This past week, as part of the Beyond Extreme Energy campaign to retire fossil fuels there were daily actions to shut down the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission every morning and actions at other locations in the afternoon. These took place simultaneously with direct action at two FERC-approved gas infrastructure projects in Seneca Lake, NY and Cove Point, MD. And the week of actions at FERC followed the conclusion of an 8 month 3,000 mile 7 million step Great March for Climate Action from Los Angeles to Washington, DC. The Beyond Extreme Energy actions focused on retiring fossil fuels and calling for investment in clean renewable energy instead. Similar struggles are occurring in a number of states where residents are using every tool at their disposal including creative nonviolent direct action to stop the construction of fossil fuel infrastructure. We spoke with Faith Meckley of the Great March for Climate Action and We Are Seneca Lake and Will Bennington of Rising Tide Vermont.
Listen here:
Escalating Actions to Retire Fossil Fuels with Faith Meckley and Will Bennington by Clearingthefog on Mixcloud
Relevant articles and websites:
FERC Approves Methane Storage in Finger Lakes Area by Peter Mantius
15 Arrested Protesting Seneca Lake Fracking Project by We Are Seneca Lake
Vermont Communities Organize Against Pipeline Plans by Keith Brunner
Residents Stage Fish-In, Demand Halt to Pipeline by Rising Tide Vermont
Pipeline Protesters Arrested in Governor’s Office by Sally Pollak and Joel Baird
Great March for Climate Action
Guests:
Faith Meckley is an environmentalist and a student at Ithaca College in New York who walked with the Great March for Climate Action from Taos, NM to Washington, DC. She is a writer who has an environmental blog and who is also published regularly in The Ithacan. She lives in Seneca Lake where she is actively fighting the Crestwood Salt Cavern methane storage with WeAreSenecaLake. Follow her Youtube channel Bluegirl3666.
Will Bennington is an organizer with and spokesperson for Rising Tide Vermont, a local chapter of Rising Tide North America. He lives in Plainfield, VT.