thepeoplesrecord:

Protesters climb trees to halt XL pipeline construction
September 25, 2012

A group standing on tree platforms and branches attempted on Monday to head off work in northeast Texas for the southern portion of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Stationed as high as 80 feet above the ground on land near Winnsboro, eight protesters held a banner reading “You Shall Not Pass” as they waited in the path of contractors for TransCanada, which is building the pipeline.

Protesters did not disrupt any work Monday, but they were in the planned route of crews clearing foliage and trees for the pipeline, TransCanada spokesmanDavid Dodson said.

What TransCanada calls the Gulf Coast Project is the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline proposed to carry crude from Canadian oil sands to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The federal government has not approved the northern leg from Alberta into the United States, which requires a State Department OK because it would cross an international border. In rejecting a permit earlier this year, the government said the plan needed more study.

Dodson said easements similar to ones for water and electric lines allow TransCanada to build on private property.

Ron Seifert, a spokesman for activist group Tar Sands Blockade, said the protesters were in position on the easement.

“Those participating strongly believe that at this point doing nothing is a much greater risk than taking action,” Seifert said. “They believe that stopping this pipeline is a necessary condition for a viable future on planet Earth.”

Monday evening, Tar Sands Blockade reported on its website that the tree-clearing work finished for the day before reaching what the group called its “tree village.”

Demonstrators argue that TransCanada’s pipeline will boost an especially energy-intensive and environmentally damaging form of oil production in Canada, Seifert said. The pipeline also will bring more fossil fuels to the market, increasing greenhouse gas emissions from cars and other users, he said.

“It will unleash the floodgates to the largest carbon bomb in North America,” Seifert said.

Source

(via randomactsofchaos)

cognitivedissonance:

joegressivism:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer

Of course you know oil pipelines never leak or rupture or anything like that right?

Seriously, show this to anyone that ever says the words Keystone XL as if it were some sort of magic bullet that would save the economy. It isn’t even a complicated environmental issue, it clearly cuts through something that if anything were to go wrong would absolutely FUCK this country.

Right here. Right here is why you should be concerned.

(via randomactsofchaos)

(Source: chicana, via bohemianarthouse)

politicsplus:

Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline

Barack Obama must have felt like the wishbone from a turkey over the Keystone XL pipeline.  Key groups of Democratic supporters are split, labor for and environmentalists against.  At one point he had an environmental impact statement saying that it was environmentally safe, but then he learned that the statement had been rigged, and was nothing more than a claim from the pipeline company.  So he correctly put the project on hold until an honest environmental  impact statement could be prepared.  It’s my guess that Republicans knew that an honest impact statement would kill the pipeline, because in return for a two month payroll tax cut extension, they demanded a decision on Keystone XL by next month, before an honest impact statement could be prepared in the hopes of bullying an approval from him.  Their tactic did not work and Obama did the right thing… (video)

(via reagan-was-a-horrible-president)

bylinebeat:

Exclusive: Republicans move to control Keystone approval

Congressional Republicans, who are urging President Barack Obama to give a permit to the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline project, are working on a plan to take the reins of approval from the president should the White House say no.

Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, a state counting on TransCanada Corp’s pipeline to help move its newfound bounty of shale oil, is drafting contingency legislation that would see Congress green-light the project, an aide told Reuters.

After delaying the $7 billion project past the November 2012 election, Obama was compelled by Congress to decide by February 21 on whether to approve the pipeline that would sharply boost the flow of oil from Canada’s oil sands.

Should Obama reject the pipeline, Senate Republicans would look at a bill that would force the go-ahead for work to begin, said Ryan Bernstein, an energy adviser to Hoeven, citing the powers given to Congress in the Constitution to regulate commerce with foreign nations.

“We believe that express authority in the Constitution gives Congress the ability to approve and move forward on such a project,” Bernstein said in an interview.

Photo Credit: (wikipedia.com)

(via reagan-was-a-horrible-president)