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Almost a year since the massive protests in Washington D.C. against construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, activists gathered last Thursday to physically block the start of construction of the pipeline’s southern leg. A motley crew of environmentalists, Tea Party conservatives and disenfranchised ranchers gathered in a raucous crowd near Livingston, Texas, unfurling a large banner with the words “No Tar Sands In Texas.” Activists voiced concerns that the pipeline would be a threat to the area’s ecosystem, polluting subterranean aquifers and infringing on local residents’ land ownership rights. There has been virtual silence regarding start of the pipeline’s construction from both President Obama and the mainstream press.
 
Late last year saw huge protests against construction of the Keystone XL pipeline in the nation’s capitol, where 1,200 people were arrested in front of the White House during two weeks of sit-ins. The protests came as Trans-Canada, the company responsible for the pipeline, was preparing to apply for an international permit allowing construction of the pipeline, which would carry diluted bitumen from tar sands in northern Canada to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. Earlier this year the Obama administration rejected Trans-Canada’s international permit application, but conceded national permits to build the pipeline’s southern part while reviewing the company’s re-application to build the entire structure. Should the U.S. State Department give Trans-Canada the green light to build the northern part, construction could begin as early as 2013 according to company officials.

GUEST: Duncan Meisel who is on the ground in Texas. He is an online organizer with 350.org an international campaign against climate change.

Visit www.tarsandsblockade.org and www.350.org/KXL for more information.