SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Environmentalist Sandra Steingraber, dressed as an elf, participated in Monday's civil disobedience action but was not one of the nine arrested.
(Photo: Screenshot)
Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and Seven Elves Arrested Blocking Gas Storage Facility
Over two-month civil disobedience campaign, 170 arrests have been made
Dec 23, 2014
Carrying banners that declared "Christmas Against Crestwood" and "Methane in Your Stocking is Worse Than Coal," nine local activists dressed as Santa Claus and his North Pole ensemble were arrested Monday and charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct at Texas-based Crestwood Midstream's gas storage facility gates on the shore of Seneca Lake in New York.
Only Santa (Stefan Senders of Schuyler County) was handcuffed and searched before being taken into custody. The action marked nine weeks and 170 arrests as part of the 'We Are Seneca Lake' civil disobedience campaign.
Protesters have been blocking the Crestwood gas storage facility gates, on the shore of the largest of New York's Finger Lakes, since Thursday, October 23--the day before major new construction on the controversial gas storage facility was authorized to begin. On Wednesday, October 29, Crestwood called the police and the first 10 protesters were arrested. Since then, protests have been ongoing, with more arrests each week.
The methane gas storage expansion project is advancing in the face of broad public opposition and unresolved questions about geological instabilities, fault lines, and possible salinization of the lake, which serves as a source of drinking water for 100,000 people. Crestwood has indicated that it intends to make Seneca Lake the gas storage and transportation hub for the northeast, as part of the gas industry's planned expansion of infrastructure across the region.
While the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has temporarily halted plans to stockpile propane and butane in nearby caverns--out of ongoing concerns for safety, health, and the environment--Crestwood is actively constructing infrastructure for the storage of two billion cubic feet of methane (natural gas), with the blessing of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
"As a greenhouse gas, methane is carbon dioxide's younger and more dangerous brother," said biologist Sandra Steingraber in a video documenting Monday's action. "It is 86 times more powerful at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. So the methane that will inevitably leak from these caverns, and the pipelines that feed them, will be trapped in the atmosphere. So scientists--plus Santa and elves together--are standing in solidarity with residents of Seneca Lake and we're going to shut this place down."
Monday's detentions followed 28 arrests last Wednesday in a blockade led by local musicians. While blockading a large truck, the musicians sang, danced, played instruments, and held banners that read "This Land is Our Land" and "Gas/Water: Which Side Are You On?"
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Carrying banners that declared "Christmas Against Crestwood" and "Methane in Your Stocking is Worse Than Coal," nine local activists dressed as Santa Claus and his North Pole ensemble were arrested Monday and charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct at Texas-based Crestwood Midstream's gas storage facility gates on the shore of Seneca Lake in New York.
Only Santa (Stefan Senders of Schuyler County) was handcuffed and searched before being taken into custody. The action marked nine weeks and 170 arrests as part of the 'We Are Seneca Lake' civil disobedience campaign.
Protesters have been blocking the Crestwood gas storage facility gates, on the shore of the largest of New York's Finger Lakes, since Thursday, October 23--the day before major new construction on the controversial gas storage facility was authorized to begin. On Wednesday, October 29, Crestwood called the police and the first 10 protesters were arrested. Since then, protests have been ongoing, with more arrests each week.
The methane gas storage expansion project is advancing in the face of broad public opposition and unresolved questions about geological instabilities, fault lines, and possible salinization of the lake, which serves as a source of drinking water for 100,000 people. Crestwood has indicated that it intends to make Seneca Lake the gas storage and transportation hub for the northeast, as part of the gas industry's planned expansion of infrastructure across the region.
While the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has temporarily halted plans to stockpile propane and butane in nearby caverns--out of ongoing concerns for safety, health, and the environment--Crestwood is actively constructing infrastructure for the storage of two billion cubic feet of methane (natural gas), with the blessing of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
"As a greenhouse gas, methane is carbon dioxide's younger and more dangerous brother," said biologist Sandra Steingraber in a video documenting Monday's action. "It is 86 times more powerful at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. So the methane that will inevitably leak from these caverns, and the pipelines that feed them, will be trapped in the atmosphere. So scientists--plus Santa and elves together--are standing in solidarity with residents of Seneca Lake and we're going to shut this place down."
Monday's detentions followed 28 arrests last Wednesday in a blockade led by local musicians. While blockading a large truck, the musicians sang, danced, played instruments, and held banners that read "This Land is Our Land" and "Gas/Water: Which Side Are You On?"
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Carrying banners that declared "Christmas Against Crestwood" and "Methane in Your Stocking is Worse Than Coal," nine local activists dressed as Santa Claus and his North Pole ensemble were arrested Monday and charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct at Texas-based Crestwood Midstream's gas storage facility gates on the shore of Seneca Lake in New York.
Only Santa (Stefan Senders of Schuyler County) was handcuffed and searched before being taken into custody. The action marked nine weeks and 170 arrests as part of the 'We Are Seneca Lake' civil disobedience campaign.
Protesters have been blocking the Crestwood gas storage facility gates, on the shore of the largest of New York's Finger Lakes, since Thursday, October 23--the day before major new construction on the controversial gas storage facility was authorized to begin. On Wednesday, October 29, Crestwood called the police and the first 10 protesters were arrested. Since then, protests have been ongoing, with more arrests each week.
The methane gas storage expansion project is advancing in the face of broad public opposition and unresolved questions about geological instabilities, fault lines, and possible salinization of the lake, which serves as a source of drinking water for 100,000 people. Crestwood has indicated that it intends to make Seneca Lake the gas storage and transportation hub for the northeast, as part of the gas industry's planned expansion of infrastructure across the region.
While the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has temporarily halted plans to stockpile propane and butane in nearby caverns--out of ongoing concerns for safety, health, and the environment--Crestwood is actively constructing infrastructure for the storage of two billion cubic feet of methane (natural gas), with the blessing of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
"As a greenhouse gas, methane is carbon dioxide's younger and more dangerous brother," said biologist Sandra Steingraber in a video documenting Monday's action. "It is 86 times more powerful at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. So the methane that will inevitably leak from these caverns, and the pipelines that feed them, will be trapped in the atmosphere. So scientists--plus Santa and elves together--are standing in solidarity with residents of Seneca Lake and we're going to shut this place down."
Monday's detentions followed 28 arrests last Wednesday in a blockade led by local musicians. While blockading a large truck, the musicians sang, danced, played instruments, and held banners that read "This Land is Our Land" and "Gas/Water: Which Side Are You On?"
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.