Protesting a Tar Sands Pipeline

In an act of civil disobedience, 350.org protesters were arrested this weekend outside the White House. Here's what the fuss was about.

Comments

Photo By: Shadia Fayne Wood / 350.org

Protesters organized by 350.org, including author and activist Bill McKibben, (pictured here) engaged in an act of civil disobedience and dozens have been arrested outside the White House since this weekend. They were protesting the proposed $13 billion XL Keystone pipeline, which would carry petroleum from the Alberta tar sands, which has been dubbed "the most destructive project on Earth" for harvesting oil at a steep environmental cost, both locally and globally. Extracting oil from tar sands releases far more carbon than drilling for it conventionally, and the project itself is being built in environmentally sensitive boreal forest. The pipeline would allow for the oil produced there to flow across the U.S. and to the Gulf of Mexico. Protesters will be there for two weeks, raising awareness about the issue and arguing that the Obama Administration should reject the proposal to build the pipeline and import the oil. The protest will expand and go global on Sept. 24 with the Moving Planet rally to inspire the world to move beyond fossil fuels.

COMMENTS ()