Barely a week ago, hundreds of Virginians across the state did something they had never done before. They protested simultaneously for two straight days in seven Virginia cities against Gov. Terry McAuliffe and his proposed fracked-gas pipelines.

It was a beautiful sight. Methodist ministers sang hymns of protest against the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Roanoke. Native American drummers joined refugees from Hurricane Irma to protest the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in Virginia Beach. Similar scenes played out in Woodbridge, Harrisonburg, Abingdon, Glen Allen, and Richmond as part of the “People’s Pipeline Protest.”

In each city, Virginians gathered outside the local offices of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, all run by Governor McAuliffe, all ordered to support his pipelines. Seven offices. Two days. Fourteen protests. And in Richmond, 19 people were peacefully arrested.

Now it’s your turn to speak! Call Governor Terry McAuliffe today and tell him to STOP the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines.

If you attended any of the People’s Pipeline Protest events on September 13th and 14th, then you know how uplifting they were. Check out this video or click through these photos. It’s true that the pipeline companies – led by Dominion Energy and EQT – have lots of money on their side, and they heap that money on politicians like McAuliffe. But organized people CAN defeat organized money.

Indeed, after weeks pressure from farmers and environmentalists, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper declared that Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline could not enter his state without lots more study. Specifically, Cooper ordered site-specific reviews for each spot where the 600-mile pipeline crosses a fragile creek, river or wetland in North Carolina. This is the EXACT SAME REVIEW that farmers and landowners have been asking for in Virginia — but TerryMcAuliffe refuses. And now West Virginia — where both pipelines would begin in the fracking fields there — has also hit the pause button on approval.

North Carolina and West Virginia have declared new concerns about these massive pipelines. Don’t Virginians deserve the same protection?

Call Governor McAuliffe today and tell him to STOP the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines!

Meanwhile, many thanks to all the civic, business, and environmental groups statewide who participated in the recent seven-city People’s Pipeline Protest. You know who you are! But allow me the honor of thanking as many of you as I can right here: 350 Loudon, Divest RVA, RVA Interfaith Climate Justice League, Preserve Franklin, Norfolk Catholic Workers, Beyond Extreme Energy, Fort Valley Voices for Action, 350 Central Virginia, Indivisible Midlothian, Friends of Buckingham, Yogaville Environmental Solutions, Interfaith Power & Light, Virginia River Healers, 350 Fairfax, Friends of Augusta, Tidewater Pax Christi Community, C-Ville Rising, Preserve Giles County, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Oil Change International, Wild Virginia, Virginia Organizing, Friends of Nelson, and the Interspiritual Empowerment Project.

And of course all of us at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network were thrilled to join the inspiring events, which were set up by our sister organization CCAN Action Fund.

Now that North Carolina and West Virginia have hit the pause button on these massive pipelines, it’s time for Terry to do the same. Call him today.

We’re almost there. Let’s finish off these pipelines before they ever get started.

Warmly,

Mike Tidwell
Executive Director
Chesapeake Climate Action Network