Biden approves the massive Willow project – Don't Give Up!

 This morning, President Biden formally approved the Willow Master Development Project, a massive oil drilling development across federal land in Alaska’s western Arctic.

Despite his promises to stop drilling on federal lands, and against the actions of millions who urged his administration to stop Willow, President Biden decided to approve the massive oil project. The project would lock-in pollution equivalent to the emissions of 76 coal-fired power plants over the next 30 years.

The world cannot afford to develop any new fossil fuel reserves to have a chance of keeping global temperatures below the 1.5°C threshold outlined in the Paris Agreement. The Biden administration must prioritize a just transition to renewable energy, stop new fossil fuel projects, and phase-out existing fossil fuel infrastructure. 

Developing new fossil fuel projects is incompatible with a livable climate and puts communities' health and safety at risk. The Willow project will disproportionately harm the Alaska Native Village of Nuiqsut, which is already burdened by existing fossil fuel infrastructure and the impacts of climate change.

We'll keep you updated about what's next in the fight against Willow. In the meantime, here are links to a few of the responses from us and our partners that you can read and amplify:

1. This statement from the Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic (SILA)on how the approval of the Willow project abandons our climate promises.

2. This TikTok from Elise Joshi of Gen Z for Climate Change calling on people to flood President Biden's social media with outrage over the decision.

3. This reaction from the People vs. Fossil Fuels coalition to the approval of the Willow project and abandonment of Biden’s climate promises.

4. This Twitter thread from us at Oil Change International echoing frontline calls condemning Biden’s approval of the Willow project.

Thanks,

Allie Rosenbluth
U.S. Program Co-Manager
Oil Change International

Oil Change International campaigns to expose the true costs of fossil fuels and facilitate the coming transition towards clean energy. We are dedicated to identifying and overcoming barriers to that transition.

Want to support our work further? Click here to donate.
We are a 501(c)(3) organization and all donations are fully tax deductible.

Amazonians at United Nations: Chinese Oil Company Will Cause Genocide | event in SF on July 14

May 1, 2017 (New York) – After marching with Leonardo DiCaprio in the Peoples’ Climate March on Saturday in Washington DC, Amazonian leaders headed to the United Nations today to denounce that the Chinese oil company Andes Petroleum will cause genocide against the Sapara Nation and uncontacted indigenous peoples if it drills in their ancestral territory in the Ecuadorian rainforest. “Andes Petroleum is posed to commit genocide against the Sapara People and the uncontacted peoples who are our neighbors.” declared Manari Ushigua, President of the Sapara Nation. “Andes Petroleum must cancel the contract immediately and Ecuador must desist from any other form of resources extraction because it threatens our survival.”
“Andes Petroleum will have the blood of my people on their hands if it does not stay out of my sacred rainforest,” said Gloria Ushigua, President of the Sapara Women’s Association Ashiñwaka.  Ms. Ushigua has received so many death threats for defending the Amazon from oil drilling that she recently threw away her cell phone…

more: Amazonians at United Nations Announce Chinese Oil Company Will Cause Genocide | Indigenous Environmental Network

EVENT in SF on 14 JULY – Defend the Sapara People | China out of the Amazon! Stop Oil Drilling in the Amazon « Keep It in the Ground INFO :::::: facebook.com/events/442120672822817/ Solidarity and Visibility Action and Letter Delivery Friday, July 14, 2017 • 8:30-9:30am Sharp! Chinese Consulate • 1450 Laguna St, (cross street Geary) San Francisco, CA 94115

Stand With Standing Rock

Hear the message of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Honor tribal sovereignty and the Earth we inhabit by telling President Obama to deny the easement by calling 202-456-1111. We need every person to call Obama this week before Dec. 5th. Please share. For more information visit standwithstandingrock.net
#NoDAPL
#StandwithStandingRock
#standingrock
#bankexit

call the President and sign the petition!

Stand With Standing Rock

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Facebook

#NoDAPL :: Native American Activist Winona LaDuke at Standing Rock: It’s Time to Move On from Fossil Fuels |

While Democracy Now! was covering the Standing Rock standoff earlier this month, we spoke to Winona LaDuke, longtime Native American activist and executive director of the group Honor the Earth. She lives and works on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota. She spent years successfully fighting the Sandpiper pipeline, a pipeline similar to Dakota Access. We met her right outside the Red Warrior Camp, where she has set up her tipi. Red Warrior is one of the encampments where thousands of Native Americans representing hundreds of tribes from across the U.S. and Canada are currently resisting the pipeline’s construction

transcript: Native American Activist Winona LaDuke at Standing Rock: It's Time to Move On from Fossil Fuels | Democracy Now!

North Dakota v. Amy Goodman: Arrest Warrant Issued After Pipeline Coverage

As we reported on Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 – In other Dakota Access pipeline news, last Thursday, Morton County, North Dakota, issued an arrest warrant for Amy Goodman. The charge: criminal trespass, a misdemeanor offense. The case, State of North Dakota v. Amy Goodman, stems from Democracy Now!’s coverage in North Dakota over the Labor Day weekend of the Native American-led protests against the Dakota Access pipeline. On Saturday, September 3, Democracy Now! filmed security guards working for the Dakota Access pipeline company using dogs and pepper spray to attack protesters.

north_dakota_v_amy_goodman_arrest

Watch Amy Goodman’s Report from North Dakota
FULL Exclusive Report: Dakota Access Pipeline Co. Attacks Native Americans with Dogs & Pepper Spray

more: Dakota Access Pipeline @ Democracy Now!

#NoDAPL :: Federal Agencies Step in After Judge Denies Tribe's Request to Stop Dakota Access Pipeline, and A GRAIN OF SALT

Friday afternoon brought a roller coaster of emotions for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and supporters in the battle to stop construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) near the tribe's North Dakota reservation. Shortly after a federal judge rejected the tribe's emergency legal challenge, a joint statement by three federal agencies effectively stopped work on the pipeline until significant questions are answered about potential environmental and cultural impacts.

READ: Federal Agencies Step in After Judge Denies Tribe's Request to Stop Dakota Access Pipeline | EcoWatch

A GRAIN OF SALT

"Here’s the real story: This fight has neither been won nor lost."

Erased By False Victory: Obama Hasn’t Stopped DAPL

All Native struggles in the United States are a struggle against erasure. The poisoning of our land, the theft of our children, the state violence committed against us — we are forced to not only live in opposition to these ills, but also to live in opposition to the fact that they are often erased from public view and public discourse, outside of Indian Country. The truth of our history and our struggle does not match the myth of American exceptionalism, and thus, we are frequently boxed out of the narrative.

The struggle at Standing Rock, North Dakota, has been no exception, with Water Protectors fighting tooth and nail for visibility, ever since the Sacred Stone prayer encampment began on April 1.

For months, major news outlets have ignored what’s become the largest convergence of Native peoples in more than a century. But with growing social media amplification and independent news coverage, the corporate media had finally begun to take notice. National attention was paid. Solidarity protests were announced in cities around the country. The National Guard was activated in North Dakota.

The old chant, “The whole world is watching!” seemed on the verge of accuracy in Standing Rock.

And then came today’s ruling, with a federal judge finding against the Standing Rock Sioux, and declaring that construction of the pipeline could legally continue. It was the ruling I expected, but it still stung. I felt the sadness, anger and disappointment that rattled many of us as we received the news. But then something happened. Headlines like, “Obama administration orders ND pipeline construction to stop” and “The Obama Administration Steps In to Block the Dakota Access Pipeline” began to fill my newsfeed, with comments like, “Thank God for Obama!” attached to them.

Clearly, a major plot twist has occurred. But it’s not the one that’s being sold.

To understand that this isn’t the victory it’s being billed as, you have to read the fine print in the presently lauded joint statement from the Department of Justice, the Department of the Army and the Department of the Interior...

more: Erased By False Victory: Obama Hasn’t Stopped DAPL

#NoDAPL on twitter (top posts) –

#nodapl Tweets

Ever wondered what happens when an oil pipeline bursts underwater?

Ever wondered what happens when an oil pipeline bursts underwater? 

This footage of a oil spill in Moscow that caught on fire last week will give you an unforgettable picture.

via Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Facebook

Dakota Access Pipeline Company Attacks Native American Protesters with Dogs & Pepper Spray - YouTube

Dakota Access Pipeline Company Attacks Native American Protesters with Dogs & Pepper Spray - YouTube

Published on Sep 3, 2016

On September 3, the Dakota Access pipeline company attacked Native Americans with dogs and pepper spray as they protested against the $3.8 billion pipeline's construction. If completed, the pipeline would carry about 500,000 barrels of crude per day from North Dakota’s Bakken oilfield to Illinois. The project has faced months of resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and members of nearly 100 more tribes from across the U.S. and Canada.

 

Democracy Now!

more at: democracynow.org/2016/9/4/dakota_access_pipeline_company_attacks_native

#NoDAPL on twitter –

#nodapl Tweets

Historic Resistance to Dakota Pipeline | #NoDAPL

The $3.8 billion Dakota access pipeline has been partially halted after several months of protests by Native Americans and environmentalists.  North Dakota has responded by arresting dozens and declaring a state of emergency.

view on Facebook @ teleSUR English

#NoDAPL on twitter –

#nodapl Tweets

Feds Rely On Industry-Funded Study To Push For More Offshore Oil Exploitation | DeSmogBlog

...what they say in public rarely matches what takes place behind closed doors.

Less than one day after President Obama tweeted out that message on climate change, David Sirota and Ned Resnikoff from the International Business Times aimed a spotlight at the Obama administration’s hypocrisy in an investigative piece that exposed again the fossil fuel industry's influence over our government. Prior to that, the Public Accountability Initiative had revealed the massive influence that the industry had over the government's assessment of the economic impacts of offshore drilling.

According to the IB Times report, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s recent analysis of the economic benefits of increased offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and on the Pacific Coast near Alaska was funded partly by the fossil fuel industry. The analysis is currently being used by the administration to sell the project to the American public...

more: Feds Rely On Industry-Funded Study To Push For More Offshore Oil Exploitation | DeSmogBlog

Ecuador To Sell One Third Of Pristine Rainforest To Chinese Oil Companies

Ecuador is in the midst of talks to sell one-third of pure, untouched rainforest to Chinese oil companies despite environmental impact and protests from indigenous people.

read: Ecuador To Sell One Third Of Pristine Rainforest To Chinese Oil Companies

Small tribe with a big voice vows to stop Chinese oil drilling in the Amazon | Fusion

QUITO, Ecuador—Wearing a traditional headdress and a white vest woven from the bark of an Amazonian tree, Manari Ushigua held a megaphone to his mouth to denounce Ecuador’s latest oil deal: A multi-million dollar contract that will allow oil drilling on his tribe’s territory for the first time in four decades.

“We don’t want oil drilling in our lands,” said Ushigua, one of the most well-known leaders of Ecuador’s tiny Zapara tribe. “Our culture is at risk of disappearing; so is our language and our way of relating to the rainforest...”

more: Small tribe with a big voice vows to stop Chinese oil drilling in the Amazon | Fusion

BREAKING: B.C. First Nations win court challenge against B.C. over Enbridge pipeline | National Observer

The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled the B.C. government breached its duty to consult the Gitga'at and neighbouring First Nations on the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. The decision, announced Wednesday, is seen as a major victory for First Nations that could have an impact on future oil pipeline projects...

more: BREAKING: B.C. First Nations win court challenge against B.C. over Enbridge pipeline | National Observer

Tidings to All Ye Who Would Build Pipelines Here: From Southern Oregon Rising Tide | Earth First! Newswire

Dear Jordan Cove & Pacific Connector,Happy fracking holidays! It’s a snowy December here in Southern Oregon and we hope everyone involved with the Pacific Connector Pipeline and Jordan Cove LNG export project is keeping us in your thoughts... [more]

from Southern Oregon Rising Tide

Over the holidays, Southern Oregon Rising Tide mailed festive postcards to several of their fracking foes with a special message: Bring the pipeline, expect resistance. Donning elf hats and tree-climbing apparel, SORT members scaled a snow laden doug fir tree that stands in the path of the proposed Pacific Connector Pipeline near Ashland, OR...

more: Tidings to All Ye Who Would Build Pipelines Here: From Southern Oregon Rising Tide | Earth First! Newswire

Earth First! Newswire | Media from the Frontlines of Ecological Resistance.

via @submedia

Tidings to All Ye Who Would Build Pipelines Here: From Southern Oregon Rising Tide: "We wish you a 2016 of low... https://t.co/92wdutBB4t

29 Dec 15 - @submedia on Twitter

Sweden To Become The World’s First Fossil Fuel-Free Nation In History | Collective-Evolution

The Swedish government recently announced that their aim is to become one of the world’s first nations to end its dependence on fossil fuels. They will be investing an extra 4.5 billion kronor (US$546 million) into renewable energy and climate change action in their 2016 budget.

Not long ago, UBS, the world’s largest private bank, began urging its investors to join the clean, renewable energy movement. Their analysts are predicting that power plants in Europe might become completely extinct within the next 10 to 20 years, and it seems they are correct. The dream of a ‘nuclear free’ Europe might become a reality sooner than expected, which explains why trillions of dollars are being divested...

more: Sweden To Become The World’s First Fossil Fuel-Free Nation In History | Collective-Evolution

Oil Spill Threatens the Galapagos of North America (Ocean Conservancy) | WILL THIS SPILL CHANGE ANYTHING? (Greenpeace)

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

Oil Spill Threatens the Galapagos of North America

California leads the nation in marine protection with the largest network of marine protected areas in the country. The Gaviota oil spill puts ten years of cooperation between fishermen and conservationists to protect the state’s crown jewels at risk.

Media Contact:
Greg Helms
Manager, Fish Conservation Program
805-886-8645
ghelms@oceanconservancy.org

May 20, 2015

Statement from Greg Helms, manager, Fish Conservation Program, and Santa Barbara-based marine protected area expert:

Santa Barbara, CA: “Yesterday’s crude oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara County, resulting from an inland pipeline break, is a reminder that oil and water don’t mix. California leads the nation in marine protection with the longest network of marine protected areas in the country. In the Gaviota Coast area with its world-class and irreplaceable marine life, the community has just completed years of work establishing four marine protected areas due to its very special nature. The currently four-mile long oil slick puts ten years of cooperation between fishermen and conservationists to protect the state’s marine crown jewels at risk. The threat that this oil spill poses to important locally harvested species like sea urchin, squid and lobster as well as marine mammals and seabirds, and the Naples Reef and Kashtayit State Marine Conservation Areas that serve as their feeding and breeding grounds concern us. The companies must be held fully accountable for the impacts of this spill. This spill is a wake-up call for us to look at how we as a state prioritize the different uses of our ocean and the risks associated with them."

Ocean Conservancy: Oil Spill Threatens the Galapagos of North America


see also –

WILL THIS SPILL CHANGE ANYTHING?

Yesterday afternoon, news spread of the latest oil-related tragedy to occur in the United States—an oil pipeline ruptured in Santa Barbara County in Central California, along the Refugio State Beach coastline. Though the pipeline was on land, it was found to be leaking into a culvert that eventually emptied into the ocean. By the time the pipeline was shut off, oil had been spilling into the sea for at least three hours.

As of yesterday evening, officials claimed that an estimated 21,000 gallons had spilled into the ocean in an oil slick that was four miles wide. Unfortunately, as of this morning, the slick had spread to at least nine miles wide, as the winds and tides did what they do. And now, a new estimate says that up to 105,000 gallons of oil might have been spilled.

Refugio State Beach has been closed indefinitely. The area is a sensitive and important place for all kinds of species, including migratory whales and rare seabirds—and wildlife has already been affected. Though there is no estimate of how much wildlife has been impacted so far, things don’t look good.

The cleanup is painstaking work. There are several dozen workers outfitted in protective suits and helmets on the beach, shoveling up contaminated mud and rocks into plastic bags. It is made more arduous by having to take place both on shore and on the water, since the oil originated on land.

Greenpeace visited the site to survey the true damage and to share with the world the devastation to the Santa Barbara County coastline, and to communicate the dangers of fossil fuels so that we can transition to clean energy and prevent this from happening again.

Plains All American Pipeline, the company that owns the ruptured pipeline, has a history of spills. The company has apologized, with the district manager saying, “We’re sorry this accident has happened, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience to the community.”

This spill has not occurred in a vacuum. We can now add it to the sad history of oil-related spills and accidents that have happened the world over in the past years—including one that happened very near to this area in 1969, which spilled 3 million gallons of oil into the ocean.

As Annie Leonard, our Executive Director, has said, “Oil spills are never accidents. They are the direct result of substandard oversight of fossil fuel companies who put their profits above human and environmental impacts.” Each time a spill, oil train explosion, or some other disaster occurs, we look to our leaders to take responsibility to make change. So far they’ve demonstrated that they don’t have the courage to stand up to Big Oil.

We all hope that this oil spill will quickly be contained and cleaned up. But are we willing to keep taking chances for future accidents to occur? I can’t help but think of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s research that shows that there’s a 75% chance of an oil spill occurring in the Arctic if drilling takes place there. Even with that scary fact, the Obama administration has decided to give Shell the conditional go-ahead to drill. Let’s demand better from our President and other leaders before it’s too late.

GREEN PEACE BLOGS -

http://greenpeaceblogs.org/2015/05/20/will-this-oil-spill-change-anything/

President Obama Vetoes Keystone XL Pipeline Bill

February 24, 2015: President Obama vetoed the Keystone XL pipeline bill after it was sent to his desk today. It is the third time President Obama has used his veto power. But, the fight over the pipeline isn’t over yet, as the U.S. State Department’s long approval process for the Keystone XL continues.


more: President Obama Vetoes Keystone XL Pipeline Bill | EcoWatch

Save the Arctic | Tell President Obama to stop Arctic oil exploration.

Save the Arctic | Obama Tell President Obama to stop Arctic oil exploration.

Keystone XL Vote Planned for Friday in the House | EcoWatch

Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and John Boehner think that building the Keystone XL pipeline is American’s top priority. Photo credit: MSNBC’s The Ed Show

With Congress back in session, Republican leadership is putting at the top of its agenda an item that probably isn’t at the top of most Americans’ agenda: approving the Keystone XL pipeline.

READ: Keystone XL Vote Planned for Friday in the House | EcoWatch

Debunking 8 discredited talking points pushed by Keystone XL proponents in Senate debate | Anthony Swift's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

As the Senate debates the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, proponents of the Keystone XL tar pipeline are pushing discredited talking points. The move would skip over the essential executive permitting process of determining whether the project is in the national interest in the first place. During the first half of the Senate debate this morning, Senator Pat Robertson, Senator Manchin, Senator Thune and Senator Landrieu pushed eight talking that unsupported by the facts.

Let’s update these talking points with the facts.

READ: Debunking 8 discredited talking points pushed by Keystone XL proponents in Senate debate | Anthony Swift's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

more from NRDC –

SIGN THE PETITION
Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline Project | NRDC

Why it is time to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline

The Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would carry some of the world's dirtiest oil from under Canada's Boreal forests to the Gulf Coast for export to overseas markets. It is all risk and no reward for America. Yet, Senate Republican leadership has made it clear that approving the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is top of their agenda. Members of Congress should hold strong and allow the ongoing presidential permit process to continue. And the President should follow the reasons he has laid out, not only to veto any bill that does attempt to approve Keystone XL, but also to reject this dirty energy project. The President has the information he needs to deny the permit for the tar sands pipeline as a danger to our climate and waters.

 more: Why it is time to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline | Susan Casey-Lefkowitz's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline Project | NRDC Petition

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would transport raw, toxic tar sands oil right through the American heartland — from Alberta, Canada to refineries in Texas — and threatens to wreak environmental havoc on both sides of the border.


SIGN THE PETITION! Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline Project | NRDC