United Methodist Women Joins Tar Sands Action at White House
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North American Hearing on Poverty, Wealth and Ecology
Participants at the Hearings on Poverty, Wealth, Ecology will listen to stories and share experiences with local communities, learning the ways those within a specific context see the interactions, interconnections and interdependencies of poverty, wealth and ecology.
View Ms. Stone’s blog on the United Methodist Women social network beginning November 5. Read stories and see pictures from the hearings and her visit to the tar sands and learn how our narrow definitions of what makes one “wealthy” is ecologically, socially and politically harmful.
Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline Action November 6
In 2008, Trans-Canada submitted a permit application to the U.S. Department of State for the Keystone XL project, which is designed to carry heavy crude oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. This proposed pipeline would carry 900,000 barrels of dirty oil and toxic substances that have never been identified through a 1,700-mile, 36-inch pipeline.
After a historic two-week sit-in at the White House in August 2011, Tar Sands Action is now taking its fight against Keystone XL nationwide. Native American tribes in the United States and Canadian First Nations are unified in opposition to United States plans to build the Keystone XL pipeline.
Indigenous communities have long felt the negative impact of oil extraction in Canada in their water, land, animal and human health. Dr. James Hansen, climate scientist and head of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Institute, said that if we use all the fuel available from this project, the carbon dioxide concentration in the world’s atmosphere would increase by nearly 50 percent, taking us into very dangerous realms. Instead, we need to invest in renewable energy produced locally. In light of the recent Exxon oil pipeline accident near Yellowstone National Park in Montana, there are additional concerns related to the safety of such a long-distance transmission system.
Recommended Actions
Contact your congressional representatives, the White House, and the U.S. Department of State. Tell your representatives, President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to stand with us and oppose the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20520
United Methodist Women requests prayers for those who are gravely affected by climate change. Prayers are also sought on behalf of United Methodist Women members and churches in their public witness.
For other communications, please contact Esmeralda Brown at EBrown@unitedmethodistwomen.org.
