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Golden Rule Ambassadors Join Peace Fleet Activists at Seattle Seafair
July 30
Peace Activists to Meet U.S. Navy Fleet at Seafair; Tuesday, July 30, in Elliott Bay
Local activists will stage a water-based nonviolent protest against the glorification of war weapons at the Seattle Seafair festival. Peace activists will meet the U.S. Navy fleet in Elliott Bay. The entire Seafair Fleet Week, featuring militarism and weapons of war, is sponsored by the Boeing Company, the second largest military contractor in the U.S.
This year the Peace Fleet will be joined by the Golden Rule Ambassadors, Zoe Byrd and Michelle Marsonette. In 1958 activists sailed this little boat towards the Marshall Islands to stop nuclear weapons testing. Arrest of the crew in Honolulu sparked worldwide outrage, which helped President Kennedy decide to sign the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963! The 1958 action inspired the founding of Greenpeace and the many peace ships that followed.
Other peace activists will meet on the Seattle waterfront, Pier 62 for a nonviolent demonstration against weapons of war and against environmental harm caused by the U.S. military during Seafair. See Seafair Climate Action, www.seaclimateaction.info.
What: Peace activists at Seafair
When: Tuesday, July 30, Noon, Peace Fleet in Elliott Bay.
Demonstration on land begin at 1 PM
Where: Elliott Bay and Pier 62
For the twenty-third year, peace activists will address the public display of warships and warplanes in our community.
The Golden Rule remains in transit from Eureka, CA since July 29th and expects to arrive in Seattle on Monday, August 4th. We will welcome her and the brave crew in Lake Union at the Center for Wooden Boats when she sails into the marina in her dramatic fashion.
For a tour of the boat, or to inquire about sailing, please contact:
Helen Jaccard, Project Manager
vfpgoldenruleproject@gmail.com
206-992-6364
Why would we demonstrate for peace at a Seattle maritime festival? Because the celebration of warships in our harbor helps bring about the normalcy of modern war.
The fleet arrival at Seafair is a public relations and recruiting event for the U.S. Navy. Previous years have brought Trident nuclear submarines complete with nuclear warheads and Navy warships used to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles. The fleet is displayed for four days in downtown Seattle at tremendous cost to taxpayers while crucial social services in education, health care, and transportation are being cut for lack of funds.
The Peace Fleet is an incarnation of earlier waterborne demonstrations: the People’s Blockade of U.S. Navy vessels carrying munitions during the Vietnam War; and the Peace Blockade near Hood Canal, demonstrating against the arrival of the first Trident submarine, the USS Ohio, at the Trident submarine base at Bangor in 1982.
The Peace Fleet began on August 2, 2000 when the Trident submarine, USS Alabama, arrived in downtown Seattle for Seafair, complete with up to 192 nuclear warheads.
The Peace Fleet this year, as in past years, will require no public funds or public resources.
Contact: Glen Milner (206) 365-7865
Mary Gleysteen (360) 265-1589
Day of the event (206) 979-8319
Seafair Climate Action is an alliance of local groups with similar concerns: the need to stop burning fossil fuels that cause climate change, lowering noise pollution, and ending outdated practices glorifying the military. Seafair should instead focus on low carbon ways that represent Seattle’s commitment to clean air and water and a healthy environment for all.
Our effort is composed of members from groups such as South Seattle Climate Action Network, Veterans for Peace Seattle, Extinction Rebellion, 350 Seattle, and other climate and environmentally focused groups and individuals.
Endorsed by
People for Climate Action
Sunrise Movement – Seattle
Climate Action Families
Green Party of Seattle
FACT
Veterans for Peace, Seattle
Extinction Rebellion
South Seattle Climate Action Network
Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
WA Physicians for Social Responsibility
And more signing on regularly!
Links to information on climate, air quality and health
Outdoor Air Pollution and Health Impacts – Washington Department of Health
https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/air-quality/outdoor-air
Air Quality Targets – Washington Ecology Department
https://ecology.wa.gov/air-climate/air-quality/air-quality-targets
Washington’s air quality implementation plan
https://ecology.wa.gov/Regulations-Permits/Plans-policies/State-implementation-plans
Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map – Washington Department of Health
https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/air-quality/outdoor-air
Seattle climate Goals See p. 139
https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/OPCD/SeattlePlan/OneSeattlePlanDraftPlan2024.pdf
The King County 2020 Strategic Climate Action Plan
https://kingcounty.gov/en/legacy/services/environment/climate.aspx
Current KC Climate Plan actions are described at
https://kingcounty.gov/en/legacy/services/environment/climate/actions-strategies/strategic-climate-action-plan.aspx
Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map – Washington Department of Health
https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/air-quality/outdoor-air
Goals of the Seafair Climate Action Campaign:
- Exclude military fighter jet participation from the annual Seafair Air Show
- Join with the people of King County to re-create a Seafair that celebrates the region’s community traditions, especially those that help build resilience in the face of the climate crisis
- Collaborate with others around the country to call attention to the harmful waste of resources, pollution, and carbon emissions resulting from military airshows