Activism News Roundup #9
This most recent update takes us far and wide. From a Louisiana swampland put at risk by a planned pipeline, to the front lines of the legal battle against opening up Bears Ears to mining interests, to a Canadian man who has taken it upon himself to check for leaking gas wells in British Columbia.
The Climate Activism News Roundup is a curated collection of climate activism news, protests, public marches, direct actions, and related court-cases. We are regularly inspired by the creative and courageous resistance we see around the globe, and we hope that gathering the stories here will keep you motivated, informed and connected.
Bears Ears
Navajo Nation President and Others Testify Against Shrinking of Bear[s] Ears
EarthFirst! | February 3, 2018 –
“The Navajo Nation adamantly opposes a bill that would slash 85 percentof the land from Bears Ears National Monument and limit tribal input in management plans, President Russell Begaye told federal lawmakers Tuesday.
Navajo Nation President Begaye was one of five tribal leaders who testified during a hearing of the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Federal Lands—the second such hearing this month. Leaders from the Ute Mountain Ute, Uintah and Ouray Ute, Hopi and Zuni tribes also testified, presenting unified opposition to H.R. 4532.”
‘Outrageous’ Gold Rush-Style Grab of Public Lands to Begin Friday
EcoWatch | February 1, 2018 –
“Despite protests from conservationists, local tribe leaders, Democratic lawmakers and even the United Nations’ expert on Indigenous rights, at 6 a.m. on Friday the Trump administration will allow citizens and companies to start staking claims on sections of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah so the new stakeholders can conduct hard rock mining on the formerly protected lands.”
Bayou Bridge Pipeline
Enraged Opponents Vow Nonviolent Resistance After Louisiana Pipeline
Intercontinental Cry | December 20, 2017 –
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which refused to perform an environmental impact review of the project, has enraged indigenous and other local opponents by granting a permit for the Bayou Bridge pipeline in Louisiana to a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners—the company that is also behind the Dakota Access pipeline.”
Bayou Bridge Pipeline Faces Mounting Legal Challenges in Louisiana.
DeSmog Blog | January 28, 2018 –
“‘If the Bayou Bridge pipeline is built, a 75-foot-wide swath of trees will be pulverized,’ Dean Wilson, executive director of the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, told me, pointing to markers that surveyors recently put up along the pipeline route. The markers gave me a clearer picture of what will be lost if the pipeline is built.”
Bayou Bridge Pipeline’s controversial construction begins
NOLA.com | January 30, 2018 –
“Construction of the controversial Bayou Bridge oil pipeline has begun at multiple sites on its 163-mile route from St. James Parish to Lake Charles.”
Environmental group strongly condemns Bayou Bridge Pipeline Permit
Beauregard Daily News | February 1, 2018 –
“A pipeline construction company has been selected to build 55-mile segment under Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin. This decision, however, is being challenged by environmental protection groups.”
Atlantic Coast Pipeline
Dozens Occupy NC Governor’s Office to Protest Atlantic Coast Pipeline
EarthFirst! | February 3, 2018 –
“According to the Raleigh News and Obersver, 15 people were arrested for occupying North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s office in a protest against his administration’s approval of the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The protest which took place on Febraury 2nd and was the latest instance of community opposition to the 600 mile-long pipeline that would bring fracked gas from West Virginia, through Virginia, and into North Carolina.”
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Journalism versus activism in times of resistance
Intercontinental Cry | December 29, 2017 –
“I get approached frequently to discuss my time spent reporting from Standing Rock, the Indigenous-led movement that sought to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. But what’s funny about these invitations is that they almost always incorporate some notion that I was there as an activist – and without even asking me if that was, indeed, the case.”
Concerned Citizens in Cancer Alley to Vow to Ramp up Battle Against Industrial Pollution in 2018
DeSmog Blog | January 4, 2018 –
“This past year in Louisiana’s St. John the Baptist Parish, a small group of residents began organizing their community to compel the state to protect them against an invisible menace: the air they breathe. Their parish, the Louisiana equivalent of a county, is situated in what’s known as Cancer Alley, an industrial corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans that hosts more than 100 petrochemical factories.”
World’s Largest Virtual Power Plant Coming to Australia in Deal with Tesla
EcoWatch | February 5, 2018 –
“South Australia—already home to the world’s largest battery—will soon host the world’s largest virtual solar plant under a landmark plan from Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the state government.”
Big Oil Targets Long Beach wetlands, Indigenous–led struggle fights back
Intercontinental Cry | January 18, 2018 –
“A grassroots movement led by Indigenous communities in southern California is challenging efforts by Beach Oil Mineral Partners to devastate the Los Cerritos Wetlands by greatly ramping up oil extraction n the area. Pressure is now on Long Beach City Council to stop this land grab.”
This Vigilante Scientist Trekked Over 10,000 Kilometres to Reveal B.C.’s Leaking Gas Wells
DeSmog Canada – February 5, 2018
“…Werring has now logged more than 10,000 kilometres on B.C.’s oil and gas roads in the hunt for leaking wells. In the process, he has revealed that B.C. is vastly underreporting its ‘fugitive emissions’ — emissions vented or leaked during the natural gas extraction process.”
Meet the 23-year-old who’s helping lead the indigenous resistance against pipelines
EarthFirst! – January 16, 2018
: “Jackie Fielder quit her full-time job in June 2017. But it wasn’t to travel the world or go back to school, like some other 23-year-olds. Instead, she made a bold decision to join Mazaska Talks, an organization that aims to encourage organizations and individuals to divest from the banks that fund fossil fuel projects, which often adversely affect indigenous communities.”
