sites/all/files/white_house_gates.jpgHardly a moment goes by when there's not another piece of exciting news about the fight to stop the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Thanks largely to the courageous actions undertaken by a diverse band of people outside the White House gates, the effort to deny a Presidential Permit to this pipeline has generated a spirit of unity across the climate movement.

Today, I signed a letter along with other leaders of environmental groups urging the President to view this as the watershed moment we all do, and act accordingly.

Dear President Obama:
Many of the organizations we head do not engage in civil disobedience; some do. Regardless, speaking as individuals, we want to let you know that there is not an inch of daylight between our policy position on the Keystone Pipeline and those of the very civil protesters being arrested daily outside the White House. This is a terrible project–many of the country’s leading climate scientists have explained why in their letter last month to you. It risks many of our national treasures to leaks and spills. And it reduces incentives to make the transition to job-creating clean fuels.You have a clear shot to deny the permit, without any interference from Congress. It’s perhaps the biggest climate test you face between now and the election. If you block it, you will trigger a surge of enthusiasm from the green base that supported you so strongly in the last election. We expect nothing less.

Sincerely,

Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund
Michael Brune, Sierra Club
Frances Beinecke, Natural Resources Defense Council
Phil Radford, Greenpeace
Larry Schweiger, National Wildlife Federation
Erich Pica, Friends of the Earth
Rebecca Tarbotton, Rainforest Action Network
May Boeve, 350.org
Gene Karpinski, League of Conservation Voters
Margie Alt, Environment America
Kieran Suckling, Center for Biological Diversity