Douglas A.

Grandt

P. O. Box 1582 El Dorado, CA 95623 March 20, 2013

President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, D.C. 20500
Re: Throwing down the gauntlet - not just symbolically Dear President Obama, You have the moral obligation to take all measures necessary to assure that all the worlds tarsands -- everywhere -- are not excavated and burned; measures including a carbon tax (fee to pollute), diplomacy, sanctions, boycotts, blockades; everything short of war.

You probably dont read the news, so I would like to share the following with you, because you need to know that both the power of average people of conscience and the forces of very wealthy philanthropic people of conscience are descending upon you and those of your ilk:

Billionaire joins fight against Keystone XL

PAUL KORING http://bit.ly/righteous-money-says-no-kxl
WASHINGTONThe Globe and Mail PublishedMonday, Mar. 18 2013, 9:19 PM EDT Last updatedTuesday, Mar. 19 2013, 6:44 AM EDT

Mr. President Obama March 20, 2013 Page 2 of 3

The Keystone XL pipeline faces a new, formidable and deep-pocketed foe: Tom Steyer, a California billionaire, has targeted the controversial Canadian project to funnel Albertas landlocked heavy crude to Texas refineries on the Gulf Coast. For Mr. Steyer, Keystone has become the defining issue in the climate change fight of our times, said Chris Lehane, Mr. Steyers authorized spokesman. He has plenty of resources and plays to win, Mr. Lehane said in an interview after Mr. Steyer waded into the Democratic primary race in Massachusetts with a threat to skewer a pro-Keystone candidate. That race is to select the partys candidate for the Senate seat vacated by John Kerry, an ardent environmentalist who, as secretary of state, will also play a key role in Keystones fate. Massachusetts is the next front where the Keystone fight will be engaged, Mr. Lehane said, adding that for Mr. Steyer, the bigger battle over Keystone was worth tens of millions in spending on political action, public awareness and other unspecified efforts. Keystone has enormous symbolic value in the whole climate change struggle, Mr. Lehane said. Mr. Steyer, 55, the founder of one of the worlds largest hedge funds, Farallon Capital, ended his active role as an asset manager last October to turn to full-time political activism and climate change is, in his view, the gravest threat facing humanity. Increasingly, Keystone XL is painted by its U.S. opponents as a thinly disguised Canadian scheme to ship Albertas carbon-laden crude currently heavily discounted in price to Gulf refineries where it can be exported. A coalition of environmental groups opposed to Keystone has picked up powerful political allies in recent days and, with the addition of Mr. Steyer, the war chest to wage a national campaign against the project in the decisive weeks ahead. Mondays surprise target was Steve Lynch, a Democratic congressman seeking the partys nomination for the Massachusetts Senate seat vacated by Mr. Kerry, who was named secretary of state by President Barack Obama after Hillary Clintons resignation. Mr. Lynch, who backs Keystone, will learn theres a price to pay, Mr. Lehane said. In a toughly worded letter, Mr. Steyer and four young Massachusetts environmental activists, including a pair of high-school students, warned Mr. Lynch to act like a real Democrat and oppose Keystones dirty energy. Or, get a sworn, binding statement with securities law enforcement from TransCanada and the refiners that all of the Keystone-shipped oil will stay [in the United States]. The Lynch campaign vowed not to bow to threats but seemed stunned that Keystone, a pipeline that runs nowhere near the East Coast state and a San Franciscan worth $1.3-billion, according to Forbes were suddenly playing major roles in the primary.

Mr. President Obama March 20, 2013 Page 3 of 3

Its like something out of a James Bond film: a billionaire giving an ultimatum, said Conor Yunits, a spokesman for Mr. Lynch. Mr. Steyers ultimatum expires Friday and the consequences were ominous. Unless Mr. Lynch recants and opposes the pipeline, Mr. Steyer will spend heavily to back his opponent, congressman Edward Markey, who is against Keystone. The shot across Mr. Lynchs political bow may be mostly symbolic. Massachusetts law limits the amount of outside spending in primary races, and Mr. Markey is already the front-runner in the race. Nevertheless, Mr. Steyer has thrown down the gauntlet to Democrats willing to back the pipeline. Climate change is the overwhelming issue of our time, Mr. Steyer, a Yale graduate, has said. And Keystone has increasingly become a litmus test of whether Mr. Obama was serious in his promises to do something significant to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Mr. Steyers salvo sharply raises the Keystone stakes. Mr. Obama is expected to decide Keystones fate this summer. Last week, Nancy Pelosi, the nations second most powerful elected Democrat, indicated she wasnt buying Canadian claims about a more reliable oil supply for Americans than that available from unstable and untrustworthy Middle East states. The Keystone crude is for export, she said, reflecting the new reality that U.S. oil consumption has dropped massively in recent years.

We need to ween ourselves off oil, coal and gas, beginning right away; starting with tarsands. Call upon our leaders here in America to support you in killing Keystone XL once and for all. Call upon world leaders to begin replacing all forms of the carbon-fuel infrastructure -- oil, gas, coal, tarsands, pipelines, rail transport, refineries -- with carbon-free energy technology. REDUCE -- dont expand -- the carbon fuel infrastructure to begin reducing GHG emissions. For humanity

cc: Secretary John F. Kerry Mr. Rex W. Tillerson