Tomorrow marks the start of the People Over Pipelines March, a four day march in protest of the Spectra pipeline, organized by 350Mass. It follows the pipeline’s proposed route in MA, 43 miles starting in Medway, winding through Norfolk, Walpole, Sharon, Stoughton, Canton, Norwood, Dedham, West Roxbury, on through to the State House on Sunday July 17. Monday July 18 will be a lobbying and action day at the State House; Sens. Pat Jehlen and Marc Pacheco are due to speak.
Some 300 people are confirmed for at least part of the march, and the count might get beyond 450. Considering how many actions I’ve been to that had a few dozen or even a hundred … this is pretty amazing. I’ve been helping the organizers at 350Mass with their press outreach, and I’ll be taking part in it on Saturday and Sunday, meeting up with folks in Norwood and marching on to West Roxbury and Beacon Hill. It will be hot! And rainy. I’ll be tweeting pictures, Facebooking, all that stuff.
Why am I doing this? Well, pipeline protests seem to work. In infrastructure, we may have found that hidden exhaust port in the fossil fuel Death Star — they’ve got to get the stuff around, and there’s only so many ways to do it. We’re getting in the way. Massachusetts pipelines are getting national attention. And we’re right on the business merits: As has been discussed at great length, we Don’t. Need. It. And no one but no one wants Gov. Baker’s pipeline tax paying for it.
See you on the streets. Wave as we go by.
Too much politics being played with energy policy in the state. This is not going to end well.
And the gas companies and power suppliers? With no consideration of climate — which is, after all, legally mandated?
Politics happens, whether you see it or not. Someone’s been getting a sweetheart deal all this time — not in some mythical absence of “politics.” We’re just bringing it out into the open.