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We Will Not Be Silent: Beyond Extreme Energy Continues Actions Against FERC
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
With climate change, we are at a moment when as humanity we cannot remain silent. We must hold those accountable who are causing and furthering our climate crisis.
"We need people like you and me to take action to stop disastrous fossil fuel expansion-more fracking, more gas pipelines, export terminals and other extreme energy projects."
Apr 10, 2015
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
With climate change, we are at a moment when as humanity we cannot remain silent. We must hold those accountable who are causing and furthering our climate crisis.
"We need people like you and me to take action to stop disastrous fossil fuel expansion-more fracking, more gas pipelines, export terminals and other extreme energy projects."
This is why we urge support of and participation in the nonviolent demonstrations and other events May 21-29 in Washington, DC, organized by Beyond Extreme Energy, focused on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Why FERC? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has called them "a rogue agency, a captive agency." FERC is the federal agency which, among other duties, has to approve proposed interstate natural gas pipelines, compressor stations, export terminals and other gas infrastructure. And approve is what they do; they are a rubber stamp for the fracking industry.
At this time of crisis, we need a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that does what is right, not a weak body whose funding comes from fees paid by the gas industry and other fossil fuel companies they "regulate." As a result, they function as if they were being paid by the fossil fuel industry.
We need people like you and me to take action to stop disastrous fossil fuel expansion-more fracking, more gas pipelines, export terminals and other extreme energy projects. That is why we support Beyond Extreme Energy's (BXE) mass action at FERC, where BXE will promote a pathway for FERC to transform into a leading institution that can support the shift from fossil fuels--oil, coal and gas--to wind, solar and other renewables.
Last November Beyond Extreme Energy organized nonviolent blockades of the entrances to FERC and disrupted its functioning for five straight days. And on the fifth day, for several hours, BXE was able to keep hundreds of FERC employees out of the building and on the street outside. Pennsylvanians harmed by fracking told their stories over a bullhorn to the hushed and listening crowd. The actions then, and the actions since, are having an impact on FERC and are increasing public awareness.
FERC must be stopped from being a part of the problem, which is what nonviolent action is about, and we must transform FERC and other government agencies into drivers of the solutions we need to stop climate change. Stopping FERC is an important front in the struggle to end corporate control of our government.
We urge you to go to Beyond Extreme Energy, to learn more. And please join us or support the actions in Washington, DC for some of all of the time from May 21-29.
Power to the people!
Signers:
Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr.
Tim DeChristopher
Josh Fox
Wenonah Hauter
Naomi Klein
Ed Begley, Jr.
George Lakey
Debra Winger
Jennifer Krill
Mark Ruffalo
Cherri Foytlin
Annie Leonard
Matt Leonard
Jill Stein
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 |
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Beyond Extreme Energy
Beyond Extreme Energy is an activist network of organizations and individuals that came together in the summer of 2014 to organize a successful, week-long nonviolent direct action against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission which has continued to approve dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure projects despite local community opposition and the threat posed by planetary global warming and human-caused climate change.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
With climate change, we are at a moment when as humanity we cannot remain silent. We must hold those accountable who are causing and furthering our climate crisis.
"We need people like you and me to take action to stop disastrous fossil fuel expansion-more fracking, more gas pipelines, export terminals and other extreme energy projects."
This is why we urge support of and participation in the nonviolent demonstrations and other events May 21-29 in Washington, DC, organized by Beyond Extreme Energy, focused on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Why FERC? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has called them "a rogue agency, a captive agency." FERC is the federal agency which, among other duties, has to approve proposed interstate natural gas pipelines, compressor stations, export terminals and other gas infrastructure. And approve is what they do; they are a rubber stamp for the fracking industry.
At this time of crisis, we need a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that does what is right, not a weak body whose funding comes from fees paid by the gas industry and other fossil fuel companies they "regulate." As a result, they function as if they were being paid by the fossil fuel industry.
We need people like you and me to take action to stop disastrous fossil fuel expansion-more fracking, more gas pipelines, export terminals and other extreme energy projects. That is why we support Beyond Extreme Energy's (BXE) mass action at FERC, where BXE will promote a pathway for FERC to transform into a leading institution that can support the shift from fossil fuels--oil, coal and gas--to wind, solar and other renewables.
Last November Beyond Extreme Energy organized nonviolent blockades of the entrances to FERC and disrupted its functioning for five straight days. And on the fifth day, for several hours, BXE was able to keep hundreds of FERC employees out of the building and on the street outside. Pennsylvanians harmed by fracking told their stories over a bullhorn to the hushed and listening crowd. The actions then, and the actions since, are having an impact on FERC and are increasing public awareness.
FERC must be stopped from being a part of the problem, which is what nonviolent action is about, and we must transform FERC and other government agencies into drivers of the solutions we need to stop climate change. Stopping FERC is an important front in the struggle to end corporate control of our government.
We urge you to go to Beyond Extreme Energy, to learn more. And please join us or support the actions in Washington, DC for some of all of the time from May 21-29.
Power to the people!
Signers:
Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr.
Tim DeChristopher
Josh Fox
Wenonah Hauter
Naomi Klein
Ed Begley, Jr.
George Lakey
Debra Winger
Jennifer Krill
Mark Ruffalo
Cherri Foytlin
Annie Leonard
Matt Leonard
Jill Stein
Beyond Extreme Energy
Beyond Extreme Energy is an activist network of organizations and individuals that came together in the summer of 2014 to organize a successful, week-long nonviolent direct action against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission which has continued to approve dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure projects despite local community opposition and the threat posed by planetary global warming and human-caused climate change.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
With climate change, we are at a moment when as humanity we cannot remain silent. We must hold those accountable who are causing and furthering our climate crisis.
"We need people like you and me to take action to stop disastrous fossil fuel expansion-more fracking, more gas pipelines, export terminals and other extreme energy projects."
This is why we urge support of and participation in the nonviolent demonstrations and other events May 21-29 in Washington, DC, organized by Beyond Extreme Energy, focused on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Why FERC? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has called them "a rogue agency, a captive agency." FERC is the federal agency which, among other duties, has to approve proposed interstate natural gas pipelines, compressor stations, export terminals and other gas infrastructure. And approve is what they do; they are a rubber stamp for the fracking industry.
At this time of crisis, we need a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that does what is right, not a weak body whose funding comes from fees paid by the gas industry and other fossil fuel companies they "regulate." As a result, they function as if they were being paid by the fossil fuel industry.
We need people like you and me to take action to stop disastrous fossil fuel expansion-more fracking, more gas pipelines, export terminals and other extreme energy projects. That is why we support Beyond Extreme Energy's (BXE) mass action at FERC, where BXE will promote a pathway for FERC to transform into a leading institution that can support the shift from fossil fuels--oil, coal and gas--to wind, solar and other renewables.
Last November Beyond Extreme Energy organized nonviolent blockades of the entrances to FERC and disrupted its functioning for five straight days. And on the fifth day, for several hours, BXE was able to keep hundreds of FERC employees out of the building and on the street outside. Pennsylvanians harmed by fracking told their stories over a bullhorn to the hushed and listening crowd. The actions then, and the actions since, are having an impact on FERC and are increasing public awareness.
FERC must be stopped from being a part of the problem, which is what nonviolent action is about, and we must transform FERC and other government agencies into drivers of the solutions we need to stop climate change. Stopping FERC is an important front in the struggle to end corporate control of our government.
We urge you to go to Beyond Extreme Energy, to learn more. And please join us or support the actions in Washington, DC for some of all of the time from May 21-29.
Power to the people!
Signers:
Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr.
Tim DeChristopher
Josh Fox
Wenonah Hauter
Naomi Klein
Ed Begley, Jr.
George Lakey
Debra Winger
Jennifer Krill
Mark Ruffalo
Cherri Foytlin
Annie Leonard
Matt Leonard
Jill Stein
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