A few weeks ago I attended a sold-out gathering at Clark College to hear the ever-inspiring Bill McKibben (author, “The End of Nature”) talk about climate change and stopping fossil fuel exports. The event was sponsored by, among other groups, Portland Rising Tide. Bill spoke of Vancouver, Washington as the choke point for proposed fossil fuel exports – coal trains and river barges from mines in Montana, and now a 380,000 barrel/day oil export terminal at the Port of Vancouver.
Bill told the story of getting arrested during the Keystone Pipeline protests in Washington, D.C. and mentioned that we can’t just ask the college students to do this. In this terrible economy where getting a job is hard enough, it’s not a good thing for the kids to have an arrest record. He said it’s time for us older folks who have less to lose to start acting like elders. I signed a card that I would be willing to take part in acts of civil disobedience for this cause even it it meant going to jail. We should look good while we do it, too, Bill advised -- guys should wear a shirt and tie and women a skirt (which I most always do anyway).
There was a large river action that took place July 27th, a day I was out of town, and I was sorry I wasn’t there to support it – part was a blockade by kayaks and small boats across the Columbia River. In today’s Oregonian newspaper there is a story and photo of protesters, including Native Americans from the Nez Perce tribe, standing their ground against transport of 644,000 pound “megaload” oil shipments headed across Lewiston, Idaho for oil fields in Canada. Two protesters were arrested and charged with misdemeanors for disturbing the peace.
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