The time for action has come, and together we are ready! We’re eager to share a few important updates:
- Thanks to all of you who attended our Nonviolent Mass Action Training last weekend. We were joined by People’s Collective Arts / Colectivo de Arte Popular, a team from the Philadelphia legal collective “Up Against the Law,” and a trainer from Greenpeace, Jack Downey. We discussed strategy and practiced our roles—all cementing our preparation for the weeks ahead.
You can view photos of the weekend here. (Send us your photos and we’ll add them to our gallery!)
- Our story continues to garner national attention.Watch the CBS special, “Protecting the Sacred,” a 30 minute focus on opposition to pipelines across the country and the world. The final 10 minutes feature Lancaster’s resistance to the Atlantic Sunrise, including the inspiring efforts of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ. Which brings us to…
- Last week US District Court Judge Jeffrey Schmehl dismissed a complaint that the Adorers of the Blood of Christ filed against the Federal Regulatory Commission and Transco Pipeline. Judge Schmehl’s dismissal of the case was not a surprise—he was the same judge who ruled against local landowners this summer, deciding that Williams could seize their property for the pipeline via eminent domain. Nor has the judge’s decision deterred the Sisters one bit. They have already appealed their case to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, and eagerly await a more thorough hearing of their case.
They wrote in a statement released after the court ruling: “The development of large scale fracking operations and construction of new pipelines as proposed by Transco will only accelerate the damage to the Earth and cause great harm to all of God’s creation. The poor and most vulnerable will experience the greatest harm.” Their statement continues:
“With full knowledge of the Adorers’ religious convictions and objections, Transco nevertheless proceeded to use the power of the federal government to condemn an easement on the Adorers’ property. This action will force the Adorers to allow Transco, a private, for-profit company, to use the Adorers’ own land to facilitate and support the construction and perpetual operation of its 42-inch fossil fuel pipeline.”
Read the Sisters’ full statement on their website. It is a bold and inspiring declaration for justice.
- In Lancaster Online’s article detailing the judge’s decision, Williams spokesperson Christ Stockton offered grossly misleading comments consistent with the company’s billion-dollar spin machine. Here’s his statement, followed by our rebuttal:
“While we respect the Adorer’s right to express their opinion, we disagree with the position they have taken with regard to this important infrastructure project. Access to inexpensive, domestic natural gas is a huge benefit to all people, especially the economically disadvantaged.” He added: “Sufficient access to affordable natural gas supplies keeps our energy costs low and supports thousands of good-paying jobs, in addition to helping America lead the world in combating climate change.”
Here are the facts. The Atlantic Sunrise pipeline will not create more than a handful of jobs. Most of those created will be temporary. And much, if not all, of the gas proposed to flow through the pipeline will do nothing for Lancastrians or Americans, let alone the “economically disadvantaged”—it will be exported. Therefore, this pipeline will not keep energy costs low—in fact, it will likely contribute to a raise of domestic prices. Finally, natural gas does not combat climate change, but is just another dirty fossil fuel that emits huge quantities of the powerful greenhouse gas methane.
It’s important for us to publicly counter these lies whenever we hear them—which is far too often!
What the Atlantic Sunrise will do is legally force Lancastrians to sacrifice their clean air, water, soil and peace of mind for Williams’s excessive, unregulated profit. This project is a gross subsidization of corporate wealth and power. Your health and future is being sold by our courts.
For all these reasons, the thousands of Lancastrians who are united in this battle—along with the courageous Sisters in Columbia—will continue to fight and stop this pipeline!
Don’t miss tonight’s vigil at the Chapel at 6 pm!
To sign up for our text alerts for Nonviolent Mass Action, text LAPALERT to #94502
Donate to the LAP Legal Defense Fund
We are right. We are ready. We are united.
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