[GPCA Updates] GP RELEASE - Jill Stein, Green for President: Keystone Delay Shows Need for More Action

[Green Party of California Updates]

(Forwarded)

November 14, 2011

Jill Stein for President
http://www.jillstein.org
Media Release

For more info: Marnie Glickman, 415-259-7121, marnie.glickman at gmail.com
Gloria Mattera, 917-886-4538, gmattera at gmail.com


Praising Activist's Victory on Keystone Pipeline,
Stein calls Obama delay a ploy, and urges continued pressure


Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein congratulated climate change
activists for forcing the Obama Administration to back away from quick
approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

"Only six weeks ago it was clear that the Obama Administration was willing to
open the door to a measure that spelled climate disaster. What changed was not
a sudden outbreak of environmental concern in the Administration, but a cold
political calculation that approval could cost the President votes if taken
before the 2012 presidential election."

As part of her comprehensive plan to combat climate change, Stein has proposed
a "Green New Deal" that would create millions of green jobs through investment
in weatherization, renewable energy, clean manufacturing, sustainable
agriculture, public transportation and reforestation.

The Green New Deal, according to Stein, would be paid for by redirecting
trillions of dollars being squandered on wars for oil, Wall Street bailouts,
and tax breaks for the wealthy. She says she will also end the Obama
Administration's subsidies for "clean coal" schemes.

"Climate change is a ticking time bomb. But instead of taking decisive action
to protect us against the danger, the Obama Administration is studying which
route to take on the way to the destruction of our climate. The political
pressure that stayed Obama's hand this week is exactly what we need to stop
all the climate-destroying schemes being supported by the Administration and
instead put people to work building a carbon-free, secure, and sustainable
energy future."

Stein noted that "Thursday's statement from the State Department makes it
clear that the sticking point in their minds is the route of the pipeline.
This fails utterly to address the critical issue - which is the amount of
carbon that will be exhausted into the atmosphere from the Canadian tar sands.
No matter which route is taken, this pipeline is a disaster for the planet. No
further study is needed to come to this conclusion."

Stein expressed the belief, shared by many climate activists, that Obama's
delay is basically a ploy to avoid inciting the outrage of climate activists
before the election. "If there is anything we have learned, it is that
President Obama is skilled at articulating environmental concerns and then
betraying our hopes," she said.

As examples of tough talk followed by capitulation, Stein cited Obama's
permitting of mountaintop removal by coal companies in Appalachia and the
resumption of offshore oil leases following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in
the Gulf of Mexico.

As signs that the battle is not over, Stein noted statements from Keystone XL
developer Transcanada saying that they remained confident that the pipeline
will eventually be approved. She also noted that another pipeline company is
planning to import oil from tar sands using a pipeline that will not need
State Department approval.

Three weeks ago Stein launched her campaign by announcing plans to be on the
ballot in over 40 states. She said she hoped her candidacy would provide extra
leverage for climate activists seeking to halt destructive projects.
"President Obama's campaign strategists now realize that environmental voters
can't be taken for granted because the Green Party is going to provide those
voters with a truly green alternative. That creates a dynamic that makes
environmental lobbying much more effective."

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Paid for and authorized by Jill Stein for President