January 2 Coal Train Blockade

On January 2nd, the sixth blockade within a month of coal headed to New Hampshire unfolded in the woods of the town of Harvard, Massachusetts. As the Merrimack generating station is resupplied, activists continue to hinder the delivery of coal to New England’s last large coal power plant without a shutdown date. 

Venturing south of Depot Street across a crust of white snow illuminated by the half-moon overhead, the nearly two dozen climate activists from five New England states carried sleeping bags and backpacks and a substantial amount of equipment. As they walked over a half mile south, the coal train was headed north from Worcester on its way to Ayer, Mass, its next stopover on the trek to Bow.

All that equipment was meant to take a new tack in the effort to halt shipments of coal to Bow and to close the Merrimack station. With the blockade the previous weekend lasting only a half hour in Worcester, it was clear that a new tactic was needed to keep the coal halted.

Activists began to assemble the pieces of equipment they carried with them, and above the tracks rose a 15 foot high painters scaffolding with three platforms at different levels. At 10:18pm a call was placed to the emergency dispatch number, and the train came to a stop at 10:50 two miles south of the blockade.

Once the train was stopped, the scaffolding was secured to the tracks and nearby trees, and four activists clambered up, bringing with them all they would need to stay there through the night and beyond. With song rising from the large group of supporters, Cody Pajic, Gia Neswald, Adam Rice and Tim DeChristopher took residence in their new abode, and unfurled a banner reading “Stop Fueling Climate Chaos” from the top of the structure.

Supporters headed back to the parking area, and were detained around 1AM as law enforcement began to arrive. Police made it to the blockade site by 1:30 and detained the last of the supporters who were on the ground. Supporters gathered in the parking area on Depot Road for the rest of the morning, singing, keeping warm, and awaiting news of their compatriots down the tracks.

The blockade lasted through hours of negotiation and conversations between the scaffold sitters and police, including Cody reading to the Harvard Chief about Brad Werner’s presentation titled “Is Earth F**ked?” to the American Geophysical Union in 2012 . Police wanted the activists to end their blockade, promising publicity and help in their cause. But those on the scaffold were resolute: they weren’t coming down until Granite Shore Power and ISO-New England, the region’s electrical grid operator, declare a shut-down date for Merrimack station. “We don’t need publicity, we need action.”

The blockade continued as rescue crews tried to figure out how to get them down. Police and fire rescue crews began removing the scaffold sitters by 5:30AM. All four were on the ground and arrested by 6:30AM, and booked at local state police barracks. Cody, Adam, Gia and Tim were arraigned in Clinton District Court on Friday, on charges of trespassing, walking on a railroad, and obstructing the passage of a train.

The blockade had lasted for over nine hours, and after dawn had broken, the train passed northwards at 8AM and supporters left the parking area.

December 28 Coal Train Blockade

Worcester, MA - On December 28th, a train of West Virginia coal headed to the Merrimack Station in Bow, New Hampshire departed Worcester a 7:30pm. At 7:50, after a call was made to the railroad’s emergency call number, the over 10,000 tons of coal came to a halt along West Boylston Street in Worcester. As the train stopped, several dozen activists poured onto the tracks at Burncoat Street and walked half a mile to meet the front of the train.

As one of our signs read, our planet is burning; we need to stop adding fuel. My children (ages 7.5 and 3.5) chanted at home in solidarity, “No more coal! No more oil! Keep the carbon in the soil!” - Abby Mnookin, Brattleboro, VT, 350VT Mother Up! Coordinator

Bearing signs that said “No Coal No Gas” and “Coal Kills”, a group grew in the bright lights of the looming locomotive, as the walkers caught up. It did not last long, however. A dozen Worcester police vehicles showed up quickly, and ten individuals were arrested. 

I am a teacher in Springfield, MA. I participated in this action because my students, who are largely people of color, suffer from living in the #1 asthma capital in the U.S. and coal’s contribution to asthma rates is well-documented. This is an environmental justice issue that needs to be addressed immediately. Why are we burning coal in 2019 when there are economically viable, healthier alternatives available? - Elizabeth Caretti Ramírez, Holyoke, MA

Within thirty minutes of the emergency number being called and the train coming to a stop, it rolled on again. A row of blockaders sat on the curb in handcuffs at the end of the night as Worcester and railroad police protected the fossil fuel industry’s lethal status quo from further disruption.  

Some people might see a protest like this as dangerous or useless.  The danger of ever growing carbon emissions is a danger that threatens every living thing. And the fact that people in our cities and towns now realize that coal is being burned next door in NH shows the protests has already proven useful. We cannot correct injustice before we shine a bright light on it. These climate protectors are shining that light." - Alex Chatfield, Lincoln, MA

Supporters gathered in the lobby of the Worcester police headquarters, with food, singing, and maybe also some board games to pass the hours. Our friends were released near 1AM in the morning on their own personal recognizance. They were arraigned on December 31st on misdemeanor charges of walking on railroad tracks, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.

Coal Resupply Train Blockaded in Two States

This weekend across two states, a community of climate activists stopped 10,000 tons of coal in its tracks in three successive train blockades. This is the next step in a campaign that started in August to shut down the Merrimack Generating Station in Bow, New Hampshire - the last large coal-fired power plant in New England without a shut-down date. There is no justification for burning coal in 2019: it’s far too late for that. And taking responsibility in 2019 means taking action.

There was fresh snow on the ground when the train, which was 80 cars long, rolled into Worcester, MA at 9:30 AM on Saturday, December 7th. It sat there almost a full day before it started rolling north again at 7:30 PM. Before the train had moved more than a couple miles, it was stopped by a small but determined group of activists who had been standing in temperatures well below freezing all day. A rotation of students from Clark Climate Justice (Clark University), with support from members of 350 Central Massachusetts and the Central MA climate disobedience praxis group, had been keeping themselves warm enough and ready to act throughout the many hours of waiting. 

In the middle of several miles of woods in the town of West Boylston, the train began slowing down after a call to the emergency phone number to the railway dispatch. But it did not stop in time, and sprinting along the tracks four brave organizers caught up to it and stood in front of the engines in the glaring headlights after it came to a halt.

Supporters soon arrived at the remote blockade site, and it wasn’t too long before the West Boylston police arrived, too. The local police were not interested in arresting four or five folks in the middle of the woods in the snow and biting cold, and so they left after telling the blockaders that they were on railroad property and that the railroad police would be there in two hours to deal with them. So the cold and waiting continued. Blockaders walked back to the little encampment to fetch their warm gear (while some stayed in front of the train, of course), bringing it to the front of the train where they hunkered down together.

Shortly after 10pm Officer Mitchell of the Boston & Maine Railroad Police arrived and attempted to convince the activists to leave voluntarily. After another hour and a half of negotiations, bringing the total blockade time to over 3 1/2 hours, the four remaining activists left of their own accord, having been issued a warning.

At 11:40 PM, the coal continued on the Worcester Main Line toward the town of Ayer, Massachusetts. Ayer is home to a large rail yard and a junction with the freight and MBTA commuter rail line owned by Pan Am Railways.

And lo and behold! Another blockade sprang up! 

This time activists from the metrowest climate disobedience praxis group, the Metrowest node of 350Mass, and members of the Sugar Shack Alliance from the Pioneer Valley showed up in force, and a big group got themselves in front of that train. From 3:30 AM until nearly 5 AM on Sunday, December 8th they kept the coal at bay on a short segment of fright track between the Ayer yard and the MBTA main line. This time with signs!

Ayer police arrived on the scene quickly, and the blockade continued while officers from neighboring towns trickled in until there were enough squad cars and handcuffs on site. Blockaders were arrested one by one and put into waiting police vehicles, and the final two on the tracks extended their hands toward the rumbling train engine to embody Barbara Deming’s “Two Hands of Nonviolence”: one hand held up to say STOP! and the other extended in an invitation to transformation. 

In total 12 blockaders were arrested and taken to the nearby Ayer police station. And around 5 AM the train pulled out onto the Pan Am Main Line headed toward North Chelmsford and New Hampshire.

As the train continued northwards towards Bow, the sun rose on another cloudless winter day with the temperature at dawn at 0°F, a third group was prepared to take action in the town of Hooksett, New Hampshire, just a few miles south of the power plant in Bow. 

At 10:30am, it was time. The train was again stopped about a mile south of their location – before it was in view of the blockade site. When they got the signal, a group of blockaders made their way into the center of the railroad bridge that crosses the Merrimack River at Hooksett. This group included two climbers who scaled the metal trusses, hung a “No Coal No Gas” banner across the span, and safely clipped their harnesses to the bridge. 

A large group of supporters, fluctuating between 20 and 25, gathered on the adjacent public pedestrian bridge, and the groups sang, chanted, and sent love back and forth across the water. Their presence and witness bolstered those on the tracks and was a solace to those scaled the bridge.

Police arrived quickly - while the two climbers were still maneuvering into position with the banner. Emma Schoenberg, of the Climate Disobedience Center, was immediately arrested as she walked out to engage the State Troopers as a police liaison in order to buy more time for the climbers. When she said she was going to return to the group and relay the dispersal order, one of the officers said “Grab her!” and she was locked in the back of a police cruiser for the next 2.5 hours. After two hours of mobilizing resources, police removed 9 pedestrian blockaders on the railroad bridge, leaving the two climbers in place. These 10 blockaders were each issued a court summons for trespassing, and were not booked by the police. By now, our network was getting to know Officer Mitchell, the sole B&M Railroad Police officer in the region, who responded to the blockades in Worcester/West Boylston and Ayer and greeted them heartily upon their removal from the bridge. 

The aerial blockaders remained high up on the metal superstructure of the bridge over the middle of the icy Merrimack River, with no obvious way to extract them. After several more hours rescue climbers and rescue boats from the fire department arrived on the scene. 

The aerial blockaders were given life jackets, and the firefighters scaled the trusses, secured the activist climbers, and brought them down one at a time. Both were charged with trespass and resisting arrest, and released onsite. Their determination and grit held the train bridge for an additional four hours. The Hooksett blockaders halted the coal train for a total of six hours, until 4:30pm.

The coal made it to the power plant this time, but this movement is growing in sophistication and power. In this first blockade, the coal was stopped for 11 hours. 24 people were arrested or issued court summons in 2 states. All it takes is a few people to bring the fossil fuel industry to a halt. There are a lot more people out there who are ready for climate justice to become a reality, and people across New England are gearing up.

ISO-NE's Climate Ignorance

The New England power grid is run by an entity called the “Independent Systems Operator - New England”, which you’ll usually see written as ISO-NE. ISO-NE goes to great lengths to say that they are a neutral player in the energy market, and that they rely on state governments to set policy that sets what kinds of sources New England’s electricity comes from.

However, recently a group of New England Senators wrote to ISO-NE to point out that they are not supporting the climate and environmental goals of the region’s governments.

A flagrant example of this is the way that “Forward Capacity Payments” are used to subsidize fossil fuels on the grid in the name of “grid reliability”. The Merrimack Generating Station in Bow, New Hampshire received $50 Million in subsidies in 2018 alone in order to keep their dirty climate changing emissions pouring into the atmosphere and poisoning those who live nearby, and ISO-NE has committed tens of millions of dollars more over the next several years.

That isn’t neutral, that is actively choosing to support burning coal with the money from all of us who pay electrical bills. As we continue our campaign to shut down Merrimack Station, we’ll continue to push against the inherent bias of ISO-NE for supporting climate changing fossil fuel plants.

You can check out the senators’ letter below. And if you want to take action around ISO, we are working with partners around New England who are launching a grassroots campaign this winter to focus on ISO-NE’s dereliction of duty. In the meantime if you’re excited to get your pen moving, why not write ISO-NE a message or give a ring to their external affairs team. Or you could pen a letter to the editor of your local paper, letting your community know that you don’t want your electrical bill subsidizing old dinosaur coal fired power plants that are pouring fuel on the fire of climate catastrophe. Those dollars could be better used building the distributed renewable generation of the future.

Press Hits for September 28th

New Hampshire Union Leader - 67 arrested at Bow power plant protest; largest NH green action since 1970s

NHPR - Dozens Arrested At Protest Outside New England's Largest Coal Power Plant, In Bow, N.H.

ABC News - 67 protesters arrested for demonstration at New Hampshire coal power plant

WMUR - Dozens of climate activists arrested during protest at coal-fired power plant in Bow

Houston Chronicle - Nearly 70 arrested at protest outside coal-fired power plant

CNN - Dozens of protesters arrested at New Hampshire coal plant

Gizmodo - Nearly 70 Activists Arrested Attempting to Steal Coal From One of New England's Biggest Coal Plants

Manchester Ink Link - Protestors met by police, arrested for trespassing at Bow coal plant

Boston Globe - 67 arrested at N.H. power plant protest

NECN - Protesters Arrested Outside Power Plant in New Hampshire

Common Dreams - Because 'Fossil Fuel Industry Doesn't Care,' Scores Arrested in Attempt to Shut Down New England Coal Plant

Seacoast Online - Nearly 70 arrested at protest outside coal-fired power plant

Tired of Inaction: Climate Activists Descend on Coal Plant in Bow, NH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

9/28/19

Contact: Rebecca Beaulieu, 350 New Hampshire Action Organizer, rebecca.beaulieu@350.org, 978-491-7511

Tired of Inaction: Climate Activists Descend on Coal Plant in Bow, NH

Nearly 500 people from across New England rally at the last major coal-fired power plant in New England without a shut-down date.

BOW, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- The Merrimack Generating Station has polluted the air, water, and climate in New Hampshire for decades while the plant’s out-of-state owners benefit from millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to keep the plant running. As a part of the week of Climate Action happening around the globe, hundreds of activists from New Hampshire are taking matters into their own hands in an effort to stop the climate crisis and force a just transition to 100% renewable energy by 2030. The Climate Disobedience Center and 350NH Action are two members of the No Coal No Gas coalition who planned this rally and action. 

Over 60 individuals participating in nonviolent direct action walked into the plant through the train tracks. There was a large police presence at the plant and on the surrounding roads. As soon as they crossed the barricade into the plant property, half the group was arrested. Not long after, police wearing what appeared to be riot gear descended on the group and arrested the rest of them. They were taken out of the plant in four County Sheriff vans and a school bus and escorted to Merrimack County Jail. The latest count was 67 individuals arrested.

While those individuals were being arrested, a rally of over 300 people sang, chanted, and cheered on the action takers from a nearby baseball field. Various speakers and musicians participated, giving their perspective on the need for the Merrimack Generating station to be shut down.

Barbara Peterson, member of Nonviolent Citizen Action, says:

“The fossil fuel industry doesn’t care about clean air, water, and soil.“Their priority is profit. It’s our job to say no to coal and other unsustainable energy sources. If we don’t stand up, put our bodies in the way of them destroying our ability to live on this earth, who will?”

This action sends a message to the owners of the coal plant that it is unacceptable to profit off of the destruction of the climate. Individuals in positions of power have failed to protect the climate and it is now up to ordinary people to make the changes necessary in the time we have left. We hope that people in power will follow our lead and make change in a direct way to stop the climate crisis in its tracks.

Lila Kohrman-Glaser, an organizer with 350NH Action, says:  “Last year ratepayers paid $50 million just to keep this plant open even though it provides only about 1% of our electricity. The out-of-state owners are getting rich off of the destruction of our climate and environment and our elected officials have done nothing to stop them.  We won’t stand for decision makers’ corruption and collusion with the fossil fuel industry anymore.”

“For years I've worked as an organizer trying to stop the climate crisis. It wasn't until taking direct action to shut down Merrimack Station that I saw a shift in our community,” explains Emma Shapiro-Weiss, Organizer with 350NH Action. “Folks on the ground in New Hampshire know the health, environmental and economical impacts that this plant has on our state and we won't stand for it anymore.”

This is just the beginning of the fight to end the use of fossil fuels in New Hampshire. The climate crisis is hurting people here and around the world. Moving forward, the No Coal No Gas coalition will continue to take matters into their own hands if leaders continue to fail to act.

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Quotes

Emma Schoenberg, of the Climate Disobedience Center, stated, “The coal industry and the larger fossil fuel industry have been reaping profits by stealing from our future for generations. Any nonviolent act that prevents fossil fuels from being burned is an act of reclaiming a small piece of the future that is being stolen from us.” She added, “Meanwhile, those occupying positions of political and economic power have consistently refused to act, so regular people are increasingly taking matters in our own hands.”

From Quincy Abramson, resident of Bow, NH: “My baby brother just turned four and he lives in Bow with my dad. I don’t want him to grow up in danger, the way so many people have, with a coal plant right down the road. I want to shut down the plant to ensure a safe and prosperous future for him and for all of us.” 

Be There

Bucket By Bucket

350 Vermont Summer Fellow Leif Taranta reflects on their experience of the August 17th action….

“Here we are,” I thought, crouching in the trees as a lookout as my comrades drove their shovels into the coal. It’s a feeling that came in waves throughout the summer; standing outside an ICE facility with my walkie talkie and vest, watching my friends blockade the street. Or kneeling on the floor and looking at the teary smiles and determined eyes of a direct action training. “This is who we’ve got. This is the team.”

I used to write stories about the end of the world. About fascism and concentration camps and rebels who flew hot air balloons and built new worlds in the mountains. Heroes. And I thought there was a magic formula, a perfect scheme or action that could save everything. The right words would convince those in power, perhaps. Or maybe we just needed enough people in the streets. The correct plan would come, a final showdown. And the numbers would calculate victory. 

Instead the Amazon burns, and the Arctic, and Angola and the Congo. Instead kids are dying in cages. This summer, I talked with people who’ve been hit by cars in ICE blockades, seen white supremacists tag our offices and cops push a man to the pavement. I watched coalitions fight and form, ate carrots and fresh baked bread at potlucks. And I’ve sat by campfires as veteran climate activists explain how history repeats itself, read articles about politicians or billionaires or technologies that won’t save us, that aren’t transformative enough. And meanwhile continents of ice plunge into the sea, and ordinary people join hands for miles and sing. And the heroes are not coming. 

Instead of heroes we get buckets. So last weekend a group of New Englanders grabbed white tyvek suits and shovels and went down to the Merrimack Generating Station. It’s the last big coal plant on New England’s power grid, completely unnecessary, and scheduled to keep operating. One hour of use releases more carbon than I have in my entire life, poisons the air, costs taxpayers money, and could be easily replaced with wind and solar energy. Yet, even though coal burning is a death sentence, the plant doesn’t have a shut down date. Instead it has huge heaps of fuel leaching in to the banks of the Merrimack River. So, we decided to take the coal away. 

“Here we are,” I thought, as I watched them dig. The generating station was all steel and looming cement behind them. My friends looked so small, swinging their tiny buckets against the piled carbon. We don’t get the authority to regulate the plant or the money to buy our politicians. But if no one will stop the burning, we’ll do our best. We have hands and shovels and strong backs. We have the messiness pesto potlucks and google docs and flipchart paper diagrams. We have nervous determination and clasped hands. And we can remove our consent from oppressive systems.   

Instead we are real human beings. We are not perfect. This summer, I’ve seen activists crack each other with anger and arguments. I have seen the moments of panicked doubt before an action, the snappishness and exhaustion. The things we are up against are so large, and we must fight them with quiet “are you alright?”s and hugs, and everyone. After all, we’re just humans who decided to block ICE data centers or drop banners. Because someone has to and, here you are- the imperfect people who stand in a circle in a wooden yurt, throwing maps and code words at the walls. Scared people who paint banners or plant permaculture or fire up video calls. Courageous humans who stare down police or fill out spreadsheets or meet with legislators to throw coal dust at their feet.

We used our buckets to take as much fuel from the fire as we could that day. And we’ll just keep coming back. We dropped our coal on the statehouse steps as a promise. Yes, politicians and governments fail to act. But we won’t. We’ll take things into our own hands, and in September, hundreds of people will descend on Bow for a mass action. When the plant is running or refueling, we’ll disrupt. We’ll keep it up until the plant shuts down. Then we’ll move on to the next one. 

It’s terrifying to realize there’s no one coming to save you. There is no political candidate or author or entrepreneur who will save my future, or bring back the people who have died in hurricanes or heat waves or wildfires. Instead there are ordinary, determined people on this Earth. And there are many of us who can sing or plot or strike or walk or shovel or support. This is who we get. Me, and you, and ragtag bunches of people with white tyvek suits. We stand in tiny towns and megacities and state capitals, in forests and farmlands. Just miles from pipelines and corporate headquarters, and coal plants, with gates of destruction hanging open. We have each other. Who needs heroes, when you have love and buckets. When there are teams ready to carry, and coal that can’t be burned. 

Press Release 8.20.19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 20, 2019

Press contact: Jay O'Hara, 774-313-0881, jay@climatedisobedience.org

CLIMATE ACTIVISTS TAKE PRINCIPLED ACTION TO REMOVE COAL FROM MERRIMACK GENERATING STATION. 

Concord, NH - On Saturday, August 17th 2019, eight determined New Englanders, supported by a team of more than a dozen others, removed over 500lbs of coal from the fuel pile at Merrimack Generating Station in Bow, New Hampshire. This facility is the largest coal-fired power plant in New England without a shutdown date. Says Tim DeChristopher, co-founder of the Climate Disobedience Center: “With the global climate crisis having advanced this far without a dramatic change in US carbon emissions, we have a responsibility to remove this fuel from the fire. Indeed, it is now a necessity to take matters into our own hands and safely shut down this facility.” 

The following Tuesday, supporters from across the region gathered on the State House steps in Concord in solidarity with these actions. They pledged to join the effort to safeguard their futures by physically carrying coal away from the burn pile. Immediately following the media event, the activists proceeded to upend five large buckets of coal onto the steps of the building.  

Emma Schoenberg, also of the Climate Disobedience Center, stated, “The coal industry and the larger fossil fuel industry have been reaping profits by stealing from our future for generations. Any nonviolent act that prevents fossil fuels from being burned is an act of reclaiming a small piece of the future that is being stolen from us.” She added, “Meanwhile, those occupying positions of political and economic power have consistently refused to act, so regular people are increasingly taking matters in our own hands.”

These coal “Diggers” believe that it is immoral to suggest that an economic asset is in any way comparable with the human lives that are lost to coal. 

Twenty-two year old Quincy Abramson, a 2019 UNH graduate and lifelong resident of Bow, “I am so grateful that these people have taken action - Bow doesn’t deserve this, no one and no where does. We’ve seen that we can’t rely on elected leaders to ensure our and our planet’s safety, and so it’s up to us. That is why I ask the people of New England to join me in signing a pledge of resistance to continue the work.”

Lila Korman Glaser of 350 New Hampshire Action - On Saturday September 28th, following a week of climate action around the globe, hundreds of people from across New England will descend on the Merrimack Generating Station to end the burning of coal in NH.”

DeChristopher finished saying, “If a building is on fire and a child is trapped inside, no one would claim that it is immoral to break down the door of that building to save the child, with or without the permission of the property owner. Likewise, it must be understood as a moral act to remove fuel from the fire that is burning our future.”

At the end of the event at the State House, activists dumped five of the buckets of coal that were removed from the Merrimack generating station on the ground, saying they were laying the responsibility for ending coal in New England at the doorstep of the government.

For More information and to sign the pledge of resistance visit http://nocoalnogas.org and following the hashtag #bucketbybucket. 

PHOTOS AND VIDEO AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

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August 17 Action Gallery

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Meet the Diggers

Andy Marion

Andy Marion is a trans, queer farmer currently living in Rollinsford NH, on occupied Penacook-Wabanaki land. They are plant lover, outdoor enthusiast, traveler, and whole-hearted sci-fi fan. Their first experience with direct action was in West Virginia, taking action to shut down Mountaintop Removal coal mines, and after seeing the devastating effects of these mines on both the land and the people. Despite a persistent itch to travel, New Hampshire is, and likely always will be, their home. They took action at the Merrimack station to shut down this power station for good, send a message that we will not stand for the further use of coal or other non-renewables, and to inspire others to embrace their power and stand with us.

Barbara Peterson

Barbara Peterson is from Stratham, New Hampshire. She learned as a child to question the government after seeing endless faces shown in Life magazine of killed US Vietnam War. I began my activism as a high school student protesting against the Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant. As an undergraduate at UNH, Barbara was inspired to not just learn about injustice, but to work with others in bringing awareness to different forms of oppression, apartheid, and nuclear proliferation. She currently teaches at a local college, publishes articles and other writings on nonviolent action, runs a grassroots group that educates the public to be empowered and effective activists, and does what she can as an activist to help save our earth and protect all persons’ freedom, dignity, and equity.

Carole Rein

Carole Rein of Beverly, Massachusetts has been happily married for almost 30 years and is happy to be the mother of a middle-aged man. After decades working in the corporate world in information technology management, she became a special educator, teaching algebra and reading to students with dyslexia. A Quaker, she has been active in nonviolent demonstrations for about 50 years, beginning with the Vietnam War. In her activism since retirement, she has focused on White privilege and social justice in both the US and Palestine. Her concern for the environment currently calls her to action.

Dana Dwinell-Yardley

Dana Dwinell-Yardley is an eighth-generation Vermonter living in Montpelier, VT, with two old-lady cats and one young sprightly dog. The rocky bones and hills of the Green Mountains are the home that hold her, while at the same time she knows that her Vermont pride comes from a history of colonialism and I live on occupied Wabanaki land. The folk community is her extended family — she has been a contradancer for 15 years, and now organizes her local dance, calls contradances, and facilitates a singing circle. She also builds community in her low-income condo association where she serves as board president. She delights in music, mountains, solo living, good food, board games, deep conversations, and building relationships outside the societal box of what love should look like. She is moved to action today by a lifelong love for this place, by a rising panic and grief for the planet, and by a growing knowledge that individualism and consumer choices will not solve the climate crisis, but a group of citizens taking powerful action built on relationship and community just might.

Emma Shapiro-Weiss

Emma Shapiro-Weiss is from Peterborough New Hampshire where she lives with her partner and cat. She has spent the last few years of life organizing for environmental causes including volunteering for a solarize campaign and joining her local energy committee. She has been a kickboxer for 5 years and loves hiking her local mountains.

Emma Schoenberg

Emma Schoenberg is a Vermont community organizer and trainer. Emma has an enduring commitment to inclusive, equitable, and relational movements - especially in rural communities. As an organizer, Emma has worn different hats within movements spaces, from political organizer to grassroots activist. Her work has touched on group structure and decision making, direct action and civil disobedience, popular education, and facilitation as well as political campaigns and policy. She is also a musician, dancer, and cat-owner. Emma is a member of the core team of the Climate Disobedience Center.

Jon Hinck

Jon Hinck is a public interest litigator in private law practice. He has served as a City Councilor in Portland, ME and as a Maine State Representative. Previously he worked for the Natural Resources Council of Maine and before that was the Acting Attorney General for the Republic of Palau. Years ago he answered a help wanted ad in Seattle that said "Sell advertising for a good cause." That change his life. Less than a year later he was a co-founder of Greenpeace USA and eventually was put in charge of Greenpeace’s worldwide program. Jon learned about human-induced global warming in the early 80s. By the mid 90s, peer-reviewed science made inescapable the conclusion that our society and civilization would have to change significantly to protect climate systems. Since then, he has seen no higher priority -- it is part of his role as a parent, spouse, neighbor and citizen. He keeps looking for ways to give this unprecedented challenge the urgent response it demands.

Tim DeChristopher

Tim DeChristopher is originally from West Virginia and now resides in Rhode Island. Tim disrupted an illegitimate Bureau of Land Management oil and gas auction in December of 2008, by outbidding oil companies for parcels around Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah. His actions and 21 month imprisonment earned him a national and international media presence, which he has used as a platform to spread the urgency of the climate crisis and the need for bold, confrontational action in order to create a just and healthy world. Tim used his prosecution as an opportunity to organize the climate justice organization Peaceful Uprising in Salt Lake City. Tim is a Co-Founder of the Climate Disobedience Center, and after graduating from Harvard Divinity School, continues the work to defend a livable future.