Washington: Prominent environmental leaders, including the head of the Sierra Club, have been arrested after tying themselves to the White House gate to protest the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Executive director Michael Brune is the first Sierra Club leader to be arrested in an act of civil disobedience.
Activist Bill McKibben, actress Daryl Hannah and civil rights leader Julian Bond also were arrested today, along with several dozen other activists.
The protesters are demanding that President Barack Obama reject the pipeline, which would carry oil derived from tar sands in western Canada to refineries in Texas. They say it would carry "dirty oil" that contributes to global warming.
Many business and labor groups support the pipeline as a source of jobs and a step toward North American energy independence.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, February 14, 2013, 11:33