Dozens arrested in Washington state environmental protest (part of Break Free 2016 12-day campaign)

Reuters on Yahoo News ^ | 5/15/16 | Kevin Murphy

[NormsRevenge]

(Reuters) - Dozens of people were arrested in Washington state on Sunday, two days after protesters set up a blockade on railroad tracks leading to a pair of oil refineries as part of a global protest over dependence on fossil fuels, authorities said.

The protesters, camping out on BNSF Railway [BNISF.UL] tracks at Anacortes, Washington, about 70 miles (113 km) north of Seattle, refused police orders to disperse, said Katie McCulloch, a spokesman for the Skagit County Department of Emergency Management.

All of the 52 protesters under arrest were charged with trespassing, while one person was also charged with resisting arrest, according a statement on the department’s website. No injuries were reported.

Billed as Break Free 2016, the protests on six continents are part of a 12-day campaign to call attention to climate change and to demand a transition to clean energy, according to the organization’s website.

"Break Free is about pressuring the system so we get the change we need, but it's also about imagining an alternative," said Ahmed Gaya, an organizer for Break Free Pacific Northwest.

[DennisR]

...and how many animals and plants would it take to produce all of the petroleum found on our planet? Personally, I have never seen a dead animal or plant turn into petroleum. Have you?

[ROCKLOBSTER]

how many animals and plants would it take to produce all of the petroleum found on our planet?

Billions and billions of tons...of course tons of plankton die every day and fall to the ocean floor. Over time....that's a lot of goo.

Personally, I have never seen a dead animal or plant turn into petroleum. Have you?

You need to get out more. They have a rig that converts turkey guts into fuels, and it doesn't take a million years. They also have used algae.

Why do you think they call it "organic chemistry"?