For Immediate Release
March 18, 2013

Contact:
Kelly Trout, 240-396-2022, kelly@chesapeakeclimate.org; Molly Haigh, 907-750-1999

Dozens of Students, CCAN, 350.org, EAC join forces to demand Warner oppose toxic pipeline

RICHMOND, VA—With a vote on the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline looming in the US Senate, dozens of concerned Virginians rallied outside Sen. Mark Warner’s office today to demand that he vote against the project. While the senator has been vocal about his concern for climate change in the past, constituents wanted a guarantee that he stands with them in opposing a toxic pipeline top climate scientists have referred to as “game over for the climate.”

“The Keystone XL pipeline is the number one threat to finally ending our addiction to oil and stopping climate change,” said Kara Dodson, 350 organizer. “Our elected representatives, including Mark Warner, are condemning current and future generations from a livable future if they approve this pipeline. Senator Warner should be focusing on clean energy jobs instead of the Keystone XL pipe dream.”

The protestors, including students and members of Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 350.org, and the Energy Action Coalition, marched downtown to Sen. Warner’s office with a giant “Vote NO XL” banner and signs calling on the Senator to stand up for the climate instead of Big Oil.

“In Virginia, we are already suffering the consequences of climate change,” said Emily Heffling, Campus organizer with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “The Chesapeake Bay is ranked the 3rd most vulnerable to sea level rise, behind Louisiana and Southern Florida—we simply cannot wait any longer to take action to fight climate change. We are looking to Senator Warner to build our clean energy future rather than continue to cater to the dirty fossil fuel industries that are feeding greenhouse gasses into our atmosphere.”

The fight to stop the Keystone XL pipeline has escalated dramatically in the past few months. Only a month ago, 40,000 people—including many Virginians—took the streets of Washington, DC and made it loud and clear to President Obama that Keystone XL cannot and will not be built. Just one week ago, a group of 25 blockaded TransCanada’s office in Westborough, Massachusetts. Virginians involved in the fight had once considered Sen. Warner an ally, but are now concerned he has allied himself instead with fossil fuel industry profits.

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