Dear Mr. President,

The long and worthy fight over the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is at an end, and the time for a decision draws near. We appreciate your veto of the congressional bill, and we fully support an outright rejection of the permit. We have followed the question of Keystone XL’s impact for many years, and those years have clarified a few key points.

First, most of those who care about this project oppose it, and with an intensity matched by few issues in recent time.

Beginning with Tribal Nations and with farmers and ranchers, the opposition spread over time to climate scientists, college students, moms, financial experts, many trade unionists, renewable energy proponents, nurses, artists and an ever-growing swath of the general population. A historic number of them were arrested for this cause; millions wrote public comments, or emailed their elected officials; everyone engaged in public dialogue in precisely the fashion you have asked. Everyday people have stood up to the money on the other side, and done so with civility, firmness, creativity and passion.

Second, it’s now clearer than ever that the tar sands pose an incredible risk to the health and safety of our families and a livable planet.

As a major study in Nature last month confirmed, a serious effort to control global warming must keep the ‘dirtiest oil in the world’ safely underground. Keystone XL must be evaluated not just as a pipeline but as part of the tar sands industry’s plans for rapid and reckless expansion. As you have stated, the climate impacts of major infrastructure projects are a matter of national — and international — interest. Rejecting Keystone XL is the kind of the principled choice leaders need to make. There is no way to reconcile this pipeline with a serious climate policy.

Third, the arguments for this pipeline — never strong — have disappeared on closer examination.

It is not a potent job-creating tool, nor a route to American energy independence; tar sands expansion is not inevitable; and the sheer number of leaks and spills means a tar sands pipeline would pose a clear danger to public health. It is, instead, a classic boondoggle, whose only beneficiaries will be a handful of rich oil companies while our families take on all the risk.

Many of the choices that define a presidency come by accident or chance — some storm or crisis that demands a quick response. But this one is firmly in your control. Climate change will be a defining issue of this century. Rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline will powerfully demonstrate your commitment to stopping the rising of the oceans, set the stage for further climate action and build a legacy worth sharing.

In unity,

The undersigned:

Co-Sign the Letter

Willie Nelson, Musician

Mark Ruffalo, Actor

Neil Young, Musician

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

Julianne Moore, Actress

Naomi Klein, Author

Alec Baldwin, Actor

U.S. Congressman Raul Grijalva

Robert Redford, Actor

Norman and Lyn Lear, Producers

Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor

Rev. Jim Wallis, Preacher

Tom Goldtooth, Indigenous Environmental Network

Bill McKibben, 350.org

Jane Kleeb, Bold Nebraska

Thom Yorke, Musician

Michael Brune, Sierra Club

Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Lubicon Cree First Nation

James Hansen, Climate Scientist

Randy Thompson, Nebraska Rancher

Daryl Hannah, Actress

Jean Ross, Karen Higgins, Deborah Burger, National Nurses United

Faith Spotted Eagle, Ihanktonwan Treaty Council

Vanessa Redgrave, Actress

Larry Hanley, Amalgamated Transit Union

Michael Kieschnick, CREDO

Susan Sarandon, Actress

Lance Bass, Musician

Gene Karpinski, League of Conservation Voters

Van Jones, Author

Anna Galland, MoveOn.org

Robert Kennedy Jr., Author

Sarah Neufeld, Musician

Ian Somerhalder, Actor

Peter Lehner, Natural Resources Defense Council

Patti Smith, Musician

Mike Richter, Athlete

Frank Waln, Musician

Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Hip Hop Caucus

Marisa Tomei, Actress

John McEnroe, Athlete

Whit Jones and Kendall Mackey, Energy Action Coalition

Steve Kretzmann, Oil Change International

Arturo Carmona, Presente.org

Rebecca Solnit, Author

Laura Poitras, Film Director

Erich Pica, Friends of the Earth

Kyra Sedgwick, Actress

Todd Paglia, ForestEthics

Art and Helen Tanderup, Harvest the Hope Hosts

Josh Fox, Film Director

Ricken Patel, Avaaz.org

Thurston Moore, Musician

Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund

Frank James, Dakota Rural Action

Dan Cantor, Working Families Party

Gus Speth, Environmentalist

Lindsey Allen, Rainforest Action Network

Richard Patrick, Musician

Margot Kidder, Actress

Ai-jen Poo, National Domestic Workers Alliance

Frances Fisher, Actress

Susan Stephenson, Interfaith Power and Light

Laura Michalchyshyn, Producer

Anthony Edwards, Actor

Jeremy Hays, Green For All

David Gelber, Producer

Steve Jordan, Musician

Billy Wimsatt, Author

Joel Bach, Producer

Joe Uehlein, Labor Network for Sustainability

Lyn Lear, Producer

Heather McGhee, Demos

Nebraska State Senator Ken Haar

Jonathan Marc Sherman, Playwright

Greg and Suzanne Walmer, Landowners

Fletcher Harper, Green Faith

Lonnie and Sandra Breiner, Landowners

Jack Geiger, Physicians for Human Rights

Martha Plimpton, Actress

Jack and Lynelle Huck, Landowners

Lloyd, Vencille, Paul, Cody and Logan Hipke, Landowners

Gary and Donna Roller, Landowners

Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, New York State Nurses Association

Mike and Cheri Blocher, Landowners

Terry Tempest Williams, Author

Tom, Cathie, Lance Genung, Landowners

Annie Leonard, Greenpeace USA

William and Susan Huwaldt, Landowners

Barbara Kopple, Film Director

Wendy Abrams, Philanthropist

Kent Adelson, Landowner

Sherry Loseke, Landowner

John Quigley, Artist

Rebecca Foon, Musician

Lori and Ron Fischer, Landowners

Deepak Bhargava, Center for Community Change

John, Ty and Andrew Pribramsky, Landowners

Debbie Levin, Environmental Media Association

Joslyn Barnes, Producer

Kurt and Laura Meusch, Landowners

Walton Ford, Artist

Gerald and Vanessa Brand, Landowners

George Goehl, National People’s Action

Bob Holman, Poet

Larry, Lori and J.D. Mudloff, Landowners

John Cavanagh, Institute for Policy Studies

Shannon and Suz Straka-Heyden, Landowners

Alexandra Shiva, Film Director

Allpress Family, Landowners

Dr. Irwin Redlener, Children’s Health Fund

Delwyn and Allene K Schwager, Landowners

Jesse Paris Smith, Musician

Kimi Hendricks, Landowner

Scott Reed, PICO National Network

Ken Winston, Nebraska Sierra Club

Anne Waldman, Author

Aldo Seoane, Wica Agli

Laurie Anderson, Musician

Atossa Soltani, Amazon Watch

Lynn Goldsmith, Photographer

Terre Roche, Musician

Karen Sheinheit, Actress

Mark Ephraim, Producer

Larry and Ann Anderson, Landowners

Kim Pokorosky, Actress

Jim Doble, Musician

Alystyre Julian, Producer

Nacho Arimany, Musician

Mary Jane Nyberg, Landowners

Kate Sekules, Author

Hammond Family, Landowners

Devin Waldman, Musician

Abbi Kleinschmidt, Landowner

Bob Thurman, Author

Harrington Family, Landowners

Sam Messer, Artist

Ambrose Bye, Musician

Berry Family, Landowners

Eli Smith, Musician

Heather White, Environmental Working Group

Julie Panebianco, Musician

Kenny Bruno, New Venture Fund

Robert Kenner, Filmmaker

Sandy Newman, Voices for Progress

Co-Sign the Letter