ctober 11, 2016 – Five activists do a shutdown on a tar sands pipeline
Eight years ago, on this day, October 11th, 2016,
http://www.shutitdown.today/action_video_recap
7 minute video
On October 11, 2016, five brave climate activists, determined to act commensurately with the truth of unfolding climate cataclysm, closed safety valves on the 5 pipelines carrying tar sands crude oil into the United States. This is their story.
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 404ppm. As of 2024 it is 422ppm, but check here for daily measures.
The context was Canadian and US companies were extracting huge amounts of oil from tar sands; the filthiest kind of oil you can imagine. The getting of it is especially destructive. So what do we do? We try to take nonviolent direct action and throw ourselves on the mercy of the courts. But the beast, the machine, the Juggernaut continues and the emissions climb.
What do we learn that there’s a juggernaut, and it’s hungry.
What happened next? From Wikipedia
All five participants planned to use the necessity defence to draw attention to their cause and justify their actions,[6] though three were not permitted to do so.[7] The judge presiding over the Johnston & Klapstein trial, Robert Tiffany, initially ruled that they could mount the necessity defense.[8] However, he then reversed his decision, prohibiting expert testimony that would establish the argument for necessity,[9] before dismissing the case before the defendants could present its necessity defense.[10] Klapstein said she was happy the charges were dismissed, but “at the same time, we were indeed disappointed not to be able to present this to the jury. We were hoping to educate the jury and the classroom of greater public opinion on the dire issues of climate change”.[9] Foster, Higgins, and Ward were prohibited by the judges overseeing their cases from mounting the necessity defense.[11]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valve_Turners
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
References
https://www.streetroots.org/news/2016/12/01/how-5-activists-stopped-flow-alberta-tar-sands-oil-us
Also on this day:
October 11, 1990 – Australian Federal Government makes climate promise, with fingers crossed
October 11, 2006 – “Climate Institute” begins tour of rural Victoria