Awesome Actions (And More Needed!)

Looking for ideas for your direct actions? Climate Reality’s monthly conference call on March 21 with organizers around the country provides a bloom of ideas for spring-boarding into action. Contact info for the groups on the call is at end of blog.

For a map of this week’s actions across the country see:
http://www.tarsandsblockade.org/weekofaction/planned_actions/. Included on the map is Massachusetts’ protest at TransCanada’s office in Westborough, and in New Haven, Connecticut, a protest at TD Bank, one of the biggest financiers of the pipeline. Occupy Pipeline New York has actions on Saturday at TD banks.

More ideas (in green) from groups on the call:

SHARE YOUR MATERIALS. Follow http://occupythepipeline.blogspot.com/ They will upload your materials or send to KXLBlockade@gmail.com . Materials for actions against TD Bank: http://bit.ly/TDdivest

SHARE YOUR NEWS  Tar Sands Blockade provides on-line media support for actions across the country.

BE THEATRICAL TO ATTRACT MORE MEDIA ATTENTION. A well-rehearsed funeral procession at the TransCanada office in Massachusetts, with original song by Meladeego, (www.FuneralforOurFuture.wordpress.org) that involved 100 protesters on March 11 could be re-staged at other blockade target sites.

Video at www.FuneralforOurFuture.wordpress.com

Greenpeace and NCWARN in North Carolina issued a call to “Get Out Your Shoes” for a campaign aimed at Duke Energy to “Walk In Our Shoes”. The campaign against inequitable serial rate hikes by Duke Energy in North Carolina also was a call for people to think of the climate impacts and to walk on a renewable path. Shoes were donated to a non-profit. The actions were followed by a sticker campaign “Give the rate hike a boot!”.

At an anti-fracking protest at a land auction by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, people showed up in haz mat uniforms. Puppets work too, such as the ostrich puppet that buries its head in the sand, and a polar bear with a pre-purchased ticket entering a corporate fund-raising event.

INCLUDE A CULTURAL COMPONENT TO ACTIONS.     Invite local groups to perform such as the Raging Grannies singing parodies of familiar songs; dancers; and bands.

TARGET THE FUNDING STREAMS.      Tar Sands Blockade.org’s corporate action strategy targets the funding streams that bank-roll or profit from toxic projects. The TD Bank is the site of several protests, e.g., Montpelier, VT. In Seattle, “Stop Tar Sands Profiteers Week of Action” continues strong with over 40 rallying at a pipeline company Michels Construction office outside Seattle.

SHOW UP AT PUBLIC MEETINGS AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AVENUES FOR COMMENT.    Delaware Riverkeeper Network staged a People’s Hearing when they were silenced during a Delaware River Basin Commission meeting. Their campaign against fracking wants the Commission to look at the cumulative effects of proposed pipelines across the river basin, not one by one. Although the DRBC stopped gas drilling in the basin, pipelines are starting to cut across the basin carrying gas from other states. Riverkeepers had followed the public process earlier by attending hearings and submitting comments, to no effect. With warning, they attended the Commission meeting on March 6 and took over the meeting in order to present testimony that the regulations aren’t working sufficiently and the Commission continues “to sit on its hands and let FERC do the regulatory process.” Power already exists in the DRBC compact to make regulations. People (120+) stood up to give public testimonies from their seats; when the Commissioner called a recess in the back room, the protesters chanted and continued the meeting for 2 hours. They presented a citizen resolution for a vote, but were denied. Although not successful in bringing a vote against pipelines, the action helped with building their organization and increasing dialogue. The Riverkeepers had laid the groundwork through public comment.

SHOW OFF SUSTAINABILITY IN YOUR TOWN.      The Berkeley Climate Action Coalition organized a Sustainability Walk and Neighborhood Asset Mapping Event by inviting the public on a walking tour of locally sustainable businesses and organizations.

EXPAND ON EARLIER ACTIONS.     When 26 people handcuffed themselves together at the TransCanada office in Westborough MA earlier this month they were following on the heels of 8 students that chained themselves together inside the office in January. More than 75 supporters showed up as well. Within two weeks of the March action, another demo occurred at same location.

GET SUPPORT AND CARE FOR YOURSELF.   Have you experienced organizer fatigue? Standing up to big oil can be exhausting. Some activists in Texas are facing a year in prison right now. Others have spent several weeks at a time. We have to have support and self-care to keep it up.

To hear the recording of the full call: https://www.freeconferencecallhd.com/playback.html?n=81941444-17-65-67-17-65-67-17-65-678-17-65-6732-17-65-67765174820;0OTMzNDY4MDI=1
Presenters:
Tar Sands Blockade – Ethan Nuss. http://www.tarsandsblockade.org/weekofaction/
Funeral for our Future – Adam Greenberg  http://www.funeralforourfuture.wordpress.com/
Delaware Riverkeeper Network – Faith Zerbe http://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/
The Berkeley Climate Action Coalition –Marna Schwartz http://www.ecologycenter.org/climatecoalition/
NCWARN – Connie Leeper http://www.ncwarn.org/
The Center for Biological Diversity – Rose Braz  http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/

Quick Update on Westborough Eight

The Keystone XL protesters who used chains and glue to bind themselves together in TransCanada’s Westborough, MA office have all been processed. They are, left to right, Ben Thompson, 22, a PhD student studying Mathematics at Boston University, Dorian Williams, 21, an Anthropology major at Brandeis University, Shea Riester, 22, a recent graduate of  Brandeis University and a student of social movements, Devyn Powell, 20, and International Relations and Environmental Studies major at Tufts University, Emily Edgerly, 20, an Environmental Studies major at Tufts University, Lisa Purdy, 20, an Environmental Studies major at Brandeis University, Alli Welton, 20, a History of Science major at Harvard University, and Ben Trolio an Environmental Conservation Studies major at the University of New Hampshire.

To understand their reasons for doing this, please see their blog and bios.

Most, if not all, are members of Students for a Just and Stable Future (SJSF). (Some have also been active in CASEJ) Around the time of their release SJSF tweeted the following:

Just and Stable ‏@JustandStable

“The costs of action are far less than the costs of inaction.” The hope of these youth is to inspire you to fight w/ @350Mass@KXLBlockade

Later followed by:

Wanna hang out with these kids? @350Mass TOMORROW @ First Church Cambridge 11 Garden St Cambridge, MA [ 6 – 7pm potluck, 7 – 9pm meeting ]

This and other actions around the country kicked off an anticipated series of protests against Keystone XL and tarsands that will span the next several days. Now, what will it take for the present leaders to heed the message of the coming generation?

~ Nuevaspora

8 Youth Activists Oppose Keystone XL; Lock Down In TransCanada Office

8 Youth Activists Locked Down in TransCanada’s Westborough, MA Office

UPDATES:

Check tweets (to the right) and Pheonix for more updates. Also see Protester’s Bios.

Follow #NoKXL on twitter to follow protests across the nation opposing construction of the Keystone XL pipeline (trending as of 7:10 PM).

~ 6:30 PM Just and Stable reports that chains have been removed and protesters are in jail being processed.

4: 30 PM This just in from youth activist Devyn Powell:

            As you read this email, I am locked down in a TransCanada office with seven other youth activists.  We are engaged in a protest against construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, because building this pipeline to develop the tar sands will lock us irrevocably into the climate crisis.  The Keystone XL, which runs from Canada to Texas, threatens a stable future by perpetuating our oil addiction. Chaining myself to my seven friends is a last resort after our government, heavily influenced by corporate fossil fuel interests, has proved unable to take action against this deadly project.  

 

The fossil fuel industry is knowingly sacrificing our future for its profits. I have decided that I need to fight the injustice, irresponsibility, and immorality of their actions by using all the nonviolent means of protest available to me. TransCanada’s intent to build the pipeline will contribute to drought, flooding and starvation through future Hurricane Sandys, crop failures, and more climate disasters. We are not going to passively let this happen.

 

I’m sending this email to ask for your help. First, please share the image below on any and all social media channels you use in order to raise awareness about TransCanada’s threat to our future. Second, if you are able, we would greatly appreciate any financial assistance you can contribute to cover our jail fees, gear costs, and future actions.  Go to THIS WEBSITE to donate.

 

The next few months will be crucial in halting this toxic pipeline. As Obama considers approving Keystone XL, we all need to put our voices and bodies in TransCanada’s path in whatever ways we are able.  Today’s action marks the beginning of what we hope will be the next chapter in the fight against the fossil fuel industry. If you would like to learn more and get involved, go to:http://www.january7th.wordpress.com.

 

Thank you so much for your support. I appreciate your help very much, and I hope we can continue working together to stop the climate crisis.

Local Climate Activist Arrested In Texas KXL Protest

We have just received word that Murtaza Nek, MIT graduate and active participant in 350 Massachusetts and Students for a Just and Stable Future was arrested in a protest against the construction of the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline. Readers may recognize him as the young man who has voiced the importance of climate justice at several Occupy Boston events.

The southern leg of the Keystone XL is presently under construction with the intent to bring tar sands crude from Alberta, Canada to Huston ports. Last year, Dr. James Hansen, prominent climate scientist, head of NASSA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and adjunct professor at Columbia University explained the risk in a New York Times Op Ed:

Canada’s tar sands, deposits of sand saturated with bitumen, contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by global oil use in our entire history. If we were to fully exploit this new oil source, and continue to burn our conventional oil, gas and coal supplies, concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere eventually would reach levels higher than in the Pliocene era, more than 2.5 million years ago, when sea level was at least 50 feet higher than it is now. That level of heat-trapping gases would assure that the disintegration of the ice sheets would accelerate out of control. Sea levels would rise and destroy coastal cities. Global temperatures would become intolerable. Twenty to 50 percent of the planet’s species would be driven to extinction. Civilization would be at risk.

The update on Murtaza comes from climate and social justice advocate Dorian Williams, who writes:

Dear fellow proponents of climate justice,

Many of you may know Murtaza Nek as he has been an active participant of 350 Massachusetts and Students for a Just and Stable Future. Recently he took a trip down to Texas to contribute to the Tar Sands Blockade’s fight against the construction of the southern leg of Keystone XL Pipeline.

 

As of 11:50am on January 3rd, Murtaza was arrested in Texas while trying to provide direct support to his friends partaking in a particularly vulnerable tree sit for the Tar Sands Blockade. 

 

You can learn more and see the footage of the arrest here: http://tarsandsblockade.org/15th-action/

 

For those of who have not had a chance to meet Murtaza, he has been an amazingly strong and dedicated ally in this movement. Having accomplished Climate Summer this past year, where he biked from town-to-town across Massachusetts supporting climate action and discussion, Murtaza brought back his organizing and bike power here. Every week, Murtaza would bike from Worcester to Cambridge and back to participate in SJSF and 350MA meetings, helping organize and participate in actions targeting fossil fuels like tar sands and natural gas.

 

Now he needs our commitment and support in return. Please spread the word and consider donating to the legal fund that would enable his release: https://www.wepay.com/donations/tsbdonate.

 

In Peace and Solidarity,

Dorian

Murtaza Nek is one of several protesters who have recently been arrested in protests against Keystone XL’s southern leg. For more information on the tar sands, check out the following links:

Hansen’s TED talk

Photographer Garth Lenz on Alberta Tar Sands: The True Cost Of Oil

~ Nuevaspora

On the Front Lines of Tar Sands Resistance

 

 

Photo Caption: Dozens of protesters opposed to the Keystone XL oil pipeline held a rally on Nov.5, 2012 at the Washington, D.C., office of a firm lobbying on behalf of TransCanada, the company behind the pipeline. Four protesters were arrested after staging a sit-in and refusing to leave. 

One of the first decisions for the elected President in new term will be dealing with the Keystone XL pipeline project.  Recently I listened to a conference call interview* with 3 activists from Alberta, Nebraska, and Texas about current strategies in the bigger picture of long-term opposition to tar sands pipeline proposals in different parts of the U.S. and Canada.  Those interviewed are leaders on the front lines of resistance: Clayton Thomas-Muller of the Indigenous Environmental Network’s Canadian Indigenous Tar Sands Campaign (www.ienearth.org), Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska (www.boldnebraska.org), and Ethan Nuss of the Texas Tar Sands Blockade (@KXLBlockade). 

 All three activists echoed the sentiment that groups throughout North America can learn from each other’s experiences in resisting expansion of tar sands mining and transport.  All urged that the groups keep communicating with each other and support each other’s work.

 I’ve arranged my notes from the call in the form of questions.

 What’s happening with the southern KXL blockade in Texas?  Ethan Nuss said the human blockade continues. For over a month protesters have blockaded pipeline construction in E.Texas by sitting in trees.  They have no intentions of coming down until the pipeline is stopped.   The protesters are using a variety of direct actions to stop construction.  Each action has the opportunity to tell a story and bring to light the abuses on local communities.   He explained that Texas and Oklahoma landowners have united in civil disobedience (CD) to stop TransCanada’s KXL pipeline.  They didn’t come to this lightly and would much rather use legal tactics, but people feel they have no options left, after 4 years of petitions, lobbies, and political organizing.  Multi-national corporate bullies have not respected them. Land was taken by fraudulent means, with lies from company representatives. The CD participants were met with alarming responses, such as torture tactics which violated their right to assembly.  Local public police were hired by TransCanada to refuse access of food and water.  Fifty people went past the police line to deliver food and supplies.  More than twenty were arrested;  about 100 people attended a support rally.  The press is giving coverage. 

 What is the Texas KXL Blockade Strategy?  Ethan sees the blockade action in the proud American tradition of CD.  All major movements have arrived at point where existing legal lines do not permit change.  Extra-legal actions and CD are necessary.  They want to open legal space for the landowners to question how the company in Texas is operating and behaving across the country as well. They see their work in Texas being pertinent to other areas where pipeline resistance is underway.

 What’s happening with the Northern Gateway project in Canada?  Clayton Thomas-Muller answered that the status of the Northern Gateway pipeline is all a shell game.  The politics are grounded in the knowledge of infrastructure intervention.  One approach is mass direct action (3000 signed on for direct action to Defend the Coast in British Columbia in October).  The outcome looks good—businesses, unions and the government Council are all standing in opposition.  TransCanada says it is more economic to use Gateway and bring down the price of gas (false!).  Gateway faces many years of legal challenges (e.g., the lack of consultation with indigenous communities, treaty infringements).  Another issue is a potential takeover of areas of tar sands by a Chinese firm’s free trade bilateral agreement between Canada and China, and the right of China to contest land-locking their mineral rights.

 What is happening with Trailbreaker line 9, the pipeline proposed for reversal of flow to allow tar sands crude to be transported to Portland, Maine?    A number of native groups in Ontario and Quebec have been fighting the erosion of requirements for a full environmental impact assessment.

 How are First Nation tribes involved with resistance?  Clayton explained that many tribes are affected by the various pipeline proposals and developments. The Indigenous Environmental Network organizes for grassroots intervention against the pipeline and works on baseline education for communities in front-line extraction areas.  The campaign targets the Northern Gateway and Trailbreaker, as well as the McKenzie Valley Gas project (to supply gas for Tar Sands extraction).  IEN sends an anti- KXL campaigner to tribal councils and gets resolutions opposing the pipeline across their lands.  They have convened gatherings;  one led to the Mother Earth Accord (MEA), a political declaration opposing the KXL with particular concerns by indigenous people (treaty rights violations, health and safety, publicly-owned infrastructure such as water utilities supplying Lakota nation and non-indigenous communities, the Ogallala aquifer).  MEA is significant because it has over 60 pages of endorsements, including political parties, NGO’s, tribal groups.  The MEA occasioned the only direct exchange with Obama.  During the White House Tribal Summit, Rosebud Sioux successfully handed the MEA directly to President at private dinner.  Their corporate campaign targets include banks, e.g., Royal Bank of Scotland, etc. 

 What about tribal actions in the U.S.?  In the Dakotas, a lot of groups both indigenous and non-indigenous are meeting in upcoming months to identify next steps forward on the northern leg of KXL and approval points.  Strategies involve evoking sovereignty over sacred sites, direct legal intervention, CD, and working with “cowboy-Indian alliances” that have developed over the years.  In addition to pipeline concerns, the impact from refinery operations and how they impact people have not been that visible up to now.  Racialized communities of color exist amidst the big industrial refining operations.  A lot of environmental racism exists in the Gulf coast around the refineries.  Those voices need to be heard too, from Houston to Port Arthur, Texas.

 What can we do to support your work?  Clayton urged using social media to follow campaigns on twitter and facebook.  He suggested sending opinion pieces to conventional media to highlight IENearth work:  http://www.IENearth.org.

 What’s happening in Nebraska with KXL?  Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska reported on lessons learned from organizing.  The advocacy group started to have a voice to work on environmental issues with a progressive perspective in 2010.  Soon thereafter the Keystone XL issue came up.  They decided to first organize and establish a legal structure, with people farmers and ranchers in communities where the pipeline will cross.  The lesson learned from the first Keystone battle was to build an organization to take on the company. This time around Bold Nebraska is organizing landowners to tell TransCanada to talk to their legal team.  New Energy Voters.Org emerged to give people a way to elect representatives that would have new energy future policy as well as Keystone concerns. 

 What can individuals do?  One of the conference call listeners said “Our town in Connecticut purchases TransCanada electricity through a hydro project in Quebec.”  Jane Kleeb urged citizens to ask each town/city government which company supplies electricity, and how much it is paying for energy from TransCanada.  Ask a national group to find alternative sources of energy.  Speak directly to city council to ask if aware of TC’s practices and what are alternative sources of energy that people can do.  TC is not a good neighbor.

 –Submitted by Susan Redlich, Volunteer with 350MA

*The Climate Reality Check Network sponsored the call. It was recorded and facilitated by Public Citizen’s Energy Program  (www.citizen.org)   Blog: www.energyvox.org