Pipeline Line Ruptures in Arkansas

A duck recovered near the Bell Slough State Wildlife Management Area in Mayflower, Ark., is rescued Monday, April 1, 2013.

On Friday, March 28th several thousand gallons of crude oil spilled from a ruptured?Exxon Mobil pipeline in central Arkansas, forcing nearly two dozen homes to evacuate. Crews from Exxon Mobil are still investigating the cause of the rupture, which occurred in a section of the Pegasus pipeline near the town of Mayflower, which has about 1,700 people and is 25 miles north of Little Rock. The Environmental Protection Agency classified the leak as a ?major spill,? and at last count, 12,000 barrels of tar sands oil and water have been dumped on the small town. These spills are nothing new and they will continue to increase, on a much larger scale, if the Keystone XL Pipeline is approved . Last year alone, there were 364 spills from pipelines in the U.S. that released about 54,000 barrels of oil and refined products, according to the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. In response to the spill, 350.org founder Bill McKibben, spoke on Democracy Now? and explained that the “pipe that just burst in Arkansas carries less than a tenth of the amount of this heavy tar sands crude that Keystone would. It?s about 80,000 barrels a day, not 900,000 barrels a day. So, multiply the pictures you?re seeing from Arkansas by 10, and then, of course, transpose them on top of the Ogallala Aquifer.” This a frightening thought. Let’s use this an opportunity to remind President Obama that he must do what is best for America. Approval of the Keystone XL would be a major step towards even greater large-scale environmental destruction. Click here to tell President Obama to reject the Keystone Pipeline.

Obama Signs the ‘Monsanto Protection Act’

Slipped into the Agricultural Appropriations Bill, which passed through Congress last week, was a small provision that?s a big deal for Monsanto and its opponents. The provision protects genetically modified seeds from litigation in the face of health risks and has thus been dubbed the ?Monsanto Protection Act.” President Obama signed the spending bill, including the provision, into law last Tuesday. Since the act?s passing, more than 250,000 people have signed a petition opposing the provision and a rally, consisting largely of farmers organized by the Food Democracy Now network, protested outside the White House Wednesday. The Monsanto Protection Act effectively shields large biotech companies, like Monsanto, from the federal courts in case something is found to be harmful in their genetically-modified seeds. Because of Section 735, federal courts would be powerless to stop Monsanto from selling their product. With it’s passing, there will be virtually no protection from harmful GMO’s further infiltrating our food system. Now, more than ever, we must demand the labeling of genetically engineered organisms. Click here to sign a petition for mandatory labeling of GMOs.

11 Year Old Explains What is Wrong with Our Food System