Pipeline Protests Planned
BOLD IOWA RESISTANCE: Four “Rally and March To Stop the Bakken Oil Pipeline” Events Scheduled For Des Moines, Newton, Iowa City, and Davenport
Statewide demonstrations against the pipeline coincide with former rep Ed Fallon’s national “Great March for Climate Action” as group marches across Iowa this month
A national climate justice march started by a former statehouse representative and currently traveling through Iowa has connected with opponents of a proposed Bakken oil pipeline and will hold four rallies and marches in four separate cities as the group walks across the state this month.
The statewide events will feature speakers from the Great March for Climate Action as well as local-area CCI farmers and other everyday Iowans concerned about climate change and the bakken oil pipeline. The dates and times are:
Des Moines, Monday, August 11, 5pm, Ritual Café to the Iowa State Capitol;
Newton, Thursday, August 14, time and location To Be Announced;
Iowa City, Wednesday, August 20, 11:30am, Ped Mall;
Davenport, Sunday, August 24, 2pm, LeClaire Park.
The Newton rally on August 14 will also include representatives from Bold Nebraska, a grassroots group that has united farmers, ranchers, and environmentalists to fight back against the Keystone XL pipeline.
“I am marching across the country to sound the alarm that our planet is in serious peril. Building a dangerous Bakken crude oil pipeline does not fit into my vision of a livable future,” said Miriam Kashia, a North Liberty woman who has spent eight months with the Great March for Climate Action as the group moves from Los Angeles to Washington DC.
Organizers with the Great March for Climate Action and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement say the statewide demonstrations will mark a major escalation in the movement to stop the Bakken oil pipeline as opposition moves from social media and the internet and on to the streets.
A petition launched by Iowa CCI members calling on Governor Branstad to reject the pipeline proposal has garnered hundreds of signatures in less than a week online.
The Great March for Climate Action departed Lost Angeles on March 1 and is scheduled to arrive in Washington, DC on November 1.