Category: Announcements

Over the past few years we’ve witnessed a rising tide of courage from the frontlines; communities from the pinewoods of East Texas to the hollers of West Virginia have come together to defend the land and the people from the ravages of extreme energy.  Yet with every new frack-well drilled, pipeline laid, and mountain blasted, the extraction industry pushes our planet closer to irreversible tipping points.

But now we are coming together as a movement to push back.

For too long we have struggled separately and we are running out of time. If we are going to reclaim our future, we must begin to speak with one voice. That’s why we are calling for the national movement against extreme energy to join in a summer of coordinated action. As this industry continues to escalate its attack of life on earth, we must respond by asserting our dignity and escalating our action for a livable future. In the face of unfathomable ecological destruction and looming runaway climate change, we must take the kind of bold action that is necessary to save the planet.  We must all draw our lines in the sand.  We must face our fears together; we must take our future fearlessly into our hands and change business as usual.

Will you join us in ringing in a #FearlessSummer?

This spring has already featured a slew of bold actions across the county and there’s no sign of it slowing down.  We’ve created a movement calendar and, as you can see, this is going to be a bold and busy summer of action!  This summer will be moving non-stop with regional convergences, training camps, and focused direct actions all over the continent targeting extreme energy.  By embracing a common message that elevates the voices of those most impacted
and rejects all forms of dirty energy extraction, each of these actions can become more powerful.

To call attention to our new unity and collective power, we are calling for the first week of coordinated action against extreme energy on June 24th-29th. Weeks of action will be flashpoints that will build momentum and solidarity throughout the long, hot summer and push our message of fearless, united resistance into the national conversation.  Our support for these struggles know no borders and we stand in solidarity with the indigenous people of Turtle Island (so-called North America) and their own fearless struggle, “Sovereignty Summer.”

No one owns #FearlessSummer.  We encourage you to empower your community to plan your own action against the extraction industry and utilize our social media to help amplify your struggle.

Click here to register for the Gathering!!

Click Here to Donate to the Gathering!!

Update on the Location:  If you are planning on attending the gathering please orient your travel toward Green River, Utah. If you are flying, either Salt Lake City or Grand Junction are the best bets, although we’d suggest Grand Junction, CO (it’s just closer).  We hear there are really cheap flights from LA and Las Vegas on Allegiant Air ($60!!)  into Grand Junction if you search. From both SLC and Grand Junction there are daily trains directly to Green River for fairly cheap. From SLC the train leaves 3AM; 4pm from Grand Junction. Of course, we can find people accommodations in either location if you plan on arriving early and shuttles or car pools can be available. Just make sure you let us know ASAP.  If you register for the gathering, you’ll receive another email requesting you travel info if you need help getting there. If you don’t register, we don’t know you’re coming!! Again, the accommodations are most likely going to be camping, so come prepared.

Our strength comes from our connection, our power from our unity.

WHAT: Rising Tide Continental Gathering

WHEN: July 18-20, 2013 (17th arrival, 21st departure)

WHERE: Utah; Exact Location TBA

CONTACT: gathering@risingtidenorthamerica.org

INFO: http://www.risingtidenorthamerica.org/2013/05/gathering/

DONATE: https://www.wepay.com/donations/rising-tide-continental-gathering

The Pitch

This July, many of the members of Rising Tide-affiliated, anti-extraction, and climate justice groups around the U.S., Mexico, and Canada will converge in beautiful Utah to train, discuss, strategize, and develop the structure, dynamics and capacity of the Rising Tide network.

Rising Tide is an international, all-volunteer, grassroots network of groups and individuals who organize locally, promote community-based solutions to the climate crisis, and take direct action to confront the root causes of climate change.  Some network members are called Rising Tide, others are not.  In its essence, Rising Tide seeks to create a broad, long-term, international, collaborative platform for direct action and climate justice organizing.

The Rising Tide North America network consists of groups and local contacts throughout Canada, the United States, and Mexico.  Local groups work on a wide variety of issues that pertain to the local communities in which they reside.  If you are already part of the Rising Tide network, if you are interested in joining as an individual or a group, or if you want to find out how a grassroots, horizontally-organized, dedicated network of direct action-oriented, climate justice organizations can change the world, the Rising Tide Continental Gathering may just be the place to come.

All of the groups involved in the Rising Tide network are actively organizing on the ground in their communities.  Many are taking the lead in staging bold direct actions that are altering the course of the climate fight.  Many are participating in national and international projects that are at the forefront of movement building and solidarity work against tar sands, fracked oil and natural gas, and coal exploitation.

The Rising Tide Continental Gathering will provide a significant venue for networking and forwarding proposals that will impact the course of the burgeoning anti-extraction and climate justice movement.  The gathering will also promote solidarity work with frontline and fenceline communities that must be a part of our struggles.  The network itself is
collaboratively creating the agenda for the gathering, ensuring that participants will get out of the gathering what they put into it.  Come, participate, and help it grow.

The Goals

The focus of this year’s Rising Tide Continental Gathering will be:

1. Broaden connections between network groups and share resources

Through meeting each other and being present and working together in the same place, we hope to open space to talk about furthering network communication and collaborations and generally expanding and strengthening our working relationships.

2. Strategize around growing the power of the anti-extraction and climate justice movement

We also hope to create space for developing strategies around our different struggles.  Regional, industry, and affinity breakout sessions will all provide spaces in which we can develop this work, make proposals, and strategize together as a network.

Get Involved

We want the Rising Tide Continental Gathering to be as collaboratively created as possible.  We plan to offer the time for members of the network to talk about their interests.  We also need a lot of help with event outreach, logistics, and fundraising.  Currently, you can plug into four working groups in operation.  Contact us for more information about
helping out.

Why Utah?

Utah is gearing up to be another major front of tar sands and fracking related organizing.  After the Rising Tide Continental Gathering, Utah-based groups Peaceful Uprising, Canyon Country Rising Tide, and Before It Starts are hosting the Utah Tar Sands Action Camp from July 21 to 28.  We are encouraging folks interested in attending the Rising Tide Continental Gathering to also engage in the action camp.  The Rising Tide network chose this specific collaboration as a strategic place to forward anti-extraction and climate justice work in the U.S.  However, we do understand if participant schedules do not permit attendance of both the gathering and the camp.

Basic Logistics

Travel

Please make your travel plans early and orient them toward Salt Lake City.  The gathering will occur at an as of now undetermined,  location in Utah.  We will organize and inform you of emerging pick-up and drop-off travel arrangements to transport everybody who does not already have a ride to and from the gathering site.

We are prioritizing limited travel funding for folks who may be coming from out of the country or at least from far away.  But if you need assistance in getting to the gathering, we are happy to help in any way that we can, through ride shares or possible partial or full travel funding.

Utah Summer

Utah in July has the potential to be hot – really hot.  Please come prepared to be in a likely outdoor environment.  Bring bottles for water, sunscreen, and clothing to be comfortable and to protect yourself from the sun.  We encourage gathering participants to bring camping gear, tents, blankets, or sleeping bags suitable for summer weather.

Updates and Information

Please check our website often for updated info about rideshares, travel, schedules, and site logistics.  As we get closer to the gathering, we will post new ways to be involved, working group updates, and the agendas there.

http://www.risingtidenorthamerica.org/2013/05/gathering/