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Angry Residents Block Entrance to Naameh Dump in Lebanon

Residents block the entrance to the Naameh landfill in front of
Sukleen trucks as riot police stand guard south of Beirut,
Friday Jan. 24, 2014.

January 17th, 2015

Angry residents blocked Saturday the entrance to the controversial Naameh landfill and demanded the government shut it down, warning of more actions in the future.

Speaking to television reporters, a spokesperson for the protesters called on Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk to resign after failing to shut down the landfill, which was originally set for closure Saturday.

“You made us a promise and failed to keep it. Like several senior statesmen, you have failed in resolving a simple problem,” he said.

Other protesters expressed frustration with the environment minister, saying “we no longer trust you after today nor do we trust your promises or empty plans.”

The spokesperson also announced that another protest will be held at the dump on Jan. 31.

Security forces beefed up measures in and around the dump in an effort to prevent any escalation.

Residents and officials are at odds concerning the closure of the Naameh dump after Progressive Socialist Party head Walid Jumblatt, whose party enjoys wide support in the area, agreed to a three month extension for the landfill.

Though the agreement calls for a three-month long technical extension, protesters fear the landfill will not be closed down for another seven years.

If the protesters decide to permanently block the entrance to the dump as they had last year, the streets of Beirut and other parts of the country could again be drowned in garbage.

The contract between the government and Sukleen, the company responsible for sweeping and cleaning the streets of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, was set to expire Saturday.

The Naameh landfill was originally opened in 1997 to serve the Beirut and Mount Lebanon region. It was intended to close after six years but remains open 17 years later. The landfill now receives 2,850 tons of waste a day, five times its intended capacity.

The Naameh landfill was originally supposed to be closed on Jan. 17 but under the new plan the deadline has been extended by three months and could be pushed back by another three if no alternative is found.

from The Daily Star

Eight Protestors with Lancaster Against Pipelines Arrested Blockading Testing Site in PA

by Katie Colaneri / NPR

January 5th, 2015

Eight protestors were arrested Monday morning at a pipeline testing site in Lancaster County, police have confirmed. The demonstrators included local residents opposing the proposed Atlantic Sunrise project and members of a Native American tribe who claim the pipeline company is improperly drilling test bores on sacred grounds in Conestoga Township.

Eight of the roughly three-dozen protesters were charged with trespassing after refusing to leave when PPL, the property’s owner, said they had to.

Protesters gathered near the drilling site around 9 a.m. and walked about a quarter-mile to where workers were drilling along the Conestoga River.

The workers stopped drilling about 10 minutes after the protesters arrived at the site around 9:20 a.m.

However, drilling had resumed by about 12:25 p.m., and no protesters remained.

“Everyone was peaceful,” said Chief John Fiorill with the Southern Regional Police Department. Fiorill noted it was not the first time protestors gathered on the site owned by PPL over the last two weeks, nor does he expect it will be the last.

A Williams spokesman said the company is drilling to collect soil samples that will help determine the least-invasive construction method for its proposed Atlantic Sunrise project. The interstate pipeline would send natural gas from the Marcellus Shale southward to markets on the east coast.

The project has faced fierce opposition from people in Lancaster County who have raised concerns about how it will effect the environment, public safety and property values.

“Our immediate goal is to prevent the pipeline from going in and doing what we can in a peaceful way to protect our land,” said Brenda Sieglitz, a member of the group No Lancaster Pipeline which organized Monday’s protest.

Chief Carlos Rivera of the North Arawak Tribal Nation is arrested protesting the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline in Conestoga, Pa. (courtesy of Michelle Johnsen)

Chief Carlos Rivera, a leader of the Northern Arawak Tribal Nation, was among the eight protestors arrested. According to his Facebook page, Rivera believes Williams’ drill bores are desecrating a site sacred to his tribe.

“I know there are some sensitive cultural resources out there and that’s one of the reasons we’ve been taking the steps we’ve been taking to make sure we treat those with respect,” said Williams spokesman Chris Stockton, who could not confirm whether the company is operating on a sacred Northern Arawak site.

Rivera cooperated with police officers and was released on a summary citation, Fiorill said.

However, the other seven protestors, who linked arms when officers attempted to arrest them, were charged with trespassing in the third degree and could face up to a year in jail and $250 in fines.

Live Streamers Make Great Informants

from We Cop Watch

There are many ways to effectively document the movement while protecting the space, its movements and people’s privacy. Live Streaming is generally NOT one of them.

from We Cop Watch

There are many ways to effectively document the movement while protecting the space, its movements and people’s privacy. Live Streaming is generally NOT one of them.

A common issue with Streamers is their display of entitlement, often citing the value of bringing the movement to the people. But Streamers have a hard time admitting that the police find their work more valuable then demonstrators.

In a world of voyeurism and exhibitionists, Streamers often get carried away, interpreting their role as being a narrator for the movement. They often film people without their consent, placing more value in presenting to their viewership, then protecting the group that is already taking risks by just getting out into the street to protest.

One of the biggest problems with streaming is that it gives real time information to the police as far as what people are present, the group’s intentions, as well as its location and routes. Embedded Streamers give police a tactical advantage when trying to conduct mass arrests.

An even more tragic contract Streamers impose on demonstrators is the raw, unedited, archived video that is often made public and available online for law enforcement to use later to help identify and target people.

Before we move to “Streamer Solutions” lets review some “Streamer tactics” that are favorable to law enforcement, and almost always at the expense of the people.

Very Poor Streamer Etiquette:
Calling People out by Name on Streams.

People don’t go to protests for other people to call them out on streams that are put up permanently online for law enforcement to review.

Filming Peoples’ Identities on Streams

Law enforcement use streams to target and identify people for repression and arrest

Narrating your Interpretation of what Kind of Action is Taking Place

Streamers often divulge personal opinions rather than facts when narrating about actions. Are you prepared to be a witness for law enforcement in the future?

Filming Direct Actions

Everything you film, can and will be used against protesters if law enforcement has anything to do with it.

Narrating Logistics and Tactics

At the height of Occupy Oakland, Undercovers were being called into certain FTP protests because of the “no Live Streaming” / “no Twittering” tactic.

FTP marches are ongoing Fuck the Police marches that take place in Oakland and across the Bay.

Narrating Group Routes

Police have a much easier time arresting people in the streets when they have Streamers narrating the group’s routes. You don’t need Undercovers and helicopters when you have a front-row seat.

If you want to be helpful to the movement, be honest about your intentions. Is your viewership more important than the people you are standing with? Do you want to be doing something that benefits the police over the people? Every action, every mass mobilization, has a story that can be told. But folks need to either start holding “non streaming” actions again, or streamers should stop operating as informants for the police.

If any of these issues are concerning to you, maybe consider NOT “Live Streaming” your next protest. Pick up a still camera, conduct some audio interviews, heck shoot some video. There’s no reason why you can’t go home after a protest and produce some content that is useful and not harmful. But in case it’s not in your blood to consider other people on that level, here are some good Live Stream tactics.

“Good” Livestream Tactics

Stand hundreds of feet away from the group so the low quality recording doesn’t pick up conversations or peoples’ identity.
Don’t film peoples’ identity without their consent.
Don’t narrate intentions, tactics, locations, or destinations.
Wear a bright shirt that says “Live Streamer” or “Informant.”

More “Real Good” Livestream Tactics

Live Stream an event, panel, or discussion where all parties consent.
Live Stream a demo or action where all parties involved consent.
Live Stream your interactions when being stopped, questioned, or harassed by law enforcement. (maybe put your channel on private!)

Be safe out there, and make it safer for the masses by considering them when you point a camera at them!

story of direct action behind fracking ban in New York

Did Somebody Say Direct Action? What’s Missing from the Victory Narrative

by Sasha / Earth First! Journal

We have heard a lot about what stopped the fracking boom in New York after Governor Cuomo banned it last week.

While some insist that faltering prices that did the gas boom in, others credit the seven-year legal battle with stopped the practice. The running narrative is that it’s a combination of grassroots political involvement—going to public hearings, submitting comments, and doing ecological studies. But there’s another element people aren’t talking about as much.

What we don’t hear about is the intense blossoming of direct action that has generated a network of several Earth First! groups who have been working diligently to shut down fracking operations and natural gas infrastructure for the last six years. This movement spans a gamut of tactics, from protests to blockades to other escapades. It has been upsetting business as usual, costing the corporations money and the politicians credit.

In short, it’s working.

EF! in the Mix

The Marcellus Shale Earth First! Network sprung into action soon after the first wells started getting tested, and rapidly assembled several groups around the Marcellus, including Hudson Valley EF! (HVEF!) and Finger Lakes EF! (FLEF!), which have been active in direct action struggles.

In May of this year, Hudson Valley Earth First! (HVEF!) disrupted the 9th annual Northeast Power and Gas Markets Conference in New York City, sending home the message that fracking would not be accepted in the state.

Other groups involved have been Susquehanna Valley EF!, Genessee Valley EF!, and Occupy WELL Street.

“This campaign has been going on for almost two years, but now it’s getting serious,” said April Rogers, a member of HVEF! “If trucks show up, we’ll be there to stop them!”

Indeed, two years before the disruption in NYC, HVEF! stopped construction on a compressor station in Minisink, NY, along the Millenium Pipeline.

EF! has been engaged in this movement since the Newswire has been in existence, protesting outside of public hearings, drawing a spotlight with outrageous actions, and growing the movement.

In Winter of last year, MSEF! went on an extensive tour of New York and Pennsylvania, spreading the good word about direct action against fracking after a crucial victory defending the Loyalsock State Forest from fracking in Pennsylvania.

As the collective put it at the time, “MSEF! is a creative and growing movement, and sharing our struggle with others around PA and NY made it clear that the campaign to defend the Loyalsock is one that will unite many people.”

Prior to halting fracking in the Loyalsock, MSEF! engaged in a prolonged campaign against the Tennessee Pipeline through a lockdown, two consecutive treesits, and a two-week road blockade matched with a nine-day treesit.

The MSEF! network also shut down fracking operations in the Tiadaghton State Forest earlier this year and blockaded fracking trucks in the Moshannon State Forest in 2012.

Despite tremendous resistance, fracking in Pennsylvania is still going on, and activists continue to work to shut it down.

The Infrastructure Fight Still Needs Support

While the EF! network has been holding action camps and engaging in a number of campaigns, perhaps the largest of the area’s anti-gas struggles has been the We Are Seneca Lake campaign.

In a three-week blockade this November, 19 people were arrested halting construction of Crestwood Midstream’s gas storage facility on Seneca Lake.

Just this month, more than 100 people attended a demonstration outside of the court where the arrested were being arraigned. That day, nine more people were arrested locking themselves to the gates of Crestwood’s facility.

This came after a peaceful blockade in March which saw the arrest of 12 activists. Three more were arrested at their trial in April.

In total, some 92 people have been arrested in the movement to halt the Crestwood facility—a rousing campaign that is ongoing and needs your support!

If the movement against gas transport and storage is still raging in New York, its visibility has thrown the spotlight on the controversial practice of fracking as well. Chesapeake EF! is involved in the ongoing campaign against fracking exports in the Maryland Cove Point facility, and other campaigns continue to build steam.

Movement Builders

The victory in New York is a key movement builder, because it helps us recognize the components that make them happen, and focus on the campaigns that need support with greater numbers and resources.

Direct action is just one piece of the larger puzzle to stop industrial exploitation and destruction of land and livelihood. And, with community rights movements, legal battles, and protest movements, it’s winning.

It is important to note that these actions have taken place not just in New York, but in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well. This is a bioregional struggle, and claiming success in New York is not the end. The movement to stop fracking won’t stop at legal battles; it relies on the vigilance of communities impacted by the unsafe practices, and it will continue to expand throughout the Marcellus Shale until all fracking operations are shut down once and for all.

No Compromise!

Maules Creek coal mine protests, down under

No “Coal for Christmas” as Whitehaven Coal Disruptions Continue in New South Wales

from Frontline Action

MAULES CREEK, 24 December 2014: A man has suspended himself from a rail bridge crossing the Namoi River blocking a coal train being loaded at Whitehaven Coal’s controversial Maules Creek mine from leaving the site. The train blocked at the Maules Creek mine is believed to be the first containment of coal from the site after a test train – twice disrupted by activists – left the site last week. The rail bridge also services Idemitsu Resource’s Boggabri Coal mine.

Ben Solity, a 31 year old logistics consultant, cited deep concerns about the impact the mine will have on water and the climate, saying, “Farmers need water to continue to put food on our tables – so why are companies like Whitehaven allowed to take it with preference over farmers? Farmer’s jobs are only going to get harder for them as the effects of climate change driven by coal takes hold. Why are our governments selling out our water and our climate for a quick buck when food security is at stake?”

Leard Forest Alliance spokesperson Phil Evans said, “Australians do not want coal for Christmas – and Whitehaven are trying to sneak it into their stockings whilst everyone is distracted. Just more slimy behaviour from this disgraced company – and project – that has seen Australians lose faith in mining approval processes in this country.”

“We need a stop to this farce immediately – stop work and then have a good long, hard look at how successive NSW governments, embroiled in mining related corruption, have allowed the Maules Creek mine approval to stick.”

Both Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek and Idemitsu’s Bogggabri mines have approval to expand into the critically endangered Leard State Forest this February – sparking this warning from the protest group.

“They have a battle on their hands if they think local farmers, traditional custodians and concerned citizens are going to allow this wholesale destruction. The forest, water, climate and culture are all too precious to lose – and we won’t take this lying down.”

The Leard Forest Alliance is a group made up of local farmers, prominent environmental groups with a treaty of protection with the Gomeroi traditional custodians of the area. Over 300 people have been arrested since the campaign began over 2 and half years ago.

UPDATE 09:00: Regular police have arrived – no Police Resuce yet. Ben remains in place.

UPDATE 14:30: Ben has just unfurled a banner reading “Whitehaven Coal – No Water – No Future”

UPDATE 16:15: Police Rescue have arrived on site.

UPDATE 16:35: Police Rescue are trying to get to Ben with a Cherry Picker supplied by Whitehaven Coal.

UPDATE 17:00: Ben says Police Rescue are taking apart the bridge to get to him!

UPDATE 18:30: Police Rescue have begun to cut off the now locked on Ben.

UPDATE 19:30: Ben has been arrested and taken to Narrabri Police Station after 13 hours.

Further Information:
Phil Evans, Leard Forest Alliance Spokesperson, 0490 064 139

Twitter updates @FLACCoal and #LeardBlockade

December 16th, 2014

Protest Halts First Coal Train from Maules Creek Mine

from Front Line Action on Coal

Newcastle, Australia 15 December: A peaceful blockade has halted the first train load of coal coming from the controversial Maules Creek coal mine on its way to Newcastle’s Kooragang Island coal export terminals this morning.

A group of 22 people met the train this morning. Eight people have occupied and stopped the train and are refusing to leave.

The train was stopped during the night and delayed for over 6 hours by a protestor who locked onto locomotives needed to push the coal over the Great Dividing Range. The 58 year-old protestor, Bruce, from Northern Rivers, has been arrested. Speaking about why he took action, Bruce said:

“Australia’s response to climate change is headed completely backwards. “If we can stop this new coal mine we set a precedent for the rest of Australia to stand up.”

Jonathan Moylan from Frontline Action on Coal said, “Over the last twelve months, hundreds of people have been arrested slowing down construction of the Maules Creek mine. The fate of our country, and people everywhere, depends on coal being left in the ground. In the absence of leadership from the industry or the Government to shut down coal exports and prevent dangerous climate change, ordinary people have taken extraordinary action to stop this mine.

“A growing number of people are standing up to the coal industry’s plans to ship increasing volumes of coal and fuel dangerous climate change. Doctors, people of faith, IPCC scientists and earlier this month, former Wallabies captain David Pocock, have all taken action to halt construction at Maules Creek. Even Malcolm Fraser last week tweeted about Maules Creek, referring to the coal sector as an ‘industry of a past age’.

Local Newcastle mother, Vanessa Wiebford said, “I want my daughter to have a future without the horror of extreme heat and fire, and uncertain water and food production. I am bitterly disappointed in Australia’s political leadership and their unthinking support for expanded coal exports at a time when we’re already seeing alarming signs of dangerous climate change.

“If they’re not going to act to prevent this, then all parents have a duty to risk arrest to try and stop it ourselves.

2014 is now expected to break the record as the hottest year in Australia’s history. Heatwave conditions were observed in many parts of the country during our hottest spring on record this year, and the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a return to El Nino conditions at a time when much of Queensland and parts of New South Wales are already drought declared.

The burning of coal exported from Australia is this country’s biggest single contribution to climate change, and production and export of coal increased in the last 12 months.

“With the international climate negotiations in Lima failing to deliver the scale of action needed, people around the world will next year have to take their future into their own hands like never before. Ordinary people are stepping up to do what it takes to stop the fossil fuel industry’s dangerous expansion plans,” said Moylan.

UPDATE 6:00 am: Coal train is stopped.

UPDATE 8:15 am: The five activists have been lower from atop the coal wagon by police.

UPDATE 9:00am: The coal train starts moving again after 3 hours at a stand still.

UPDATE 12:30pm: Four activists released after being processed at Waratah police station.

Media Enquiries

On the ground: Jonathan Moylan: 0431 289 766 | Vanessa Wiebford: 0409 021 976
Off-site: Charlie Wood: 0427 485 233
Photos Available at: http://bit.ly/13nps8U

FANG Shuts Down Spectra Energy after Sit-in at Senator’s Office, US

December 17th, 2014

The New England group Fighting Against Natural Gas has conducted two rousing actions in the last two days against greenwashing, fracking, and energy infrastructure.

December 17th, 2014

The New England group Fighting Against Natural Gas has conducted two rousing actions in the last two days against greenwashing, fracking, and energy infrastructure.

Here is the statement from FANG:

On Wednesday morning a group of New Englanders were arrested for occupying and shutting down the offices of Spectra Energy to protest the company’s plans to expand a network of fracked gas pipelines in the region.

The group deployed multiple banners demanding funders divest from Spectra Energy due to the impacts of the company’s projects to local communities and the climate, with one of them hanging from a 24 foot tripod and refusing to leave.

“As long as Spectra is committed to the business of devastating local health and the climate, we’re committed to disrupting their business.”

This action took place one day after a sit-in at Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s office. Another statement:

“A group of fifteen police officers just cleared the occupation of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s office. Peter Nightengale a professor of physics at URI was arrested.

Everyone – please don’t think of Senator Whitehouse as a “climate champion” anymore. At least until he stops supporting the Spectra pipeline and he stops having climate activists arrested.”

Nine arrested in Newcastle blocking Maules Creek train

14 Dec 2014

Nine people have been arrested after blockading the first train load of coal coming from the Maules Creek coal mine at Narrabri to Newcastle's Kooragang Island.

The train was stopped at Sandgate, near Newcastle, for more than three hours with police removing five people from on top of one of the carriages.

Earlier this morning a 58-year-old man was arrested after locking himself onto locomotives, at Willow Tree, south of Tamworth.

Jonathan Moylan from 'Frontline Action On Coal' said today's protest is the latest in a long line of action against the controversial Maules Creek mine.

"All the people who were occupying the rail line have been arrested," he said.

"So we imagine the train will continue, seriously delayed, from when it first left the Maules Creek mine."

Acting Inspector Mick Kelly said he is not against peaceful protests, but the nine protestors went too far.

"Police definitely support protesting but in a peaceful manner and certainly within the bounds of the law," he said.

"This protest here certainly put lives at risk with the train travelling.

"It put stress on the train drivers and as a result it held up over one hundred trains."

Police said the blockage prevented around 100 trains from getting through.

Acting Inspector Kelly said the protestors are facing a number of charges.

"They did not comply with any police verbal directions to get down and Police Rescue were summonsed and as a result they eventually came down off the train," he said.

"At the moment we are still looking at the charges, and investigations are continuing into that matter."

Australia: Anti-Coal Lockdowns Continue

GUNNEDAH, 4 December 2014: Sustained protest against Whitehaven Coal’s controversial Maules Creek mine in the Leard State Forest continues this morning, as two men chained themselves to a concrete barrel at Whitehaven Coal’s Gunnedah coal handling and preparation plant. 31 year old Maules Creek farm-hand Adam Ryan and 37 year old, Sydney based father and corporate lawyer, Matthew Drake-Brockman have taken action to protest against what Drake-Brockman describes as the ‘lax approval processes’ that allowed the scandal-plagued mine to go ahead.

Mr Ryan, born in nearby Wee Waa, cited concerns about mining impacts on water and the subsequent effect on the local agricultural industry, saying “this mine is destroying the community that I have known my whole life. The time for standing by has passed, we have to stand up for our community.”

Mr Drake-Brockman was involved in a 2007 lawsuit against the then Planning Minister regarding planning approval processes, with the case focussing on the fact that the approval did not take into account the impacts of climate change.

Mr Drake-Brockman said, “The whole process between what goes on in parliament and what goes on in industry is not transparent – there is no way the public can know what’s going on. There is not a great deal of room for input from the public in this system – if there was we would already be moving away from coal and into renewable energy.”

Drake-Brockman continued, “It has become necessary that we all stand up and become citizen activists against the corrupt state government and Whitehaven Coal and to stand in solidarity with farmer’s, whose livelihood and health are under threat, and will only get worse with climate change.”

In the last week there have been 10 arrests including high profile former Wallabies captain, David Pocock, prominent local farmer, Rick Laird and IPCC contributing author, Prof. Colin Butler. The long running protest camp has seen thousands flock to protest the mine and over 290 arrests take place.

Leard Forest Alliance spokesperson, Phil Evans said, “Hundreds of Australians including doctors, professors, World War II veterans, sports players and young people have stood alongside local farmers and risked arrest to say that the Maules Creek project is wrong and should not go ahead. Surely, this sends a signal that something is broken with the way we decide on whether coal mines go ahead.”

“We need an immediate stop to work whilst there is a long, hard look at the planning approval process – so that ordinary Australians can have faith in their government’s independence from big coal and the big end of town.”

Whitehaven Coal’s share-price fell to new lows this week dipping to $1.07 on Tuesday.

UPDATE 12:30pm: Police have arrived on site.

UPDATE 4:30pm: Both men have been arrested and taken to Gunnedah police station to be charged.

Further Information:

Phil Evans

Leard Forest Alliance Spokesperson

0490 064 139

Pictures and footage for media use: https://www.mediafire.com/#ir1c4tq4oncu2

Twitter updates @FLACCoal and #LeardBlockade

from Front Line Action on Coal

Oil Train Blockades in the Pacific Northwest and the Transformative Power of Direct Action

December 1st, 2014

A protester sits atop the apex of a tripod blocking the tracks at the Global Partners oil terminal in Oregon.

Direct action can deeply transform participants in ways critical to mobilization and innovation in the climate movement

“One, two, three, lift!”

With that command, a group of about eight people from Portland Rising Tide and South Sound Rising Tide shouldered three heavy, 30-foot steel poles. Balancing the poles, they slowly walked down the railroad tracks leading to the Global Partners oil terminal about a mile away on the Columbia River, and 60 miles northeast of Portland, OR. Within minutes the poles were converted into a tripod and Sunny Glover was climbing up and assembling a platform some 25 feet from the ground. Individuals were dispatched to inform the port authorities, and those on the ground awaited word from the teams up and down the tracks in the event of an approaching train. No trains carrying Bakken oil would come through that day. The blockade lasted some nine hours into the night until the police dangerously cut the tripod legs one by one, a couple feet at a time, while Glover’s neck was still locked to one of the poles.

While the duration of the blockade was itself impressive, this action also contained something little acknowledged, but equally powerful: the ability of this kind of direct action to transform the participants themselves.

The massive nature of the climate crisis and the unwillingness of existing political leaders and institutions to act has created a cynicism and paralysis that often quiets us in the very moment when it is most critical that we act. It is not sufficient for direct action to target only those individuals and companies responsible for the crisis. These actions must also offer the possibility of a transformation that changes our sense of power, inspires others, and overcomes the cynicism at the heart of disengagement. We must also be the targets of our own actions.

The Global Partners blockade was part of a series of actions over the summer of 2014. It followed on the heels of a similar tripod blockade at the Everett rail yard several weeks earlier. In that instance, Seattle Rising Tide blocked an oil train in the rail yard for over eight hours. One person sat atop the apex of the tripod while four others were locked to the tripod’s legs. Earlier this year, Rising Tide, a network orienting to confronting the root causes of the climate crisis and promoting community-based solutions, also organized blockades at the Anacortes refinery in Washington, which receives oil trains, and at the Arc Logistics oil terminal in Portland, OR. In both actions individuals were arrested after blocking the train tracks with concrete-filled barrels that they had locked themselves to. In another event at Arc Logistics, five protesters blockaded the entrances to the terminal while a hundred supporters rallied nearby. In that case, the terminal operators preemptively shut the facility down after learning of the impending blockade. When all was said and done, a total of ten people were arrested in these five actions targeting the Everett rail yard, the Anacortes Refinery, Global Partners and the Arc Logistics oil terminal, which represent just a few of the 12 proposed or existing oil-by-rail facilities in the Pacific Northwest.

The surge in action during the summer of 2014 came in response to industry proposals that would move some 850,000 barrels per day via oil-by-rail to terminals and refineries in the Northwest. These projects have been developed in response to the fossil fuel boom occurring in North America, including in the Bakken shale field, and the broader increase in coal, oil, and gas export facilities. The enormous spike in oil rail traffic, increasing from 5,000 rail cars in 2006 to 400,000 rail cars by 2013, has lead to serious catastrophes throughout North America, including most significantly the explosions that killed 47 people in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec in July 2013. (Read the Journal’s Summer cover story “Highly Flammable,” for details.) Despite these disasters, politicians and existing regulatory agencies have offered only rhetorical concern while still enabling dangerous rail projects. As a result, citizens throughout the Northwest have begun to mobilize.

Despite the recent announcement of a US-China bilateral climate agreement, those of us concerned with the climate crisis have to confront a harsh reality: In the very moment where a rapid, just transition away from fossil fuels is needed, the opposite is occurring. A project of massive fossil fuel expansion, enabled by the same administration responsible for the recent climate agreement, threatens the slight and insufficient carbon dioxideemissions reductions made by the United States. This reality is readily transparent to the public, who correctly understand that existing institutions are not moving fast enough to address the climate crisis. It is often this dissonance, and the lack of forms of action that address it, that prevents action and causes many to divert their gaze from the impending disaster of climate change.

Protesters at the Global Partners oil terminal in Oregon.

That’s why actions that offer the possibility of a transformation are essential in climate organizing. Direct action presents new understandings of who we are, what kinds of power we have, and broadens our view of the avenues possible for social change. In this sense we should consider ourselves the targets of our own actions, alongside any other targets we might be aiming for.

On the tracks at the Global Partners oil terminal in Oregon, as in other places, this personal transformation was most definitely apparent. Not only did the blockade restrict access to the oil terminal and garner high profile media attention, it also created a new sense of being in participants, reversing the powerlessness we often feel when trying to access vertical power structures dominated by industry lobbyists and campaign contributions. For Glover, this kind of action “felt stronger… it upended that pyramid a little bit because we were doing something was impossible to ignore or dismiss entirely.” What is more, it “felt like it encouraged a deeper sense of connection… and brought people together more strongly.”

Key participants in these blockades, many new to this kind of direct action, described the empowering, joyful, liberating experience of the action on themselves. In taking action in the Everett train yard, Abby Brockway described how the experience was the “first time that I’ve ever really felt like I was acting on making a difference rather than experiencing the frustration of attending hearings, or writing letters, or meeting politicians, or voting.” Participation in the blockades changed who these protesters were and how they acted, not only during the blockade, but also, critically, after the action was over.

Over the last decade there has been an explosion of climate related direct action, and the climate crisis has become better accepted among the general public. “This blockadia movement…it’s not just this underground culture, it’s now people that are more mainstream,” Brockway says.

As more and more people experience these actions as either passive observers or active participants, something is starting to happen. A line is crossed in these actions from protesting only within the limits of what is legal, to doing what is right. From doing what we are allowed to do, to what we have a responsibility to do. From appealing to others to make changes for us, to discovering our own agency to create those changes. Such shifts constitute new ways of being, and participants are discovering entirely new horizons of what is possible and ways in which we can rearrange our relations to one another.

Direct actions that facilitate these personal experiences have the potential to create a climate movement that can strike at the root causes of the climate crisis while also opening doors to exciting personal transformation. As Glover reflected, “There had been this barrier created about how you’re expected to behave and the rules you’re expected to follow – while it was a little scary to transgress, having done so once opened up a whole new area of my life. It feels really freeing and exciting.”

Lockdown on Coal Super Digger at Maules Creek, Australia

MAULES CREEK, 30 November 2014, In an extraordinary show of solidarity 8 Canberrans have responded to a call for help from the Maules Creek community impacted by Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek mine in the Leard State Forest. The group have swarmed a ‘super digger’ operating in the Maules Creek project site and are joined by 5th generation Maules Creek farmer, Rick Laird and high profile former Wallabies Captain and Brumbies player, David Pocock.

The group of Canberrans are calling on the ACT Government to divest its shares in Whitehaven Coal given the ACT Government has taken taken a strong stance on tackling climate change.

Maules Creek farmers are struggling with the effects of drought exacerbated by climate change. Local farmers are facing a double blow on water, holding deep concerns about the impact of the new mine on underground aquifers and their access to irrigation water.

David Pocock said “I believe it’s time for direct action on climate change, standing together as ordinary Australians to take control of our shared future. It’s inspiring to join other Canberrans and Rick Laird in their call for the ACT Government to quit their investments in Whitehaven.”

Local farmer and long time vocal opponent of the mine Rick Laird said “I’m out here for the sake of my 5 children. The mine is about 4kms from the school they go to and I worry about their future and their health growing up next a coal mine that is always blasting and kicking up dust.”

The Leard Forest Alliance, comprising of local farmer groups and prominent environmental groups, are calling for immediate halt to construction work on the Maules Creek Mine whilst there is a full inquiry into how this scandal-plagued project was approved by NSW and federal governments.

Leard Forest Alliance spokesperson Phil Evans said, “This mine has been a rort from word go – and this is why prominent Australians, farmers and city folk are flocking to the area to oppose this symbol of corruption and climate disaster.”

There have been over 280 arrests since the establishment of the Leard Blockade camp in August 2012.

UPDATE 07:45AM: Local Police have arrived on site.

UPDATE 3:30PM: David Pocock and Rick Laird have been arrested after coming down from the machine and other activists are still occupying the machine.

UPDATE 6PM: The remaining activists have all been arrested and take to Narrabri police station

UPDATE:

Emma Pocock (David’s partner) and ANU Philosophy lecturer Bruin Christensen were arrested early in the day.
David Pocock and Rick Laird have been arrested by Narrabri Police and taken into custody after 10 hours occupying the ‘super digger’ in the Maules Creek mine.
Other Activists from Canberra Josh Creaser, Greg Oakes, Claudia Caton, Mishael J and Tim Boston were arrested after 12 hours occupying the ‘super digger’.
All 9 participants were charged with Enter Inclosed Lands, Remain on Enclosed Lands.
David Pocock, Rick Laird, Josh Creaser, Greg Oakes, Claudia Caton, Mishael J and Tim Boston were all also charged with Hinder to mine equipment

Further information:
Phil Evans
Leard Forest Alliance Spokesperson
Ph: 0490 064 139
David Pocock and Rick Laird available for comment on request.

Photos available from: mediafire.com/folder/pm6uzeefeetbp/External

Twitter updates: @FLACCoal and #LeardBlockade

from Front Line Action on Coal