tar sands

Two weeks ago, 350.org put out a Congressional call to action and within 24hrs, 800,000 people answered by signing a petition demanding an end to Keystone XL. We delivered the those petitions to Congress itself, and the sight was pretty impressive. But we needed to make sure that Congress really heard us, and really understood that we mean business. So, while Senators were on recess in their home districts, we paid them a visit. And we brought our boxes of petitions with us.

On my list of New Year's resolutions, I have a lot of what you'd expect: go outside more, drink less coffee, try new music, learn how to play banjo. But there's one on there that sticks out - Stop the Keystone XL pipeline. At first blush, that seems like a rather lofty, atypical goal. But I guarantee you, I'm not the only one. Hundreds of thousands of people across the US and Canada have made this one of their New Year's resolutions (and I bet you're one of them).

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

This post originally appeared on the blog of the Population and Development Program, based in Amherst, MA, which works at the intersection of reproductive freedom, environmental justice and peace.

American environmentalists are declaring victory over the announcement that the United States will research alternate routes for the Keystone XL pipeline. While Obama’s announcement was an encouraging gesture, U.S.-based activists are in danger of missing the forest for the trees. We must look north, the source of tar sands oil, where First Nations people in Canada are directly confronting the accelerating fossil fuel expansion on their land, as we plan the next steps in our movement.