Climate Activism News Roundup #1
Here at 350PDX we hear about climate activists all around the world working to dismantle the fossil fuel industry, but we do not see nearly enough media coverage of their daily acts of bravery. This movement is happening everywhere, and we hope that this project will amplify the voices of the many ordinary people doing extraordinary work for climate justice.
Every two weeks we will give you a curated roundup of climate activism news, protests, public marches, direct actions, related court-cases…etc. We are regularly inspired by the creative and courageous resistance we see around the globe, and we hope that collecting them here will keep you motivated, informed and connected.
Over 70 Arrested at Standing Rock as Dakota Access Aims to Finish Pipeline
Earth First!/ Feb 2, 2017 – North Dakota police have arrested 76 people at Standing Rock one day after federal officials suggested that the government could soon approve the final stage of construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. The arrests occurred after a group of activists established a new camp near the pipeline construction.
Trial of Oregon Climate Change Activist Ends in Hung Jury
Earth First!/ Feb 2, 2017 – The criminal trial of environmental activist Ken Ward ended in a mistrial today when a Skagit County jury couldn’t reach a verdict. The 60-year-old Corbett, Oregon man faced three felony charges and one misdemeanor for breaking a lock and shutting off a valve on the Trans Mountain Pipeline in Burlington, Wash, which transports Canadian Tar Sands crude oil into the state for refinement. Ward fears prosecutors will call for a new trial soon.
In Frigid Cold, Mongolians Stand in Protest of Air Pollution
Earth First!/ Jan 29, 2017 – Thousands of Mongolians stood in frigid weather Saturday for the second time this winter to protest the government response to smog that routinely blankets their capital city of Ulaanbaatar.
Voices from Standing Rock
Intercontinental Cry / Jan 27, 2017 – A collection of interviews that sheds light on the many-hued wave of humanity that has descended on Standing Rock in recent months.
In Call to Arms, Giant ‘Resist’ Banner Dropped Above Trump’s White House
Common Dreams / Jan. 25, 2017 – Greenpeace activists have unfurled a 70-foot, hand-painted banner declaring “RESIST” from atop a 270-foot construction crane facing the White House, demonstrating to President Donald Trump that his anti-environment, anti-women, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-immigrant policies are going to be met with a sustained popular resistance.
Environmental Activist Struck and Killed by SUV While Marching Barefoot Across America
Earth First! / Jan. 24, 2017 – Mark Baumer,33, was marching barefoot across the country to raise awareness about climate change.
As Trump Takes Office, Women Scientists and Environmental Activists Fight Back Against Climate Change Deniers in D.C.
DeSmog / Jan 23, 2017 – Dozens of female scientists decked out in white lab coats met in front of the National Air and Space Museum for the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. They are part of ‘500 Women Scientists’, a group that debuted the day after the election to fight anti-science and anti-women rhetoric. Over 12,000 women scientists from around the world have signed their open letter warning that “our work as scientists and our values as human beings are under attack. We fear that the scientific progress and momentum in tackling our biggest challenges, including staving off the worst impacts of climate change, will be severely hindered under this next U.S. administration. Our planet cannot afford to lose any time.”
Second Winner of Environmental Prize Killed Months after Berta Cáceres Death
Earth First! / Jan 18, 2017 – Isidro Baldenegro López, the indigenous activist whose struggle to protect the pine-oak forests of Mexico’s Sierra Madre range won him the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, has been killed by a gunman.
Guatemalan Activist Killed Protesting Hydroelectric Project
Earth First!/ Jan 18, 2017 – 72-year-old Sebastian Alonso from Yulchen was fatally shot by police during a peaceful demonstration led by Indigenous community members who oppose the construction of the Pojom hydroelectric plant in San Mateo Ixtatan.
Feds Respond to Allegations in Historic Lawsuit: Fossil Fuel Emissions Put Humans on ‘Dangerous Path’
EcoWatch / Jan 18, 2017 – The lawsuit by 21 youth plaintiffs against the federal government and fossil fuel companies seeks to hold them accountable for failing to adequately address human-caused global warming. On Jan. 13, the federal defendants made several admissions to their long-standing knowledge of climate change danger and to today’s knowledge on the severity of those impacts.
Water Protectors Across America Resist 4 Pipelines over the MLK Holiday
Sacred Stone Camp / Jan 17, 2017 – Indigenous-led resistance continues against the Trans-Pecos pipeline in Texas, the Sabal Trail Pipeline in Florida, the Diamond Pipeline in Tennessee, and the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.
Adani Coal Mine Activists Gear Up to Fight
Earth First! / Jan 16, 2017 – As the protest against the Carmichael project – Australia’s largest proposed coal mine – moves beyond the courts and into the realm of civil disobedience, activists have a clear warning: ‘If you’re in bed with Adani, you’re a target’.
Thousands hold ‘Global Protest Day’ to support world’s largest mangrove forest
Mongabay / Jan 11, 2017 – Organizers estimate more than 4,000 people gathered around the world on Saturday to protest the development of a power plant being built just upstream of the Sundarbans mangrove in Bangladesh.
Peru’s Amazon Tribes Will Risk Their Lives to Stop Oil Drilling
Intercontinental Cry / Dec 20, 2016 – The Federation of Achuar Indigenous People, or FENAP, warned the Peruvian government that they will physically block any attempt by oil companies to operate on their lands in the Amazon. The recently elected President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski gave a green light to a massive oil drilling operation.
