Reject and Protect

A Major Anti-Keystone Protest, And Other Important Climate Stories

This year’s Earth Day coincides with the start of a week-long protest against the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline that promise a “bold and creative” instance of civil disobedience. The Cowboy and Indian Alliance (CIA), a group of ranchers, farmers and indigenous leaders from along the pipeline route, will ride into Washington, DC and host an encampment on the National Mall, culminating Saturday in a 5,000-person ceremonial walk by the Capitol. The protest is called “Reject and Protect.”

Just last week, the State Department announced that it is delaying its decision on whether to construct the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. And while many pipeline supporters claim there are good reasons to think it was a politically motivated choice, according to Climate Progress, there are also “actual complications standing in the way of the pipeline’s imminent approval or rejection.”

In honor of Earth Day, here are some other top climate stories:

• Let’s Rename Earth Day. Affection for our planet is misdirected and unrequited. We need to focus on saving ourselves.
• The New Abolitionism. Averting planetary disaster will mean forcing fossil fuel companies to give up at least $10 trillion in wealth, writes Chris Hayes.
• Because Of Tar Sands, Energy Is Now Canada’s Biggest Greenhouse Gas Source. The Canadian tar sands are the key ingredient for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Canada is unlikely to achieve its 2020 climate pollution reduction goal, while the U.S. is on track to meet the same reduction target.
• Two Degrees: How The World Failed On Climate Change. By 2009, the world agreed that it shouldn’t let average global temperatures rise more than 2°C above those before the dawn of industrialization. Now, that goal looks increasingly delusional.
• Not a Single Republican Has Mentioned Earth Day in Congress Since 2010. Two reporters mine the Congressional Record for partisanship on environmental matters.
• Four Years After The BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, The Gulf Of Mexico Is Still Suffering. The spill has led to increased erosion off the Louisiana coast and has destroyed existing habitats for nesting birds.
• Keystone Pipeline May Be Big, But This Is Bigger. The Keystone pipeline would significantly boost climate pollution. But soon-to-be-proposed E.P.A. rules to limit climate pollution from power plants and heavy trucks, and treaty talks to get other nations to do the same, also have the potential to determine President Obama’s environmental legacy.