairderg
  • Vic_Romano
  • Vic_Romano
  • Hardytoo
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