1. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 3/15/2013
Carlo Voli, (206) 992‐7474 or carlovoli@yahoo.com
Kirkland company to be targeted for building the Keystone XL pipeline
On Monday, March 18th, at 11 AM, people in the greater Seattle area who are concerned with the Climate
Crisis and the protection of the environment, who are opposed to tar sands and the Keystone XL pipeline, and
who support indigenous rights, will gather outside the offices of a company in Kirkland to protest its direct
involvement with the Keystone XL pipeline.
Michels Corporation ( www.michels.us ) is currently building the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline in
Texas and Oklahoma, and would probably get the contract for building the northern leg of the Keystone XL
pipeline if Obama were to approve it in the coming months. Michels Corporation built the first Keystone I
pipeline from Alberta, Canada to Cushing, Oklahoma, in 2010, and it leaked 14 times just in its first year.
Michels' headquarters are in Wisconsin, but they also do business in Washington State and are owners of the
local Pilchuck Contractors. They have offices in Kirkland.
The Keystone XL pipeline is considered by many as the fuse to the largest Carbon Bomb in North America and,
if approved and built, would allow the expansion of the Canadian tar sands operation in Alberta, which is
known as the largest and most destructive industrial project in the world.
The Canadian government, and those in favor of the pipeline in the US, have been touting the positive effects
of the pipeline in terms of energy independence for the US and jobs creation. However, the reality seems to
be quite different, as the numbers of temporary jobs created are a fraction of those being touted, and it turns
out that most of the tar sands flowing through that pipeline would be destined for foreign markets through
the export port facilities in the Gulf Coast. And what is also omitted, is that the extraction and processing of
tar sands has a much higher negative environmental impact than conventional oil, in terms of forest
destruction, water pollution, negative effects on the health and livelihood of indigenous communities, green‐
house gases emitted, and amount of energy required. As well as the fact that diluted tar sands bitumen is a lot
more toxic, abrasive, and corrosive, than conventional oil, thereby greatly increasing the risk of pipeline spills
and refinery explosions along its route.
One of the rally’s organizers and Seattle resident, Nic Curtright, says: "I have a serious question for Michels
Corporation. With the continued planned expansion of tar sands and pipelines, what kind of future are you
building for the world? The clean energy future is in the opposite direction. It is time to stop destroying the
future for the benefit of today. We can and must do better".
Another rally organizer and Edmonds resident, Carlo Voli, further says: “We are at a time where we can no
longer afford to allow business as usual to continue and to just carry on with our everyday lives. We need to
take a more active role in shifting the direction this country is taking towards a more sustainable and equitable
situation, where everybody’s health and well being is taken into account, including our future generations. By
stopping the Keystone XL pipeline and slowing down the expansion of the tar sands, we are sending a strong
signal for that shift to happen”.
The rally on Monday is part of a series of events, trainings, and protests that are being organized around the
country for the Stop Tar Sands Profiteers week of action (March 16th ‐ 23rd) which will target a lot of the
companies, investors, and financiers that are associated with, and profit from, the Keystone XL pipeline.
A large number of local area residents will gather on Monday in Kirkland to demand Michels stop building the
Keystone XL pipeline, which is putting our future, and that of our children and grandchildren, in ever greater
peril.
Facebook event page: www.facebook.com/events/490061621048217