Six Green Party mayors sign on to letter from over 100 mayors opposing Keystone XL tar sands pipeline

Six Green mayors (including three in California) have signed on to a joint letter to President Obama from more than 100 mayors expressing grave concerns about the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

The mayors, representing communities across the US, voiced relief at President Obama’s decision to postpone the decision, as well as hope that the permit for the pipeline will be rejected when it comes up for review after the presidential election.

A summary of the letter, a link to the text, and a list of the mayors can be found online here:http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/sclefkowitz/over_100_mayors_voice_concern.html

The Green mayors who signed the letter are Larry Bragman (Fairfax, Calif.), Bruce Delgado (Marina, Calif.), David Doonan (Greenwich, NY), Gayle McLaughlin (Richmond, Calif.), Jim Sullivan (Victory, NY), and Jason West (New Paltz, NY). (Mayor Bragman signed after the web site was published.)

“The delay in the Keystone XL decision is a victory for all those who protested and spoke out about the dangers of the pipeline,” said David Doonan. “The small number of jobs created by the pipeline do not justify the health risks of a pipeline carrying tar sands crude oil from Canada to the Gulf. We can create far more jobs through a national public works program that includes conversion to safe, clean energy technology. Besides the Keystone XL pipeline, the Green Party has called for a ban on hydrofracking, mountaintop removal mining, and offshore oil drilling, all of which increase fossil fuel addiction and represent serious public health risks.”

Richmond, with a population of about 103,000, is the largest US city with a Green mayor. Mayor Gayle McLaughlin made news recently when she enthusiastically welcomed Occupy protests to Richmond (http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2011/11/09/one-bay-area-mayor-welcomes-occupy-protests-to-her-city).

Mayor Jason West made national news in 2003 when he solemnized same-sex weddings as mayor in defiance of state law, drawing 19 misdemeanor counts (later dismissed) and a restraining order. Same-sex marriage was legalized in New York in July, 2011.

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, November 17, 2011

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

Green Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on energy policyhttp://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-energy.php

Green Party Election Results for November 2011
Green Party Watch http://www.greenpartywatch.org/2011/11/09/green-party-election-results-november-2011
Election Results Feed http://www.gp.org/elections/results-2011.php

See also:

Tar Sands Pipelines Safety Risks
National Resources Defense Council
http://www.nrdc.org/energy/tarsandssafetyrisks.asp

“Beyond Fossil Fuels”
By Cecile Lawrence, PhD, JD, New York Green Party candidate for US Senate in 2010
Green Papers, January 25, 2011
http://www.greenpapers.net/?p=58

MORE INFORMATION

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Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party’s 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the Green Party’s Livestream Channelhttp://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
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Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
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