Environmentalists Arrested While Protesting Oil Pipeline

The Sierra Club reported that 48 environmental activists were arrested on Wednesday after staging a display of civil disobedience at the White House. The group stated that the activists were there to demand that President Barack Obama deny the Keystone XL pipeline and address the climate crisis. Here are the details.



* Included among those arrested were Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club; Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org; Julian Bond, the former president of the NAACP; Danny Kennedy, CEO of Sungetivity; and actress Darryl Hannah.



* The group blocked the main thoroughfare in front of the White House and refused to move when asked by police. They were then arrested and transported to Anacostia for processing by the U.S. Park Police Department, the Sierra Club reported.



* According to a report by UPI, the individuals handcuffed themselves to a White House gate and chanted, 'Hey, Obama, we don't want no climate drama.'



* According to Brune, this is the first time in the Sierra Club's 120-year history that it has engaged in civil disobedience. 'We cannot afford to allow the production, transport, export and burning of the dirtiest oil on Earth via the Keystone XL pipeline,' Brune said. 'President Obama must deny the pipeline and take decisive steps to address climate disruption, the most significant issue of our time.'



* The Sierra Club stated that the carbon emissions associated with Keystone XL that have been estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency are about 13 percent below what new research by Oil Change International estimates.



* 'OCI's research shows that Keystone XL will produce enough petcoke to fuel five U.S. coal plants,' the Sierra Club reported.



* Before the protest, Sierra Club President Allison Chin, who was also arrested, stated , 'We're asking the president to use every resource he has at his disposal -- from the bully pulpit to the executive order -- to take climate action now.'



* The protest comes in advance of the scheduled Forward on Climate rally at the National Mall in Washington. The rally , which has been organized by 135 environmental organizations and is expecting participation from 'tens of thousands of activists' is set for Sunday starting at noon.



* Among the organizations involved in the rally are the Sierra Club, 350.org, Greenpeace, Ben & Jerry's, MoveOn.org, the League of Women Voters, NAACP Youth and College and the Wilderness Society.



* 'From rejecting the toxic Keystone XL tar sands pipeline to limiting carbon pollution from our nation's dirty power plants, moving beyond coal and natural gas, and firing up our clean energy economy,' Obama's legacy as president rests in his leadership in solving the energy crisis, the rally page stated.





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