Bill McKibben to Obama: Say No to Big Oil

http://billmoyers.com/episode/bill-mckibben-to-obama-say-no-to-big-oil/

After the State Department issued a long-awaited environmental impact statement on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline last week, environmentalists and those opposed to the 1,179-mile pipeline have intensified their push for the Obama administration to reject the project.

This week, Bill Moyers talks with Bill McKibben, an activist who has dedicated his life to saving the planet from environmental collapse, about his hopes that Americans will collectively pressure Obama to stand up to big oil.

“Most people understand that we’re in a serious fix,” McKibben tells Moyers, “There’s nothing you can do as individuals that will really slow down this juggernaut … You can say the same thing about the challenges faced by people in the civil rights or the abolition movement, or the gay rights movement or the women’s movement. In each case, a movement arose; if we can build a movement, then we have a chance.”

Producer: Candace White. Segment Producer: Robert Booth. Interview Editor: Rob Kuhns. Intro Editor: Sikay Tang.

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http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/02/07-10

Published on Friday, February 7, 2014 by Common Dreams

Bill McKibben: We 'Dont Trust' Obama on Climate Change

Environmental leader says Obama can stand up for the planet's health or fossil fuel industry, but his legacy will suffer horribly if he chooses wrong

- Jon Queally, staff writer

In an interview with veteran journalist Bill Moyers set to air Friday evening, author and 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben, a key voice in the climate justice movement, says that President Obama's looming decision to approve or reject the Keystone XL tar sands will be the ultimate indicator of whether his loyalties reside with the health of the planet and future generations or with the desires and financial interests of the fossil fuel industry.

According to McKibben, the climate movement does not trust Obama to do the right thing on the pipeline, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence and outpouring of opposition to the tar sands project. "He's done some good things, but his record is mixed at best," McKibben tells Moyers. "And he will be remembered at the moment, as the president who produced more carbon than anybody thought possible, unless he begins to act now with real power."

Articulating the very precise moment that we're in and why the stakes surrounding Keystone XL and our overall relationship to fossil fuels are so dramatically heightened at the moment, McKibben says:

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