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Dear President Obama:
Which side of history will you stand on?
In 2008 we supported you because of your commitment to change. We were motivated by your plan to move America away from fossil fuels and lead the way to a renewable energy future. You said it was “time to end the tyranny of oil,” and we agreed.
Since your election, we’ve witnessed our southern shores devastated by the BP oil spill, major spills in Port Arthur, the Yellowstone and Kalamazoo rivers, and large-scale blowouts from fracking operations in Bradford County, Pennsylvania and Moundsville, West Virginia. We’ve seen Southwestern forests scorched with the harshest wildfires on record, extreme drought throughout the Midwest and South, and historic flooding across the northern plains and eastern US.
The need to protect America from similar disasters and act responsibly to mitigate further climate change has never been greater. In this context, you now are faced with an historic decision. You alone will decide whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline and vote to allow fracking in the Delaware River Basin.
We are here today to urge you in the strongest possible terms to reject both these projects.
Both fracking and tar sands are extreme forms of energy extraction, which contaminate massive amounts of water, air and soil. Oil and gas corporations are currently engaged in a multi-million dollar media campaign claiming that these projects are safe, will promote energy independence, and be a major source of jobs. Independent reports from a wide variety of experts have shown all of these claims to be false.
Fracking has already contaminated the drinking water of thousands of people and been linked to devastating health effects across the country. Now, the water supply of 15.6 million people is at risk from fracking in the Delaware River Basin. Residents of New York City, Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware are counting on you to protect them from the groundwater contamination, radioactive waste, cancer-causing air emissions, and catastrophic accidents that will inevitably come with fracking. We urge you to instruct the Army Corps of Engineers to vote against proposed regulations for fracking in the Delaware River Basin.
In the case of the Keystone XL pipeline, your administration alone has the power to accept or reject this project. The pipeline will run from Alberta tar sands to Texas putting millions of acres of vital farmland and water sources at constant risk for more
disastrous leaks. Tar Sands oil is known to emit roughly three times as much CO2 as conventional crude, and the pipeline would open up the world’s second largest known reservoir of oil outside of Saudi Arabia. In the words of noted NASA climatologist James Hansen, the resulting carbon emissions would mean “game over” for any attempt at mitigating climate change.
Both of these projects will threaten the health of American communities, radically alter global climate systems, and undermine our country’s economic recovery. Reports from economic analysts show that net jobs created from these projects will be a small fraction of what industry claims. The jobs will be short-term and have profoundly negative impacts on employment in agriculture, tourism and related industries. We need good jobs in the emerging green job sector that will help America prosper, not jobs that will delay our country’s progress in adopting a 21st century energy policy.
During your 2008 campaign you said that renewable energy like wind and solar are how “America is going to free itself from our dependence on foreign oil – not through short term gimmicks but through a real long-term commitment to transform our energy sector.”
This is your opportunity to keep your pledge and display the leadership for which we elected you. We are aware that Congress has made it difficult for you to fulfill your promises on energy policy. But the Keystone pipeline and fracking in the Delaware do not require Congressional approval. In these two cases the decision is yours to make.
President Obama, will you stand with us – your 2008 supporters – by rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline and voting no on fracking in the Delaware River Basin? Our decision to stand with you in 2012 depends on it.
Sincerely,
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P.S. – In 2008 I…
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