[MCN] The Man Who Decided That Everything Is Not Going to be All Right

[Jeffrey J. Smith]

*On **Saturday, May 13,* from 5 to 9 p.m., at Harmony Stables, 3500 Duncan
Drive in Missoula, 350 Montana will introduce Leonard Higgins, an ordinary
hero, at an educational fundraiser to support Leonard's legal defense
through the Climate Disobedience Action Fund. *Please join us for a
barbecue, good local brews, music by “Ellie Nuno and the Tynellies,” and
the story of good people taking action to avert the climate crisis.*



There are many kinds of heroes. We know the swashbuckler, the Hollywood
alpha who bests his adversaries. We know the anti-hero, the Don Quixotes,
who manage their quest in spite of their misbegotten selves. Our favorite
at 350 Montana, given the current state of the climate and our
Deniers-in-Chief, is t*he everyman*, the average American who steps forward
with great moral courage.



"Missoulians have an opportunity to meet one of these brave souls," says
350 Montana leadership team member Jim Parker. "Leonard and the other
valve-turners took personal risks to defend our planet, our environment,
our quality of life … and, *if you read the scientific literature,* maybe
all life as we know it."



The background is that, on October 11, 2016, five ordinary citizens chose
to act commensurate with the science of the climate crisis. In the face of
the abject failure of elected officials and public policy to deal with
climate change, they closed valves on the five pipelines carrying Alberta
tar sands crude oil into the United States.



Higgins, Jay O'Hara, Ken Ward, Emily Johnston, and Annette Klapstein shut
five major cross-border pipelines in four states carrying millions of
barrels of tar sands crude. The valve turners simultaneously entered valve
stations in remote locations 1,600 miles across four northern U.S. states.



They were supporting the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which was trying to
protect its water and land from the $3.7 billion Dakota Access pipeline
carrying oil to the Gulf Coast. Consistent with the climate movement, their
actions were completely nonviolent.



Fifteen minutes before shutting the valves, the valve turners called
operating companies and emergency services. The firms shut off the oil.
There were no injuries to others nor, except for the cutting of some
chains, to property. The simple plan highlighted the vulnerability of
energy infrastructure and stunned policy makers and energy executives.



Higgins must have drawn the short straw because he turned off a pipeline in
Chouteau County, Montana, near Coal Banks Landing. He awaits trial on July
18 in Fort Benton and faces up to 10 years in prison. After his December 6,
2016 arraignment he said the possibility of incarceration paled in
comparison to the prospect of climate change. "Bottom line: we're facing a
far greater threat than prison," he said.



Retired after a 30-year career as an IT specialist for the State of Oregon,
Higgins’ Montana speaking tour will take him to Missoula, Bozeman, and
Whitefish.



"Montana is as good a place as any to have this conversation," Jay O'Hara
says. "It's a conversation we need to have in the heart of America with
average, everyday citizens."


Dave Harmon, host of the event up the Rattlesnake and a member of 350
Montana's leadership team, says, “The five ordinary activists laid their
personal welfare and freedom on the line for the rest of us, and we’re
going to have their back. *They are our ordinary heroes, and they deserve
our support.”*



350 Montana wants to bring folks together to learn about the moral grounds
for climate actions, pay tribute to their bravery, and raise money for
their legal defense. Because . . .



Every once in a while—not often enough, mind you—some very brave souls put
themselves in harm’s way to right the wrongs of our time. *They are our
ordinary heroes.* Sometimes their bravery is rewarded by arrest, trial, and
threats of jail.



*For more information please visit:* *www.350montana.org*
<http://www.350montana.org> or *www.facebook.com/climatedirectaction/
<http://www.facebook.com/climatedirectaction/>*



*NOTE TO MEDIA: *Leonard Higgins is available for interviews via telephone
or in person. Please schedule interviews with *350 Montana* by calling
406-880-8320 or sending email to yswolfhowl at gmail.com
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