Tech | January 22, 2012 | 18 comments

Tell President Obama: It's Time To Lead On Climate

source: http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/sotu_climate/?r_by=33678-2455059-oKxB8jx&rc=confemail

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JanforGore
This is why activism matters.

Six months ago, the Obama Administration was set to approve one of the single most environmentally disastrous fossil fuel projects imaginable.

Today, it's dead.

The Keystone XL pipeline - designed to bring filthy tar sands oil from Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas so that oil companies can profit by selling the oil overseas - was dealt a severe setback Wednesday when President Obama said no to an election year blackmail threat by the American Petroleum Institute and its lackeys in Congress.

But President Obama didn't reject Keystone XL because he wanted to. Or because he thought it was the right thing to do. Or because he thought it would help his reelection campaign. He rejected it because you made him do it.

It's a victory for activists. But because the President rejected the pipeline on a narrow technicality,1 in no way has he set down a clear marker against the pipeline or the carbon bomb that burning Canadian tar sands oil in China represents.

We want to thank the many groups and thousands of activists, who, following the inspiring call of Bill McKibben, joined us in putting massive public pressure on the President. In fact, CREDO waged the single largest activism campaign in our history.2

It was this pressure that forced President Obama to initially delay the decision in November. And it was this pressure, combined with the Republicans' overzealous and irresponsible demand of a 60-day deadline that forced him to reject the pipeline permit.

Our pressure overcame the lies and propaganda of Republicans and oil giants, and their threats of massive political consequences if he didn't approve it.

Rejecting this pipeline was the right thing to do. But by rejecting it purely on a technicality, there are many things President Obama did not do:

•He did not close the door to this pipeline once and for all. In fact, he specifically opened the door to the southern portion of Keystone XL, which would allow this oil to be exported overseas -- the real reason TransCanada wanted Keystone XL in the first place.

•He did not explain the imperative of stopping not just this project, but others that will expedite disastrous warming. Just the opposite -- he touted the need to expand oil and gas drilling and made no mention of clean energy.

•He did not refute the lies of Republicans and polluters, whose biggest "jobs plan" is a foreign oil pipeline whose chief purpose is to export oil overseas.

The time to lead us away from dirty fuels and prevent escalating global catastrophes from climate change is here. And President Obama still can.

Tell President Obama: It's time to lead on climate. Make the case in your State of the Union Address.

Until President Obama makes a clear and compelling case to the American people for sweeping action to reduce our dependence on any and all fossil fuels, the pace of our transition will remain slower than what is required to stem the onrushing danger of climate pollution.

Until he refutes the false choice presented by Big Oil and Republicans -- that we must choose between a clean energy future and a stable economy - he empowers and remains vulnerable to their attacks.

Until he shows his commitment to clean energy over dirty fossil fuels, the energy of progressive activists will be spent fighting individual bad decisions, instead of pushing to support needed progressive policies.

And ultimately, until President Obama takes the opportunity for a true moment of leadership that publicly raises the stakes on the fight to stabilize our climate, the State of our Union will remain deeply clouded.

More at the link
  1. groups:
    News and Politics,   Politics,   Tech,   Green,   9 more
  2. tags:
    Environment,  Climate Change,  Activism,  Oil,  19 more
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18 comments // Tell President Obama: It's Time To Lead On Climate

  • AmericanStandard
  • JanforGore
  • AmericanStandard
  • AmericanStandard
    • 0
      AmericanStandard  
    • AmericanStandard:

      The EPA does act to limit corporate exposure to downside potential. The enforcement of property rights as purposed by Dr. Paul would actually provide citizens with more recourse legally than currently provided with the Administrative agencies model. Under a Paul presidency BP would have gone bankrupt after the deepwater Horizon disaster. That said Paul's stance on the environment does leave something to be desired but when compared to the other candidates he is the only one who is not in the pockets of the big corporations.

    • 4 months ago
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  
    • AmericanStandard:

      Something to be desired? He outrightly denies there is even even a crisis. And sorry, it is hard to relate to responses that sound like one size fits all robo calls. As I stated here, there is not one candidate an environmentalist can place faith in regarding this. Climate change is much bigger than just giving a spiel on property rights, and it is obviously a much greater challenge to the small minds in our government than even I had thought.

    • 4 months ago
  • JohnA
  • JanforGore
  • JohnA
  • JanforGore
  • coolplanet
  • JanforGore
  • coolplanet
    • 0
      coolplanet  
    • JanforGore:

      It makes me sad that more people aren't fired up about this #1 concern for the present and future.
      Is it because it is winter now and we all like warming in the winter?
      I am increasingly disappointed in my species.
      It's all about our creature comforts. Fuck the future.
      MAN are we in for a RUDE awakening!

    • 4 months ago
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • +2
      JanforGore  

    • This post was at four only a couple minutes ago and is now nowhere to be found. Was it hidden or removed from Community? Calling on Obama to lead on climate is IMPERATIVE in light of the effects of climate change taking hold. Hiding my posts doesn't change that but it sure speaks volumes.

    • 4 months ago
  • JanforGore
    • +3
      JanforGore  
    • Image

    • http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/01/19/405465/situation-normal-all-fracked-up-...
      They support fracking!?. I bet that is what is included in his "clean energy jobs" ads. And according to this, DOW Chemical is also looking to do this as well.
      ~~~
      "Last week, the Obama administration gave what may be its first formal statement favoring hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of natural gas in a report, Investing in America (pdf). Until now, the Environmental Protection Agency has, generally, been moving slowly on the issue, with initial study results due out this year and a final report in 2014. However, the Investing in America report endorses the safe and environmentally responsible extraction of natural gas.

      Key paragraphs:

      Since the mid‐2000s, however, the discovery of new natural gas reserves, such as the Marcellus Shale, and the development of hydraulic fracturing techniques to extract natural gas from these reserves has led to rapidly growing domestic production and relatively low domestic prices for households and downstream industrial users. Appropriate care must to be taken to ensure that America’s natural resources are extracted in a safe and environmentally responsible manner with the safeguards in place to protect public health and safety. Provided these precautions are taken, the potential benefits to the U.S. economy are substantial.Of the major fossil fuels, natural gas is the cleanest and least carbon‐intensive for electric power generation. By keeping domestic energy costs relatively low, this resource also supports energy intensive manufacturing in the United States. In fact, companies like Dow Chemical and Westlake Chemical have announced intentions to make major investments in new facilities over the next several years. In addition, firms that provide equipment for shale gas production have announced major investments in the U.S., including Vallourec’s $650 million plant for steel pipes in Ohio.

      An abundant local supply will translate into relatively low costs for the industries that use natural gas as an input. Expansion in these industries, including industrial chemicals and fertilizers, will boost investment and exports in the coming years, generating new jobs. In the longer run, the scale of America’s natural gas endowment appears to be sufficiently large that exports of natural gas to other major markets could be economically viable.

      Obama’s jobs panel will also call for an “all-in,” aka “all of the above,” energy strategy: “The Jobs Council recommends expanding and expediting the domestic production of fossil fuels – including allowing more access to oil, gas, and coal opportunities on federal lands – while ensuring safe and responsible development of those sites.”
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      I DO NOT SUPPORT THIS. This is sad. There really is not one candidate in this election that environmentalists can support who has any chance in this corrupted decrepid system of winning an election. So, I will concentrate on getting the tea party out and those Democrats who support these destructive initiatives. It's obvious the president whoever it is will already have sold their soul to the highest bidder.

    • 4 months ago
  • JanforGore
    • +3
      JanforGore  
    • Image

    • http://current.com/technology/93550969_epa-displays-erectile-dysfunction-regardi...

      Some more reasons in here. I don't want a "campaign speech" state of the union. I want the truth and a real using of this opportunity to alert Americans to the crisis we face.

      From the article above:

      "Six months ago, the Obama Administration was set to approve one of the single most environmentally disastrous fossil fuel projects imaginable."
      ___
      Were it NOT for activism, this pipeline would more than likely have been approved using the original route. I wonder what deal they are working on with Transcanada now behind the scenes since they (Transcanada) already worked out something with Nebraska to move it over ( and the "they" here also includes Republicans in the pockets of Koch). I'm sure it will happen after the election. And that will be interesting actually. Let's see all those so upset about the XL now because they can use it to push up Obama be as incensed about it being built when he is in his last term and not giving a damn about what he leaves behind.

    • 4 months ago
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • +2
      JanforGore  

    • Mark Ruffalo spoke with Keith Olbermann on this and this was my response to him:
      ~~~
      Thank you, Mark Ruffalo. This announcement today is exactly what you stated it is: a temporary stay so to speak, because these vipers in the fossil fuel industry and their minions are not going to give up. And to be honest, I am incensed because of the spin on this on all sides because it is an election year. Republicans are saying this will now cost a huge amount of jobs when that simply is not true and Democrats will spin it to make Obama look like a hero, which sorry I don't see him as on this. Shell will still be allowed to drill the Arctic. And this entire XL project has been used as a political football from the beginning and the climate has exactly been what has been forgotten in all of this.

      Did you know that the Alberta Clipper line was already built from Alberta to Wisconsin and already pumps tarsands here? I also believe there is another one that goes to Illinois. Emissions went up 5.9% last year and the tarsands are still going strong XL or no XL. The only saving grace of this is that the Ogallala Aquifer has been spared. Unfortunately, I have such a forboding feeling that Transcanada will reapply after the election, get another permit and build that pipeline somewhere else here. This is the epitome of what the Occupy movement is talking about and what we have to fight. And yes, we need to kick all of these corrupt politicians out.

      We should be building a "solar pipeline" down that route to supply clean energy to our country. But will that be the obvious lead in conversation from this? So while there will be those who will celebrate this as if he actually cured all of the world's ills, some of us who don't use this as a political wedge see it for what it is and that he shouldn't now be so cocky to think he can rest on his laurels. This planet is in serious trouble and we aren't talking and doing nearly enough because we can't even admit we have an addiction!

    • 4 months ago
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