Summary: Escalating the Resistance to Fossil Fuels by MFlowers May has been a month of escalated resistance to fossil fuel industries and a call for a rapid transition to clean renewable sources of energy. The month began with Break Free: two weeks of direct action targeting coal, oil and gas around the world. That was followed by a week of action called the Rubber Stamp Rebellion protesting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for its approval of new fossil fuel infrastructure without adequate consideration of the impacts new projects will have on the health and safety of communities, harm to the environment or worsening of the climate crisis. We speak with three advocates who are working to stop dangerous fossil fuel projects. Listen here: Relevant articles and websites: Spectra-Funded Group Lobbied for FERC Commissioner’s Reappointment, Then FERC Approved Spectra’s Gas Pipeline by Steve Horn Seven Arrested in Rubber Stamp Rebellion at FERC by Beyond Extreme Energy Safe Energy Rights Group Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy Beyond Extreme Energy We Are Cove Point Guests: Courtney Williams is vice president of Safe Energy Rights Group. She brings her scientific expertise to issues involving the health impacts of energy infrastructure. Courtney holds a B.S. in Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics from Yale University and a PhD in Molecular Biology from Princeton University. She completed her post-doctoral training in biological engineering at MIT before transitioning into industry. She is currently a cancer researcher at a biopharmaceutical company. Courtney brings over a decade of experience researching cancer and the molecular mechanisms of disease to parse the emerging data on the health and environmental impacts of shale gas development. She has worked closely with local governments to educate them on the public health issues surrounding natural gas infrastructure. Courtney is a resident of Peekskill New York in the Hudson Valley where she is directly affected by the AIM pipeline project which passes by her house and the school her children attend. She is a member of Resist Aim. Linda Reik is a biochemist, a mother and a resident of Sullivan County in New York. She is on the board of directors of the Sullivan Alliance for Sustainable Development and she is a member of Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy. Linda has been involved in the work to stop pipelines and gas infrastructure mainly in PA, NY and NJ and she participated in the Rubber Stamp Rebellion in Washington, DC. Steve Norris is a father, grandfather and great grandfather who lives in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina. He’s a retired teacher, builder, farmer, and a full time activist working to end climate change and promote environmental, social and economic justice. His primary focus recently has been on changing the priorities of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as the country transitions to renewable energy, and upon challenging Duke Energy, a fossil fuel monster which is the largest emitter of green house gases in the country.lives He is a co-founder of Beyond Extreme Energy.
