VAN protests during International Oil Train Week of Action July 6-12

All events are listed at www.stopoiltrains.org
Please join VAN volunteers as we organize protests against explosive oil trains.  July 6 is the second anniversary of the tragic Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, oil train catastrophe that killed 47 people. The Stop Oil Trains week of action will call attention to the growing threat of oil trains across North America.

There is NO safe way to transport extreme tar sands and Bakken crude. Two years after Lac-Mégantic, oil trains keep exploding and carbon pollution keeps rising. Oil trains are a disaster for our health, our safety, and our climate.

In July 2014, thousands gathered at 63 events for the first Stop Oil Trains Week of Action. In 2015, we will demonstrate the growing power of our movement and organize more than 100 events across the US and Canada to demand an immediate ban on oil trains.

 

 

Oil Train Week of Action July 6-12, 2015

Monday July 6 – 10amNustar Protest – don't ship crude oil

5420 Fruit Valley Rd, Vancouver, WA 98660

 

VAN will likely invest in a selfie stick.

****UPDATE***Nustar Protest

 

 

Tuesday July 7 – Twitter Oil Train Watch (ongoing)

Wednesday July 8 – 11am Union Pacific protest – demanding their hidden Crude Oil by Rail disaster risk documents and demanding they stop shipping crude oil via train – call in, email in, write a letter actions, banner drop meet on Burnside Bridge and i-5 signage and flyers write letters to-- 19th & SE Holgate Blvd., Building 1825, Portland, OR 97202

Call Union Pacific

800-877-5123

submit emails via this page http://www.up.com/messages/index.cfm?address=jadukes

****Update**** No Oil Trains banner drop on Burnside Bridge at I-5 northbound

 

12pm tabling on Portland east side of Steel Bridge on the Eastbank Esplanade

****Update**** Tabling in front of the Union Pacific railroad office in the blast zone

 

Thursday July 9 – 10 am DOT Vancouver – give us our rights back to know about oil train shipments and don't allow oil to be shipped in DOT 111 railcars

11018 NE 51st Circle
Vancouver, WA 98682

• E-mail: WagnerD@wsdot.wa.gov
  Phone: 360.905.2001

***Update*** The DOT's in Portland and Vancouver  communicated about the protests today. 

3pm DOT Portland – give us our rights back to know about oil train shipments and don't allow oil to be shipped in DOT 111 railcars

 ***Update*** A representative from the Oregon DOT came out to speak with us and take our list of demands. 

 

123 NW Flanders Portland, OR 97209 Shelli.Romero@odot.state.or.us

Phone: 503-731-8200

Friday July 10 – 10am BNSF protest Vancouver – demanding their hidden Crude Oil by Rail disaster risk documents and demanding that they stop shipping crude oil via train  – call in, email in, write a letter actions and banner drop meet near the cross streets of W Mill Plain Blvd and Lincoln Avenue in the Fruit Valley area of NW Vancouver with signage and flyers

write letters to--

1310 W 11th St
Vancouver, WA
Call BNSF (360) 418-6303

Submit emails using this form

http://www.bnsf.com/communities/bnsf-and-the-environment/hazardous-materials-info-request/

***Update*** The largest of the protest crowds attended this event on W Mill Plain in Vancouver.  Thanks to Pam for making calls to help turn folks out. 

 

***Update*** BNSF police were not to happy to see us.  There were more police than protesters but we delivered our list of demands.

 

12pm Federal Railroad Administration Vancouver- don't allow oil to be shipped in DOT 111 railcars and give us our rights back to know about oil train shipments

500 Broadway, Suite 240
Vancouver, WA 98660 phone: 360-696-7536

***Update*** When we arrived at the FRA there was already a group of protesters upstairs talking with a Department of Homeland Security agent who was monitoring the protest last year.  Everyone came downstairs to the street for a pic. 

***Update*** We had a short conversation with an FRA rep and delivered our list of demands.  We were assured that he was creating a report including pictures he took to alert FRA headquarters that they were under protest.
 

1pm tabling on Vancouver Riverwalk near 170 SE Columbia Way

 

Saturday July 11 – 2pm Lemon Island, Oregon Camp out "planning meeting" for oil train focused 2016 PNW Climate CampJuly 6-12, 2016 (boat in event) http://www.pnwclimatecamp.blogspot.com/

Sunday July 12 – 10am Lemon Island, Oregon Camp out "planning meeting" for oil train focused 2016 PNW Climate Camp (boat out event) http://www.pnwclimatecamp.blogspot.com/

Matt Landon offers oil train workshops via Skype

Matt will present the Oil Train Railside Listening Project and Twitter Oil Train Watch workshops.

 

Please join regional activists at Matt Landon’s Skyped, two-hour workshops in Spokane, Washington, and Sandpoint, Idaho, this weekend, July 27 and 28. Converge at 10:30 am on Saturday, July 27, in Meeting Room 1B, at the street level of the downtown Spokane Public Library, at 906 West Main Avenue in Spokane, and at 2:30 pm at the East Bonner County – Sandpoint Library, 1407 Cedar Street in Sandpoint. Do not miss these opportunities to attend these Inland Northwest Climate Activist Training Workshops that will enhance your personal and collective capacity to thwart the fossil fuel onslaught currently rampaging the Northwest. WIRT and SPORT welcome your questions and suggestions about these events and your confirmation of participation. Thanks to Helen for organizing these trainings.  If you would like to schedule an in-person or Skyped training for your community please contact us at vancouveractionnetwork@gmail.com

Oil Train Blast Zone bike rides / protest for Pedalpalooza 2015 with Updates!

June 7, 2015 Vancouver Oil Train Blast Zone bike ride leaves at 11am for a 6 mile ride.
 
Pedalpalooza event page
 

 Oil trains hauling Bakken crude oil and Tarsands oil have been exploding across the US and Canada for the last two years. The Port of Vancouver is proposing to have two operational oil terminals (Tesoro-Savage and Nustar).
Additional oil trains are traveling through Vancouver to other terminals. We will take a leisurely paced 6 mile ride starting in Marine Park.

SE Marine Park Wy & Columbia Way
Vancouver, WA
Meet near the playground.

We will be riding along the Columbia River on the river walk, near railroad tracks where oil trains travel, and on public side streets.

The ride will end with an optional protest at the proposed Nustar oil terminal located at 5420 Fruit Valley Rd Vancouver, WA.

***Update*** The protest bike ride was awesome today!  Thanks to the bike riders who showed up during the 90+ degree weather.  Also thanks to the Portland Mercury newspaper for featuring this bike ride.  

June 20, 2015 Portland Oil Train Blast Zone bike ride leaves at 11am for a 10 mile ride.

Pedalpalooza event page


Oil trains hauling Bakken crude oil and tar sands oil have been exploding across the US and Canda for the last two years. The Port of Portland currently has one oil shipping terminal, Arc Logistics. Additional oil trains are traveling through Portland to other terminals.

We will take a leisurely paced 10 mile ride starting at the corner of N Willamette Blvd and N Ida Ave and riding to 2020 SE Bush Street.

Oil Train Days of Action Eugene, OR May 14-16, 2015

A Training and Community Organizing Project about Oil Trains

Sponsored by the ROAR Center, Civil Liberties Defense Center, and Vancouver Action Network

May 14 Thursday - Video screening (23 min) and Discussion at UO.
Location: UO Lawrence Room 177 @ 6pm-7:50pm
Tabling on UO campus 8am-10am and 2pm-5pm 

May 15 Friday - Listening Project Training at UO campus. Anyone can attend this training and it will prepare you for the railside neighborhood Listening Project on Saturday.               Location: Fenton UO Hall Room 117 @ 2pm-2:50pm
Tabling on UO campus 8am-5pm 

May 15 Friday - Community Listening Project Training at The Boreal in the evening.  This two hour event will begin with the screening of the VICE news segment followed by a discussion during the first hour and the Listening Project training during the second hour.        Location: The Boreal 450 W 3rd Ave Eugene, OR

May 16 Saturday - Community Listening Project training from 8:30am-9:30am at the Grower's Market. Volunteers will then travel to the railside neighborhoods going door to door from 10am-3:00pm followed by a debriefing from 3:30pm-4pm.  Any amount of time you can donate is valuable. Location:  Grower's Market 454 Willamette St. Eugene, OR.

Wisconsin Oil Train Watch actively spotting trains

Welcome to Sarah Zarling of Watertown Citizens for Oil Train Safety in Watertown, Wisconsin. Thank you for your oil train monitoring efforts.

You can find more info about this group on Facebook and please LIKE their page- https://www.facebook.com/#!/watertownoiltrainsafety?fref=ts

You can view Wisconsin's live Twitter feed in the right hand column of our blog just below our Washington Twitter feed.  vancouveractionnetwork.blogspot.com

  

Oil Train Listening Project *UPDATED 3/31/15*

See below for additional training dates.

VAN is working with Portland Rising Tide to conduct an Oil Train Listening Project in Vancouver, WA on April 1 at the Vancouver Library at 4pm, just before the Oil Train talk at the Kiggins Theater. Additional training dates are Friday, April 10 from 7pm-8pm and Saturday, April 11 from 8:30am-9:30am followed by a second day of listening on April 11 from 10am-3pm and debriefing from 3:30pm-4:30pm. All of these trainings and debriefing will happen at the Portland Rising Tide office located at 2249 E Burnside. You are only required to attend one listening project training. 
 
The work that needs to happen before the Listening Project is scouting of houses / roads that have a direct line of sight of the railroad tracks. We are focusing on the north south traffic right now. If you go to this map and zoom in you can find the areas which we are targeting for active listening. http://explosive-crude-by-rail.org/. We also need help gathering clip boards/pens, making copies, lamination, creating the listening project worksheets / questions.

If you don't live in Portland we would still love to work with you on Oil Train organizing.

Training Required:
Everyone who plans to attend the Listening Project will need to attend one of 3 trainings offered on April 1, April 10, or April 11. You only need to attend 1 listening project training but you MUST attend our Listening Project training in order to go door to door for this project even if you have prior listening experience. All trainings, with the exception of April 1, and debriefing will happen at the Portland Rising Tide office located at 2249 E Burnside in Portland, OR. The training on April 1 will take place at the Vancouver Library in Vancouver, WA.

What is a Listening Project?
This Listening Project model was started by the Mountain Justice Movement in 2005 and has been modified and replicated by several social / eco justice groups around the world since then. Listeners get training and go with a buddy door to door asking residents questions to gauge their feelings and concerns about oil train issues. It is a humbling experience, asking questions and then listening to their answers. Listeners will be equiped with maps and other educational materials to distribute. At the end of each 15-30 minute interview the Listeners write down responses and move on to the next house keeping track of which houses have been visited. At the end of the day we gather back to debrief the Listening Project and share stories and highlights. The Listening Projects are good for finding supporters, expanding the local knowledge base and networks, and learning how to phrase our struggles in local terms. The end goal of the Listening Project is to empower local residents by allowing them to tell their story with the idea that upon feeling empowered that they would then organize and take action. Mountain Justice has gotten lots of positive results from using these Listening Projects in Southern Appalachia around coal mining issues. You can find an outline of the questions here.
 

What happens with the data collected?
The data will be written onto sheets of paper and collected by Vancouver Action Network and will be available for review by any group working on Oil Train issues. Residents who give contact info will be invited to participate in the Twitter Oil Train Watch monitoring program, protests, and other direct actions. We will share some of the data collected during the debriefing in the form of story telling. You can go to our blog vancouveractionnetwork.blogspot.com or find us on Facebook for more info about how we use community generated data.

Please Help with Planning the Listening Project

1.  We are looking for locations for Listening Projects to occur in the greater Portland area. The places where we want to listen are along the railroad tracks where oil trains travel. The resident's houses need to be facing the tracks or at least be within a clear line of sight of the tracks. Suggested areas are Hayden Island, St Johns, Hwy 30 near Forest Park, Milwaukee,(and in additional railside communities). Do you live near exploding oil train railroad routes? Check this Forest Ethics Blast Zone Map-- http://explosive-crude-by-rail.org/ If you are a local resident who wants to help organize your railside neighborhood contact us. 

2.  We are looking for questions to ask. We will be using a generic Mountain Justice question list but will include oil train and Portland specific info. If you have door to door experience in Portland and have ideas then please get in touch. I have attached the rough draft of the listening project questions. Feedback is welcome.

3.  Funding to make color lamenated copies of Oil Train Blast Zone maps, copies of the listening project form sheets, and Twitter Oil Train Watch quarter sheets ($60)

Who can attend?

Anyone who is able to ask questions and listen to answers or anyone who can just be a listening buddy for safety. We do ask that you please bathe and wear clean non political and non offensive clothing when going door to door as you are the friendly, smiling, smelling nice face of this budding oil train movement. If you have a car great, bring it. If you don't have a car that is fine as public transit can get you around.

Please RSVP

If you are interested in participating in the Listening Projects please RSVP so that we can make sure our training space is big enough.

RSVP with Matt Landon at vancouveractionnetwork@gmail.com

Stuff to bring
water, food, clipboard, pens / pencils, car, bus fare, a positive attitude, your listening ears! 
 

Wednesday Talk Radio with Paul Roland on KBOO

VAN co-founder, Matt Landon, will be speaking to Paul Roland tomorrow morning at 8:00am on KBOO. They will be talking about the Twitter train watch, an automated train watch, and listening projects in railside neighborhoods.

If you missed the broadcast, you can listen to it here:
http://kboo.fm/monitoringoiltrainsinoregonandwashington0.