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February 14, 2013

Dozens Arrested at White House in Civil Disobedience Against Keystone XL Pipeline 
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In the United States, nearly 50 people were arrested Wednesday in front
of the White House calling on President Obama to reject the Keystone XL
oil pipeline. The pipeline would deliver tar sands oil from Canada to
refineries in Texas. But critics who have joined a mounting campaign of
civil disobedience say it will bring climate disaster. On Tuesday, a
group of protesters, including leading scientists, activists and
celebrities, sat down and refused to move. Some zip-tied themselves to a
fence. Those arrested included environmentalist Bill Mc Kibben, actress
Daryl Hannah, NASA climate scientist James Hansen, lawyer Robert F.
Kennedy Jr., and civil rights leader Julian Bond. The protest was a
landmark for the Sierra Club environmental group after its board
endorsed an act of civil disobedience for the first time in its 120-year
history. Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune was among those
arrested.

Michael Brune: "And so we know that we can't win on climate change if we
continue to dither, if we continue to talk about it but not do anything.
And so, the Sierra Club is engaging in civil disobedience for the first
time, because we have a moral catastrophe on our hands, and we need to
do everything that we can to compel stronger, bolder action."

 

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