It all began with a public letter (co-written by political
figures, farmers, environmental activists, Indigenous leaders,
and scientists) urging what is being described as the largest
act of civil disobedience for the climate ever launched in North
America. The mission is big: to stop the development of the
Keystone XL Pipeline project before it begins. The proposed
pipeline is to be 1500 miles long, transporting oil from
Alberta, Canada’s tarsands to Texas refineries. The resistance
to it comes from multiple directions. Some concerns include: the
likelihood of a spill, and the devastation that would result
from one; the continuing disruption of ways of life in
Indigenous communities that have been an ongoing and contentious
part of tar sands development; the fact that the completion of
this pipeline would move us farther from the possibility of a
stable climate (making implausible to stabilize climate and
avoid disastrous global impacts); and the increasing role of
corporate interests and practices in nation