Yesterday 12,000 of us participated in the Day of Action to completely surround the White House and demand that President Obama reject the Keystone XL Pipeline.

For the 99% of us who aren't an executive at TransCanada, it was a great day.

People from all over (some of us traveling from as far as the West Coast!) gathered at Lafayette Park in DC and listened to motivating speeches by Mike Brune of the Sierra Club, Dr. James Hansen, Naomi Klein, Nobel Prize winner Jody Williams, Tom Poor Bear of the Oglala Lakota Nation, and so many more.

We were all there with the same message: It is time for President Obama to turn his words into action and 'end the tyranny of oil.' The place to start is by rejecting Keystone XL.

Our goal was to encircle the White House yesterday, which we surpassed. So many came out to oppose the Keystone XL that we were able to circle the White House 4 or 5 times. It was truly an amazing sight.

See our blog for a report back from the day and our Facebook page for photos. Also see Tar Sands Action's flickr feed for more photos.

It’s been decades since an issue has brought these numbers to Washington, DC to demonstrate such strong support for a President to stand up against corporate interests and stand by his own campaign promises. We demonstrated the very best of our people power yesterday. We just need to hear from the President that he is listening.

Now a Los Angeles Times report that came out today indicates that the President could very well be listening to our message. According to the article, the Obama administration is considering a move that would delay a decision on the pipeline, which according to Bill McKibben would be a victory of sorts.

So, what's next? President Obama stated for the first time last week that the ultimate decision on the pipeline rests with him, so we have to continue to step up the pressure.

Send a message to the President now – click here to tell Obama to reject the pipeline. There is no time to wait.

To our oil-free future,

Carleen Pickard
Executive Director

photo credits: Global Exchange and Josh Lopez