Grandparents and youth who just walked 100 miles in ‘Summer Heat’ to call on President Obama to stop Keystone XL are welcomed by hundreds of supporters at White House rally

WASHINGTON, DC—On Saturday, grandparents, parents and youth culminated a 100-mile, eight-day march from Camp David to DC by rallying with hundreds of supporters in Lafayette Park across from the White House. They called on President Obama to keep his promises to children now and to future generations by rejecting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and moving toward independence from all fossil fuels.

“We’re all in this together. Of all people, grandparents need to be out there standing for future generations with a clear voice,” said Mahan Siler, a 78-year-old retired Baptist minister who walked from Harpers Ferry to DC and spoke at the rally. “The planet that my children and grandchildren are growing up in is already a more damaged planet than I knew. But today we also have the solutions to minimize the damage, and we’re telling the fossil fuel industry to move aside and let them take hold.”

Today’s rally and the Camp David to DC “Walk For Our Grandchildren,” which began last Friday at the peak of a sweltering heat wave, are part of a nationwide series of “Summer Heat” actions coordinated by 350.org and its partners.

In a related action, 54 activists were arrested yesterday for shutting down the DC offices of State Department contractor Environmental Resources Management (ERM). They protested the contractor’s role in writing the State Department’s Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline while failing to disclose major ties to the big oil companies that stand to profit for its construction.

Speakers at today’s rally included multiple generations of marchers who joined the trek to DC and 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben. Bryan Parras of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services spoke of the toxic pollution that the southern leg of Keystone XL will bring to Houston communities, and youth from iMatter shared stories of how climate change is already impacting their lives.

“As a member of the iMatter youth council and the youngest generation, I walked from Harpers Ferry to DC with my twin brother and my friends, and made new friends along the way,” said Garrett Serrels, age 17. “We all have one thing in common. We will be delivering our youth ‘Declaration of Independence from Fossil Fuels’ with over 50,000 signatures. We call on our president and our government to end the tyranny of fossil fuels that are destroying our future.”

Today’s rally represented one piece of a growing, nationwide movement to stop Keystone XL and spur bold action on climate change. Activists are confronting President Obama at nearly every stop across the country to urge him to reject Keystone XL as a climate disaster. This spring, the State Department received more than 1.2 million comments about the Keystone XL in response to its draft environmental analysis — the same review that was corrupted by ERM’s influence and grossly understates the pipeline’s impacts. And, on February 17, more than 50,000 people rallied in DC amid bitter cold temperatures to stop the pipeline and move forward on climate.

The rally was coordinated in partnership with 350.org’s “Summer Heat,” the Walk for Our Grandchildren, iMatter – Kids vs Global Warming, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Climate Parents and other partners.

CONTACT:
Kelly Trout, CCAN, 240-396-2022 (office), 717-439-0346, kelly@chesapeakeclimate.org
Daniel Kessler, 350.org, 510-501-1779, daniel@350.org

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