The Tar Sands Blockade

Back in the summer of 2011, I met with a group of organizers who were thinking about a prolonged action to block the Keystone XL Pipeline in eastern Texas. It was a good conversation and the bold young group kicked off what became the Tar Sands Blockade. They sat in the trees for over a month, forcing the pipeline to find a new route and launching a new chapter in the history of environmental resistance. They also offered a current alternative to the popular model of orchestrated civil disobediences rooted in cooperation with the state. The Tar Sands Blockade captured the imagination and hearts of many young people and more who traveled to Texas, Nebraska and other state...