Burnaby Mountain fight against tar sands pipeline heats up

From Zoe Blunt at the Vancouver Island Community Forest Action Network

Right now across North America, groups of land defenders are doing their damnedest to block tarsands oil from coming to the coasts. Big oil and the Conservative government are insisting on pipelines from Alberta to the Pacific to feed the Asian export market. But thousands of locals are pledging to put their freedom on the line to stop them.

In Burnaby BC, the front has shifted from street rallies to blocking pipeline workers from drilling through Burnaby Mountain. Hundreds of native and non-native environmentalists have joined forces to occupy a conservation area in a last-ditch effort to stop Kinder Morgan and protect the Salish Sea and the traditional territory of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, which has launched a court challenge against the tarsands pipeline.

But now Kinder Morgan has filed its own lawsuit naming the land defenders. And on Friday Nov 14, the judge granted the pipeline company’s request for an injunction and ordered resisters to leave or face arrest.

Many are not leaving. Those who feel called to defend the coast, please join these brave people. Come to bear witness and follow your conscience. I know I can’t stand aside and allow these machines to override the will of the people and open up a wilderness park and the whole south coast to toxic oil spills.

How to join:

  • Come for a day or two or a week. Bring a friend if you can.
  • Be prepared to camp. Bring a tent and a sleeping bag, rain gear, food and a water bottle.
  • Call Zoe to get connected to a team, and to check your gear: 250-813-3569
  • Directions: 300 Centennial Way, at the east end of Hastings St in Burnaby. Take the #135 bus from Waterfront Skytrain station.

There are several groups on the mountain, from tight affinity groups to community coalitions, and they are making different plans. There may be people going in different directions, so please follow your heart, or call Zoe to connect to a network.

This is where the game gets interesting. We’re playing for high stakes, and we could see a quick reversal if our side’s challenges to Kinder Morgan are heard and upheld in court.

The Tseil-Waututh Nation is joined by 150 other First Nations, dozens of community groups, and Burnaby’s mayor and council. Support these community groups on Indiegogo.

A spill of any kind – like the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill in Alaska in 1987 – would devastate the wild coast of British Columbia, including the Great Bear Rainforest, Haida Gwaii, salmon runs, wildlife habitat, and the livelihoods and culture of thousands of native people who depend on the sea. A pipeline blowout or a tanker collision would demolish coastal tourism. We can’t even estimate the cost.

Those who love this coast are pledged to defend it.

Come to the Solidarity House in Sooke and get skilled up

I’m happy to announce that the Solidarity House is now open for land defense training. On Sundays, starting on Nov 23, we’re offering the opportunity to support the frontlines and observe first-hand as BC moves to a new phase of land defense.

Join us to talk about strategy, solidarity, and specific skills like backcountry work, mapping, and fundraising. Lend your good energy to an inspiring grassroots movement led by incredibly resilient activists.

Call 250-813-3569 or email zoe@wildcoast.ca for the address and details.

Derrick Jensen’s Resistance Radio on youtube and archive page

Almost every Sunday, Derrick Jensen interviews an activist, biophile scientist, land restorationist, or other person similarly engaged in building a culture of resistance. The interviews are always worth listening to, packed with interesting information and insights drawn out by Jensen’s experienced questions.

The interviews are available as mp3 downloads or audio streams from our Resistance Radio archive page, and we’ve now made them available on Youtube as audio with a still image of the interviewee, accessible to those who prefer to browse Youtube or want to add the episodes into playlists. We’ll keep adding new interviews as they’re released. See them all at the Deep Green Resistance Youtube channel, and please share these important conversations widely!

Will Falk’s DIY Resistance series

Will Falk of Deep Green Resistance San Diego has been writing prolifically this year on various resistance topics, notably about his time at the Unis’tot’en Camp. More recently, he has published an ongoing series of essays on the theme of “Do-It-Yourself Resistance.” We’ll keep this post updated with new additions, and here are all his excellent pieces so far:

DIY Resistance: Grasp Things at the Root

Will Falk of Deep Green Resistance San Diego recently wrote an excellent piece on our dire situation, the ineffective and thus unrealistic solutions proposed by “experts”, and what it will really take for us to address the interlocking problems of ecocide, genocide, and other oppressions. His essay is a clear call to and explanation of the necessity of direct action, for those who can be on the front lines and for those who can play an invaluable supporting role.

We are not going to stop the destruction of the world by voting. We are not going to stop the destruction of the world by shopping. We are not going to stop the destruction of the world by opening our hearts to the reality of our connection to everything. We are going to stop the destruction of the world by stopping the destruction of the world.

You read that correctly. It’s a simple idea, but it’s true. Stopping the destruction means literally stopping the physical forces that are destroying the planet. This is not something we can wish away, pray away, write away, or vote away. Chainsaws need gas or electricity to run. Take away the gas and electricity and they cannot cut down trees. Mining companies need bridges and roads to access mines. Block the bridges and the roads and they cannot mine.

Read and share this important article: DIY Resistance: Grasp Things at the Root

River’s Song: A Poem

Calliope Braintree is the protagonist of two novels by Anne Pyterek, whose work explores rape culture from both the personal and planetary perspective. The poem River’s Song was “written” by Calliope as a tribute to the Chicago River, poisoned and channeled by industrial humans but still living a life of her own.

I am the Atoms and the Space in between,
the Unmanifested heard, felt, smelt, tasted and seen
I am Anger
and Forgiveness
all in one stream.
For I am the Source,

I am the Dream…
I am the scent of holy things,
the sound of shadowy, unseen wings…
ominous…
foretelling black endarkenings.
I flow slowly, ever to the Sea.

I am Wildness,
Authenticity.

Download the whole 40-page narrative poem for free: River’s Song: A Poem.

Blockade of Kinder Morgan tar sands pipeline in Burnaby BC

Last week, Kinder Morgan pipeline company began clearing brush to drill boreholes for a new pipeline from the tar sands to their marine tanker terminal east of Vancouver. Local residents and allies took over the borehole sites and set up camps in a small wilderness park next to Simon Fraser University. This week, KM served the organizers with a civil lawsuit and injunction application. The hearing is set for Wed Nov 5. The resisters are not backing down. They are calling for reinforcements at the camp and in the courthouse.

Overview of the struggle

Burnaby Mountain is in the traditional territory of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, who are now challenging Kinder Morgan in court.

Other Coast Salish Nations stand with them in this struggle, united against the Kinder Morgan tar sands pipeline.

Over 70% of the people in Burnaby are opposed to Kinder Morgan. Many are prepared to take direct action to stop tar sands exports. The mayor and the city council are unanimously opposed to the expansion after the existing, aging pipeline burst in a residential neighbourhood over a decade ago.

Kinder Morgan is fighting back hard, going to court to stop pipeline protesters.

A camp was set up on Burnaby Mountain and people have been patrolling to keep the company from cutting any more trees or surveying for their proposed route through Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area and under Burnaby Mountain. There are frequent rallies and actions.

Get involved

Visit the Stop Kinder Morgan on Burnaby Mtn Facebook page for the latest updates.

Sign up for a free training in civil disobedience for mountain defenders on November 9.

Sign up to join the camp and help protect Burnaby Mountain. They will contact you in a day or two. Be prepared to be self-sufficient. Being able to move fast through wet brush is a big help.

This is just one part of a much larger struggle. Over 150 First Nations have signed the Save the Fraser Declaration opposing tar sands pipelines. They are allied with community groups, environmental and labour organizations and thousands of people across BC.

Questions? Call the hotline: 250-813-3569 or email zoe@wildcoast.ca

Robert Newman’s History of Oil

Geopolitical history, though critically important to understanding real life today, is generally pretty boring. Stand-up comedy, though highly enjoyable when done well, is generally pretty meaningless. Robert Newman’s genius is in combining the best of both worlds on the subject of oil: “the terrifying 100-year history brought to life.”

In a scant 45 minutes, Newman covers a lot of ground. He starts by highlighting British and US adventurism, interference, and warmongering from WWI, through the 1953 CIA replacement of Iran’s democratic government with a dictator friendly to the US, to the present occupation of Iraq (sold by governments and corporate media to the public with a straight face and no apparent shame as “bringing democracy to the middle east.)

He also touches on peak oil, its implications on our food production, and the fact that “there is no way out.” His coverage of the problem is good, though he concludes with a plea for society to pursue widespread implementation of green technologies and renewable energy. (See the Deep Green Resistance presentation “False Solutions of Green Energy” to understand the problems with that as a solution.) It’d be great to see him instead work the strategy of Decisive Ecological Warfare into his pitch.

Though you may already know some or much of what Newman presents, he probably has some surprises for you, too. This is a very pleasant way to brush up on history, even for those who consider themselves apolitical and normally uninterested in this sort of thing. Share with your friends and family!

the filthy politicians: I Don’t Think We’re Smart

This track from the Modern Man album by the filthy politicians echoes much of the wisdom expressed in the recently featured video Earth: Land Is Life. The song argues that our modern notions of “progress” have led us far off track from relationships with the human and non-human animals around us. It ends in a call to fight on the side of life and resist civilization and its destruction. Truly music for a culture of resistance.

Listen to this track and read the lyrics below, and hear more songs at the filthy politicians on bandcamp and at the filthy politicians on soundcloud.

we think we’re so smart it’s funny

not much wisdom but damn we got money

we’re just animals like everybody else

but we’ve learned to like to destroy ourselves

so if i could i would trade it all

fuck science let the chips fall

where they may – control is an illusion

toaster ovens and nuclear fusion

don’t get us anywhere but further away

from livin life in a natural way

we’re relatively new to the forest

gotta learn from the ones here before us

we’re the younger brother of all the other species

but we quit listenin and now it’s easy

to see how far off the track we are

gotta get back there’s a map in the stars

so we’ll start by tearin down the street lights

let bright days turn into bright nights

take old wrongs make new rights

as we dance on the grave of the ways of our old life

cuz right now we take and we don’t give back

if you want to survive then you can’t do that

you can’t pollute, poison an plunder

cuz if you bring lightning you’re gonna get thunder

and right now we’re flailing, about to go under

alarms are wailing and it makes you wonder

how we don’t hear it?

maybe it’s cuz now it’s too loud

and the waves are crashing down all around

so we can’t decipher the sounds anymore

i don’t think we’re smart

because we found new ways now to tear the earth apart

it’s gettin bigger but it ain’t gettin better

the writing’s on the wall in bright red letters

big dump trucks, sky scrapers

chemical factories, all earth rapers

agriculture means fightin nature

imposin our will like a legislature

we’ve wiped out the ones who were content

to live with the earth the way that we were meant to

so we gotta look back if we wanna learn new

ways to relate to the earth that we’ve burned through

it’s time for restoration

of the earth and our human relations

cuz we ain’t happy here in hierarchy

we’re better as equals i ain’t lyin b

but we’ve been chasin a ghost

ignoring the things that we need the most

like clean air, water, and community

civilization has enjoyed immunity

while all these kings and queens

get off scott free as we eat the memes

that you better not resist this just go along

they got armies and guns they’re too strong

but fuck that i’m learning

can’t sit back, won’t be a good german

and watch this holocaust any longer

choose life and we’ll all be stronger

cuz right now we’re slaves diggin our own graves

the earth we need’s the earth we pave

so we gotta wake up, wake up, wake up

then we gotta take up, take up, take up

the war of our ancestors and end it

so we can save our descendants

Myths of Biofuels presentation by David Fridley

In 2007, David Fridley of Lawrence Berkeley Labs and San Francisco Oil Awareness presented a well researched and thorough debunking of the idea that biofuels are sustainable, environmentally friendly, good for farmers, or a path to energy independence. Fridley and his audience approach the issue from an industrial-human-centric standpoint concerned about peak oil, rather than from a holistic earth-centric and anti-civilization perspective, but his presentation is excellent for what it is. This is a great way to get up to speed on the dramatic, across the board problems and limitations of biofuels.

Radical analysis of the war in Iraq

The March 25, 2013 episode of Liberation Radio focused on the war in Iraq, in commemoration of the 10 year anniversary of the US invasion. Alla Baker shares her perspective moving from Iraq to the US and feeling shocked by the ignorance people displayed of conditions in Iraq, and especially of the effects of US imperialism in other countries. Kevin Baker (no relation) describes some of the horrific aftermath in Iraq, and presents the March Forward campaign to help active service members resist deployment.

Mike Prysner, a veteran of the initial 2003 invasion, provides an outstanding analysis of the war. He begins by recapping the lies, now well known, about the US mission in Iraq, fed to young service members and citizens in general to justify the invasion. Less often heard is the story of radicalization of soldiers on the ground. The reality of serving on a violent occupation force and the daily contradictions with the official US story led Prysner and others to the understanding that Iraqi resistance is fully justified. From there, they came to realise that this invasion was not a mistake led by a specific administration gone mad, but that the entire system of capitalism depends on such wars, and that the US soldiers sent to secure foreign resources and markets for American interests have more in common with the Iraqi people than they do with those who direct and profit from the invasions.

Though this is an old episode, it has a lot of value in its retrospective analysis. Listen below, or browse all Liberation Radio episodes.

Download mp3