Earlier this month, the Obama administration decided to delay the construction of Keystone XL pipeline and ordered a new environmental review by the State Department. This rare victory was the fruit of thousands activists’ hard work, which reached its height in early November when some 12,000 activists gathered outside the White House and urged President Obama to honor his 2008 campaign pledge to fight climate change.

In this video, Rep. Dave Obey talks about the place of environmental protection in this economic downturn. The worst time to get people’s attention to environmental problems is a time of economic problems, he says, but Americans do not have to choose between jobs and environment.

This segment is part of a video series produced by Video Nation in collaboration with On the Earth Productions featuring progressive thinkers and leaders such as Cornel West, Jim Hightower, and Thom Hartmann. Check back each Wednesday for a new video in the series, and go here to watch the series introduction.

—Jin Zhao