Monday morning reminder: Protest planned by low bridge

(Polar Pioneer at T-5, photographed from the West Seattle Water Taxi on Friday by JayDee)
Three full days after the arrival of the Polar Pioneer oil rig at Terminal 5, the next promised protest is Monday morning, so we’re publishing a reminder one more time that it might affect low-bridge travelers. The demonstration scheduled to start at 7 am Monday follows the Saturday “flotilla” protest; no citations or arrests were reported from that, but this could be different. As noted here on Thursday, groups opposed to Shell’s offshore-drilling plan for the Arctic say they will gather by the fishing bridge on Spokane St. just east of the low bridge. Today’s version of the media advisory says activists “will flood Terminal 5 and Harbor Island on Monday, stopping work on Shell’s Arctic drilling rig. Organizers with the sHell No! Action Council expect this to be the largest act of environmental civil disobedience Seattle has seen in recent years …” (Also mentioned in our Thursday report, the operators of Terminal 18, east of T-5, decided to be closed tomorrow just in case.)

No route is shown from the gathering point, but getting to T-5 from the fishing pier would require crossing the low bridge. We’ll have a crew on the scene starting early and will have updates here – traffic coverage is a WSB emphasis every weekday morning, whatever’s happening on the roads and paths.

P.S. The regional media says they’ll be on this too, so don’t be surprised to see/hear helicopter(s).

37 Replies to "Monday morning reminder: Protest planned by low bridge"

  • Buck May 17, 2015 (10:26 pm)

    I hope all the protestors have gotten their TWIC cards as storming T5 without on is a federal crime. I know our pathetic city government doesn’t give a rip but the feds might!

  • a little more context May 17, 2015 (11:27 pm)

    Just to clarify, our city government is only pathetic part of the time.

  • ChefJoe May 17, 2015 (11:29 pm)

    That could make for an especially difficult bike commute.

  • dsa May 18, 2015 (12:52 am)

    They don’t care about people who have to work for a living.

  • Ray May 18, 2015 (2:05 am)

    Hopefully these NIMBY’s that attempt to trespass will be treated as the criminals that they are, and be arrested.

    Ridiculous that they will attempt this as well as inconvenience the rest of the city during the morning commute.

  • Brian May 18, 2015 (5:46 am)

    I hope everyone is inconvenienced for months to come over this. I hope the protests continue into the next year as every day more and more people show up to say “no thanks” to this madness.
    .
    I hope you sit in your car and stew about it too.

  • Kjb May 18, 2015 (5:53 am)

    Already starting to hear helicopters in north Delridge

  • chris w May 18, 2015 (5:54 am)

    Thanks WSB. I’m going to head north to Admiral bus routes 56 or 57, rather than take a bus that might be impacted (C line, 55).

  • Mike May 18, 2015 (6:01 am)

    I almost want a bag of popcorn to eat and watch the fun between protesters, Dept. of Homeland Security and Port Police.

  • lvbebe May 18, 2015 (6:01 am)

    I’m guessing this is what the helicopter over North Admiral is hovering for? Seems early.

    • WSB May 18, 2015 (6:37 am)

      LVB, TV starts on-air around oh, 4:30 or so, so they were bound to be up at first light. Nothing else going on in this area so far, so any chopper you see (and I saw one while dropping our photographer off around 6:25) will be attributable to this in one way or another – we’ll let you know if it’s not.

  • Laine May 18, 2015 (6:04 am)

    Ok, while I do respect what the protesters are trying to accomplish. My bf has been working on the rig since it arrived in WA. Before that he was out of work for 6 weeks. The rig has brought jobs with it so those who wish to protest please don’t prevent workers from going to their jobs.

  • WestSide45 May 18, 2015 (6:10 am)

    They have helicopters with cameras that can read the Commissioner’s signature on a baseball from a mile away yet they insist on hovering over populated areas to cover “breaking news” at 5:50 AM. Why can’t they get out over the water?

  • DP May 18, 2015 (6:22 am)

    Love that people are getting so upset with the protesters. Makes me side with the activists more and more!

  • J9remix May 18, 2015 (6:48 am)

    I’m sponsoring a protestor. They are taking risks, they are taking time from their busy lives, and they are the ones standing up to this madness. It’s really annoying to hear people say how inconvenienced they are and criticizing these people.
    When Shell spills oil in the Arctic (a known 75% chance) and the way of life is taken away from natives – just like in Nigeria where Shell destroyed a culture and a way of life, admitting they knew the pipelines there were faulty years before that huge spill.
    When this happens in Alaska, and it will, just remember: The protestors gave a damn while you are sitting their doing nothing!!!!!!! And the planet will be at stake not just Alaska. Ice melting in the Arctic now due to climate change has brought out the vulture oil companies up there who see an opportunity with ice melting (in the summer and then freezing, this is not normal in the Arctic) to go up there and drill. Completely greedy and selfish. We don’t need that oil. They will make you think otherwise, but if you’re already so close minded to do this research yourself, then you’re part of the problem. Shell can diversify their billions into green energy, but they are a DIRTY oil company, in more ways than one.

    • WSB May 18, 2015 (7:00 am)

      We’re tracking what’s actually happening, or not, in our daily traffic watch until and unless it becomes big enough to break out. https://westseattleblog.com/?p=310743

  • Jeff May 18, 2015 (7:01 am)

    Being against arctic drilling is a perfectly reasonable stance. A bunch of yokels are not going to overturn a federal decision, and nobody local has the power to. What’s the point of all this?

  • Jason May 18, 2015 (7:15 am)

    The only people truly affected by this are bike commuters, there are no other routes into town. Good thing though, bike commuters are rather hard on the environment /s

  • John Adams May 18, 2015 (7:22 am)

    Instead of being energy independent and able to control safety, quality and provide work, let’s protest all that stuff and instead, keep buying oil from foreign governments (Saudis, Libya, Iran, Sudan, Russia, Venezuela, etc.) that hate us, repress/circumcise women and criminalize the LGBT community (jail and murder). Oh yeah baby, that makes so much more sense!

    And the polar ice? Please – go check the facts/records; it’s never been more voluminous. We are at record levels.

  • Jake May 18, 2015 (7:48 am)

    LOL at John Adams.

  • Steve May 18, 2015 (7:51 am)

    They might get more respect if they did something useful and constructive to resolve our dependence on oil. You know, go to school, get an engineering degree and solve instead of create problems. Instead we get useless protests and suffocating amounts of smug privileged hypocrites protesting the very thing that gives them the leisure time to be useless.

  • coffee May 18, 2015 (7:57 am)

    Dear protesters, you are carrying a lot of petroleum based products….kinda strange

  • Clinker May 18, 2015 (8:03 am)

    The point of all this is to take a visible stand and make a statement that we must change as a society. All of us.

  • SeaLo May 18, 2015 (8:17 am)

    Right on, J9remix, DP and Brian.

  • WillBeHOnest May 18, 2015 (8:24 am)

    Yes, go and protest big oil in your plastic kayaks with your plastic paddles, plastic water bottles and plastic sunglasses. Americans are delusional.

    • WSB May 18, 2015 (9:05 am)

      Re: WSP, don’t know. Police remain on high alert; we just drove into Jack Block Park for a different view of T-5 and it didn’t take long for an unmarked car to come over to check us out. We yelled that we’re media and the officer said OK and left.

  • Leonardo da Vinci May 18, 2015 (8:25 am)

    “Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.”

  • helridge May 18, 2015 (8:26 am)

    I want my MTV.

  • wscommuter May 18, 2015 (8:54 am)

    Ahhh, the silliness and folly of zealots … it makes my brain hurt.

    @John Adams – the only “facts” you can possibly be referring to re polar ice being supposedly “more voluminous” would be from climate-change deniers. Look at recent comparative photos from Antarctica in particular. Look at recent USGS data re glaciers in sub-polar regions. Jeez.
    .
    @Brian – wishing for more delays/inconvenience to those in cars, apparently because if one is driving, one must apparently be anti-environment. Your smug ignorance is impressive, if pointless and purposeless.
    .
    Good for the protesters, I guess, for caring and showing up to speak their minds. I nonetheless support Shell being here not because I support arctic drilling, but because this oil rig brings jobs and these protests will have no bearing on whether the drilling happens or not. Just a fact.

  • Kristin May 18, 2015 (9:02 am)

    Just a passing thought, but wonder how much fuel all of these helicopters have used to film the protest…

  • Yardvark May 18, 2015 (10:18 am)

    Thank you to all those protesters who are making the time today to take a stand against Shell’s illegal occupation of our port. I imagine it’ll be inconvenient for a lot of non-protesters so I also want to thank people for their patience.

    If we’re to really solve this great big challenge of reducing our addiction to oil, it’ll take everyone. Please keep that in mind as we hopefully all work together to build a better future.

  • Scott May 18, 2015 (10:37 am)

    John Adams is right. Except that he’s not. I tried to check the facts/records website but I got an “are you kidding me” error message . While Antarctic ice has been surprisingly increasing according to some models, arctic ice has been decreasing. Can we please avoid the climate change “debate”? I don’t know how many more proven facts are needed to convince people 2+2 doesn’t equal 5

  • G May 18, 2015 (11:48 am)

    What I’ve learned so far on global warming:

    1) Global warming and the prediction of temps
    decades in the future from computer models
    is on the same solid footing as addition
    or gravity, or the shape of the earth.

    2) I’ll include the 97% who agree with
    global warming. Not mentioned is the
    fact that there is statistical bias
    in that those who answered are more
    likely to believe in warming. Too,
    though it seems likely that we are
    contributing some to warming, no one
    asks this mysterious “97%” how dire
    they think our contribution is.

    3) Any conflicting data, particularly
    that shows a lesser effect, should
    be minimized or even discarded.
    After all, it’s annoying and interferes
    with out human-centered, we’re the
    culprit ideology. Herding people is
    more difficult too.

    Let me know if I forgot anything.

  • alkiobserver May 18, 2015 (12:26 pm)

    I say welcome Shell and Foss. Keep up the good work. Don’t let a few zealots stand in the way.

  • context is all May 18, 2015 (1:23 pm)

    To those who are inconvenienced, overwhelmed or low IQ, I am sure Shell and those who are concerned about climate change too will both take all of these WSB comments to heart. Not.

    Get over it. Civil disobedience and accompanying protests, boycotts and legislative change are likely to increase in September after the Roman Catholic Pope comes out publicly with a mandate about climate change. There are 1.2 Billion Catholics. The Pope is a Jesuit. Then in December, the Pope is going to speak at the Paris Climate Conference, after speaking to the United Nations and US Congress. Things are about to change up. You figure it out and then get use to it.

  • antiprotestor May 18, 2015 (1:49 pm)

    Shell does a great job in getting product out of the ground and to our local service station.
    If you don’t agree or think this protest is a bit idiotic considering how much we rely on petroleum products, go fill up your tank at a gas station near you this week!
    The 1% protest was bigger.
    The May day protest was bigger.
    There were more people at the park playing soccer this past weekend.
    So why is this protest a critical news story.
    Everything that the protestors are wearing, the asphalt they stand on, the clothes they wear, the shoes they have on, the house or apartment they live in all needed petroleum products to come into existence, hard to get them to stores without it, hard to build anything without it, unless they are willing to live in a hole in the ground and make their clothes out of leaves and twigs, they should move on.

  • G May 18, 2015 (1:53 pm)

    Lesley,

    Not surprised that Greenpeace utilizes these type of tactics, this is what the global warming community has been doing for years, silencing more moderate scientific voices, those who in principle agree with the science behind greenhouse gases but are more skeptical about the extreme claims. As far as the attempt to smear Moore with his association with nuclear power, Greenpeace seems to be hopelessly lost in the 1970’s, regurgitating fear mongering decades old; we may NEED nuclear power as part of out energy solution. Greenpeace is a classic example of an organization that may have been fresh and relevant at one time, but is no longer.

    And now, miraculously, they have a new ally, The Catholic Church, an organization that was scoffed at as being hopelessly arcane and anti-intellectual, suddenly has the approval of the climate community, who soon will be quoting encyclicals. Everyone and everything is fodder for the grist, I guess.

    These really are strange, strange times.

Sorry, comment time is over.