Dear friends,
When you pick a fight you’ve got to stick around to see it finished.
Together the climate movement picked a fight over the Keystone Pipeline two years ago. It was a little fight at first, then 1200 people went to jail, followed by 15,000 that surrounded the White House, and 40,000 that returned this February. Countless more have marched, testified, picketed, and done the work of democracy. Now it’s a big fight — and we have a real chance of a win.
Not a guarantee, of course, and there will be more fights to come even if we do, not least of all on many other tar sands projects. But that’s better than where we started, and we can increase the odds of a win this weekend. All across America people are turning out to Draw the Line on Keystone XL, in more than 200 rallies coast-to-coast. (I’ll be in Seattle myself).
Here’s where you can go to find an event near you: act.350.org/event/draw_the_line/search/
In New York they’ll literally draw a line where the surging waters of Sandy reached; in Detroit, they’ll march right to the refinery gates where pollution from tar sands spews into nearby communities; in Hawaii, they’ll draw a line in the sand outside the home the President stays in when he’s on vacation there.
Here’s the message we hope to get to President Obama: it’s time to show your conviction, and become the first world leader to block a big project because of its effect on climate. Be a leader.
If you go out on Saturday, you’ll make that message louder — and you’ll meet other people who care enough about the dangers of the tar sands and climate change to get involved.
If you take photos, remember to email them to photos@350.org when the time comes, with your location in the subject line, and if you’re the kind of person who Tweets, use the hashtag #DrawTheLine.
I’m really looking forward to seeing this movement in motion on Saturday. It’s going to be a powerful day.
Onwards,
Bill McKibben
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