I can't imagine having to fight to keep a foreign company from taking my land without permission.

[madfloridian]

That's seems to be what's happening in Texas right now. That's what Eleanor Fairchild was doing in October when she was arrested on her own property for protesting TransCanada’s construction of its Gulf Coast tar-sands pipeline.

But she had been fighting this intrusion on her property for a while. This video was uploaded March 2011.

Here is more from October this year when she and Darryl Hannah were arrested.

Texas grandmother arrested for trespassing on her own land to protest Keystone

Who’s Eleanor Fairchild? No one you’ve heard of. The important part isn’t who she is, it’s why she was arrested and where she was when it happened. Fairchild was arrested for trespassing. And when it happened, she was standing on her own property.

.."The pipeline being built is the last stretch of a connection from Alberta to the Gulf Coast. After the government signed off on construction, TransCanada moved quickly to secure right-of-way. In the process, it has faced strong resistance from landowners. Even some who signed lease deals with TransCanada believe the company misrepresented its intent. And when landowners wouldn’t sign deals, TransCanada successfully persuaded Texas to seize private land for the project.

That’s exactly what happened to Fairchild. According to TarSandsBlockade.org, Fairchild “never signed a contract with the Canadian pipeline company, who, in turn, proceeded to expropriate her ranch through Texas’ lax eminent domain legal proceedings.” In the eyes of the state of Texas, the land, condemned, isn’t Fairchild’s. Fairchild seems justifiably inclined to disagree.

Please note the company's statement about their arrest. They referred to out-of-state activists who were choosing to break the law.

“It is unfortunate Ms. Hannah and other out-of-state activists have chosen to break the law by illegally trespassing on private property,” David Dodson, a spokesman for TransCanada, said in an email. He also said protesters were “putting their own safety and the safety of others at risk.”

I know this has been written about here before, but I ran across this video of Eleanor Fairchild and her fight to keep her land. She mentions that 87 acres of her land will no longer be accessible to her.

Kudos to her for trying.

There is a good post in the comments section. Seems once again the world is watching.

We read about you in the big national papers in Sweden, Europe, and I think that you are such a brave woman!

[Fire Walk With Me]

1. This pipeline and its proponents are monstrosities.

[madfloridian]

2. No guarantees who gets the oil.

What a mess.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

3. So glad we have a Democrat in the White House who is fighting this

...oh wait...

[truedelphi]

9. And when these cases get to the Supreme Court - it is the Republican Justices who

Are more likely to side with the homeowner, or original property owner!

[momsrule]

4. All 87 acres?

Surely they did not need all of her land. What a crime against her ownership!

[Tigress DEM]

6. 87 acres OF HER LAND. She must have more than that. nt

[madfloridian]

7. She had about 300 acres I think. Pipeline will cut her access to 87 acres.

It's near the end of the video. She won't be allowed to build a road across or anything to give her access. The company was asked to replant trees and grasses she uses for feed, but they refused.

[Tigress DEM]

5. Eminent ***king Domain laws being misused.... abused.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminent_domain

It's happened in Minnesota too. But the international twist is really ridiculous.

[Fire Walk With Me]

10. Boston Globe article about the protest at the TransCanada office on the 7th

Parts Permillion ‏@350Maine

Boston Globe article about the protest @ the TransCanada office on the 7th:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/massachusetts/2013/01/07/protesters-glue-themselves-together-westborough-office-company-building-pipeline/3MkxHkv9gbokZbTIQ4vkkO/story.html …

Retweeted by Occupy New England

[madfloridian]

13. I hate that they are now behind a firewall.

[Fire Walk With Me]

14. Oh, sorry. I saw this tweet go by right after reading this OP and though to add it

and didn't click through.

[Dustlawyer]

11. This should anger Republicans and Democrats alike!

This Canadian company will provide jobs to build the thing. Those will only last so long. It will be the nastiest oil, which would wreak havoc much worse than the already terrible crude (see Gulf of Mexico). This oil sinks by itself in water making cleanup next to impossible (BP sunk theirs to hide it so it could not be pick up and fined by the barrel, they don't care about what it is doing to all life in the Gulf). All of the major and most of the minor pipeline companies have had leaks in their pipes. The ones that haven't, they haven't because they have not been in business long enough. They all have leaks because crude and shale oil has corrosive components that over time, thin the pipe. Pipe maintenance costs money, but the real cost is changing out the pipe. Most companies start with a band aid approach and some just let it ride hoping they will either sell it later. Others just ignore it until it has a major rupture. Bottom line, none are willing to spend the money!
The other big issue is that they can do this to an American citizen. They had to make no concessions, and I am sure they did not pay full values. How much did the appraised value drop when the property is split almost in half, and the two halves are not connected?
This oil will be refined on the Texas Gulf Coast. They would not have to add much capacity or jobs to handle the extra oil. They have already been expanding due to a dramatic increase in drilling in the U.S. and the Gulf. The oil will be sold on the world market, with the majority of it going to China. Texas fights for oil rights like the NRA fights for guns, extreme! I am sure she does not stand a chance under our laws and that is a crying shame!

[madfloridian]

12. A lot of good points in your post.

It should anger both parties, but doubt it will.

[CrispyQ]

17. Oil leak - that was my first thought, too.

The land looks so beautiful from the photo. The 85 acres will be ruined & how much more if the pipe leaks.

Everything for profit. Everything for profit. Everything for profit.

[madfloridian]

15. From the Independent UK in Dec...some protestors must pay $65,000 fine.

This is one of the few updates I have seen on this. Seems like it was forgotten back in Oct.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/keystone-protesters-pay-a-high-price-for-dangling-in-texas-trees-8426627.html

"Protesters sitting in trees or blocking equipment used to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline are learning that environmental activism can be a ticket to lengthy jail time in East Texas.

Matthew Almonte, Glen Collins and Isabel Brooks landed in jail in Tyler on Dec. 3, charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass, resisting arrest and illegal dumping, following efforts to stop work on the TransCanada pipeline. Each has asked for a reduction in the $65,000 bond that must be posted to get out pending trial, without success.

The much higher bail amounts set for Almonte, Collins and Brooks, by a judge in Smith County, a two-hour drive east of Dallas, has raised questions of fairness.

"If they've been charged with misdemeanors and don't have prior criminal records, $65,000 bond is ridiculously high," said Brandon Baade, a criminal defense lawyer in Tyler."

The article states that Fairchild's late husband was an oil exec for Hunt Oil in Dallas.

[El Shaman]

16. Just Ricky P earning his keep

http://www.citizinemag.com/texas/0702_ttc.htm

[madfloridian]

18. Ricky P has had an oversized influence on Texas.

I had not seen all that, thanks for the link.