NASA climatologist Dr. James Hansen was arrested Aug. 29 at the White House, one of 1,252 people arrested between Aug. 20 and Sept. 3 for protesting the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to run from Alberta, Canada to Oklahoma and Texas. Protesters demanded that President Barack Obama not issue a key permit for the pipeline. Religious leaders of many faiths, celebrities, scientists, indigenous leaders and climate activists have been among those arrested.
“Climate change hurts the poor first,” said Rose Berger, a Roman Catholic and lead Sojourners organizer for Tar Sands Action.
Mining Canada’s tar sands for oil will not reduce reliance on fossil fuels, which contribute to climate change. In addition, the process of tar sand extraction has been described as “kind of like the Gulf spill but playing out in slow motion,” by Doug Cogan, director of climate risk management at RiskMetrics and author of an investors’ report. He called it a “land-based” version of the Gulf disaster.
