14 DAY TRIAL // Just yesterday, dozens of people gathered in front of the William J. Green Federal Building in Center City, Philadelphia, to protest the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
Protests against this project have been organized in the United States before, yet the one held in Philadelphia this past March 10 tends to stand out.
This is because the environmentalists who paid a visit to the William J. Green Federal Building did not bring just banners and the like with them. On the contrary, they came to the protest accompanied by brooms.
According to Eco Watch, they used these brooms to pretend to sweep out the corruption that they think is responsible for the fact that the State Department's latest report on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline says that this project will have a minimal environmental impact.
In this report, specialists working with the State Department argue that tar sands will be exploited with or without the Keystone XL pipeline.
Consequently, the project in itself cannot be argued to contribute to global warming and climate change, and might as well be given the green light.
The protesters in Philadelphia do not see things quite like this, and maintain that the only reason that the State Department's report is favorable to the Keystone XL project is because it was underwritten by a company linked to TransCanada and the oil industry.
The environmentalists expect President Barack Obama to take this piece of information into consideration when deciding whether or not the construction of the pipeline should be given the thumbs up.
“We’re in a deep hole with the climate. The President says he wants to help us climb out. But approving this pipeline would just dig the hole deeper,” Jonathan Lipman with 350 Philadelphia reportedly told the press in a statement.
“If we are serious about changing course on climate change, we must start reducing oil consumption and oil production now,” the environmentalist went on to argue.
Media reports say that, in the aftermath of this latest protest against the Keystone XL pipeline, over 20 people were taken into police custody. However, many of these folks say that speaking against this project is well worth the risk of being arrested.
“A few years ago I realized that all the things I do to secure my children’s future – from bringing them to the doctor for annual checkups to helping them with their homework—won’t mean anything if the climate they inherit is destroyed,” said Eileen Flanagan with Earth Quaker Action Team.
Furthermore, “I’m willing to risk being arrested to show President Obama that this issue is this important.”