Vancouver, WA — Protesters on Monday blocked an oil train in downtown Vancouver, Washington, in a creative direct action calling for an end to oil trains, oil terminals, and all fossil fuels.
Community activists erected a pop-up garden of sunflowers on train tracks in Vancouver, even in the face of police presence. The blockaders locked themselves to large sunflower pots adapted to serve as blockade devices. Three people were arrested.
Community members are taking non-violent direct action to demand Gov. Jay Inslee reject the Vancouver Tesoro Savage Oil Terminal and all other proposed fossil fuel infrastructure in the State of Washington.
Check out the action's livestream here. Follow the Livestream: https://www.facebook.com/shutdownfossilfuels/videos/110145882974527/
The train, BNSF unit 5956, is carrying Bakken crude oil, a highly volatile oil notorious for derailments and explosions such as the recent derailment and fire in Mosier, OR, on June 3, 2016. The Mosier oil train derailment ignited a wave of massive public opposition to oil train traffic, including from government officials and train operators.
“Our community and our planet are under attack, yet the political response has been amoral and inadequate. We were here on the tracks a year after the Mosier oil train derailment and nothing has changed,” said Jessie Braverman, who helped organize the protest. “The trains are still coming and new fossil fuel projects are still being proposed; we’re in the midst of a worldwide climate emergency and we’re fighting back.”
The derailment and explosion in Mosier is just one manifestation of society’s dependence on fossil fuels, argued the protesters. The incident was not an anomaly, they said, since fossil fuel extraction, production and transportation continually present a threat to human life and natural ecosystems. According to a statement issued by the protesters: "We have been subsidizing them not only with money but with lives. In these early days of the sixth great extinction and a devastating climate crisis, community members are reclaiming their power to confront this rogue industry."
“It’s now or never. We’re up against the wire and nobody — no politician, no agency, no industry — is stepping up to resolve the climate crisis,” said Mike, a resident of Portland, OR, who was locked to a flower pot on the rail tracks on Monday. “It’s time for the people to step up to resolve this crisis before we run out of time.”
Community members are calling on Governor Jay Inslee to reject the proposed Tesoro Savage Vancouver Oil Terminal, which would be the largest oil-by-rail terminal in North America. The terminal would ship out 360,000 barrels of Bakken crude oil and bring up to four additional oil trains into the Columbia Gorge each day.
Gov. Inslee, a self-proclaimed advocate for climate action, has overseen a state government that has failed to craft an emissions reductions strategy, despite being repeatedly ordered to do so by the courts. The Governor is flagrantly endangering the people of Washington state, which continues to move towards a dizzying array of new fossil fuel developments.
“If I can stop an oil train, Governor Jay Inslee can stop an oil terminal,” said Chris, one of two individuals locked down to flower pots on the rail tracks.
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