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
Four Catholic Workers shut off valves at Enbridge Energy Line 3 and 4 in northern Minnesota on Monday. (Photo: @4necessity/Twitter)
Calling for 'Unprecedented and Urgent Action' to Solve Climate Crisis, Four Organizers Shut Off Valves at Enbridge Lines 3 and 4
"This is some serious climate leadership."
Feb 03, 2019
Condemning "the imminent and irreversible damage being done to the climate" by fossil fuel extraction, four Catholic Workers took non-violent action to help stem the climate crisis on Monday in northern Minnesota, shutting off valves at Enbridge Energy Lines 3 and 4.
Allyson Polman, Brenna Cussen Anglada, Michele Naar Obed, and Daniel Yildirim were identified as the Four Necessity Valve Turners who shut off the valves. They took the action to protest the pipelines which cut through Native American reservations and jeopardize fresh water resources in the region, as well as perpetuating an energy economy reliant on fossil fuels.
"The group acts in solidarity with the most vulnerable worldwide who suffer the greatest impact from climate change," said the group in a press statement. "The Four Necessity Valve Turners believe it is time to take personal responsibility for preventing the dangerous expansion of the oil industry, because governments and regulators have failed to do so."
"This act is step towards reparations for the damage that colonization has done both to the indigenous peoples of this continent and the land," said Cussen Anglada.
The group shared a video on Facebook of the action. The demonstrators shut off the valves at about 10 minutes into the video:
The group displayed a sign reading, "The time is now for unprecedented and urgent action," at the site where they shut off the valves.
The Four Necessity Valve Turners took the action despite recent reports that police in Minnesota are planning to target anti-pipeline organizers, preparing for a militarized standoff like the one that took place at Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota in 2016.
"The extraction of the tar sands oil flowing through these pipes represents an ongoing atrocity against the boreal forests of Canada," said Yildirim. "I refuse to stand by in silence as this river of death flows through the Great Lakes region."
"The Four Necessity Valve Turners believe it is time to take personal responsibility for preventing the dangerous expansion of the oil industry, because governments and regulators have failed to do so." --Four Necessity Valve TurnersThe group released a statement of intent on Twitter after they shut off the valves.
"Our species stands at death's door due to the outmoded and violent myth that some people are more important than others, and that we can live without the intricate and miraculous web of life that surrounds us," they wrote. "Even as we approach total devastation, this myth still rages, and nowhere is it more apparent than in our own backyard."
The police arrived on the scene shortly after the group shut down the valves, and took the valve turners into custody. On Twitter, the group asked for donations for their bail fund while numerous supporters expressed gratitude for their direct action.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. 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. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Condemning "the imminent and irreversible damage being done to the climate" by fossil fuel extraction, four Catholic Workers took non-violent action to help stem the climate crisis on Monday in northern Minnesota, shutting off valves at Enbridge Energy Lines 3 and 4.
Allyson Polman, Brenna Cussen Anglada, Michele Naar Obed, and Daniel Yildirim were identified as the Four Necessity Valve Turners who shut off the valves. They took the action to protest the pipelines which cut through Native American reservations and jeopardize fresh water resources in the region, as well as perpetuating an energy economy reliant on fossil fuels.
"The group acts in solidarity with the most vulnerable worldwide who suffer the greatest impact from climate change," said the group in a press statement. "The Four Necessity Valve Turners believe it is time to take personal responsibility for preventing the dangerous expansion of the oil industry, because governments and regulators have failed to do so."
"This act is step towards reparations for the damage that colonization has done both to the indigenous peoples of this continent and the land," said Cussen Anglada.
The group shared a video on Facebook of the action. The demonstrators shut off the valves at about 10 minutes into the video:
The group displayed a sign reading, "The time is now for unprecedented and urgent action," at the site where they shut off the valves.
The Four Necessity Valve Turners took the action despite recent reports that police in Minnesota are planning to target anti-pipeline organizers, preparing for a militarized standoff like the one that took place at Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota in 2016.
"The extraction of the tar sands oil flowing through these pipes represents an ongoing atrocity against the boreal forests of Canada," said Yildirim. "I refuse to stand by in silence as this river of death flows through the Great Lakes region."
"The Four Necessity Valve Turners believe it is time to take personal responsibility for preventing the dangerous expansion of the oil industry, because governments and regulators have failed to do so." --Four Necessity Valve TurnersThe group released a statement of intent on Twitter after they shut off the valves.
"Our species stands at death's door due to the outmoded and violent myth that some people are more important than others, and that we can live without the intricate and miraculous web of life that surrounds us," they wrote. "Even as we approach total devastation, this myth still rages, and nowhere is it more apparent than in our own backyard."
The police arrived on the scene shortly after the group shut down the valves, and took the valve turners into custody. On Twitter, the group asked for donations for their bail fund while numerous supporters expressed gratitude for their direct action.
Condemning "the imminent and irreversible damage being done to the climate" by fossil fuel extraction, four Catholic Workers took non-violent action to help stem the climate crisis on Monday in northern Minnesota, shutting off valves at Enbridge Energy Lines 3 and 4.
Allyson Polman, Brenna Cussen Anglada, Michele Naar Obed, and Daniel Yildirim were identified as the Four Necessity Valve Turners who shut off the valves. They took the action to protest the pipelines which cut through Native American reservations and jeopardize fresh water resources in the region, as well as perpetuating an energy economy reliant on fossil fuels.
"The group acts in solidarity with the most vulnerable worldwide who suffer the greatest impact from climate change," said the group in a press statement. "The Four Necessity Valve Turners believe it is time to take personal responsibility for preventing the dangerous expansion of the oil industry, because governments and regulators have failed to do so."
"This act is step towards reparations for the damage that colonization has done both to the indigenous peoples of this continent and the land," said Cussen Anglada.
The group shared a video on Facebook of the action. The demonstrators shut off the valves at about 10 minutes into the video:
The group displayed a sign reading, "The time is now for unprecedented and urgent action," at the site where they shut off the valves.
The Four Necessity Valve Turners took the action despite recent reports that police in Minnesota are planning to target anti-pipeline organizers, preparing for a militarized standoff like the one that took place at Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota in 2016.
"The extraction of the tar sands oil flowing through these pipes represents an ongoing atrocity against the boreal forests of Canada," said Yildirim. "I refuse to stand by in silence as this river of death flows through the Great Lakes region."
"The Four Necessity Valve Turners believe it is time to take personal responsibility for preventing the dangerous expansion of the oil industry, because governments and regulators have failed to do so." --Four Necessity Valve TurnersThe group released a statement of intent on Twitter after they shut off the valves.
"Our species stands at death's door due to the outmoded and violent myth that some people are more important than others, and that we can live without the intricate and miraculous web of life that surrounds us," they wrote. "Even as we approach total devastation, this myth still rages, and nowhere is it more apparent than in our own backyard."
The police arrived on the scene shortly after the group shut down the valves, and took the valve turners into custody. On Twitter, the group asked for donations for their bail fund while numerous supporters expressed gratitude for their direct action.
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.