It was the Keystone XL that brought us from the woods of East Texas to Houston. Now that we’re here we can see firsthand that the fight against tar sands is about much more than just one pipeline. Communities here have been suffering for decades under the heels of the petrochemical industry, and the government has been complicit in silencing the voices of the people and allowing corporations to engage in activities that add up to nothing less than murder.
The Houston Ship Channel, crafted from the destruction of the Galveston Bay and the Buffalo Bayou, has allowed toxic industry to invade waterside communities, including the Manchester area, and contaminate the air and water that these communities depend on with countless pollutants, including benzene, chlorine, formaldehyde, sulfur dioxide, and diesel particulates. The environmental racism, proliferation of petrochemical facilities and the centralization of the fossil fuel industry here makes Houston a strategically important place to organize and work to amplify the voices of these communities that have been systematically ignored. The struggles faced by communities on the Gulf Coast where tar sands will be refined are intrinsically connected to the struggles of the Athabasca Chipewyan community, where tar sands are being extracted from the land, and other indigenous communities throughout Turtle Island.
Read more about the problems plaguing Houston and the importance of organizing here:
- Residents of Houston’s Toxic East End Speak Out
- Tar Sands’ Effects on the Houston Refinery Communities
- Environmental Justice: Why I Got Arrested To Stop Keystone XL
Previous actions:
- November 29 – Diane Wilson and Bob Lindsey Launch Sustained Hunger Strike with Blockade at Valero Refinery in Houston
- December 19 – Diane’s daughter, Santanna, joins hunger strike in solidarity! Mother of twins is on her 4th day without food
- December 27 – Manchester Community Puts New Demands on Valero, Hunger Strike Marks 29 Days
- January 7 – Over 100 People Storm TransCanada and Keystone XL Offices in Houston
- January 15 – Bob and Diane Announce End to Hunger Strike on 45th Day
- January 28 – Idle No More World Day of Action
- February 4 – TSB Unites with Indigenous Leaders from the Achuar & Shuar Tribes to Stop Ecuador’s Amazon Oil Auction
- February 28 – Activist Disrupts TransCanada Presentation At Industry Marketing Conference
- March 27 – Activist Climbs Flagpole Outside LyondellBasell, Hangs Banner Denouncing Investment in Tar Sands
- April 6 – Blockader Disrupts Valero-Sponsored Golf Tournament, Demands Accountability for Manchester
Contact us: TSBHouston@gmail.com
