Climate Activists Shut Down National Grid Office in Brooklyn, Demanding National Grid Stop its Support of Spectra Energy’s Dangerous AIM Pipeline

https://erikmcgregorphotography.blogspot.com/2016/08/eight-activists-arrested-after-shutting.html

Activists from 350.org and Sane Energy Project staged a civil disobedience action on Jay Street yesterday, blocking the offices of National Grid over their support of the AIM Pipeline, bringing fracked gas to NYC.

Brooklyn, NY  - Concerned New Yorkers blocked the doors of National Grid’s downtown Brooklyn office at noon on Monday, August 29 to protest their support of Spectra Energy’s AIM Pipeline, a high-pressure methane gas pipeline that will bring fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New England. Members of 350Brooklyn.org, 350NYC.org, and ResistAIM  came together to demand that National Grid end their contract agreement with Spectra Energy. The pipeline’s route runs 105 feet from infrastructure critical to the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in New York’s Westchester County. "National Grid is risking the safety of the 17 million people who live within 50 miles of the aging Indian Point reactor so it can sell gas in other parts of the country and the world," says Mimi Bluestone of 350Brooklyn, one of eight people arrested as part of the day’s action. "Our governor and our US senators have called on the federal government to withdraw its authorization for this pipeline. But without National Grid's end-of-pipeline agreement to buy this gas, the project could not be economically viable."

Both elected officials and local residents have repeatedly raised concerns about the pipeline’s safety.  This past February, Governor Andrew Cuomo asked the pipeline’s builder, Spectra Energy Corp of Texas, to suspend the project pending an independent safety analysis. “The safety of New Yorkers is the first responsibility of state government," Cuomo said in making the request.  In May, New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has jurisdiction over the pipeline, to halt construction pending such a study. Spectra Energy and FERC have denied the governor’s and the senators’ requests.

The AIM (Algonquin Incremental Market) pipeline is designed solely to deliver natural gas to New England; New York is simply a “pass through” state.  The pipeline will enter New York in Rockland County, pass under the Hudson River, and then cross Westchester County en route to Connecticut. Built in the 1970s, Indian Point Nuclear Power complex remains active and contains decades of spent radioactive nuclear fuel, while over 17 million people live within 50 miles of Indian Point. National Grid, a British multinational, expanded into the United States beginning in 2000 by buying a number of local utilities in New England and New York, including the successor to Brooklyn Union Gas.  It is a major potential customer for the natural gas that the AIM pipeline would transport to New England and so has the power to determine the financial viability of this project. Last week, National Grid withdrew its petition for a 20-year contract on Spectra’s Access Northeast project; however, National Grid is still expected to purchase gas flowing through the AIM Pipeline and so activists in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York are continuing to call on National Grid to #CanceltheContract.

The AIM pipeline is scheduled to be completed in November 2016, which calls for immediate action. On Monday evening, following the arrests at National Grid, concerned New Yorkers are gathering at the Brooklyn home of Senator Charles Schumer to encourage him to stand with New Yorkers by making a public appearance to denounce the pipeline and calling for a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission - more details can be found  HERE .

350.org is a national organization working to keep carbon in the ground and to build a new, more equitable low-carbon economy.  Its affiliates like 350NYC and 350Brooklyn work on local issues related to climate change. ResistAIM is a coalition of environmental advocates, Westchester residents and concerned New Yorkers that have been taking nonviolent direct action to stop the AIM Pipeline since November 2015.

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A map of the AIM pipeline’s route:  http://www.spectraenergy.com/Operations/US-Natural-Gas-Operations/New-Projects-US/Algonquin-Incremental-Market-AIM-Project/

A map of the pipeline’s proximity to the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant:

https://sape2016.org/2015/07/16/nuclear-regulatory-commission-withheld-and-misrepresented-critical-information-used-to-evaluate-and-approve-the-siting-of-the-spectra-aim-pipeline-alongside-indian-point/

For Cuomo’s position:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-29/cuomo-seeks-halt-of-spectra-algonquin-gas-line-for-safety-review

For Senator Gillibrand and Schumer’s position:  https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/schumer-gillibrand-urge-ferc-to-suspend-construction-on-aim-pipeline-expansion-until-independent-health-and-safety-studies-are-conducted

For 350NYC:  https://350nyc.org/

For 350Brooklyn:  http://350brooklyn.org/

For ResistAIM:  www.resistaim.com

Postscript

Jessica Roff  reports:

And then there are the days when you help plan a vigil in front of Senator Schumer's apartment to let him know that you appreciate that he asked FERC to halt construction of Spectra's AIM Pipeline, but that we're in a state of emergency and he needs to do more. More than a letter, that we're way past business as usual. And he shows up at home, just before the vigil is supposed to happen and immediately says, I've asked them, I've filed with them, what more should I do? So your great group of activists tell him exactly what more he must do:
Insist that FERC halt construction;
Go to the President, with all the other NYS elected officials and ask for a meeting and ask him to tell FERC to halt construction;
Get together with the Senators from CT, RI, and MA so you're a stronger block and FERC has to pay attention;
Get the Senate to investigate FERC.

And he chuckles some and maybe doesn't think your answers will work, but he says, okay. I will. I will work with the Senators, I will get with the rest of the electeds and send the letter to the President that you sent to me, and at least raise the issue of a Senate investigation.

And, that all happens after a successful blockade of National Grid just 7 hours earlier where downtown Brooklyn and National Grid all get put on notice that it's time to stop funding Spectra.

Yeah, that Monday. That was today. I'll take it. 

Concerned New Yorkers Meet and Urge Leaders to Press for Immediate Halt to Spectra Energy ’ s AIM Pipeline

Photo Credit: Erik McGregor

   

Community members insist that pipeline construction has reached a "state of emergency" with pipeline scheduled to be operational by November

New York, NY –  Over 100 people gathered today in front of Senator Charles Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s offices in Manhattan to urge Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and Governor Cuomo to push harder for a complete halt to construction on the Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) Pipeline Project. On May 20th the groups convened to thank the Senators for publicly calling for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to halt construction on the project. Since then, FERC has ignored their requests to halt construction in the interest of public safety. Those gathered today said the Senators must act now, and every day as necessary, to force FERC to halt work before the pipeline goes into service in November, going all the way to the White House.

Among those present were representatives of numerous organizations that work state-wide, regionally, and nationally, including: Sane Energy Project, Safe Energy Rights Group, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Stop the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion, and ResistAIM, as well as many angered residents and community members affected by the pipeline construction, and their allies from across the state. The groups are opposed to the project due to concerns about local impacts to health and safety, the regional risk of siting the pipeline next to Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, and global concerns about the fracked methane gas the pipeline will carry contributing to climate change.

Tina Bongar, a resident of Peekskill who works with ResistAIM said, "We are here to remind our Senators that they have the power and influence to stop this project if they choose to act. Spectra Energy is working to complete this pipeline every single day. Our Senators must act every single day until this project stops. They have an obligation to protect the people of New York. We know they can do it."

Courtney Williams, Vice President of SEnRG, was emphatic, "We are in a state of emergency. This pipeline could be operational in a matter of weeks. It is unacceptable that Spectra Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are ignoring the calls of our Governor and Senators to halt construction. We are calling on our leaders to take immediate action for the safety of all New Yorkers. FERC has ignored them, now they must go to the President who appoints the FERC commissioners." Those assembled are asking Gillibrand and Schumer to join with Senators from other impacted states to conduct a joint press conference to bring national attention to this crisis, intervene further with FERC, support the call for a Government Accountability Office or congressional investigation of FERC, and join with other New York State elected officials to urge President Obama to step in to immediately halt the pipeline project. 

This is just the latest development in an ongoing effort to stop Spectra Energy from constructing their massive Algonquin Incremental Market Expansion project only 105 feet from critical safety infrastructure at Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. On August 3rd, both New York Senators wrote to FERC,  calling for an immediate halt to construction of the pipeline. Earlier, on February 29, 2016,  New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo called for an immediate halt to construction while the state conducts an independent risk assessment. FERC has the legal authority to issue a stop work order, yet continues to ignore elected officials' calls for protection of public safety.

Spectra Energy's planned expansion of the Algonquin Pipeline has faced a series of setbacks in recent weeks from the revelation that the Natural Resources Group (NRG)  the company hired by FERC to conduct the environmental assessment of AIM had a financial relationship with Spectra, to the  Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's overturning a "pipeline tax" to pay for construction of the pipeline, and the  uncertain future of a planned power plant that would use gas from the pipeline.

In addition to actions by the New York elected officials, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Ed Markey have requested rehearings and  pressed FERC to address conflicts of interest arising from the third party contractor, NRG, hired to perform the environmental assessment on another part of the AIM pipeline network. Yesterday the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts blocked an effort by Spectra and electric companies to pass the costs of the pipeline construction on to ratepayers, removing a potential $3 billion dollars in "pipeline tax" financing. Rhode Island and Connecticut are also in the pipeline path; Senator Sheldon Whitehouse in Rhode Island and both Senators from Connecticut have so far remained silent on this issue despite objections of their constituents.

FERC is also facing legal pressure to halt construction. The City of Boston, the Town of Dedham, MA, and a coalition of groups from New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts have  filed a  law suit in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia seeking to overturn FERC's approval of the AIM pipeline. The briefs site a variety of issues, from a faulty risk assessment of siting the pipeline adjacent to the nuclear power plant, to violations of the National Environmental Policy Act.

Safe Energy Rights Group President and affected property owner Nancy Vann said “This project never should have been approved – but FERC has only turned down one pipeline project in its entire 40-year history.”

Spectra Energy’s proposed AIM Pipeline is a high-pressure, 42-inch diameter methane gas pipeline that would bring fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New England,  despite a report from the Massachusetts Attorney General that shows no need for this gas. In New York, if completed, the AIM Pipeline would carry gas through residential communities and within 105 feet of critical Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant safety facilities. Just last April, Spectra Energy’s Texas Eastern  line erupted in a giant explosion due to pipeline corrosion, and New Yorkers fear what an explosion of this magnitude could mean in such close proximity to Indian Point. Over the last several years, communities along the pipeline route, as well as their local elected officials, have risen up against the pipeline, and now they are counting on New York Senators and Governor to escalate their objections and stop this dangerous project.

For more information, check out the Facebook event  HERE

Online:  http://www.resistaim.com/

On Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/resistaim

On Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ResistAIM

Photo Credit: Erik McGregor

  

Erice to Palermo and Our Way Back Home

Last day on the big voyage.

On the way back to Palermo we drove up to the old Phoenician town of Erice.  Like much of the area, it was sacked during the Punic War, coped with Norman invasions, and generations of incursions, leaving enticing remains of its travails. So we explore them trying to learn something, trying to make sense of some of this experience.

It was our last full day in Italy as we make our way to Rome.  We wake up early and made our way out for a final dip in the clear blue waters of Taramina.  An old man in a bathing suit greets us. Bon Giorno, we greet him.  Come va!  He puts his hands up, looking around smiling.  We feel the same way.  We'll miss this a lot.  The  girls and I pick up sea glass, digging in the sand exploring the treasures on the beach.  Some kids are kicking soccer ball. I swim out as far as I can swim, following a flock of seagulls passing the day away.

Below the surface, I think of my parents' epic journeys through the classical world, with friends from school, in days now long past, when they were young and had their whole lives in front of them.  Most of those friends are gone. Dad is gone.  And this is the first summer in a long time that Mom has not been able to travel.  Caroline and I are acutely aware that the time for such adventures with the family sometimes passes.  Moments end, trips cease.  For now, swimming through the blue waters, looking at the walls of this ancient city, I breathe a sigh of appreciation for the adventure we’re enjoyed as we’ve made our way around Sicily, from Palermo, to Cerfalu, Stromboli, to Taraminia, to Siracusa, to Arigento,  to Trapani, Selinunte to the yesterdays island voyage to Favignana, along the Egadi Islands back to today.

Swimming through the water, I think of time passing, of the kids growing older, the trips we’re taken in the past the year,  the water around me, the fish swimming by, the birds in the distance, the Punic Wars that have taken place on these shores, the myths of the Cyclops which Odysseus eluded on this island, and Virgil who chronicled it all.   Borges suggests our lives take us into a labyrinth. I wonder about where this one is taking us, between New York and Sicily, time everlasting. 

Walking back to the hotel, we pick up the last pieces of sea glass for our collection, pieces of tile, molded from the waters and waves of the ocean. 

I look at the fortifications along the shore, protecting the city, which has endured so much.  The city is built to last, having some ten times the recorded history of our new but already decaying empire. 

We go back to the room and I pack my wet shorts, the same shorts that have covered for swimming trunks for six weeks now, alternating with my one other pair of shorts. 

On the way to Erice, Caroline and I recall our honeymoon when we drove around Lesvos in Greece, the car winding through the curvy roads, making our way up to the ancient city,   

We talk about the trip and the summer, making our way to Jamaica after a few delays to stay in Princeton.  A week later,  we made our way back to pick up the kids from camp and left for Florence, Venice, Ravenna, and Rome, before our Southern voyage from Naples to Sicily.  Our twelve-day hike from Assisi to Rome was the highlight of the journey. There are so many kind people we met.  A morning walking along the Nera river at 7 am, strolling through the crisp air, looking at fields, through some hills, up a mountain to a Roman waterfall, before making our way to a lake. These walks stay with me.  They are some of the best moments of my life. Still, it all seem a long time ago The difficult ones are also part of this journey. But we walk through them.  We have to.  Hopefully the sea will stay with me, the views of the cities, the panorama of waves and skies, sunsets and seagulls, last islands and ancient walls we've seen everywhere here.  The stones of Erice, the views from the top of the mountain, the lovely Sicilian wines, the easy going Italians, pushing their way through lines, the legends and ceramics, and the piazzas, and bikinis, and bikes, and train rides, and road trips, and flights on our way back to Rome.

The kids think I have an Italian soul.  Maybe I do?  Who knows?  The Shepards do hail from Dorchester, England which was a Roman colony for a while there.  Sp who knows.  Its never easy leaving.

Buying gifts on the way home, a man asks where we’re from.

New York we tell him.  We’re sad to leave, we explain. 

Well, there are a lot of Italians in New York, he consoles us.

We buy a bottle of lemoncello to put in our bags.

Hopefully, it’ll make its way back home in one piece.

We eat some fresh margarita pizza in the square, overlooking a 14th century church, at Latin inscription on the side, and make our way for the trip back to Palermo.  

You can’t get a bad meal in Italy. 

We have not yet.

The Thinking Traveler describes Erice:

Towering over the west of Sicily at 751m above sea level and often covered in its own personal cloud, Erice is a wonderfully preserved Mediaeval town offering the most breathtaking views and a palpable sense of history.

Originally an Elymian city (the Elymians were around before the Greeks ever set foot in Sicily) Erice, or Eryx as it was first called, was a town of no little importance and renown and is said to have attracted the likes Hercules and Aeneas.

Like so many Sicilian towns, it passed from one invader to another as all the usual suspects came and went, leaving their architectural calling cards and their cultural footprints. The name changed from Eryx, to Erice to Gebel Hamed and Monte San Giuliano but its essential character remained, obstinately repelling any attempt to change its real identity.

...often covered in its own personal cloud, Erice is a wonderfully preserved Mediaeval town offering the most breathtaking views and a palpable sense of history.

Amongst the most visited sites are the two castles, Pepoli Castle and Venus Castle. The former was built by the Arabs while the latter was a Norman construction with imposing towers that derived its name from the fact that it was built on the site of the ancient Temple of Venus, allegedly founded by Aeneas.

Other attractions include the sixty (yes 60!) churches including the Gothic Chiesa Madre (1314) and the Mediaeval Church of Saint John the Baptist. Otherwise the maze of cobbled Mediaeval streets are a pleasure to wander around and the views are stunning. On a cloudless day, theEgadi Islands off the coast of Trapani are vividly visible, rising from the sea like giant, motionless whales while to the west the panorama takes in vast swathes of eastern Sicily, the Tyrrhenian Sea and the coastline towards San Vito Lo Capo, Monte Cofano and the Gulf of Castellammare.

Next time, we'll try to make it to the Palermo Archaeological Museum.  But we ran out of time
on the journey.
You can't see everything. I found a few pictures.  These'll have to suffice.
Caroline says she's going to get me the catalog.