On January 31st, 2014, the State Department released a report finding the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, a pipeline that could ship hundreds of thousands of barrels of dirty tar sands each day from Alberta, Canada down to Texas, USA, would not cause significant damage to the environment.

In Canada and the USA environmentalists, First Nations people, farmers, and others have registered their disagreement by putting their bodies in the way of construction and demonstrating in their own cities. At the same time, labor unions have been divided, some supporting the pipeline, which they hope will create many jobs.

Lesley and Matthew are traveling up to the site of tar sands extraction in Alberta and following the Keystone XL pipeline down south through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and ending up Texas. Our hope is to document the voices of the many people along our route whose lives have been or may be impacted by this pipeline project.

We also realize that Keystone XL is just one of many projects affecting our communities and our planet. People all over North America are suffering from and fighting against fracking, mountaintop removal, tar sands extraction, drilling. Our strength comes in unity with one another against these projects, and so we hope to connect the stories of all those fighting extraction.

We will be creating short video updates, news articles, and blog posts along the way to share what we learn with the world. In order to do this, we need film and audio equipment and basic traveling funds. Please donate to help us bring these stories to light!