FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jamie Nolan, 410-463-9869, jamie@chesapeakeclimate.org
WASHINGTON, DC — Mike Tidwell, Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), today praised a letter sent by Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen to President Obama concerning the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline. Van Hollen, a noted environmental defender, is currently ranking member on the House Budget Committee and a member of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.
“Congressman Van Hollen’s leadership on the Keystone XL pipeline issue is welcome and appreciated,” Tidwell said. “His letter today to the White House raises key concerns involving increased greenhouse gas emissions, pipeline safety and public health impacts. CCAN urges President Obama to take Van Hollen’s letter seriously.”
In the letter, Van Hollen writes about the need for “closer scrutiny before any final national interest determination on the project is made.” While the State Department has issued its own Environmental Impact Statement, Van Hollen notes that eight executive branch agencies – including the Environmental Protection Agency — must still “review and comment” before a final determination can be made.
Concern over the Keystone XL oil pipeline has been growing rapidly over the last month, galvanized by the arrests of 1,252 people at the White House between August 20 – September 3. Learn more at www.tarsandsaction.org.
Read Rep. Van Hollen’s letter to President Obama here.
The Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) is the first grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to fighting global warming in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Our mission is to build and mobilize a powerful grassroots movement in this unique region that surrounds our nation’s capital to call for state, national and international policies that will put us on a path to climate stability. Learn more at www.chesapeakeclimate.org.
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