In a dramatic prelude to this Sunday’s Forward on Climate Rally at the White House,  Philadelphia Quaker Eileen Flanagan of Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT) will risk arrest along with 50 environmental, civil rights, and community leaders from across the country, who join together for a historic display of civil disobedience at the White House, where they demand that President Obama deny the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and address the climate crisis.

Flanagan stands with such notable leaders as Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club; Bill McKibben, Founder of 350.org; Julian Bond, former president of the NAACP; Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr. Director of Hip Hop Caucus, and Daryl Hannah, actress.

The activists will block a main thoroughfare in front of the White House and, refusing to move, expect to be arrested and transported to Anacostia for processing by the DC Police Department.

Flanagan, 50, is an East Falls mother of two teenagers and was motivated by them to take action.

”As I explained to my children, I’m willing to risk arrest for the first time in my life for them and for the future of all children—from Alberta to Appalachia to Africa. The urgency of climate change hit home when I visited southern Africa and heard how food production has been devastated by new and unpredictable weather patterns. I am now convinced that the most important thing I can do as a citizen of the United States is to stop extreme extraction here. Earth Quaker Action Team is campaigning to get PNC Bank to stop funding mountaintop removal coal mining, and we are proud to stand with our allies fighting the Keystone XL pipeline, which is another example of the reckless resource grab that threatens us all.”

Civil disobedience is the response of ordinary people to extraordinary injustices. “American Quakers have historically been at the forefront of civil and human rights issues, and climate change is no exception,” explains EQAT executive director Amy Ward Brimmer. “Spurred by our moral conscience and sense of shared responsibility to help right the wrongs of our society – slavery, child labor, suffrage, segregation, marriage equality and immigrant rights, to name just a few – we have a tradition of engagement in creative nonviolent resistance. Climate change threatens the health and security of all Americans, and action proportional to the problem is required–now.

The full list of participants, along with photos and bios, is available at tarsandsaction.org
The participants risking arrest have released the following letter to explain their collective action.
“We’re here today to show the depth of our resolve that President Obama take immediate, decisive action against climate change—to show that if the president leads, the vast majority of Americans will rally behind him. We’re not here today to protest the president, we are here to encourage and support him. We lived through horrors of Superstorm Sandy, the Midwest drought, wildfires, and the hottest year on record: we know in our bones that the time has come to do more than we have, and all that we can.

“The president can’t work miracles by himself. An obstructionist Congress stands in the way of progress and innovation. But President Obama has the executive authority and the mandate from the American people to stand up to the fossil fuel industry, and to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline right now.

“And we’re here to show something else—that the movement for a clean energy revolution is a broad and powerful one. In 2011 we were moved by the 1,253 Americans who went jail to protest Keystone in the biggest civil disobedience action in many years in this country. Today we are 50 people at the White House representing millions of Americans in every state, in every community. Today we risk arrest because a global crisis unfolds before our eyes. We have the solutions to this climate crisis. We have a moral obligation to stand stand for immediate, bold action to solve climate disruption. We can do it, and we will.”

Earth Quaker Action Team is one of 120 official sponsors of the upcoming Presidents Day Action and will bring 300 participants from Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware to march Sunday February 17 in what is expected to be the largest climate rally in U.S. History.

EARTH QUAKER ACTION TEAM

CALL TO ACTION:  STOP THE KEYSTONE XL TAR SANDS PIPELINE!

President Obama has the authority to block the Keystone XL pipeline from being built in the U.S., which would link Canadian tar sands oil from Alberta to the gulf coast of Texas.  If Obama says “Yes” and approves the pipeline permits, the consequences for our planet are extremely dire.  America’s foremost climate scientist, NASA’s James Hanson, says the tar sands are so vast that it will mean “game over” for the biosphere, and the way humans have been able to live on this planet.

Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT) joins 350.org and Sierra Club in urging Friends and others to act now.  Even while we continue our own campaign — Bank Like Appalachia Matters! (BLAM!) — we are taking the extra stretch at this time to mobilize for the biggest climate rally in U.S. history on Feb 17 in Washington, D.C.  Why?

• The time is now! In his inaugural speech, President Obama vowed to take action on climate change: We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations… The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it.  He challenged each of us to take action together:You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course. You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time, not only with the votes we cast, but the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideas.
• The President needs us to demand change. Obama is being pressured by “big oil,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and other powerful lobbying groups to approve the pipeline. His decision is anticipated shortly. He just challenged U.S. citizens to push his administration to action. Everyone must act within this window of time to demonstrate public opposition to the project! To remain silent is to concede that dirty tar sands oil is the answer to our energy needs—and it is not! (To learn more about the pipeline read Bill McKibben’s thoughtful articles available on 350.org.)
• We’ve got some momentum. Quakers have already been arrested with more than a thousand people in the 2011 350.org tar sands action in Washington, which resulted in Obama delaying his decision. He needs to hear from us again now, in large numbers to make his opposition possible.
• We’re part of a larger movement! Other faith groups and major environmental organizations are joining the February 17 action, recognizing that at this moment we must pull together and that nonviolent direct action works. Sierra Club just announced that it is planning to engage in civil disobedience for the first time in its history!
• Expanding our activist network is good strategy. EQAT agrees with Bill McKibben that the fossil fuels industry must be targeted along with the banks. We must hold them responsible for hurricane Sandy and all the disasters they are fueling, including mountaintop removal coal mining.  We must learn to act together when our strategies converge!
• There’s a chance we can win.  Within 24 hours of 350.org’s announcing the February action, thousands signed up. EQAT and our supporters can help to swell these numbers!

Join us on Sunday, February 17, in Washington, DC.  Please register even if you won’t be riding on an EQAT bus—let us know you’re joining us!

REGISTER HERE

REGISTER NOW

Remember: Registration opens Monday 21st!

At Monday’s General Meeting EQAT members began planning our newest action: Get on the Bus! This action is EQAT joining the call by the Sierra Club and 350.org to converge on the White House and demand President Obama block the Keystone XL pipeline…

“The first step to putting our country on the path to addressing the climate crisis is for President Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. His legacy as president will rest squarely on his response, resolve, and leadership in solving the climate crisis.”350.org

EQAT members have talked for some time how our BLAM! campaign links in with the growing anti-fossil fuel and extreme extraction movements against the tarsands, fracking and Big Oil. We are fully committed to seeing the campaign through and ending PNC’s financing of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. We see this new action as a way to stop the most disastrous planet-destroying idea the oil companies have come up with to date and build allies for our campaign against PNC.

We spent some time considering how best to use this opportunity to strengthen our campaign. See the notes here: Link to minutes of Strengths and Considerations

KEEP MOVING!
Our new Campaign Organizer, Chris Baker Evens, introduced himself and his hopes and dreams for EQAT. This included learnings and an invitation to EQAT members to be courageously engaged in the BLAM! campaign. Here is a link to his Public Service Announcement (with support from Daniel Hunter).

Working Groups

Strategy Retreat
Saturday February 2nd
10am at Friends Center
Friends Center, 15th & Cherry Sts., Philadelphia

Heschel-King Festival
Saturday, January 5
6:00 – 7:15 pm
Mishkan Shalom Synagogue

EQAT is proud to be a sponsoring organization of the 2013 Heschel-King Festival, celebrating the vision, lives, and teachings of two great prophetic leaders — Dr. Martin Luther King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. The festival will encourage us to bring our light into the darkness of the world as we work together to create a more just, inclusive, and peaceful society.

The festival begins Friday and runs all weekend, at Mishkan Shalom synagogue, 4101 Freeland Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19128. EQAT members will be there from 6 – 7:15 pm on Saturday, for the Showcase of Community Groups, which will spotlight 15 social action and community groups. Come join us to hear what these activists are doing and learn how our work intersects with other local groups.
Admission is free but registration is required: http://heschelkingfestival.eventbrite.com/
For a complete schedule, go to: http://mishkan.org/story/heschel-king-

A Living Room Conversation about BLAM! Strategy
Sunday, Jan 6
3pm until ?
Hosted by Phyllis and Dick Taylor
515 W. Chelten Ave. #1108
Philadelphia, PA 19144

A chance for a free-wheeling dialogue about strategy ideas for the BLAM campaign, with no expectation of decision. George Lakey, Daniel Hunter, and others have called for an open, informal time when people are free to be random, to argue, to pursue an interesting line of debate, to generate new possibilities. Topics already broached on the EQAT discussion list can be delved into (like a closer relationship with 350.org or not).
Other than beginning at 3:00 pm, there is no set schedule, so arrive when you can, leave when you need to. We’ll talk for a couple of hours, and whoever wants to keep going can order pizza and continue.
Our hope is to be even more ready for EQAT’s scheduled strategy workshop on Feb 2, where we aim to clarify our strategy arc for the next 6-9 months. Watch for more information about the workshop to come.

EQAT General Meeting
Monday, January 14
6:00 – 8:00 pm
Friends Center, 15th & Cherry Sts., Philadelphia

Start the new year off right—join us as we take a quick look back at our accomplishments in 2012, and even maybe where we came up short—and learn what we need to do to take even more effective action to pressure PNC to stop financing mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. We’ll give a warm welcome to our new Organizer, Chris Baker Evens, we’ll hear the great strategy ideas that come out of the informal session on Jan. 6, and we’ll get another in our monthly series of Organizing PSAs—what are we learning as we do this work? We sing, we snack, we strategize – ALL ARE WELCOME.

Fundraising Committee
Thursday, January 10
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
At the home of George Lakey
4719 Springfield Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19143

If you love EQAT, you know how we get the fuel for what we do—we are 100% donor-funded. And we need YOU to help us raise the funds we need to keep bringing abundant and powerful actions to build a more just society. Those who have been serving on this committee know how satisfying it is to do this work. If you are interested in helping, email amy.eqat@gmail.com, or just show up!

We are pleased to announce that Christopher Baker Evens has accepted the position of Campaign Organizer with Earth Quaker Action Team. Chris comes to us with a good deal of field organizing experience and a year’s worth of volunteering on the Bank Like Appalachia Matters campaign, taking on increasing levels of responsibility with success and spirit.

“I am thrilled that Chris has accepted this position,” reports EQAT Executive Director Amy Ward Brimmer. “It has been inspiring to watch Chris grow in his commitment to EQAT, and I feel blessed that we will be working together as we move into the next phase of the BLAM campaign, growing in our capacity as nonviolent warriors for ecojustice.”

Chris, an Australian, first experienced nonviolent direct action while supporting Burmese student activists in their campaign to end Australian business investments inside Burma. He went on to explore the potential of NVDA in Cambodia, standing alongside community and environmental activists resisting forced evictions and natural resource appropriation by Cambodian and international businesses. He focused his efforts on training local activists in nonviolent strategy and analysis as well as organizing expatriates to engage in third-party nonviolent intervention.

“I’m really excited to take on this new role with EQAT,” says Chris. “Over the past three years, EQAT has positioned itself as a key ally to the people of Appalachia working to end mountaintop removal mining, and we are demonstrating that we are a multi-million dollar threat to PNC Bank. I’m looking forward to building on the work already done, supporting EQAT’s mission to be strategic and courageous.”

Chris lives in Philadelphia with Samantha and their two children, Patrick and Isaac.

To learn more, click on these links to reports in the Washington Post and Grist.

RAN has set up a special memorial page on their website, “for Becky’s whole community to memorialize her, celebrate her, share  memories, images, and feelings.”

This is a significant loss, made more painful for its unexpected and sudden nature.  We send love and light to all who are suffering, and we commit ourselves to carrying on the work that Becky called us to:  “big, brash, nonviolent climate protests.”

Thanls to RAN.org for their great work and support of our campaign.

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