Seattle Residents Occupy BNSF Offices to Protest Oil Trains As Paris Climate Talks Continue, Activists Call for Concrete Action on Climate Change

RT seaSeattle Residents Occupy BNSF Offices to 
Protest Oil Trains As Paris Climate Talks Continue, 
Activists Call for Concrete Action on Climate Change

Contact:  
Afrin Sopariwala, Rising Tide Seattle, 
(408) 598-7656,
sheildmaiden@gmail.com


Today 43 residents of Seattle occupied the BNSF office in SoDo 
Seattle to speak out against the company's continued involvement in fossil fuel
extraction and transport. Activists brought a letter with three demands and
asked to speak with the CEO, Carl Ice. Activists were immediately asked to
leave and the police were called. A BNSF spokesperson said they could put
the activists on the phone with Vice President Mr Anderson, claiming that
they had no access to the CEO.

Raging Granny Cynthia Linet read the letter out loud over speaker phone and
Mr Anderson was not able to confirm that these demands could be upheld.
Activists continued to stay and occupy the space, singing and chanting. The
police arrived, and once they had their chain of command in place, they
said they would arrest those who remained. About 30 activists then exited
the building and 13 remained to get arrested. They were released after
being cited for criminal trespass.

“Communities of color here and worldwide are experiencing unprecedented
numbers of extreme fires, floods, hurricanes, and droughts and it’s only
getting worse,” said Jill Mangaliman, executive director of Got Green?. “We
cannot rely on fossil fuel companies and carbon markets to fix this - they
have caused this climate chaos. Instead, we must look to indigenous, black
and brown frontline communities for leadership and solutions.”

“We need to transition away from fossil fuels now, and BNSF could be at the
forefront of that transition by moving goods and people by rail,” said
Valerie Costa, a local small business owner, and one of those cited by the
police. “Instead, they're contributing to catastrophic climate change by
moving dangerous oil trains through our neighborhoods.”

Video:
https://www.facebook.com/shellnoactioncouncil/videos/vb.1625994030965721/1709558165942640/?type=2&theater

Climate Justice Activists Protest and Occupy French Consulate in San Francisco

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Hi-Res Pictures Here

Video

Climate Justice Activists Protest and Occupy French Consulate in San Francisco

Activists occupy lobby calling on French government to lift ban on climate marches at U.N. climate talks, act on climate change.

SAN FRANCISCO–At 930am this morning, a group of eight  Bayparis SF 5 Area protesters entered the lobby of the French Consulate in San Francisco’s financial district to speak with the consular general. The demonstrators  dressed in blue, covered their mouths with French flag tape to call attention to the repression of climate organizers during the ongoing United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) talks in Paris. Another 20 people rallied outside the consulate doors with signs and banners. The protest calls on the French government to lift a prohibition of public marches during the COP. The group called on the French government  to stop the acceleration of global climate disruption by pushing for a strong international agreement to regulate carbon emissions.

Citing concerns about the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, on November 19 the French government announced a ban on public gatherings and protests, interrupting a Global Climate March planned for 29 November, at which 200,000 people from around the world were expected to march. A December 12th climate mobilization was banned as well.  Under a veil of national security, French police  wrongly placed 24 French climate organizers under house arrest and began turning back international activists at its borders. On November 29th, French police attacked peaceful protesters at the Place de Republique with tear gas, pepper spray and violently arrested over 200 people.

Protesters at today’s San Francisco action say that France’s heightened security rules endanger citizens’ ability to participate meaningfully in these international climate talks.

‘Many political leaders now acknowledge Climate Change presents a real security threat to the future of nations.” said protest organizer Lynn Stone, with local climate justice group Diablo Rising Tide. “Stifling free speech during the Paris climate talks is a tragic mistake. Paris should not fear and restrict climate justice protesters when the real threat is climate change.”

The talks in Paris come at a critical juncture in world history as more action is needed on climate as storms, floods and droughts increase in intensity each year. Despite the obstacles faced by protesters in Paris, an additional  700,000 people are estimated to have marched in cities throughout the world last weekend calling for heads of state and COP negotiators to rise to the occasion of the climate crisis. Over 50 major cities saw huge demonstrations.

In Oakland, on November 21st, over 5,000 marched for climate action after hearing the same call to action. Action oriented climate justice groups like Diablo Rising Tide have vowed to pressure corporate and political leaders on the issue of fossil fuel extraction, infrastructure and combustion in Northern California.

protest CJ Paris“As a coastal region and a hotbed of environmental innovation, these climate talks are especially relevant to life in the Bay Area,” said Scott Parkin, also with Diablo Rising Tide. “Numerous Bay Area organizations have sent representatives to Paris to join others from around the globe, and the recent crackdown prevents citizens here and around the world from making their voices heard.”

On September 28th, Diablo Rising Tide organized Flood Wall Street West which saw over 250 people march to the offices of Chevron, Wells Fargo and Bank of the West in San Francisco’s Financial District.. The mass civil disobedience shut down the corporate headquarters of Bank of the West for the day and led to the arrests of a dozen climate activists. Bank of the West is a subsidiary of French bank BNP-Paribas, a lead financier of the coal sector in France.

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Diablo Rising Tide is the Bay Area chapter of Rising Tide North America network. Rising Tide is an all-volunteer climate network in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico who confront the root causes of climate change with protests and grassroots organizing.The larger Rising Tide network spans four continents and works with activists in North and South America, Europe, and Australia.

 

Statement of Solidarity with Black Lives Matter Minneapolis

justice

A demonstrator speaks about his encounter with attackers who shot five protesters near the Minneapolis Police 4th Precinct on Monday night.

Rising Tide North America Statement of Solidarity with Black Lives Matter Minneapolis

In response to last night’s shooting of five unarmed Black Lives Matters activists at the Justice for Jamar Clark Encampment in Minneapolis by masked white supremacists, Rising Tide North America issued the following statement:

Rising Tide North America stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter community in Minneapolis, the protest encampment demanding justice for Jamar Clark and communities everywhere in the struggle for racial justice and against white racist violence, state sponsored or otherwise. We stand in solidarity with the right of communities to express their grief and rage, and to take action for justice.

We join the call for the release of the tapes of Jamar Clark’s murder. We condemn the extreme racist and violent rhetoric of white hate groups and individuals, leaders of both political parties, police officials and opinion-makers that target the movement for Black lives. In this moment, we particularly call on members of the climate justice movement to join the fight for racial justice and put their bodies on the line to confront white supremacy — both in the form of vigilante violence and in police departments.

Rising Tide North America is a continental network of climate justice groups and individuals committed to challenging the root causes of climate change. We stand for social, racial, environmental and climate justice. We can only address climate change by exposing the intersections between the oppression of humans, communities and the planet. In order to create a livable and just future, we work toward the empowerment of marginalized communities and the dismantling of the systems of oppression that keep us divided.

On this day, the anniversary of the non-indictment of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, we still believe climate justice is inextricably linked with racial justice. We cannot have the one without the other. Our hearts and actions remain in this fight to create a just and climate stable world.”

Please donate here to support our friends and allies with Black Lives Matter Minneapolis.

Please sign the pledge to show up with Black Lives Matter and the movement for Black lives.

Read Rising Tide’s statement of solidarity with Ferguson.

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92 Year Old Great Grandmother And Son Block Denton Fracking Operation

texasCross-posted from Blackland Prairie Rising Tide

92 Year Old Great Grandmother And Son Block Denton Fracking Operation

In Acts of Civil Disobedience, Elder Mother and Son Stage Sit-In for Local Control to Stop First Post-HB40 Fracking in Denton

DENTON, TX–TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2015– Two Denton residents have blocked the entrance  to the city’s first active fracking operation since the passage of HB40, a state bill which strips local control of fracking from all cities across Texas. Violet Palmer, a 92 year old great grandmother, and her son Theron Palmer, seated themselves in front of fracking trucks attempting to enter Vantage Energy’s urban fracking site. Theron has locked himself to the gates of the site and both are refusing to leave.

“I am standing up today because never in my lifetime has there been such an egregious disregard for the democratic process in Texas,” said Violet. “We, the citizens of Denton clearly indicated our frustrations with regulating fracking when we voted for the fracking ban last November. The Texas legislature ignored our vote and our community standards.”

Denton’s prohibition on hydraulic fracturing was supported by nearly 60 percent of voters last November; however, industry-sponsored state lawmakers responded with the passage of HB40, a law that effectively preempts all local control of oil and gas regulations statewide. Less than 48 hours after HB40 was signed into law, Colorado based Vantage Energy announced that it would bring fracking back to Denton at a site located directly across the street from a neighborhood and several businesses.

“To imply that the expertise to regulate oil and gas resides only within the confines of Austin, is a condescending slap at the intelligence and due diligence of our local citizenry,” stated Theron Palmer.  “We clearly expressed our community standards, now nullified and replaced by the very narrow interests of those economic elites who dominate oil and gas development and hence the Texas legislature.”

Over the course of the last two weeks Denton residents have been taking direct action to enforce the city’s fracking ban. In the first week since fracking operations returned to Denton, dozens of residents blocked the gates, resulting in seven arrests. Residents have also organized weekly events dubbed “Frack Free Fridays,” promising to maintain a large presence at Vantage Energy’s site until the operator respects Denton’s vote and permanently ends all fracking within city limits.

“To paraphrase Edmund Burke, the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good women to do nothing. So I am doing something,” said Violet Palmer.

For Live Updates: Follow @BPRisingTide on Twitter, Blackland Prairie Rising Tide on Facebook.

For future updates and information: http://bprisingtide.org
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