The hell they will
March 22, 2017
We regret to inform you that the Keystone XL pipeline has been approved.
We regret to inform you that the Keystone XL pipeline has been approved.
Last week, six people were tried for misdemeanor criminal trespass in the second degree in Skagit County District Court, Mt. Vernon, WA. Their “crime” was to have taken part in an oil train blockade as part of the Break Free mobilization of May 2016.
Millie always asks me to talk about our name for a minute, so excuse me if you’ve heard this before. Our group is called 350 because this is a number that’s essential to life on this planet. Throughout human history, we’ve had about 280 parts per million of carbon in our atmosphere. As we’ve used radically more fossil fuels in the last hundred years, that number has climbed and climbed. And scientists know that in order to have a stable climate, we have to be below 350 parts per million—maybe even lower.
Nonviolent direct action (NVDA) and civil disobedience have long and rich histories. They’ve been essential tools in almost every major social movement: from women’s suffrage to the fight against nuclear proliferation, to the noncooperation of the Baltic states trying to free themselves from the yoke of Soviet Russia, to civil rights, and to the struggle for marriage equality.
In solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s global call to action against the Dakota Access Pipeline, indigenous grassroots leadership in Seattle is calling on local tribal nations and their allies to peacefully march and rally on FRIDAY. Coinciding with the Indigenous People’s March in Washington DC, speakers will include tribal chairpersons, indigenous NoDAPL leaders, and key allies.
“If the climate were a bank, it would be saved by now.”
Remember the climate fast? Here at 350 Seattle, we don’t usually see legislative work as being our core role, but sometimes, well….nothing is more important. And right now, there’s action in Olympia, with federal representatives home for town halls, and important possibilities brewing.
Today, 350 Seattle, the Transit Riders Union, the Economic Opportunity Institute, and others are kicking off the Trump-Proof Seattle Campaign, aimed at closing tax loopholes for the wealthiest households in Seattle and generating over $100 million/year for green energy solutions, education, and more!
On Wednesday, over 150 people delivered a financial report to Mayor Murray showing that over the last ten years, the City of Seattle’s pension fund (SCERS) has lost $65 million by remaining invested in fossil fuels.
We had a beautiful victory today. With a unanimous vote, the City of Seattle ended its business with Wells Fargo because of its funding of the Dakota Access Pipeline…so Wells Fargo has taken a $3 billion hit because of your work, your activism. Thank you.