Beyond Extreme Energy Week of Action in D.C.

Hundreds of people are planning to take part in a very full week of climate action in Washington, D.C. November 1-7, focused on FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The week will also draw connections to other very problematic institutions as far as the global warming crisis.

Over 50 organizations have endorsed this week of action, many of them local groups fighting fracking, fracking infrastructure and proposed fracked-gas export terminals. On Friday, November 7th, the last day of the week, dozens of fracktivists from the fracking-ravaged state of Pennsylvania are traveling to DC to anchor that morning’s action at FERC.

The continuing fight against the Cove Point export terminal is a central reason for this week and a major focus of the Beyond Extreme Energy (BXE) demands, which can be found at http://bit.ly/BeyondExtremeEnergy; and in summary demand:

-a withdrawal of permits already granted by FERC at Cove Point, as well as at Myersville, Md., Minisink, NY and Seneca Lake, NY, as well as a stop to the permitting of any more fracked-gas infrastructure;
-that FERC prioritize the rights and health of human beings and all life on Earth over private profit, address climate chaos and adhere to the precautionary principle;
-that FERC commissioners meet with communities affected by already-approved or proposed fossil fuel infrastructure; and,
-that Congress convene an investigation into FERC’s rubber-stamping ways.
The heart of the BXE actions is five days of nonviolent sit-ins at the entrances to FERC every morning of the November 3-7 workweek. Over 100 people have signed up and indicated their willingness to risk arrest, with many others signed up to participate in other ways.

The week will begin on Saturday, November 1st when BXE participants join with the Great March for Climate Action (http://climatemarch.org) as it walks the final leg of an eight month walk across the country which began in Los Angeles in March. After a day of training on Sunday, BXE will demonstrate outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee calling upon them to get real about the seriousness of the climate crisis. This will be followed by a “flash mob” action at FERC and at Union Station spearheaded by fracktivists coming down from New York City. The group will demonstrate all week, including at Cove Point and at NPR, which runs pro-fracking advertisements and has reduced it’s team of environmental reporters to only one.