The Wednesday, March 11, 2020, Climate Justice Forum radio program, produced by regional, climate activist collective Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT), features news and reflections on a Dakota Access pipeline resistance documentary, a dinner and auction fundraiser, north Idaho railroad bridge and switch construction, a cancelled environmental law conference, withdrawn Washington refinery expansion and tribal victory over oil train traffic, Montana Supreme Court rejection of valve turner necessity defense, a British Columbia tanker cars derailment and indigenous youth arrests, a Keystone XL pipeline court case and county construction permits, and Democratic presidential candidate records. Broadcast for eight years on progressive, volunteer, community station KRFP Radio Free Moscow, every Wednesday between 1:30 and 3 pm Pacific time, on-air at 90.3 FM, online, and podcast on Radio Free America, the show describes continent-wide, grassroots resistance to fossil fuel projects, the root causes of climate change, thanks to generous, anonymous listeners who have adopted program host Helen Yost as their KRFP DJ.
Category Archives: Events
President Sanders, Black Snake Killaz, Rescheduled WIRT Meetings, Wet’suwet’en Solidarity
March 10: Vote for Bernie!
If you are an Idaho or Washington resident, please vote for Senator Bernie Sanders in the Tuesday, March 10, presidential primary election from 8 am to 8 pm at Idaho polling places, where you can also register in-person as a voter with identification, or contact your county elections department in Washington in-person to register, update your address, and request a ballot for deposit in an official, election mail, drop box by 8 pm [1, 2].
Although this election decision is your personal choice, voting records on numerous, progressive, environmental and social justice issues, including fossil fueled climate chaos, suggest that Senator Sanders will seek better resolutions than former Vice President Joe Biden or current President Donald Trump. Consider who will most effectively end worldwide, U.S.-initiated, political and resource wars, institute a Green New Deal and ban fracking, and establish affordable college education, a livable minimum wage, and Medicare for all [3-5]. Senator Sanders is the strongest candidate who can win the Democratic nomination in July and the U.S. presidency in November [6].
During this crucial, transitional time of planetary tragedy, choosing political expediency, moderate candidates, and half-measures risks the lives, health, and safety of millions of Americans [7, 8]. As Ben Franklin warned, during another momentous era, “Those who would give up essential liberty (a better democracy for all), to purchase a little temporary safety (election defeat of Trump), deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Climate activists encourage you to elect the only viable, progressive candidate remaining from an inspiring field of grassroots leaders and committed to implementing critically necessary plans and policies that can resolve energy systems and climate change [9, 10]. Please show up and cast your ballot in support of climate crisis solutions and Senator Bernie Sanders on March 10, and participate on Saturday, April 4, in selection of county delegates for the Idaho Democratic Convention in Boise, on June 4 to 7. Idahoans will send 22 delegates to the Democratic National Convention on July 13 to 16 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where small states could swing the nomination.
March 12: Black Snake Killaz #NoDAPL Film
On Thursday, March 12, at 7 pm, KRFP Radio Free Moscow, Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment, Palouse Environmental Sustainability Coalition, and Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse Environmental Task Force are sponsoring a showing of the documentary Black Snake Killaz at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, 508 South Main Street in Moscow, Idaho. For free or donation admissions, hear from Gary Dorr, Al Chidester, and other activists who participated in protests against the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL), recently proposed for expansion, and created displayed art from their experiences of Standing Rock and indigenous resistance camps in North Dakota in 2016 and 2017.
Produced by the on-site videographers and reporters of Unicorn Riot, Black Snake Killaz highlights the actions of water protectors to stop Bakken oil pipeline construction, and investigates the actions of law enforcement, military, and corporate mercenaries attempting to quell the months-long protest. This collaborative, creative commons film describes the historical events that unfolded at Standing Rock, and shares the raw, frontline experiences of direct actions. Although energy companies completed the Dakota Access pipeline, the importance of water protectors’ stories and their resistance movement grows, as fossil fuel extraction projects continue to impact some of the most vulnerable communities throughout the world.
KRFP will host an information table with literature, bumper stickers, a donation jar, and ticket sales for the Real Radio Dinner on Saturday, March 28 [11]. Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT) volunteers and other north Idaho groups will also present outreach tables, for participants to learn and engage in Idaho and Northwest struggles against climate-wrecking fossil fuels infrastructure, extraction, and transportation. Please widely share the two attached event posters, to augment film and dinner attendance.
March 12 & 26: WIRT Meetings & Movies Continue reading
Climate Justice Forum: Portland Train Blockade Trial, Oregon LNG Permit Delay, B.C. Pipeline Financers, Seattle & Portland Indigenous Solidarity Protests, Wet’suwet’en Land Rights Agreement 3-4-20
The Wednesday, March 4, 2020, Climate Justice Forum radio program, produced by regional, climate activist collective Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT), features news and reflections on necessity defense trials of Portland tar sands train terminal gardeners and other climate defenders, federal permit delay of an Oregon gas pipeline and terminal, bank financers and owners of a contentious, British Columbia pipeline, Seattle and Portland solidarity protests supporting the Wet’suwet’en Nation, far-right threats and police attacks of indigenous blockaders in Canada, and a tentative agreement on Wet’suwet’en land rights but not pipeline and police invasions. Broadcast for eight years on progressive, volunteer, community station KRFP Radio Free Moscow, every Wednesday between 1:30 and 3 pm Pacific time, on-air at 90.3 FM, online, and podcast on Radio Free America, the show describes continent-wide, grassroots resistance to fossil fuel projects, the root causes of climate change, thanks to generous, anonymous listeners who have adopted program host Helen Yost as their KRFP DJ.
Climate Justice Forum: Eriel Deranger on Teck Tar Sands Mine, Wet’suwet’en Chiefs on B.C. Territory & Pipelines, Solidarity Actions, Tar Sands Trains, Fossil Fuels Derailments, DAPL Expansion Approval, Jordan Cove LNG Denial 2-26-20
The Wednesday, February 26, 2020, Climate Justice Forum radio program, produced by regional, climate activist collective Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT), features Eriel Deranger of Indigenous Climate Action talking about the largest, proposed, Alberta tar sands surface mine, and Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs explaining their British Columbia territory, lawsuits, and pipeline opposition. We also share news and reflections on ninth annual WIRT celebrations, United Nations climate change conference debriefings, Wet’suwet’en solidarity actions, tar sands train volatility and U.S. rail routes, Kentucky ethanol and Ontario oil train derailments, North Dakota approval of Dakota Access pipeline expansion, and Oregon denial of the Jordan Cove LNG project. Broadcast for eight years on progressive, volunteer, community station KRFP Radio Free Moscow, every Wednesday between 1:30 and 3 pm Pacific time, on-air at 90.3 FM, online, and podcast on Radio Free America, the show describes continent-wide, grassroots resistance to fossil fuel projects, the root causes of climate change, thanks to generous, anonymous listeners who have adopted program host Helen Yost as their KRFP DJ.
Climate Justice Forum: Molly Wickham & Pamela Palmater on Canadian Indigenous Rights Protests, Northwest Solidarity Actions, UN COP25 Debriefings, Oregon Radioactive Fracking Waste Disposal, Keystone XL Pipeline Construction 2-19-20
The Wednesday, February 19, 2020, Climate Justice Forum radio program, produced by regional, climate activist collective Wild Idaho Rising Tide, features Gidimt’en Clan matriarch and land defender Molly Wickham and Mi’kmaq attorney and Eel River Bar First Nation member Pamela Palmater, discussing protests across Canada of police raids and gas pipeline construction in indigenous territories in British Columbia. We also share news and reflections on inland Northwest, Wet’suwet’en solidarity actions and United Nations climate change conference debriefings, rail transport and illegal disposal of radioactive fracking waste in an Oregon landfill, and plans to build the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline this year. Broadcast for eight years on progressive, volunteer, community station KRFP Radio Free Moscow, every Wednesday between 1:30 and 3 pm Pacific time, on-air at 90.3 FM, online, and podcast on Radio Free America, the show describes continent-wide, grassroots resistance to fossil fuel projects, the root causes of climate change, thanks to generous, anonymous listeners who have adopted program host Helen Yost as their KRFP DJ.
Climate Justice Forum: UN COP25 Debriefings, Idaho Drillers Bankruptcies, Saskatchewan Oil Train Derailment, Illinois Coal Train Wreck, Montana Grizzly Collisions, Canadian Pipeline Invasion Resistance 2-12-20
The Wednesday, February 12, 2020, Climate Justice Forum radio program, produced by regional, climate activist collective Wild Idaho Rising Tide, features news and reflections on regional, United Nations climate change conference debriefings, Idaho oil and gas drillers bankruptcies, a second, Saskatchewan oil train derailment and fire, an Illinois coal train wreck, northern Rockies grizzly deaths from collisions, gas pipeline and police invasions of unceded, indigenous territories in British Columbia, and solidarity protests across Canada. Broadcast for eight years on progressive, volunteer, community station KRFP Radio Free Moscow, every Wednesday between 1:30 and 3 pm Pacific time, on-air at 90.3 FM, online, and podcast on Radio Free America, the show describes continent-wide, grassroots resistance to fossil fuel projects, the root causes of climate change, thanks to generous, anonymous listeners who have adopted program host Helen Yost as their KRFP DJ.
Climate Justice Forum: Train Pollution Protest, Smelter Land Sale Appeal, Cancelled Forced Pooling Hearing, Supreme Court Coal Port Case, Withdrawn LNG Application, Anti-Pipeline Indigenous Defense 2-5-20
The Wednesday, February 5, 2020, Climate Justice Forum radio program, produced by regional, climate activist collective Wild Idaho Rising Tide, features news and reflections on a protest of fossil fuels train pollution of north Idaho waterways, a Washington appeals hearing on a Newport silicon smelter land sale, a cancelled Idaho oil and gas forced pooling hearing, a Supreme Court case on a stalled Washington coal port, a withdrawn Jordan Cove LNG facilities application, a Canadian appeals court dismissal of indigenous claims against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, solidarity actions defending B.C. indigenous lands from gas pipeline construction, and an Idaho train collision with pronghorn. Broadcast for eight years on progressive, volunteer, community station KRFP Radio Free Moscow, every Wednesday between 1:30 and 3 pm Pacific time, on-air at 90.3 FM, online, and later podcast on Radio Free America, the show describes continent-wide, grassroots resistance to fossil fuel projects, the root causes of climate change, thanks to generous, anonymous listeners who have adopted program host Helen Yost as their KRFP DJ.
Climate Justice Forum: Phyllis Kardos on Newport Silicon Smelter, River Locomotive Derailment, Spill, & Protests, Idaho Oil & Gas Company & Resistance 1-29-20
After an eleven-week break, the Wednesday, January 29, 2020, Climate Justice Forum radio program, produced by regional, climate activist collective Wild Idaho Rising Tide, features a mid-November 2019 conversation with Phyllis Kardos of Responsible Growth Northeast Washington, discussing regional opposition and court cases against a proposed, Newport, silicon smelter. We also share news and reflections on a New Year’s Day, rockslide-caused, BNSF locomotive derailment, diesel spill, submerged engine removal, and planned protests on a north Idaho river, and a summary of Idaho oil and gas drilling company changes, state audits and private royalties lawsuits, and an upcoming forced pooling hearing. Broadcast for eight years on progressive, volunteer, community station KRFP Radio Free Moscow, every Wednesday between 1:30 and 3 pm Pacific time, on-air at 90.3 FM, online, and later podcast on Radio Free America, the show describes continent-wide, grassroots resistance to fossil fuel projects, the root causes of climate change, thanks to generous, anonymous listeners who have adopted program host Helen Yost as their KRFP DJ.
#No2ndBridge Climate Strike, NW Fossil Fuels Talk, Smelter Zoning, WIRT Meetings
COUNTY COMP PLAN ON SMELTER
Tuesday, December 3, 1:30 to 3:30 pm
Pend Oreille County commissioners will deliberate 2018 Comprehensive Plan Amendment CPU-18-001 that changes zoning of the proposed site of a PacWest silicon smelter in Newport, Washington, from public land to industrial uses [1, 2]. Amendment approval essentially allows the smelter project to continue, although the Pend Oreille County Planning Commission has recommended against such a decision. Northeast Washington and north Idaho citizens, the Kalispel Tribe, Citizens Against Newport Silicon Smelter (CANSS), Responsible Growth Northeast Washington (RG*NEW), and other environmental organizations in the region have overwhelmingly opposed the amendment.
During their regular board meeting on Tuesday, December 3, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm in the county courthouse at 625 West Fourth Street in Newport, the commissioners have set aside most of the afternoon for this agenda item, potentially the biggest event to date for community resistance to the Newport smelter. CANSS, RG*NEW, and other groups request that everyone who can attend this meeting participate, and they thank area residents for their support of this issue during the last year. Will the county commissioners listen to their constituents and the people they placed on the Planning Commission, or will they acquiesce to toxic, silicon smelter ambitions and pressures from PacWest and Washington governor Jay Inslee?
INLAND NW FOSSIL FUELS TALK
Wednesday, December 4, 12 to 1 pm
As part of weekly, public, Fall Speaker Series forums, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Moscow every autumn Wednesday, Lands Council executive director Mike Petersen will give a brief, PowerPoint presentation entitled Fossil Fuel Overview in the Inland Northwest [3, 4]. From 12 noon until 1 pm on Wednesday, December 4, in the 1912 Center Arts Workshop Room at 412 East Third Street in Moscow, Mike will discuss the history and current threats of Northwest fossil fuels proposals, covering coal, oil, gas, and tar sands trains and other rail and pipeline transportation in north Idaho and Spokane. Although Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT) activists are concerned that Mike’s topic knowledgeable co-worker, Laura Ackerman, is not presenting, we are excited to attend, provide further information, and collect more #No2ndBridge petition signatures. While WIRT encourages resistance of other fossil fuels pipelines across Turtle Island (Trans Mountain, Pacific Connector, Dakota Access expansion, Keystone and Keystone XL, Line 3, Bayou Bridge, and many more), please do not overlook gas and oil pipelines in and near Idaho, depicted in linked descriptions and maps compiled by WIRT [5, 6]. No more fossil fuel infrastructure in Idaho and the Northwest!
WIRT MOSCOW MEETING
Thursday, December 5, 6 to 8 pm Continue reading
Climate Justice Forum: BC Indigenous Land Protection, Idaho Oil & Gas Resistance, Trans Mountain Port Blockade, DAPL Expansion Hearing, Keystone XL Comments 11-13-19
The Wednesday, November 13, 2019, Climate Justice Forum radio program, produced by regional, climate activist collective Wild Idaho Rising Tide, features a documentary about Wet’suwet’en Nation decolonization and protection of unceded, indigenous lands in British Columbia, from Canadian government and fossil fuels corporations invasions. We also share news and reflections on opposition to bankrupt Idaho oil and gas extraction, forced pooling, production under-reporting, and waste injection wells, a Trans Mountain pipe blockade at the Washington Port of Vancouver, Lake Pend Oreille railroad bridge expansion impacts on record-breaking trout catches, a San Diego train derailment bridge collision, a Dakota Access pipeline expansion hearing in North Dakota, and Keystone XL pipeline comment suggestions. Broadcast for seven years on progressive, volunteer, community station KRFP Radio Free Moscow, every Wednesday between 1:30 and 3 pm Pacific time, on-air at 90.3 FM, online, and later podcast on Radio Free America, the show describes continent-wide, grassroots resistance to fossil fuel projects, the root causes of climate change, thanks to the generous, anonymous listeners who adopted program host Helen Yost as their KRFP DJ.