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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Down To Earth

Friday Quote: “Why I got arrested at the White House to stop the tar sands pipeline”

On Sunday, NRDC and the Waterkeeper Alliance will join 350.org, the Sierra Club, and many other partners in holding the Forward on Climate Rally in Washington, D.C. This will be the largest climate rally in American history, with tens of thousands of people expected. From rejecting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline to limiting carbon pollution from our nation's dirty power plants, President Barack Obama's legacy will rest squarely on his response, resolve, and leadership in solving the climate crisis.

It is striking how tar sands and the Keystone XL pipeline have brought people together around concern for our water and climate. In Canada, communities such as the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Beaver Lake Cree are fighting to protect their health, waters, and lands from the leaking dams of toxic waste and the destruction of strip-mining for tar sands. In British Columbia, over 100 First Nations have taken a strong stand against tar sands pipelines crossing their land and waters. In Nebraska, ranchers such as Randy Thompson -- who was arrested with me at a White House protest this week -- are saying no to the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Water and climate walk hand in hand with threats as big as the dirty energy path of tar sands. A dirty energy future means trading our water for tar sands, and that is not a choice any of us want to make.

That was Robert Kennedy Jr from On Earth Magazine. Read the rest of his story HERE. Also, be sure to check out Spokane's own "Forward on Clmate Rally" this Sunday in Riverfront Park at 1pm. 



Down To Earth

The DTE blog is committed to reporting and sharing environmental news and sustainability information from across the Inland Northwest.