Bill McKibben on the Triumph of Activism in the Wake of the Delay of the Keystone XL

While Bill McKibben is among those who want the President to kill the Keystone XL project, he heralds the delay as a victory for environmental activists. Another delay means that oil is not flowing from Alberta to the Gulf Coast and that in and of itself is a great accomplishment.

“Every day we delay a decision is a day when 830,000 barrels of oil stays safely in the ground.” 350.org founder McKibben explained. He also went on to say that the fight will continue. “Together we’ve kept them at bay for three years now, and will continue to until perhaps the beginning of next year it seems,” McKibben said. “The climate fight can’t be delayed. We need to keep building the movement, and we need to keep putting heat on leaders like President Obama till we win not delay the decision on the Keystone XL pipeline.”

There is reason for anti-Keystone advocates to feel heartened. For three years they have managed to prevent the construction of the pipeline. As McKibben elaborated, “it’s a sweet reminder that when we stand up we win. Three years ago this pipeline was a done deal, and thanks to you it’s come steadily undone. We can’t match Exxon or the Koch Bros with money; we can and have matched them with passion, spirit, creativity and sacrifice.”

McKibben added, “if we stand together we will make a decisive difference.”

McKibben concluded by thanking the millions of people who work tirelessly to defeat the Keystone. “The last thing to say is thank you. You are the strength in this movement, and together we will make even more amazing things possible.”