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Thursday, March 21, 2013

News Walk with Idle No More to Protest Coal Terminals

Posted by Unpaid Intern on Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 11:20 AM

Posted by news intern Jocelyn Macdonald

Looking for a way to express your opposition to the coal trains?

This afternoon, Idle No More, an indigenous and environmental justice group that started in Canada, will be marching in Seattle to protest proposed coal-export terminals. Protesters will march 3.8 miles from Westlake Park to the steps of SSA Marine, the Big Oil-affiliated, anti-labor giant that is seeking permits to build the Gateway Pacific Terminal near Bellingham. SSA Marine stands to profit off of the 1.5 mile-long coal trains and terminals that would ship carcinogenic and climate-change-causing fuel to Asia. Marchers will demand green jobs, clean energy, and justice for indigenous people and the working class.

If 3.8 miles is a lot of walking (oh, come on, that's only 2.5 coal trains, you baby), then just hang out in Westlake with your drums and signs and giant endangered wildlife puppets. There will be speakers from the indigenous and labor communities. The rally begins at Westlake Park at 3 p.m.

FYI, if you like taking part in social movements, getting involved in the community, and preserving the hopes and dreams of future generations, then you are going to LOVE our News and Politics calendar!

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Comments (14) RSS

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I'm still waiting for someone to tell me if it's feasible to burn downtown Seattle down by tossing a Molotov cocktail into a coal car just as it enters the Great Northern Tunnel. I've heard it's 125 feet down, but I've also heard that there are access doors that lead right into some of the buildings along the route.

Even if it's not a direct threat to buildings, I would think the city would be concerned about having this critically important freight right-of-way shut down by such a trivially-accomplished act of terrorism. I can imagine having a train stuck in there and burning for weeks or months.

Posted by Fnarf

on March 21, 2013 at 12:03 PM

To me 'Idle no more' means to stop dilly dallying, enough with the gimmicks, let's get serious on the issues.

Skip the wildlife puppets.

Posted by raindrop on March 21, 2013 at 12:17 PM

Meanwhile those of us who actually work at and/or create green jobs are busy at 3pm on a Thursday working and creating jobs that these whiny assholes would not accept.

Posted by irony IV on March 21, 2013 at 12:53 PM

Hmm. @3 posting from the Central Time zone. Coal country?

Posted by rob!

on March 21, 2013 at 1:01 PM

After consideration, I'm pro coal-terminal. Jobs, plus we're sending that coal off to be burned further from us. The cleaner-burning coal we export will actually reduce The PRC's carbon footprint. All that said, I don't condemn the protests! keep letting your opinion be heard-- perhaps the squeaky wheels will lead to a mandate that the train cars be converted to tanks that are less hazardous to human health.

Posted by Eastpike on March 21, 2013 at 1:31 PM

@5: I learned that the reason the coal train cars are not covered is because of the spontaneous combustion threat of the coal dust in confined spaces.

Posted by raindrop on March 21, 2013 at 1:44 PM

If anyone is listening, I still haven't heard an answer to this simple question: why the @#$% can't they cover the damn railcars carrying coal?

It doesn't solve the problem for those of us who give a damn about the environment. But it seems that would dampen just enough of the alarm among casual observers for big coal to get away with it so much more easily in the PR arena. Are the coal lobbyists just that damn stupid? Or would the few nickels it would cost to cover it too much for the greedy bastards?

Posted by mayberrymachiavelli on March 21, 2013 at 1:47 PM

Ha! Lousy timing with that post.

Thanks raindrop!

Posted by mayberrymachiavelli on March 21, 2013 at 1:49 PM

Oppose coal trains if you like, but don't get involved with those Idle No More kooks, it'll just pollute your cause.

Posted by hrmmmm on March 21, 2013 at 1:59 PM

Yes, the fun part of coal trains is that even uncovered they frequently start to burn spontaneously. You don't even have to throw a Molotov Cocktail into them, though that surely wouldn't hurt. So once our masters approve them, there will be nothing we can do when we're standing there watching mile-plus-long trains full of burning coal block our streets.

Gosh! I wonder what other nineteenth-century treats our masters have planned for us? Cholera in the well?

Posted by Fnarf

on March 21, 2013 at 2:37 PM

@7 - as pointed out above you, there is an issue with combustion.

As for SSA Marine...sure, they're a big company, but if memory serves, aren't they a union shop?

I think back to my days at Group Health, and we had serious labor battles, but I wouldn't classify the cooperative as "anti-union" because of it. Just occasionally adversarial.

Posted by michaelp on March 21, 2013 at 2:39 PM

@9: Please tell me why you think INM is comprised of kooks

I'd like to know.

Posted by Baconcat on March 21, 2013 at 2:46 PM

@12 They're indigenous folks, presenting an impossibly wide spectrum of grievances (hardly any of them environmental), for some reason allow tyrants like Theresa Spence to speak for them. Lots of "demanding", not too much in the way of "proposing actionable policy".

Coal is not an indigenous issue, it's an environmental one. Don't get confused.

Posted by hrmmmm on March 21, 2013 at 3:09 PM

Looks like a bunch of NIMBYs to me.

Posted by Unbrainwashed on March 21, 2013 at 5:36 PM