To avert climate catastrophe, activists shut down 5 pipelines bringing Tar Sands Oil into the U.S, in Solidarity with Standing Rock.
This morning, by 7:30AM Pacific time, 5 activists have successfully shut down 5 pipelines across the United States delivering tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada in support of the call for International Days of Prayer and Action for Standing Rock. Activists employed manual safety valves, calling on President Obama to use emergency powers to keep the pipelines closed and mobilize for the extraordinary shift away from fossil fuels now required to avert catastrophe.
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WHERE. Enbridge line 4 and 67, Leonard, MN; TransCanada’s Keystone pipeline, Walhalla, ND; Spectra Energy’s Express pipeline, Coal Banks Landing, MT; Kinder-Morgan’s Trans-Mountain pipeline, Anacortes, WA.
WHO. Climate Direct Action is Emily Johnson, 50 and Michael Foster, 52, of Seattle, WA, Annette Klapstein, 64, of Bainbridge Island, WA, Ken Ward, 59, of Corbett, OR, and Leonard Higgins, 64, of Eugene, Oregon, with the support of Climate Disobedience Action Fund.
Livestream, videos and photos available on our Facebook Page.
https://www.facebook.com/climatedirectaction/Website
http://www.shutitdown.today
Via Last Real Indians.
I had been wondering about that. Specifically, thinking that a pipeline is an impossibly large attack surface to guard. It ought to be very easy to make it unusable through “death of a thousand cuts” strategy.
So the oil companies will switch to trains. Victory. Not.
This prank is a good example why people don’t like Greanpeace and similar organizations. It’s not constructive, it’s illegal and it’s dangerous. And most of all, futile.
Good. Glad to read this. In other somewhat related news, another oil project has been shut down that threatened the Great Australian Bight including marine parks and South Aussie shores :
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-11/sea-shepherd-declares-victory-after-bp-drilling-fight/7822266
Hopefully, these victories mark the beginning of the end for the power of the fossil fuel lobbies and a shift to a better renewable energy more environmentally sustainable future. Plus a slowing if not a cessation of Global Overheating with so much warming still sadly in the metaphorical pipeline of accumulated GHGs already in our atmosphere.
cuberax@#2:
How is it futile to raise the expense of doing something damaging to the point where it’s less cost-attractive? It’s market correction 101.
With respect to illegal: so what? Do you advise all people to respect all laws that oppress them? Yay, status quo! Yay authoritarianism!
cyberax: trains are even more vulnerable.
Aux barricades!
Yep. Then a brake will malfunction and the barricade will be smeared by the engines into a thin paste. Perhaps with a couple of protestors. With a huge oil spill. That would be a TOTAL victory.
Seriously, oil is necessary for the economy. Working towards green economy will. Perhaps this protestors should become solar installers or wind farm workers? Plenty of opportunity there.
And suppose that you’d successfully sabotaged the economy. What next?
Oh, and since we’re talking about markets, perhaps you should read a bit further into “Economics 101”? Up to the “inelastic demand” section at least.
Well done on this action.
cyberax
Pipelines already leak all the time, damaging life necessities like water and earth, and we rarely hear about it because it happens drip-by-drip. Does that make it better? Or cleaner? Or safer?
This isn’t a prank. It’s a protest. There’s a difference, esp. since nobody’s doing this for the laughs.
Your head seems to be stuck somewhere in your large intestine.
While transporting oil by train may result in spills, the size of the spill is limited, because only damaged or derailed cars may leak and if there is a crash, no traffic is possible until the wreckage is cleared. A pipeline may leak for a long time without any repairs as most of the oil will reach the end of the pipeline.
cyberax
Yes, oil is currently necessary for the economy. Big Oil would like to keep it thus. They thank you sincerely for your support.
Yep, apparently it’s the protestors who might cause an environmental incident. This is certainly rich language, coming from major oil companies. Also the Pipeline Safety Trust sounds like a name to placate.
@2. Cyberax : Not a prank a protest and a successfull and very justified one at that.
I also suspect that before it was successful you’d have been calling it “futile” as well and sure that if needed the people who took action to stop the pipeline will also take action to stop any oil trains, etc.. again as they think and find necessary.
From the article rq linked to:
That’s fucking rich, isn’t it? f there system is so fragile a couple of baby boomers with boltcutters are putting the thing into a dangerous situation, it isn’t remotely safe. Now imagine what a couple of terrorists could do with explosives… Just hope Daesh doesn’t switch to environmental terrorism. Just imagine a big blow on the Dakota Access pipeline just under the Missouri…
The rate of crude oil or petroleum product spillage per billion-ton-miles for rail transport is significantly lower than for pipeline transport, and has been for the last 20 years, so yes, switching to trains would probably be an improvement. (Source)
I’ve long thought that if Middle-Eastern terrorists wanted to really fuck us up, they’d scuttle a couple of oil tankers in the Suez Canal.
It’s also a scapegoat for future leaks.
“Oh, there’s a leak somewhere down the line? Must be because of those durned protestors several years back, they’ve weakened our impregnable system!!!” etc. …
Cyberax:
No they won’t. It would be better if they did, because when proper safety is paid attention, trains are better. Here’s the thing though: oil companies don’t give a shit about proper safety precautions, they refuse to spend the money. That’s why accidents happen. That’s why every single fucking rotten, cheapass pipeline leaks. WE DON’T WANT OIL LEAKING INTO OUR WATER SUPPLY, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE THE WHOLE FUCKING MISSOURI RIVER. THERE ARE TAR SANDS THREATENING TO LEAK THERE, WHICH CAN’T BE CLEANED UP, YOU STUPID FUCKING DUMBASS.
I don’t care for assholes who have drunk the oil kool-aid, Cyberax. You can take that shit somewhere else, because not only do you not know the truth, you help to spread lies. Oil is still transported by train and truck after pipelines are in place. Oil companies lie, and they are in their current last gasp. The reason for this greedy, unsafe, illegal push is so they can stuff a few more billion in their pocket.
And don’t you fucking dare come here and talk about clean energy. Us Indians and our allies? We’re all for it. We have solar out at the camps. You come here and convince our corrupt, oil drinking, KKK governor that clean is the way to go. We already know about that, and we know what will work here and what won’t. Don’t you dare think to come here and fucking lecture when you don’t know jack fucking shit.
And for asses like Cyberax, who can’t manage to keep up, Mark Trahant discusses the current situation, and how Ndakota could go clean right now, to great benefit, but no one listens to us Indians.
@Giliell #13
I do not think it is necessary to go as far as Middle East.
Lets hope some white supremacist does not cause spillage of the DAPL near the reservation on purpose, to poison the water supply in order to hurt the Indians or just for the “lulz”. To make chemical mixtures capable to burn a hole in non-layered steel pipeline and ignite the spilling oil on top of it is extremely easy with things bought in general store. All it takes is one sufficiently determined nutjob with acces to internet.
Breivik was no chemist, yet he was able to make explosives from freely available chemicals. And from what I read US has no shortage on the likes of him.
Charly
You’re right.
Also, rightwingers are stupid enough to poison their own water supply just because it hurts people they hate.
Giliell:
Oh hells yes, and there are plenty of Ndakotans who would think that was a dandy idea. I can only hope the ones who would do such a thing aren’t smart enough to pull it off.
Just hope Daesh doesn’t switch to environmental terrorism.
Surely they would never sink so low!!
Cyberax: suppose I successfully sabotaged the economy, what next? Politicians, cops, and smug internet wankers up against the wall. I don’t care what happens to them (or you) any more than you care what happens to the protestors and people who will have to deal with oil spills. I’ve got knitting to do.
Marcus:
Monsieur Tricoteuse! Ooooh, baby.