Last January, the Port of Seattle irresponsibly gave Shell the go-ahead to use Seattle as home base for its Arctic drilling operations. They ignored Shell’s terrible safety record, the very high risk of a major Arctic oil spill, and devastating impacts to our climate. The Port Commissioners hoped the deal would go unnoticed. The non-profit group Earth Justice, the nation’s premier environmental law firm, has filed a lawsuit against the Port for entering into a lease with Shell without public input or an environmental review. But concerned citizens have sent thousands of emails, made thousands of phone calls and today, Sunday April 23rd, approximately 2000 of us congregated at Seattle’s Myrtle Edwards Park before marching to Port headquarters to stage a mass protest against this atrocity.
Myrtle Edwards Park sits between two oil transport “super highways.” To the east are the rail lines and to the west, the pristine waters of Puget Sound.
Many speakers had informative things to say. One speaker claimed Canada was now the second biggest polluter on the planet because of the Alberta tar sands. The speaker’s claim that Harper was smarter than George W. Bush but just as dangerous brought cheers from the riled up crowd.
Shell Oil is a $92 billion dollar corporation but only pays five percent in taxes. In fact, they get subsidized by the tax payers who pay 30 to 40 percent of their wages in taxes. In contrast, countries such as Denmark and Iceland have become economically prosperous because of their investment in renewable, clean energy sources. Shell, in their greed and thirst for power, are not thinking of the future. They aren’t thinking of their grand children. They’re thinking of profits. The entire fossil fuel industry buy our politicians and they buy our media. Chants of, “You build it, we will block it. You ship it, we will stop it.” And “We are unstoppable. Another world is possible.” followed the speeches.
A red Kayak was filled with hand written messages to be delivered to the Port of Seattle, and when all the speeches were made, the half mile march to port headquarters began. As we marched through the park and onto Alaskan Way (the street which runs along Seattle’s waterfront), I noticed the hoards and hoards of police lining the parade route both in the park and on the street. What were they expecting would happen?
Upon reaching the port headquarters, the kayak was placed on the front steps and a port representative came out to accept the messages. A 14-year-old girl climbed the stairs to speak about what kind of future she would have if the fossil fuel companies continued to run unabated. When she finished, there were more chants of, “We are unstoppable. Another world is possible,” followed by, “Shell, no. You shall not pass!” The kayak was then hoisted inside the port building with the hundreds of handwritten messages and the rally was over.
More events are planned mid May to protest the port’s decision despite Shell’s abominable safety record. Stay tuned.
All photographs property of Holly Homan, all rights reserved.
