CONCORD, NH -- After a three day trial in Merrimack County Superior Court and four hours of deliberation, the jury reached a decision regarding the 2019 Hooksett coal train blockade.

In closing statements, Attorney Kira Kelley said “my clients believe that catastrophic climate change is increasing at an ever accelerating rate. My clients believe that doing whatever we can to intervene responsibly with a culture of care, with an inviting and powerful action is a matter of human survival. My clients understood that coal is a particularly disastrous fossil fuel in terms of the amount of emissions it produces. Other similar campaigns have successfully shut down coal plants with bold acts of physically stopping shipments.”

Around 4:00pm on January 8th, 4 activists entered the property of the coal-fired Merrimack Generating Station, which was running at the time. Two scaled the inactive smokestack and dropped a banner reading "Shut It Down," while two locked themselves to the base of the stack.

Environmental activists representing Extinction Rebellion, No Coal No Gas, and 350NH launched cascades of fireworks near Merrimack Generating Station this evening to draw attention to the immorality of burning coal in the escalating climate crisis.

Over a hundred and fifty people descended on Bow this Sunday, October 3rd, to take direct action to shut down the Merrimack Generating Station - the last coal-fired power plant in New England. The Merrimack Generating Station is destroying the river, the land and the water and making the Bow community sick. It is contributing to the escalating climate crisis.

Bow, NH-- New England activists shut down the Merrimack Generating Station on July 21st. Twelve people in kayaks and canoes descended on the Merrimack River, where the Merrimack Generating Station pollutes the air and water. A group of activists with No Coal No Gas planted gardens and art within the station itself, resulting in a shut down of the coal plant starting around noon.

Activists are calling on ISO-NE to suspend capacity payments and cancel existing capacity contracts to fossil fuel generators, starting with the coal-fired Merrimack Generating Station in Bow, New Hampshire. Instead of committing ratepayer dollars to subsidies in the form of fossil fuel capacity payments, activists are calling on ISO-NE to redirect that money to ratepayer relief and payment forgiveness due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

So much feels like it is on the line after this election: healthcare justice, reproductive justice, economic justice, racial justice, immigrant justice, climate justice, and more. Now that the election is over, we must take a beat to take care of ourselves, then, be prepared to fight moving forward. Can you join us?

“Our country is facing the overlapping crises of unchecked climate change, economic inequality, COVID-19 and now, direct threats to American democracy. It is more clear than ever before that the path forward to a just and equitable future is with the Biden and Harris ticket. We will do our part to vote in record numbers, to ensure that every vote is counted and we will take to the streets if necessary. We ask that you join us, so that we may begin the decade of the Green New Deal.”

“I hope that we can, starting locally, make a difference by stopping the Granite Bridge Pipeline and make that an impetus to produce more alternative energy. That would be my greatest hope, that people will see, especially people who work in our government, that we are serious. We’re organized, and we are demanding the clean air, water, and soil that come with a reasoned approach to energy production.”

“It is also vital to move beyond lifestyle changes and take action - raise your voice, advocate for change, volunteer, testify at the state house, and write letters to the editor about the issues that move you.”