Washington, DC
The Council of Canadians is supporting the call for non-violent direct action (NVDA) protests against the proposed Keystone pipeline (which would extend from the northern Alberta tar sands to refineries in Texas) in Washington, DC this coming Monday August 15 to Monday September 5.
Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow, NASA climate scientist James Hansen, author and journalist Naomi Klein, writer and environmentalist Bill McKibben, scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster David Suzuki and others have signed a letter that states, “This summer in Washington…the State Department and the White House have to decide whether to grant a certificate of ‘national interest’ to some of the biggest fossil fuel players on earth. These corporations want to build the so-called ‘Keystone XL Pipeline’ from Canada’s tar sands to Texas refineries.”
“We don’t have the money to compete with those corporations, but we do have our bodies, and beginning in mid August many of us will use them. We will, each day, march on the White House, risking arrest with our trespass. We will do it in dignified fashion, demonstrating that in this case we are the conservatives, and that our foes—who would change the composition of the atmosphere are dangerous radicals. Come dressed as if for a business meeting—this is, in fact, serious business.”
“This won’t be a one-shot day of action. We plan for it to continue for several weeks, till the administration understands we won’t go away. Not all of us can actually get arrested—half the signatories to this letter live in Canada, and might well find our entry into the U.S. barred. But we will be making plans for sympathy demonstrations outside Canadian consulates in the U.S., and U.S. consulates in Canada—the decision-makers need to know they’re being watched.”
And they ask, “If you think you might want to be a part of this action, we need you to sign up here – http://www.tarsandsaction.org/sign-up/. As plans solidify in the next few weeks we’ll be in touch with you to arrange non-violence training; our colleagues at a variety of environmental and democracy campaigns will be coordinating the actual arrangements.”
To read the full letter signed by Maude Barlow, please go to http://www.tarsandsaction.org/invitation/.
To read a blog posted this hour to The Nation’s website, http://www.thenation.com/blog/161604/bill-mckibben-naomi-klein-wendell-berry-call-civil-disobedience-tar-sands.
