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Media Advisory, September 20, 2013

Contact: Mollie Matteson, (802) 318-1487, mmatteson@biologicaldiversity.org

Middlebury Rally Set for Saturday to Draw the Line Against Dirty Fuels

Activists Oppose Keystone XL, Vermont Gas, Portland-Montreal pipelines

MIDDLEBURY, Vt.— Local activists from the Center for Biological Diversity will join members of 350 Vermont, Rising Tide and other concerned citizens in a midday rally on Saturday in Middlebury to voice their opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, the Vermont Gas pipeline, the Portland-Montreal tar sands pipeline, and other extreme fossil fuel development.

The event, part of a national day of action in which communities will “draw the line” against dangerous climate change, features a speech by Gus Speth, an author, law school professor and former environmental advisor to two presidents.

WHAT: Local activists, including members of the Center for Biological Diversity, 350 Vermont, and Rising Tide will gather at the Middlebury town green to send a loud message to President Obama and state and local decision-makers that Vermont does not support the Keystone pipeline or any other projects that worsen the climate crisis. Speakers include Gus Speth, law professor at Vermont Law School and author of The Bridge at the End of the World.

WHEN: Noon-2 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 21.

WHERE: Middlebury town green, Route 7.

VISUALS: Attendees will form a human “line” around the green to symbolize the line they are drawing against Keystone XL and other dangerous extreme energy development, such as those currently proposed for the Northeast Kingdom and Champlain Valley of Vermont. Speakers include Gus Speth of Vermont Law School, and local activists fighting new pipeline projects.

TOPICS: Keystone XL pipeline, the fracked gas Vermont Gas pipeline, the proposed Portland-Montreal pipeline reversal to allow Alberta tar sands oil to flow to Portland, Vermont’s fracking ban, the state’s emissions reduction goals, pollution from tar sands pipelines and climate change.

“We’re here to say that Keystone XL, fracked gas from Canada and a tar sands pipeline running through the Northeast Kingdom are unacceptable to Vermonters. These projects threaten our climate and our future,” said Mollie Matteson, a wildlife biologist and conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity in Richmond, Vt. “President Obama needs to know that Vermonters don’t support these pipelines and we will not tolerate further delays on climate change action.”

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 625,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


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