What can “Anybody” tell Obama about the Keystone XL?
by Franke James
Cross-posted with Grist.org and Vancouver Observer.
Silencing Scientists
“There was trouble of this kind here in the George W. Bush years, when scientists were asked to toe the party line on climate policy and endangered species. But nothing came close to what is being done in Canada… This is more than an attack on academic freedom. It is an attempt to guarantee public ignorance.It is also designed to make sure that nothing gets in the way of the northern resource rush — the feverish effort to mine the earth and the ocean with little regard for environmental consequences. The Harper policy seems designed to make sure that the tar sands project proceeds quietly, with no surprises, no bad news, no alarms from government scientists. To all the other kinds of pollution the tar sands will yield, we must now add another: the degradation of vital streams of research and information.” New York Times Editorial by Verlyn Klinkenborg
“If the Keystone XL is built, the State Department says it could spill more than 100 times.”
“U.S. consumers are not likely to see any reduction in pump prices; after all, the whole reason for building the Keystone XL is to raise the price that producers get paid.” 24/7 Wall Street
“Oil-sands developers are counting on Keystone XL to lift heavy crude prices by connecting them to the world’s largest refining market in the Gulf Coast as they double production by 2025.” Pipeline rejection could set precedent
But if you approve the Keystone XL saying it does not ‘exacerbate carbon pollution’ then…
Visual Essay Credits
“What could Anybody tell President Obama about the Keystone XL?” © 2013 Franke James; All writing, photography and illustration by Franke James (with exceptions and details here). Photos of the bus shelters in Washington, DC by Logan Mock-Bunting.
Special thanks to my Indiegogo ‘Banned on the Hill’ supporters, the NRDC, Sierra Club and National Wildlife for their support of my Oh No Canada! art show in Washington, DC.
Key Sources
Dirty truth screen: “Canada is the Dirty Old Man” Bus shelter poster by Franke James. Guardian UK Dirty Old Man quote. Photo of shelter and people by Logan Mock-Bunting. Oh No Canada! art show in Washington, DC.
Statistic: Producing Tar Sands Oil is up to 350% dirtier than conventional oil.
FAIL: How the Keystone XL Tar Sands PipeLine Flunks the Climate Test
Page 6: “extracting and upgrading oil from tar sands can be as much as 4.5 times more greenhouse-gas-intensive than oil from other conventional north american crude sources.”
Stockman, Lorne. “Petroleum coke: The Coal Hiding in the tar sands.” Oil Change International. January 2013.
Page 3: “It is a well established fact that full exploitation of the tar sands is a grave threat to the climate. Emissions from tar sands extraction and upgrading are between 3.2 and 4.5 times higher than the equivalent emissions from conventional oil produced in north america.”
Copyright 2013 Franke James. All rights reserved.
Oh No Canada! show in Washington, D.C.
See the Oh No Canada! show in Washington, D.C. which ran from October to December 2013 thanks to Indiegogo ‘Banned on the Hill’ supporters, the NRDC, Sierra Club and National Wildlife.
Click individual image to enlarge
No Keystone Eagle
Pennsylvania W/O 8th St SE
Canada Is the Dirty Old Man
Pennsylvania E/O 10st. NW
Canada’s Carbon Pollution Is Rising
Pennsylvania W/O 12 St NW
Oh Canada, What’s Going Down?
7th south of Constitution Ave.
Banned By Canada
Pennsylvania 100ft. east of 10th St. NW
Do Not Talk About Climate Change
Pennsylvania west of 7th ST
[…] Well the above, and what follows, was sparked by a Twitter message from Franke James a.k.a. @frankejames on Twitter and a post she shared this morning titled What can “Anybody” tell Obama about the Keystone XL? […]
Do the right thing, President Obama — be the leader that Prime Minister Harper refuses to be.
Link to tweet
You made me happy when i saw your work i gladly signed it.Great work. Proud to be Canadian when I see people defending our country, our earth and ourselves.Thank you.I try too my little way.
[…] http://www.frankejames.com/dear-obama/ […]
We must ALL take our posts and stand up against this before it is too late.
Great job as always Franke! It is a fun letter to read and tells the story well. I will share broadly! Now is the time to speak up and tell President Obama to reject this pipeline once and for all.
Franke’s wit & wisdom is on point. We are all united as ANYBODY. We will not be thrown into the Orwellian Abyss. We know that the science and legal merit against Tar Sands and all non-sustainable energy is the undisputed truth.
Let your voice be heard for true clean sustainable energy.
2014 is time for climate justice. Please join us!
Absolutely excellent – will pass on
St. Paul, MN
Dear Franke,
You have encapsulated salient concepts into a form accessible even to our grandchildren. They might still be grappling with the ‘only one planet’ reality and unimaginable corporate greed but they know they want clean air, clean rivers, and no black gunk in the back yard. Thank you.
Donald
President Obama,
Do want your legacy as president to be the worst north American environmental disaster of all time, when the pipe bursts?
Think of your grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Boreal Forest are disappearing and our river is depleting because of tarsands.