Rode with two XL Pipeline protester guys (Steve and Duane) to Presidio Heights area of SF (a fundraiser with Obama taking place at a mansion overlooking the Presidio) on a somewhat windy eve Wed. 4/3. Wonderful crowd including XL Pipeline protestors from 2mo. old to ancient! Loved the upbeat drumming, moxibustion smoke, saxophones, babies and puppies.
Love the optimism that bubbles up when people who care about our future come together in the streets of San Francisco – or any city – but we need to use that street energy and everything else we’ve got – to move toward sustainable energy if we want a reasonably happy planet on which to live even 5 years down the road!
Here’s what our Sonoma County Climate Protection Campaign has to say this am:
Tell the State Department “No” on Keystone
The State Department’s public comment period on Keystone XL Pipeline is now open. It’s crucial that we flood them with comments. The pipeline will take us in a disastrous direction. Not only will it cause more emissions, just look at what happened recently in Arkansas when a pipe burst (photo above)!
Take Action: Send a letter through 350.org to the State Department. Act Now>
More from Pacific/Divisadero Sts: A woman in a long black coat held a Goethe quote:
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.
(Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/johann_wolfgang_von_goeth.html#d1DEQ4CtH3FBxz9o.99)
Not surprised to see quite a crowd dressed in yellow hazmat garb, calling for the release of Bradley Manning (Wikileaks) and closing of Guantanamo Bay Prison (where “terrorists” are held without bail, without sentence, without hope). Lots and lots of TV cameras and personalities from all over the Bay Area. Enjoyed watching them work – and watch us. Breaking news.
A couple of places to check XL Pipeline info and check in and speak up:
http://act.350.org/letter/a_million_strong_against_keystone/
http://act.350.org/signup/an-open-letter-to-president-obama
Scientific American:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/search/?q=XL+Pipeline&x=14&y=8″ (Shows electric grid is about 6x as efficient as extraction of tar sands!!! – p. 58)
Fliers from the rally I stuck in my purse:
– UC Berkeley Evans Hall Room 60, 6pm Wed. April 17 – ISREAL IS AN APARTEID STATE – The Case for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (w. Sherry Wolf).
– STOP KEYSTONE XL Earth Day Action for Environmental & Climate Justice, Mon. Apr. 22, Noon, SF EPA, 75 Hawthorne St.with march to State Department
– National Day of Protest: US Drones Out of African, Middle East, Asia and Here! Sat. Apr.13, noon, gather at Powell and Market St., SF. MONEY for Jobs, Housing, Healthcare, Schools NOT WAR!
– Doing Well While Doing Good, Join Coaching Group for Women Activists, Rochelle Towers, MSW, runs a 4-week course in Oakland in June. 510-499-1021 or www.biglifecoaching.net or rt@biglifecoaching.net
– CUT-OFF THE KOCHS – URGE OBAMA TO REJECT KEYSTONE XL, see Kochcash.org for full report Apr. 15. “Billionaires’ Carbon Bomb: The Koch-Keystone XL Pipeline”
And now its YOUR turn to speak up. Join 350.org, Sierra Club, CREDO ACTION, NRDC, pretty much any group engaged in protecting our environment. Huge work ahead; time to take care of our Mother.