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Nurses Welcome Veto of Keystone XL Pipeline Bill
National Nurses United today welcomed President Obama’s veto of the Congressional legislative efforts to force the construction of the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline from the forests of Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico. Photo: Raji Ward RN speaks at KXL Veto Action.
“With this veto the President has made an important statement on a project that poses a significant threat to public health and the climate crisis,” said NNU Co-President Karen Higgins. “That’s the leadership we need from the Administration. Now we urge the President to take the next step and further announce the U.S. will formally reject approval of the pipeline itself.”
“The minuscule number of jobs it would create are far outweighed by the enormous damage that this project creates to our health and in accelerating the climate crisis,” said Higgins.
While some contend that transporting the dirty tar sands oil by pipeline is safer than shipping it by rail or tanker, there have been five pipeline explosions across the country since January. Moreover, NNU has always said the totality of the damage from the mining, refining, and transport of tar sands are all reasons for the pipeline to be rejected.
Tar sands mining pollutants have been linked to cancer, leukemia, genetic damage, and birth defects. Tar sands pipeline spills have beset local residents with cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurological, and respiratory impacts, as well as persistent coughs, headaches, nausea, eye and skin problems.
Tar sands refining has been linked to ailments of the nervous and respiratory systems. Dust storms in Chicago and Detroit off piles of petcoke, the byproduct of tar sands refining, have coated homes and areas where children play and raised concerns about heart attacks, decreased lung function, asthma, already at epidemic levels in America, and premature death.
“Transporting 860,000 barrels of carcinogenic, flammable tar sands might be good for the Koch brothers,” Higgins said, “but it is certainly bad for the rest of us.”
Press Release: February 24, 2015
http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/entry/nurses-welcome-veto-of-keystone-xl-pipeline-bill/
National Nurses United
http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/
“The minuscule number of jobs it would create are far outweighed by the enormous damage that this project creates to our health and in accelerating the climate crisis,” said Higgins.
While some contend that transporting the dirty tar sands oil by pipeline is safer than shipping it by rail or tanker, there have been five pipeline explosions across the country since January. Moreover, NNU has always said the totality of the damage from the mining, refining, and transport of tar sands are all reasons for the pipeline to be rejected.
Tar sands mining pollutants have been linked to cancer, leukemia, genetic damage, and birth defects. Tar sands pipeline spills have beset local residents with cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurological, and respiratory impacts, as well as persistent coughs, headaches, nausea, eye and skin problems.
Tar sands refining has been linked to ailments of the nervous and respiratory systems. Dust storms in Chicago and Detroit off piles of petcoke, the byproduct of tar sands refining, have coated homes and areas where children play and raised concerns about heart attacks, decreased lung function, asthma, already at epidemic levels in America, and premature death.
“Transporting 860,000 barrels of carcinogenic, flammable tar sands might be good for the Koch brothers,” Higgins said, “but it is certainly bad for the rest of us.”
Press Release: February 24, 2015
http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/entry/nurses-welcome-veto-of-keystone-xl-pipeline-bill/
National Nurses United
http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/
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If you think Democrat Obama cares about the environment, you live in a fantasy land. Obama was in the US Senate and remains a staunch supporter of nuclear power and fossil fuel energy sources. He did his best to cover up the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in which 11 workers were killed by British Petroleum and a vast area destroyed by the oil because Democrat Obama catered to the wishes of British Petroleum's phony clean-up instead of demanding the environmentalists' method of cleaning up the oil mess.
Democrat Obama has let this issue go until now, when presidential campaigns are starting. Obama's own State Department (the pipeline comes from Canada) has approved the pipeline. Many Democrats in both houses support the pipeline. So, this is just a publicity stunt, and we will see lots of publicity stunts until November 2016. The pipeline can be attached to another bill if it does not get an override-of-the-veto vote.
No one in their right mind welcomes anything from Democrat Obama as his act should be apparent by now. He is just the front man for the capitalist class, which is always anti-labor by definition. If you want serious support for labor and the environment, you have to register and vote Peace & Freedom or Green. If you want socialized medicine, as do all serious health professionals, you have to register and vote Peace & Freedom or Green. Obama's Obamacare is simply a gift to the insurance companies. Most of the people who signed up cannot afford the plan as they cannot afford to pay the $4,000 and up deductibles. And, of course, there are still 41 million uninsured and 42.9 million Americans have unpaid medical bills. Medical bankruptcy is still serious. You can register online at https://covr.sos.ca.gov/?language=en-US
For more information, see:
http://www.peaceandfreedom.org/home/
http://www.peaceandfreedom.org/home/about-us/platform/full-platform
http://www.cagreens.org/
http://www.cagreens.org/platform
http://www.gp.org/index.php
http://greenpapers.net/why-i-would-support-stein-over-sanders/
(In addition, Bernie Sanders voted for aid to Israel during the July 2014 Gaza Massacre.)
http://www.gp.org/what-we-believe/our-platform
Democrat Obama has let this issue go until now, when presidential campaigns are starting. Obama's own State Department (the pipeline comes from Canada) has approved the pipeline. Many Democrats in both houses support the pipeline. So, this is just a publicity stunt, and we will see lots of publicity stunts until November 2016. The pipeline can be attached to another bill if it does not get an override-of-the-veto vote.
No one in their right mind welcomes anything from Democrat Obama as his act should be apparent by now. He is just the front man for the capitalist class, which is always anti-labor by definition. If you want serious support for labor and the environment, you have to register and vote Peace & Freedom or Green. If you want socialized medicine, as do all serious health professionals, you have to register and vote Peace & Freedom or Green. Obama's Obamacare is simply a gift to the insurance companies. Most of the people who signed up cannot afford the plan as they cannot afford to pay the $4,000 and up deductibles. And, of course, there are still 41 million uninsured and 42.9 million Americans have unpaid medical bills. Medical bankruptcy is still serious. You can register online at https://covr.sos.ca.gov/?language=en-US
For more information, see:
http://www.peaceandfreedom.org/home/
http://www.peaceandfreedom.org/home/about-us/platform/full-platform
http://www.cagreens.org/
http://www.cagreens.org/platform
http://www.gp.org/index.php
http://greenpapers.net/why-i-would-support-stein-over-sanders/
(In addition, Bernie Sanders voted for aid to Israel during the July 2014 Gaza Massacre.)
http://www.gp.org/what-we-believe/our-platform
It's not over yet - stopping the oil bomb trains ... the' safer' alternative being proposed is more pipelines...
Lawmaker proposes pipeline to ferry oil across state
A Spokane state senator proposes to build a pipeline across the state to carry oil now being ferried ... It isn't explicitly laid out in state law that the council has authority to research a hypothetical pipeline ... which transports North Dakota oil through Washington state, ...
seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/lawmaker-propose
Lawmaker proposes pipeline to ferry oil across state
A Spokane state senator proposes to build a pipeline across the state to carry oil now being ferried ... It isn't explicitly laid out in state law that the council has authority to research a hypothetical pipeline ... which transports North Dakota oil through Washington state, ...
seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/lawmaker-propose
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