Every Saturday, a group of Keene locals gather in the center of town to hold up signs that say, “Climate Action,” and “Clean Earth.” Last week, a larger group than usual gathered with signs that said, “DECLARE Climate Emergency” and “Bank of America Uses your $ to Destroy Our Planet.”
Shouting was heard from the main gazebo and people in red dresses with white face paint were seen standing still in front of the speakers.
Peter, a Langdon N.H. native, is a part of a group called Extinction Rebellion N.H, an activist group that meets regularly and uses their platform to perform protests like the one that happened last week. Peter, and many others, came together to protest the Line 3 Pipeline that is being pushed through northern Minnesota. Peter states, “…tar sands, full of carbon, it’s just terrible… It’s a climate bomb. And we’re trying to raise awareness.”
Part of the issue with the Line 3 Pipeline is that not only is it full of toxic chemicals, it is also cutting into Native and swamp land. According to the Stopline3 website, the company that is building the Line 3 Pipeline is also responsible for the largest inland oil spill that has occurred in the United States. Climate action groups like the ones in N.H. and websites like Stopline3 are trying to bring awareness to the situation.
Peter states, “Enbridge is the company that’s putting this pipeline down. They already had it there, but they’re trying to replace it with the Line 3. It’s had one of the biggest leaks in the U.S. Enbridge also had a 30% participation in the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) as well.”
Peter and many others stood in front of Bank of America, after the protests, to perform what is known as a “die-in” to simulate what they feel could happen if people die from this pipeline. During the “die-in” Peter explained why they were also protesting Bank of America.
He states, “We are standing here in front of Bank of America here today in Keene, trying to get people to understand that the financing of Enbridge and these pipelines is part of the problem. Bank of America is one of the top four funders of fossil fuel development in the world, not only do they fund tar sands, but they fund coal development, as well as natural gas.”
More people spoke out during the protest and it ended with them chanting, “B.O.A. (Bank of America) You suck! You sold our Future for a Buck!”
The people in red led the protestors in the “die-in” and are known as the Red Rebel Brigade. They act as a group to unify and bring passion to a protest like this one.
Peter wants people to consider where they spend their money and how they play a hand in the preservation of the planet. “We would say, don’t invest your money with big banks like Bank of America, they don’t care about the people.”
