Articles tagged tar sands blockade
Posted 11 years ago on Jan. 2, 2013, 1:07 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags:
tar sands blockade,
environment,
houston,
texas
<p> </p>
<p>Follow this
link to background information on Houston's toxic East End,
more info on projects going on in Manchester such as the Free Store, and
photos from other events. For more information contact
greencircleas@riseup.net</p>
On Thursday, December 27th, in Houston, TX residents of the Manchester
neighborhood joined in unity with anarchist community organizers, Tar
Sands Blockaders, Occupiers, leaders from TEJAS (Texas Environmental
Justice Advocacy Services), and hunger strikers Diane Wilson and Bob
Lindsey, now in their 33rd day of a sustained hunger strike to protest
Valero’s involvement with the Keystone XL Pipeline and ultimately their
presence in this community. Movements like Occupy Wall Street have given
rise to resistance movements that aim to prove that another world is
possible.
Anarchists and Tar Sands Blockaders
have been organizing in Houston’s toxic East End. For the past two months
they have been working to cultivate a community of resistance in the fence-line
neighborhood of Manchester. This was most recently displayed when
residents of Manchester cheered on Diane Wilson and Bob Lindsey, after they chained
their necks to industrial trucks outside this Valero refinery during a
TSB action. People came out into the streets and began chanting, “Shut
down Valero! Protect Manchester” and, “What do we want? Clean air! When
do we want it? NOW!” Diane and Bob began a hunger strike immediately
after being arrested for their actions. They were taken to the Harris
County Jail where they were made to endure torturous and illegal conditions.
Anarchists and Tar Sands Blockaders
helped to facilitate the gathering based on principles of mutual aid and
solidarity. A barbecue was held less than one block away from the Valero
refinery that poisons the neighborhood.
A sign proclaimed, “EVERYONE WELCOME! TODⒶS BIENVENIDⒶS!” and was
accompanied by a free store containing many warm clothing items, books
from Tony Diaz’s project, Librotraficante, live music from an Occupy Wall Street
member, and toys for children collected and donated by Cherri Foytlin.
Cherri, an indigenous woman, and mother of six from Louisiana, chained
herself to a Keystone XL Pipeyard gate on October 24th, a Tar Sands
Blockade action.
“From destructive tar sands development that destroy
indigenous sovereignty and health at the route’s start to the toxic
emissions that will lay further burden on environmental justice
communities along the Gulf of Mexico, this pipeline not only
disproportionately affects indigenous frontline communities but its clear
that it will bring death and disease to all in its path.”
-Cherri Foytlin
Residents and allies marched the half block to the neighborhoods only park
sitting in the shadow of the Valero refinery and it's insidious smokestacks to issue new demands on the
corporate giant. “We demand to know what you are forcing us to breathe!
¡Exigimos saber lo que nos están obligando a respirar!” The community
came together in a celebration of unity and strength. The following day,
a young woman from the community who helped to write a demand letter to
amplify the all too often silenced voices of Manchester, made her way to
San Antonio. The president and CEO of Valero, William Kleese, lives there
in a multi-billion dollar home in a gated community with a security check
point. The young woman, Yudith, intended to speak directly to Kleese but
no one came to the door. Yudith left a copy of this
letter on the holiday wreath on Kleese's door.
Posted 12 years ago on Dec. 22, 2012, 12:05 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags:
environment,
denver,
tar sands blockade
Occupy Denver stands in solidarity with The Tar Sands Blockade, and is calling for national and international mobilization and solidarity actions against the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Tar sands giant TransCanada has begun construction on the southern leg of the Keystone XL. Leading NASA Climate Scientist James Hansen has called the Keystone XL “game over” for the climate, and Americans are already feeling the heat. The pipeline will make TransCanada rich while encroaching on ranch lands, poisoning Texas’ working class communities, and destroying the environment that makes the lone star state so beautiful.
Kick off the new year by demonstrating your resistance to Keystone XL!
Join us for another mass action in Southeast Texas on Monday, January 7th, including a 3 day training camp leading up to the big event. Our trainings and events are open and include roles for everyone ready to defend our homes from toxic tar sands.
RSVP right now so we can know how many people to expect.
tarsandsblockade.org/jan7/
SCHEDULE (Jan. 3rd – 8th):
Thursday, Jan. 3rd – Travel & Arrival
Friday, Jan. 4th – Day 1: Direct Action Training Camp
Saturday, Jan. 5th – Day 2: Direct Action Training Camp
Sunday, Jan. 6th – Day 3: Direct Action Training Camp
Monday, Jan. 7th – Mass Action to Stop Keystone XL
Tuesday, Jan. 8th – Debrief and Depart
Questions? Contact: 972-439-5310, TSBComms@riseup.net
Tar Sands Blockade is a coalition of Texas and Oklahoma landowners and climate justice organizers using peaceful and sustained civil disobedience to stop the construction of TransCanada’s Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.
As a grassroots campaign, we are funded entirely by the generosity of individual donors. Meaning that every dollar of your contribution goes directly into stopping TransCanada and the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline where it matters most. The Tar Sands Blockade is one of the most important resistance actions in the nation. If you can’t join us, you can still help. Please consider donating.
Wish List tarsandsblockade.org/donate-3/wishlist/
WePay wepay.com/donations/tsbdonate
And please join our E-Action to help continue to spread awareness and support our people on the ground.
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 12, 2012, 11:31 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags:
occupy sandy,
n17,
occupy the pipeline,
tar sands blockade,
environment
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.
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 volunteers feed hungry FEMA workers
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