UPDATE: May 18, 2015, 11:38 AM EDT
SEATTLE (AP) — Critics of oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean plan to block the gates to a seaport terminal in Seattle, where Royal Dutch Shell’s massive floating drill rig will be loaded up before heading to the waters off Alaska this summer.
A few hundred protesters marched across a bridge to Terminal 5, temporarily closing the road during Monday morning’s commute. Organizers plan to engage in civil disobedience to stop work on the rig.
Police say arrests are possible, but they expect the demonstration to be peaceful.
Port spokesman Peter McGraw says there are minimal operations at Terminal 5 on Monday “so there’s not much to block.”
The protesters say they’re concerned about the risk of an oil spill and the effects of burning fossil fuels. Officials in Alaska have touted the economic benefits drilling could bring.
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NPR reported that the rig does not have a permit required to be there. Royal Dutch Shell is appealing. Meanwhile Shell wants the activists to follow the law. How cute.
I’m boycotting Shell.
I would move back to Seattle in a minute if I could afford it. However one of the best things the city could do is to fire every cop they have… most are THUGS-W-BADGES and have been for decades.
There aren’t really any good oil companies, but some are worse than others, and Shell is definitely among the worst.