Beware the green extreme
Violence and radical environmentalism
The Trump administration OK’D the Keystone pipeline and now two East Coast pipeline projects have also cleared key regulatory challenges. But what appears to be an antifa environmental faction vows to “resort to sabotage” in order to “defeat” the pipelines.
Their tactics serve as an example of the extremism embraced by some factions of the environmental left.
As the Washington Examiner notes, the two projects — the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline — will run along the mid-atlantic Coast, transporting natural gas obtained through innovative drilling techniques. According to estimates by the planners, the pipelines would combine to create more than 25,000 construction jobs, nearly $7 billion in capital spending, hundreds of millions of dollars in annual energy cost savings and tens of millions of dollars in annual tax revenue.
Despite the projects’ economic benefits — and the fact that the National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Department of Transportation say that natural gas pipelines have the best safety record of any energy delivery system in the nation — antifa groups have declared war against them.
The group, which describes itself as a “digital community center for anarchist, anti-fascist, autonomous anti-capitalist and anti-colonial movements” is known as It’s Going Down. Like antifa, which is short is for anti-fascist, the Examiner explains that It’s Going Down is a loosely configured network of activists opposed to capitalism.
As the Examiner explains, the group recently posted an anonymous article online that is directed against the Virginia pipelines and hints at the group’s apparent willingness to physically attack the infrastructure transporting natural gas, as well as to continually harass public officials who support the projects.
The post details the efforts of activists who trespassed on the private property of a Virginia Water Control Board official and draped a banner from her front porch that read “Stop Poisoning Our Community” and “No ACP” and “No MVP,” in reference to the pipelines.
“When we have done everything we can to prevent this pipeline within legal means,” the post threatens, “we will resort to sabotage and we will defeat this symbol of domination, exploitation, globalized capital (and) earth pillage.”
The post also pledges to bring “Fire to the Prisons, Fire to the Pipelines, Fire to the Fascists.”
Yes, much of this may be just infantile, overheated rhetoric. But these threats must be taken seriously. While instances of so-called “eco-terrorism” dropped significantly in the past decade after a series of high-profile prosecutions, the radicals of It’s Going Down offer a reminder that the mainstream environmental movement has spawned a number of darker and more dangerous offshoots prepared to engage in violence to advance their agenda.
The views expressed above are those of the Las Vegas Review-journal. All other opinions expressed on the Opinion and Commentary pages are those of the individual artist or author indicated.
The Review-journal welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should not exceed 275 words and must include the writer’s name, mailing address and phone number. Submissions may be edited and become the property of the Review-journal.
Email letters@reviewjournal.com Mail Letters to the Editor
P.O. Box 70
Las Vegas, NV 89125
Fax 702-383-4676 riding it each year?
It is time we put the monorail transit system on equal footing by providing it additional funds. Let’s permanently allocate at least $10 million a year in hotel tax revenue to help with its capital and operational expenses. With the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s extravagant and unnecessary expenditures, they can afford this. Plus, the monorail supports the authority’s purpose, in this case by offering a great connection between convention facilities.
If we are going to publicly subsidize mass transit, we can also help Las Vegas’s unique monorail system survive and achieve its true potential. Maybe a connection to the airport will be next. prevent one moron from selling an illegal gun to another moron. And the laws would not prevent that even if they were written in a manner that the FBI could actually legally participate in the process.
If Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson paid more attention to prosecuting those who violate our gun laws, and less time coveting higher political office, perhaps many of the issues surrounding measures such Question 1 would clear up. In other words, Mr. Wolfson, let’s regulate the morons, not the guns.
Every sportsman in Nevada in general, and every gun owner in particular, is thankful for the wisdom and leadership of Don Turner. He brings to the table common sense and a deep familiarity with the issues, and we are very lucky to have him as an advocate for our side.