USA/FILE: Demonstrators call on U.S. President Barack Obama to reject the controversial Keystone XL pipeline proposal and honor his inaugural pledge to act on climate change

Record ID: 215611

  • Title: USA/FILE: Demonstrators call on U.S. President Barack Obama to reject the controversial Keystone XL pipeline proposal and honor his inaugural pledge to act on climate change
  • Date: 17th February 2013
  • Summary: PROTESTERS MARCHING AND PROTEST SIGNS PROTESTERS MARCHING PAST WHITE HOUSE
  • Embargoed: 4th March 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment,Environment,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2M7CGT6XPJHPJGOTQUJ3IVVEV
  • Story Text: Thousands of protesters gathered on the Washington's National Mall on Sunday (February 17), calling on U.S. President Barack Obama to reject the controversial Keystone XL pipeline proposal and honor his inaugural pledge to act on climate change.
    Organizers of the "Forward on Climate" event estimated that 35,000 people from 30 states turned out in cold, blustery conditions for what they said was the biggest climate rally in U.S. history. Police did not verify the crowd size.
    "I'm ashamed of what my country is doing. I'm ashamed we're knocking on your door with dirty oil. I want to stand up here as a Canadian and say I'm sorry to the workers in Canada and the workers in America who have to go home and look their kids in the eye and know that they are damaging their future and I want to say yes to jobs that allow Americans and Canadians to go home and look their kids in their eye and say I'm fighting for you, I'm working for you," Canadian actor Evangeline Lilly told the crowd.
    Casey Camp, a member of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma, said oil development is the latest challenge facing her native American tribe.
    "Now we're suffering environmental genocide as a result of ConocoPhillips refinery being on our land, as well as many pipelines underneath us, and now Keystone and Keystone XL are disrupting our lives as well as the lives of our relatives in the northern country. And we're here to make a difference. We're here to be in solidarity with all of us who understand that we have a very slim opportunity to make human life continue to exist, and that's our choice," Camp said.
    The event came days after a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators made another call for Obama to approve the pipeline, seen by many as an engine for job growth and another step toward energy independence.
    A new poll by Harris Interactive showed 69 percent of respondents said they support construction of the pipeline, with only 17 percent saying they oppose it.
    Actor Rosario Dawson said she came to the U.S. capital to call upon lawmakers to reject the proposed pipeline.
    "We'll, I'd like to have a definitive 'no' on the XL pipeline. That doesn't mean that our work is going to stop because there is other pipelines that are already in the works, and in conversation. But, I think we need a win on our side to really show that corporations are not people. People are people, and here they are, and they are speaking, and in huge numbers. You know? And this is - not everybody is here out in the cold, but there is a lot of people who really care about this. They are the ones who are signing petitions, who are calling up their legislators, and they have a voice and they need to be heard, and they are not the ones who are paid lobbyists to be able to have an ear - you know - to have the ear of our legislators. We need people to stand up for leaders for them. These are the people who voted for these changes, and these are the changes that we want to see."
    The proposed pipeline would transport crude oil from the oil sands of northern Alberta to refineries and ports in Texas. Backers of the pipeline, which would transport 830,000 barrels of oil per day, say it would provide thousands of jobs in the United States and increase North American energy security.
    Environmentalists oppose the pipeline because the oil sands extraction process is carbon intensive, and say the oil extracted is dirtier than traditional crude oil.
    Despite opposition from environmentalists, some of Obama's core constituents favor the pipeline, including the labor union AFL-CIO's building and construction unit, which sees the potential for job creation, and certain Democratic lawmakers.
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