Steve Chase talk inspires woman to protest tar sand oil extraction and proposed Keystone XL pipeline in DC

Steve Chase (2000) inspired a Maine woman to travel to DC to protest tar sand oil extraction and the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

Three weeks ago I had never heard of tar sands or the Keystone XL pipeline. And, then, there I was last Monday in Washington, D.C., planning to get arrested for the first time in my life. What convinced me to step into public scrutiny and take this stand?

At a regional Quaker conference on Aug. 7, I heard a presentation by Steve Chase, an environmental educator from Antioch University New England and fellow Quaker. He spoke about peak oil and how our dependence on fossil fuels could cause our planet to self-implode. He also mentioned an upcoming protest in D.C. called the Tar Sands Action.

I realized the urgent and imminent danger of climate change and learned ways we can prevent environmental and economic disaster. From that experience I took the following lesson: Build community, make it fun, take action and do it now.