Protest and Non-Violent Civil Disobedience at Chevron, California’s worst climate polluter, on first day of United Nations climate change negotiations in Copenhagen

ACTION VIDEO by Ariel López

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O55lgPkOss

San Ramon, CA – As Chevron employees arrived to work early this morning, they were met by nearly 100 people who gathered in protest of Chevron’s global destruction of communities, the environment and the global climate. Protestors interrupted business as usual at Chevron, by blocking the main entrance to the corporation’s headquarters, as well as two additional entrances for several hours. 31 people were eventually arrested. By noon, most of those arrested were cited and released.

The protest and non-violent civil disobedience was organized by the Mobilization for Climate Justice West – a coalition representing more than 30 local social justice, environmental justice, and human rights groups – today to coincide with the first day of the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark. Similar protests are taking place nationally and globally.

As the largest and most polluting corporation in the state of California, Chevron was targeted locally for undermining efforts to combat global warming and expanding its operations into more environmentally destructive and polluting forms of crude oil like the Canadian tar sands. And, as the 3rd largest corporation in the U.S., Chevron is using its immense financial resources to influence federal environmental policy. In the first half of 2009, Chevron spent nearly $13 million lobbying the federal government, more than twice the amount it spent during the same period in 2008.

David O’Reilly, Chevron’s outgoing CEO, and John Watson, who will succeed O’Reilly on January 1, have sharply criticized domestic global warming legislation and robust long-term targets for reducing climate pollution. Their arguments, rooted in corporate self-preservation at the expense of the health and safety of people and the planet, fly in the face of a scientific consensus that calls for rapid, drastic action to reduce climate pollution.

“By working to derail effective climate change policy in the U.S., Chevron is undermining the UN climate negotiations where other nations are looking to the U.S. to make binding commitments to reduce emissions,” said Cathy Kunkel of Mobilization for Climate Justice. “Chevron’s opposition to significant action on climate change is in line with its history of environmental and human rights abuses in communities all over the world.

Chevron’s global operations, from Ecuador and Nigeria to Burma and the Philippines, have had disastrous impacts on local communities and ecosystems. Those impacts have also been felt closer to home. Last month, the California Air Resources Board ranked Chevron’s Richmond oil refinery as the state’s single largest climate polluter, emitting 4.8 million tons of greenhouse gasses in 2008 alone.

Local residents in Richmond have been fighting for decades to get Chevron to clean up its act. In addition to global warming pollution, the refinery emits toxic air pollution that has driven high rates of asthma and cancer in the surrounding community. Rather than address the effects of its operations on the health of the local community, Chevron recently attempted an expansion of its operations in Richmond that would have allowed the company to process heavier crude oil.

According to Jessica Tovar, community organizer with Communities for a Better Environment, “Chevron’s Richmond refinery is the number one greenhouse gas polluter in the state. Now is the time to make a green transition, rather then lock in dirtier crude refining in Richmond.”

“Chevron is a bad neighbor, and the community of Richmond has suffered as a result. We want Chevron to take responsibility for the environmental damage it has caused here in Richmond and abroad,” said Mari Rose Taruc, State Organizing Director for the Asian Pacific Environmental Network. “We want green jobs for Richmond and a healthy community, neither of which Chevron has provided.”

“Chevron has to know that we’re not going away. We’re breathing and feeling the effects of Chevron’s pollution every day. While we go to the graveyard, Chevron goes to the bank. We’re determined let Chevron know that they’re killing us in the process of making money. This has to change,” said Reverend Kenneth Davis from North Richmond after being arrested this morning.

Mobilization for Climate Justice West and more than 20 allied groups signed a letter to incoming Chevron CEO John Watson, calling on him to take three immediate actions:

1. Support equitable, science-based emissions reduction targets and climate solutions in international climate change negotiations and domestically.

2. Pledge not to support fake “grassroots” campaigns against national climate change legislation.

3. Cap the crude and stop expanding into heavier, dirtier sources of crude oil.

Read the full letter at:

http://west.actforclimatejustice.org/resources/open-letter-to-chevron/

Mobilization for Climate Justice West is taking action on the first day of the international climate negotiations in solidarity with allies in West Virginia who are also taking action on December 7 confronting the nation’s fourth-largest coal producer, Massey Energy to demand an end to destructive mountaintop removal coal mining (http://savecoalrivermountain.org).

http://west.actforclimatejustice.org

***PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY***

For Immediate Release: Monday, December 7, 2009

Contact: Ananda Lee Tan, (415) 374-0615

Gopal Dayaneni, (510) 847-3592

Tim DeChristopher-Utah Enviro Activist; Democracy Now! Interview:

http://www.bidder70.org/news/view/136168/

This is one of the 2 individuals who placed false bids on Utah public-lands wilderness that was being auctioned off to the fossil-fuel drilling consortium for taxpayer-subsidized plunder. He faces federal charges-& RTNA, EF! & others are coming to his defense.

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On January 8, 2009 the world will witness an historic procession of First
Nations chiefs on horses at the National Mall in Washington DC. The chiefs will come from Canada to present their message to the American people and President-elect Obama, that they must be compensated for the oil being sold by Canada to the United States. It is actually the First Nations within the borders of Canada who are the largest provider of foreign oil to the U.S. but they are not receiving payment. The event will begin in the morning with a prayer ceremony (that is closed to the public),
followed by a procession with horses down the National Mall. The day will
culminate with a press conference at the National Press Club at 1:00 PM
EST.

Continue Reading »

Water vs. Shale Oil in the Rockies:

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-na-oil-shale28-2008dec28,0,462327.story

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 17, 2008  3:21 PM

Broad Coalition Works to Halt Egregious Midnight Land Sale in Utah

CONTACT: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Erin Allweiss, 202-513-6254 or 202-277-8370 (cell)
Robert Redford, Members of Congress, and Broad Coalition Call on Administration to Halt Midnight Land Sale in Utah Environmental and Preservation Groups Take Legal Action against

WASHINGTON-December 17. Robert Redford joined members of Congress and a coalition of environmental, preservation and business groups to stop the Interior Department from auctioning Utah wilderness to oil and gas companies. Congressmen Baird (D-WA), Hinchey (D-NY), and Holt (D-NJ) are leading the charge on the Hill to stop the auction, which is scheduled to take place on December 19. At a press event today, the environmental and preservation groups–led by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Southern Utah Wilderness Association, and Earthjustice–announced that they are taking legal action against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to halt the leasing of more than 110,000 acres of land near Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Dinosaur National Monument, and Nine Mile Canyon.

Continue Reading »

—————————- Original Message —————————-

Subject: [Tar Sands Sign-On Letter] Attention: All NGO and Indigenous

Organizations

From:    “Indigenous Environmental Network” <ienonlinenews@igc.org>

Date:    Tue, December 9, 2008 9:52 am

To:      stormf5@riseup.net

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Please view this newsletter online at:

http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409792251

The Indigenous Environmental Network – PO Box 485 – Bemidji  – MN – 56619

To subscribe to this newsletter go to

https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/subscription.php?username=ienearth&send_id=350487283&l=s&newsletter_id=1409792251

To change your address or edit your subscription preferences, go to

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To forward this email to a friend, go to

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This email was sent using MyNewsletterBuilder.com.

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Amazonian Tribe Protests Oil Pollution:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5337802.stm

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Published on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 by Reuters
Little Gain From Oil Sands Carbon Capture: Report

CALGARY, Alberta-Canada’s government saw only limited opportunities to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the oil sands using carbon capture and storage technology, according to briefing notes obtained by a Canadian media.

The notes, prepared by a carbon capture task force, were used by Canadian federal and provincial politicians and were obtained by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, which said it requested them under freedom of information legislation.

Continue Reading »

Nov 25, 11:03 PM EST

Bureau of Land Management Pulls Auction Parcels on Oil-and-Gas Drilling Near National Parks
By PAUL FOY, Associated Press Writer

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)–Drilling leases on and near the border of Utah’s scenic national parks have been pulled from an auction block.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced its decision late Tuesday after negotiations with National Park Service officials who objected to noise, lights and air pollution near Arches National Park, Dinosaur National Monument and Canyonlands National Park, all in Utah.

Some of those parcels were within 1.3 miles of Delicate Arch, a freestanding span of 33 feet that is the signature landmark at Arches near Moab, Utah.

Continue Reading »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2008  5:48 PM

CONTACT: Environmental Groups
Drew Bush (TWS), 202/429-7441, drew_bush@tws.org
Melissa Thrailkill (CBD), 415/436-9682 x313, mthrailkill@biologicaldiversity.org
Amy Mall (NRDC), 720/565-0188, amall@nrdc.org
Joe Nuehof (CEC), 970/243-0002, joe@cecenviro.org

Gift to Oil Industry Rushed Into Federal Register Before Bush Leaves Office
Final Oil Shale Regulations Endanger Lands, Communities of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming

WASHINGTON – November 17 – Ignoring the wishes of two governors and numerous members of Congress, the Bush administration announced today final regulations for a commercial oil shale program affecting almost 2 million acres of public lands in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. These regulations lay out the rules governing royalty rates, evaluation of lease bids, mitigation requirements, and other technical and procedural elements of commercial oil shale leasing and production.

Continue Reading »

..among other long-awaited happenings! The anonymous action conducted this morning was profound and  far-reaching.  From six printing locations located across the United States, 1.2 million copies of a faux edition of the New York Times made their way from the printing presses into the streets of the nation.

Not only, declares the Times, is the Iraq War over, but Thomas Friedman submits his resignation, Exxon-Mobil advocates alternative energy, a nationalized oil fund proposal passes Congress to fight Climate Change, and Monsanto defends the usage of ladybugs as more effective than pesticides.

The perpetrators of the long-planned and meticulous hoax worked long and in secret.  They are an amalgam of advocacy groups, climate change activists, and professional pranksters that routinely challenge the status quo through a broad range of activism, education, and downright foolery.

Download a PDF version [10 MB] HERE to read “All the News We Hope to Post”

available: http://www.risingtidenorthamerica.org/special/NYtimes_YesMenSpoof.pdf [~9.6 MB]

VIDEO COVERAGE

New York Times Special Edition Video News Release – Nov. 12, 2008 from H Schweppes on Vimeo.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2008 12:32 PM

 CONTACT: The Wilderness Society
Nada Culver, 202-650-5818×117, nada_culver@tws.org
Chase Huntley, 202/429-7431, chase_huntley@tws.org
Drew Bush, 202/429-7441, drew_bush@tws.org
 
BLM Ignores Process, 2.5 Million Acres to Be Opened for Oil Shale Development; Public Denied Opportunity for Input

WASHINGTON – October 7 – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) undermined the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act when it decided to amend 12 land management plans for Colorado, Utah and Wyoming without providing an opportunity for the public to protest, The Wilderness Society charged in a letter sent today to the U.S. Department of the Interior. The plans were amended in particular to expedite the commercial development of oil shale in the Green River Basin of the three states.

Continue Reading »

The Pentagon’s New Africa Command Raises Suspicions About US Motives:

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/09/30-1

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FALSE SOLUTION: Shale Oil a Bust

Energy Expert Calls Oil Shale World’s Worst Fossil Fuel:

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/09/30-7

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This situation is never easy: Indigenous Territory is being colonized by corporate fossil-fuel interests…there are Native residents who don’t want the development at all-aand there are Native residents who want what they see as a ” fair share” of the profit the corporation will generate from the development.

ASW

Protesters Move In Path of Pipeline in Canada:

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/09/30-5

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And he didn’t even go into McCain’s egregious policies toward AZ Natives during his
many years as senator…

ASW

Subject: An Alaska Native speaks out on Palin, Oil, and Alaska

An Alaska Native speaks out on Palin, Oil, and Alaska

By Evon Peter

evonpeter@mac.com
<http://us.mc517.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=evonpeter@mac.com>

9/8/2008

My name is Evon Peter; I am a former Chief of the Neetsaii Gwich’in tribe from
Arctic Village, Alaska and the current Executive Director of Native Movement. My
organization provides culturally based leadership development through offices in
Alaska and Arizona. My wife, who is Navajo, and I have been based out of Flagstaff,
Arizona for the past few years, although I travel home to Alaska in support of our
initiatives there as well. It is interesting to me that my wife and I find ourselves
as Indigenous people from the two states where McCain and Palin originate in their

leadership.

Continue Reading »

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” … the rise in carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels can be
kept below harmful levels as long as emissions from coal are phased out globally within the next few decades.”
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NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Public release date:
10-Sep-2008

Contact: Lynn Chandler
lynn-chandler-1@nasa.gov
301-286-2806

NASA study illustrates how global peak oil could impact climate

The burning of fossil fuels — notably coal, oil and gas — has
accounted for about 80 percent of the rise of atmospheric carbon
dioxide since the pre-industrial era. Now, NASA researchers have
identified feasible emission scenarios that could keep carbon dioxide
below levels that some scientists have called dangerous for climate.

When and how global oil production will peak has been debated, making it difficult to anticipate emissions from the burning of fuel and to precisely estimate its impact on climate. To better understand how emissions might change in the future, Pushker Kharecha and James Hansen of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York considered a wide range of fossil fuel consumption scenarios. The research, published Aug. 5 in the American Geophysical Union’s Global Biogeochemical Cycles, shows that the rise in carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels can be kept below harmful levels as long as emissions from coal are phased out globally within the next few decades.

Continue Reading »

Global Carbon Emissions Map

Here’s a nifty website:

<http://www.carma.org>.

CARMA reveals the carbon emissions of more than 50,000 power plants and 4,000 power
companies in every country on Earth. You can type in a zip code and get facts on
emissions and source of energy, e.g., coal, hydro, of every power plant. There are
interactive maps and you can search by  region, etc.

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Published on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 by The Leader-Post (Saskatchewan)
Group Concerned About Climate Change Challenges Oil Sands Development
by Angela Hall

SASKATCHEWAN – As companies bid Monday for the chance to explore Saskatchewan’s oilsands, those opposed to such development made their voices heard at the Legislative Building.

About a dozen people with placards reading “Tar Sands = Climate Change” and “Get informed Saskatchewan” urged the provincial government to stop issuing exploratory permits for the oilsands until further study is done.

The event, organized by the local chapter of the Council of Canadians, coincided with the province’s August sale of oil and natural gas rights, which offered oilsands rights for only the second time.

Continue Reading »

Published on Monday, July 14, 2008 by Agence France Presse
Bush to Lift Offshore Oil Drilling Ban

WASHINGTON – US President George W. Bush will announce Monday he is lifting an executive ban on oil drilling on the US outer continental shelf and urge lawmakers to follow suit, the White House said.

“The president will announce that he has decided to lift the executive ban on oil exploration in America’s outer continental shelf and he will again call on Congress to lift its legislative ban,” said spokeswoman Dana Perino.
Continue Reading »

Put Oil Firm Chiefs On Trial, Says Leading Climate Change Scientist

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/22/9816/

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 9, 2008 2:15 PM

CONTACT: Center for Biological Diversity
Brendan Cummings, Center for Biological Diversity, (760) 366-2232 x 304
Whit Sheard, Pacific Environment, (907) 982-7095

Lawsuit to Be Filed to Protect Polar Bears from Oil Development and Greenhouse Gases
Offshore Oil Development in Arctic Seas Challenged

SAN FRANCISCO – June 9 – Today two conservation groups formally notified Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne of their intent to file suit under the Endangered Species Act for Secretary Kempthorne’s failure to protect polar bears from oil development in their habitat in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas off Alaska.

Polar bears were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act on May 15, 2008 due to the ongoing and projected loss of their sea-ice habitat from global warming. Polar bears in the United States live on and near the seasonally frozen waters of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas off Alaska. The Bush administration has opened up virtually all of this habitat to leasing by oil companies.

Continue Reading »

No joke folx…want to survive & mitigate climate change? Then PROTECT
WILDERNESS AND WILDLIFE!! No exceptions…

ASW

—————————- Original Message —————————-
Subject: BACA NWR MAKES PEER LIST OF AMERICA’S TEN MOST IMPERILED WILDLIFE
REFUGES
From:    “winter ross” <winterross@yahoo.com>
Date:    Wed, June 4, 2008 7:36 pm
To:      “Storm Waters” <stormf5@riseup.net>
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Christine Canaly <slvwater@fairpoint.net> wrote: Date: Sun, 25 May 2008
18:03:20 -0600
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
From: Christine Canaly <slvwater@fairpoint.net>
Subject:
Fwd: BACA NWR MAKES PEER LIST OF AMERICA’S
TEN MOST IMPERILED WILDLIFE REFUGES

Hi folks,

The Baca was recognized by PEER as one of the Nation’s top 10 imperiled
wildlife refuges (see story below).  While this reaffirms the important
work we still have ahead of us, the listing will help us get important
national attention.

Watch for an update on the results of our latest FOIA request in the June
Crestone Eagle.

Continue Reading »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 29, 2008
4:33 PM

 CONTACT: The Wilderness Society
Dave Slater (202/429-8441); Dave Alberswerth (202/429-2695);
Nada Culver (303/650-5818, ext. 117); Eleanor Huffines (907-272-9453)
 
 
More Than 44 Million Acres Under Lease for Oil and Gas in US
New analyses shows unprecedented drilling boom, tremendous surplus of undrilled leases, and errors in recent BLM oil and gas assessment
 
WASHINGTON, DC – May 29 – More than 44 million acres of public lands are leased for oil and gas development, according to a new Wilderness Society analysis of Interior Department data. The analysis points to an explosion of drilling on federal lands, with 7,124 drilling permits (APDs) issued in 2007, a new record for the Bush Administration. Nationwide, the leasing is outstripping the oil and gas industry’s capacity to drill, as industry is drilling on only a quarter of the leases they hold. [view the detailed analysis here

Continue Reading »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2008  9:53 AM

CONTACT: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337
 
U.S. Trusting Oil Companies to Safeguard Arctic Wildlife
Industry Permit Plans Not Subjected to Required Peer-Review or Monitoring 
 
WASHINGTON, DC – May 15 – Federal agencies issued permits for oil exploration in vast areas of the Arctic Ocean without verifying industry claims or imposing required safeguards against damage to wildlife, according to agency e-mails released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Intense political pressure to speed Arctic leasing coupled with tardy industry submission of any data resulted in official rubber-stamping of permit applications without review or plans for follow-up.

Continue Reading »

Something to Celebrate!

BLM Withdraws Proposed Energy Leases in Southern Colorado
The Associated Press

Article Last Updated: 05/02/2008 04:45:41 PM MDT

DENVER—Federal officials are withdrawing most of the proposed oil and gas leases up for sale in a May 8th auction.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said Friday that it will defer offering leases on 144,000 acres out of the original 175,430 acres. The parcels withdrawn are in the Rio National Grande Forest in southern Colorado.

BLM officials say the parcels could be auctioned later. They’ll go over the analysis of the sites with the Forest Service

Continue Reading »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2008
1:10 PM

 CONTACT: Center for Biological Diversity
Rob Mrowka, Center for Biological Diversity, (702) 249-5821
 
 
Federal Proposal to Open 1.7 Million Acres of Nevada Public Land to Oil and Gas Development Would Worsen Global Climate Change and Imperil Species
 
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – April 28 – Today the Center for Biological Diversity submitted comments urging the federal Bureau of Land Management to scrap its proposal to open 1.7 million acres of public lands in Lander and Nye counties to oil and gas development because the drilling would exacerbate global climate change and further threaten imperiled species.

At the heart of the Center’s complaint is the Bureau’s failure to analyze or even acknowledge the environmental impacts from the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the development and consumption of oil and gas produced from the area, despite the National Environmental Policy Act’s mandate to fully disclose the environmental impacts from federal actions.

Continue Reading »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2008
10:56 AM

CONTACT: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337

US Offshore Leasing Premised on Future of Cheap Oil
Planning Assumes $30 a Barrel Oil to Minimize Potential Environmental Impacts

WASHINGTON, DC – April 10 – With prices surging past $112 for a barrel of oil, the federal government is basing its Arctic offshore drilling plans on the assumption that oil will cost only $30 a barrel and not rise beyond $46 a barrel by 2012, according to agency records posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). These vast underestimates were based on old forecasts which the Bush administration refused to update for fear of slowing leases sales in the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf.

Continue Reading »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2008
2:35 PM

CONTACT: Defenders of Wildlife
Richard Charter, (707) 696-1363
Sandra Purohit, (202) 772-0250

Offshore Drilling Could Destroy Bristol Bay Fisheries
Defenders of Wildlife Opposes Interior Department Approval of New Leases

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – April 8 – Today’s announcement by the Department of the Interior inviting offshore oil and gas drilling throughout Alaska’s fishery-rich Bristol Bay could undermine commercial and recreational fishing throughout the region, Defenders of Wildlife warned. It also puts at risk important marine mammal and migratory bird habitat.

“Through thousands of years of careful stewardship, Alaska’s indigenous peoples have maintained the healthy web of life in Bristol Bay. Now the Bush administration is encouraging the oil industry to submit maps showing where they want to drill offshore,” said Richard Charter, a consultant for Defenders of Wildlife. “This is a tragic and high-risk decision destined to ultimately destroy one of America’s only remaining sustainable marine ecosystems.”

Continue Reading »