The 400ft long, 355-foot tall Royal Dutch Shell oil rig is currently exploring for oil in the Arctic to the dismay of the city’s liberal locals.
#Seattle #kayaktivists prepare for a day on the water in protest of Shells drilling rig. @elijsanders pic.twitter.com/3JGiJSkLTH
— Alex Garland (@AGarlandPhoto) May 16, 2015
“We here in Seattle do not want Shell in our port,” said Annette Klapstein, a 62-year-old retired attorney and member of activist group the Raging Grannies. “We want them to get out and change their business before they change our planet and destroy the life of future generations.”
Woo! Go #kayaktivists! RT @alexsroesch: Prepping for the #paddleinseattle today, people are excited!:) pic.twitter.com/TrMtzOuUdm
— Greenpeace Canada (@GreenpeaceCA) May 16, 2015
Following several security mishaps which forced shell to cease Arctic operations in 2012, the Obama administration recently has given the company a green light to continue.
#Kayaktivists are getting lined up and ready to paddle in #Seattle! #ShellNo pic.twitter.com/bMdgxVWGLw via @PriceOfOil MT @stphil #UniteBlue
— Kathryn Brusco (@KathrynBruscoBk) May 16, 2015
Environmentalists did not like the move. According to a 2014 U.S. government study, chances of an oil spill occurring as a result of drilling in the Arctic in the next 77 years are as high 75 percent.
#kayaktivists getting ready to launch for #ShellNo demonstration in Seattle http://t.co/bjnLpOn9Vd pic.twitter.com/QhRIFT6UJ1
— Bryan Cohen (@bchasesc) May 16, 2015
In protest, more than 50 “Kayactavists,” as they call themselves, have been paddling toward the rig today. Greenpeace has already enrolled 500 people to take part in the activity.
1 of 3 launch stations. #Kayaktivists are assembling to tell #ShellNo! #PaddleInSeattle pic.twitter.com/nfWS5GqS62
— Aliyah Field (@aliyahfield) May 16, 2015
John Sellers, a 48-year-old professional organizer, has raised tens of thousands of dollars from crowd funding source Indiegogo and other efforts to transform an industrial barge into what he describes as a “solar and wind powered people’s platform.”
#kayaktivists making their way towards the #PolarPioneer off W Seattle shores pic.twitter.com/HyRdDTcZKl
— Bryan Cohen (@bchasesc) May 16, 2015
The barge will be screening movies via a projector on Saturday and will remain open until Shell leaves the port, Sellers said.
Part of #paddleinseattle flotilla in the water #sHellNo #SaveTheArctic #Kayaktivists pic.twitter.com/XSNSq972NM
— Backbone Campaign (@backboneprog) May 16, 2015
“Shell oil is the energy of the past and we are the clean energy of the future,” Sellers said.
