Here's what we think is necessary to meet the moment: a pledge to resist Keystone XL and commit civil disobedience if necessary.
It's a big ask. We hope you will read below and carefully consider what we are asking. We hope you will join us in signing
the pledge to resist, and most of all we hope President Obama will reject Keystone XL, so that it will not be necessary to
fulfill our pledge at all.
Thanks for your great passion and commitment in the face of this important fight. It is what has gotten us this far, and
it is our greatest source of hope that we can win.
— Michael Kieschnick, Becky Bond, and the CREDO team
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Dear William,
Last Friday was one of those days that remind us of just how steep a hill to climb this fight against climate change is.
Even with a president who recently professed a lofty goal of getting all
cars off of oil, even with one of our stronger climate-hawk
senators as the new secretary of state, the State Department still
released a joke of an environmental assessment of the
Keystone XL pipeline, taking us one big step closer to approval of this
project that should be a no-brainer of a rejection.1
Obliviously ignoring the consensus among oil executives, bankers, and environmentalists, who all agree that Keystone XL is
central to speeding the extraction of tar sands,2 the State Department found the project is "unlikely to have
a significant impact" on tar sands development. This is coward's logic.
This assessment was a vehicle for the White House to test the waters and see if the public will stand by, and buy this false
and cynical argument that the tar sands will just get burned anyway. That while NASA's chief climate scientist's assertion
that Keystone XL will spell 'game over' for the climate may be true,3 it is essentially irrelevant. That we should
let the bankers and the oil companies profit while the planet inevitably burns.
Well, we won't. And so, last Friday reminded us of something else, too: those two weeks in August of 2011, when the peaceful
and dignified arrest of 1,253 people over two weeks at President Obama's front door effectively stopped what was considered
a virtually guaranteed presidential approval of Keystone XL.
There is still time to convince President Obama to change his mind and reject Keystone XL. But with the president ignoring
every possible sign Mother Nature can send, it is once again incumbent upon us to send a message he can't ignore.
That's why CREDO is joining with Bold Nebraska, The Other 98%, Hip Hop Caucus, Rainforest Action Network, 350, and Oil Change
International to launch the Keystone XL Pledge of Resistance.
It is time for us to pledge to resist. That is, we are asking you to commit — should it be necessary to stop Keystone
XL — to engage in serious, dignified, peaceful civil disobedience that could get you arrested.
If tens of thousands of people stand up as President Obama mulls his
final decision, and commit to participate in civil disobedience
if necessary, we can convince the White House that it will be
politically unfeasible to go forward. That is, our goal is
not to get arrested. Our goal is to stop the Keystone XL pipeline — by
showing enough opposition to Keystone XL that
President Obama will reject it. But if he shows clear signs he that he
is preparing to approve it, we will be ready.
It goes without saying, this isn't a usual ask. It is not for everyone.
So we want you to carefully consider if this is something
you can commit to be a part of.
Here's exactly what we have in mind: With the release of Friday's Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, we will
have 45 days to submit formal comments. And comment we will. We will petition, rally, make phone calls, and comment through
official channels. But that may not be enough.
The moment of truth will come later, at some point likely in the summer, with the release of the Draft National Interest
Determination. If the Obama administration issues a draft finding that Keystone XL is in our national interest, that will
trigger action on our pledge to resist.
So we are asking you to pledge, if necessary after the release of the Draft National Interest Determination, to join with
others in your community and risk arrest in acts of dignified, peaceful civil disobedience all over the country.
Most events will be outside of Washington D.C., because this decision
will affect all of us where we live. So we want to
see the beautiful sight of actions across the nation — including a wide
variety of symbolic targets like State Department
offices, TransCanada corporate lobbies, Obama Organizing for Action
meetings, banks that are financing tar sands oil development,
areas ravaged by Superstorm Sandy, and along the pipeline route. Some
brave souls have started this work already. We need
to support their efforts and make them much, much bigger.
You can pledge to participate or you can pledge to help organize an action in your community. We'll need tons of volunteers.
And soon, we'll announce organizer trainings so local leaders and activists who want to can get the tools they need to organize
an action near them.
You shouldn't make this pledge lightly. We certainly don't ask lightly. We ask in the belief that there are tens of thousands
of people out there who feel as strongly about this as we do, who believe that these circumstances call for extraordinary
action, and want to be part of that action in their community. And we ask with the faith that those who commit to participate
and organize actions will participate only in the most dignified manner. After all, we are the conservatives, standing up
for a safe and secure future for our families. It is those we protest, those who profit from radically altering the chemical
composition of our atmosphere — and the prospects for survival of humanity — who are the radicals.
But what is more frightening than asking you to join us in committing to acts of civil disobedience across the nation, is
the prospect of coming up short in the fight against Keystone XL.
Our time is short to convince President Obama to change his mind. We do not know how many people's pledges, and how many
pledged actions, it will take to convince President Obama to resist the big money, dirty energy, inside-the-beltway pressure
and take a stand to protect our nation from the greatest threat of all.
We hope you can join us. If you are so moved, make the pledge. And share this pledge with friends and family so that those
who are ready and willing to be arrested can be counted in the pledge to resist. We'll send you more information soon.
Becky Bond, Michael Kieschnick & Elijah Zarlin, CREDO Action
Jane Kleeb, Bold Nebraska John Sellers, The Other 98% Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., Hip Hop Caucus Amanda Starbuck, Rainforest Action Network May Boeve & Bill McKibben, 350.org Steve Kretzmann, Oil Change International
1. "Keystone XL pipeline would have little impact
on climate change, State Department analysis says" Washington Post, 03/01/13
2. "Keystone XL: In their own words" 350.org 3. "Game over for the climate," James Hansen, the New York Times, 5/9/12
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