Published on Monday, June 24, 2013 by Common Dreams<\/p>\n
9 arrests following action that thwarted construction of a tar sands pump station
\n– Andrea Germanos, staff writer<\/p>\n
Activists locked to an excavator to thwart construction work. (Photo: Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance)Nine people with Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance (GPTSR) have been arrested on Monday after succeeding in temporarily shutting down construction of a Keystone XL pump station.<\/p>\n The action in Seminole, Okla. was part of a series of coordinated, nationwide #FearlessSummer actions starting this week that aim to fight “extreme energy,” which “continues to escalate its attack of life on earth.”<\/p>\n For GPTSR, the direct action was a necessary step to confront the fossil fuel industries that “profit off of continued ecological devastation and the poisoning of countless communities.”<\/p>\n \u201cAs a part of a direct action coalition working and living in an area that has been historically sacrificed for the benefit of petroleum infrastructure and industry, we believe that building a movement that can resist all infrastructure expansion at the point of construction is a necessity,” Eric Whelan, spokesperson for the group, said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re through with appealing to a broken political system that has consistently sacrificed human and nonhuman communities for the benefit of industry and capital,\u201d added Whelan<\/p>\n While Monday’s action targeted TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, the group emphasized that “tar sands infrastructure is toxic regardless of the corporation or pipeline,” and pointed to spills in the Kalamazoo River in Michigan and in Mayflower, Arkansas.<\/p>\n “We are opposed not only to the Keystone XL, but all tar sands infrastructure that threatens the land and her progeny,\u201d stated Fitzgerald Scott, who took part in Monday’s action.<\/p>\n So the group’s message to Enbridge, another heavyweight in the rapacious industry, is this: expect resistance.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile KXL opponents wait with baited breath for Obama\u2019s final decision regarding this particular pipeline, other corporations, including Enbridge, will be laying several tar sands pipelines across the continent. The Enbridge pipelines will carry the same volumes of the same noxious substance; therefore, Enbridge should get ready for the same resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n _________________________<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" http:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/headline\/2013\/06\/24-1 Ahhhh, right. Enbridge–the OTHER pipeline. DV Published on Monday, June 24, 2013 by Common Dreams 9 arrests following action that thwarted construction of a tar sands pump station – Andrea Germanos, staff writer Activists locked to an excavator to thwart construction work. (Photo: Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance)Nine people with Great Plains Tar Sands … Continue reading Common Dreams: Expect More Resistance: Direct Action Targets Tar Sands as #FearlessSummer Kicks Off<\/span> ![\"tarsands\"](\"https:\/\/www.reefrelieffounders.com\/drilling\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/tarsands.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n