Dn! In Depth

Keystone XL Oil Pipeline

Democracy Now!’s coverage of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, which awaits a permitting decision from the Obama administration amidst widespread opposition. Refresh this page to see updates in our live blog below.

Top Stories

  • Xl_protest
    A standoff is underway in Texas over construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would run oil from the Canadian tar sands fields to U.S. refineries on the Gulf Coast. In a protest...
    Oct 15, 2012 | Story
  • Climate-new1-1
    We play highlights from the "Forward on Climate" rally that drew tens of thousands to Washington D.C.'s National Mall Sunday. Protesters from across the United States and Canada...
    Feb 18, 2013 | Story
  • Keystone_debate_button
    Thousands of environmental activists from across the continent plan to gather in Washington, D.C., tomorrow to launch a two-week protest against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that would...
    Aug 19, 2011 | Story
  • Mckibben_keystone_button

    Over 160 Arrested in Ongoing Civil Disobedience Against Keystone XL Tar Sands Oil Pipeline

    Fifty-two environmental activists were arrested Monday in front of the White House as part of an ongoing protest calling on the Obama administration to reject a permit for the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline project, which would deliver Canada tar sands oil to refineries in Texas, and rather focus on developing clean energy. An estimated 2,000 people have signed up to hold sit-ins and commit other acts of civil disobedience outside the White House...
    Aug 23, 2011 | Story
  • Mckibben_climatechange_butt

    Bill McKibben: Will Hurricane Irene Be a Wake-Up Call about Climate Change?

    Hurricane Irene received a massive amount media coverage, but television reports made little or no reference to the role global warming played in the storm. We speak with someone with his eye on climate change and its impact. "We’ve had not only this extraordinary flooding, but on the same day that Hurricane Irene was coming down, Houston set its all-time temperature record, 109 degrees," says Bill McKibben, co-founder and director...
    Aug 29, 2011 | Story
  • White-house-pipeline_web

    10,000 Surround White House to Protest Keystone XL Tar Sands Oil Pipeline

    More than 10,000 protesters surrounded the White House on Sunday calling on President Obama to reject the proposed Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast. The protest came exactly a year before the 2012 election, and the pipeline is shaping up to be a major political issue. Last week, President Obama said for the first time he will make the final decision on whether to approve the controversial 1,700-mile pipeline proposed...
    Nov 07, 2011 | Story

  • "Keystone XL: Ring Around the Rose Garden" By Amy Goodman

    Since President Barack Obama took office, a broad, international coalition against has formed against the planned Keystone XL pipeline, intended to run from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast of Texas. Now the deadline for its approval or rejection is at hand.
    Nov 09, 2011 | Columns & Articles
  • Cop17_tar_sands_action

    Indigenous Activists from Canada Protest Tar Sands Oil at Durban Climate Change Summit

    This morning in Durban, South Africa, a group of youth and indigenous activists from Canada gave delegates to the U.N. climate talks mock gift bags containing samples of fake tar sands along with tourism brochures for Canada and Canadian flags. Kandi Mossett, one of the activists participating in the action, says Canada’s reliance on tar sands oil "is the largest catastrophic project that I am aware of on earth right now." Mossett,...
    Dec 06, 2011 | Story
  • Canada_youth_delegation_cop17

    Canadian Activists Barred from Durban Summit for Protesting Environment Minister

    Canada’s Minister of Environment Peter Kent addressed the United Nations Climate Change Conference today and defended his country’s environmental record despite Canada’s support of continued tar sands oil extraction and its threat to pull out of the Kyoto Protocol. Soon after Kent began speaking, six members of the Canadian Youth Delegation stood up and turned their backs on the minister. They were taken out of the room and later...
    Dec 07, 2011 | Story
  • Tarsands-4

    As Texas Pipeline Blockade Continues, Activists Challenge First U.S. Tar Sands Strip Mine in Utah

    As a direct action blockade of the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline continues in Texas, we look at what could be the first actual tar sands and oil shale strip-mining operation in the United States. Not far from Moab, Utah, the state has already leased land to a Canadian energy development company that recently changed its name to U.S. Oil Sands. The company plans to mine nearly 6,000 acres in an area of unspoiled wilderness that is also...
    Oct 09, 2012 | Story
  • Keystone_pipeline_web

    Naomi Klein on Environmental Victory: Obama Delays Keystone XL Oil Pipeline Decision Until 2013

    Environmental activists are claiming victory after the Obama administration announced Thursday it will postpone any decision on the proposed 1,700-mile Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline until 2013. The announcement was made just days after more than 10,000 people encircled the White House calling on President Obama to reject the project, the second major action against the project organized by Bill McKibben’s 350.org and Tar Sands Action. In...
    Nov 11, 2011 | Story

  • "D.C. Protests That Make Big Oil Quake." By Amy Goodman

    The White House was rocked Tuesday, not only by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake, but by the protests mounting outside its gates. More than 2,100 people say they’ll risk arrest there during the next two weeks. They oppose the Keystone XL pipeline project, designed to carry heavy crude oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
    Aug 24, 2011 | Columns & Articles
  • Brune_arrested

    48 Arrested at Keystone Pipeline Protest as Sierra Club Lifts 120-Year Ban on Civil Disobedience

    Forty-eight people, including civil rights leader Julian Bond and NASA climate scientist James Hansen, were arrested Wednesday in front of the White House as part of an ongoing protest calling on the Obama administration to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The action came before a rally planned for Sunday on Washington’s National Mall, which organizers have dubbed "the largest climate rally in history." We speak to Sierra...
    Feb 14, 2013 | Story
  • Amys_column_default

    Historic Tar-Sands Action at Obama’s Door

    By Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan

    For the first time in its 120-year history, the Sierra Club engaged in civil disobedience, the day after President Barack Obama gave his 2013 State of the Union address. The group joined scores of others protesting the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which awaits a permitting decision from the Obama administration. The president made significant pledges to address the growing threat of climate change in his speech.
    Feb 14, 2013 | Columns & Articles
  • Idlenomoreprotests

    Idle No More: Indigenous-Led Protests Sweep Canada for Native Sovereignty and Environmental Justice

    A new campaign for indigenous rights and environmental justice is spreading across Canada. The "Idle No More" movement began as a series of protests against a controversial government budget bill but has since expanded into a nationwide movement for political transformation. Aboriginal and environmental activists are calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to honor treaties with aborigines, open dialogue with environmentalists, and...
    Dec 26, 2012 | Story
  • Kochtopus

    VIDEO: New "Kochtopus" Graphic Maps the Influence of Billionaire Koch Brothers on Climate Policy

    The author of a new report on U.S. carbon billionaires gives Democracy Now! a tour of the Kochtopus — a map of the empire of Charles and David Koch. The Kochs run oil refineries and control thousands of miles of pipeline, giving them a massive personal stake in the fossil fuel industry. [includes rush transcript]
    Dec 18, 2012 | Web Exclusive
  • Daryl_hannah

    "We Need To Push Him": Actress Daryl Hannah Arrested While Urging Obama to Reject Keystone Pipeline

    For the second time in six months, actress Daryl Hannah has been jailed for protesting the Keystone XL oil pipeline. In October, she was arrested in Texas. On Wednesday, she and 47 others were arrested outside the White House. "It’s incumbent upon us, upon citizens, to show up and stand up and take action," Hannah says. "The polls show that the majority of people in this country are very, very concerned about the climate crisis...
    Feb 14, 2013 | Story
  • Divest

    Bill McKibben: Ahead of Keystone XL Rally, Fossil Fuel Divestment Expands Across U.S. Campuses

    Sterling College in Vermont announced on Tuesday it will soon become the third college in the United States to divest its endowment from 200 fossil fuel companies identified by the environmental group 350.org. Unity College in Maine and Hampshire College in Massachusetts were the first two schools to divest. Divestment campaigns are ongoing on more than 200 other campuses. "I think it’s no surprise, really, that young people are starting...
    Feb 06, 2013 | Story
  • Fracking-graphic

    Is Fracking Safe? Debate on Controversial Natural Gas Drilling Technique as NY Moratorium May Expire

    The controversial use of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," that is behind the country’s natural gas boom has come under scrutiny in the new Hollywood drama, "Promised Land," and met stiff resistance in New York state, where a four-year moratorium against the process could soon expire. Supporters say fracking is essential to U.S. energy independence, a way to revitalize depressed rural areas with new mining jobs and...
    Jan 04, 2013 | Story
  • Susanrice-1

    Beyond Benghazi: Partisan Rift over Susan Rice Ignores Hawkish Record on War, Africa and Keystone XL

    We look at the ongoing debate surrounding the potential appointment of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice as the successor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. For weeks, Republicans have campaigned against Rice, accusing her of misleading the public about the deadly September 11th attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. We’re joined by Ray McGovern, a former senior CIA analyst who argues Rice’s nomination...
    Dec 12, 2012 | Story