WASHINGTON - May 14 - WHAT: Thousands will gather at coordinated events across the US.
Three weeks after the powerful “Reject and Protect” encampment in Washington, DC, and two weeks after release of the National Climate Assessment, Americans will take to bridges, beaches, refineries, and government offices to ask the president to reject the Keystone XL pipeline and other dirty fuel projects that threaten our communities and destabilize our climate. Urban, suburban and rural, from singing grannies to college students, ordinary citizens will urge our leaders to accelerate the transition to clean energy.
In Florida, many of the events will tell Senator Marco Rubio and other leaders to stop denying the science and acknowledge that humans are the cause of climate change.
Nearly 100 events are planned, here are some of the highlights:
South Dakota / Nebraska border: The Cowboy Indian Alliance, which led Reject and Protect in Washington, will symbolically block the border where the Keystone XL pipeline would cross from South Dakota into Nebraska.
South Beach, Miami:Particularly vulnerable to flooding and other climate impacts, is anticipated to be one of the largest events on May 17.
East Chicago: Rally at site of the recent BP tar sands refinery oil spill near Lake Michigan. Will feature a speaker from Kalamazoo, site of the massive 2010 tar sands spill.
Los Angeles: Hands Across the Harbor will gather at a refinery to say no to fracking and the export of tar sands through the Port of Los Angeles.
Minneapolis / St. Paul: Participants will join hands across the iconic Old Stone Arch Bridge that links the Twin Cities, symbolically blocking Alberta Clipper, another tar sands pipeline, planned to cross the Mississippi in two places.
Portland, ME: Speakers including the mayor will speak out against a proposed pipeline that would transport Canadian tar sands past Oswego Lake and Casco Bay.
San Francisco Bay: A Healing Walk organized by the Native American group Idle No More and supported by the Sunflower Coalition will begin at Tesoro and Shell refineries in Martinez and walk in prayer and conversation to a Valero refinery in Benicia. The walkers will be greeted at a bridge by a flotilla of kayaks and canoes.
Seattle:A gathering at a local waterfront park to highlight concerns about offshore drilling and the proposed shipping of tar sands oil out of Pacific NW ports.
Tampa Bay: At the #1 beach tourist destination in the U.S., participants will join hands against the Keystone XL pipeline and offshore drilling.
Denver: participants will gather at the state capitol to join hands against Keystone XL, fracking and other dirty fuels.
WHO: The Sierra Club and a long list of local and national partner organizations.
WHEN: Saturday, May 17, 2014
WHERE: Visit the National Day of Action website for a full list and description of events.
***VISUALS WILL INCLUDE SPEAKERS AND MARCHES, SIGNS AND BANNERS, HIGH PROFILE LEADERS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS AND COMMENTS. ### The Sierra Club is the oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892 in San Francisco, California by the well-known conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president. The Sierra Club has hundreds of thousands of members in chapters located throughout the US, and is affiliated with Sierra Club Canada.
