Other 98% has been working tirelessly on-the-ground with activists and organizations in the Pacific Northwest on the #ShellNo campaign. We want to stop Shell from destroying the fragile Arctic and the Climate.
At 3:30 a.m. on Monday, I helped a Mosquito Fleet of kayaks launch from the deck of our solar powered barge, The People’s Platform. I watched through teary eyes as kayaktivists paddled out to block Shell’s monstrous drill rig from leaving port. Then my daughter Hazel and I joined them.
It was a motley crew of 40 or so small boats; among the paddlers were Seattle City Council member Mike O’Brien, a Lummi canoe family, my wife Genevieve and 10-year old son Sam, and our web developer, Kelly Mears (who may need a new job title after his badassery yesterday).
US Coast Guard and Seattle Harbor Patrol were out in force making arrests; 24 when all was said and done. Despite the fact that Shell’s presence in the Port was found to be unconstitutional by Washington’s Department of Natural Resources, it was these courageous activists who faced legal action, while Shell continues to operate with total impunity.
With the kayaks neutralized, Shell’s rig and its police escorts began slowly moving north – but they weren’t moving for long. A second wave of kayaktivists met them off the coast of Bainbridge Island. Shell’s rig veered into shallow waters during an extremely low tide and ran aground (just as a Shell rig ran aground in the Arctic in 2012). Shell claimed they stopped to “calibrate the rig’s compass.” Yeah right.
Whatever really happened, the rig was delayed off the coast of Bainbridge Island for half a day, costing Shell precious time and significant amounts of money.
Help us permanently slam the door on Shell’s Arctic Drill plans by pitching in a few bucks.
In the last few months, we have made Shell’s Arctic rig an international news story. With every action we take, we delay Shell’s disastrous plans and put more pressure on our elected officials to take real action to protect our climate. We cannot stop using oil overnight, and our transition to clean energy must be done in a way that acknowledges and supports workers whose livelihoods are tied up with carbon emissions. That’s why it’s so crucial that we start the transition now, before it’s too late to do it right. Drilling in the Arctic is a huge step in precisely the wrong direction.
The rig is still making its way North, but this fight is far from over. This week’s action and the huge flotilla action back in May represent a new phase of the climate movement; one with more creativity, more energy, more voices, and more urgency. These kayaktivists have captured the world’s imagination; we have to make sure we can hang onto it.
Other 98% and our friends and allies are going to leverage this fresh wave of energy and attention to build this moment into a powerful movement. Help us go big by chipping in today.
Thank you so much for everything you do. Knowing we have the support of such a big, bold, brave group of people makes even the earliest mornings and the coldest waters all worth it.
-John Sellers
The Other 98%
