Keystone XL tar sands pipeline - Nebraska protects the Sandhills, now let's protect the climate

There were new developments last night in the Keystone XL pipeline campaign with TransCanada giving in to the concerns of the people of Nebraska and conceding to reroute the pipeline away from the Nebraska Sandhills. This is a victory for the people of Nebraska who are so deeply concerned about the health of their cattle, farms, and children. It is amazing what a company can do when the American people tell them “no”. Just a short while ago, TransCanada was threatening to sue Nebraska over the possible rerouting of the pipeline. Now we need TransCanada to listen to the American people tell them “no” to the pipeline as a whole. What Nebraska will see is that there is not safe route for a leaky tar sands pipeline through any of their farms and communities. And what the nation knows is that we can’t fight climate change and build yet another tar sands oil pipeline.

Nebraska is in the middle of a special legislative session to give the people the authority to determine where this pipeline could go in the state. Any environmental review of alternative routes, including the no route option, in Nebraska will feed into the fresh review that we have been promised at the federal level. The Nebraska review will look at Nebraska’s interests in clean water and healthy farmland. The federal review will look at the nation’s interest in clean water, combating climate change and other environmental concerns.

Read more from our partners at Bold Nebraska:  http://boldnebraska.org/langmeier-out-dubas-in

And for all those in Nebraska whose farms and ranches are now safe from the terror of an oil spill – well done and keep your voices raised for your neighbors and to help protect us all from climate change.