Training in New York City brings lessons from Keystone XL resistance to local fight to stop Williams pipeline, fracked gas projects
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2019
Contact: Lee Ziesche, Sane Energy Project, lee@saneenergyproject.org, +1 (954) 415-6228
Lindsay Meiman, 350.org, lindsay@350.org, +1 (347) 460-9082
Training in New York City brings lessons from Keystone XL resistance to local fight to stop Williams pipeline, fracked gas projects
Following mass march over the Brooklyn Bridge, ahead of May 16th DEC deadline, New Yorkers prepare to escalate
New York, NY -- This weekend, leaders in the effort to stop the Keystone XL pipeline partnered with local activists in New York City to hold a two-day training on effective resistance to oil, coal and gas extraction.
As part of a 10 city national training tour, the “Promise to Protect” training brought over 100 people from the surrounding metropolitan area together to learn from Indigenous leaders on the frontlines of Keystone XL, and to gain skills and resources for the fight to stop the Williams fracked gas pipeline and other pipelines and power plants across New York state.
On April 18, more than 500 New Yorkers rallied and marched across the Brooklyn Bridge demanding Governor Cuomo walk the talk on his commitment to a Green New Deal, starting with rejecting the Williams fracked gas pipeline. Despite banning fracking, Cuomo is allowing fracked gas companies and utilities to hold New Yorkers’ energy needs hostage if these toxic projects are built. Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) have until May 16th to deny, approve, or delay a key permit for the Williams pipeline.
"New Yorkers are prepared to escalate if Governor Cuomo continues to allow more fracked gas infrastructure like pipelines, power plants, and waste to wreak havoc on our communities,” said local hosts Kim Fraczek and Lee Ziesche of Sane Energy Project. “With the leadership of Indigenous, frontline, and local activists, we are building our resistance with love and joy. New York has the opportunity to be model for climate justice by using our resources to build community owned renewable energy and building a Green New Deal. We'll do everything in our power to make sure our elected officials walk the talk on their bold climate rhetoric."
This weekend-long training is part of the Promise to Protect training tour, named for the commitment made by more than 25,000 people to join creative action against Keystone XL when called upon. Organizers of the two-month-long tour have partnered with local climate activists leading campaigns against the Line 3 pipeline in the Midwest, the Phillips 66 refinery expansion in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Williams pipeline in the Northeast, and many more. These trainings prepare communities for ongoing fights against big oil while we work toward real solutions like the Green New Deal.
"We have a Right to Clean Safe Water but, more importantly, we need to recognize that Human beings like countless other beings ARE Water," says Owl, Ramapough Lenape. "Most of our bodies are Water so polluting our Rivers and Water is polluting ourselves. Mni Wiconi. Mbuy Mbumasuwaakanum. Water is Life. Water lives."
This comes as Donald Trump signs executive orders attempting to expedite pipeline permitting, as well as limit states’ decision-making power on such pipelines, and as states across the US pass controversial anti-protest legislation. Now, communities are doubling down against intimidation through persistent non-violent action to keep fossil fuels in the ground and build solutions to the climate crisis.
Photo by Erik McGregor
The New York City Promise to Protect training kicks-off a New York statewide Direct Action Training Tour -- called “Sit, Stand, Sing,” -- where Sane Energy Project and 350.org will hold similar trainings in communities fighting toxic projects and for real solutions across New York State.
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To view this release online, visit: youareheremap.org/press
To find out more about the Promise to Protect training tour, visit: https://nokxlpromise.org/training-tour/