text stringlengths 11 57.9k |
|---|
Crude oil seen separated from sand for collection. Tailings ponds are used to separate the heavy oil bitumen from the sticky sand mined from around the area. Near Fort McMurray, Alberta. |
First, the harm that would have resulted from obeying the law would have significantly exceeded the harm actually caused by breaking the law. |
Second, there was no legal alternative to breaking the law. |
Third, the defendant was in danger of imminent physical harm. |
Fourth, there was a direct causal connection between breaking the law and preventing the harm. |
Because the activists were charged with state crimes, each of the four states where the 2016 Valve Turner actions took place handled them differently. Regan led the defense in all four and planned to use the necessity defense in all of them. But as the trials rolled out in 2017 and 2018, only Minnesota granted the use ... |
The judge in Washington said Ken Ward, an East Coast transplant in Oregon and former deputy director and COO of Greenpeace USA, had not exhausted his legal options to slow climate change. For instance, he could support political candidates. Still, Ward did present a modicum of climate science to explain his “state of m... |
Similarly, Michael Foster, a family therapist and environmentalist from Seattle, was convicted of felony criminal mischief and conspiracy and misdemeanor trespass and sentenced to one year in prison and three years' probation, which he served in North Dakota. Leonard Higgins, a retired state government IT executive man... |
No federal charges were filed by the Obama administration. However, on October 23, 2017, 84 members of the House signed a letter decrying “recent attempts to disrupt the transmission of oil and natural gas” and calling on attorney general Jeff Sessions to prosecute. It cited the Valve Turners' attempted sabotage. So fa... |
The Minnesota case, however, has given the necessity defense some legal traction. The county prosecutor in Minnesota appealed Judge Tiffany’s ruling on the defense, but the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the decision 2–1 in April. The Minnesota Supreme Court refused to hear further appeal, so the use of the necessit... |
“I have been waiting 10 years for a real climate necessity defense case,” says Tim DeChristopher, sitting with me in the old brick VFW Hall bar in Bagley, Minnesota, the tiny burg where the Clearwater County courthouse sits. In 2008, DeChristopher fraudulently purchased oil and gas leases on Bureau of Land Management p... |
Since then, however, more and more judges have seemed open to the defense. Ken Ward and Jay O’Hara were involved in a now famous action in May 2013, when they used a 32-foot lobster boat to block a freighter carrying a load of coal to the Brayton Point power plant in Somerset, Massachusetts. The day of their trial, pro... |
In the 2016 trial of activists known as the Delta 5, who had blocked train tracks used by crude-oil trains in Everett, Washington, the judge allowed them to present expert witnesses to argue necessity in court, but then did not allow the jury to consider that defense. Though they were convicted of trespassing, the judg... |
Just this year, DeChristopher and a group of other activists actually did win a necessity case, though it was not by jury trial. In that case, 14 people, including DeChristopher and Karenna Gore, daughter of Al Gore and director of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York, were charged with... |
Still, DeChristopher points out, the necessity defense will not be fully legitimized until a jury decides: This is real. “If a jury of 12 random people unanimously says that climate change is so serious, and our government's response to it is so inadequate, that it necessitates this kind of action by regular people—tha... |
On the day the trial began in Bagley, October 8, 2018, the Nobel Prize–winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change came out with a sobering report that raised the stakes. The IPCC, which has long been considered the voice of global scientific consensus, said that rigorous carbon emission reductions had to be a... |
“I think it’s a hoax,” another said. |
After careful questioning by Regan, however, some jurors were identified who cared deeply about climate change. A soft-spoken, white-haired farmer named John Gunvalson, who has six pipelines running through his property in Gonvick, said he was trained in soil science and knew climate change was scientific fact. “It’s p... |
You can see the value of having a Clearwater County jury declare that it’s necessary to stop climate change. But it never got the chance. As abruptly as I write this sentence, the judge himself acquitted the Valve Turners on all counts. His courtroom would not be the start of the whirlwind. |
Judge Tiffany had surprised everyone just before the trial began by severely limiting the expert testimony for the defense, cutting the list of defense witnesses from 11 to four. Hansen, McKibben, Ingraffea, and Twin Cities neurologist Bruce Snyder were still scheduled to appear, and it was going to be a hell of a show... |
Not everybody was buying that. “It seems like they didn’t want to talk about climate change," Leonard Higgins told me. |
The Bagley decision, however, left the door open to the necessity jury trial they wanted. Maybe in some other county. Regan pointed out that the Minnesota Appeals Court ruling means the necessity defense can now be used in other jury cases, at least in that state. She also noted that Judge Tiffany’s acquittal further r... |
Meanwhile, activists all over the country are interfering with oil and coal infrastructure, blockading the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, temporarily shutting down construction of a section of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline in Louisiana, killing plans for coal ports in Portland, Oregon, and other towns, locking the... |
The Brayton power plant in Somerset, Massachusetts, was shut down in the wake of protests. |
On the night the trial closed, the Valve Turners and a lot of their supporters attended a talk in nearby Bemidji by James Hansen and tribal attorney Tara Houska of Honor the Earth. As I spoke to Regan, she was approached by an attorney representing three activists who locked themselves to the gate of a Wells Fargo bank... |
Ryan Malone tied the game with 4:29 left in regulation then scored the deciding goal in the ninth round of the shootout to give the New York Rangers a 3-2 preseason win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Madison Square Garden on Friday. |
Malone tied the game when he one-timed J.T. Miller's pass behind Corey Crawford from the lower left circle. He ended the game by beating Crawford with a quick snap shot. |
Patrick Kane and Andrew Shaw scored 2:20 apart late in the second period to put Chicago ahead. Kane tied the game at 14:05 with a power-play goal, then set up Shaw for a shot past Henrik Lundqvist. |
The Rangers outshot Chicago 10-2 in the first period and led 1-0 on a goal by Martin St. Louis at 5:02. |
Chicago finished the preseason 2-3-1. The Blackhawks open the regular season at the Dallas Stars on Oct. 9. |
New York completes its preseason with a visit to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. |
To read more from the Rangers website, CLICK HERE. |
Senators 4, Canadiens 3: Bobby Ryan's power-play goal 3:11 into overtime gave the Ottawa Senators a preseason victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Canadian Tire Centre in the first game of a home-and-home series. |
Ryan, who signed a seven-year, $50.75 contract extension Thursday, converted a pass by Kyle Turris for Ottawa's third power-play goal of the game. Erik Karlsson, Mike Hoffman and Alex Chiasson also scored for Ottawa. Chiasson's goal at 7:54 of the third period tied the game. |
Alex Galchenyuk, Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais scored for Montreal, which hosts Ottawa on Saturday. |
Hurricanes 5, Sabres 1: Elias Lindholm had a hat trick to help the Carolina Hurricanes to a preseason win against the Buffalo Sabres at PNC Arena. |
Lindholm scored twice in the second period and hit the empty net with 3:56 remaining in the third. |
Nathan Gerbe had a goal and an assist, Jeff Skinner scored, and Andrej Sekera had two assists for Carolina. Cam Ward made 19 saves. |
Jake McCabe scored a second-period goal for Buffalo that made it 4-1. Michal Neuvirth made 32 saves in the Sabres' preseason finale. Carolina finishes its preseason schedule Sunday at the Washington Capitals. |
Bruins 6, Islanders 1: Ryan Spooner scored twice to help the Boston Bruins defeat the New York Islanders in a preseason game played in Bridgeport, Conn. |
Spooner and Carl Soderberg scored in the first period to give Boston a two-goal lead, and Seth Griffith's goal early in the second period made it 3-0 before New York's Kyle Okposo scored a power-play goal. |
Spooner, Daniel Paille and Reilly Smith scored third-period goals for Boston, which completes its preseason at home against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. The Bruins open their regular season Oct. 8 against the Philadelphia Flyers. |
The Islanders finished their preseason 4-2-1 and open their regular season at the Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 10. |
To read more from the Islanders website, CLICK HERE. |
Maple Leafs 5, Red Wings 1: Defenseman Dion Phaneuf had two goals and an assist to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a preseason win against the Detroit Red Wings at Air Canada Centre. |
James van Riemsdyk and Bandon Kozun each had a goal and two assists for Toronto, and Jake Gardiner had a goal and an assist. Jonathan Bernier made 20 saves. |
Xavier Ouelett scored a first-period goal for Detroit that tied the game 1-1. Jonas Gustavsson made 31 saves. |
The Red Wings complete their preseason Saturday at the Boston Bruins. |
The Maple Leafs finished their preseason 5-2-1. They begin the regular season Oct. 8 at home against the Montreal Canadiens. |
Sharks 3, Coyotes 1: Alex Stalock made 23 saves, losing his shutout in the final four minutes of the San Jose Sharks' preseason win against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. |
Matt Nieto, Tye McGinn and Tommy Wingels scored for San Jose; Joe Pavelski had two assists. |
Rob Klinkhammer scored with 3:49 reamining for Arizona, which got 31 saves from Mike Smith. |
Arizona finished its preseason 4-2-2. San Jose plays its final preseason game at the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. |
Le'Veon Bell is fast, but I'm pretty sure he isn't this fast. |
A fan posted a glitch from Madden 19 that showed the disgruntled Steelers running back cover nearly 50 yards in a blink of the eye. Bell basically teleported his way into the end zone. |
No wonder he wants more money from the Steelers - he's The Flash, according to Madden. |
But they are fun to watch. |
Gov. Phil Murphy (center) speaks in Trenton earlier this month. To his left is state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and to his right is state Senate President Stephen Sweeney. |
Only six days are left before a planned vote in the state Legislature on a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in New Jersey. But with the clock ticking, Gov. Phil Murphy and other state leaders continue to scramble to convince enough lawmakers to support the proposal. |
Murphy said Tuesday that he and his fellow Democrats who lead the Legislature “still have a ways to go" to gather enough votes for the measure to pass Monday. |
“We’re working the phones hard,” the governor said at an unrelated news conference in Maplewood. “We all have to pull our weight. I have no reason to believe we all are not, but it’s gonna be an all-in." |
“It’s gonna take a village to get this one done,” Murphy said. |
The comments came a day after committees in both houses of the Democratic-controlled Legislature — the state Senate and Assembly — advanced the bill, which would legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for those 21 and older in the Garden State. |
At the same time Monday, Murphy finally answered the pleas of top lawmakers and ramped up phone calls to state lawmakers either against the plan or on the fence in an attempt to whip up their support. |
Leaders are hoping for both the Senate and Assembly to hold full votes Monday. Each chamber needs to pass the measure before Murphy could sign it into law. |
If they can’t gather enough votes by then, it’s likely a vote won’t happen until at least after the November elections. |
Two sources familiar with the situation told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday the Assembly appears on pace to gather the 41 votes needed for the bill to pass the lower house. |
It’s less certain in the Senate, though two other sources said "there’s a path” to the 21 votes needed. The Senate is currently at least five Democratic votes short. |
“I won’t get into specific names,” the governor said. |
State Senate President Stephen Sweeney admitted Tuesday that getting to 21 in the Senate will be tough. |
Two sources said it’s likely the Senate will need Republicans to come on board. |
“It’s only Tuesday,” one source said. “We’re climbing." |
If legal weed passes in N.J. next week, how soon could you buy pot? |
After two legislative committees advanced the marijuana legalization bill on Monday, all that's required is a vote from the full state Legislature. |
Murphy has expressed doubts about using “transactional politics” to whip votes — in other words, trading something, such as more funding for local projects, to convince lawmakers to back the bill. |
“Folks are asking for things that I would like as well that are not achievable at the moment,” the governor said Tuesday. |
Instead, Murphy has stressed his argument that legalization is the right thing to do, not only to tax marijuana but to improve the state’s social justice system. |
Murphy and top Democratic lawmakers have been pushing for more than a year to legalize marijuana, both to raise tax revenue and improve social justice. Recent polls show a majority of New Jerseyans support legal pot. |
But lawmakers from both major political parties have been leery, fearing legalizing the drug is a slippery slope. |
NJ Advance Media staff writer Larry Higgs contributed to this report. |
Bye, Angelina: Will The 'Staten Island Dump' Leave Family Vacation Without Drama? |
Could the third time be a charm for Angelina? |
After peacing out not once, but twice on Jersey Shore, the "dirty little hamster" (Mike's words) made her grand return to Miami for Family Vacation. |
Though the boys embraced her with open arms, the girls were far more skeptical of the chick they'd once dubbed "the Staten Island dump." |
Cue JWOWW: "Why the f**k are you here?" You're here because you're a f**king chew toy." |
Ang, who had been invited by prank war champion Pauly D, claimed she wanted to "make amends," but Jenni called bulls**t -- literally. And Snooki? Well, let's just say she was feeling bitter over a recent interview Angelina gave to a certain tabloid regarding lip injections. |
"My experience with Angelina? She's an a**hole, she's mean, she's immature," said Nicole. "When I look at her, I'm like, 'You are still a snake.'" |
Fast forward to Meatball Day, when the self-proclaimed "nicer b*tch" joined Snooki, Deena and Ronnie out for a day of binge drinking. Because booze often brings folks together in happy harmony, they were all BFFs by the bender's end -- and Angelina had even apologized to Snooki. |
"People in life, like, they change. I've changed for the better," said the Staten Islander. |
All seemed forgiven, but that didn't mean Angelina was automatically allowed to kick it for the remainder of Family Vacation... because even third chances can wear out their welcome. |
Naturally, leave it to Jenni to break the news -- over a nice sushi dinner, no less -- that it was time to pack up and take the ferry back to Staten Island. |
"I was a little shocked that you were here, but I must say, in the last 48 hours, you are a good person," JWOWW stated. "I would like to get to know you more... but I don't want to get to know you more here." |
Will Angelina take Jenni's adios in stride, or will she go apesh*t circa 2010? And has she really changed? Sound off with your thoughts, then tune in next Thursday at 8/7c to see if Angelina has truly turned over a new leaf -- or if she's still fake as f**k. |
Ireland went out on a high. |
Or at least it wasn’t a crushing low. With the country talking about rugby, Ireland's footballer had a chance to remind them that they too can ride a wave of popularity, but instead they managed to avoid defeat to Denmark, which had some people talking about positives. |
But are there any positives after a grim 2018? On The Football Spin, Paddy McKenna, Rob Redmond and Dion Fanning discuss what will happen now to Irish football and how long can Martin O'Neill limp on as manager of a team which appears to have been drained of all confidence? |
Rob advances Stephen Kenny's cause and explains what is missing in the Ireland set-up, while Dion makes a case for Ireland as football country despite the relentless misery. |
Subscribe to The Football Spin. |
Glendale plans to spend $1.2 million through next year on new sidewalks in the northwest part of the city. The project also includes addition of handicap access ramps at Brand Library in an ongoing effort to comply with federal disability laws. |
The City Council approved the project on Tuesday. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.