TUESDAY 20 AUGUST 2019The oil giants crushing the
resistance to climate change
A number of bills criminalising trespassing near pipelines and gas
processing equipment passed in America this year
Protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline sparked a backlash from big business (AP)
JENNIFER DLOUHY
After protesters disrupted construction of an oil pipeline in North Dakota by chaining themselves to
construction equipment and pitching tents along the route, oil and chemical companies found a way to keep
it from happening again. They made it a crime.
The companies, including Koch Industries, Marathon Petroleum and Energy Transfer Partners – whose
Dakota Access project in North Dakota was targeted three years ago – lobbied state legislatures to