GRASSROOTS ACTIVISTS ARE WINNING BATTLES AGAINST POWERFUL GREEN FORCES
By Tom DeWeese
“The global forces are just too big and powerful. There’s no way to stop them. We are locked out of the process. Our elected officials just won’t listen to us!” This is what I hear every day from activists who truly want to stand up for freedom – but, instead, are looking down in defeat.
STOP IT!!! We have just won a major victory in Iowa as the Navigator Heartland Greenway has announced they are pulling their request from the Iowa Utilities Board to build the carbon capture pipeline. This is a direct result of dedicated grassroots activists standing up and fighting back, demanding the protection of their private property from an arrogant and powerful private corporation that didn’t think mere peasant citizens could stop them.
For the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the most dedicated activists in Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska, fighting to stop the most idiotic of environmental schemes of all time – to bury CO2 in the ground under the excuse of protecting the planet from global warming. I say idiotic because CO2 is not a pollutant, it’s a natural and necessary source of food for our plants. A true environmental scientist knows that. Only greedy corporations seeking to fill their pockets with our tax dollars, and political zealots determined to impose a radical agenda support such lies.
Meanwhile, in North Dakota, state regulators, responding to pleas from farmers, denied another corporation, Summit Carbon Solutions, a route permit for its carbon capture pipeline, as it threatened to seize private farmland for the project. Minnesota is considering similar action.
As opposition began to build against the two pipeline projects that are to crisscross the five states via 2,000 miles of pipeline and the threat of taking thousands of acres of vital private farmland, the politically connected corporations began to take an arrogant stand against their opposition. First, the corporations tried holding public meetings to “help the people to understand the true purpose of the pipeline.” However, nearly every meeting, in every targeted state, became packed with local citizens voicing strong opposition to the plan.
I personally barnstormed Iowa and South Dakota, urging locals to stand up in opposition. I was most adamant that county supervisors take a stand to protect their citizen’s property rights. Many of the elected supervisors responded and began to take action. Two counties in South Dakota (Brown and Spike) passed temporary moratoriums, blocking construction permits. In North Dakota, another county passed a resolution blocking building unless 100 percent of targeted property owners voluntarily agreed to allow their property to be taken.
Obviously, the corporations grew nervous and apparently decided that enough was enough and the opposition must be stopped. That’s when Brown County, South Dakota experienced a shocking incident. So-called surveyors for Summit Carbon Solutions suddenly appeared unannounced on the property of Brown County farmer Jared Bossly, a strong opponent of the pipeline. Jared never met or talked directly with the surveyors, yet, they walked across his private land, including his small farm shop and other areas that had nothing to do with the pipeline path planned to cross the property. After leaving, the surveyors reported that Bossly had threatened their lives. There was a trial and Bossly was not found guilty of such a threat, but the judge put a restraining order on him, denying his right to interact with Summit employees whenever they might again invade his property.
Then two weeks later it happened. Summit sent another team to his property, complete with armed guards and huge equipment designed to drill 90-foot holes into his soil. They drove this monster equipment over his soybean and corn crops, damaging them. There was never an explanation provided by Summit as to the purpose of the act or the reason for the digging of the deep hole.
However, the true purpose was obvious. Intimidation. Not only as a warning to Jared Bossly to stop his opposition to the pipeline but to all others opposing the project. To all farmers the message was clear, keep it up and this will happen to you.
If it truly was Summit’s plan to intimidate and silence the opposition, it has backfired in spectacular fashion, The action against Bossly enraged the farmers and they rallied in the South Dakota State Capital, held a rally of several hundred on the capital steps, and filed more than 2,000 petitions demanding that their property be protected from Summit’s actions. Several state legislators took up the cause and helped in pressuring fellow state representatives to join the cause as it gained national media attention.
Now, as local citizens have learned that they are not captives in the plans of these private corporations, opposition has continued to grow. Apparently, Navigator CO2 Ventures has learned that moving forward is futile and so has canceled its pipeline project. In addition, Summit has announced a two-year delay on its pipeline plans. Reuters News Service, in announcing these actions said, “The cancellation of one of the biggest projects of its kind is a setback to the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the U.S. which are the pillar of President Joe Biden’s climate strategy…” That statement is a huge revelation that the radical green agenda can be stopped.
These actions have become a great opposition rallying cry across the five targeted states. However, locals must heed this warning; now is not the time to sit back with a victory smile on your face. Understand that there is still a huge amount of money and power behind this scheme and they don’t quit that easily. Summit says they are delaying their plans for a couple of years, but also says, “it’s well positioned to add additional plants and communities to our project footprint.” In other words, they are not done yet! Vigilance and continual demands for government action is now the order of the day. Don’t let Summit sneak through a new deal. They must see an unwavering resistance from local residents.
At the same time, resistance to federal government overreach is growing across the nation. The fight against the carbon capture pipeline is one of the most visible examples of successes recently earned by local activists. But there are more. Arkansas just passed legislation to stop communist China from owning land in that state. More states are considering such action. After ten years of effort, local activists finally succeeded in getting Tennessee to join Alabama in passing legislation against Agenda 21 and Net Zero policy. More states are now looking into it. Many organizations across the country are now teaching local activists and state legislatures to invoke Nullification to block unconstitutional federal legislation. Meanwhile, CFACT (Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow) is running a successful campaign to stop construction of off-shore wind towers that endanger sea life, including whales. CFACT has already succeeded in stopping about one-third of Biden’s plans for off-shore wind farms. And my efforts to build Freedom Pods for local action is taking hold!
Take one victory at a time, but do not stop. Local residents must send a message that they will not back down and accept this assault on their property rights. Make it known that these forces had better not cross that line. Continue to demand that local, county, and state governments provide strong legislation to protect the rights of the people they represent. As Rocky Balboa famously said, “That’s how winning is done!”
Tom DeWeese
Tom DeWeese is one of the nation’s leading advocates of individual liberty, free enterprise, private property rights, personal privacy, back-to-basics education and American sovereignty and independence.
Published with permission of ameriecanpolicy.org