Both groups have had troubles with the law, with five of the so-called Raging Grannies slapped in cuffs by Johnny Law this week during some of the ongoing protests outside Terminal 5, where Shell’s rigs and support vessels are moored ahead of its planned Arctic operations.
The elderly ladies in sun hats were reportedly sitting on rocking chairs sipping tea with one hand and locked together with “sleeping dragons,” makeshift sleeves constructed with materials designed to make their removal difficult and time-consuming.
What made the protest dangerous was that were sitting on the railway tracks.
They were arrested by Seattle’s crack Apparatus Response Team, which was established following the Seattle’s WTO riots, the so-called Battle For Seattle from 1999.
With a truck full of saws, jackhammers and other heavy-duty tools the ART is trained to trained to safely remove protesters who chain themselves to objects or each other.
It took about 10 minutes to remove the women, the eldest of whom was reported to be 92-years-old.
They were arrested for investigation of obstruction and pedestrian interference, with trains held up for almost four hours because of the protest.
The ShellNo! Action Council says protestors are aiming to stop Shell rig from going out on time.
Also planned is a kayak blockade to prevent the departure of Shell’s Polar Pioneer rig, with “hundreds of protesters standing to hit the water” as soon as the rig departs.
Shell has given no date for its rig to leave Puget Sound, but it could be as early as this week, once the
load-out is complete.
Activists oppose drilling in the Arctic, where as much as one-third of undiscovered oil reserves may exist.
They say drilling would exacerbate climate change and risk biodiversity.
More than 300 Seattle protesters have been trained in kayak safety and skills in the lead up to the blockade.
Shell’s drilling rig in Seattle sparked controversy when it arrived last month, and hundreds of protesters went out on the water days later on May 16 in kayaks and small boats to show their opposition to the planned drilling.
The anti-Shell coalition suffered a defeat in the federal appeals court yesterday, with by 2-1 vote, the ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals finding the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), which is part of the Department of the Interior, acted lawfully in approving the plans, which relate to Shell oil leases in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas from 2005, 2007 and 2008.
It rejected arguments that the approval was "arbitrary" and "capricious," based on Shell's unsupported assumption that it could recover 90-95% of any oil spilled.
Environmental advocates oppose drilling in the Arctic on concern that any spill might prove difficult to clean up.
Two judges said the BSEE lacked discretion to reject Shell's plans because they complied with federal oil pollution laws.
They said Shell never made an assumption about the company's ability to clean up oil.
Circuit Judge Dorothy Nelson dissented, faulting the BSEE's failure to consult with environmental agencies to ensure Shell complied with laws protecting endangered species and habitats.
