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Bill McKibben Among 50+ Arrested in Upstate New York over Fracking Project
"Some mornings fighting for the future means heading off to jail," McKibben, a co-founder of 350.org, wrote on Twitter. "That's okay."
Mar 07, 2016
Environmentalist Bill McKibben was among more than 50 activists arrested Monday morning for blockading the gates of the Crestwood Midstream gas storage facility on the shores of Seneca Lake in upstate New York.
"Some mornings fighting for the future means heading off to jail," McKibben, a co-founder of 350.org, wrote on Twitter. "That's okay."
The blockade was part of an ongoing civil disobedience campaign organized by We Are Seneca Lake, the grassroots campaign fighting against a proposal to store methane, propane, and butane in underground lakeside salt caverns. The group says the plan is "one of many projects, including pipelines, which aim to develop 'new markets' for the current glut of natural gas from the fracking boom, committing people to using natural gas far into the future."
Indeed, said ecologist and author Sandra Steingraber, who was also part of the morning's protest: "This driveway is the battleground of two different visions of the future"--one reliant on fossil fuels, and the other committed to keeping oil, gas, and coal in the ground.
Whether due to low natural gas prices or the ongoing direct action campaign--more than 450 people have been arrested in the past year--construction of Crestwood's controversial natural gas storage expansion has not yet begun.
As McKibben said Monday, "If we can hold off the fossil fuel industry for just a few years, it won't be built."
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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.
350.orgbill mckibbencivil disobediencefight for the futurefossil fuelsfrackingmethanenew yorkpeople powersandra steingraber
Environmentalist Bill McKibben was among more than 50 activists arrested Monday morning for blockading the gates of the Crestwood Midstream gas storage facility on the shores of Seneca Lake in upstate New York.
"Some mornings fighting for the future means heading off to jail," McKibben, a co-founder of 350.org, wrote on Twitter. "That's okay."
The blockade was part of an ongoing civil disobedience campaign organized by We Are Seneca Lake, the grassroots campaign fighting against a proposal to store methane, propane, and butane in underground lakeside salt caverns. The group says the plan is "one of many projects, including pipelines, which aim to develop 'new markets' for the current glut of natural gas from the fracking boom, committing people to using natural gas far into the future."
Indeed, said ecologist and author Sandra Steingraber, who was also part of the morning's protest: "This driveway is the battleground of two different visions of the future"--one reliant on fossil fuels, and the other committed to keeping oil, gas, and coal in the ground.
Whether due to low natural gas prices or the ongoing direct action campaign--more than 450 people have been arrested in the past year--construction of Crestwood's controversial natural gas storage expansion has not yet begun.
As McKibben said Monday, "If we can hold off the fossil fuel industry for just a few years, it won't be built."
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.
Environmentalist Bill McKibben was among more than 50 activists arrested Monday morning for blockading the gates of the Crestwood Midstream gas storage facility on the shores of Seneca Lake in upstate New York.
"Some mornings fighting for the future means heading off to jail," McKibben, a co-founder of 350.org, wrote on Twitter. "That's okay."
The blockade was part of an ongoing civil disobedience campaign organized by We Are Seneca Lake, the grassroots campaign fighting against a proposal to store methane, propane, and butane in underground lakeside salt caverns. The group says the plan is "one of many projects, including pipelines, which aim to develop 'new markets' for the current glut of natural gas from the fracking boom, committing people to using natural gas far into the future."
Indeed, said ecologist and author Sandra Steingraber, who was also part of the morning's protest: "This driveway is the battleground of two different visions of the future"--one reliant on fossil fuels, and the other committed to keeping oil, gas, and coal in the ground.
Whether due to low natural gas prices or the ongoing direct action campaign--more than 450 people have been arrested in the past year--construction of Crestwood's controversial natural gas storage expansion has not yet begun.
As McKibben said Monday, "If we can hold off the fossil fuel industry for just a few years, it won't be built."
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