Marchers descend on Southpointe to protest environmental impacts of gas, coal
Chanting “You can’t drink oil, keep it in the soil” and carrying signs including “Not welcome in our communities,” more than 100 environmental advocates marched through Southpointe Monday morning to express their opposition to energy companies with corporate headquarters there.
“We’re here to send the message that what they do has been affecting our communities on a daily basis,” said Veronica Coptis, a Greene County resident and spokeswoman for Rising Tide North America, an organization that put together the protest. They were demonstrating against environmental harm they said is occurring from drilling and mining.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Protesters from the environmental group Rising Tide march down a Southpointe street Monday to raise awareness of the impact of gas drilling and coal mining.
“Our safety is put on the line by decisions made in these headquarters,” Coptis added. “They will experience for one day what we feel every day.”
On a chilly, windswept morning, the demonstration began about 6:30 a.m. in the mixed-use Cecil Township park and disrupted traffic flow for part of the morning. Protesters early on blocked traffic at the intersection of Southpointe Boulevard and Technology Drive by setting up two tall tripod structures, with two people sitting near the top and three in chairs on the ground. The bottom three were tethered to one another, with the person on each end chained to the tripods.
The two near the top were arrested by Cecil police and charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of highways. Patrick James Young, 34, of Pittsburgh’s North Hills, and Ashley K. Funk, 23, of Mt. Pleasant, Westmoreland County, were each released on $5,000 unsecured bond and face a preliminary hearing 9:30 a.m. Dec. 21 before District Judge Traci L. McDonald.
Protesters initially formed two groups, with about 20 stationed near the tripods. The others met farther up Technology Drive before beginning to march. All merged as the walk progressed around Town Center.
They were a diverse throng, from British Columbia to Nova Scotia in Canada, and from a number of states. Their chants also included “We’re going to fight back” and “Clean water is a human right,” their signs bearing “Fracking poisons air and water” and “We’re protecting” certain states including Oregon, Ohio and Maryland.
Marchers stopped on the sidewalk above Consol Energy’s headquarters, where Sarah Martik of Center for Coalfield Justice spoke through a megaphone.
“We want to send a strong message to Consol and any company that threatens our clean air and water,” said Martik, who grew up in Daisytown.
“The future of clean air and water is up to us. We are here to say, ‘No more.'”
A “No more” chant followed.
Consol Energy officials could not be reached for comment. The Marcellus Shale Coalition, a trade group representing gas and oil companies and their supply chain partners, did weigh in on the protest. Spokeswoman Erica Clayton Wright said in a statement:
“Clean, abundant American natural gas is an absolute winner for our environment, our economy and our nation’s security. Our industry is proud to safely produce the affordable energy that Pennsylvanians need.
” It’s sad and unfortunate that some radical anti-energy protestors would rather spread inflammatory claims and try to disrupt Pennsylvanians hard at work than accept well-understood facts and science. This extremism is dangerous and doesn’t reflect Pennsylvania values.”