Protest the Atlantic Coast Pipeline
Calling All Climate Activists: “Go Out and Get Yourself in Some Holy Trouble”
From an Article by Valerie Schloredt, YES! Magazine | Interview, October 6, 2016
A handful of climate activists turned off the flow of Canadian tar sands oil through pipelines in Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, and Washington on Tuesday, October 11. Five who cut chains and turned pipeline valves and five more supporters were arrested. They face a range of charges, including criminal trespass, sabotage, burglary, and criminal mischief.
That morning in Seattle, Jay O’Hara was working the phones, calling the pipeline companies 15 minutes in advance to warn them of the shutdown. It was not his first experience of a bold climate action involving personal risk. In 2013, O’Hara and his friend Ken Ward anchored their small boat, the “Henry David T,” in the path of a 40,000-ton barge taking coal to a plant in Massachusetts in what has famously been called the “lobster-boat blockade.” A district attorney subsequently dropped the most serious charges against the pair, recognizing that their civil disobedience was motivated by the necessity to halt global warming.
Necessity was also behind last Tuesday’s pipeline shutdown by activist group Climate Direct Action, O’Hara said, pointing to research that shows we cannot remain under the Paris agreement’s global warming limit of 2 degrees Celsius if we burn the fossil fuel reserves we already have.
The success of the lobster-boat blockade and his work on climate action, from lobbying in DC to working with transformational student groups and making a pipeline pilgrimage, has made O’Hara stand out as one of the young leaders of the climate movement. However, he wouldn’t use that description himself; he expresses discomfort with ego-driven action or scenarios where he’s treated as a hero.
But as a co-founder of the Climate Disobedience Center, O’Hara works in the highly visible area of direct action that dramatically confronts the corporate and governmental interests behind global warming. It’s an area of the movement that can ask a lot of participants, but one many see as crucial.
For guidance and sustenance in the work, O’Hara draws on his deep Quaker faith. At a faith and climate action conference in Seattle the weekend before the pipeline action, he spoke of his faith as a way to proceed at “this time of hopelessness and crisis.” Climate change, he said, is simply too large a problem and the necessity for radical change is too pressing for the solution to come from traditional thinking. In an interview with YES! Magazine, O’Hara expanded on what he means by faith — and the value of what he calls “holy trouble.”
***
Valerie Schloredt: I’m talking to you as an atheist, but one who feels affinity for the people of faith at this conference who are acting out of deep conviction, who are acting authentically.
Jay O’Hara: Depending on whose god you’re talking about, I’m an atheist. I don’t know whether there is something out there. All I know is that I experience something.
What I love about Quakerism is that the words you use to describe it don’t matter.
From the beginning, Quakerism was universalistic. Early Quakers in the 1650s could meet people who were Muslim or who were Native American, and find the same motivating spirit underlying their actions, and be like, “Oh that, we call it Jesus, but whatevs.”
There is a thing, whether it comes in the form of a whisper, or a nudge, or a curiosity, or an inclination, that is internal rather than external, that is generative rather than consumptive.
How does acting on that internal voice for climate action work in our society, where there is so much denial?
Our first job is to stop talking and start acting. I think one of the things that has held the movement back is the big green NGOs saying that the world is ending, and not acting like it. People can smell the bullshit, and they think, “Well, they’re not acting freaked out, they must be trying just to fundraise off of it. So why should we pay attention to that? A bunch of hypocrites!”
Suffering. I think that is the crucial thing. Willingness to suffer generates empathy: “Wow, if this person is so convinced in their heart that they have to stand in front of that train, maybe even risk their life, it must be really serious.”
I don’t think our problem with denial in the United States is a problem with Republicans and right-wing climate deniers. The problem with denial is White liberals and middle-of-the road Democrats who have not internalized the severity and magnitude of the problem. And that’s our biggest block. It’s eerily reminiscent of what Dr. King talks about in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” when he says that the biggest hindrance to civil rights might not be the Ku Klux Klan or the White councilman, but the White moderate who says they agree with the goals, but says “slow down, calm down, you’re not being reasonable.”
The denier population is only 25 percent of the population. We don’t need to convince 100 percent, we only need 50 percent to agree with us. Research says that a nonviolent revolution only requires 4 percent or so of the population, because once you move those people to the furthest level of commitment, people on the next layer move a little further out. Who cares about the deniers? They’re not the problem — we’re the problem.
I think what’s actually going on is that because we are White, because we are educated, we have been told that our voice matters. When we open our mouths, people will listen because we are important. We’ve been told and acculturated to believe we are important — which is not true, because in reality, the forces in power do not listen and do not care. As much as I love a lot of things that Quakers did in the first half of the 20th century, I think the phrase that was popularized then, “speak truth to power,” is fundamentally flawed. Power doesn’t give a shit. Like Frederick Douglas said, power concedes nothing without a fight.
Someone in the audience today asked what they could do to help the work of the Center for Climate Disobedience, and you answered, “Go out and get yourself in some holy trouble, and we’ll help you.” What does that phrase “holy trouble” mean to you?
Living in accordance with the truth, as you know it in your heart. When you do that, it tends to invite opposition. My faith is that there is some unifying force that binds us all in unity together. And when we listen to that voice, it tends to lead in the direction of forgiveness and forbearance.
So the “holy trouble” part is that when we start living in that way, authentically, the empire gets really nervous because there is nothing more frightening to the powers that want control and domination than people who are liberated, because they can’t be controlled. Inevitably that will invite trouble, and it’s holy because it moves from that place of the liberating encounter with the god of freedom. That spirit moving out powerfully into the world is not a linear change strategy; it’s an exponential change strategy. It pushes and pushes and builds pressure. It’s like a fault line; it looks like nothing is happening, and then all of a sudden it goes.
See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net
Point Your RSS Reader to FrackCheckWV.net/feed/
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Iowa woman arrested on own property for interfering with DAPL construction
From KFYR – TV, Bismark, ND, October 19, 2016
CALHOUN COUNTY, IA – Typically we’ve seen Dakota Access Pipeline protesters arrested for trespassing on other people’s land, but in Iowa over the weekend one landowner was arrested on her own property.
Cyndy Coppola was arrested on Saturday on her family’s farm in Calhoun County Iowa.
She says Dakota Access gained rights to be on her property against her and her family’s will. They used condemnation court and eminent domain to get easements to the property. On Saturday Coppola and friend Ed Fallon were arrested after they attempted to block trucks carrying pipeline across her farm.
Coppola says it’s hard to see someone else take control of your property.
“It was very frustrating, and when I first saw that topsoil piled up when they started digging, my first reaction was to cry, because we’ve tried everything,” says Coppola.
Coppola and her family are part of a lawsuit brought by nine Iowa farms against Dakota Access for using eminent domain to gain easements, which they say is against Iowa state law.
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe responds to Morton County County Sheriff’s comments on road blocks affecting rights
From KFYR-TV, Bismark, ND, October 18, 2016
CANNON BALL, N.D. – Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Councilman Joe Dunn has written the following statement regarding Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier’s comments about road blocks affecting people’s rights:
I would like to respond to the comments that were made by Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier on KFYR television on October 17, 2016. The Sheriff says that blocking roads “affects people’s rights.” I would remind Sheriff Kirchmeier that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe are “people” as well and deserve to have our rights upheld.
These roadblocks are literally dividing our communities and eroding the good relations that our tribal and non-tribal residents have formed.
While the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the other tribal nations make great contributions to the state of North Dakota, these significant contributions are often underplayed and overlooked. We have to go through a road block that we help pay for every time we travel on highway 1806 to and from the Bismarck and Mandan area. We are questioned, “Where are you coming from?” and “Where are you going?”
We have been detoured for no justifiable reason. The road block south of the Fort Lincoln Cemetery has been a huge waste of taxpayers’ money while accomplishing nothing more than disrupting innocent citizens daily lives and also creating racial tensions and division between our communities.
These road blocks also put people at risk. Medical patients who are in need of care, are stopped on their way to the medical facilities in Bismarck. Commuters have been detoured many miles based on the color of their skin. Our children from Standing Rock and also those who attend Bismarck-Mandan schools are being subjected to the same racial profiling and bullying that we have seen modeled by the Morton County Sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Kirchmeier, do you think that Native people’s rights are being “affected” by this roadblock? I should not have to remind you that we live in the United States of America governed by a Constitution where equal protection of law is afforded to all citizens, not just those of your choosing.
I am very disappointed with the State Government of North Dakota for allowing this to happen. I myself have served with pride while participating in the Electric Coop industry, and have worked faithfully for many years advocating to strengthening relationships with the State. After working to build those relationships that took decades, it is discouraging and disheartening to see that the state has so easily discounted everything we have accomplished as good neighbors and has aligned its efforts and resources with a Texas-owned corporation.
http://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Standing-Rock-Sioux-Tribe-responds-to-Morton-County-County-Sheriffs-comments-on-road-blocks-affecting-rights-397503271.html
Documentary film-makers face decades in prison for taping oil pipeline protests:
Deia Schlosberg and Lindsey Grayzel face felony charges that first amendment advocates say are part of a growing number of attacks on freedom of the press
PHOTO: Lindsey Grayzel, an independent film-maker from Portland, Oregon, was arrested and jailed on 11 October while filming at a pipeline protest in Washington state.
From an Article by Sam Levin, The Guardian, October 20, 2016
San Francisco – Two documentary film-makers are facing decades in prison for recording US oil pipeline protests, with serious felony charges that first amendment advocates say are part of a growing number of attacks on freedom of the press.
The controversial prosecutions of Deia Schlosberg and Lindsey Grayzel are moving forward after a judge in North Dakota rejected “riot” charges filed against Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman for her high-profile reporting at the Dakota Access pipeline protests.
But authorities in other parts of North Dakota and in Washington state have continued to target other film-makers over their recent reporting on similar demonstrations, raising concerns that the lesser-known journalists are not getting the same kind of public support and national attention.
Schlosberg, a New York-based film-maker, is facing three felony conspiracy charges for filming protesters on 11 October at a TransCanada Keystone Pipeline site in Pembina County in North Dakota, with prosecutors alleging that she was “recruited to record the criminal activity”.
The 36-year-old – who is producing a documentary called How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change – could face 45 years in prison. US whistleblower Edward Snowden recently tweeted his support of Schlosberg, writing: “This reporter is being prosecuted for covering the North Dakota oil protests. For reference, I face a mere 30 years.”
Edward Snowden (@Snowden), October 14, 2016 – This reporter is being prosecuted for covering the North Dakota oil protests. For reference, I face a mere 30 years. https://t.co/GzMbwCVV40
Grayzel, an independent film-maker from Portland, Oregon, was also arrested and jailed on 11 October while filming at a separate pipeline protest in Skagit County, Washington. She and her cinematographer, Carl Davis, had their footage and equipment seized and were kept behind bars for a day.
The two were filming activist Ken Ward attempting to shut down the Trans Mountain pipeline, and they now face 30 years in prison for a felony burglary charge, a felony “criminal sabotage” charge and a misdemeanor trespass offense. There were a series of pipeline protests across the US on 11 October.
“Everyone needs to be afraid when our first amendment rights are in jeopardy,” Grayzel, 41, told the Guardian on Thursday before her criminal arraignment. “This is not just about me. This is not just about Carl. This is not about Amy Goodman … This is about the public’s right to know what is going on in this country.”
Free-speech advocates said that both cases are unusual and troubling given that prosecutors have admitted that the defendants were acting as film-makers and are still pursuing aggressive felony cases.
While it’s not uncommon for journalists to face arrest and misdemeanor charges for trespassing or disorderly conduct while reporting at controversial protests, conspiracy, burglary and sabotage offenses are rare for members of the media.
“It’s outrageous. It’s an assault on the first amendment,” said Neil Fox, one of Grayzel’s attorneys. “It’s shocking, but it is the kind of climate that we’re living in right now.”
Fox cast blame on the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, who has made vicious attacks on the media a cornerstone of his campaign. “This is certainly the result of the toxic language that Trump brings to the election.”
Although Ward, a climate activist, had gained access to a fenced enclosure owned by the Trans Mountain Pipeline, the Skagit County sheriff’s report noted that Grayzel and her cinematographer were “just outside the enclosure … taking photographs and video”. The report said they confiscated the film-makers’ phone and “assorted camera equipment”, actions that have raised further concerns about press intimidation and free speech violations.
Washington prosecutors are relying on laws that were passed in the early 20th century to target labor rights’ protesters, Fox added. “There’s been a revival in the state of Washington of the use of these statutes against labor activists and against environmental activists.”
In Goodman’s case, a judge forced prosecutors to drop a serious “riot” charge, which was centered on Goodman’s viral coverage of the intense Native American-led protests. But prosecutors and sheriff’s officials said they may continue to pursue other charges against the critically acclaimed journalist.
In Schlosberg’s charges, North Dakota prosecutors have alleged that she was part of a conspiracy, claiming she traveled with protesters “with the objective of diverting the flow of oil”.
“I was surprised at the conspiracy charges. I never thought that would ever happen,” her attorney Robert Woods told the Guardian. “All she was doing was her job of being a journalist and covering the story.”
Prosecutors in both cases declined to comment.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/20/north-dakota-oil-pipeline-protest-film-makers-face-prison
Opponents build wooden structure to block Atlantic Sunrise pipeline
By Marie Cusick/ StateImpact Pennsylvania, October 21, 2016
PHOTO: Mark Clatterbuck of the group, Lancaster Against Pipelines, carries woods from the site of what pipeline opponents are calling ‘The Stand.’
Opponents of the Atlantic Sunrise interstate natural gas pipeline are building a wooden structure in southern Lancaster County, in an attempt to block the pipeline’s construction. Mark Clatterbuck of the group, Lancaster Against Pipelines, says they were inspired by Native American groups’ opposition to the Dakota Access oil pipeline earlier this year. He says the structure will serve as a place for people to come together.
“Our whole point is to say, ‘We’re not going to let you come through,’” he says. “This is a blockade for the project. We want to derail the project.” Nicknamed “The Stand,” the structure is located on a farm in Conestoga, in the path of a proposed route. The group plans to hold a dedication ceremony Saturday.
The $3 billion Atlantic Sunrise pipeline, proposed by Williams Partners LP, has not yet received final approval from federal regulators. It’s designed to move natural gas from northeastern Pennsylvania southward to markets along the eastern seaboard. Clatterbuck says protesters plan to occupy the structure if and when pipeline construction commences.
“We understand there are individuals who have expressed concerns about the project,” says Williams spokesman Chris Stockton in an email. “We’ve also heard from thousands of individuals and groups who support the project because they recognize the important role it will play in growing the state’s natural gas industry, creating consumer access to an abundant supply of clean, affordable energy while delivering significant state and local economic benefits.”
In recent years there has been a big push to expand the region’s network of pipelines, as Pennsylvania gas producers face record low prices and infrastructure related supply constraints. More gas is also needed for electric power generation, as coal-fired plants retire.
A final decision on the Atlantic Sunrise is expected from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the spring. The project has already received preliminary approval. In May, the commission issued a draft environmental impact statement saying the pipeline would not create significant adverse impacts.
FERC was supposed to issue its final environmental impact statement October 21, but said Thursday it would delay the release and extend public comment. The final EIS is now expected December 30. The move follows a minor route change request by Williams. Some Lancaster County residents have also asked to have the route moved back to the original plan, closer to existing utility right-of-ways.
https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2016/10/21/opponents-build-wooden-structure-to-block-atlantic-sunrise-pipeline/
Actress Shailene Woodley Reveals She Was Strip-Searched After Her Arrest Protesting Dakota Pipeline
From Democracy Now! October 20, 2016
Actress Shailene Woodley pleaded not guilty on charges related to the resistance to the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline on Wednesday. She was arrested along with 27 others in North Dakota on October 10 during actions to mark Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Woodley was strip-searched and then put in an orange jump suit in the Morton County jail, which appears to be a common practice even for low-level misdemeanor charges. Woodley told Democracy Now!, “Never did it cross my mind that while trying to protect clean water, trying to ensure a future where our children have access to an element essential for human survival, would I be strip-searched. I was just shocked.”
Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chair Dave Archambault II and others have also been strip-searched after being arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience against the pipeline.
http://m.democracynow.org/web_exclusives/3041
It’s a good motto for us all: “power concedes nothing without a fight.”