9 climate activists are arrested after blocking a cement truck at compressor site

Today, nine climate activists from Extinction Rebellion and 350 Mass Action blocked a cement truck from entering Enbridge's construction site for the proposed Weymouth compressor station. They delayed activities for three hours. 

We thank these brave individuals for putting their bodies on the line to protect people and the planet from further climate destruction.  Scroll down for images and statements from folks who risked arrest. Read the press release here.

Governor Baker and the Department of Environmental Protection have been failing to respond to the community’s advocacy to prevent the construction of the Weymouth compressor station. If built, gas leaks, industrial accidents, and potential explosions at the compressor station would pose serious threats to the health, safety, economy, and environment of Weymouth, Quincy, Braintree and the South Shore. 

Photos:

Statements from some of the folks who took action can be found below:

Karry Muzzey, member of Extinction Rebellion MA and Democractic Socialists of America: “I’m taking action today because I support the residents of this community, who oppose the compressor station. The Fore River basin community has already been subjected to industrial pollution and lack of air quality oversight, leading to higher than average rates of cancer and respiratory illnesses in the area, all for the sake of greed and profit. The fossil fuel industry must not be allowed to destroy any more lives here.

Natural gas has been sold as a bridge fuel between oil/coal and renewables, and scaled up dramatically as a result. The fact is that methane is a potent greenhouse gas that has done irreparable damage to the climate. We demand no more new fossil fuel infrastructure. We have the power to keep fossil fuels in the ground starting here and now. The Weymouth compressor station must be stopped for the survival of our planet.

As a supporter of DSA’s Ecosocialist Green New Deal, I strongly believe in democratic control over the energy grid as the only way to ensure a just transition toward a renewable energy future. I believe that climate justice and energy democracy go hand in hand. We need to take back the grid and democratize our energy systems. We need to create energy infrastructure that will benefit both the community and the climate. It’s beyond time to do right by the residents of Weymouth, Braintree, and Quincy, and stop the compressor station now.

Governor Baker and the DEP deserve our scorn for allowing this project to move forward. They have neglected their duties to act in the interest of the people of Massachusetts. It is time for us to take matters into our own hands, and follow the lead of Indigenous water protectors to safeguard the sacred places we inhabit.”

Steve Wenner, member of Extinction Rebellion MA: "I’m sad, frustrated and angry that the failure of Governor Baker and his administration to uphold laws that would prevent construction of the Weymouth compressor station forces me to join with others in protest through nonviolent civil disobedience. This gas infrastructure would imperil the health and safety of thousands, and lock in decades of climate-destroying greenhouse gas emissions.”  

Jason Rudokas, member of Extinction Rebellion MA: “Corporate entities have locked our society into a destructive and dangerous future through a tyranny of many small decisions. In a functioning democratic system, the preservation of life and community would guide how we plan and organize our society - avoidable dangers would be avoided. We are not living in a functioning democracy because all of the levers of real power have been captured by corporate interests and greed. I have come to believe that the most effective way we have left to resist extinction is through non-violent civil disobedience and building alternative structures that engender creativity, diversity and love - for each other and for the only planet we have. The decision to build this compressor station further locks our region into dependance on natural gas; this runs counter to all we hope our future will look like. To oppose it I follow in the footsteps of radical revolutionaries like Martin Luther King jr, Emma Goldman, Noam Chomsky and many many others by putting my freedom on the line.”

Karry Muzzey, a member of XR and DSA, states, "Governor Baker and the DEP deserve our scorn for allowing this project to move forward. They have neglected their duties to act in the interest of the people of Massachusetts. It is time for us to take matters into our own hands, and follow the lead of Indigenous water protectors to safeguard the sacred places we inhabit."

Folks who risked arrest today:
350 Mass Action: David Klafter, Suzette Abbott, Julie Taberman, Richard Horsley

From Extinction Rebellion MA: Jason Rudokas, Nora Maynard, Karry Muzzey, Steve Wenner, John Scala

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