http://act.credoaction.com/event/kxl_pledge_organizer_training/search/?akid=8393.2084550.Ftmso1&rd=1&t=2

You know how, in the summer, your local newspaper comes out with a guide to the concerts and festivals going on? This email is sort of like that – only it’s about ways you can get out there to help save the planet.

The resistance to the fossil industry, and its climate heating projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, has never been bigger.

Of course, it’s never been more urgent either. In June we witnessed historically devastating wildfires in Colorado and Arizona, a record-breaking 90+ degree heat wave in Alaska,1 the deadliest monsoon season in recent history in India, and record flooding devastation in Germany and Canada, even as New Mexico farmers suffered through the shortest irrigation season ever, with drought drying the Rio Grand into the “Rio Sand.”2 (To name a few.)

No wonder regular folks are standing up across the country in unprecedented numbers; from pipeline fighters and blockaders in Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Michigan and Maine, coal-export activists in the Pacific Northwest, those holding the line against fracking in New York and drawing a line in California, and of course, the nearly 70,000 activists across the country who have signed the Pledge of Resistance to the “game over for the climate” Keystone XL Pipeline. (To name a few.)

The President’s climate speech and his promise to reject Keystone XL if it increases carbon emissions is proof positive that we’re making an impact. But the fact that that determination is being made by a shady State Department process and a shady oil-industry contractor who hid its ties to TransCanada3 shows that the deck is still stacked against us, and the fossil fuel industry isn’t afraid to play the ace up its sleeve.

Th next few months are crucial to escalate our pressure. Here’s how you can help:

July: Pledge of Resistance Action Leader Trainings
Hundreds of activists have already been trained by CREDO, Rainforest Action Network and The Other 98% to lead peaceful, dignified civil-disobedience actions in their community, to be ready if the State Department recommends approval of Keystone XL.4 There are three more weekends of trainings, in 14 cities across the country – get to one of these cities if you want to be part of leading this amazing organizing effort against Keystone XL. Here’s the schedule:

July 20-21: Tampa, Miami, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Dallas, Houston
July 27-28: Raleigh, Atlanta, Des Moines, Kansas City, Tulsa
August 3-4: Cincinnati, Salt Lake City
RSVP to be trained as a #NoKXL Pledge of Resistance Action Leader

July/August: SummerHeat actions
Our friends at 350 are working with local groups to plan a dozen big actions across the country this month to oppose Keystone XL, coal, fracking, toxic pollution, and the industry that brings them to us. Most of the actions will feature a rally and an optional direct action, where participants may be risking arrest. Those participating in direct action will need to attend a training the day before. Everyone is welcome at the rallies, whether or not you will be risking arrest.
See the SummerHeat action map and get involved.

August, September and October: #NoKXL Pledge of Resistance Sit-ins
We need to keep our pressure on the Obama administration as we await a final decision on Keystone XL. To demonstrate the commitment of the nearly 70,000 people who have pledged to risk arrest if the State Department recommends approval of Keystone XL, and of the hundreds of people who are being trained to organize them, CREDO, Rainforest Action Network and The Other 98% are planning major sit-ins in the months of August, September and October. We’re starting with an action on August 12, in front of State Department Headquarters in Washington, DC. Here’s the schedule:

Monday, August 12: #NoKXL sit-in at the State Department, Washington, DC. RSVP here
Monday, September 16: #NoKXL sit-in, Houston, TX. RSVP here
Monday, October 7: #NoKXL sit-in, Boston, MA. RSVP here

It goes without saying, these are just some of the amazing things going on across the country this summer in the fight for climate justice. Check out the Fearless Summer site to see more updates from more actions all around the country.

We have lots to do, we need your help, and we hope you get involved. If you can’t attend a training or action, the best way you can help us oppose Keystone XL is by chipping in with a donation to help pull off this massive organizing effort.

Thanks for standing with us this summer, and in all the fights ahead.

Elijah Zarlin, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

1. “June 2013 Global Weather Extremes Summary,” Weather Underground, 7/15/13
2. “Ongoing Drought In New Mexico Turns Rio Grande Into ‘Rio Sand’,” Think Progress, 7/15/13
3. “State Dept Contractor ERM Lied About TransCanada Ties, Another Fatal Flaw of Environmental Review,” DeSmog Blog, 7/10/13
4. “#NoKXL Trainings in The Huffington Post & Wall Street Journal – See more at: http://act.credoaction.com/go/1190?t=13&akid=8393.2084550.Ftmso1,” NoKXL.org 7/13/13