Environmental Protesters Close O Street in Front of John Kerry’s Home

Activists gathered Aug. 25 in front of the Georgetown home of Secretary of State John Kerry and his wife Teresa Heinz to urge him to stop the expansion of the Canadian oil company Enbridge’s Alberta Clipper tar sands pipeline.

As police cut off vehicular traffic to the 3300 block of O Street NW, about 60 persons chanted, “Hey, John Kerry, come out. We got some shit to talk about. … Shut this pipeline down. Calm this crisis down . . ” One of the signs showed Kerry as a young man who protested the Vietnam War and argued for a cleaner environment.

The pipeline runs from Hardisty, Alberta, to Superior, Wisconsin.

The group Midwest Unrest, Energy Action Coalition and others contend that “Through a backroom deal with the State Department, the Canadian oil company Enbridge is proceeding with a massive expansion of its Alberta Clipper tar sands pipeline without going through the legally required environmental review process.”

“For two years we have sent petitions, called the White House, and brought thousands of people to rally against this scandal, but Secretary Kerry has still not responded or done anything to stop it,” said Kendall Mackey, national tar sands campaign manager with Energy Action Coalition and one of the main organizers of the event. “With our communities and our future on the line, we have no choice but to bring our message right to Secretary Kerry’s front door to expose this dangerous and illegal scheme and urge him to put a stop to the Alberta Clipper pipeline.”

“We are faced with a monumental decision,” said Greta Herrin, a student from Kalamazoo, Michigan, the site of a 2010 tar sands spill. “The safety of our waterways and the health of our communities rests in the hands of Secretary Kerry. He has the power to prevent further Enbridge disasters.”

Kerry did not come to the front door of his O Street home to talk to the protesters. He is likely still on vacation in New England.