“Pull Together” Music Tour Comes to Orcas

Friday, March 31, 7 p.m., West Sound Community Center

— from Katie Fleming —

Canadian First Nations, environmental organizations, and internationally recognized musician Luke Wallace, join the “Pull Together” music tour to resist the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. The proposed Kinder Morgan expansion would greatly increase vessel traffic and the risk of an oil spill in the Salish Sea.

The concert tour, coming to the San Juan Islands and Anacortes from March 30 – April 2, will raise legal funds to help First Nations stop the construction of Kinder Morgan’s pipeline.

This benefit concert with “folktivist” eco-troubadour Luke Wallace and other speakers will be a night of fantastic music and education as the community pulls together to protect our waters! All events begin at 7 p.m. at the following locations:

• Mar. 30, San Juan Island, Brickworks
• Mar. 31, Orcas, West Sound Community Center
• Apr. 1, Lopez, Woodmen Hall
• Apr. 2, Anacortes Seafarers Memorial Park Bldg. (601 Seafarers Way, Anacortes)

“This coast is my home, and I will do everything it takes to defend this beautiful place. I stand with the First Nations who are defending their rights and title against the project,” said Luke Wallace, musician and organizer, “We look forward to connecting with communities in Washington State to rise up against a project that affects their livelihoods.”

A major oil spill would significantly impact Washington State’s maritime economy, which is worth $30 billion and supports 148,000 jobs. A spill would also be devastating to first responders, property values, outdoor tourism, export (due to closed shipping lanes), and the environment.

Each year 12,400 large vessels, including over 1,322 oil tankers, transit through the Salish Sea. Proposals would increase international shipping by 37%, which would turn the region into a tanker highway.

Of all these projects, the expansion of the Kinder Morgan Pipeline would result in the greatest oil spill risk: an 800% increase of a 20,000 barrel or larger spill over the next ten years in Haro Strait and Boundary Pass in San Juan County.

“Our regional culture, economy, and environment depend on oil spill free waters,” said Stephanie Buffum, Executive Director at Friends of the San Juans.

The goal of the “Pull Together the People vs. Kinder Morgan” campaign is to raise $500,000 for First Nations-led lawsuits against the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

Visit www.pull-together.ca and www.lukewallacemusic.com to learn more about the project and to hear Luke’s music.