DC Tar Sand Action Arrests

SUBHEAD: It begins. Seventy arrested at White House on Day 1 of Tar Sands Action.  

By Chris Tackett on 20 August 2011 for Tree Hugger -   
(http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/08/tar-sands-action-white-house-arrested-bill-mckibben.php)


Image above: Tar sand pipeline protestors at White House. From original article.
 
In Day 1 of what is expected to be a two-week protest against the development of the Keystone XL pipeline, dozens of people were arrested today at the White House, including 350.org founder and action leader, Bill McKibben. Twitter is the place for up-to-the-minute information. Follow @TarSandsAction , @350 , @BillMcKibben and hashtags: #noKXL & #tarsandsaction for tweets about the protest and issue.

More on tar sands after the jump...

We recently spoke with Bill McKibben on the TreeHugger Podcast about these protests and the tar sands pipeline issue. Listen to that interview Bill McKibben versus the Terrifying Tar Sands

See Photos of Tar Sands destruction here: Tar Sands Versus Nature (Slideshow)

Follow @TreeHugger for more on this issue and tweets from the rest of our team.

I'm @ChrisTackett.UPDATE 1: Sunday, August 21, Noon - Day 2 of the Tar Sands Action is underway with another round of protesters sitting-in at the White House to demand that President Obama use his power to stop the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. We're following the news on Twitter and according to 350.org Co-Founder and Communications Director, Jamie Henn writing as @Agent350 on Twitter, as of this writing there are reportedly another 50 arrested, joining the 70 that were arrested Saturday.

McKibben vs Terrifying Tar Sands  

By Jacob Gordon on 20 August 2011 for Tree Hugger - 
(http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/08/treehugger-radio-bill-mckibben-versus-the-terrifying-tar-sands.php)


Image above: Greenpeace anti-tar sand action in 2008. From (http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/recent/greenpeace-activists-interrupt/).

When renowned NASA climatologist James Hansen came on the podcast recently, he said some chilling words:
If we burn the oil in the Canadian tar sands it's essentially game over for the climate.
The murky oil sands of Canada are the largest known deposit of carbon on Earth, second only to Saudi Arabia. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would funnel the stuff all the way from Alberta to Texas. Bill McKibben, a scholar, author, and founder of 350.org, knows that President Obama can singlehandedly deny the pipeline's permit, and he's rallying thousands of people in Washington this month, many of who plan to get arrested, to try and slay the project.

Listen to the podcast of this interview via iTunes, or just click here to listen, right-click to download.
Scientist risks arrest at White House 

By Brian Merchant on 19 August 2011 for Tree Hugger -  
(http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/08/young-climate-scientist-risk-arrest-outside-white-house.php)
 
The Guardian has a nice profile on Colorado climate scientist Jason Box, who plans on heading to the White House to protest the construction of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline -- despite the fact that he's never been arrested, is highly respected in his field, and has a wife at home who's eight months pregnant ...

To Box, stopping the pipeline from linking the U.S. to the world's largest carbon bomb is a moral imperative. Here's the Guardian:
"I couldn't maintain my self-respect if I didn't go," Box said Tuesday in a telephone interview about his decision to wade into the murky territory of activism where most scientists fear to tread. "This isn't about me, this is about the future. Just voting doesn't seem to be enough in this case. I need to be a citizen also, because this is a democracy after all, isn't it?"
It's pretty inspiring stuff.

Of course, Box won't be alone. Some of the nation's most highly regarded environmental leaders and scientists will be there too. Writer Bill McKibben, the actor Danny Glover, and the world-renowned climate scientist James Hansen are all expected to risk arrest to send a message to the Obama administration.

So far, nearly 2,000 participants have confirmed participation in the event. There could be hundreds, even thousands more. Yours truly is planning on attending to cover the event and give TreeHugger readers the scoop from the front lines. This makes it, by some counts, the largest action in the North American climate movement yet.

Obama is obligated to make a decision on whether or not to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which would connect Canada's Alberta tar sands with refineries around the Gulf of Mexico. The tar sands are considered one of the dirtiest, most destructive projects on the planet, and committing the nation to rely on them for fuel would be a dire sign in context of the ongoing climate crisis.

Get more information on the protest at Tar Sands Action.

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