Published on Thursday, March 22, 2012 by Common Dreams<\/p>\n
Obama: indefinite ‘development of oil and gas infrastructure’
\n– Common Dreams staff<\/p>\n
Today, President Obama has endorsed a southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline. “As long as I’m president, I’m going to keep encouraging the development of oil and gas infrastructure,” Obama said in a speech in Cushing, Okla.<\/p>\n
As the president spoke, Native American pipeline protesters were ‘caged’ miles away from the event.<\/p>\n
Native American activists in Oklahoma have expressed outrage at the proposal of the pipeline as it will “desecrate known sacred sites and artifacts” on its path to refineries in Texas, in addition to the evident environmental degradation involved.<\/p>\n
Local authorities have forced the activists to hold their protest in a cage erected in Memorial Park far away from the speech. “The protestors were stunned that their community, so long mistreated, would be insulted in such an open manner instead of being given the same freedom of speech expected by all Americans simply for taking a stance consistent with their values,” reports the Global Justice Ecology Project.<\/p>\n
Friends of the Earth @foe_us<\/p>\n
#Obama: “As long as I’m president I’m going to keep encouraging the development of oil and gas infrastructure” #promiseofcleanenergy
\n 22 Mar 12<\/p>\n
Reply
\n Retweet
\n Favorite<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
BREAKING NEWS: Native Americans Protest Keystone XL From A Cage (Global Justice Ecology Project):<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Obama is an adopted member of the Crow Tribe, so his fast-tracking a project that will desecrate known sacred sites and artifacts is a real betrayal and disappointment for his Native relatives everywhere,\u201d said Marty Cobenais of the Indigenous Environmental Network. \u201cTar sands is devastating First Nations communities in Canada already and now they want to bring that environmental, health, and social devastation to US tribes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The President visited Cushing to stand with executives from TransCanada and throw his support behind a plan to build the southern half of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline to move tar sands bitumen and crude oil from Cushing to the Gulf Coast refineries in Texas.<\/p>\n
A major concern for Native Americans in Oklahoma, according to spokespeople at the event, is that Keystone XL and the Canadian tar sands mines that would supply it ignore impacts to indigenous communities and their sacred spaces.<\/p>\n
\u201cNatives in Canada live downstream from toxic tar sands mines,\u201d said Earl Hatley, \u201cand they are experiencing spikes in colon, liver, blood and rare bile-duct cancers which the Canadian government and oil companies simply ignore. And now they want to pipe these tar sands through the heart of Indian country, bulldozing grave sites and ripping out our heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group points to a survey done by the Oklahoma Archeological Survey which found 88 archaeological sites and 34 historic structures that were threatened by Keystone XL. TransCanada was asked to reroute around only a small portion of these, leaving 71 archaeological sites and 22 historic structures at risk. The group says they have asked for a list of these sites and to oversee operations that might threaten sacred burial grounds, but neither request has been honored. […]<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Ogallala Aquifer is not the only source of water in the plains,\u201d said RoseMary Crawford, Project Manager of the Center for Energy Matters. \u201cTar sands pipelines have a terrible safety record and leaks are inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t stop global warming with more fossil fuel pipelines,\u201d added Crawford. \u201cThe people who voted for this President did so believing he would help us address the global environmental catastrophe that our pollution is creating. He said he would free us from \u2018the tyranny of oil.\u2019 Today that campaign promise is being trampled to boost the President\u2019s poll numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Published on Thursday, March 22, 2012 by Common Dreams Obama: indefinite ‘development of oil and gas infrastructure’ – Common Dreams staff Today, President Obama has endorsed a southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline. “As long as I’m president, I’m going to keep encouraging the development of oil and gas infrastructure,” Obama said in a … Continue reading Common Dreams: Obama Endorses KXL Pipeline, Native Americans Forced to Protest from ‘Cage’<\/span>