WHO: The Society of Fearless Grandmothers-Santa Barbara, Sunrise Movement-Santa Barbara, 350-Santa Barbara, Women’s March-Santa Barbara, Standing Rock Coalition-Santa Barbara, Democratic Socialists of America-Santa Barbara, Extinction Rebellion-Santa Barbara, Standing Rock Coalition-
Santa Barbara.
WHAT: STOP LINE 3 PROTEST - A nonviolent demonstration, part of the global movement to “#Stop the Money Pipeline”
WHEN: Friday, June 4 at noon
WHERE: Beginning at Wells Fargo Bank at 3804 State St., Santa Barbara, then marching to nearby Bank of America and Chase Bank, Santa Barbara
WHY: Elders join with Youth to tell banks to stop funding fossil fuel projects contributing to climate chaos. This protest focuses on banks funding the Enbridge “Line 3” project, a pipeline that violates treaty rights and threatens Indigenous lands in northern Minnesota. The Grandmothers will deliver letters to CEOs of these three banks to inform them of the damage being done by their funding and to demand that they stop contributing to the climate crisis.
BACKGROUND: Mega-banks have poured billions of dollars into fossil fuel projects and pipelines that promote growth of the fossil fuel industry. Without funding from these banks, fossil fuel companies could not expand operations for infrastructure such as pipelines, tar sands development and fracking – all of which have disastrous consequences for our planet. The Enbridge Line 3 pipeline is being built through Indigenous territory without consent, a violation of treaty rights. The Red Lake Nation, White Earth Nation and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe are all suing to stop the pipeline.
Prominent native activists have described the pipeline as “cultural genocide.” It would carry 760,000 barrels a day of sludgy tar sands oil 300 miles across northern Minnesota, crossing 200 water bodies including the Mississippi River. The oil from Line 3 will add more carbon to the atmosphere every year than the entire state of Minnesota emits, as much greenhouse gas as 50 new coal-fired power plants. Between 1999 and 2013 there were at least 1,068 spills from Enbridge oil pipelines in the US that dumped 7.4 million gallons of oil into the environment.
The fight to stop this pipeline is the fight to save our planet.