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The Activist Beat with Rose Aguilar, host of Your Call on KALW in San Francisco is a weekly roundup of progressive activism that the mainstream media ignores, undercovers, or misrepresents. <\/em><\/p>\nSince Saturday, over 220 environmental activists and concerned citizens have been arrested for protesting in front of the White House. Hundreds of people are in DC speaking out against the proposed $7 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would pump 700,000 barrels of dirty tar sands from Alberta, Canada down to oil refineries in Texas every day.<\/p>\n
According to an Environmental Defense report<\/a>, generating energy out of tar sands is one of the most destructive projects on earth. These important facts are missing from most reporting on this issue: Oil sands mining uses twice the amount of fresh water that the entire city of Calgary uses in a year; processing the oil sands uses enough natural gas in a day to heat 3 million homes; producing a barrel of oil from the tar sands produces three times more greenhouse gas emissions than a barrel of conventional oil.<\/p>\n
Why would the Obama administration even consider approving such a project? This does nothing to minimize greenhouse gases or reduce fossil fuel consumption. There is no way we can continue down this path, but the powers that be don\u2019t have the political will to speak the truth about what we\u2019re currently facing. Instead, they continue to embrace the elusive promise of cheap oil. It should be noted that this project will not reduce gas prices. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard not to be cynical after learning that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton\u2019s former deputy campaign manager Paul Elliot is now a lobbyist for TransCanada, the sole owner of the Keystone XL pipeline. I mentioned this in a previous piece, but it\u2019s worth repeating. Because the pipeline would cross the US border, it has to be approved by the State Department. That means Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has the power to derail the project. <\/p>\n
Last October, Clinton said she was \u201cinclined\u201d to support the project. In March, she said she is \u201cgenerally supportive\u201d of increasing oil imports from Canada, but refused to comment further because her department has to make the final decision. <\/p>\n
The protesters in DC say it\u2019s in the President\u2019s hands. He says he wants to be pushed? Well, he\u2019s being pushed. And because Congress, especially congressional Republicans, have no say in the matter, there is no need for him to use his favorite word: compromise. He can single handedly derail the pipeline. Environmental groups say this will be a crucial issue in next year\u2019s election. <\/p>\n
The action began on Saturday with more citizens arriving daily. Over 20 activists from the Gulf joined the protest today, saying they don\u2019t want another BP style disaster in the country\u2019s heartland. These people have survived Katrina and the BP oil disaster. They\u2019ve asked politicians to step up and do the right thing. And each time, they\u2019ve been let down, and yet they are still standing up for what\u2019s right. <\/p>\n
A total of 2,000 people have signed up to take part in the action. They say they won\u2019t leave until they are heard. Activists will be in front of the White House next week to greet President Obama and the White press corps as they return from vacation. <\/p>\n
This action has received extensive coverage in the alternative and local press, but it has yet to break through the national press. <\/p>\n
Just days before the Keystone XL action began, activists with ForestEthics organized rallies outside of stores that sell Dole and Chiquita bananas in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland. Activists are asking the companies to stop using dirty tar sands to transport bananas from plantations in Central America to US stores every year. <\/p>\n