A small victory was won in the battle to stop the devastation of Alberta tar sands development: the EPA officially weighed in on the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, calling the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement inadequate and raising serious concerns about the environmental review.

The 1700 mile XL pipeline would extend the tentacles of Canadian tar sands development from Alberta to the Texas gulf, cutting across the U.S. heartland. According to the EPA’s comments, pipeline safety, spill response and impacts on First Nations communities in Canada all need further research and assessment, and much more information is needed about the green house gas implications and the need for such a dirty fuels project. Read more...

Groups Ask State Department to Bring Review up to Standards or Deny Pipeline Permit

Today 13 northern plains and Native groups asked the U.S. Department of State either to revise the pipeline's draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) and resubmit it to the public for review or to deny the Keystone XL pipeline's application for a Presidential Permit. Read more...

By VINCE DEVLIN of the Missoulian, Posted: Thursday, June 3, 2010 9:09 pm

PABLO - Two-time vice presidential candidate and Native American activist Winona LaDuke will be here Saturday afternoon to moderate a panel discussion of energy issues facing Montana and its Indian reservations.

The event, on the Salish Kootenai College campus, will also feature a performance by the Grammy-winning Indigo Girls.

LaDuke and the Indigo Girls are swinging through the Blackfeet and Flathead reservations Friday and Saturday to "raise awareness for a clean energy future," according to a news release.

The panel discussion is titled "Environmental Justice in Montana: Protecting the Land for Future Generations." Read more...