President Obama: You can't have it both ways on Keystone XL

PRES Obama is playing both sides of the fence on keystone xl because of the heat he is getting on the price of gas and the unrelenting and deceptive propaganda campaign being waged by the gop and tea-baggers. Check out this video and article from 350.org on the pipeline and then take part in Credo's call to action and tell Pres Obama to stop cheerleading for keystone xl! AND consider making a donation to 350.org and the e mailing the Obama campaign and tell them their donation went to 350.org to fight the keystone xl pipeline (I did). http://act.350.org/sign/join-the-fight/?akid=1667.575720.veaTqt&rd=1&t=2

We just recorded a new video that I think you’ll enjoy: www.350.org/join-the-fight I'm pretty sure this video won't go viral and get 50 million views in 24 hours -- and it doesn't need to. It’s more of an internal update for the extended 350.org family, a chance for all of us to reflect and get ready for some busy months ahead. As 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben explains in the video, we're gearing up for a major new fight to end the billions of dollars in subsidies the fossil fuel industry receives each year -- the tax-breaks, handouts, and loopholes that are just adding to the record-breaking profits that these companies are already making. And perhaps most importantly, getting rid of fossil fuel subsidies across the board would be a huge step to cutting carbon emissions and putting us back on a pathway to 350 ppm. The subsidies battle is gaining momentum, and fast. In a recent speech, President Obama called for an end to subsidies to Big Oil and said, “Let's put every single member of Congress on record: You can stand with oil companies or you can stand up for the American people.” As you probably know, we haven’t agreed with President Obama on everything, but we think getting every member of Congress on the record is a great idea. As a first step, we just launched this short and simple petition that reads: "I call on Congress to end all subsidies to fossil fuel companies, and invest in green jobs and clean energy instead." Please take a minute to add your name to the petition calling for Congress to put an end to fossil fuel subsidies. Over the next month, we'll ramp up the pressure -- on Twitter, on Facebook, over the phones, and in district -- to get every politician to tell us where he or she stands on these subsidies. For now, we'll use this petition to show Congress how important this issue is -- and when we launch our big push to get every member of Congress on the record, they'll know that we have an army of concerned citizens who have our back. As Rev. Lennox Yearwood of the Hip-Hop Caucus says in the video, “To make this movement successful, we have to continue to keep the pressure going.” We couldn't agree more. Along with taking on fossil fuel subsidies, we're gearing up for some massive new efforts to build this movement: Taking on more iconic fossil fuel fights across the country and around the world. “Connecting the Dots” between climate change and extreme weather -- expect more on that front very soon!  Training and supporting thousands of new climate leaders to strengthen our movement. And lots more… None of this work is possible without your participation and leadership. As Bill says in the video: “This fight is going to be a lifetime fight. I’m so, so, so grateful to all of you who are playing such a huge role in it.” On we go, May Boeve for the 350.org Team Links and Articles "Scrapping fossil-fuel subsidies would get us halfway on climate change" - The Washington Post: go.350.org/ypIIRs 350.org is building a global movement to solve the climate crisis. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for email alerts. You can help power our work by getting involved locally and donating here. What is 350? Go to our website to learn about the science behind the movement.      President Obama is touting his efforts to expedite the southern portion of Keystone XL — although it will do nothing to reduce high gas prices. Send an email directly to the Obama Campaign demanding real leadership for our climate, not cheerleading for Keystone XL. Send a message to President Obama: Stop cheerleadingfor Keystone XL Today, President Obama takes his "all of the above" energy tour to Cushing, Oklahoma — the "pipeline crossroads of the world." Standing in front of piles of TransCanada's pipeline waiting to be put in the ground,1 he will issue a specific memorandum to federal agencies, not just to build, but to "expedite" the approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma, to the refineries and shipping ports in the Gulf Coast. Even as he rejected the full Keystone XL pipeline saying he had insufficient time to evaluate it, the President has always pushed for the southern portion to be completed. But now in issuing a memorandum to speed up that process, he's signaling a willingness to backtrack on his initial (and minimal) condition of a full review for Keystone XL. Such a public announcement in Cushing to promote Keystone XL is a slap in the face to those of us who worked so hard to convince President Obama to reject Keystone XL in January. And it gives fuel to the cynics who said that that rejection was just an attempt to temporarily placate the environmentalists and young people who believed his campaign rhetoric about the need for real action on climate and our fossil fuel dependence. If there was ever a clear moment to register our disappointment, this is it. Send a message to President Obama: Be a leader on climate, not a cheerleader for the disastrous Keystone XL Pipeline. President Obama's energy tour is clearly a response to political pressure. His advisors think that he'll suffer at the polls if he's perceived as failing to take tough action about gas prices. And so they're working to showcase his support for Big Oil. An "all of the above" strategy just digs us in deeper. We all know the only way to get out of the hole we're in is a dramatic shift away from more drilling and bigger pipelines and to a massive investment in renewable energy like wind and solar. The fact is, President Obama's trip to Cushing shows that he is failing on gas prices. Oil prices are up because of speculation, irresponsible talk of war with Iran, and rising demand for gasoline in countries like China and India — not because of a lack of dirty tar sands oil. And any policy that deepens our dependence on oil puts us at the continued mercy of oil prices that we can do little to control, and oil companies who have every incentive to keep prices high, not just now, but forever. This is the problem with the southern portion — or any portion — of Keystone XL, and the problem with "all of the above" in general. As the ever-wise Bill McKibben wrote this week: And if you think about it, "all of the above" is not a particularly coherent energy policy, not if one worries about climate change. Burning all the oil you can and then putting up a solar panel is like drinking six martinis at lunch and then downing a VitaminWater. You're still a drunk — just one with your daily requirement of C and D. If a presidential candidate said they had an "all of the above" foreign policy, where every other nation was an equal ally, they'd be thought lightweight or even dangerous. But with energy, it apparently seems politic to insist we need never make a choice. Or at least to tailor your talking points to your audience.2 Tell President Obama: Be a leader on climate, not a cheerleader for the disastrous Keystone XL Pipeline. Send an email messageto his campaign now. While the southern portion of Keystone XL does not turn up the spigot of tar sands bitumen that can be transported out of Alberta, Canada, and it does not threaten Nebraska's crucial Ogallala Aquifer, it does ultimately accomplish the biggest goal of Keystone XL — to connect with the existing tar sands pipeline from Canada, and finally bring the landlocked tar sands to shipping ports and the global market so it can be burned across the globe, leading to disastrous climate impacts. Ironically, building the pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma — where there is currently an excess of stored oil due to expanded domestic and tar sands production — will reduce supply in the Midwest and actually raise gas prices by an estimated 20 cents!3 But President Obama is so determined to use the southern portion of Keystone XL to show that he's taking aggressive action to promote fossil fuels, he's issuing an executive order to federal agencies to expedite approval. Once the southern portion is built to the Gulf, it is only a matter of time before oil companies like TransCanada figure out a way to get more oil out of the tar sands and to the Gulf for export. And then we'll be one step closer to "essentially game over" for the climate.4 As President Obama stands in Cushing today, let's urge him to bring some real leadership on climate, and let his campaign know our bitter disappointment over this significant misstep: http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/obama_cushing/?r_by=37105-179986-M49fM0x&rc=paste1 Thank you for fighting Keystone XL. Elijah Zarlin, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets 1. "Keystone XL Pipeline: Big Oil Leans On Obama To Approve Entire Project," Huffington Post, March 21, 2012 2. "Mr. Obama Goes to Cushing, OK," Bill McKibben, March 21, 2012 3. "Keystone Oil Pipeline Seen Raising Gas Prices in Midwest: Energy," Bloomberg, February 29, 2012 4. "Key Facts on Keystone XL," Tarsands Action Share on Facebook Post to your wall Tweet this Post to Twitter

© 2012 CREDO. All rights reserved.