MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact:
Emily Figdor, emily@environmentmaine.org, 207.253.1965
Gabby Brown, gabby@newpartners.com, 202.261.2382
National and Local Leaders Discuss Regional, National Implications of Maine Port City’s Historic Vote on Tar Sands Ordinance
Following a vote late last night that passed a historic ordinance blocking the loading of tar sands onto tankers at the only deep-water port on the U.S. East Coast that connects to crude oil pipelines, national environmental activists Bill McKibben and Jane Kleeb will join South Portland Mayor Jerry Jalbert and Maine citizen and environmental leaders to host a telephonic press conference on Tuesday, July 22, at 12:30 p.m. EST to discuss the regional and national impact of the vote.
South Portland’s Clear Skies Ordinance is intended to protect the coastal city of 25,000 from increased air pollution and from having its scenic coast, a pier between two historic lighthouses in Maine’s Casco Bay, transformed by two towering, 70-foot smokestacks.
Speakers on today’s call will discuss the significance of the city’s action, which was spurred by citizen organizing and successful despite big spending by the American Petroleum Institute and other oil interests, and connect it to other tar sands infrastructure fights in the United States and Canada.
WHAT: Conference call to discuss vote on historic tar sands ordinance in South Portland, Maine
WHEN: TODAY, July 22, at 12:30 p.m. ET
WHO:
- Bill McKibben, 350.org Board Chair and Co-founder
- South Portland Mayor Jerry Jalbert
- Mary-Jane Ferrier, Protect South Portland
- Emily Figdor, Director, Environment Maine
- Jane Kleeb, Director, Bold Nebraska
- Dylan Voorhees, Clean Energy Program Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine
