Dogwood Initiative has joined an international network of environmental groups urging Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to deny permits for a series of pipelines designed to bring dirty oil sands crude into the United States from Canada.

The groups, which launched their campaign yesterday, warn that the pipelines would undermine America’s leadership in creating a clean energy economy and perpetuate their addiction to oil.

“We want the Obama Administration to know that the Canadian people want real action on global warming and that doesn’t include expanding production and shipping of the planets dirtiest oil,” stated Will Horter, Executive Director of Dogwood Initiative. “Effective government rules to stop global warming have been held hostage by the interests of Big Oil in Alberta for too long.”

 In recent months, the Government of Canada has ratcheted up their multimillion dollar public relations and lobbying efforts to support expanded production of Alberta dirty oil sands.

 Scientists continue to point to the devastating impacts of oil sands expansion. Producing oil from oil sands emits three to five times the global warming pollution as conventional oil, requires excessive amounts of energy and fresh water, and destroys huge swaths of the best carbon protector on the planet, the boreal forest.

Leading up to Clinton’s decision, environmental groups will conduct a wide variety of outreach, including running newspaper ads, launching a new website, and asking tens of thousands of Americans, Canadians and Europeans to sign letters and petitions calling on Secretary Clinton to deny the permit. The campaign kicks off with an ad in Roll Call, a prominent Capitol Hill newspaper in Washington D.C.

More information, including a list of campaign partners, photos, B-roll video and other campaign materials are available on www.dirtyoilsands.org. The site provides a one-stop place for policy makers, citizens and media to learn more about why expansion of dirty oil sands has no place in a clean energy economy.