March, 23 2012, 10:42am EDT
Activists Arrested on March 22 Will Protest Again at Entergy GQ on Saturday
Eight activists from New England, seven of whom were arrested and released on March 22 after staging a brief occupation at Entergy's headquarters, will return to protest outside the nuclear corporation on Saturday, March 24. The protesters will rally on the public sidewalk outside Entergy headquarters at 11am.
NEW ORLEANS, LA
Eight activists from New England, seven of whom were arrested and released on March 22 after staging a brief occupation at Entergy's headquarters, will return to protest outside the nuclear corporation on Saturday, March 24. The protesters will rally on the public sidewalk outside Entergy headquarters at 11am.
The eight, an affinity group calling itself the New England Natural Guard, were protesting the continued operation of the Entergy-owned Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor in Vernon, Vermont. They entered Entergy's New Orleans headquarters on Thursday, declaring it a corporate crime scene and posting police tape and banners before being arrested.
Their actions came at the same time as more than 1,000 people marched from Brattleboro, VT to Entergy's Vermont Yankee offices in Vernon where 130 were arrested. Five more protesters were arrested at Entergy's White Plains, NY offices in another simultaneous action.
Vermont Yankee, owned by Entergy, is a GE Mark I Boiling Water Reactor, the same design as the reactors that suffered explosions and meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi in Japan. The State of Vermont, supported by a majority of its citizens, passed legislation to shut down the reactor on March 21, 2012, when its original 40-year license expired. But Entergy was given a license renewal by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and continues to operate the old and dangerous reactor that has experienced radioactive leaks, a fire, and structural collapses.
The protesters view Entergy as a rogue corporation, operating as an outlaw by flouting the wishes, and legislative decisions, of the government and people of Vermont. March 24 marks a national day of action in solidarity with Vermont to "Freeze our Fukushimas," a campaign to freeze operation at all 23 operating US Mark I reactors.
Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic.
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