Posted on 08/30/2011 10:52:47 AM PDT by keat
WASHINGTON, DC, Aug. 29, 2011 - America's top climate scientist and a large group of religious leaders were arrested at the White House this morning with 140 other Americans to push President Obama to deny the permit for a massive new oil pipeline.
"If Obama chooses the dirty needle it will confirm that the President was just green-washing all along, like the other well-oiled coal-fired politicians, with no real intention of solving the addiction," said NASA's Dr. James Hansen, who was arrested at the White House this morning.
President Obama must decide whether or not to grant a "presidential permit" for a Canadian company, TransCanada, to begin construction of the Keystone XL, a 1,700 mile pipeline from the Canadian tar sands to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico.
Earlier this summer, Dr. Hansen and twenty other leading scientists sent a letter to the White House urging the President to prevent the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, writing: "If the pipeline is to be built, you as president have to declare that it is ‘in the national interest.' As scientists, speaking for ourselves and not for any of our institutions, we can say categorically that it's not only not in the national interest, it's also not in the planet's best interest."
Best-selling evangelical author Jim Wallis, who recently served on President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, sent a message of support to the protesters.
"American Christians are demanding a new direction in America's energy future -- one that marks our turn away from oil and fossil fuels and toward cleaner and renewable energy sources," wrote Wallis. "Developing the tar sands in Canada and building the Keystone XL pipeline through six states in the American Midwest is the wrong direction for our country and derails progress of building a responsible energy infrastructure."
"Climate change hurts the poor first," said Rose Berger, a Roman Catholic and editor at Sojourners magazine who led a large delegation of religious leaders participating in the protest and was arrested this morning. "The tar sands development and the permitting the Keystone XL pipeline will worsen climate change and should be stopped."
"We must turn up the heat in a sustained effort against the scourge of climate change, which harms not just our land and water but people here and now, our human future and all earthly creation," said Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist congregation in Bethesda, MD.
The executive directors of Greenpeace and 350.org, as well as the President of CREDO Mobile, also took part in today's sit-in. So far, the ongoing White House protest that began on Saturday, Aug 21st has led to the arrest of over 500 Americans. The protest will continue until September 3rd with large crowds expected each day.
Definitely not your "A" list event.
There, fixed it
Like I have been saying all along these are not “scientists” they are political activists.
I believe the data gathered by someone who had themselves chained to a tree last week, about as much as the green party trusts the data of the scientists hired by Exxon Mobile.
"Climate change hurts the poor first," said Rose BergerJeeez, Rose, get the freaking talking points straight, can't you?
Climate change hurts the poor AND MINORITIES first!
Is it IRONY that the officer in that photo is named GREEN ?
Indiana Jones finds the *Temple of Doom* again.
Anyone still want to argue “Global Warming” is anything but a secular humanist’s replacement for organized religion?
I must be in the dark ages then as I thought it was “wimmin, and childrun”.
The greenie-weenie, college idiots will vote for him again once they hear how he bullies the GOP with his new envirowacko schtick!!
He’s wearing his “Robert Oppenheimer” hat..Coincidence?
Note to Dr. Hansen: The only agenda of real science is the truth.
Shouldn’t he be reaching out to Islam rather than engaging in this stuff? I thought those were NASA’s marching orders?
These are particularly stupid people. But, why are protesters being arrested?
The “dude” smokes too much pot and hasn’t thought about the market mechanisms in play. Aside f-ffrom that, perhaps this smart man could tell me how to launch a NASA project with solar panels or alternative energy.
That’s a tough one. You want to keep your leftist talking points short, because leftist brains are so itty-bitty, but you do want to get “poor”, “minorities”, “women” and “children” all in there.
What to do? What to do?
Indiana Jones finds the *Temple of Doom* again.
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Indiana Jones impersonation by a ‘Beta Male’. LOL!!!
If George W and company had owned a political clue, they would long ago have fired this radical agitator masquerading as a scientist.
I have a question - was he officially “on the clock”? Taxpayer funding for his travel and expenses to be there?
Even if not - what the heck???
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