Friends of LittleSis,
I had the privilege of traveling to Houston two weeks ago to attend a series of events organized by the Texas Campaign for the Environment and nearly a dozen other climate justice groups protesting at the annual energy industry conference, CERAWeek. Derek and I wrote a longer dispatch from Houston at our news site, Eyes on the Ties.
Dubbed the “Superbowl of energy”, CERAWeek gathers together thousands of oil and gas executives, financiers, tech giants and heads of state from across the globe. Over the week, they cut deals, network, discuss energy trends, and generally advance the agenda of the fossil fuel industry.
This year, conference speakers shamefully doubled down on fossil energy, such as methane gas, and downplayed the impacts of climate change, calling it a necessary “side-effect” of our current world.
However, just outside the conference, hundreds of activists from frontline communities and allies across the nation confronted this egregious celebration of fossil fuels and profit. Organizers held teach-ins, trainings, street theater, documentary screenings, and a March for Future Generations. We witnessed the dedicated resistance of folks on the ground in and around Houston, demanding an end to the long history of Gulf Coast communities being used as “sacrifice zones.”
Eight frontline leaders were violently arrested by the Houston Police Department for peacefully protesting, highlighting the myriad ways in which police serve to protect the interests of corporations, even as those corporations accelerate the climate crisis. The week also underscored that even in the face of increasing repression and the terrifying ascent of billionaires, there will always be communities that powerfully fight for a world beyond extractive systems.
I encourage you to watch the full press conference hosted by Texas Campaign for the Environment. Also, check out our most recent piece, which goes deeper into the powerful elements
converging at CERAWeek.
- Lauren | 
