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SLIDE TITLE: None

Climate change is no longer being disputed by any major political entity on earth. World leaders set a goal of a no more than 1.5°C global temperature rise at the Paris Climate Talks, but the the non-binding emissions goals set in the agreements, even if fully implemented, still result in over 2°C of warming.

A permanent average global temperature rise of 2°C or more will result in a drastically altered world from that we know now. Vast regions of the globe will become less habitable to humans and wild creatures alike. �

The frequency and intensity of droughts, storms, fires and floods will increase, resulting in grave impacts on food supplies and fresh water availability. Desertification, ocean acidification and mass extinction will be the order of the day. We can’t rely on world leaders and their negotiations, it’s up to people now.

The burning of fossil fuels is, at this point, the single largest generator of atmospheric-altering carbon emissions. As congress recently lifted the Crude Oil Export Ban, if we are going to keep 85% of known fossil fuels in the ground, we need to step up our resistance NOW!

IMAGE: Polar Bear starving because of climate change, Arctic

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Break Free

Worldwide Mass Action

sHell NO! Protest, Seattle, WA

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BF Northwest Action�Shell and Tesoro Refineries

SLIDE TITLE: Northwest Action - Shell and Tesoro Refineries

From May 13^th - 15^th we will be converging on the Shell and Tesoro refineries at March Point near Anacortes, WA. For three days, hundreds of people will use their bodies to stop the fossil fuel economy.

Shell and Tesoro’s refineries are the most potent symbols of the fossil fuel industry in our region. Both companies have attempted to bring massive new fossil fuel projects to our region, from Shell’s Arctic drilling fleet to Tesoro’s proposal for the largest oil-by-rail terminal in North America. Combined, the two refineries are the largest unaddressed source of greenhouse gas emissions in the region and produce 47% of our transportation fuels. The Tesoro refinery was the first facility in the Northwest to build an oil-train terminal and Shell has proposed their own. Now Tesoro is planning a Xylene plant which could open the door for crude oil exports from their Anacortes refinery.

IMAGE: March Point, Anacortes WA

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A Few Quick Things

Come for as long as you can - there will be actions every day

Come with a group that can take action together

Check in at our convergence space at Deception Pass Park

SLIDE TITLE: None

A few things to know about the weekend, we’ll come back to this later.

1. Our convergence space will be Deception Pass Park. We will have orientation information there. Check-in at our welcome table there when you arrive.

2. We are asking participants to come as early and for as long as they can. There will be the opportunity to join civil disobedience every day.

3. If you can come with a group who will take action together. This is often called an affinity group. Your group can join the mass action or carry out your own action – contact the tactical team to coordinate your action with other affinity groups.

TRANSITION INTO THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION – WHY WE ARE TAKING ACTION:

Now let’s talk about why hundreds of people in the Northwest are taking direct action this May.

IMAGE: Deception Pass Park (our convergence space)

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Northwest Fossil �Fuel Projects

SLIDE TITLE: Northwest Fossil Fuel Projects

The Fossil Fuel industry is targeting the Pacific Northwest, attempting to turn it into a fossil fuel superhighway. The west coast is the easiest point of export for vast carbon fuel deposits in the US interior onto the global market. As such, we have the potential to be a bottleneck of resistance. Stopping coal, oil & gas exports in this part of the world will force fossil fuel companies to search for more expensive and less viable ways of exporting their products.

As you can see from this map, in the PNW, we have over 40 operating or proposed fossil fuel infrastructure projects. This includes 3 operational coal terminals, 2 operational LNG terminals, 5 operating oil refineries, miles of oil and gas pipelines, and over 27 proposed new projects or current project expansions.

IMAGE: Rising Tide Regional Fossil Fuel Map

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Black Thunder Coal Mine�Powder River Basin, Wyoming

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Crude Oil Train�Columbia River Gorge, Washington

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Crude Oil Train Derailment And Explosion�Lac Mégantic, Quebec

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Natural Gas Flare

Bakken Shale, North Dakota

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ADD WHATEVER PICTURES OR INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR LOCAL STRUGGLE HERE. INSERT MULTIPLE SLIDES IF YOU WANT.

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Regional Resistance!

Slide Title: Regional Resistance!

The onslaught of fossil fuels on our region and country is frightening, but people are fighting back!

We are building a regional network of resistance and, combined with a fluctuating market and in tandem with a global social movement, we’ve had some victories! So far we have stopped over 14 major proposed fossil fuel projects in our region.

THESE INCLUDE: STOPPED THE BOARDMAN COAL TERMINAL IN PENDLETON, OR

•STOPPED THE PEMBINA PROPANE TERMINAL IN PORTLAND

•STOPPED THE JORDAN COVE LNG TERMINAL & PACIFIC CONNECTOR PIPELINE IN SOUTHERN OREGON (IF YOU BELIEVE THEY’RE DEAD)

•FORCED AN EIS FOR SHELL’S APPLICATION FOR CRUDE BY RAIL AT ANACORTES REFINERY

•FORCED AN EIS FOR TESORO’S APPLICATION FOR XYLENE EXPANSION AT ANACORTES REFINERY

•BRADWOOD LANDING LNG TERMINAL & PALOMAR PIPELINE (THROWBACK!)

•HELPED WIN CANADIAN PM TRUDEAU’S BAN ON WEST COAST OIL TANKERS IN CANADA

•STOPPED THE OTTER CREEK COAL MINE IN MONTANA

•STOPPED U.S. DEVELOPMENT’S OIL TERMINAL IN GRAY’S HARBOR, WA.

…TALK ABOUT WHATEVER FEELS LIKE A “VICTORY” TO YOU.

IMAGE: “Summer Heat” Action on the Columbia River outside Portland

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But it’s about more

than just fighting individual fossil fuel projects! The climate crisis is an indication that we need to rapidly transform broad aspects of our society, including our economic, social and governmental relations.

�

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Climate Injustice

Populations most affected�by climate change are least responsible for it, and those least affected are the most responsible.

World governments refuse to take action to address climate change because impacted communities�are overwhelmingly people�of color and poor.

SLIDE TITLE: Climate Injustice

Globally, climate change makes existing inequities worse. It is a direct result of our history of imperialism, racism, patriarchy, colonialism and displacement. AS Paul Sumburn says: “Climate change is the vicious end result of an international class war that started with slavery and imperialism and is now manifest as neo-liberal globalisation.” (“A New Weather Front”, 2010). This is why the Paris Agreement fails to address the real problem and even cuts out justice elements like indigenous rights.

The populations most affected by climate change are those least responsible for it, and those who will be least affected, at least in the short term, are those most responsible. The inaction of world governments is largely due to the fact that impacted nations and communities are overwhelmingly people of color and poor.

IMAGE: A RESIDENT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC ISLAND OF TUVALU, WHICH IS FORECASTED TO BE COMPLETELY SUBMERGED BY THE PACIFIC OCEAN WITHIN 30-50 YEARS

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Climate Injustice

& Geo-Politics

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Climate Injustice

& Economics

SLIDE TITLE: Climate Injustice

This is an image of an oil train route adjacent to a playground in a low-income housing project in Albany, NY. We chose this image to show that the battle against the fossil fuel industry isn’t just a battle over parts per million.

All along the line (extraction, transportation, production, consumption) fossil fuels poison landscapes and people, hold up the patriarchy and damage local economies. In the United States, the fossil fuel industry targets frontline communities every step of the way – siting refineries and fossil fuel transport routes in poorer neighborhoods where residents have little time and money to organize against them. Our economy is stuck in extractive paradigms that often don’t give local people alternatives to working in destructive industries which poison them slowly over time. The “man camps” set up to support massive extraction projects such as the Tar Sands and the Bakken Shale are are statistically tied to increases in murders, fatal accidents, sexual assaults, domestic disputes, drug busts, gun threats and human trafficking cases.

AND

Our economy and society is built and structured around these projects and their injustice. If we’re serious about tackling the climate crisis we can’t only talk about stopping new projects we have to talk about RAPIDLY PHASING OUT EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE and beginning a just transition to renewable energy. �

IMAGE: AN OIL TRAIN NEXT TO A PLAYGROUND IN A PREDOMINANTLY POC, LOW INCOME HOUSING PROJECT IN ALBANY, NY

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SLIDE TITLE: None

The only way to ensure that we have a stable climate and healthy planet for future generations is to tackle the roots of the climate crisis and build a more just society.

That’s a tall order! We don’t have an exact picture of what that world would look like, or a roadmap to get there. It’s going to be a process of working together and finding a shared vision - while recognizing we may have different backgrounds and utopias we are fighting for.

In particular our vision involves:

Centering and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples
Ensuring a just transition to renewable energy that provides economic opportunity and reduces poverty
A move away from centralized control of energy to community control of our energy system and greater democracy overall.

Image: ICONIC ZAPATISTA IMAGERY. THE ZAPATISTAS ARE AN INDIGENOUS SOVERIEGNTY MOVEMENT BASED IN SOUTHERN MEXICO. THEIR ARMED POPULAR UPRISING IN THE EARLY 90’S IS CREDITED WITH SPARKING THE ANTI-GLOBALIZATION MOVEMENT IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE. TRANSLATION OF TEXT: “ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE”.

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Indigenous People’s Rights

Centering indigenous sovereignty struggles

SLIDE TITLE: Indigenous People’s Rights

The exploitation of indigenous folks and exploitation of land are irrevocably linked. Many of the market-based “solutions” to climate change rely on further displacing indigenous communities from their ancestral territories, and across the world, native people are at the forefront of resistance to fossil fuel extraction projects.

Native communities from around the globe descended upon Paris to demand the recognition of Indigenous Rights in the COP21 agreement, and were systematically excluded from the final drafts.

The only world that avoids catastrophic climate change is a world that fully respect indigenous peoples rights to their land and culture. A movement for true climate justice must center indigenous sovereignty struggles on their own terms, and not treat indigenous communities as temporary strategic allies in short term battles against specific fossil fuel projects.

IMAGE: INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK MARCH, LOCATION & DATE UNKNOWN

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Just Transition

Intentionally ending the fossil fuel economy

SLIDE TITLE: Just Transition

Many communities and workers here and around the globe are dependant on the fossil fuel industry for their livelihoods and prosperity. We cannot leave these communities and workers behind or resign them to poverty as we transition to renewable energy.

A just transition is a process for intentionally ending the fossil fuel economy in a way that reduces poverty, builds up community power and develops alternative local economies, starting in the places most hard hit by racism, colonization and environmental degradation.

Just Transition is a process that involves building trust between many factions that have long been considered at odds: labor, environmentalists and economically hit rural and inner-city communities to name a few. It’s a process, not a one-size-fits-all solution. Some of the principles our coalition is demanding for in the just transition for the Pacific Northwest include:

-Following the leadership of traditionally marginalized and impacted communities in seeking solutions to the climate crisis

-Protecting job security for workers as fossil fuel consumption rapidly declines, and demanding the fossil fuel industry pay out generous benefits to displaced workers.

-Building economic alternatives for communities dependent on or devastated by the fossil fuel economy.

-Embodying democracy and community control in our energy as an antidote to the monopolistic, corporate energy we now have.

-Support and reparations to communities impacted by fossil fuels and climate chaos here and around the world.

IMAGE: March and rally, August 9, 2014, for the final day of ”Our Power” Convention in Richmond, Ca.

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Our fights are all connected

SLIDE LABEL: None

Grounding in our local context: there is a farmworkers union in the Skagit Valley, Familias Unidas por la Justicia (Families United for Justice) who, in tandem with workers in Mexico, are fighting labor abuses and wage theft by their employers.

They are asking allies to join them in a boycott of Sakuma Berries and their parent Driscoll’s Berries. These workers are trapped within the same economic system that is responsible for climate change. If we want to root our movement in global justice we must stand with them, and all displaced people in their grievances!

and a climate movement which fails to incorporate and address their grievances, and the grievances of all displaced and dispossessed peoples, cannot truly claim to be a movement rooted in global justice.

Image: Familias Unidas Por Justicia poster

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Community Control

Collective organizing, ownership and control of local resources

SLIDE TITLE: Community Control

Collective organizing, ownership and control of local resources is the antidote to a global empire of elites. We are starting to see this in places like Germany and Boulder, Colorado where people are taking back their energy systems. But we need to go much farther modeling energy democracy and equity.

We can’t just flip the grid over to 100% renewable energy, while leaving control of our energy system in the hands of a few monopolistic corporations - that’s what got us in this mess in the first place. We need more democracy and control over our energy systems in order to use them for the public good, not just profit.

The US government is currently fast-tracking development of renewable energy projects in an attempt to “secure our energy future”, and many of these projects just recapitulate colonialism by avoiding true consultation with sovereign indigenous nations, building large scale solar and wind projects on land sacred to native peoples, and centralizing massive energy projects in ways that maintain corporate control and threaten sensitive ecosystems. Distributed, community controlled energy is a powerful antidote that we can demand!

Image: A 31 kW system at Rainshadow Charter School in Reno, NV.

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We are running out of time

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LABEL: None

Mass direct action and civil disobedience is a strategy for social and political change that works. Every successful social movement in modern history has involved direct action, and RAPID change has only happened when people refuse to comply with unjust systems en mass. Social movement historians and researchers argue that a movement with 3% of the population engaged in disobedient action is what consistently brings rapid large-scale social transformation.

Direct Action empowers people and communities to meet their own needs, rather than displacing power onto law- or decision-makers to meet our needs for us. None of our leaders are talking about the kinds of rapid shifts necessary to avert the climate crisis. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks to so dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.”

We are the thin green line. Our descendants are counting on us to step up to the plate in this time of global crisis.

IMAGES:

Top Left - WTO Protests Seattle 1999�Top Right - Ghandi’s Salt March

Bottom Left - ???�Bottom Right - Civil Rights March 196?

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SLIDE TITLE: The March Point Refineries

The Tesoro and Shell Refineries on March Point are a symbol of what we need to change. Our action is meant to open space in the local and national conversation about the need to stop ALL new fossil fuel infrastructure and RAPIDLY begin phasing out fossil fuel use and shift to a post-fossil fuel economy.

Combined, the two refineries are the largest unaddressed source of greenhouse gas emissions in the region and produce 47% of our transportation fuels.

Both refineries take tar sands from the Alberta. The Tesoro refinery was the first facility in the Northwest to build an oil-train terminal and Shell has proposed their own. Now Tesoro is planning a Xylene plant which could open the door for crude oil exports from their Anacortes refinery.

Because of local organizing both Tesoro and Shell are being required to go through a full environmental review process for their projects instead of getting them rubber-stamped.

From May 13^th – 15^th thousands of people will converge on these refineries and put our bodies into the gears of the fossil fuel economy. We will use civil disobedience and direct action to interrupt the emission of carbon and production of carbon polluting transportation fuel for three days – demonstrating our power and will to bring about the changes we need.

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Break Free PNW Action Agreements

We will use no physical violence towards any person:�We will take action and conduct ourselves in a manner that avoids violence and the threat of violence towards other living things. We will attempt to conduct ourselves in a way that matches our moral force, recognizing that ideas of proper conduct and verbal violence are heavily influenced by culture and racism.�
We will carry no weapons: �We will carry no object with the intent to use it to harm another person or living thing.�
We will not destroy other’s property: �We take no responsibility for property destruction by law enforcement, Shell or Tesoro.

Action Agreements:

THE BOLDED SECTIONS ARE THE AGREEMENTS THE NON-BOLDED TEXT IS EXPLANATION

THERE ARE THREE MORE ON THE NEXT PAGE

We will use no physical violence towards any person: We will take action and conduct ourselves in a manner that avoids violence and the threat of violence towards other living things. We will attempt to conduct ourselves in a way that matches our moral force, recognizing that ideas of proper conduct and verbal violence are heavily influenced by culture and racism.

We will carry no weapons: We will carry no object with the intent to use it to harm another person or living thing.

We will not destroy other’s property: We take no responsibility for property destruction by law enforcement, Shell or Tesoro.

We will prioritize safety in our actions: We will take care to avoid placing others in danger, including coordinating our actions to avoid placing each other in unexpected situations. We understand that the refinery is a complex and dangerous facility and we will take care in our actions not to create unsafe conditions for workers or the surrounding community. With this in mind we will not block refinery workers from entering or exiting their job site.

We will plan our actions with an understanding that some communities risk more than others by participating: People of color, trans people, disabled people, indigenous peoples and other historically marginalized groups are often treated differently by law enforcement and legal systems than white activists. We will take these disparities into consideration when planning our actions.

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Break Free PNW Action Agreements

We will prioritize safety in our actions: �We will take care to avoid placing others in danger, including coordinating our actions to avoid placing each other in unexpected situations. We understand that the refinery is a complex and dangerous facility and we will take care in our actions not to create unsafe conditions for workers or the surrounding community. With this in mind we will not block refinery workers from entering or exiting their job site.�
We will plan our actions with an understanding that some communities risk more than others by participating: �People of color, trans people, disabled people, indigenous peoples and other historically marginalized groups are often treated differently by law enforcement and legal systems than white activists. We will take these disparities into consideration when planning our actions.

Action Agreements:

THE BOLDED SECTIONS ARE THE AGREEMENTS THE NON-BOLDED TEXT IS EXPLANATION

THERE ARE THREE MORE ON THE NEXT PAGE

We will use no physical violence towards any person: We will take action and conduct ourselves in a manner that avoids violence and the threat of violence towards other living things. We will attempt to conduct ourselves in a way that matches our moral force, recognizing that ideas of proper conduct and verbal violence are heavily influenced by culture and racism.

We will carry no weapons: We will carry no object with the intent to use it to harm another person or living thing.

We will not destroy other’s property: We take no responsibility for property destruction by law enforcement, Shell or Tesoro.

We will prioritize safety in our actions: We will take care to avoid placing others in danger, including coordinating our actions to avoid placing each other in unexpected situations. We understand that the refinery is a complex and dangerous facility and we will take care in our actions not to create unsafe conditions for workers or the surrounding community. With this in mind we will not block refinery workers from entering or exiting their job site.

We will plan our actions with an understanding that some communities risk more than others by participating: People of color, trans people, disabled people, indigenous peoples and other historically marginalized groups are often treated differently by law enforcement and legal systems than white activists. We will take these disparities into consideration when planning our actions.

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Break Free PNW Action Agreements

We will act with respect for the indigenous peoples whose land we occupy: �Understanding the complexities and history of settler colonialism, we will do our best to not use language that further invisibilizes native histories and presence. We will also not presume to speak for indigenous people or other communities unless we are explicitly asked by them to do so.

�

We will not cooperate with surveillance, infiltration, disruption and violence by law enforcement. Given the history of law enforcement dividing social movements to stymie their effectiveness. During the action we will communicate with law enforcement only through designated police liaisons.�

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Break Free PNW Action Agreements

We will avoid unilateral public denunciations of fellow activists participating in Break Free:�Our opposition to climate chaos and our commitment to hastening a just transition is unified. Concerns and criticism will first be addressed internally and directly, and will be mediated within an anti-oppression framework.

�

We will respect and uplift the voices and power of those that have been traditionally marginalized, especially indigenous people, women of color and trans people of color:

Through this action and campaign, we will continue to build momentum to fight the systems of oppression -- capitalism, racism, patriarchy, colonialism -- that are the root causes of climate change. We recognize that we cannot overcome the climate crisis without ending these oppressions.

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How to plug in before the action�

Attend a training or art build! �
Spread the word! - Like, share our facebook page and events.�
Sign up for emails or volunteering at www.breakfreepnw.org

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Come to our convergence space. We will be having workshops, music, art, and a Just Transition exhibition.
Come for as long as you can. There will be opportunities for actions every day.�
If you can, be prepared to take an action that involves staying overnight.

Take Action!

Slide Title: Take Action!�

READ THE ACTION OPPORTUNITIES OFF THE SLIDE DESCRIBE EACH:

Instead of having one mass action at a particular time and place there will be actions every day, including at least one with a mass participatory component. Exactly what the actions will be depend a lot on how police and others react to us, but they will likely involve a sit-in. We are asking everyone who can to be prepared to stay overnight with tents and food if the police decide not to arrest.

There are many opportunities for small groups to take action in creative and exciting ways. Some of them involve technical skills, but most of them can be done by people of ANY experience level. If you can, form an affinity group and contact the tactical team at the email below. Even if you are planning on participating in the Mass Action come with a group if you can. Every group should have a designated jail support person who is not risking arrest, and who can interface with the legal team to make sure your group is ok!

There are many opportunities for small groups to take creative action. To make sure you are coordinating with other groups please contact the tactical team at bfpnwaffinity@riseup.net. If you would like to remain relatively anonymous create a new email account to do this.

Things may change rapidly on the ground and many groups will be deploying actions. Get on the text loop to have the most up-to-date information!

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At The Action

Participate in Civil Disobedience - We are using the affinity group model for our civil disobedience. There will also be opportunities to participate at the event, but if you have the interest and capacity, join or form an affinity group.�
Get on the water. The Kayaktivists are back in action!

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Affinity Groups

Come with a group prepared to take action together �
Affinity groups should contact the tactical team by emailing: bfpnwaffinity@riseup.net�
Join the text loop to get up-to-the-minute action updates! Text @breakfreepnw to 23559

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Legal Information

The most likely charges for anyone committing Civil Disobedience are all misdemeanors. Though there is ALWAYS the possibility of higher charges.
The most common are criminal trespass, and disorderly conduct.
There are a few misdemeanors related directly to trains and ports like obstructing a train.
The likely consequences of a misdemeanor conviction are a fine.
Everyone arrested MAY have to return to Anacortes for a later court date/s.
If you plan to take your charges to trial the process could last as long as a year or more.
For more info go to CLDC.org/2016/04/08/break-free-resources

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Logistics

Our main convergence space will be Deception Pass Park
We have camp sites at Deception Pass Park and other campgrounds on a first-come-first-serve sliding-scale
Food is still being figured out. Participants are encouraged to take care of their own food needs for the weekend.
There will be low-risk events at a variety of locations including Deception Pass
There will be an Indigenous Led Event, details TBA

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