Will Energy Transfer Bankrupt Greenpeace? Let's Hope So. It's Time to End the Malicious Activity of Big Green!

Over the weekend, numerous people sent me links to this MSN story titled “The Texas Billionaire Who Has Greenpeace USA on the Verge of Bankruptcy.” It’s a wonderful story about how the tenacious leadership of Energy Transfer is determined to make Greenpeace pay for its outrageous and malicious behavior regarding the now finished Dakota Access Pipeline.

Here are a few highlights from the story:

Fossil-fuel billionaire Kelcy Warren is about to land a knockout punch on Greenpeace.

The pipeline magnate’s company, Energy Transfer, is behind a lawsuit that Greenpeace says could bankrupt the environmental group’s U.S. affiliate. A courtroom victory, which some Greenpeace officials fear is likely, would be a coda in the nearly decadelong battle between the two sides over one of Warren’s signature projects: the Dakota Access Pipeline.

In 2016, Greenpeace, Native American tribal groups and thousands of other activists camped in a remote corner of North Dakota to block the project. The monthslong protests impeded the oil pipeline’s completion and became a flashpoint in the fight over fossil fuels. Images of sometimes violent confrontations between protesters and law enforcement made international news.

Warren ultimately completed the conduit, but the fight wasn’t over for him.

Warren sees green activists, who he once said should be “removed from the gene pool,” as a serious threat to the industry. Starting with protests of Keystone XL, which successfully derailed that project, activists have targeted pipelines across the country.

“Everybody is afraid of these environmental groups and the fear that it may look wrong if you fight back with these people,” Warren said in a 2017 TV interview. “But what they did to us is wrong, and they’re gonna pay for it.”

Now the pugnacious tycoon, who is worth more than $7 billion, is within spitting distance of dealing a serious blow to Greenpeace—and the U.S. green movement.

Energy Transfer’s lawsuit alleges several Greenpeace entities incited the Dakota Access protests, funded attacks to damage the pipeline, and spread misinformation about the company and its project. The case is set for trial in February in a North Dakota state court, where both sides expect a fossil-fuel-friendly jury. Energy Transfer is seeking $300 million in damages, which would likely wipe out Greenpeace USA, according to the group’s leadership.

Read the whole story to get more of the details, but what really got my attention was the bolded paragraph above contrasted with this one near the end of the story:

The lawsuit poses its own risks for Warren. Some oil-and-gas investors expressed concerns about the claim, saying it makes the industry look vindictive and could result in a reinvigorated protest movement. But people close to him say that Warren, who has gone to the mat with competitors and critics alike, isn’t the kind to lay down arms.

I have no doubt the writer got it correct; that much of the industry is inclined to run away from battles, either altogether or after achieving a small victory. It’s a perpetual problem with companies who seem to have no idea what they are up against. Fear of invigorating the opposition misses the point; that the enemy never sees any loss as an obstacle. It realizes repeated battles ad infinitum eventually wear us down and advance the cause of future total victory. It’s a battle to the death for the left and Energy Transfer has wisely joined that battle rather than run away. This is exactly wat needs to happen!

Let me also note one of the best places to gain insights on this lawsuit is to go to Greenpeace itself. This web page offers their perspective and indicates Energy Transfer is ‘over the target’ as they say. It also includes citations at the end and I recommend perusing this one, which includes the lawsuit complaint offered by Energy Transfer. It includes the following description, by the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, of the conduct and harm alleged as "mindless and senseless criminal mayhem" that is not protected by the rights of free speech and assembly:

With respect to the assertion the movement has been a peaceful protest, one need only turn on a television set or read any newspaper in North Dakota. There the viewer will find countless videos and photographs of the "peaceful" protestors attaching themselves to construction equipment operated by Dakota Access; vandalizing and defacing construction equipment; trespassing on privately-owned property; obstructing work on the pipeline; and verbally taunting, harassing, and showing disrespect to members of the law enforcement community. . . . The estimated damage to construction equipment and loss of work on the project is far in excess of several million dollars. . . . To suggest that all of the protest activities to date have been "peaceful" and law-abiding defies commonsense and reality.

Read from page 17 on, and you’ll get to the heart of the matter with respec to Greenpeace’s malicious behavior, and numerous images, such as this capture of video communiqué screenshots, are shared to illustrate:

All I can say is Bravo Energy Transfer for fighting back against these terrorists!

#Greenpeace #EnergyTransfer #Lawsuit #DakotaAccessPipeline