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We are the 99 percent

Articles tagged occupy the pipeline


#NoPipelines: International Actions Against Oil and Gas Pipelines In Solidarity with Unist'ot'en Camp

Posted 11 years ago on Nov. 26, 2012, 2 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: first nations, canada, #nopipelines, occupy the pipeline, environment, international

no pipelines!

Press release below via Unist'ot'en Camp, a resistance community [in "British Columbia," Canada], whose purpose is to protect sovereign Wet'suwet'en territory from several proposed pipelines from the Tar Sands Gigaproject and shale gas from Hydraulic Fracturing Projects in the Peace River Region. To support the camp, donations can be made at http://forestaction.wikidot.com/caravan. To promote and follow the actions on social media, follow @UnistotenCamp, use #nopipelines, and find them here on Facebook.

For a full list of actions and more information: http://unistotencamp.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/solidarity-actions/ To find out about resistance to pipeline projects in the U.S., please check out the Tar Sands Blockade against the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Occupy the Pipeline project here in NYC. See also our recent article "Relief Is Not Enough" on the need for climate solidarity actions!

Actions are taking place across Canada and internationally on Tuesday November 27 in support of the Unis’tot’en, who grabbed national headlines when they evicted shale gas pipeline surveyors from their territories in the interior of BC last week. The Unis’tot’en have made it clear that no proposed pipelines will proceed in Unist’ot’en territories and that corporations, investors, and governments have no jurisdiction to approve development on their lands.

On November 20, Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief Toghestiy intercepted and issued an eagle feather to surveyors from the Can-Am Geomatics company, working for Apache’s proposed shale gas Pacific Trails Pipeline. In Wet’suwet’en law, an eagle feather is used as a first and only notice of trespass. The surveyors were ordered to leave the territory and the road entering into the territory has been closed to all industry activities until further notice.

Since July of 2010, the Wet’suwet’en have established a camp in the pathway of the Pacific Trails Pipeline. Likhts’amisyu hereditary chief Toghestiy states, “Unist’ot’en and Grassroots Wet’suwet’en have consistently stated that they will not allow such a pipeline to pass through their territory. The federal and provincial governments, as well as Indian Act tribal councils or bands, have no right or jurisdiction to approve development on Unist’ot’en lands. By consulting only with elected Indian Act tribal councils and bands, the Canadian government breaks its own laws as outlined in the 1997 Supreme Court of Canada Delgamuukw decision which recognizes Hereditary adjudication processes.”

Freda Huson, spokeswoman for the Unist’ot’en Clan, states: “Pacific Trails Pipeline does not have permission to be on our territory. This is unceded land. Through emails and in meetings, we have repeatedly said NO. Pacific Trail Pipeline’s proposed route is through two main salmon spawning channels which provide our staple food supply. We have made the message clear to Pacific Trails, Enbridge, and all of industry: We will not permit any pipelines through our territory.”

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Relief Is Not Enough: Nov 14–20th Climate Solidarity Actions

Posted 11 years ago on Nov. 12, 2012, 11:31 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: occupy sandy, n17, occupy the pipeline, tar sands blockade, environment

tar sands blockade

In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, New Yorkers are showing the best of humanity, self-organizing to provide mutual aid in spite of the establishment's continued failure to turn the lights back on. Free kitchens were distributing hot meals within hours. Thousands of pounds of food, clothing, and other donations have been distributed across Red Hook, Staten Island, the Rockaways, and Coney Island. Cleanup of flood damage has begun, and volunteers continue to go door-to-door in the neglected buildings that still lack heat and electricity. Of course, this encouraging response does not minimize the true scope of tragedy this storm has left behind. We must continue to provide for each other and, as we do, show the world that another way of relating to one another is not only possible, but necessary in the face of economic and ecological catastrophe.

But we must not forget that the twin catastrophes of climate change and capitalism are deeply interconnected. The market sees only resources to be extracted, not a world to be shared or communities to be protected. The 1% continue to push for (and the banks continue to finance) more coal, oil, and natural gas, and they don't care how many mountains they must destroy or communities they must frack to increase their profits. Wall Street-owned politicians from all political parties are complicit, competing only about who will drill more. The result is a warmed planet and warmed oceans where superstorms like Sandy are increasingly common. And when the storms hit, we aren't all impacted equally. In New York and across the globe, poor and marginalized communities, already suffering from austerity and dismantled social services, are always hit the hardest and the last to receive aid from the established channels.

headlight

In response to the failure of the State and capitalism to provide for our needs, relief work like #OccupySandy is a beautiful, necessary, and logical response for social movements who are committed to replacing economic and social injustice with solidarity and people-powered solutions. But the 1% would be glad to have an army of volunteers to replace the safety net they cut and clean-up the mess they created. If we want to protect ourselves from the next storm or BP-style spill, we have to continue building the structures of mutual aid and support that will deal with crisis equitably. But we must also build a mass movement to address the systemic problems that create climate crises. After Sandy, we are not merely rebuilding the status quo; we are building a new world. This is why Occupy Wall Street stands in solidarity with the on-going Tar Sands Blockade and other direct actions to stop the destruction caused by greed and profit. In Texas, activists have held a tree-sit for 50 days and are calling for solidarity actions across the world. Over 20 cities have already answered the call. Occupy Wall Street and Occupy the Pipeline will join with many others to protest dirty power on November 17.

In New York and New Jersey, many of us are busy supporting those who have been left in the dark by Sandy. But we encourage everyone who is able to take action! See below for more information about the Global Campaign Against Fossil Fuels in New York on November 17th and the Tar Sands Blockade day of action on November 19th. To find out how to help the recovery efforts, check out interoccupy.net/occupysandy.

Occupy Sandy members hand out supplies to Federal Emergency Management Agency workers from the back of a u-haul truck
Occupy Sandy volunteers feed hungry FEMA workers

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NYC Activists Give Spectra An Unwelcoming Party

Posted 11 years ago on Aug. 14, 2012, 12:13 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: fracking, environmentalism, spectra, occupy the pipeline, nyc, direct action

A woman hold a stop Spectra sign in front of an Occupy banner while giving a speech to a crowd

via Occupy the Pipeline. Construction on the Spectra Pipeline is supposed to begin this week; a small group of activists has been on site this morning to keep an eye on the situation. For more information and photos of yesterday's action, check out Occupy the Pipeline!

Yesterday about 150 people showed up to give Spectra Energy a vibrant Un-Welcoming Party to NYC. The Spectra Men were walking the site, pointing and surveying, planning the pipeline construction that could result in 30,000 more cases of lung cancer & thousands of lost lives, homes, and businesses if their pipeline explodes. We think it's not an "if" but a "when;" the inevitability of a terrible accident looms over their public relations campaign claiming an increase of jobs into the area. We don't think that is worth the risk to life their project presents to NYC, not to mention the increased demand for Fracking in Pennsylvania, NJ and NYS switching NYC over to Fracked Gas would create. We are 100% opposed to Hydro-Fracking practices.

We had a visit from the NYPD who told us to take our banner down from between two trees. Official statement from the NYPD from yesterday: "Finally You Guys have a Good Cause." You know something is up when even the thugs at the NYPD realize the very real and present dangers from this pipeline. It endangers them as well, along with the good men and woman at the FDNY. They would be forced to risk their lives to put out the fires from the blast. Exploded pipelines have been known to burn for a week at a time. We don't want to make them suffer to save NYC. This is a preemptive intervention.

Our aim is to save lives. We are willing to put our lives in the way to do so. When the government fails to protect us, we need to take our lives into our own hands. Non-Violent Resistance is one tool we have to use.

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