SEATTLE — Hundreds of people in kayaks and are gathering at the site of two oil refineries in Anacortes to call for action on climate change and a fair transition away from fossil fuels.
The three-day event that started Friday includes “kayaktivists” in kayaks, community workshops, an indigenous ceremony and a 3-mile march near Anacortes along the shores of Fidalgo Bay in front of the Tesoro and Shell refineries.
Organizers say they want to transition to renewable energy in a way that doesn’t leave workers or communities behind, and they’re willing to risk arrest to engage in peaceful civil disobedience.
The protests are part of a series of global actions calling on people to “break free” from dependence on oil, coal and other fossil fuels. Similar events are scheduled today in Los Angeles and Albany, N.Y., and Sunday in Washington D.C..
In Washington state, organizers are targeting two refineries that are among the top sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the state. An environmental review is underway for a proposed oil-by-rail project at the Shell Puget Sound Refinery. Shell wants to build an unloading facility and a rail spur from existing tracks to handle about 60,000 barrels of crude oil a day delivered by train.
On Friday evening, dozens of people were setting up a camp on railroad tracks near the refineries with the intent to stay and block the flow of oil as long as possible, according to a news release sent by event organizer Emily Johnston.
“We’re putting our bodies in the gears of the fossil fuel economy to demand a just transition to the post-fossil fuel economy. World leaders agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees — we demand that they do so,” Annette Klapstein, 63, of the political organization Raging Grannies, said in the news release.
Officials with Shell and Tesoro said in statements that they respect the right of people to demonstrate peacefully, and that safety and security are their highest priority.
Shell spokesman Ray Fisher added in a written statement that the company, which employs about 700 people at the refinery, is proud to be a part of the community and that the refinery is a vital part of the region’s energy infrastructure.
Many of the nearly 40 groups involved in organizing the Break Free Pacific Northwest event were also involved in large on-water kayak protests against Shell’s Arctic oil drilling rig when it parked at a Seattle port last year as it prepared to explore for oil in the Arctic.
The site of the protests, March Point, is between two ecologically sensitive bays. Padilla Bay, an estuary that has been designated for national protection and study, has one of the region’s largest blue heron colonies, and some worried that protesters could interfere with the birds’ nesting season. The birds are currently foraging the bay to feed the babies in their nests.
Organizers said they are taking precautions to minimize impact on the herons.
