keystone XL oil pipeline - part I - 1 Market protest

350bayarea.org for the last 10,000 years our atmosphere contained 275 parts per million (ppm) carbon dioxide (CO2) . CO2 is very important, it warms our planet. 275 ppm is a good amount of CO2, not too hot, not too cold. it was this stable atmosphere that allowed humans to flourish, develop agriculture and expand our societies. then 200 years ago we began to burn coal and oil for energyv releasing CO2. today, the atmosphere has 394 ppm CO2, 350 is the safe level of CO2 to keep the atmosphere on which life is adapted. 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F) = the global consensus on the upper limit of warming almost every government has agreed that warming above 2 degrees Centigrade is unsafe. we have already raised the temperature by .8 degrees Centigrade causing far more damage than most scientists expected. however, many scientists believe this limit is too high. 565 Gigatons = the Max amount of CO2 we can add if we want to stay below 2 degree centigrade warming, scientists estimate we can only pour 565 gagatons more CO2, into the atmosphere. at current rates, we will reach this in 15 years. 2,795 Gigatons - Proven Coal, Oil and Gas reserves the total proven reserves of fossil fuel companies TODAY is 5 times what we can afford to burn. To stay below 2 degree C warming, we need to keep 80% of reserves IN THE GROUND. Thousands of people rallied in downtown San Francisco on Sunday to urge President Obama to reject construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, an action they said would prove he is committed to fighting global warming. The demonstration across from the Ferry Building was held at the same time as similar events in cities including Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles. The main event in Washington, D.C., drew tens of thousands of supporters in what was billed as the largest climate change rally in U.S. history. Organizers of the San Francisco protest estimated that more than 4,000 people gathered to condemn the proposed $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline, which would run nearly 2,000 miles to connect Canada's oil sands to refineries around the Gulf of Mexico. Because it would cross an international border, it requires Obama's approval. "We're asking him to reject Keystone XL as one way to move forward on climate change," said Jess Dervin-Ackerman, a conservation organizer with the San Francisco Bay chapter of the Sierra Club, which planned the event along with 350.org, the Natural Resources Defense Council and several other groups. Opponents of the pipeline, including Democrats and environmentalists, argue the project could contaminate land and water along its route, particularly in Nebraska, and release high concentrations of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by increasing oil production from tar sands. But proponents say the company behind the pipeline, TransCanada, has agreed to obey 57 special conditions designed to keep the pipeline secure from leaks. The line would create thousands of jobs and strengthen the country's energy independence, they contend. Canada views Keystone as a crucial step in furthering oil production and growing its economy. It would be the longest oil pipeline outside Russia and China, able to transport more than half a million barrels of crude oil daily.