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To shape the future of this planet, America’s youth have the right, the responsibility and the power to have their voices heard. One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is to help students raise their voices for what they believe in. And now is this time for young people to make some noise, and let it be known that we can no longer continue to invest in a dirty fossil fuel future.

The Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, for which the public comment period is currently taking place, isn’t just about politics. When you really get down to it, it’s not just about oil or jobs or climate change. The pipeline is about our youth. It is about their future and the future of this country.

As President Obama said during his second Inauguration, “We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. . . The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it.”

And so I am asking you to lead, Mr. President. I am asking you to follow through on the promise you made during your most recent State of the Union address: “If Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will.” Well now is your chance.

Regarding climate change, you wrote, “This is not the future I want for my daughters. It’s not the future any of us want for our children. And if we act now and we act boldly, it doesn’t have to be. But if we wait, if we let campaign promises and State of the Union pledges go unanswered for yet another year, if we let the same broken politics that have held us back for decades win one more time, we will lose yet another chance to save our planet. And we might not get many more…Let’s be the generation that finally frees America from the tyranny of oil.”

Mr. President, I urge you to take your own advice, to not let State of the Union pledges go unanswered for another year. I urge you to act now. I urge you to seize this opportunity to turn the tide on climate change and to make good on your promise to protect this planet for future generations. Their future is not just a talking point and political rhetoric is not a substitute for action. I urge you to reject this pipeline, and I urge all of our nation’s youth to join me in this appeal.

CLICK HERE to tell the President that Keystone XL is about you and your future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnk8RLqYgHY