Over Two Million Comments Filed Against the Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline

In a chilly March wind, protesters marched along the snow-splashed streets of Washington to deliver more than two million comments opposed to building the Canadian-backed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

Chanting “We don’t want your dirty oil!” and “Leave the tar sands where they are, climate change has gone too far!” protesters made it clear that opposition to the pipeline is growing as more people learn about the consequences of building a massive artery of toxic tar sands oil from Alberta through America’s agricultural heartland to refineries in the Gulf, where much of it will be exported.

Check out this video of the protest at the US State Department

Here’s how my colleague Elizabeth Shope described the protest:

Today marked the end of the 30-day public comment period that helps to inform President Obama and Secretary Kerry about whether or not the risky tar sands pipeline is in the national interest. The answer has been a resounding “NO,” with members and activists affiliated with NRDC, Sierra Club, 350.org, CREDO Action, Avaaz, the Energy Action Coalition, and many other organizations submitting more than 2 million comments calling for a rejection of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

Building a pipeline that expedites and expands the world’s dirtiest and most destructive oil mining project on the planet, puts American landowners and precious natural resources at risk, and accelerates the release of dangerous climate-altering gasses is clearly not in our national interest. It’s in the interest of the oil industry, pure and simple.

Protest at the U.S. State Department Photo: Rocky Kistner/NRDC

It’s time to take a stand. President Obama and Secretary Kerry need to do the right thing for our health and for our future. No to Keystone XL, no to more dirty tar sands development. And yes to more clean energy jobs.

It’s a decision our kids are counting on, a decision the president has to make.