Skip to content

KXL pipeline

President Obama Rejects Keystone XL. We Win.

By Staff of 350 - We just made history together. 4 years to the day after we surrounded the White House, President Obama has rejected the Presidential Permit for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline! This is huge. A head of state has never rejected a major fossil fuel project because of its climate impacts before. The President’s decision sets the standard for what climate action looks like: standing up to the fossil fuel industry, and keeping fossil fuels in the ground. Make no mistake: this victory belongs to us, the movement. President Obama’s courage today is a reflection of the courage shown by thousands of people who have sat in, marched, organized, (and opened a lot of emails) across North America against this pipeline.

KXL Decision Neither Irrelevant Or Just Symbolic

By Greg Muttitt for Oil Change International - The rejection of Keystone XL today marks a turning point for energy decisions: in future, policymakers will be under pressure to consider climate impacts of any new policies and infrastructure. But it is not only setting a bar for future energy decisions: the climate impact of stopping this pipeline is real. Last week we released analysis finding that the existing pipelines out of Alberta are already 89% full: if no more are built, tar sands production cannot grow. Just hours after we published, Shell cancelled its 80,000-barrel per day Carmon Creek tar sands project, which was already half-built. The sole reason it gave was “the lack of infrastructure to move Canadian crude oil to global commodity markets”.

FBI Tracking Of Keystone XL Activists Worse Than You Thought

In August 2010, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Domestic Terrorism Analysis Unit distributed an intelligence bulletin to all field offices warning that environmental extremism would likely become an increasing threat to the energy industry. The eight-page document argued that, even though the industry had encountered only low-level vandalism and trespassing, recent “criminal incidents” suggested that environmental extremism was on the rise. The FBI concluded: “Environmental extremism will become a greater threat to the energy industry owing to our historical understanding that some environmental extremists have progressed from committing low-level crimes against targets to more significant crimes over time in an effort to further the environmental extremism cause.” Since the 2010 FBI assessment was written, the specter of environmental extremism has been trotted out by both law enforcement and energy-industry security teams to describe a wide variety of grassroots groups opposed to the continued extraction of fossil fuels. Yet even as the resistance to “extreme energy projects” has grown in size and scope, there is little evidence to support the breathless warnings about “eco-terrorism.” Nevertheless, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and many state law enforcement agencies continue to promote the idea that environmental extremism is on the rise. At the same time, numerous intelligence-sharing networks between the private sector and law enforcement have been established at every level of government, giving rise to an unprecedented energy-intelligence complex.

Tar Sands Pipeline Planned for Dane County Eclipses KXL

A proposed expansion of the Enbridge Line 61 pipeline being debated in Dane County, Wisconsin may be even more critical than the KXL pipeline. Supervisor Patrick Miles is the chair of the Dane County Board's Zoning and Land Regulation Committee. He recently told Madison's community radio station WORT, "Tripling that capacity to me is... tripling the risk." Compared to the Kalamazoo River spill, in which 800,000 gallons of Tar Sands crude spilled over the course of 17 hours, Miles said that "at the volume of what we're talking about here, in an hour's time, if there's a spill at the proposed flow rate, we'd be talking about more than 2,000,000 gallons of the Tar Sands [oil] spilling. That's a lot of oil." Kaufman pointed out that Enbridge's track record of spills, as well as the fact that much of the increased capacity of the line will consist of Tar Sands oil, could potentially increase that risk. The tripling in capacity of Line 61, which already carries Tar Sands crude oil from Alberta to Illinois, will make it a third larger than the projected Keystone XL.

Nationwide Rallies Against KXL Reach Virginia Suburbs

On January 14, a small crowd of people gathered suspiciously in the corridors of Dulles Town Center mall in Loudoun County, a Northern Virginia suburb of Washington, DC. They sat huddled in a circle, some looking anxiously over their shoulders as mall security kept careful watch, fearful, it seemed, of possible mischief. To the side was a disheveled pile of jackets barely concealing posters, signs, and even a miniature wind turbine that stuck out from underneath. One poster read “President Obama, Reject the Keystone Pipeline.” It was obvious enough that these folks hadn’t come to the mall to shop. But neither had they come to protest, which, it turned out, was what mall security feared. They had come instead to hold a public vigil calling on President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, the controversial tar sands pipeline that, if approved, would transport some of the dirtiest crude oil on the planet from Alberta, Canada across the United States for export overseas.

Newsletter: Breaking The Spell Of The Corporate State

The democracy crisis grows deeper. Analysis of the mid-term elections shows voting levels lower than the era of Andrew Jackson, when the requirement of owning property to vote was removed. People are rejecting both political parties as 42% of Americans are registered independents compared to 30% Democrats and 25% Republicans. Nozomi Hayase writes people are breaking the spell of the corporate state, recognizing the elites who govern are not smarter than the rest of us, that they fit the characteristics of psychopaths for their endless war, debt-ponzi schemes and that the ongoing financial crisis exposes their agenda of hoarding wealth for themselves. At the same time Hayase writes: “Civil disobedience against the corporate state demands that we disobey their commands and instead begin listening to our hearts that know what is right and wrong.”

NE Supreme Court Sides With TransCanada, Not Landowners

Lincoln, NE — In a split decision, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled on Friday to allow LB 1161 to stand. Four of the seven justices sided with landowners, but we needed five to win — as a “supermajority” of concurring justices is required when constitutional issues are raised. The Nebraska Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision that stated the Unicameral and Governor used an illegal routing process for the Keystone XL pipeline. TransCanada is left with a risky route to defend. The decision is now in Pres. Obama’s hands. This is a bad day for property rights in Nebraska. Private, foreign corporations now know they can buy their way through our state. This ruling does clear the way for the State Department to complete their analysis and for federal agencies to weigh in on risks to water and climate.

First Nations Alliance Stand Firm In 2015 Saying #VetoKXL

Several First Nations tribal members were joined by allies at the White House to deliver a clear message to President Obama on January 3rd, 2015. The Indigenous activists want President Obama to veto the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline bill if the new Congress passes it. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the incoming Majority Leader of the Senate, has said that passage of a bill allowing construction of the KXL is one of his top priorities. Republicans not only have a majority in the Senate but a bigger majority in the US House of Representatives as a result of the midterm elections. The GOP vow to take up the KXL legislation as soon as they return from their Winter break. #VetoKXL #NoKXL #IdleNoMore For more information: http://notokxl.org/

Independent Movements Can Shape Obama’s Final Years

In the wake of the mid-term elections earlier this month, it might have seemed that there wasn’t much hope to hold onto for progressives, what with climate deniers and tea party fundamentalists rising to some of the highest offices in the land. What we’ve seen since, though, has been a string of executive decisions that might be cautiously described as hopeful. Responding to his new-found willingness to take on the GOP, pundits have commented that Obama is attempting to carve out a progressive legacy in the latter half of his second term. This may be true, but this week’s announcements are also evidence of the work grassroots organizers have been doing to put pressure on the White House since well before the 2008 election. In other words, like other presidents, any progressive legacy Obama manages to build between now and 2016 will be a product of the movements that challenged him most.

Singing As He Is Arrested, Grey Cloud Defends Grandmother Earth

Grey Cloud, an enrolled member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and co-founder of Wica Agli and anoka wicasa, was removed from the senate chambers for singing after the vote on the KXL pipeline. Grey Cloud explains the translated song as: “Grandfather look at me, I am standing here struggling, I am defending grandmother earth and I am chasing peace.” He goes on to say that the song was “not just from me, but my brothers in Wica Agli. We’re defending our women and children in our community. The song itself was very influential for why I sang that here.” Grey Cloud stated that he was carried outside chambers by Capitol police, thrown against the wall and arrested, singing the song the entire time. He was detained in the D.C. jail for five hours for interrupting the Senate and given a court date for December 10, 2014. Grey Cloud, a resident of the Rosebud Reservation, requested permission to use the song. Rosebud Sioux Tribal member Pat Bad Hand Sr. explained the origins of the song,created by Howard Bad Hand at Big Mountain as a protest song around coal mining. Bad Hand Sr. agreed that it was appropriate to sing.

KXL Protesters Put Pipeline on Sen. Landrieu’s Property

More than 50 protestors against the Keystone XL pipeline posed in front of a replica pipeline on the lawn of Senator Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) residence on Capitol Hill, calling for the lawmaker to drop a vote she initiated in the Senate to approve the controversial fossil fuel project. Native Americans and landowners from Nebraska joined activists from 350.org at Landrieu’s house early on a rain-soaked Monday morning. They held fluorescent signs saying, “Vote No KXL!” and burnt sage in a Native American ceremony. The pipeline route crosses tribal land of the Rosebud Sioux. The tribe declared the House vote in favor of the Keystone XL “an act of war.” “We’re a sovereign nation,” said Greg Greycloud from South Dakota, co-founder of Wica Agli. “If they pass the KXL pipeline, it’s going through our sovereign nation. We have rights. The treaties are our law, and they’re violating our treaties. They didn’t consult properly with the tribes.” Landrieu’s bill is likely to come up for a vote on Tuesday.

Rosebud Sioux: House Vote For KXL An Act Of War

The Tribe has done its part to remain peaceful in its dealings with the United States in this matter, in spite of the fact that the Rosebud Sioux Tribe has yet to be properly consulted on the project, which would cross through Tribal land, and the concerns brought to the Department of Interior and to the Department of State have yet to be addressed. “The House has now signed our death warrants and the death warrants of our children and grandchildren. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe will not allow this pipeline through our lands,” said President Scott of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. “We are outraged at the lack of intergovernmental cooperation. We are a sovereign nation and we are not being treated as such. We will close our reservation borders to Keystone XL. Authorizing Keystone XL is an act of war against our people.” In February of this year, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and other members of the Great Sioux Nation adopted Tribal resolutions opposing the Keystone XL project. “The Lakota people have always been stewards of this land,” added President Scott. “We feel it is imperative that we provide safe and responsible alternative energy resources not only to Tribal members but to non-Tribal members as well.

Pipeline Protests For President’s Visit

Members of the Cowboy and Indian Alliance, a coalition of tribal members, farmers, ranchers and landowners stretching from Canada to Texas, set up along Highway 1806 at the Cannon Ball Pit Stop, a convenience store a couple miles west of Cannon Ball that served as the gathering point for media covering Obama’s visit. Aldo Seoane, a coordinator for the group who lives in Mission, S.D., on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, struggled against the wind as he tried to pound a wooden post into the ground and hang an orange sign with the words “No permit, no pipeline. Protect land and water” framing a segmented snake labeled with the initials for Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, three states the pipeline would cross.

Thousands March To Reject KXL Protect The Enviornment

Thousands of people joined the farmers, ranchers, and tribal leaders of the Cowboy and Indian Alliance for a ceremonial procession along the National Mall to protest the Keystone XL pipeline this afternoon. The procession was the largest event yet of the five-day “Reject and Protect” encampment. “Today, boots and moccasins showed President Obama an unlikely alliance has his back to reject Keystone XL to protect our land and water,” said Jane Kleeb, Executive Director of Bold Nebraska, one of the key organizers of Reject and Protect. Legendary musician Neil Young and actress Daryl Hannah were amongst the crowd of thousands who rallied on the National Mall and then marched past the Capitol building. “We need to end the age of fossil fuels and move on to something better,” Mr. Young told the crowd. The day’s procession included the presentation of a hand-painted tipi to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian as a gift to President Obama.

‘Moccasins On The Ground’ Aims To Shield People From ‘Black Venom’ Of KXL

Oyate Wahacanka ("Shield the People"), a project of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, has erected tipi spirit camps along the northern route of Keystone XL to "stop progress along the pipeline right-of-way." Should it need to, the tribe intends to use its "legal and moral authority" to nonviolently prevent the construction of the tar sands project. As described on their website, Lakota leaders are standing their ground against Keystone XL. . . This Earth Day, a "Cowboy Indian Alliance" from the Keystone North pipeline route will ride into the nation's capitol on horseback and set up tipis near the White House to call on President Obama to reject a presidential permit for the tar sands project. This public event comes two and a half years after a group of "Cowboys and Indians," joined by Daryl Hannah, first saddled up to fight Keystone XL. The 6-day Washington, DC encampment is called Reject and Protect.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Sign Up To Our Daily Digest

Independent media outlets are being suppressed and dropped by corporations like Google, Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our daily email digest before it’s too late so you don’t miss the latest movement news.