Message to Obama: Free America from the Tyranny of Oil

A statement by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) calling on President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline and urging a global transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.

• The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and other groups are opposing the Keystone XL pipeline, which is designed to move crude oil from Alberta's tar sands to refineries on the Gulf Coast. The document notes that extracting oil from tar sands uses significant energy and water and produces approximately three times the greenhouse gas emissions of conventional oil.
• CIEL filed a Freedom of Information Act complaint against the U.S. State Department to obtain communication records between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a TransCanada lobbyist. The goal is to verify that permitting decisions for the pipeline are based on environmental impact assessments rather than political ties.
• CIEL is working to remove coal from carbon markets, specifically targeting the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The organization argues it is ironic that the CDM, intended for sustainable development, awards carbon credits for new coal power projects.
• CIEL has criticized the World Bank for funding coal projects, specifically a 4,800 MW plant in South Africa known as the Eskom Project and a proposed 600-MW lignite-fired plant in Kosovo. CIEL claims the World Bank fails to properly account for the environmental and human health costs of coal.
• Referencing an IPCC report, the document states that renewables could provide nearly 80 percent of the global energy supply by the middle of the century if supported by appropriate policies.

APA

Kistler, A. (2011). Message to Obama: Free America from the Tyranny of Oil. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/message-to-obama-free-america-from-the-tyranny-of-oil/

Chicago

Kistler, Amanda. Message to Obama: Free America from the Tyranny of Oil. Center for International Environmental Law, 2011. https://www.ciel.org/message-to-obama-free-america-from-the-tyranny-of-oil/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Kistler |first1=Amanda |title=Message to Obama: Free America from the Tyranny of Oil |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=26 August 2011 |url=https://www.ciel.org/message-to-obama-free-america-from-the-tyranny-of-oil/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{kistler2011message, author = {Kistler, Amanda}, title = {{Message to Obama: Free America from the Tyranny of Oil}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2011}, month = aug, url = {https://www.ciel.org/message-to-obama-free-america-from-the-tyranny-of-oil/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }