I came to NRDC in 1981 and have worked with NRDC’s International Program for the last 15 years. I left NRDC twice – once to work for Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and to attend law school and again in 2000 when my first child was born. But I am always thrilled and honored to come back to NRDC. A common thread in my work has been Canada. When I first came to NRDC, I worked with Canadians to stem acid rain. More recently, I have worked to protect its beautiful ancient forests – from the coastal rainforests of British Columbia to the Boreal forest that circles the top of the planet. I’ve helped turn our consumption into a campaign tool – thanks to NRDC members and activists, Home Depot and other major companies became advocates for protecting the Spirit Bear, NRDC’s icon, and five million acres of coastal rainforest. Right now I am working on the Alberta tar sands, an area of the boreal forest that is being torn up to produce oil to feed our relentless thirst for our cars, airplanes and trucks. Wish me luck. This is a tough one.
Posted February 4, 2012 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Moving Beyond Oil
First of all, you won’t find tar sands mentioned in any of the polling. And in most polls, you won’t even find oil. It’s just the Keystone XL pipeline, no context, no mention of what it will carry, and certainly...continued→
Posted January 18, 2012 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Moving Beyond Oil
The great pipeline showdown has backfired on the Republican leadership, just as we predicted it would back in December when they forced a 60-day time-frame for approving or rejecting the pipeline on the President during the tax extension negotiations. The...continued→
Posted December 17, 2011 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Moving Beyond Oil
In a huge overreach, Senate Republicans insisted yesterday that a provision that would require the President to make a decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline be included in the tax extension package. The package is likely to be voted on...continued→
Posted December 7, 2011 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Moving Beyond Oil
Today, the President – in a question and answer session with reporters after a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Harper – made it clear he is not backing down from his decision last month to take another year to...continued→
Posted November 17, 2011 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Curbing Pollution, Moving Beyond Oil
TransCanada pipes lay stacked and ready to go in advance of securing permit (photo by Dakota Rural Action, Nov 2011) In 2008, the Canadian company TransCanada proposed a nearly 2,000 mile pipeline that would bisect the heartland of...continued→
Posted November 6, 2011 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Moving Beyond Oil
photo by David Hawkins; see our video and slideshow here One year from the Presidential election, over 10,000 citizens encircled the mile and a quarter circumference of the White House three times around with lots of people to spare. They had...continued→
Posted October 18, 2011 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Moving Beyond Oil
In a New York Times video opinion piece posted today, Robert Redford gives an impassioned pitch to the President to deny the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. In a three minute interview, interspersed with beautiful images of the Great...continued→
Posted October 7, 2011 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Moving Beyond Oil
Today, the State Department held its final hearing on whether or not the massive Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is in our "national interest". The Secretary of State must make this affirmative finding before permitting the pipeline. The hall was crowded...continued→
Posted October 3, 2011 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Moving Beyond Oil
Homemade signs in Nebraska near site of hearing. Photo credit: Jane Kleeb. The U.S. State Department has said it will make a decision on the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline by the end of the year. Because the...continued→
Posted September 7, 2011 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Moving Beyond Oil
“It is your decision to make” That is how the strongly worded letter to the President from nine Nobel Laureates starts. The letter urges the President to deny the permit for a massive tar sands pipeline that would run from...continued→
Posted September 2, 2011 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Curbing Pollution, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming
Protesters have included scientists, ranchers, and celebrities - you can take action by going to www.StopTar.org The protests have marked a watershed for the environmental community and for civil disobedience as a powerful democratic tool. The number of citizens arrested engaging...continued→
Posted July 21, 2011 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (E&NR) is expected to vote on a bill that would repeal of Section 526, the embattled provision of the 2007 energy bill that requires that federal agencies not contract for fuels that create more...continued→
Posted July 12, 2011 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Moving Beyond Oil
In a short, but strongly worded statement, the Department of Defense (DOD) has weighed in in support of Section 526, the provision of the 2007 energy bill that requires federal agencies to make sure that the fuels they buy do...continued→
Posted June 7, 2011 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming
Today, the EPA posted their comment letter, chastising the State Department for a review that is “environmentally objectionable” and provides insufficient information to decision makers regarding the safety and impact of deepening our dependence on the dirtiest oil on the...continued→
Posted June 7, 2011 by Liz Barratt-Brown in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming
In a historic outpouring of concern, hundreds of thousands of citizens told Secretary Clinton the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is too dangerous and unnecessary, asking for an extension of the comment period so that these concerns could be aired. ...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
