On Trial

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LISTENING: to my tummy growl
FEELING: tired, man
SEEING: my beloved Stardew Valley tea tumbler

I still remember the first time I learned about environmental activist and educator Annie Leonard. I was an undergrad. I can't remember the specific course — it was either environmental sociology or human geography. (I double majored in journalism and environmental studies, as well as picked up a sociology major, so I took a lot of really cool classes.)

What I do remember, however, was how I felt after watching Leonard's landmark video, "The Story of Stuff." It was an aha! moment for me as a young person still figuring out my place in the world. Her video linked some pivotal issues — deforestation, public health, corporate greed — that clarified where I should focus my studies and career.

She eventually went on to lead the U.S. chapter of global environmental advocacy group Greenpeace. During her tenure, the organization provided some support to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which was opposing an oil pipeline on their ancestral lands. Now, the company behind that pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, is taking Greenpeace to court for $300 million. Environmentalists see the attack as a classic example of a strategic lawsuit against public participation, better known as a SLAPP suit.

‘It’s About Sacrificing’: Indigenous Youth Runners Call on Biden to Shut Down DAPL | Atmos

Standing Rock youth runners continue the fight against the Dakota Access pipeline. They want President Joe Biden to shut it down.

AtmosAtmos

The case's trial kicked off in North Dakota Monday. It's been a long time coming; these protests were back in 2016. I still remember being among the first national reporters to cover the Indigenous-led protests against the Dakota Access pipeline. Standing Rock youth were at the head of the tribe's advocacy. Their desires were simple: to keep their waters clean and their lands free of the black snake, as they referred to the pipeline. They wanted a future on their tribal lands. Today, the Dakota Access pumps up to 750,000 barrels of oil a day.

Energy Transfer got its pipeline, but that wasn't enough. CEO Kelcy Warren wants to take Greenpeace down, too. A legal victory for his company would mean bankruptcy for a leading human rights organization that has successfully protected lands from nuclear testing, deforestation, and fossil fuel extraction since its founding in 1971.

In 2019, the group invited me on an expedition to the Sargasso Sea, a section of the Atlantic Ocean where the Sargassum seaweed grows and nourishes a range of marine life. That experience was life-changing. After I got over the sea sickness, I got to take in the grandeur and majesty of the high seas. These waters are at risk like much of our natural world is.

The Lawless High Seas May Soon Gain Protections Under a Groundbreaking Ocean Treaty

THE SARGASSO SEA—Ana Paula, the Esperanza’s officer in charge of the crew and equipment, readies the great white crane to drop the manta trawl into the

GizmodoYessenia Funes

There aren't enough organizations and advocates out there, and the few that have committed invaluable resources toward ecological protection and human rights are coming under increased threat. This lawsuit is just one example. The current presidential administration is another.

Across the U.S., at least 21 states have passed laws restricting the public's right to protest. Just last year, legislators introduced 51 bills trying to further limit our First Amendment rights to assembly. Most were defeated. These are dark times, but we must bring the fire.

Greenpeace isn't standing down. In the European Union, the organization filed an anti-intimidation suit aimed at pushing Energy Transfer to cover these legal costs. As the trial kicks off this week, we'll all be holding our breaths. The nine-person jury holds the future of Greenpeace in their hands. 🌀

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Rest in Power

While we can't say for certain that climate change led to these specific weather events (we need attribution studies for that), we do know that the Earth's rising temperatures are already creating more disasters like these.