Tens
of thousands demand action on climate change
President
Obama said in his State of the Union Address that if lawmakers don't
act on climate change, he will. Protesters say they are holding him
to his word.
17
February, 2013
In
what was billed as the largest climate rally in U.S. history,
thousands of people marched past the White House on Sunday to urge
President Obama to reject a controversial pipeline and take other
steps to fight climate change.
Organizers,
including the Sierra Club, estimated that more than 35,000 people
from 30-plus states -- some dressed as polar bears -- endured frigid
temperatures to join the "Forward on Climate" rally,
although the crowd size could not be confirmed. Their immediate
target is Obama's final decision, expected soon, on the Keystone XL
oil pipeline that would carry tar sands from Canada through several
U.S. states.
"This
movement's been building a long time. One of the things that's built
it is everybody's desire to give the president the support he needs
to block this Keystone pipeline," Bill McKibben, founder of the
environmental activist group, 350.org, said as protesters gathered on
the National Mall.
"It's
time for the president to stand up," he said, describing the
1,000-plus mile pipeline as "one of the largest carbon bombs in
history." Some climate scientists say the production of tar
sands emits more greenhouse gases than that of conventional crude
oil. Supporters, including the oil industry, say it would reduce U.S.
dependence on unstable foreign sources of oil.
Among
the protesters were senior citizens in wheelchairs, a dad from
Indiana carrying a toddler, women from a Unitarian church in
Corvallis, Ore., and college students, including Florida's Molly
Kampmann who was holding a picture of a pipeline with the caption:
"This is why I'm hot."
Others
held placards saying, "Read my lips: no new carbons," and
"We're in a climate hole: stop digging." Another, referring
to a method for extracting natural gas, said: "Don't be frackin'
crazy."
"We're
right in the path of sea level rise," said Mark
Geduldig-Yactrosky of Portsmouth, Va., explaining his concern about
climate change. "We're a low-lying area. We have rising oceans
and subsiding lands. So that personalizes it for us."
Burlington,
Vt., resident Michael Ware, holding a "Stop Vermont Yankee"
banner, said last year's extreme weather convinced many Americans
that climate change is serious. "What will Vermont, what will
any state, look like in 20 years?" he asked.
"I
have six grandchildren, and I want them to have a habitable planet,"
said Linda Britt, who came from Ann Arbor, Mich., with other
grandparents.
Obama
has pledged repeatedly to tackle climate change. In his State of the
Union Address, he gave Congress an ultimatum: if lawmakers don't act,
he will. Protesters say they are holding him to his word. They want
him to not only reject the pipeline but also set limits on carbon
pollution from both new and existing power plants. Last year, the EPA
proposed limits only on new plants.
In
January 2012, Obama rejected the initial 1,700-mile Keystone XL
pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Port Arthur, Texas, saying he
needed more time for environmental review. Since the project crosses
a U.S. border, it needs a permit from the State Department, but Obama
has said he'll make the final call.
The
project's developer, Calgary-based TransCanada, has since broken the
project into two parts. It received approval last year from the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers to begin construction of the 485-mile, $2.3
billion southern leg of the project from Cushing, Okla., to the Gulf
Coast. Obama's pending decision involves the 1,179-mile, $5.3 billion
northern leg, from Alberta to Steele City, Neb.
The
pressure on Keystone has intensified since Nebraska Gov. Dave
Heineman, who like Obama had rejected the initial route, notified the
president last month that he'd approved the revised route through his
state. Heineman, a Republican, said it would avoid environmentally
sensitive areas and bringjobs and other economic benefits.
TransCanada
President Russ Girling, who hailed Heineman's reversal, traveled to
Washington earlier this month to lobby personally for the
billion-dollar project.
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