NWF Rallies Against Keystone XL Before State of the Union

I just got back from a rally outside of the U.S. Capitol against the Keystone XL pipeline. National Wildlife Federation joined partner groups like 350.org and CREDO Action in chanting and marching against the proposed pipeline which would pump toxic tar sands oil from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries, accelerating climate change and putting wildlife at risk of spills and other accidents. Just hours before President Obama will address Congress and report on the State of the Union, we wanted to remind him about the role that this pipeline will play in his legacy: will he be the “Climate Champion” or the “Pipeline President?”

We were nervous about whether he was going to get the message, so our friends at 350.org painted it onto the side of a giant, inflatable pipeline and together we paraded around the Capitol.

Despite the 16 degree weather here in D.C., it was reinvigorating to get out in the field with NWF staffers and volunteers to send a message to the President, reminding him to consider the wildlife impacts of his decision on this project.

Today marks the second time that NWF has braved extreme cold in order to protest the Keystone XL pipeline—last February,we gathered at the Capitol for the “Forward on Climate” rally despite frigid temperatures.

The Keystone XL pipeline would not only accelerate the impacts of climate change, the largest threat to wildlife that there is, but it would also directly impact many North American species.

Northern swift foxes, for example, were once common throughout the plains of the United States and Canada. Now, they survive in only a few places that would be destroyed by the Keystone XL pipeline. Swift fox dens along KXL’s right-of-way could be crushed by pipeline construction.

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Speak up for the swift fox and tell President Obama to reject the Keystone XL Pipeline and protect the State of Our Union.