Washington, DC—Hundreds of youth vote leaders from across the country are descending on Washington, DC this weekend to take part in a massive demonstration at the White House, urging President Obama, who recently took ownership of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline decision, to show true leadership and outright reject this potentially catastrophic project. Thousands of people plan to completely surround the White House to show President Obama that he has the support to reject the pipeline.

“President Obama has taken ownership for the Keystone XL pipeline and said that his primary concern in this process is what is best for the American people. Thousands of us are surrounding the White House to make it very clear that this pipeline is not what’s best for us,” said Courtney Hight, co-director of Energy Action Coalition. “Many, from college students to concerned grandparents, have been working on this issue for months. We’ve gathered outside the White House, along the pipeline route, and along President Obama’s campaign trail because this pipeline is bad for us, our friends, our families, and our futures.” 

Student and youth activists from across the country, including large delegations from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Missouri, will make the trip to the nation’s capitol after months of local actions, including rallies at Obama campaign fundraisers and speeches.

Many of the participants were volunteers or staff on the 2008 Obama Campaign, and are participating in the demonstration to call on President Obama to fulfill his campaign promises. “As a volunteer for his campaign in 2008, I dedicated my time and energy because I believed in President Obama’s bold vision for America’s clean energy future,” said Arielle Klagsbrun, a student at Washington University in St. Louis.  “Now I’m organizing to stop this pipeline and ensure that President Obama does the same.”

“President Obama promised to end the tyranny of oil,” said Eva Resnick-Day, a student at the University of Pittsburgh. “To fulfill that promise, President Obama must reject the Keystone XL pipeline. The young people who worked so hard to elect Obama in 2008 are looking to him to show the kind of bold leadership he promised and reject the pipeline, anything else would be a betrayal.” 

WHO: Thousands of environmental activists and Keystone XL pipeline opponents, including Energy Action Coalition

WHAT: Rally to “surround” the White House calling on President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline

WHEN: Sunday, November 6, 2011, 1 p.m.

WHERE: Lafayette Park, White House

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Energy Action Coalition is a coalition of 50 youth-led environmental and social justice groups working together to build the youth clean energy and climate movement. Working with hundreds of campus and youth groups, dozens of youth networks, and hundreds of thousands of young people, Energy Action Coalition and its partners have united a burgeoning movement behind winning local victories and coordinating on state, regional, and national levels in the United States and Canada.