UPDATE 5:00PM – Day 6 Comes to Close — Construction Has Stopped For the Day
UPDATE 3:30PM – Tree Clear-Cutting Machine Retreats! — Returns to Widening Its Path
After about five very tense encounters our teams of ground blockaders were able to successfully force the clear cutting machine from thrashing its way toward our friends in the trees. It has retreated and the tree blockade appears to be safe for another day. Unfortunately, the machinery went back the way it came from the south and continues to cut a wider swath of destruction in the forest.
UPDATE 3:00PM - Blockaders Repeatedly Stop Clear-Cutting Machine From Reaching Tree Blockade
The clear-cutting machine repeatedly returned to thrash its way through the forest toward the tree blockade. To defend the safety of their nine friends that have been living in 80 feet trees for the last six days, blockaders on the ground repeatedly approached the heavy machinery and stood in its way, preventing it from advancing further toward the tree blockade. Brave blockaders stopped the machine about five times. The blockader in the tree a mere 50 feet away yelled loudly and blew a horn to deter the menacing machine.
UPDATE 2:30PM - Blockaders Approach Clear-Cutting Machine and Force It to Stop
A large tree clear cutting machine, known commonly as a feller buncher, began eating its way through the forest en route to the tree blockade. To defend their friends in the trees blockaders on the ground approached the machine in hopes of turning it back from its destructive path. They got about 30 feet from the machinery and it switched off its engine. The sheriff arrived and blockaders left the scene to avoid arrest.
UPDATE 1:30PM – Feller Buncher, Tree Clear-Cutting Machine Heard South of Tree Blockade
UPDATE 1:00PM – Bulldozer Approaches Tree Blockade From the South – Blockaders Hold It Off
Over the last week TransCanada has clear-cut a 110 foot wide scar from a nearby highway just north of the tree blockade. Moments ago a bulldozer was spotted plowing through the underbrush on the south side of the blockade. Five blockaders went to hold them off and successfully got the bulldozer to retreat. Now a TransCanada worker and the Sheriff are approaching from the south. Follow more updates on facebook and twitter.
UPDATE 12:45PM – TransCanada’s Heavy Machinery and Sheriff Have Left North Side of Tree Blockade
UPDATE 11:00AM – Tree Blockaders Prepare For Thunder Storm
A light rain has made for a dreary scene overlooking the massive scar of fallen trees that TransCanada has slashed toward our nine friends in the tree blockade. A thunders storm and heavier rain is approaching from the south as blockaders “batten down the hatches” in preparation. As you can see in the photo below their main protection from the rain is a large blue tarp hung over the top of their tree platform. Support our blockaders with a contribution to get them more supplies to weather the storm and continue their sustained blockade.
UPDATE 10:00AM – TransCanada’s Clear-Cutting Crews and Sheriff Have Moved 100 Yards North
After an early morning clear-cutting operation came within 100 feet of the tree blockade TransCanada’s workers and the sheriff have moved onto work 100 yards away. Now that they have cut down almost all of the forest the workers have begun moving the fallen trees onto a large timber forwarder truck.
Update: 9:00AM – TranCanada and Sheriff Threaten Tree Blockaders
This hanging platform is anchored with a rope to a nearby tree about 20 feet in front of the timber scaffolding. If TransCanada cuts the tree and/or rope, the platform will fall and seriously endanger the safety of the blockader on it. This morning TransCanada workers where nearby this critical anchor tree clearing out other falled trees with the accompaniment of the Sheriff. A blockader called down to them from the timber scaffolding and warned them that if that tree was cut human beings lives could be endangered. One of them replied “I hope its you!”
Suspended platform anchored to a nearby tree.
UPDATE: 8:00AM – TransCanada Workers and Sheriffs Arrive at Tree Blockade and Begin Clear Cutting
There’s never a moments rest for our friends in the trees. TransCanada’s clearing crews are up early and felling trees 100 feet away from the tree blockade. The weather is dreary and rainy as our brave blockaders look out over the devastation.
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Today marks the sixth day that our nine blockaders have successfully held their tree blockade against Keystone XL clear-cutting crews. They intend to remain in the trees as long as it takes to halt this dirty, dangerous pipeline.
Yesterday was another high intensity day with clear-cutting crews operating dangerously close to the timber scaffolding. Wood County Sheriffs Department drove around with 4 wheelers to accompany the clear-cutting crews.
Get the skills to defend your home from multi-national polluters. Join us at our Direct Action Training Camp, October 12-13. We need dozens of people to help defend the tree blockade and stand up to Keystone XL.
These photos taken yesterday begin to visually tell the story of those ready to do what it takes to defend their homes from this toxic pipeline. More photos here.
This photo taken from the ground amidst the clear-cut where TransCanada’s heavy machinery was operating a dangerous distance of 40 feet from human beings on the timber scaffolding. Despite warning clearing crews continued to operate so close that if a tree fell the wrong way it could have seriously injured our blockaders.
Devastation 40 feet in front of timber scaffolding.
Blockader and his new home in the trees. He is protected by a series of ropes tied to nearby trees, unless of course TransCanada moves to cut them down.
Majestic tree village 80 feet off the ground.
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Andy
September 29, 2012 at 4:10 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thank You is an understatement, but I’ll say it anyway.
I support you 100%
jd
September 29, 2012 at 4:23 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Do you think that one spot will stop pipeline? They will go around, come from the other direction and clear right up to you then move on. Sooner or later you will come down. When the sheriff gets tired of all your bullshit you will be arrested. You’re not going to stop it. If they really wanted to they would just bore underneath you.have fun while you can. Oh and the way y’all ask for donations you’re nothing more than over glorified panhandlers. Get a real job, and quit screwing with ours.
Cri
September 29, 2012 at 6:04 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Knowledge is Power
michael dalbergaria
September 29, 2012 at 6:15 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
They WILL stop it JD , I suggest you find another job…………………
Kim Feil
September 29, 2012 at 7:32 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
JD either your job depends on this going through, or you seriously don’t grasp what we are fighting for because you have not seen the devastation videos. Here’s one for starters…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrFep4IJ6lY
Andy
September 29, 2012 at 7:41 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thanks for the video post Kim! too bad we can’t count on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, FOX, MSNBC to air such footage, perhaps if they did folks like jd would be left with a better understanding of what we’re fighting for.
funny, I think that footage was on Canadian news more than the US news! hmm, could that be because CBC works for the public and not a corporate master?
Here is another video related to runaway use of fossil fuel…
http://youtu.be/qeiLuuV_vRA
I made this in an attempt to show the staggering use of fossil fuels required to facilitate globalized consumerism. Another reason to fight the tar!!!
thanks again Tree Sitters!!!
kim hunter
September 29, 2012 at 5:06 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
If they can ban fracking due to water and land security issues, tarsands must be considered as well. Bitumen extraction is the most damaging practice out there. Moving 2-4000 lbs of our boreal forest bed for ONE barrel of oil, while contaminating 3-1 water harvested from glaciers in our nation parks. Adding millions of “tailings” daily to toxic lakes now seen from space, seeping into our rivers for the last 40 years is absurd. 7x rare cancer rates downstream is met with 20 years of litigation by our gov. (Lubicon – Amnesty) Water security and contamination is already a concern in Alberta. To expand these practices as these “deals” predict must be the maniacal agenda of madmen drunk on greed.
806-oil-spill-Enbridge needs to clean up it’s 40 years of toxic seeping mess before they should be allowed to continue. In the US bitumen does not pay oil spill tax because “It’s not even oil”. When other countries prove alternatives are profitable for both state and citizen, Turtle Island leaders drive us over a cliff of these “unconventional” dinosaur industries. Clean energy jobs in the US surpassed all fossil fuel jobs combined in the US last year.
“We didn’t evolve out of the stone age because we ran out of stones.”
Kay
September 29, 2012 at 5:08 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
jd: hope you can eat money. or toxic tar sand chemicals.
blockade: how does this work that a foreign company has eminent domain over a property owners in Texas. who granted this permission?
Jenny Gray
September 29, 2012 at 5:30 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
nothing like having a job that will cut your own throat and calling the people who would prevent that panhandlers. I am some seething at this blind destruction. leave the trees alone. get off the oil and the corporate tit before it’s too late. man up. face the face. demand a job that does more good than harm.
Kenneth Hargett
September 29, 2012 at 6:25 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
@jd – This is not only about stopping or delaying the pipeline. It is about making awareness to the horrific tar sands development as well as the dangers of tar sands pipelines.
Regarding the tar sands development, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkwoRivP17A – and there are many more.
Regarding the pipelines, the first Keystone pipeline made by TransCanada, Keystone I, leaked 12 times in the first year of service and these leaks have spilled 8 times more oil than TransCanada had projected for the first 7 years. Conclusion: Either TransCanada is lying, or they have absolutely no idea of what they are talking about. Other important tar sands pipeline leaks have also been seen lately, e.g. the Enbridge pipeline spilling 800,000 gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River and Exxon Mobil pipeline spilling 42,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River. The first of these is still not cleaned up more than two years later – look it up – they simply don’t know how clean it up.
One of the problems is that the tars sands oil pipelines are built to live up to the quality standards and regulations for conventional crude oil pipelines, because there are no quality standards and regulations for tar sands oil. This is completely ludicrous, because there is no comparison as can be seen through the facts below (reference: http://www.nrdc.org/energy/files/tarsandssafetyrisks.pdf):
1. We are talking about tar sands bitumen, not crude oil.
2. Bitumen is so thick that it cannot flow as a liquid, so it has to be diluted with other chemicals in order to force it through a pipeline – even a 3 foot pipeline such as the Keystone pipeline.
3. The diluted bitumen, also called DilBit, is still 40 times thicker than conventional crude oil.
4. In order to flow through a 3 foot diameter pipeline, the DilBit has to be pumped at very high pressure (1440 psi) and high temperature (175 F). This is compared to 600 psi and ambient temperatures for crude oil pipelines.
5. Just for comparison, 1080 psi will sink an American Seawolf Class nuclear submarine. Think of what 1440 psi is doing to the pipeline – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
6. DilBit is also much more corrosive than conventional crude oil. DilBit contains 15 to 20 times higher acid concentrations than conventional crudes.
7. DilBit also contains 5 to 10 times more sulfur as conventional crudes. This can lead to increased weakening and embrittlement of pipelines.
8. Higher temperatures thin the DilBit and increase its speed through the pipeline, but they also increase the speed at which acids and other chemicals corrode the pipeline.
9. Internal corrosion has caused more than sixteen times as many spills in the Alberta tar sands pipeline systems as for U.S. conventional pipeline systems.
Statistics and physical characteristics clearly show that the risks are real and eminent if we do nothing.
We should all be applauding the courage of these blockaders for putting their life on the line for us all. It is a catastrophe that our politicians have sold out to the whims and money of the oil companies.
Ben Franklin
September 29, 2012 at 6:32 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Bon Courage to my brave companions in the trees! Your commitment inspired me. Stay strong my friends
jd
September 29, 2012 at 7:54 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
If you are so concerned about the trees ride around a little and look at some of your major logging operations, if you think clearing a 100 foot right of way looks bad try looking over several hundred acres. Try chaining yourself to a loggers piece of equipment I promise you they will not be as nice. So you might as well protest them too. See how far you get.. and no my job doesn’t depend on this particular pipeline. If it did i would quit just so i could protest you.
Fracked
September 29, 2012 at 11:06 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Big oil’s violence, gosh JD they sure are “nice.”
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=253485.0&dlv_id=219022
william
September 29, 2012 at 11:36 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Tar Sands and KeystoneXL now makes carbon industry number one public enemy. In Canada they are willing to let children suffer and die from rare cancers due to their greed and rush to book the earths resources. The waste of sending it across country and then on to China or East is wasteful and damaging all around. Lets try getting through to all investors/pension/schools and attend shareholder meetings to let this company and industry know our government is no longer for sale and our resources are not theirs to ruin. Using our open skies as a sewer must be considered a crime against humanity for the death and destruction with no regard being pushed. We do not want this dirty carbon.
rc
September 30, 2012 at 12:24 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
rest well and stay warm, protectors…may you be granted at least 36 hours of uninterrupted (tho not unrained upon) peace.
kathy b
September 30, 2012 at 3:55 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
So depressing, im with you guys
TransCanada pipeline faces off against angry Texans, law, politics
September 30, 2012 at 1:07 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
[...] [...]
Tree Blockade Weathers an Intense Week (Day 8) » Tar Sands Blockade
October 1, 2012 at 3:17 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
[...] 6: Clear-Cutting Begins on South Side of Tree Blockade – Turned Away by Blockaders The clear-cutting machine repeatedly returned to thrash its way through the forest toward the [...]
Tree Blockade Sustains an Entire Month of Resistance! » Tar Sands Blockade
October 25, 2012 at 3:02 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
[...] Day 6 – Saturday, Sept. 29: Workers arrive on site with police in the morning and begin clear-cutting trees. As folks in the trees endure rain, blockaders on the ground force a clear-cutting machine approaching the tree blockade to shut down its engine. They get in the way of machines throughout the day. Clear-cutting machinery then retreats, thanks to the efforts of the blockaders. [...]