The environmental activists who barged into Montana’s capitol last week to chant, dance and chain themselves together did little to persuade anyone to join their cause. In fact, they quite likely accomplished the opposite.
Protests like these – a cocktail of theatrics, trespassing and often vandalism – largely make the opposition look like a joke. And in this case, many Montanans scoffed at images of mostly young men and women demanding that Gov. Brian Schweitzer rescind his support for the Keystone XL pipeline in the wake of the oil spill in the Yellowstone River.
The scene bordered on comedy, except it wasn’t funny. Protestors climbed flagpoles and hung a banner that read: “Pipelines Spill. Exxon Kills. Big Oil Out of Montana” – an oil monster attacking a mountain filled out the rest of the placard.
Some of the demonstrators were from out of state. They came to Helena from Oregon and California (I’m assuming on foot), to scream at the governor, which isn’t out of the ordinary as long as the screaming is delegated to the lawn in front of the Capitol. It wasn’t.
No, the protestors barged into the building and pushed their way to the hallway outside the governor’s office. Schweitzer actually agreed to meet with them – reportedly about 70 people – in a reception room, but refused to end his support for the Keystone pipeline or the so-called “megaloads” of drilling equipment scheduled to be shipped across the state to Alberta. That get-together lasted about 20 minutes and didn’t end well.
Apparently, the activists continued to interrupt Schweitzer and when one of them began playing a “honky-tonk tune on a piano” and a dozen others began chanting and dancing on the table, the governor left. As he should have.
The demonstration lasted for several more hours in the hallways of the capitol. More chanting (“Big Sky! Not Big Oil!”). More drumming. And five arrests. Those who refused to unlock their hands were cited for obstruction of justice.
With the performance, these environmental activists shifted focus to their calculated carnival and away from the many citizens with legitimate concerns over TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL, which would carry 700,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Canada across Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
According to a recent report released by University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor John Stansbury and distributed by the environmental group Friends of the Earth, the pipeline’s potential risks have been underestimated. For one, Stansbury predicted that there could be 91 significant spills over a 50 year-period, while the company estimates just 11.
TransCanada strongly disputed the findings, releasing a lengthy statement that read, in part, “We would not put our reputation or the public at risk by doing the things that this document, released by Friends of the Earth, suggests.” The company has emphasized that it would bury the pipeline at least 25 feet under riverbeds, including the Yellowstone River’s, and it would use thicker steel than the one that recently leaked.
Nonetheless, a project of this magnitude should be thoroughly vetted and a serious conversation about its risks must be had before the State Department approves TransCanada’s application. But that’s not what happened last week.
Instead, the strange performance reminded me of when the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals suggested that Whitefish High School change its name to “Sea Kitten High School.”
Following the demonstration at the capitol, one protestor, who was later arrested, said the day “went about as expected.” Which must mean that no one there expected anyone else to take them seriously.