Obama

When I heard the news that the Keystone XL pipeline had finally been rejected my first thought was “It’s about damn time!” I rushed to a computer to peruse articles in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the BBC, Politico, everywhere I turned was buzzing with updates from our unlikely narrative. An update of our resounding victory and the power that every single one of you has within. But this is simply one small part of this remarkable tale. In order to fully understand what we have just accomplished we must go back to where it began...

Across the nation, youth and communities have been saying what we rarely ever get to say: Thank you.

Thank you for not giving into the overwhelming pressures from Big Oil. Thank you for considering the people as the force to be reckoned with. Thank you for making room to take bold energy steps. Thank you, Obama, for the Keystone XL delay.

But this thank you came with promises to keep working toward clean, renewable sources of energy, and to continue fighting for the full rejection of the pipeline. While no one conceeeds that this is a full victory, they are acknowledging the fortitude it took to issue the delay.

This was a clear message by folks all over the US that Americans will continue to support the Administration's moves to in the right direction. That they will continue to create opportunities for an Administration that puts people before dirty corporations.

Tough decisions take hard work, and the many thank yous recognized that, but also gave a firm, unmistakable message: you must continue to do the right thing.

Take a look at a handful of thank yous that are streaming in, then take one of your group and share it with the world!

Earlham College - Richmond, IN

So... this is unprecedented.

In only a few short months we, the youth, the people of North America, the world, made the most powerful government on Earth turn on a dime nearly 180 degrees. We delayed the Keystone XL pipeline, overcame TransCanada, made Obama think twice, and (technically) won.

Take a step back and just soak it in:

People power works.

Four years ago I and 6,000 others attended PowerShift 2007, the first and then-largest activist youth climate conference. Exactly one year before the 2008 election, the youth climate movement left that conference determined to raise the prominence of climate change as one of the key issues in the election. Environmentalists and young voters were very influential in the outcome of electing Obama to be our president.

Now, Obama’s lack of a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline makes us wonder if he’ll stand up to Big Oil, free “America from the tyranny of oil”, break our addiction to fossil fuels, and fight climate change like Obama promised he’d do if he was elected President in 2008.