Friends and Supporters!
It has been some time since we reached out to you all, too much time in fact. We wanted to pass along some exciting updates, and inform you of the resurrection of Northern Rockies Rising Tide! Some of the folks involved with NRRT originally have moved on to other projects in other parts of the country, but remain steadfastly committed to climate justice. That said, there are still a few of us around, and we are excited to begin organizing again in the Northern Rockies.
As most of you are abundantly aware, the climate struggle has not slowed down — or even taken a day off. In fact, what we are witnessing is an encouraging escalation, in the range of targets and tactics and the scope of discourse around climate justice. And its happening on a daily basis! In solidarity with the millions of people around the world who are taking action every day to stem the tide of global ecological meltdown, NRRT is dedicated to participating in and contributing to an increasingly cohesive climate struggle.
With that in mind, what is NRRT going to do? Well, we are in the process of figuring that out right now. In Montana the battle front has been focused on the extraction and shipment of coal from the Powder River Basin. There is a growing number of groups in MT organizing against the extraction and shipment of coal, with what looks like the formation of a united statewide coalition on the horizon. More updates on that soon. We are currently looking into aspects of the coal battle and will have something on line before too long.
A little less talked about in activist circles in the Treasure State is the Keystone XL pipeline, of which a significant portion will pass through if approved by the Transcanda, I mean Obama, administration. Unfortunatley, some less than encouraging news from organizing attempts along the pipeline route in MT make the prospects for a strategic direct action campaign unlikely. (Please inquire if you would like to know more) Groups like Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance (http://gptarsandsresistance.org/), Tar Sands Blockade (http://www.tarsandsblockade.org/) and the Oglala Sioux Nation are tirelessly maintaining direct action campaigns against the portion of the pipeline in construction, and the portion likely to begin any day now. We hope to work with such groups in the near future if a critical mass of opposition around the pipeline in MT materializes.
Besides these two pressing issues we hope to engage and empower local communities, build stronger statewide and regional coalitions and open up new avenues for resistance against the perpetrators of climate injustice. Please stay tuned to this listserv, facebook and our webiste for more information.
Finally, some relevant updates from around the region:
You will have to bare with us for a minute while we get back on a schedule for making our web updates more timely and organzied.
In solidarity,
Northern Rockies Rising Tide
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