Markey cited solar and wind power as future drivers of the economy and he questioned why the Trump administration did not see it as a source of jobs for unemployed workers, especially the blue-collar workers Trump purports to represent.
At the Lower Spectacle Pond picnic area, about 80 people gathered at 10 a.m. to not only protest the pipeline but support "the need for solidarity against fossil fuel infrastructure across the country," said a Sugar Shack Alliance spokesperson.
State Sen. Adam Hinds: "If anybody's learned anything from this election, it's that elections have consequences – serious policy consequences. They are absolutely gutting the EPA at a rate that even the most pessimistic person would be surprised about right now." Hinds was also sharply critical of the state in allowing the pipeline project to move through the Otis State Forest, which is state-owned land ostensibly protected from development.
Sitting right next to the existing right-of-way being widened aggressively by Tennessee Gas Company is a "Thoreau Cabin," so named for American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, who wrote the famous essay on civil disobedience.
Following nearly four years of struggle against a powerful company (Kinder Morgan and its subsidiary, Tennessee Gas Pipeline) backed by laws and a Federal commission, it seems that now is an appropriate point to judge performances of the various participants and agencies that could have made more of a difference to avoid this calamity.
"This is obviously fear of a trial. We want our day in court to talk about both the immorality and illegality of what's going on ... we want a trial."
--- Vivienne Simon of the Sugar Shack Alliance
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission not only failed to engage in meaningful consultations with the Narragansett Indian Tribal Historic Preservation Office, it also delayed studying the cultural resources until it was too late to protect them.
So where were the Massachusetts officials who could have negotiated with Connecticut to save Otis State Forest because the gas wasn’t really needed after all?
"In the face of ongoing climate change, it is crystal clear that [our] responsibility [to protect the earth] requires us to reject all fossil fuel infrastructure construction, no matter how small or large the project may be."
-- Irvine Sobleman of Northampton, a member of the Sugar Shack Alliance
Congressman Richard Neal has demanded that decisions made by FERC regarding the Connecticut Expansion Project be deferred until a quorum of FERC commissioners is reached and all vacant FERC commissioner seats are filled: “It is my belief that the rehearing [on the permit] should occur before a single tree is cleared and construction on this project commences.”
Is there a significant need for natural gas in Connecticut to cause Tennessee to proceed [with the pipeline] despite the fervent opposition? The answer appears to be “not anymore.”
According to deputy tribal historic preservation officer Doug Harris, one-third of the ceremonial stone landscapes will be disturbed or destroyed during the construction of the pipeline.
