Above Photo: From Earthfirstjournal.org
Salem, OR: On Tuesday morning activists with Southern Oregon Rising Tide disrupted the State Lands Board meeting, demanding Governor Brown take action to oppose the Jordan Cove Energy Project. A dozen demonstrators interrupted the meeting with noisemakers before unfurling a banner and reading a statement calling on the Governor and the State Lands Board to deny permits for the fracked gas export project.
“You seem intent on avoiding the issue and refusing to listen to our communities, but we can’t afford your silence,” the protesters shouted over the Governor’s attempts to regain control of the meeting, “We’re done waiting for the appropriate time to speak only to be ignored, so we’re interrupting your meeting for a few minutes to make sure you hear us.”
The protesters questioned Governor Brown’s stated commitment to curbing climate change, citing a recent released last month by Oil Change International which found that the greenhouse gas emissions from the Jordan Cove project would prevent Oregon from meeting its climate goals.
“We all know you want to look like a climate leader. But climate leaders don’t build fossil fuel pipelines; they use their power to stop them,” one of the protesters said. “Symbolic words and gestures are nowhere near enough.”
After reading their statement, the demonstrators left the meeting without incident. Governor Brown has resisted calls to publicly take a position on the controversial Jordan Cove Energy Project. The project, first proposed in 2004, would build a new liquefaction & export terminal in Coos Bay and a a 230 mile compressed gas pipeline.
On Monday evening, anti-pipeline activists used spotlights to project messages onto the State Capitol building, reading “No fracked gas, no pipelines” and “Protect Our Coast.”
Link to video: https://www.facebook.com/sorisingtide/videos/1631071303648736/