After a weak 16 minute beginning of the Pipeline Special Session and no sign of Governor Heineman, we were not happy with the leadership from the top elected official in our state. We were beyond surprised and delighted to see President Obama fill that void with bold leadership. Please thank President Obama and urge him to stand up to big oil and stand with Randy by protecting our land, water and health of American citizens. It is time to deny TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline permit.
In an exclusive interview with KETV (video on KETV site), President Obama picked up Heineman’s slack on the Keystone XL pipeline.
Obama told Rob McCartney:
“The State Department’s in charge of analyzing this, because there’s a pipeline coming in from Canada. They’ll be giving me a report over the next several months, and, you know, my general attitude is, what is best for the American people? What’s best for our economy both short term and long term? But also, what’s best for the health of the American people? Because we don’t want for example aquifers, they’re adversely affected, folks in Nebraska obviously would be directly impacted, and so we want to make sure we’re taking the long view on these issues.
“We need to encourage domestic oil and natural gas production. We need to make sure that we have energy security and aren’t just relying on Middle East sources. But there’s a way of doing that and still making sure that the health and safety of the American people and folks in Nebraska are protected, and that’s how I’ll be measuring these recommendations when they come to me.”
McCartney asked Obama if the potential for jobs was a part of decision-making equation.
“It does, but I think folks in Nebraska like all across the country aren’t going to say to themselves, ‘We’ll take a few thousand jobs if it means that our kids are potentially drinking water that would damage their health or rich land that’s so important to agriculture in Nebraska are being adversely affected’ because those create jobs, and you know when somebody gets sick that’s a cost that the society has to bear as well. So these are all things that you have to take a look at when you make these decisions.”
Action:
Email, tweet, or call the President at 202-456-1111.
Thank President Obama for leading the way to protect our land, water and health. Getting America on a path to energy independence starts with denying TransCanada’s Keystone XL permit and beginning to connect the effects of dirty oil and climate change. We can create energy and create jobs while protecting our land, water and health.
