RFK, Jr. ARRESTED at WHITE HOUSE
RFK Jr. arrested with 'Blade
Runner' actress Daryl Hannah at White House protest
BY: TRACEY PARECE
RFK, Jr. was arrested along with "Blade Runner"
actress Daryl Hannah at a White House protest on Feb. 13, 2013 . The son of the late Robert F. Kennedy and the
former girlfriend of the late John F. Kennedy, Jr. were just two of the famous
faces among those arrested at the protest against the Keystone oil pipeline,
according to New York Daily News.
Activists from the Sierra Club cuffed themselves to a gate
at the White House during the protest just prior to being arrested. RFK, Jr.
was arrested after speaking to the crowd about the pipeline, which opponents
say will contribute to global warming while transporting "dirty oil"
from Canada Texas
Gulf Coast
RFK, Jr. was arrested along with his son Conor Kennedy also.
Conor was in the headlines quite a bit last year thanks to a whirlwind romance
with country songbird Taylor Swift, but their relationship ended just as
quickly as it began.
Tracey Parece, Boston
Tracey Parece is a professional writer, editor and
photographer from Boston , MA
Daryl Hannah, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrested at White House
protest against Keystone oil pipeline
The 'Blade Runner' actress and political scion were arrested
with activists from the Sierra Club protesting the $7 billion oil pipeline. The
protesters tied themselves to the White House gate before they were arrested.
Prominent environmental leaders, including the head of the
Sierra Club, were arrested Wednesday after tying themselves to the White House
gate to protest the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Executive director Michael Brune is the first Sierra Club
leader in the group's 120-year history to be arrested in an act of civil
disobedience. The club's board of directors approved the action as a sign of
their opposition to the $7 billion pipeline, which would carry oil derived from
tar sands in western Canada Texas Gulf
Coast
Activist Bill McKibben, actress Daryl Hannah, civil rights
leader Julian Bond and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also were
arrested Wednesday, along with several dozen other activists.
The protesters are demanding that President
Barack Obama reject the pipeline, which they say would carry
"dirty oil" that contributes to global warming. They also worry about
a spill.
Many business and labor groups support the 1,700-mile
pipeline as a source of jobs and a step toward North American energy
independence.
The 4-year-old project has become a flashpoint in the debate
over climate change, with opponents labeling it a "carbon bomb" that
could trigger global warming. Supporters call that rhetoric overblown and say
Obama should approve the pipeline as part of his "all of the above"
energy policy, which encourages a wide range of domestic energy development.
The high-profile protest came as the American Petroleum
Institute is making a renewed push to convince President Obama to approve the
project.
In an interview before his arrest, Brune said it was
important that he engage in civil disobedience to show the depth of opposition
to the pipeline among Sierra Club members. The club is the oldest and largest
environmental group in the United States
"We want to send a strong message that we expect the
president's ambitions to meet the scale of the challenge and reject a pipeline
that carries dirty, thick oil" that contributes to global warming, Brune
said. The president's supporters want Obama to "fight with both
fists" against climate change, Brune said.
Obama has called climate change a serious threat and urged
Congress to combat the phenomenon in his State of the Union speech Tuesday
night. If Congress fails to act, he will use executive authority to take steps
to cut greenhouse gas pollution and encourage increased use of cleaner sources
of energy, Obama said.
Obama has twice thwarted the Keystone XL pipeline because of
concerns over its route through sensitive land in Nebraska Nebraska
Wednesday's protest came hours before the American Petroleum
Institute, the largest lobbying group for the oil industry, again urged Obama
to approve the project. The group said it will pay for ads supporting the
pipeline and will mobilize grassroots events across the country urging Obama's
approval.
RFK Jr., Daryl Hannah among 48 arrested at KXL protest
Media cameras and reporters outnumbered participants during
the protest — a far cry from the 2011 protests.
“It feels odd to be back,” said Bill McKibben of the climate
activist group 350.org, who had organized the earlier sit-ins. “Eighteen months
ago, no one knew about the Keystone XL pipeline. I spent all of my time just
explaining what it was. The other day, Daniel Yergin, the noted energy
historian, said this was the most famous pipeline in history, and it hasn’t
even been built yet. So in that way, we did our job if nothing else.”
For all the raised awareness about Keystone, President
Barack Obama has stayed mum on the pipeline proposal, which is being reviewed
by the State Department. Secretary of State John Kerry — known as a climate
hawk during his years in the Senate — has refused to tip his hand since taking
the helm at State, vowing only to follow the review process put in place under
his predecessor, Hillary Clinton.
Obama didn’t mention the pipeline during his State of the
Union address Tuesday evening, but he spoke extensively about the
responsibility to do more to combat global warming.
The tough talk seemed to warm some hearts and puzzle others
at the rally.
“Nobody talked about climate change in the campaign, so it
was good to hear him say it,” said Bond, the NAACP’s chairman emeritus. “But
now we want to see some action. We want to see him do something about the
things he talked about so eloquently.”
Bond said the NAACP got involved because climate change
isn’t just an environmental issue — it’s also a racial and human rights issue
because minority communities are “mostly the victims of bad environmental
policies.”
The protest is Bond’s fifth arrest in connection with civil
rights, he said.
Hannah participated in the first White House Keystone arrests
in 2011 and has also been arrested in Texas
“Unfortunately, because we haven’t responded to the crisis
with the type of attention and action that we should have, we’re here again,”
she said.
Protesters wearing “No KXL” buttons chanted, “Hey, Obama, we
don’t want no climate drama” and “Barack Obama, yes you can stop the dirty
pipeline plan” as they watched the other activists being arrested. Obama
couldn’t hear the chants — he was in North Carolina
Activists have kicked their efforts into high gear this
week. On Monday, climate activists read and delivered an open letter and two
petitions signed by roughly 280,000 people urging Obama to lay out a plan to
tackle climate change. Many of the activists will return to Washington Washington
Monument
Darius Dixon contributed to this report.
Media cameras and reporters outnumbered participants during
the protest — a far cry from the 2011 protests.
“It feels odd to be back,” said Bill McKibben of the climate
activist group 350.org, who had organized the earlier sit-ins. “Eighteen months
ago, no one knew about the Keystone XL pipeline. I spent all of my time just
explaining what it was. The other day, Daniel Yergin, the noted energy
historian, said this was the most famous pipeline in history, and it hasn’t
even been built yet. So in that way, we did our job if nothing else.”
For all the raised awareness about Keystone, President
Barack Obama has stayed mum on the pipeline proposal, which is being reviewed
by the State Department. Secretary of State John Kerry — known as a climate
hawk during his years in the Senate — has refused to tip his hand since taking
the helm at State, vowing only to follow the review process put in place under
his predecessor, Hillary Clinton.
Obama didn’t mention the pipeline during his State of the
Union address Tuesday evening, but he spoke extensively about the
responsibility to do more to combat global warming.
The tough talk seemed to warm some hearts and puzzle others
at the rally.
“Nobody talked about climate change in the campaign, so it
was good to hear him say it,” said Bond, the NAACP’s chairman emeritus. “But
now we want to see some action. We want to see him do something about the
things he talked about so eloquently.”
Bond said the NAACP got involved because climate change
isn’t just an environmental issue — it’s also a racial and human rights issue
because minority communities are “mostly the victims of bad environmental
policies.”
The protest is Bond’s fifth arrest in connection with civil
rights, he said.
Hannah participated in the first White House Keystone
arrests in 2011 and has also been arrested in Texas
“Unfortunately, because we haven’t responded to the crisis
with the type of attention and action that we should have, we’re here again,”
she said.
Protesters wearing “No KXL” buttons chanted, “Hey, Obama, we
don’t want no climate drama” and “Barack Obama, yes you can stop the dirty
pipeline plan” as they watched the other activists being arrested. Obama
couldn’t hear the chants — he was in North Carolina
Activists have kicked their efforts into high gear this
week. On Monday, climate activists read and delivered an open letter and two
petitions signed by roughly 280,000 people urging Obama to lay out a plan to
tackle climate change. Many of the activists will return to Washington Washington
Monument
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