keystone xl pipeline

Tecumseh, the great Shawnee leader, once said, “Let us form one body, one heart, and defend to the last warrior our country, our homes, our liberty, and the graves of our fathers.”

I believe in these words, during the dark times in which we live. It seems more than coincidence that so many people have been drawn together to stand against the tyranny now provoking our people in so many forms, across the nation and globe.

Yesterday, a contingent from the Gulf Coast joined twelve thousand people in a nonviolent protest against dirty energy at the White House.  The advocates are trying to stop President Obama from approving the  Keystone XL pipeline.  If built, the 1,700-mile pipeline will stretch all the way from Alberta, Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, where "tar sands" sludge would be refined into oil.

Community groups from all over Texas are gathering to unite in opposition over the planned Keystone XL pipeline Sunday, September 18, 2011.  The Canadian project reportedly cost more to construct than the value of the expensive tar sands oil it will carry from Alberta, Canada to Port Arthur and Houston, Texas.

More than a year after the BP well was plugged, Gulf coast residents now face an oil threat from a new direction; a proposed 1700-mile pipeline that would provide a steady stream of raw Canadian tar sands crude from Alberta to huge polluting refineries in Texas. That’s raised the ire of Gulf residents who refuse to be the dumping ground for more dirty and dangerous oil industry operations.   

The Manchester neighborhood in Houston is completely surrounded by Valero, Texas Recycling, a car crushing facility, the Port of Houston, Highway 610, a rail yard and a waste water treatment plant.  These are two aerial photos of the Manchester community that my dad, Juan Parras, took a few years ago.  The area in green is of course Manchester.  The third image is a shot of the Houston Ship Channel.

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