America the Beautiful

Yesterday, I caught a glimpse of what it takes to power the American way of life. I think, judging by this sign we encountered, you can tell it wasn’t pretty.

We did a poor job of following the sign's instructions. Sorry not sorry.

During our first day out of Denver, a 15.5 mile trip to Prairie View High School, we passed through Suncor Energy and the industrial park in which it is housed. Suncor’s name is deceiving; it actually has nothing to do with sunlight. Suncor is a tar sands oil refining company, the same stuff that would be pumped through the KXL Pipeline if built, and the same stuff that is destroying Alberta, Canada via the extraction process.

When we arrived at Suncor’s main office building, 4.8 miles into our walk, we staged a small performance. We were all wearing surgical masks over our faces, and my fellow marcher, Berenice, started to cough. Saying that she couldn’t breathe, she went to take her mask off, and everyone yelled:

“No, Berenice, no! The air is polluted! Keep your mask on!”

But she took it off and coughed harder, and then collapsed to the ground and “died.” Someone held a sign over her that said “Suncor-pse,” and we all grieved around her. This all took place on the lawn in front of Suncor’s company sign.

We carried Berenice to the cemetery across the street and laid her to rest in front of a tombstone, and I gave eulogy for her.

“Here lies Berenice Tompkins, dead from pollution from tar sands oil refineries like Suncor. She breathed the air and it killed her. What world are we living in where we have no clean air? Let Berenice’s death be a reminder to all of us of those who have been silenced, sickened, and killed by air pollution, and other forms of pollution that come from the oil and gas industry. Rest in peace, Berenice, you beautiful martyr.”

Climate March Update #5: SUCCESS!

Hey everyone, great news! The money I raised from t-shirt orders has completed my fundraising, and now I have actually over-raised money!

If you are still interested in supporting the cause, there are many other marchers who still have not reached their goal, some of which are marching right now! If you could help them out instead of me, all of us from the Climate March would be very grateful. We don't want anyone to have to drop out because they didn't have the funds. 

Here are some marchers who are still in need. All of those listed below are currently marching AND they are going the whole distance, from LA to DC! So, they have to raise at least $5,000.

Comment sent to Secretary of State John Kerry

The following is a comment I submitted to John Kerry, who will be advising President Obama on his decision about Keystone XL. I wrote this shortly after I returned home from D.C. I was sending out a pre-written message to Secretary Kerry through an activist organization, and there was an option to add in my own words. I ended up writing a small letter while the inspiration from XL Dissent was still coursing through me.

The deadline for the final comment period on KXL was March 7th. According to 350.org, over 2 million people submitted comments opposing KXL, outnumbering supporters 2 to 1.

I wanted to share my message to John Kerry with you. Here it is:

Arrested for the First Time at XL Dissent

 “Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.”

― Howard Zinn

** This blog post and my action of civil disobedience are dedicated to the amazing people who took the first steps in a very long walk on March 1st in the Great March for Climate Action. Good luck to all of you and I can't wait to join you in New Mexico in May. The next time I will be in Washington, D.C. will be in November after walking 2,000 miles to get there. www.climatemarch.org If you are interested in helping me on my cross-country journey, email me at viridorari@yahoo.com. You can donate online at anytime here.   

**This also happens to be my 100th post on Viridorari :) I also recently reached 10,000 views. Thank you everyone! 

It felt like a dream as I pulled up to the quaint house tucked away in a lovely neighborhood in Columbia, Maryland. A little over a half a year earlier I had pulled out of that same driveway and began a long six hour drive home by myself, saddened by the idea that I might never see my new friends again. But here I was, showing up at four in the morning with little more than a week's notice with two fellow travelers peering with sleepy eyes out the windshield at the front door of the house.  

I turned off the car and we gathered our things. As we approached the front door Ron opened it for us. We had called them a half an hour ago at their request so that they could be awake to greet us at this ungodly hour. I gave Ron a huge hug, and I would have given RoseMarie one too, but she politely declined because she was sick and didn't want me to catch whatever she had. I introduced them to Katharine and Bill, who originally got in touch with me over an online ride board.

RoseMarie quickly transformed into super-host, showing us to our rooms, providing us with snacks she had prepared specially for our arrival, and asking us what we wanted for breakfast in the morning. She had even put out three different colored sets of towels in the bathroom, one for each of us to choose from. Ron gave us maps and pamphlets to help with navigating the city. Katharine gave me an astonished look that said: "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said they were amazing!"

After driving for a little over five hours straight after a full day of class and work, the guest bed felt like a cloud. But I couldn't fall asleep for almost another half hour; I was too excited. When I woke up in just a few hours I would be heading into Washington, D.C. to be arrested in a peaceful protest.

XL Dissent: Are You Doing Enough?

Hey all, the following is a post I wrote for the XL Dissent website — xldissent.org. XL Dissent is a student/youth led event that is happening this Sunday, March 2nd, in Washington, D.C. So far, over 1,000 youth are expected to come to the event, and about 300 of us (including myself) will be risking arrest by staging a sit-in in front of the White House. This is to protest the Keystone XL Pipeline.

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 12^th, 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.

Suggested Reading: Pipeline Failures

I’m running short on time today— I’m leaving in a couple hours for a camping trip and will be away for the entire weekend with NO TECHNOLOGY (besides a camera, woo!). Honestly, I’m looking forward to it; expect a special post about my experience when I get back.

            So, I will keep this post brief, and I will have to skip out on manatees for today. Please check out past posts about endangered animals and feel free to do your own research! If there’s an endangered animal you want to see on Viridorari, be sure to email me at viridorari@yahoo.com or tweet at me (@viridorari) and let me know!

            For today’s Suggested Reading, I want to call attention to two recent events regarding pipeline failures; while both had minimal impacts (according to media), they serve as important warnings about pipeline dangers. Both of these incidents could have had a much greater effect on the environment and local communities.

Free Write: Washington D.C. Sit-In vs. Keystone XL

On August 12^th, I found myself doing something that I never thought I would do. I was in Washington D.C., six hours from home, sitting beneath the beating sun outside of the State Department building, and risking arrest with about sixty other people.

            “One! We are the people! Two! You can’t ignore us! Three! We will not let you build this pipeline!” My voice was growing ragged, but I persisted.

            I was holding a sign that said “Another person who grew up playing outside against the pipeline,” and everyone else risking arrest with me was holding these signs, each personalized to suit their reasons for protesting.

            In front of us was a crowd of about 100 people supporting us, and a swarm of media with their cameras and notepads, running about like a colony of ants. At one point, I looked into the crowd and saw a boy about my age holding up a sign that said “Thank You Climate Heroes.” I almost cried. I typically would consider Bill McKibben or Rachel Carson climate heroes, but today, some thought I was a climate hero.

            Just a couple days before the protest, I was scrambling to get everything together and be on my way. My parents were struggling to swallow the fact that their soon-to-be-college-student was running off to D.C. all by herself, staying at a stranger’s house, and that there was a possibility she would be arrested. And if she was arrested, they couldn’t come get her. They would simply have to leave her there in jail, because that’s how peaceful protesting works.

Suggested Reading & Activism Spotlight: 350.org

Suggested Reading

In the near future, I will be discussing on Viridorari how the average citizen with a passion for the environment can make their voice heard in the government. As many of you know, I recently went to a program in Albany called Students Inside Albany, where I learned about lobbying and how to do it, along with how New York State politics work. I was fortunate enough to get a view of what really goes on inside the capitol.

The organization that sent me on this trip, the League of Women Voters, has a fantastic slogan: "Democracy is not a spectator sport." Too often, we mumble and groan about the issues in our country, but how many of us actually do something about it? Our first amendment right entails us to the freedom of speech, and you can use that right to make yourself heard in the government. Do you have an opinion on fracking? Pollution? The Keystone XL Pipeline? The availability of renewable energy? Okay, but does your area representative know what your opinions on those subjects are? If you haven't told him or her your ideas, chances are your representative is not psychic and does not know what you think. 

Suggested Reading, Activism Spotlight: Living on $14,000/year

Suggested Reading

This week’s “Suggested Reading” will be a two-page article in the Rolling Stone by Bill McKibben, called “The Fossil Fuel Resistance.” You can find the article here.

Bill McKibben is an environmentalist, journalist, and author who has and continues to write extensively about global warming. He leads 350.org, an international environmental organization that raises awareness about global climate change, confronts global warming denial, and works to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. 350.org, since 2011, has been leading a major protest against the prospect of creating the Keystone XL Pipeline. If built, this pipeline would run from Canada to Texas for the purpose of transporting petroleum products, and if any spills were to occur, it has the potential to wreak monumental damage on its surrounding environments. Protests against the pipeline have already found success in delaying its approval. With hard work and perseverance, the pipeline project could be stopped completely.

 McKibben’s article, “The Fossil Fuel Resistance,” highlights the growing numbers and success of the environmental movement, or as he calls it, the Resistance (against fuel companies and the control they exert over governments). McKibben says now that 80% of Arctic sea ice has disappeared, people are finally recognizing the importance of preserving the global environment and are taking action.