On Wednesday, October 30, 2013, Rising Tide Seattle, South Sound Rising Tide, and members of the NOKXL Pledge of Resistance inflated a 35-foot mock pipeline in TD Ameritrade to protest tar sands profiteering.
A group of about forty activists, dressed in black, marched on the downtown Seattle office, mournfully singing “They Are Digging Us A Hole”. As the pipeline was inflated in TD Ameritrade’s long hallway, confused employees poked their heads out. One employee even smiled and took photos of the pipeline with their cell phone. Three activists dressed as Grim Reapers stood outside distributing fliers urging the public to call TD Bank’s executive offices. Two of them held a banner that read “TD Bank: STOP FINANCING TAR SANDS.”
While not a direct investor itself, TD Ameritrade is a sister company of TD Bank, one of the largest investors in TransCanada. Together with TD Investment Management, TD Bank owns $1.7 billion in TransCanada. TD Bank has also advocated for new pipelines to be built, stating that Canada should make their pipeline network a “national priority”.
Rising Tide Seattle read a mic-checked statement for TD Ameritrade to pass on to TD Bank, demanding their immediate divestment from tar sands energy projects. A furious office worker yelled repeatedly at all involved. However, activists held strong, refusing to be ignored. They decried the destruction of the boreal forests, the sky-rocketing rates of cancer in communities downstream from the Alberta tar sands, the 30 oil spills from the Keystone 1 and the painful health problems caused to local residents, the poisoning and displacement of human and non-human populations, and the dramatic increase in climate change caused by tar sands projects. In closing, the group demanded that TD Bank stop funding TransCanada. “Our future depends on your actions!”
“If TD truly believes it is okay to ignore our will and build these
pipelines, then they should be okay with us building this pipeline,” one
participant said, gesturing toward the inflated prop, which featured a
toothed, fire-breathing head.
As soon as police arrived, activists peacefully exited the office. TD Ameritrade employees were overheard saying they planned to lock their doors and close for the day.
The procession continued down to the federal building, where the Seattle NOKXL Pledge of Resistance delivered their On Notice letter, stating their intent to use civil disobedience should President Obama take steps toward approving the Keystone XL pipeline.
Video footage of the action is available here:
For photos and more info on Rising Tide Seattle:
www.facebook.com/RisingTideSeattle
