Month: June 2009

Rally against Interstate 5 expansion rides in Portland, Oregon

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P1020489“Twelve Lanes? That’s Insane!” chanted 70 Portlanders as they rallied at Mississippi Avenue, just south of Mason Avenue Sunday evening. The rally was accompanied by a mobile bike-carted sound system, live musicians, and a huge banner unfurled from the roof of a nearby construction site reading “More Lanes=More Cars=More Climate Change. No CRC!” The protest followed a “Pedalpalooza” bike ride earlier in the afternoon – organized by Portland Rising Tide which toured areas of North Portland impacted by the current Columbia River Crossing (CRC) proposal, talking to neighborhood activists opposed to the project.

“Building a bridge of such obese proportions in a city that prides itself for its environmental leadership is deeply hypocritical,” said Sarah Goforth. “If our city truly aims to create sustainable transportation options to reduce car traffic, then building a super-sized mega-bridge will only impede these efforts.” Continue reading

Week of Action in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples in Peru. June 15-19

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Week of Action in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples in Peru
June 15th-19th
www.risingtidenorthamerica.org

Rising Tide North America is calling for a week of action starting Monday June 15th to show solidarity with the indigenous tribes resisting Peru’s attempt to open their lands to the oil, gas, and logging industries.

Last week over 85 people were killed by Peruvian police while protesting the governments plans revoke protections for traditional lands and allow for industrial exploitation of the Amazon. The plans are a part of the new free trade agreement between the US and Peru. Since the Peruvian government announced these plans, tribes around Peru have been blockading roads, oil installations, and other critical infrastructure. But the government has begun to brutally crack down on the unarmed blockades, resulting in last week’s massacre.

There are signs that the protests in Peru, and international pressure, are beginning to work. Peru’s congress just voted to suspend two of the laws in question, in hopes of getting the situation under control. Indigenous communities and labor unions however have made clear that this is not enough, and are continuing the blockades and protests. Continue reading

Tar Sands – The World’s Most Destructive Project

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In the first quarter of 2009, with the world reeling from a global financial meltdown and entire nations declaring bankruptcy, the world’s largest oil companies (Big Oil) were reeling in some of their largest quarterly profits ever. The real irony is that while terms like “sub-prime mortgage” and “credit” crisis were being bandied about, this colossal collapse was being induced by the very same Big Oil and their hedge fund friends – in a rush to exploit one of the craziest debacles of our time – the Alberta Tar Sands.
The single largest industrial project in human history – the Alberta Tar Sands is likely to become the most destructive – if ongoing plans for investing hundreds of billions of dollars in their expansion continue. Continue reading