Articles from July 29th, 2015 (beginning of Portland blockade of Shell’s damaged then repaired icebreaker):

UPDATE: FENNICA ESCAPES FROM PORTLAND
• 13 demonstrators hang from Portland bridge to block Shell ship (katu.com)
• Activists Dangle from Portland Bridge in Shell Oil Protest (USA Today)
• Activists hang from bridge in Portland to block Shell’s Arctic vessel (The Guardian)
• Portland Activists Try to Block Shell Ship From Heading to the Arctic (grist.org)
• Protest Fun: Greenpeace Activists are Dangling from the St. Johns Bridge to Imprison That Shell Oil Ship (Portland Mercury)
• Protesters Rappel From Portland Bridge To Delay Shell Icebreaker (OPB.org)
• More (last 24 hours google search)

and PLEASE support the Localize This! Boot Camp & Incubator for Activists

Please join us at Portland’s Swan Island Saturday afternoon to oppose Shell Oil’s destructive Arctic drilling operations. We will launch a kayak “floatilla” protest with the expected arrival of the Shell fleet’s damaged icebreaker, the Fennica, earlier in the day.

Where: Swan Island boat ramp on the end of North Basin Ave.

When: 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 25. The flotilla of kayaks and other boats will launch at  4 p.m.

This is a legal action and family-friendly event sponsored by Climate Action Coalition, 350PDX and Portland Rising Tide.

Connect with us to get real time information about the Fennica’s arrival and actions:

• Join the rapid response network. Text @sHellNOPDX to 23559 to join the rapid response network and receive text updates on actions
• Follow our Twitter feed at #PDXvsShell, #Floodthesystem and #ShellNo.
• PDX vs. Shell Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/events/1453431924963924/

Background:

The Fennica is arriving in Portland from Alaska for repairs to a damaged hull. It is scheduled to return to the Arctic in a few days where it will act as the ice-breaking ship for Shell oil drilling rigs and its support fleet, allowing Shell to commence delayed drilling operations off the Alaska coast.

Carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are warming the Arctic faster than the rest of the globe, and the Arctic Ocean is rapidly becoming ice-free. The International Energy Agency warns that over two-thirds of all proven fossil fuel reserves must remain in the ground by 2050 to avert catastrophic climate disruption. In January, the journal Nature reported that to maintain even a 50% chance of avoiding catastrophic global warming (beyond 2°C), there can be no drilling for Arctic oil. Nevertheless, Shell Oil is now exploring for even more oil in the Arctic with the permission of President Obama.

In a  newly released study NASA’s former top climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen, says that with a 2°C temperature increase sea levels could rise at least 10 feet as soon as the middle years of this century, inundating coastal cities and even reaching inland cities such as Portland. With 10 feet of sea level rise, the dry dock where the Fennica is scheduled to be repaired would ironically be underwater.

This drilling also poses huge risks for local marine ecosystems  The Arctic is a vital breeding and feeding ground for marine life, and home to numerous indigenous peoples who rely on a healthy marine environment for their survival.  Offshore Arctic oil operations pose a 75 percent chance of a spill in the Arctic, the Department of the Interior calculates.  The best expert opinion is that a spill would be virtually impossible to clean up.

JULY 29 Peace Fleet Meets the Navy in Seattle’s Elliott Bay

On July 29 at 1:00 PM during Seafair, the Navy will parade it’s warships through Seattle’s Elliott Bay.

Let’s meet them in boats and on the spectator Pier 62/63 to tell them what we think of their electronic testing over the Olympics and bombing in the Arctic not to mention the Trident ballistic missile submarines with nuclear weapons stationed and deployed from Hood Canal.

Join the Peace Fleet on Wednesday, July 29, the fourteenth year that peace activists will address the public display of warships and warplanes in our community.

When: Wednesday, July 29, noon, Peace Fleet in Elliott Bay. Demonstration on land at Piers 62/63 at 1 PM.

Where: Elliott Bay, near Pier 66. Demonstration on land at Piers 62/63.

Kayakers with boats and appropriate gear * will meet at 11:15 to launch by noon across from Pier 91 (directions to 16th Ave parking lot are: take Galer from Elliot Ave over the track and road headed west toward Pier 91/ Elliot Bay Trail. Turn right at sop sign and stay right under the overpass to find 16th Ave lot.)

* Appropriate gear for 3 hours in wind and currents in cold water: spray skirt, water, hat, snack, some experience paddling in current (low -1.5 at 10am and high 10.5ft a 2:54pm) .

Contacts: Glen Milner (206) 365-7865, Mary Gleysteen (360) 265-1589, or on the day of the event (206) 979-8319. You can also email questions to info@gzcenter.org.

Here’s more information, including a Fact Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzRG1crlv8YMcXVFSm1GVFZlZFNPV0laUUItcXpHZWt6VUw4/view

https://www.facebook.com/events/882423065127867/

See http://portland.people-vs-shell.org/?p=61

See http://portland.people-vs-shell.org/?p=44

Unist’ot’en Call for Physical Support and Solidarity

July 18, 2015

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Thanks to everyone who responded to our Action Camp and Chevron PTP  update. It is becoming clear that the situation here is moving toward an  escalation point.

Today at one o’clock a low flying helicopter flew over the ridge line  and crossed the river a couple kilomoters south of the bridge. It  followed a route that corresponds to the path of the proposed PTP  pipeline, then circled back and flew in a northern direction following  the river toward Houston. They flew low enough to take photos of  activity happening at bridge and our camp.

Our supporters maintaining an Unist’ot’en check point on Chisolm Rd were  also visited and threatened by the police. Similar to their visit at the  bridge two days ago, the officers asserted that they could be arrested  for blocking a “public road”.

It is clear by the timing of these recent police actions that they are  working in tandem with the pipeline companies. The head of the RCMP  detachment in Houston clearly stated to Freda that they intend to  “ensure the work crews can do their work safely.”

We have made it clear to the police and industry that we are not  blockading the road. We are establishing check-points on the boundaries  of our unceded Unist’ot’en territories. People and companies who gain  our consent are allowed to enter.

Many of you have visited our yintah (territory) and have experienced  first-hand our critical infrastructure of water, salmon, berries and  medicines. We are determined to protect this land for future generations, and in the process do our bit to shut down the toxic fossil fuel infrastructure that threatens all forms of living life on this planet.

At this time we would like to ask our supporters for the following  things:

1) If you have been to our camp before and/or if you feel comfortable to put your self on the front-line to stand with us against Chevron, you can register here: http://www.jotform.ca/unistoten/actioncamp

2) If you are unable to assist in person but would like to send financial support to help us with equipment and operational costs, donations can be sent by email transfer to fhuson@gmail.com.

Or if you would like to donate online you could contribute to the Healing Centre fundraiser:
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/axsMd/ab/24dGu0

Cheques can be made out to “Tse Wedi Elth”, 620 CN Station Rd, Smithers, BC, V0J 2N1.

3) You could organize solidarity actions where you live, either against Chevron directly or one of their investors.

Sne Kal Yah!
Unist’ot’en Camp

http://unistotencamp.com/?p=1149
________________________________________________________
(https://warriorpublications.wordpress.com/2015/07/18/call-out-from-unistoten-re-increased-police-activity/)
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Also see:

http://www.submedia.tv/stimulator/2015/07/18/rcmp-blocked-enetering-unistoten-camp/

According to an article published today July 7th, 2015 on fuelfix.com :

WASHINGTON — Shell’s drive to resume Arctic drilling this summer has hit another speed bump, with the discovery of a hole in the hull of an ice management vessel meant to safeguard the company’s operations in the Chukchi Sea.

The MSV Fennica was on its way from Dutch Harbor, Alaska to the Chukchi Sea on Friday when a ballast tank leak was discovered by crew members and a certified Alaska marine harbor pilot on board the vessel. It was traced back to a gash about 39 inches long and 2 inches wide.

The 22-year-old icebreaker has since returned to the port in Dutch Harbor and is being examined by marine experts, but it is uncertain how quickly the breach in its hull can be repaired and whether this will delay Shell’s hopes to begin drilling an oil well in the Chukchi Sea later this month.

The Fennica is just one of the 29 vessels in Shell’s Arctic fleet, which includes another icebreaker, the MSV Nordica, and at least two other anchor handlers tasked with helping to keep ice away from the company’s drilling site. But Shell’s contracted Fennica is unique in that it is carrying a critical piece of the company’s Arctic containment system: a capping stack designed to fit on top of a damaged well in case of a blowout or other emergency.

Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said the company does not believe the incident will delay the company’s planned Chukchi Sea operations. But, he noted, “any impact to our season will ultimately depend on the extent of the damage.”

Separately, the company is waiting on at least one drilling permit before it can begin boring a new well into its Burger prospect about 70 miles off the coast. Regulators at the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement are still scrutinizing Shell’s applications to drill two wells, about 8.9 miles apart.

Shell is already being forced to scale back its plans to drill two of its Burger wells at the same time, following a ruling by the Interior Department that wildlife protection regulations do not allow simultaneous drilling operations within 15 miles.

Update: The MSV Fennica is en-route to Portland, Oregon, for repairs at Vigor Industrial shipyard. According to the Houston Chronicle, the Fennica is expected to arrive around Tuesday, July 21st to Thursday, July 23rd.

THIS STILL ISN’T OVER!

The POLAR PLUNDERER and the IGNOBLE DESPOILER have now both departed on their mission to destroy the Arctic and kill us all. Their current locations can be tracked by clicking on their names above. While they may have escaped the easy grasp of many on land, they still have to deal with the might of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Considering they had so much trouble navigating the Polar Plunderer in the Puget Sound (Southern Salish Sea), they likely will meet a similar fate as the Kulluk in 2012. Regardless of their success or failure this year’s “arctic drilling season” Shell has a long term contract to station its Arctic drilling fleet in the Port of Seattle and thus intends to return there eventually. Short of using the above links to track down the oil rigs and taking action on the high seas, for the time being people can take action in many ways including but not limited to:

-participating in the boycott of Shell gas stations everywhere

-spreading the whispers of and preparing for the anti Arctic drilling convergence in Seattle in 2016

-continuing to spread awareness everywhere of the implications of Arctic drilling, mobilizing friends and family can be a good start as well as public outreach

-fighting other extractive industry projects and learning from those struggles in preparation to stop Shell next year. One such opportunity is the “Call of the East” in Montreal happening now a summer of actions against Enbridge’s “Line 9” (Tar Sands) [If you would like to see other convergences listed here, please contact shellshock@riseup.net]

-learning to live without fossil fuels and spreading those practices [to request or share materials on this please contact shellshock@riseup.net]

-and much more!

[please contact shellshock@riseup.net to add to this list!]