Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/854923
Maine when a subsidiary of ExxonMobil and Suncor, the Portland Pipeline, sought to transport toxic tar sands oil from Canada to an export terminal (with two proposed 70-foot smokestacks) on Casco Bay in South Portland, Maine, the fossil fuel industry encountered a resistance it may not have been expecting: people power. "There is no question that blowing toxic fumes out of these smokestacks would be disastrous," said retired RN Meg Braley, a former school nurse familiar with the impact of asthma on chil- dren. According to Braley, when the public became aware of the oil industry's plan, they banded together, neighbor by neighbor, to resist. "Doing what you can, in your own community, is wonderful," said Braley, emphasizing that even the tiniest seed can grow into a power- ful movement. "We started with just a few women, in a living room." Braley is describing the genesis of Protect South Portland (PSP), a community organization that grew to become the David to the fos- sil fuel industry's Goliath, as local residents knocked on doors to educate their neighbors and showed up en masse at city council meetings to protest. In addition to the threat from the smokestacks, the aging pipeline earmarked for transporting the toxic oil traverses Sebago Lake, which provides drinking water for 20 percent of Maine's population. In 2014, a groundswell of opposition, led by PSP volunteers, resulted in the passage of South Portland's Clear Skies Ordinance. The ordinance prohibits the bulk loading of crude oil onto tankers in South Portland, and essentially stopped corporate oil in its tracks. The oil industry is now suing South Portland to nullify the ordi- nance, but according to Braley, even as the community fights to keep "Clear Skies" in place, their big win has already resonated far beyond the shores of Casco Bay. "Each time a struggle like this happens and hits the news, it sets a precedent for people in other areas. We had huge oil companies coming up against the people of this coastal town, and somehow we won. It affects the bigger struggle, to give hope to people in other areas," said Braley, who is especially heartened to know South Port- land's win may resonate with her fellow nurses. "I was just thrilled when I found out that other nurses were [fighting for environmental justice]," she said. "We are advocating for people's health and the health of the planet in the biggest way, so I'm very proud of National Nurses United."