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Dear Friend,
Have you noticed more and more news stories recently about oil-carrying trains derailing and exploding? If you have, it's not your imagination -- dangerous crude oil shipments by rail are a growing problem.1
Yet while it's clear that rail lines are already pushed to the limits with dangerous crude, the oil industry sees trains as a loophole to get Keystone XL approved.
Heard enough? Take action now to expose Big Oil's flawed arguments! Or keep reading if you want the full scoop.
The oil industry's twisted logic goes like this: President Obama promised that Keystone XL will be rejected if it results in significant carbon pollution, which it clearly will, since it will allow tar sands mining to intensify. But if they claim that the tar sands expansion is inevitable -- because the oil could just travel by rail without Keystone XL -- then they can claim the pipeline wouldn't harm our climate at all!
Of course oil industry analysts and investors know rail can't replace Keystone XL to transport tar sands, which is why the industry is fighting so hard for the pipeline. And with new safety standards likely coming soon for rail oil tankers, as a result of these recent disasters, it's about to get even more expensive to ship oil by rail.
Why is all this important? Because Keystone XL's approval may hinge on this question of whether or not tar sands will be transported with or without the pipeline. Now more than ever it is clear that tar sands expansion needs Keystone XL.
The final State Department review of Keystone XL will be released soon, so the clock is ticking to make sure it reflects the truth. Make sure State acknowledges that Keystone XL is key to expanding the climate-polluting tar sands!
The truth is that nothing about an energy system based on dirty fossil fuels is inevitable. President Obama has an enormous amount of authority to hasten our transition to a clean energy economy -- by taking such important steps as rejecting polluting tar sands pipelines like Keystone XL and Alberta Clipper, and keeping dangerous oil tankers off railways. When it comes to energy, clean is better, and dirty is far from inevitable.
While President Obama has the power, it's critical that we stand up and continue to rebut the lies of the oil industry. Keystone XL's backers aren't going to give up, so the State Department needs to hear from you now.
Thanks for all you do to protect our climate,
Michael Marx
Sierra Club Beyond Oil Campaign Director
P.S. Six letters are better than one. Forward a copy of this message to five of your friends and family and let them know how they can help keep Keystone XL from being built. Or spread the word on social media with the share buttons below:
  
[1] Matthew L. Wald, Concern Over Safety Grows as More Oil Rides the Rails, New York Times, January 2, 2014. 
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