Keystone XL Pipeline -- Oil and water don't mix

The Keystone XL pipeline threatens natural resources that rural folks depend on. The pipeline is not in the best interest of America's small towns or those that depend upon agriculture for their livelihood.

Rural America has a key role to play in America's energy future, but we need to make sure that we are doing energy development that will help and not hurt our farms, ranches and small towns. The risk involved with transporting tar sands cannot be ignored, as it threatens our water and could have untold impacts on agriculture. Rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline is the right move for America, small town America in particular.

Rather than spending billions to lay the groundwork for transporting fuel from yet another fossil fuel source across the nation, we should invest in homegrown, renewable energy. Rural Americans would benefit a lot more from increased renewable energy investment, and from decreasing contributions to climate change, and now is the best time to make that shift.

On September 21st, a national day of action against the Keystone XL pipeline, Center for Rural Affairs Directors and Advisors wrote a letter asking President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to reject the pipeline.

I'm proud to stand in solidarity with the Center's Board and advisors, and many other individuals and organizations from across the country. The time is now to speak up about rural America's energy future, stand up to protect our natural resources, and take action to stop the Keystone XL pipeline.