Update Governor Shumlin Arresting 63 Pipeline Protesters, Sitting-In His Office
Arrests begin @GovPeterShumlin office. 60+ being arrested #TimesUpRiseUp @350Vermont @VNRCorg #vtpoli #vtpoli @NoKXL pic.twitter.com/TiNzXmGKaD
— RisingTideVT (@RisingTideVT) October 28, 2014
Director of @350Vermont just arrested @GovPeterShumlin office demanding no new #fossilfuel infrastructure pic.twitter.com/xACJ1vmB2d
— RisingTideVT (@RisingTideVT) October 28, 2014
Hundreds Rally and Sit-In Demanding End to Pipeline and New Fossil Fuels
Note: Please support the Vermonters who are occupying the Governor’s office. Follow Rising Tide Vermont @RisingTideVT to see updates and what their needs are.
Getting funky at #TimesUpRiseUp @RisingTideVT pic.twitter.com/qHfpYnvJWU
— 350 Vermont (@350Vermont) October 27, 2014
Montpelier, Vt. – In light of the October 10th Public Service Board decision to not reevaluate the permits for a fracked gas pipeline, and Governor Peter Shumlin’s continued support of the project, over 60 Vermonters are currently sitting in inside the governor’s office building while hundreds rally outside.
“We are fed up with a broken, unaccountable, and biased process that is ignoring the clear and present danger of expanding fossil fuel infrastructure so that Gaz Metro and International Paper can increase their profit margins,” said Jane Palmer, a landowner in Monkton along the Phase 1 pipeline route. “The Shumlin administration is ignoring the thousands of Vermonters, including impacted landowners and over 500 ratepayers, who know we can’t afford this project.”
Demonstrators from across the state are concerned that the Shumlin administration, including the Public Service Department, are promoting dirty fracked gas as a climate solution, despite the well known climate impacts of extracting and burning fracked gas.
Dr. Maeve McBride, director of 350 Vermont, said, “Today, hundreds of grassroots Vermonters are sitting in to call for a ban on new fossil fuel infrastructure, including Vermont Gas/Gaz-Metro’s proposed fracked gas pipeline, and to demand energy and climate solutions that are transparent, accountable to our communities and put people and the planet first. As the Governor said himself, these solutions need to come from the grassroots, not from the top down.”
Supporting arguments made before the Public Service Board over the past two years, the demonstration focused on how, despite industry rhetoric, fracked gas may actually be worse for the climate than other fossil fuels.
“The science is clear – whether the goal is avoiding CO2 emissions or sparking a transition to an emissions-free energy system, the fracked gas boom and this pipeline are no substitute for ambitious energy and climate policies, weatherization, efficiency and decreased consumption,” said Dr. Rachel Smolker, a Hinesburg resident. “Once the gas bubble pops, ratepayers are going to be stuck with higher bills, paying the cost of this pipeline for years to come and still struggling to heat their homes.”
Participants in the sit-in have announced that they will stay until the Governor meets their requests to support a ban on new fossil fuel infrastructure and work to stop the fracked gas pipeline. If the Governor does not comply, they are willing to risk arrest. The coalition planning the event is also calling for a sit-in at the Vermont Gas Pipeyard in Williston this coming Saturday at 9 am.
50 ppl sitting @GovPeterShumlin office demand end to new #fossilfuel infrastructure #timesupriseup #vtenergy #vtpoli pic.twitter.com/GkAEunS0s2
— RisingTideVT (@RisingTideVT) October 27, 2014