Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein was arrested today when she tried to bring food to Texas protesters of TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL pipeline.

Stein was handcuffed this morning and taken to the Wood County Jail after trying to deliver fruits, vegetables, trail mix and Halloween candy to the Tar Sands Blockade, according to her campaign.

The candidate, who has barely been a blip in the presidential election, said she supports efforts to halt construction on the pipeline because the process of extracting oil sands, as well as refining it, contributes to climate change. She also said President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney have failed to adequately address climate change this campaign season.

"Everyone needs to step up resistance to climate-killing emissions," Stein said in a statement. "Romney and Obama are only talking about the symptoms of climate change in terms of destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy; the blockaders are addressing the cause."

TransCanada's proposed pipeline would carry oil sands from Canada and the Bakken Shale of North Dakota and Montana to U.S. refineries along the Gulf Coast.

The blockade began in September and consists of several activists camped in treehouses along the southern route TransCanada controls for constructing its pipeline. The activists have gained notoriety and media attention for chaining themselves to equipment and other attempts to physically block construction.

Actress Daryl Hannah, a frequent environmental activist, has also been arrested as part of the movement.

TransCanada, however, has said the effort isn't "holding anything up" (EnergyWire, Oct. 15).

Stein also said Hurricane Sandy and its destruction underscore the need for more climate change activism.

"Climate change means more frequent severe storms that lead to massive flooding and destruction," she said. "We will see more destructive storms than Sandy in the years to come."

The arrest comes the same day that the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality said TransCanada's proposed new route through the state would avoid the Sand Hills region, though it would still run over potentially sensitive soils (Greenwire, Oct. 31).