Posted on 05/16/2016 2:09:41 PM PDT by Lorianne
Authorities cleared the railroad tracks of protesters and arrested 52 climate activists Sunday morning in Washington state, after a two-day shutdown.
About 150 people spent the night in tents and sleeping bags on the tracks near two refineries in northwest Washington, according to BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas.
They were asked to leave at about 5 a.m. and most gathered their belongings and left the area near Anacortes, Melonas said.
"It was peaceful," he said. "Eighty percent removed their belongings and cleared out."
The 52 people arrested were cited for trespassing, according to the Skagit County Department of Emergency Management. One person was also cited for resisting arrest.
A spokeswoman for the protesters said she expected everyone arrested would be processed and released from police custody.
Emily Johnston said protests would continue around Anacortes on Sunday, but she didn't expect people to return to the railroad tracks.
Johnston, who had participated in a blockade of the Seattle harbor to protest Shell Oil's plans to drill for oil in the Arctic, said the success of protests like the one in Anacortes can mostly be seen in the way they inspire people to speak out about climate change.
"People power matters," Johnston said.
She also spoke about the contrast between arresting people for protesting about saving the planet and the lack of government action against the fossil fuel industry.
"We really need to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable," Johnston said.
The rail line has been closed since Friday because of the protests, and trains will begin running again Sunday afternoon after a cleanup and safety sweep of the tracks, he said.
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If there were 150 fools there and all but 53 left, the percentage that departed was closer to 65% than 80%. Just sayin’.
Should have just run them over.
My Sunday load out of Anacortes was postponed to today because of these hypocrites. They protest fuels, but drive away in their cars and pickups.
All of them should be denied any fossil fuel use of any kind - not just energy, but also any pharmaceuticals for any illness. Heat with wood that they cut by hand (no steel tools either). Candles for light, clothes made from fiber that they spin from sheep they raise, food that they grow on their own land.
If they can’t walk the walk, they need to STFU.
The full Fascist response would be to keep the trains running on time, and clean up afterwards. Just sayin’.
Thank you for keeping RR solvent! (retired BNSF signal tech)
I agree. Force them to live in the world they so desperately dream of. That ought to snap them back to reality as soon as they meet the harsh cruel world they have created.
OK!! Everybody pay attention!
Lesson for today:
1. The sun is 1,300,000 times as big as the earth.
2. The sun is a giant nuclear furnace that controls the climates of all its planets.
3. The earth is one of the sun’s planets.
4. The earth is a speck in comparison to the size of the sun.
5. Inhabitants of the earth are less than specks.
Study Question: How do less-than-specks in congress plan to control the sun?
For “climate activists” read ignorant thugs.
I still disagree with #2. The Sun does not ‘control’ the climates of the planets.
Shouldn't we hold responsible those who demanded fossil fuel in the first place ?
That’s what I always ask but they always make it sound like the oil companies are forcing everyone at gunpoint to use their products. Endless excuses why THEY can’t simply just stop using fossil fuel or cut way back.
“Eighty percent removed their belongings and cleared out.”
The photo I saw showed a huge amount of trash left behind.
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