It’s no joke: On April first, frontline Indigenous youth and organizers from the Dakota Access and Line 3 pipeline fights will travel to Washington D.C. to demand that President Biden Build Back Fossil Free by stopping these climate-destroying projects.
Five years ago on April 1st, the Sacred Stone Camp was founded and history was made as thousands of people descended to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). On the anniversary of this important moment of international solidarity, we are bringing the spirit of frontline, indigenous pipeline resistance to Washington DC to demand Joe Biden Build Back Fossil Free by revoking the Army Corps permits for Line 3 and shut down DAPL.
For too long Indigenous communities have carried the weight of our addiction to oil & gas despite their objections. Consultation is not consent. Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) must be the standard for tribal nations impacted by dangerous oil and gas infrastructure.
Join us in the streets, and there will be roles and messages for everyone. We will meet at 11am to gather and make our voices heard at the Army Corps of Engineers national headquarters, and then we will walk a short distance (about 1 mile) to the White House to make sure President Biden gets the message as well.
As most of you know, the Line 3 tar sands pipeline in Minnesota is a disaster for our climate and a gross violation Indigenous and treaty rights.
For weeks, courageous activists on the front line have taken daily direct action to stop the construction of Line 3, including locking themselves inside sections of pipe, blockading entrances to construction sites, and using pianos to stop construction.
More than 130 people have been arrested and are facing charges – and they need backup. We’re asking you to show up – safely, in accordance with pandemic rules – in person to help stop this pipeline and the big banks funding it. Here are two ways you can help:
Big banks ― including as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, CitiBank and TD Bank ― have loaned billions of dollars to Enbridge so that it can build Line 3. Over the last few weeks oure friends at the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition have sent the CEOs of those banks more than 600,000 emails, calls, and calendar invites demanding that they stop funding Line 3.
We were telling them to cancel a $2.2 billion loan to Enbridge that was due for renewal on March 31st. Last week, we learned that the March 31st loan has been canceled, BUT, in its place, the same banks have given Enbridge an $800 million “sustainability” loan and pledged to continue funding Line 3.
“giving Enbridge a sustainability loan is like giving a weapons manufacturer a “peace” loan; it’s like giving a cigarette company a “health” loan. Even if Enbridge does plan on building a few solar panels with that money, you can’t put a fire out and pour millions of barrels of tar sands on it at the same time.”
Whatever they call it – a loan, a sustainability loan, or a line of credit – these banks are enabling and profiting from the Line 3 pipeline. They are complicit in the pollution, violence and climate chaos. It is up to us to hold them accountable. And we are running out of time – Enbridge says they plan to complete Line 3 by June, which could be possible now thatthe Mississippi river is thawing, clearing the way for crews to begin drilling operations to cross.
Frontline leaders are calling on us all to show up and #DefundLine3 in Minnesota and at branches of the banks funding this toxic pipeline.
When Joe Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, we were elated. After years of fighting this tar sands pipeline, we finally had a President who understood the need to act – and took decisive action on his first day in office.
But KXL wasn’t the only tar sands pipeline we need to stop. KXL’s twin (in size and design) is the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota. And the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) has been operating illegally since the Trump Administration forced it through.
Tomorrow, February 25, we’re joining a virtual rally, bringing together community leaders from fossil fuel impacted communities on the frontlines of stopping Line 3 and the Dakota Access pipelines, and demanding a climate test. Won’t you join us?
One day after our rally, President Biden will travel to Texas to tour the site of the first climate-fueled disaster of his presidency. But we know the recent cold snap wont be the last climate-disaster Biden has to deal with. Building new fossil fuel infrastructure — especially for the dirtiest oil on earth: Tar sands — only makes those disasters more frequent and more deadly, especially for black, indigenous, and other communities of color on the frontlines.
Now is the last possible moment for the President, and you, to take action. Trees are being cleared, bulldozers and drilling equipment are parked on the banks of the Mississippi, ready to mow through wild rice beds, more than 800 wetlands, as well as lands sacred to the Ojibwe and other indigenous people.
The pipeline is being challenged fiercely by Indigenous nations and leaders, grassroots organizations, youth, and environmental groups. But Trump and Enbridge have made clear that their plan is to finish construction before January 20, 2021, and local elected leaders like Gov Walz and Attorney General Ellison have so far failed to block them.
Line 3 is a new tar sands pipeline that would cross more than 1,000 miles from Hardisty, Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin. If completed, it will transport 760,000-844,000 barrels of tar sands crude oil from Alberta each day, and release as much global warming pollution as fifty coal fired power plants.
Along the way, it would violate Ojibwe treaty rights and put the state’s water, ecosystems and communities at risk. We cannot allow this new pipeline to be built.
BREAKING NEWS: Governor Walz and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency just pushed through the final permit for Line 3 pipeline. This means construction could start TODAY, unless the MN Department of Commerce (DOC) supports an emergency stay on construction.
Local tribes and water protectors, including the Red Lake and White Earth Nations have already filed a motion for a stay on construction that almost all parties support — except the DOC. With the Public Utilities Commission reviewing the motion this Friday, the deadline for the DOC to support these motions is TODAY, DEC 2!
Can you call Governor Walz (651-201-3400) and DOC Commissioner Grace Arnold (651-539-1755) today to tell them how much we need a stay on construction?
Your message can be quick and simple:
Hi, my name is _____ and I’m calling to tell you how critical it is that the MN Department of Commerce support a stay on construction for Line 3 TODAY. Enbridge must not be allowed to build the pipeline while there are pending legal challenges and a raging pandemic. Rushing construction of this pipeline will spread COVID-19, and irreparably damage our water, land and climate. Please take action now and protect the legal process by supporting a stay on construction.
Enbridge must not be allowed to build the pipeline while there are pending legal challenges and a raging pandemic. Rushing construction of this pipeline will spread COVID-19, and irreparably damage our water, land and climate. Please take action now and protect the legal process by supporting a stay on construction.
I’m urging you to take action today: protect the legal process and the public health by supporting a stay on construction. We know why Enbridge is rushing and it’s not in our best interest.
All indications are that Gov. Walz and Enbridge will attempt to start construction before the end of the year, despite the risk out-of-state workers pose during the COVID-19 pandemic and the multiple pending lawsuits against the project. Gov. Walz’s Department of Commerce has this one last chance to stand with his agency experts, scientists, and elected officials including his own Lieutenant Governor and listen to the facts.
Activists and water protectors in MN are doing everything they can to stop the pipeline. They’re holding a press conference with health professionals today to discuss the pipeline’s COVID-19 risk. And they’ll be at the MN Public Utilities Commission hearing on Friday, December 4, to push the PUC to rule in favor of the motion for a stay. And, of course, they’re taking non violent, direct action to slow the construction:
The DOC has supported our movement in the past, including refiling their appeal against Line 3 back in August. Supporting a stay would be the logical next step in making sure their appeal is protected and the legal process is upheld. Please contact them — we need this stay to keep the land, waters, and people of Minnesota healthy and safe.
Call Governor Walz and the MNDOC today and tell them to honor the treaties, support the stay, and stop the Line 3 Pipeline – NOW!
PS – Want to do more? You can also Donate to support:
Instead of mass protests, from April 22 to 24 we’re joining a massive online action for Earth Day Live. That plan is for a three-day live stream focused on climate action, with each day hosting a different theme: Strike. Divest. Vote.
Each day will include training sessions, performances, and appearances to keep people engaged, informed, and inspired. There will be panel discussions, call in days, art builds, divestment, and lots and lots of social media with celebrities, politicians, scientists, and youth activists.
The coronavirus has laid bare the brutality and injustice of our current system. Millions of people have lost their jobs, are no longer able to pay their rent, student loans, credit card bills, utilities, or healthcare costs. That’s why we’re coming together for online action at a scale the climate movement has never done before.
Here’s an overview of what’s happening each day:
Wednesday, April 22, is a day to demonstrate our collective power and unity through community building and storytelling. Originally a day of mass mobilization, we are leaning into healing and togetherness to provide comfort and inspiration during this time of unknown and are centering the voices of frontline, Indigenous, and POC leaders. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.
Thursday, April 23, we will target financial institutions across the country. Led by the Stop the Money Pipeline Coalition, this day of action will bring urgent public attention to the fact that banks, insurance companies, and asset managers are complicit in funding, insuring, and investing in the climate crisis. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.
Friday, April 24, we will focus on political change with a nationwide voter registration day. We need leaders who will address this existential threat, and for this to happen, we need people to show up at the polls this year. We will be holding a digital, relational voter registration challenge to see which region of the country can register the most voters, and call on elected officials to support our demands. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.As the 24th is the first day of Ramadan, organizers will be working with the Muslim community to make sure events are accessible for those who are observing and use it as an opportunity to educate people on the holiday.
Online or offline, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day is a day to demonstrate our collective power and unity through community building and storytelling. Social distancing doesn’t have to mean collective disengagement.
From April 22-24, we’re going to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, as part of the massive Earth Day Live 2020 event online. The next week, we’re taking bold action online and in the streets (safely) of DC to Shut Down the status quo – which continues to approve pipelines, permit racism, and prolong attacks on our communities during the pandemic.
Months ago, young people from all around the world put out a call for urgent direct action to confront the climate crisis. Today, in the midst of the pandemic, we find ourselves in a much different world than when we first prepared to answer that call. But it is clear that bold direct action is as essential as ever.
That’s why we’re still planning to 5 days of bold action April 27-May 1, so that every weekday from Earth Day (April 22) to May Day (May 1) there’s an action or actions for you to join.
The COVID-19 pandemic has cracked open the veneer of our economic and social system. It’s putting the inequities in health care, wealth, housing, education, and much more on full display, and exacerbating existing crises. And unless we stop them, the politicians and lobbyists will continue to take advantage of this pandemic to suppress the vote, funnel hundreds of billions of dollars to their corporate cronies, and loosen already inadequate environmental regulations.
In the 10 days between Earth Day and May Day (International Workers Day) we are going to take bold direct action online AND in person (safely) to disrupt the interlocking systems that are threatening our collective survival and build a collaborative framework for a healthier, more just and sustainable world.
April 22-24 – Earth Day Live
Between April 22 and 24 young people are organizing online actions to strike, divest and vote for our future. From April 22, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, to April 24, activists, performers, thought leaders, and artists will come together for an empowering, inspiring, and communal three day livestream mobilization. We will support and lift up these activities and while leaving space for youth to lead in this important moment.
Throughout the week of April 27th we’ll take bold direct action online AND in person to shut down business as usual and create space for a healthier and more sustainable world. Each day of the week will focus on a theme to highlight the ways that the climate crisis threatens our communities and lifts up our opportunities to build resilient alternatives.
April 22 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and we’d planned to make it a BIG one. Hundreds of organizations representing millions of people worldwide were planning a massive global strike.
Earth Day Live is a 72-hour live stream and online mobilization that aims to engage people across the country and the world in collective action to protect our climate and communities. Each day has a theme, and the live stream will include speakers, performances, and training sessions to keep you engaged, informed, and inspired. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.
Wednesday, April 22, is a day to demonstrate our collective power and unity through community building and storytelling. Originally a day of mass mobilization, we are leaning into healing and togetherness to provide comfort and inspiration during this time of unknown and are centering the voices of frontline, Indigenous, and POC leaders. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.
Thursday, April 23, we will target financial institutions across the country. Led by the Stop the Money Pipeline Coalition, this day of action will bring urgent public attention to the fact that banks, insurance companies, and asset managers are complicit in funding, insuring, and investing in the climate crisis. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.
Friday, April 24, we will focus on political change with a nationwide voter registration day. We need leaders who will address this existential threat, and for this to happen, we need people to show up at the polls this year. We will be holding a digital, relational voter registration challenge to see which region of the country can register the most voters, and call on elected officials to support our demands. Click here to stay engaged and learn more.As the 24th is the first day of Ramadan, organizers will be working with the Muslim community to make sure events are accessible for those who are observing and use it as an opportunity to educate people on the holiday.
Earth Day Live includes more than 350 partners, including 198 methods, who are working to amplify and mobilize around the strikes. While the strikes remain youth-led, we’re a part of a broader network that is truly collaborative, intergenerational, and intersectional.
We started the year protesting Trump’s Environmental Record – in this photo my youngest sister Emily is shutting down a hearing with Andrew Wheeler, Trump’s corrupt, climate-denying EPA chief. Ironically this hearing happened during a government shutdown that had furloughed thousands of EPA staff nation-wide. Protesting Trump’s corrupt, climate-denying cabinet is a theme of this year’s actions.
February brought an old fight back to the fore – the fight to stop Keystone XL. Trump has been trying to build the pipeline, without success, since he was sworn in in 2017. So far court cases and local permits have kept him at bay – but we’re waiting for the moment when Trump’s fossil-fueled-authoritarian tendencies overwhelm those flimsy buffers and they simply begin lighting the fuse of this carbon bomb without proper permits and paperwork.
April was also the month we launched the first of a series of campaigns that targeted David Bernhardt, Trump’s corrupt, climate-denying Interior Secretary. Like Wheeler (see above) he became a recurring character in our fight to stamp out corruption, block pollution, and protect the climate from Trump’s cast of climate conquistadors.
May also launched our campaign to get disaster relief for Puerto Rico. This became a recurring theme as Congress would appropriate money for disaster relief, but Trump would refuse to sign or disburse the money – IF, and this is a big if, the people helped by the funding were black, brown, or tended to vote for Democrats. Later in the year we broadened this campaign to include climate refugees from the Caribbean and eventually the whole global south.
Climate Strike! That was the big theme in September as we supported hundreds of Climate Strike events here in the US. Greta Thunberg asked the United Nations “How Dare You” and I personally buckled in as part of two beautifully troublesome actions.
So there you have it! A year in photos and images to illustrate all our work. You can also check out our previous post which covers more of the science and policy on how we’re ending 2019. Next week, after the New Year, I’ll write you a message about our plans for 2020 but you can be sure it will continue a few of these themes:
Holding corrupt Trump cronies like Wheeler and Bernhardt accountable;
Working as part of the global Climate Strike movement to demand bold action from our elected leaders;
Pushing US policy makers to adopt a bold, fossil-fuel-free Green New Deal; &
Bringing you great direct-action powered online campaigns at the local, state, and federal level to demand climate action.
