What’s wrong with our energy policy in one short video

We all know a picture speaks a thousand words, but sometimes a video says even more.

If you’re looking for one clip that shows a bit of the craziness of an energy policy pushing bomb trains, arctic drilling, and unchecked oil production all over our country while communities remain at risk and our climate continues to race towards catastrophe…watch this clip.

As our friend Brendan DeMelle of DeSmogBlog details, the video from Carkeek Park in Seattle shows Shell’s enormous “Polar Pioneer” offshore oil rig making its way through Puget Sound to the port of Seattle, where it is set to be docked before heading up to the arctic waters off the coast of Alaska. Of course, Shell’s plans to dock their rig in Seattle’s port have been met with huge protests and legal challenges.

A video of such a huge symbol of Big Oil’s determination to drill wherever and whenever it can would be distressing enough, but that’s not all that Brendan’s video shows. In a terrible coincidence, a huge BNSF “bomb train” full of oil comes barreling by along the coastline as the drill rig slowly passes in the water.

Arctic drilling and crude by rail are huge symbols of an energy policy gone wrong. They imperil our communities, our waters, and our climate every day.

But, the people are rising up. This weekend Seattle will host multiple protests and events saying “ShellNO!” to Shell’s plans and arctic drilling. You can find more information at http://shellno.org/.  On Saturday there will be a kayak flotilla and accompanying onshore events, and on Monday activists are planning a more escalated direct action to show the intensity of opposition to Seattle playing host to Shell’s climate crimes.

We’ll have a campaigner on the ground in Seattle helping make sure Shell and our leaders know we all stand against this crazy plan. Follow us on twitter at @priceofoil and on Facebook, and follow the hashtag #ShellNo to support from afar!