Skip to content

Washington

Indigenous Women Activists Occupy Washington State Capitol

January 11, 2018 Staff, Indigenousagain.com , ,
Seven indigenous women and several earth defenders have occupied the Washington State Capitol to address climate change and native treaty rights as the state legislature opens for session. The native women, who come from several tribes, are seeking that Governor Jay Inslee honor the treaties and act wisely on climate change by blocking the expansion of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline as well as the LNG fracked gas facility affecting the Salish Sea and the Pullayup Tribe. (Indigenous resistance to the Kinder Morgan company extends and is mounting across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.)

Indigenous Women Occupy Washington State Capitol Lawn

January 10, 2018 Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath, Aljazeera.com , ,
Sitting in a tarpee erected outside the Capitol Building in the US state of Washington, seven Indigenous women and their supporters have vowed to stay put. They will stay until they are either arrested or politicians take action on climate change and native treaty rights. "We will be here as long as they let us be here," said Eva, a member of Santee Sioux Tribe. "Today, this is all we have left," she told Al Jazeera by phone. "We've been taken from and taken from." Eva, along with others from the indigenous community and their supporters, "occupied" the front lawn of the state capital in the city of Olympia on Monday, the first day of a new 60-day legislative session. "While they're inside doing their talks for the next 60 days, [we hope] they come to understand that the native nations people are watching them," Eva said.

Activists At Washington State Capitol Launch “Climate Countdown”

January 9, 2018 By Andrea Germanos, Commondreams.org , , ,
Demanding "bold action" from lawmakers in Washington state on Monday, activists and indigenous leaders rang in the start of the 2018 legislative session Monday with the launch of an initiative to urgently tackle the climate crisis. "On the Peninsula, we're already seeing signs of a future we won't be able to live with—winter floods, summer droughts, wildfires, coastal devastation, acidifying seas, poisonous algal blooms," said Ed Chadd, a member of Olympic Climate Action. "If we don't act now, our orcas and salmon are goners...and then we will be. Climate change is not going to wait for us to get our act together." "We're showing up in Olympia today to demand that the legislature acknowledge not just the reality but the unthinkable urgency of climate change."

Water Protectors Block All Entrances LNG Facility In Tacoma

December 20, 2017 Staff, pugetsoundanarchists.org , , ,
The action comes four days after a Tacoma jury acquitted two women who locked down to construction equipment last May — the jury found them not guilty because they said they could not tell whether the action took place on Puyallup territory or City of Tacoma-owned land. The action also comes four days after activists used tripods to block all three gates to the site in the early morning and a week after two men kayaked across the Hylebos Waterway, scaled a fence and climbed a crane to halt construction of an 8-million-gallon gas storage tank.

“Block The Gates!” Lockdowns Continue Against LNG At Port

December 16, 2017 Staff, itsgoingdown.org , ,
As reported by The Stranger and Native Daily Network there was another lockdown at the LNG facility in Tacoma, situated on the ancestral lands of the Puyallup tribe. Native Daily Network posted multiple live-feeds of the lockdown, while The Stranger reported: “At around 6:30 this morning, three protesters locked themselves down to tripods blocking the gates of the site. Workers eventually found their way in to work, though, and when reached by phone, the protesters were in the process of taking the tripods down.” For some contextual recent history of resistance to this LNG storage facility, check out an interview with Climate First Responders that aired on The Final Straw. And make sure to check out the event page for the call to Block the Gates next Monday!

Tacoma Residents And Indigenous Communities Unite To Oppose LNG Plant

August 17, 2017 Brandon Jordan, www.wagingnonviolence.org , , ,
By Brandon Jordan for Waging Nonviolence - Around 250 people, mostly women, carried banners and sang with drummers while marching through the streets of Tacoma, Washington, on Tuesday. Led by Cheryl Angel, an indigenous activist present at Standing Rock last year, the demonstrators headed toward a city council meeting to protest a liquefied natural gas plant project. There was just one problem — officials had locked the doors to City Hall. Demonstrators weren’t discouraged, however, as they finished their march at a nearby plaza. “They call it protesting,” Angel said, while speaking in the plaza. “Why are they calling it protesting? Are we really protesting, or are we standing up for what’s right? Because this shouldn’t have to be a protest, it should be an acknowledgment [of our rights].” Washington’s oldest energy utility, Puget Sound Energy, or PSE, is behind the over $300 million facility, which is expected to be completed and operational in the port area of the Tacoma Tideflats by late 2019. The Tacoma LNG Facility, as it’s called, will be able to process and hold approximately eight million gallons of liquefied natural gas — obtained via hydraulic fracking from nearby Rocky Mountain states and parts of Canada — and is mainly intended for use by local residents, as well as ships passing by the Port of Tacoma.

Washington State Spearheads A Novel Clean Energy Solution For Starbucks, REI And Target

April 20, 2017 Julia Pyper, www.greentechmedia.com , ,
By Julia Pyper for Green Tech Media - The "Green Direct" program, recently approved by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, represents the first subscriber-style of green tariff to be used by retailers and small governments. And it could serve as a model for other utilities to replicate across the country. The program's first subscribers include the iconic brands REI, Starbucks and Target, as well as local governments and local institutions in the state. "Green Direct exemplifies the power of partnership,” said Kimberly Harris, president & CEO of Puget Sound Energy (PSE), in a statement. "It’s a pioneering model for utilities nationwide," Kirk Myers, senior manager of sustainability at REI, wrote in an email. "We hope it reshapes how utilities in other regions supply renewable energy to customers and, ultimately, make renewable energy a more viable, accessible option.” There are currently about a dozen green tariff programs in the U.S. These programs have emerged as a popular way for utilities to help Fortune 500 companies meet their climate and clean energy goals, by allowing customers to buy energy from a wind or solar project, as well as the associated Renewable Energy Certificates.

Hanford Nuclear Site: The Most Polluted Area In The US

February 10, 2017 Joshua Frank, www.theinvestigativefund.org , ,
By Joshua Frank for The Investigative Fund - It’s a new year and new administration, but the strong radioactive stench is the same out at Hanford in eastern Washington, home of the world’s costliest environmental cleanup. In January, a dozen workers reported smelling a toxic odor outside the site’s tank farms, where nuclear waste is stored underground. From April to December 2016, 70 people were exposed to chemical vapors emanating from the facility — and 2017 is off to the similar start. Toxic odors at an old nuclear depot? This would be startling news anywhere else. But this is Hanford after all, where taxpayer money freely flows to contractors despite the snail-paced half-life of their work.

Protest Groups Plan Massive Disruption Of Trump Inauguration

January 15, 2017 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us , , ,
By John Zangas for DC Media Group. January 20, 2017 may go down in history as the most chaotic inauguration ever as groups opposed to the administration of Donald Trump are finalizing plans to disrupt it. The groups form a loose coalition under the banner #DisruptJ20 with plans to blitz all 12 entry checkpoints with blockades, among other civil disobedience actions. The morning trip into the District likely won’t be easy either, since organizers announced plans to block traffic at key points around the city. Plans include training for arrests with instruction in legal rights for non-violent direct actions during the entire day. Washington will in effect transform into a series of chaotic demonstrations along the two-mile route Trump will travel from the U.S. Capitol to the White House after he is sworn in as the 45th President.

Agriculture To Demonetisation: Made In Washington

January 7, 2017 Colin Todhunter, www.countercurrents.org , , ,
By Colin Todhunter for Counter Currents - We don’t have to dig too deep to see where Modi feels at home. Describing itself as a major ‘global communications, stakeholder engagement and business strategy’ company, APCO Worldwide is a lobby agency with firm links to (part of) the Wall Street/US establishment and functions to serve its global agenda. Modi turned to APCO to help transform his image and turn him into electable pro-corporate PM material. It also helped Modi get the message out that what he achieved in Gujarat as Chief Minister was a miracle of economic neoliberalism, although the actual reality is really quite different. In APCO’s India brochure, there is the claim that India’s resilience in weathering the global downturn...

Trump Protesters Plan To Open ‘Movement House’ In Washington DC

December 25, 2016 Adam Gabbatt, www.theguardian.com , ,
Adam Gabbatt for the Guardian. A group of millennial activists from across the country plan to open a “movement house” in Washington DC next month, which will serve as a permanent base to protest Donald Trump’s presidency. The organizers are mostly women of color, many of whom campaigned for Bernie Sanders during the Democratic primary. The house, which will be set up by inauguration day on 20 January, has been dubbed “District 13”, in a reference to a rebellious neighborhood in the Hunger Games books and films. Activists told the Guardian that it will serve as a “space for the best kinds of troublemakers from around the country”. The property will be located in Capitol Hill, close to the White House and the Capitol building, and will enable activists to quickly mobilize against Trump should he court controversy during his presidency.

‘Massive Fleet’ Of Buses Now Taking New Yorkers To Women’s March

December 24, 2016 Catherine Pearson, www.huffingtonpost.com , , , , ,
By Catherine Pearson for The Huffington Post - The Women’s March on Washington is happening. It has permits. It has a starting location. More than 150,000 people have indicated on Facebook that they will be there ― a number that grows by the day. Now march organizers are helping attendees get from New York City to Washington D.C., running what the New York City chapter of the Women’s March described in a statement as a “massive fleet of buses.” The buses will pick up marchers in 56 neighborhoods, traveling 70 distinct routes, and return to the city the same day. Tickets cost $62 (plus tax) round-trip. “It is our highest priority to ensure that this march is accessible for people from every demographic in New York.

A Huge Women’s March On Washington Is Taking Shape

November 24, 2016 Tex Dworkin, www.care2.com ,
By Tex Dworkin for Care 2 - On January 21st, one day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, thousands of women and their allies from around the country are expected to march on Washington, D.C. Here’s why, plus details for those interested in participating. Originally dubbed the “Million Women March on D.C.”, the “Women’s March On Washington” is taking shape as we speak.

Dirty And Deadly Oil Train Projects Meet Defeat In California And Washington

October 10, 2016 Nika Knight, www.commondreams.org , ,
By Nika Knight for Common Dreams - The San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission on Wednesday voted 3-2 to reject a Phillips 66 oil train project, an outcome that was met by a standing ovation. "Here's one for the people," said Martin Akel, a member of Mesa Refinery Watch, a group that opposes the rail-spur project, according to local newspaper The Tribune. "The commissioners got it finally. We finally beat back a major business institution that only had its self-interests in mind, not the people."

No State Charges For Cops Who Killed Mexican Farmworker

September 10, 2016 Eric M. Johnson, www.Reuters.com , ,
By Eric M. Johnson for Reuters - SEATTLE, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. state of Washington has decided not to file criminal charges against the three police officers who fatally shot an undocumented Mexican farm worker in 2015 after he threw rocks at them and ran through a crowded intersection. The killing of Antonio Zambrano-Montes in the southeastern farming hub of Pasco, captured on video by witnesses and shared widely online, sparked days of protests from the city’s majority Latino community and drew criticism from theMexican government and human rights activists.
«123456789»