Kitchen Table Kibitzing: Reject and Protect

On April 27th, the environmental community will once again descend on Washington DC to make their closing argument against the Keystone XL Pipeline. This is a follow up, direct action to the 2 million comments that were sent to Secretary Kerry. Reject and Protect, stands for reject the pipeline and protect our land, water and climate.  Farmers, ranchers, tribal communities and individuals most affected by tar sands exploitation will show their beauty and power. If you would like to sign up, you can do so here.

See janeflemingkleeb's excellent diary A Pipeline "Ed"ucation with the Cowboy and Indian Alliance

350 will be organizing solidarity events around the country. I'll keep you posted as we get nearer to the date. I joined 350 and attended my first meeting for the No Tar Sands/Keystone XL Campaign last week. It was great to sit with individuals committed to protecting our environment. It is hard to believe, given what we know, that less than a quarter of Americans oppose the pipeline and two thirds of those polled support it. According to a recent Pew poll, nearly half of democrats favor it.

If you are like me, you won't be joining our cohorts in Washington DC, but that doesn't mean you are willing to sit and wait for the President's decision. Let's flood the president with letters to Reject and Protect. We can still be part of the process by writing a letter to President Obama. You can reference the same excellent diaries that posted for the comment period here in KTK and in the Keystone XL Public Comments Blogathon to help you write an impactive letter to President Obama. These letters should have a personal point of view and describe how you personally and/or your community are affected by Climate Change or environmental contamination.

I've compiled links to diaries here for easy reference:

By Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse Writing XL Public Comments: Focus on Obama's Test of Carbon Pollution & Climate Change Impacts

By WarrenS Kitchen Table Kibitzing 2/10/14: Fight The KXL!!

By James Wells Keystone XL: Making It Personal, Because It Is!

By TheLittleOne My Letter to Sasha and Malia - Keystone XL Public Comments Blogathon

By Senator Boxer Make Your Voices
Heard -- Keystone Pipeline is a Threat to Human Health

By National Nurses Movement Nurses Demand Secretary Kerry Prove No Health Harm from KXL, ‘Don’t Pipeline My Patients’

By A Siegel #KeystoneXL: Three comments to @StateDept as to "Why #NoKXL?"byA SiegelFollowforClimate Change SOS

By Randy Thompson Nebraska rancher fighting Keystone XL to protect land, water, and property rights

By senatorwhitehouse Keystone Isn't Any Normal Pipeline

By Raul Grijalva The Keystone Saga Can Still End Happily - Here's How

Public comments make a difference. The vast number of prior public comments on the earlier drafts of the environmental impact statement for Keystone raised issues that President Obama and the State Department cited when delaying a decision on whether to move ahead with the NID as well as extending the time for completion of the process. Public controversy, as demonstrated by the number of comments opposing the XL, can be a key factor in this process.

~Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse

Here is a little more inspiration for you... One Woman Blockade: Cheyenne River Hero Halts Megaload

Links to email and write a letter

For email to President Obama

For writing a letter