Canyon Country Rising Tide and Others Plan a Weekend of Action AgainstNuclear Plant

From our friends at Canyon Country Rising Tide

Moab, UT

More than a dozen organizations and Indian tribes have announced plans to assemble on the outskirts of Green River, Utah, on May 19th to protest a proposed nuclear power plant near the banks of the town’s namesake river.

“This issue affects more than just southern Utah residents,” said Sarah Fields, director of the citizen group Uranium Watch. “That’s why we’re seeing involvement from downriver residents like the Fort Mojave and Colorado River Indian Tribes, along with those who live downwind in Colorado and points beyond. The effects of nuclear power are farther reaching than the reactor site and stretch well into the future.”

Protestors will assemble near the proposed reactor site at Green River’s west end, along
Highway 6 just north of I-70 exit 157, at 6:00 p.m. for a march to “Celebrate and Protect the Green River and the Colorado Plateau.”

The parade will be set against the backdrop of the Book Cliffs and the proposed construction site. Participants are specifically asked to bring colorful umbrellas, while street art, banners, costumes, puppets, decorated bicycles and an enthusiasm for singing and dancing are also appreciated.

Those organizing the protest are motivated by a number of concerns, including the reliability of the company backing the plant, the secondary impacts of mining and milling radioactive minerals, and potential threats to regional safety. However, the biggest issue is water. “It’s foolish to build thirsty nuclear reactors in a desert like this,” says John Weisheit, Conservation Director of Moab-based Living Rivers.

“The Green River is unreliable and over-appropriated. Even the State Engineer, when granting the project rights to nearly 48 million gallons of water a day, asserted that there will not always be enough water to operate the plant.” He continues, “As we endure an ongoing drought here, do we want to further compromise the health of this life-giving river? Do we want a fickle desert waterway to be our buffer against disaster? I don’t think so.”

To further highlight themes of water, on Friday, May 18, at 7:00 p.m., protest organizers are also hosting “A Celebration of the Colorado River System: Discussion of Threats and Actions.”

This event, held at the Moab Arts and Recreation Center, will include traditional singing and dancing from members of the Lower Colorado Indian Tribes, a panel discussion on mitigating threats to Colorado River Basin water, and a documentary film about the long-term impacts of nuclear accidents like Fukushima.

Barbara Galler, a Moab resident and spokeswoman for No Green River Nuke says, “It’s true everywhere, but especially in the desert: Our survival is dependent on rivers. Granting so much precious water to a company with no experience or credibility in the energy business, for use in the riskiest form of power production, is an enormous mistake. That’s why I’m marching.” Protest organizers include: Canyonlands Watershed Council, Canyon Country Rising Tide, Colorado River Indian Tribal Members, Ft. Mojave Tribal Members, GreenAction, HEAL Utah, Living Rivers, No Green River Nuke, Sierra Club, Peaceful Uprising, Uranium Watch, the Utah Rivers Council and more.

For more information, go to www.nogreenrivernuke.org

CrimethInc's Field Guide to False Solutions

"They aren't going to stop destroying the planet until we make it too costly for them to continue. THE SOONER WE DO, THE BETTER."

If we really believed what scientists are telling us about global warming, the fire engines of every fire department would sound their sirens and race to the nearest factory to extinguish its furnaces. Every high school student would run to the thermostat of every classroom, turn it off, and tear it out of the wall, then hit the parking lot to slash tires. Every responsible suburban parent would don safety gloves and walk around the block pulling the electrical meters out of the utility boxes behind houses and condominiums. Every gas station attendant would press the emergency button to shut off the pumps, cut the hoses, and glue the locks on the doors; every coal and petroleum corporation would immediately set about burying their unused product where it came from- using only the muscles of their own arms, of course...


Download the full PDF

Stephanie McMillan Wins RFK Journalism Award

Stephanie McMillan wins the RFK Award for her Code Green comics and her new
illustrated report on the Occupy Movement, The Beginning of the American Fall

Our good friend Stephanie McMillan has been awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Social Justice Cartoons! Here's an excerpt from the Washington Post article about Stephanie's award:

McMillan — a comics journalist for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and contributor to the site Cartoon Movement — was recognized for ”The Beginning of the American Fall” (her reporting on the Occupy movement) and her “Code Green” editorial cartoons that focus “exclusively on the environmental emergency.”

“The award is supposed to honor work that furthers the cause of social justice, and I’m gratified that my work is viewed that way,” McMillan tells Comic Riffs on Tuesday. “Contributing to the fight for social justice is, indeed, the reason I do the work in the first place.

“I’m also happy that the environment is seen as a social-justice issue,” McMillan continues. “The more we can connect the fight to stop the destruction of our planet with the struggle for liberation of humanity, the better chance for success we may have with both goals.”

CONGRATULATIONS STEPHANIE!

Call for Action Against Extraction on May 19th

Activists draw a line in the sand in the fight against fracking (Photo originally posted here)

On Saturday, May 19th, participants in the Occupy Well Street campaign against fracking are calling for a Day of Direct Action Against Extraction. We invite all who are opposed to the widespread use of energy extraction methods such as hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, mountaintop removal coal mining, and tar sands oil distillation to take creative, public direct action at local or regional points of production in these industries. All who participate are encouraged to employ a wide spectrum of tactics that appeal to their experience and comfort level, such as handing out literature, arranging speaking events, orchestrating colorful street theater, or taking up space by creative means.

Why a Day of Action? We have many reasons: We are tired of our communities being divided and conquered by gas corporations in pursuit of ever higher profits. The water that flows through our bioregion is being sold off for fracking as fast as those granted responsibility for our rivers and watersheds can rubber stamp withdrawal permits. Despite promises of gas drilling and fracking operations creating a surplus of local and regional jobs, our region is teeming with highly paid out of state rigworkers, engineers and other “specialists”, while the local jobs largely consist of temporary truck driving and dangerous “roustabout” positions. We are being lied to and manipulated, but we refuse to be passive participants in these destructive activities.

While there are many differences between fracking, mountaintop removal coal mining and the tar sands megaprojects, they are all too similar in their effects on the health of human and animal communities. Countless trucks clog the roads, the air fills with pollutants, the water becomes undrinkable, land and forests are cleared, and communities suffer from conflict and illness.

One of the main goals of the Occupy Well Street campaign is to create solidarity among all those resisting energy extraction. Our communities may be separated geographically, but voices and actions can offer effective support between regions and allow us to continue sustaining our struggles against extraction. We must communicate within and between movements, share information and knowledge, and support each others' efforts in order to grow and evolve.

The last place the gas companies want concerned community members to show up is at their fracking sites, pipeline projects, compressor stations, water withdrawal sites, and other important facilities. The points of production are where the physical damage occurs, and we invite you to join us in throwing a wrench in the gears on May 19th!

What have participants in the Occupy Well Street campaign been up to? Groups have picketed active fracking sites, blocked industry truck traffic, drawn attention to water withdrawal sites hidden in plain view, held industry analysts and “reporters” accountable in public meetings, and distributed literature at pro-industry events. Occupy Well Street is committed to finding common ground between all those fighting extraction industries, and networking is ongoing. Stay tuned for more news soon!

In Solidarity with Pine Ridge - DGR Great Plains Announces Action at White Clay, NE

The film Battle for Whiteclay, a documentary about the ongoing genocide in Whiteclay, Nebraska

March for Justice 2012: Always in Memory of Wally Black Elk and Ron Hard Heart
Date: June 9th, 2012 at 12 pm
Location: Billy Mills Hall, Pine Ridge, SD
A Day of Action against Whiteclay, NE

Whiteclay, Nebraska is an unincorporated village with a population of 14 people in northwest Nebraska. The town sits on the border of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home to the Oglala Lakota (also known as the Oglala Sioux Tribe), only 200 feet from the official reservation border and less than 3 miles from the center of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, the largest town on the reservation. On June 9th, the fight against Whiteclay continues.

Sale and possession of alcoholic beverages on the Pine Ridge is prohibited under tribal law. Except for a brief experiment with on-reservation liquor sales in the early 1970s, this prohibition has been in effect since the reservation lands were created. Whiteclay has four off-sale beer stores licensed by the State of Nebraska which sell the equivalent of 4.5 million 12-ounce cans of beer annually (12,500 cans per day), mostly to the Oglalas living on Pine Ridge. These retailers routinely violate Nebraska liquor law by selling beer to minors and intoxicated persons, knowingly selling to bootleggers who resell the beer on the reservation, permitting on-premise consumption of beer in violation of restrictions placed on off-sale-only licenses, and exchanging beer for sexual favors.

Many people have died in the streets due to exposure, as the state of Nebraska fails to address the breaches of state law and countless deaths as a result of dealers in Whiteclay. As long as the liquor stores in Whiteclay remain in business, the genocide of the Oglala Lakota people will continue.

Deep Green Resistance Great Plains and other Deep Green Resistances organizers across the country are coordinating support for the Oglala Lakota activists organizing the action against the liquor peddlers in Whiteclay. We stand with the people of Pine Ridge and the organizers of this action against the continuation of genocide. Stand with us as we send the message: “No more liquor in Whiteclay!”

On June 9th 1999 two Lakota men, Wally Black Elk and Ron Hard Heart, were brutally murdered in Whiteclay. It is in their memory that we will march for justice. We are seeking material support, in the form of food and donations for caravans and for the action itself. Additionally, we will be collecting donated fans and air conditioners to bring to elders on Pine Ridge.

Occupy the Machine Houston Action Postponement

Dear friends and supporters,

Occupy the Machine organizers have made a very difficult decision. We have decided to postpone our refinery blockade action until further notice. We did not make the decision lightly. We are extremely disappointed that we have to postpone this action, but very comfortable that we made the right choice. Of the many factors that contributed to this decision, there are two in particular that weighed heavily on our collective conscience.

OTM's mission includes a central focus on solidarity with all impacted communities. The public announcement of our campaign has inspired Valero to offer concessions to the residents of Manchester that live in the refinery's shadow. Community representatives involved in this process are more interested in reaching a settlement with Valero than engaging in direct action. OTM is willing to step aside and allow for these negotiations to move forward; to be clear, The Occupy the Machine coalition is dedicated to sustained, escalating direct action that supports and is supported by the local community. We respect the communities with whom we choose to partner.

Additionally, there are pending criminal charges against fellow occupiers who were recently arrested in an action intending to shut down the Port of Houston. It has come to our attention that another action targeting the Houston industrial complex may give ammunition to District Attorneys looking to make an example out of these protesters. Essentially, there is a risk that our actions will be leveraged against our friends who are already facing felony charges for political protest. To stand in solidarity with those facing prosecution, OTM believes postponing our Houston action is appropriate.

We extend our deepest apologies to those who have already made irreversible plans to attend this event; accordingly, Houston coalition members invite anyone in this situation to join in an Encuentro and face-to-face meeting with local community members and local activists. Additionally, our local team can guide you on a 'toxic tour' of Houston's petrochemical industry so that you can experience first hand the filthy reality of the fossil fuel economy. If it is too late for you to cancel your plans for Earth Day weekend in Houston, please contact and we will send you further details on what the weekend will look like.

Once again, OTM is resolved in taking our activism to a new level. We invite you to imagine, as many of you already probably have, if thousands of people occupied refineries, roads, ports, oil wells, gas wells, surface mines, etc. In other words, imagine if people occupied the locations where the 1% destroy the land and exploit the people for profit. Imagine their production stopping, their stock prices falling, their cash flow being interrupted, their contracts unfilled, their ability to get loans ended, their business finished!

In order to be effective, though, we need numbers: a mass of committed activists willing to give their time and energy. We need bodies to support blockades that will stay, day after day after day after day... as long as it takes. For every person they drag away to jail, we must bring ten more to replace them. We need people who can't come to the action to support those who do. We need financial support for those willing to risk arrest. We need you to join us in this vision and organize with us.

We truly regret that we will not be able to bring this vision into fruition this Earth Day weekend; nonetheless, we are not giving up. We will Occupy the Machine —stop the 1%, literally.

 

In Solidarity
-Occupy the Machine Coalition

DGR Great Plains Reports from Pine Ridge Reservation

Hello Friends,

From February 25th-27th, Deep Green Resistance Great Plains traveled to Wounded Knee, South Dakota, located on the Pine Ridge Reservation in order to take part in the 39th Annual Liberation Day. The purpose was to commemorate and celebrate those who took part in and died in the 1973 takeover as well as those who died in the Wounded Knee Massacre. Members of DGR Great Plains traveled from Iowa City, IA, Cedar Rapids, IA, Cedar Falls, IA, and Omaha, NE, to meet in Jefferson SD the night before. Upon arrival, we bonded, shared a meal, had a meeting, and watched a documentary about the 1973 takeover to give everyone in the group some historical perspective.

We arose bright and early at 6am to begin the long drive west across the state of South Dakota. Along the drive, many of us from the heart of production for the world’s corn and soybeans were taken in by the beauty of the prairie land, golden and swaying in the wind. With over 99% of our prairies gone, it was quite a treat to see. On our first day in Western South Dakota, we took time to take in the natural beauty of the Black Hills. An evergreen tree called the Ponderosa Pine dominates the forests of the hills, making the hills appear black. Later that day we went to Wind Cave National Park, which is as close as we could get to South Dakota’s natural state before the arrival of settler society. For so many of us that spent most of our lives in cities, standing in the presence of a strong force of wind, the endless hills, free roaming bison, antelope, mule deer, elk, prairie dogs and the vastness of the sky was a freeing experience. Being there gave us a new perspective on what we are fighting for, from an abstraction to something tangible and real.

The next day was the pow wow. Before the pow wow we took time in the morning to meet with activists at the Wounded Knee Museum, and we also took time to drop off supplies that we brought with us (blankets, electric blankets, winter clothes and canned food items) for elders whose homes are not built well enough to deal with the South Dakota winters. All of us, especially those at a pow wow for the first time, really enjoyed taking in all of the beautiful costumes, beating drums and singing. To our surprise they called our group down and our Lakota friends and all of us performed a round dance in DGR Great Plains' honor. We were asked to give a short speech to let everyone in the audience know why DGR Great Plains was in attendance. We let them know that DGR was at Liberation Day to show our solidarity with all indigenous peoples of Turtle Island, and the we would do everything in our power to help keep alive their beautiful culture and language and protect their land from encroachment by settler societies.

The last day was the four directions walk. It was quite a windy day but the weather was no matter. While our group walked a mile, people walked from more than several miles away to this event. To be there that weekend, to participate and fly our banner alongside members of both Native Youth Movement and the American Indian Movement, was quite an honor. This trip was an important first step to building a relationship with the Lakota people, a relationship crucial to successful defense of the land against our common enemy. DGR Great Plains was shown the greatest hospitality by our hosts, and given honor and respect that we still work to deserve. We hope to have the chance to earn it soon.

This adventure was crucial to creating friendship and a feeling of family among our members. Some of us knew each other before the trip and others were meeting for the first time. We did an excellent job of getting along as twelve people all shared one hotel suite. I think we all walked away from this experience having grown closer as a group, and stronger in our resolve to bring down this death machine.

Love and Rage,

The Deep Green Resistance Great Plains Crew

New Book Featuring Deep Green Resistance Authors: The (Un)OccupyMovement

A new book, compiled and edited by Mankh (Walter E. Harris III), features contributions from Deep Green Resistance authors Aric McBay, Lierre Keith, and Derrick Jensen. The book is called The (Un)Occupy Movement: Anatomy of Conscousness, Practical Solutions, Human Equality. Prose and Poetry, and you can order copies here.

Excerpt from the book's introduction:

As the title suggests, there is an “Occupy Movement” (begun with Occupy Wall Street) that has stirred the so-called American melting pot from its backburner state. Suddenly, things are cooking and more and more People are getting a whiff of the spirited air. Yet, from the perspective of the First Nations or Natives, the land has been unjustly occupied since 1492. Indigenous Peoples around the globe are dealing with similar issues. Hence, “Unoccupy Movement.”

Read a review of the book here.

New Study: Current Climate Change Models Underestimate Rate and Severity of Species Extinction

Mark Urban, lead author of a new study about the effects of climate change on plants and animals, under one of many ice sheets threatened by a warming environment

Excerpt:

Plenty of experimental studies have shown that species are already moving in response to climate change, says [Mark] Urban, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut. For example, as temperatures rise over time, animals and plants that can't take the heat are moving to higher altitudes where temperatures are cooler.

But not all species can disperse fast enough to get to these more suitable places before they die off, Urban says. And if they do make it to these better habitats, they may be out-competed by the species that are already there -- or the ones that got there first.

Read whole article here.

You Don't Have to Reinvent the Wheel- What Occupy Can Learn from the Populists

Introspection, retrospection, and learning from past movements like the Populists of the late 19th century could propel the Occupy Movement to new heights. Some strategic framework based on the lessons of history could open a world of possibilities, but the movement must first begin to challenge some of the patterns and assumptions that have defined it thus far.

Occupy Albany protesters moving their info tent
as they're evicted on December 22, 2011

Reposted from Truthout

Excerpt from article by Ashley Sanders:

...[T]he Populists came within an inch of changing the entire corporate-capitalist system. They wanted a totally new world, and they had a plan to get it. But as you may have noticed, they didn’t. And now here we are, one hundred years later, occupying parks where fields once stood. We’re at a crucial phase in our movement, standing just now with the great Everything around us—everything to win or everything to lose. It’s our choice. And that’s good, because the choices we make next will echo, not just for scholars and bored kids in history class, but in the lives we do or don’t get to have. The good news is this: the Populists traveled in wagons and left us their wheels. We don’t have to reinvent them. We’re going in a new direction, but I have a feeling they can help us get there.

Occupy has done a lot of things right, and even more things beautifully. But strategy has not been our forte. That was okay at first, even good. We didn’t have one demand, because we wanted it all. So we let our anger grow, and our imagination with it. We were not partisan or monogamous to one creed. That ranging anger got 35,000 people on the Brooklyn Bridge after the Wall Street eviction, and hell if I’m not saying hallelujah. But winter is settling now, and cops are on the march. Each week we face new eviction orders, and wonder how to occupy limbo.

It’s time for a plan, then, some idea for going forward. This plan should in no way replace the rhizomatic-glorious, joyful-rip-roarious verve of the movement so far. It can occur in tandem. But we need a blueprint for the future, because strategy is the road resistance walks to freedom.

Read whole article here.