Bill McKibben, a leading environmentalist, being arrested for protesting the KXL Pipeline in front of the White House using civil disobedience (2011).
Picture courtesy of: http://thinkprogress.org/green/2011/08/20/300275/keystone-xl-tar-sands-action-day-one/#
This may be the first time I will be arrested for the cause, but I don't expect it to be my last. I will be dedicating this action to my friends in the Great March for Climate Action, who will begin their amazing journey from California on Saturday, March 1st. Learn more about the cross-country walk at climatemarch.org
If you like the post I wrote, be sure to go to the website and browse the posts written by other participants.
Here it is, let me know what you think in the comments:
XL Dissent: Are You Doing Enough?
August 12th, 2013 was
the first time I risked arrest — it was to protest the Keystone XL Pipeline. I
left at four in the morning and drove about six hours to Maryland, just outside
of D.C., and pulled into a total stranger’s driveway. I sat on the trunk of my
car, waiting for him to get home from church, hoping the neighbors wouldn’t get
alarmed and call the police in the meantime. Although the idea of lodging with
people who I had never met in person was initially a little nerve racking, the
kind couple that took me in turned out to be two of the most amazing people I
had ever met. My hosts were just one of many incredible parts of that
unforgettable weekend.
Although
my parents handled my initial announcement about partaking in an act of civil
disobedience notoriously better than most parents would, my mom did ask why I
couldn’t just leave this event to other people. After all, I already write an
environmental blog to educate others, I’ve adopted a more sustainable
lifestyle, and I’ve attended legal rallies to oppose hydraulic fracturing. Haven’t
I done enough? Why do I need to get arrested?
I
told her that if I leave the dirty work up to other people, what’s to stop
other people from doing the same? If everyone says “someone else will take care
of it” the mess will simply never get cleaned up. And, oh man, have we made a
big mess of things.
It
may seem unfair that our generation is being left to not only try and reverse
the negative effects of our own unsustainability, but also those of the
generations before us. And, in a way, it is. But the hard truth is that we
don’t have enough time left to spend on complaining and self-pity. Actually,
we’ve already missed the optimal time to start working on reversing our bad
impacts. Now is the time to stop pointing fingers and to start putting our
heads together and ask: “How can we do this?”
One
of the first big steps is making it clear to governments and leaders — the
power-wielders in our society — that we mean business and we need change now. That’s why I risked arrest at a
sit-in at the State Department last summer, that’s why I signed up to walk in
the Great March for Climate Action, and that’s why I’m returning to D.C. this
Sunday to risk arrest again in front of the White House. When we partake in
these events, not only are we showing leaders that there is support behind the
environmental movement, but we are also showing them that we are willing to
disrupt our daily lives, to sacrifice our time and energy and yes, even our
hard-earned money, to stop this severely damaging project. In an age where
repetitive daily schedules are the expected norm, that makes a hard-to-ignore
statement. One chant in particular from last summer’s disobedience event comes
to mind:
“One,
we are the people! Two, you can’t ignore us! Three, we will not let you build
this Pipeline!”
It
says it right in the first amendment of the Bill of Rights — we have the right
to free speech, free press, to petition, and to peaceably assemble so that we
the people can’t be ignored. I don’t
know how I can make it any clearer that I don’t want this pipeline to be built
than shouting it at the White House and risking arrest while I do it. And
considering over 77,000 other people have signed the KXL Pledge of Resistance,
I know for a fact I’m not alone. Including
all the people who haven’t signed the pledge but are still opposed to the
pipeline, our numbers are large. If Obama and his administration choose to
approve this pipeline, not only will they be ignoring science, but they’ll be
directly defying the wishes of American citizens.
Climate
change is the defining issue for our generation, and it is easily the greatest
crisis humanity has ever faced. Effectively solving this unprecedented problem
will require everyone’s participation — the human race will have to work
together like we never have before. Me — how do I participate? I shop with my
reusable bags, turn off the lights, sign petitions and educate myself. I’m
about to risk arrest for a second time to protest an
environmentally-devastating pipeline (and it likely won’t be my last time), and
I’ve committed to walking 2,000 miles in the Great March for Climate Action to
raise awareness for our endangered planet, our one and only home.
What
about you? How are you participating? Have you asked yourself whether or not
you’re doing enough? I know I’m not. It’s hard to accept, but this is something
that will take a lifetime of commitment.
Most
importantly: will you be able to tell your grandkids that you played your part,
that you helped rescue the planet so they could live happy, healthy lives? At
the very least, will you be able to honestly tell them that you did all that
you could?
Will
your story inspire them to leave their own mark on the world?
These
are all really hard questions, but we have no time left to ignore them.
To read a personal account of my
experience risking arrest last summer, go here: http://viridorari.blogspot.com/2013/09/free-write-washington-dc-sit-in-vs.html
To see a totally inspiring video about
our participation in this event, go here: http://nokxl.org/200-people-went-to-the-state-department-to-say-nokxl-heres-what-happened/
For an article that mentions my
participation, go here: http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/keystone-protesters-hold-peaceful-sit-in-at-state-department-20130812
To learn more about the
coast-to-coast Climate March, go here: www.climatemarch.org
To
read an article about my participation in the march, go here: http://www.fltimes.com/news/article_b9857408-81ec-11e3-9657-0019bb2963f4.html
No comments:
Post a Comment