Indigenous Environmental Network
"A network of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions."
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Indigenous Environmental Network"A network of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions." |
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IEN Signs Letter with CEOs of Major Environmental OrganizationsSierra Club • Natural Resources Defense Council • League of Conservation Voters • Greenpeace • Environment America • Earthjustice • Friends of the Earth • Energy Action Coalition • Center for Biological Diversity • 350.org • Physicians for Social Responsibility • The Wilderness Society • Center for International Environmental Law • Voices for Progress • League of Women Voters • Indigenous Environmental Network • Oil Change International • American Rivers • Public Citizen • Bold Nebraska • Global Community Monitor • Labor Network for Sustainability • Endangered Species Coalition • Safe Climate Campaign • Don't Waste Arizona, Inc. • Earth Day Network • Climate Solutions • Green America • Institute for Policy Studies • Clean Water Action • Dakota Resource Council • Nebraskans for Peace • US Climate Action Network • American Rivers • National Tribal Environmental Council • Environment Northeast • Rainforest Action Network • Defenders of Wildlife
February 10, 2012 Dear Senator: On behalf of our millions of members and supporters, we write to express our vehement opposition to any The environmental and safety dangers from the pipeline are clear. First, tar sands oil is the most carbonintensive source of oil on the planet —the production process alone generates three times as much global warming pollution as conventional crude oil. Developing tar sands is also destroying important forest lands that act as a carbon reservoir, further contributing to climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would contribute an additional 27 million metric tons of CO2 annually – or the same amount of global warming pollution created by adding 4.8 million vehicles to the road, which would accelerate health impacts from global warming that are already occurring. Moreover, the pipeline would do little for our energy security. Its main purpose is to make this oil
available for export. Keystone XL would divert Canadian oil from refineries in the Midwest to the Gulf
Coast. These refineries are in Foreign Trade Zones where oil may be exported to international buyers
without paying U.S. taxes. Finally, the pipeline itself poses grave dangers to America’s vital water resources. Tar sands oil is more acidic and corrosive than conventional oil and transported under higher pressure, posing a far greater risk of leaks along the pipeline route. This is not just a theoretical problem. Over the last five years, pipelines in Midwestern states with the longest history of moving Canadian tar sands have spilled three times as much crude per pipeline mile as the national average. The Keystone I tar sands pipeline was predicted to spill 1.4 times per decade, yet spilled fourteen times in its first year of operation. Last summer, an older pipeline system carrying tar sands oil spilled more than 800,000 gallons into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River, causing health effects in a majority of Calhoun County residents living adjacent to the river. At a cost of over $725 million, this spill has been the most expensive U.S. pipeline accident on record. The facts reveal this pipeline was never in America's national interest. Clean energy and fuel efficiency is the path forward for economic and energy security in America – not another tar sands pipeline. By rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama helped move America down a cleaner, safer path. Congress is now considering legislation that would preempt America’s environmental laws to approve a pipeline for which a route does not exist. With this precedent, will the next Congress approve a project in your state while preempting the health, environmental, and safety laws that protect your citizens and your state’s farmlands? We urge all members to oppose any and all attempts to pass legislation that would short circuit the laws our nation has relied on to balance development with protecting our country for future generations. Sincerely, Michael Brune Frances Beinecke Gene Karpinski Philip D. Radford Margie Alt Trip Van Noppen Maura Cowley Erich Pica Kierán Suckling May Boeve Catherin Thommason David Moulton Carroll Muffett Sandy Newman Elisabeth MacNamara Tom B.K. Goldtooth Stephen Kretzmann Robert Irvin Robert Weissman Jane Kleeb Denny Larson Joe Uehlein Leda Huta Dan Becker Stephen Brittle Kathleen Rogers Gregg Small Alisa Gravitz John Cavanagh Bob Wendelgass Don Morrison Tim Rinne Peter Bahouth Wm. Robert Irvin Jerry Pardilla Jamie Rappaport Clark |
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