The White House recently denied an invitation from Nebraska farmers and ranchers for a “Beer and Beef Summit” to show President Obama the livelihoods and water that are at-risk with the Keystone XL pipeline.
The White House rejected the invitation on the grounds they were not taking any meetings on the pipeline. Bold Nebraska was therefore surprised the President is meeting with staff at Ellicott Dredges a company that just testified in Congress in support of Keystone XL and makes equipment that creates the tailing ponds, which are massive bodies of polluted water and a by-product of the tarsands mining process.
“I simply do not understand why President Obama can find the time to visit a company that helps hold 12 million liters of toxic tarsands water but can not find the time to visit ranchers who put over $12 billion of Nebraska-grown food on Americans’ dinner tables every year,” said Meghan Hammond, a young farmer whose family land is at-risk with the current route in Nebraska.
Bold Nebraska extends the invitation again to President Obama to look families in the eye whose livelihoods are at-risk with this tarsands pipeline. If he prefers not to talk pipeline, we can arrange to talk cattle, corn and protecting the Good Life.
More Info
Link to the Ellicott Dredge equipment that helps to make the tailing ponds: http://www.dredge.com/fly-ash-dredge-equipment-tailings/fly-ash-dredging-equipment.html
Tailing ponds are polluting Canada’s groundwater: http://desmog.ca/2013/02/18/tar-sands-tailings-contaminate-alberta-groundwater
Troubled Water report: http://www.pembina.org/pub/612
95% of water used in tarsands mining is polluted: http://oilsandsrealitycheck.org/facts
While Bold Nebraska and landowners will not be in Baltimore to greet the President, we understand citizens from 350.org will be on site and will post pictures at at: flickr.com/350org.
