New Organizing Forum: KXL Debrief

The campaign to stop the Keystone XL pipeline galvanized thousands of Americans across the country to challenge Barack Obama to live up to his campaign promises and stop the worst excesses of the fossil fuel industry. Following years of hard work building the scientific case against the pipeline, the fight was launched to national prominence by 2 weeks of civil disobedience at the White House led by the Tar Sands Action, followed by several months bird-dogging President Obama and visiting Obama 2012 offices across the country. The campaign culminated in a movement-wide collaborative action on November 6th that surrounded the White House with 12,000 people -- shortly after which the President sent the pipeline back for a full re-review that substantially delayed and possibly killed the pipeline for good.

The campaign built a coalition of advocacy groups, focused efforts on key pressure points, and leveraged online communities to drive offline action. At the outset, few people had heard of the pipeline, and passage was all but assured. Thanks to the efforts of partner organizations, the campaign was able to delay, and likely kill, a massive threat to our climate through focused engagement.

This campaign debrief will cover the final months of mass mobilization against Keystone XL, addressing the political and organizing strategies that catapulted a relatively obscure infrastructure fight into a defining issue for the climate movement. 

Key Speakers
May Boeve, Executive Director of 350.org,
Kate Colarulli, Associate Director of the Beyond Oil campaign at the Sierra Club
Maura Cowley, Director of Energy Action Coalition
Duncan Meisel, Online Coordinator for the Tar Sands Action

Can't make it in person? Live stream the event online!

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