From Lancaster Against Pipelines (http://www.wearelancastercounty.org/):
This morning we continued to defend our constitutional right to clean air and clean water by employing peaceful, creative, Civil Disobedience. More than 40 of us woke before dawn and used our vehicles to block the entrance of an active Williams construction site in Manor Township. We called it a Block Party!
In the nearly four years we’ve been working to stop this export pipeline from destroying our local communities, we’ve followed all the rules and pursued all the legal avenues available to us. We’ve written letters, made phone calls, organized as neighbors, filed lawsuits, petitioned regulatory bodies and our legislators. In the end, we found that there is no legal way to stop a multi-billion dollar corporation—with its fat cat resources and connections—from doing what it wants.
In other words, under our current system, it is literally illegal for a community to defend its water, air, and land against the exploitation of the fossil fuel industry. We aim not only to stop this pipeline; we aim to change this system.
Williams and our failing political, legal and regulatory systems have given us no choice but to put our bodies between our children’s futures and Williams’s equipment.
This is exactly what we did this morning. We met our objective of stopping construction for the day. In the dark, in the rain, surrounded by happy, fun-loving friends and neighbors, who know they’re on the right side of justice. And we showed everyone involved that we mean what we say.
We are Lancaster County. And we are fiercely committed to defending our homes, families, water, and land against dangerous, outside corporations who are more than willing to jeopardize our health and safety for their own profits.
If you missed the text alert about this morning’s actions and would like to receive alerts in the future, text LAPALERT to #94502. Don’t miss another action. Besides, our food and fun are pretty great!
We learned a lot from this morning’s action: that we are surrounded by courageous, wonderful people who will get up before the break of dawn to stand in the rain, to sing and laugh, and to do what’s right. We learned that we do have the skills to conduct nonviolent actions with safety and effectiveness. And we learned that this fight has only just begun.
We control this story, not Williams, because this is our home and our story.
Be sure to check out pics, videos, and news coverage of this recent action. (Links below.)
We are right. We are ready. Together we will stop this pipeline!
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