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Sierra Club: We need your voices on June 29th!
By Climate Crossroads | KC
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Read this blog post on the originating site
Read this post at the Climate Crossroads blog, including links
There has never been a more appropriate moment to question our dangerous addiction to oil, to calculate its true costs, and to finally move beyond it. With a massive, unchecked oil spill wreaking havoc on the Gulf coast – its wildlife, economy, and way of life – a proposal like the Keystone XL toxic tar sands oil pipeline should be off the table.
Some of what’s currently on the table should sound eerily familiar to what led to the BP disaster: TransCanada is pushing for a safety waiver that would allow the company to operate with thinner pipe and higher pressures than standard operating procedure. The man responsible for granting TransCanada’s safety waiver, Jeff Wiese, with the Department of Transportation’s Office of Pipeline Safety, worked for 15 years in the offshore oil and gas program of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) within the U.S. Department of Interior. TransCanada lacks a public emergency plan in the event of a leak and have not demonstrated that emergency responders have been identified, contracted or trained.
Does this infuriate you? You’re not alone. There are hundreds of concerned citizens who have turned out to public hearings around the country, tens of thousands more who have filed comments opposing the tar sands pipeline, and countless groups like Sierra Club fighting hard for clean energy solutions in place of more toxic oil.
And our ranks and momentum are growing.
Today 50 members of Congress have signed a letter to Secretary of State Clinton calling on the State Department to not rush to make a decision on the pipeline until a thorough review of the environmental, public health and safety impacts can be conducted.
And yesterday we heard these words from John Podesta, former White House Chief of Staff under Clinton and now at the helm of the think-tank Center for American Progress, at Canada2020’s “Greening the Oil Sands” forum: “Oil extraction from oil sands is polluting, destructive, expensive, and energy intensive. These things are facts. Suggesting that this process can come close to approximating being ‘green’ is largely misleading or far too optimistic or both. It stands alongside “clean coal” and error-free deep-water drilling as more PR than reality.” Read the full story along with some additional zingers by Podesta.
Want to echo these sentiments?
The Obama Administration is seeking public comments through July 2. Take a few minutes to send in your comment today.
If you live in or around Washington, DC, please join us next Tuesday, June 29, for the final public hearing. You can voice your opinions and concerns in person from 12:30-3:30 at the State Department. RSVP to 202.675.2396 or check out our Facebook event page.
Tagged with: keystone xl, pipeline, sierra club, house kxl letter, climate crossroads
