Faux oil spill and clean up action demands DeFazio and Wyden match talk of Green New Deal with action to stop Jordan Cove
Eugene, Ore. – Activists today called on Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who both support the Green New Deal Resolution, to oppose the proposed Jordan Cove pipeline and LNG export facility.
Demonstrators marched and staged a creative rendition of a faux oil spill in downtown Eugene to protest the project and support a vision of the Green New Deal that keeps all fossil fuels in the ground.
“Rep. DeFazio and Sen. Wyden both talk a good game on climate action, but there’s no room for new fossil fuel infrastructure like the proposed Jordan Cove Pipeline in the Green New Deal. said Gabe Raviolo, Senior Fellow with Friends of the Earth. “At a moment when the Trump Administration is trying to ram through dozens of new fossil fuel pipelines and export terminals, Oregon needs to know where our leaders stand.”
Protestors gathered on the steps of the Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse and heard speeches from protest leaders. They then marched down 8th Avenue to stage a faux oil spill in the street with their bodies, signs, and recycled fabric. The faux oil spill was then cleaned up as part of a healing dance, and replaced by a vision of a clean energy future. Protest leaders said the theatrical assembly was intended to dramatize the risks of the proposed Jordan Cove Pipeline, the risks of crude oil on our railways and all fossil fuel infrastructure projects, and to juxtapose that risk against the promise and potential of a Green New Deal.
The group noted that, if approved, the Jordan Cove Pipeline and LNG export facility would contribute to the climate crisis. As cosponsors of the Green New Deal, Sen. Wyden and Rep. DeFazio should publicly oppose these and other fossil fuel projects that move us away from the sustainable future we need to avoid climate chaos.
Expert contact: Gabrielle Raviolo, (541) 543-9892, [email protected]
Communications contact: Patrick Davis, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]