This region is on the edge of a new industrial revolution, with the threat of a massive buildout of the petrochemical industry looming like a storm, as the industries responsible for polluting the Gulf of Mexico seek to relocate in the headwaters of the Ohio and Allegheny River valleys, the heart of the new Gas Expansion empire.
The program this year will focus on the issues surrounding the Shell ethane-cracker plant in Beaver, PA and the associated pipeline buildout that is currently in the permitting phases. From the JKLM frackwater treatment plant in Coudersport, PA, 50 miles upriver from the Seneca lands just across the NY state line, to the Appalachian Gathering Station on the Ohio River in southern West Virginia, this tri-state region is on the edge of a major transformation. The wave of fracking wells and injection wells is but a precursor to a full-scale relocation of these massive petrochemical facilites, from the Gulf Coast to the upper Ohio River valley. Creatures on the edge of extinction, people on the edge of society, continue to be pushed over the edge by this relentless corporate expansion driven by fossil fuels and plastic waste.
This year, Heartwood is planning our 28th annual Forest Council to provide a forum for a Grassroots Tri-State Summit, an opportunity to organize on a multistate level to face this new threat to our forests and communities. This industrial onslaught may be unprecedented in scale, but the Heartwood model of real-time, on the ground (and in the forest!) person-to-person network building and grassroots organizing remains our strongest and most versatile tool in our activist tool box. See our website for a full schedule of workshops and speakers. You can come for just one day, or the whole weekend, we even have a "dinner and a show" package for just our Saturday evening Keynote speaker, Karen Coulter from the Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project (Oregon!), followed by Pittsburgh-based musical talent from Social Justice Disco featuring Phat Man Dee and Liz Berlin, followed by Chai Baba!
Friday at 3 p.m. to Monday at 1:30 at Crestfield Camp & Conference Center (195 Taggart Road, Slippery Rock, PA 16057). For more information and online registration, go to https://heartwood.org/2018-forest-council/ Heartwood takes every measure to make this event affordable to even the most dedicated lowbagger activist. Average registration costs about $125, depending on what sleeping arrangements you choose. Most folks camp in tents, but there are cabin-bunks available too.
Questions? contact Matt or Tabitha at info@heartwood.org
