Early Friday morning the 30th of May 2014, three activists (Dan Wallace, Mia Nissen and Adam Gold) locked themselves to the gate of Chevron in North Burnaby to protest exploitative resource extraction in Canada. They used bicycle D-locks and chains to secure themselves to the metal posts of the gate to stop truck traffic into the Chevron North Burnaby in order to draw attention the Federal and Provincial government’s complete disregard for the earth, Indigenous sovereignty, and the reality of climate change.
The activists are not associated with any organizations but are ordinary citizens that have decided that enough is enough. “We want to demonstrate the extreme measures that ordinary citizens are willing to take. We want to show that each person has the ability to act, and that we must act for the sake of ourselves and future generations. Like many others taking a stand, we feel a moral obligation.” stated one of the activists.
Many studies have been conducted on the reality of climate change and the links to destructive industrial practices. One study partly funded by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, claims that industrial civilization is heading for a collapse within decades if drastic changes are not made. Meanwhile, with the Provincial government balancing their budget on predicted revenue from fracking and the Harper government’s extensive spying on environmental groups, there seems no indication that the people in power are willing to make these changes. The activists have stated that they intend to stay until ___(you-know-who)___ and their partners withdraw all permit applications and stop all construction on the Pacific Trail Pipeline project.
“It’s time to stop the insane expansion of fossil fuel projects. If we look at the facts these projects don’t make any sense for the future; environmentally or economically. That’s why we’re locking down today; to show how these companies are holding us all hostage to a poisoned future. We might not get off our oil and gas addiction overnight, but it’s time to tell our government to fund alternative and renewable energy sources and take responsibility for our shared futures.
CONTACT:
Shirley Samples (media spokesperson)
Email: ssamples@shaw.ca
Phone: 604-614-9814