Earlier this month, more than 100 Bay Area activists joined together for a weekend of trainings led by Indigenous trainers with Promise to Protect. The trainings were designed to support passionate people committed to taking a stand against the expansion of the fossil fuel industry through bold action both locally and globally — including the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline in South Dakota and the expansion of local refineries in the Bay Area. 

By Isabella Zizi, Climate Campaigner, Stand.earth

Earlier this month, more than 100 Bay Area activists joined together for a weekend of trainings led by Indigenous trainers with Promise to Protect. The trainings were designed to support passionate people committed to taking a stand against the expansion of the fossil fuel industry through bold action both locally and globally — including the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline in South Dakota and the expansion of local refineries in the Bay Area. 

The training in Oakland was just one of several trainings happening across the U.S. — in cities like Seattle, New York, Miami, and more — that brought people together with a common purpose: taking action into our own hands to protect our future from the growing threat of climate change. 

A mix of intergenerational people of color and allies packed the room, from bald toddlers to those with salt and pepper hair. There were familiar faces with loads of experience in civil disobedience, and others who were attending a training for the first time. During the first session on “How to be a good relative to Indigenous peoples,” participants joined the Indigenous trainers in a serious conversation about the importance of understanding place-based cultural and traditional practices, and the positive impact that has on Indigenous leadership and solidarity in the environmental movement.

No tar sands in San Francisco Bay

Stand.earth hosted the event, alongside the Indigenous trainers with Promise to Protect, to highlight the growing community opposition to the proposal by Phillips 66’s San Francisco Refinery to expand its wharf and bring in tar sands tankers from Canada. The refinery expansion, if permitted, would impact local health and the climate by increasing refinery emissions and worsening air quality for nearby communities, while increasing tanker traffic and the risk of a devastating oil spill in San Francisco Bay.

Tar sands is one of the dirtiest crude oils on the planet. It’s high in sulfur and heavy metals. Extracting and refining it creates an outsize climate impact. Tar sands is so thick when it comes out of the ground that it can only be moved through a pipeline and loaded onto a tanker after dilution with toxic chemicals. These same toxic chemicals also make it unsafe to approach a tar sands spill until the chemicals have evaporated. This means that in the event of a spill in San Francisco Bay, the heavy portions of tar sands will have the chance to sink while first-responders wait for the toxic, and explosive, chemicals to disperse. Read more: https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/10/05/opinion-canadas-tar-sands-pipeline-plan-threatens-bay-area/

I had the opportunity to speak to participants about local opposition to refinery expansions, and the conversation brought everything back home for the participants. Over 25,000 people have signed the Pledge to Protect to take bold action to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline. I emphasized that this training was not only to prepare participants for global actions, but also to get them involved in local movements — like the fight against Phillips 66’s refinery expansion.

As someone who lives on the frontlines, with the Chevron Refinery polluting my community every day, it was an honor to be able to host a stop of the Promise to Protect tour. The training was a chance to raise awareness about what refineries are doing in our own backyards, connect the dots to the resistance to the Keystone XL Pipeline, and grow the movement to stop the expansion of Canada’s tar sands into California.