Roberta F. / Wikimedia
A court ruling in North Dakota found the environmental organization Greenpeace guilty of causing damage to Energy Transfer through large-scale protests in 2016–2017 that delayed construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. This ruling may prove pivotal. The jurors found the eco-activists guilty of «defamation, disorderly conduct, and property damage»
The activists had set up camps along the pipeline, which was intended to transport shale oil from North Dakota to Illinois. Currently, the pipeline transports up to half a million barrels of oil daily. Delays in completing this 1,100-mile infrastructure megaproject resulted in additional costs and lost profits.
Greenpeace's lawyers argued that their role was secondary and that members of the Sioux tribe were the primary instigators of the sabotage. The Sioux were supposedly concerned about potential environmental damage from possible crude oil leaks into the Missouri River that would threaten their nearby lands. Energy Transfer's billionaire owner, Kelcy Warren, unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate with the Sioux, offering them the nearby Cannonball Ranch as well as the construction of a new school on their reservation.
Greenpeace executives saw the court decision as an «attack on free speech». Energy Transfer immediately countered, stating that Americans clearly understand the difference between free speech and breaking the law.
In 2018, Kelcy Warren made politically incorrect remarks, suggesting that those who drilled holes in his company's pipelines should be «removed from the gene pool».
The court ordered Greenpeace to pay $660 million, a sum that Greenpeace and its sponsors will likely struggle to gather. As columnist Igor Maltsev reasonably notes, «If they caused $660 million in damages to just one company and state, how much damage have they caused worldwide? For example, consider their attack on Gazprom's oil platform (the Arctic Sunrise incident), among others».
For clarification, no substantial damage was inflicted during that incident. In the fall of 2013, Greenpeace activists attempted to board the Prirazlomnaya platform, which is Gazprom's first offshore project in the Arctic. The oil workers politely conversed with the activists, who had tied themselves to metal structures, and even offered them tea. Later, the Arctic Sunrise was escorted to Murmansk, and 30 of its crew members were charged with hooliganism.
Notably, an ecological assessment conducted by the Arctic Sunrise on August 10, 2012, confirmed no pollution near the Prirazlomnaya platform.
A less gentlemanly reaction occurred when Greenpeace tried to disrupt French nuclear tests at Mururoa Atoll in the Pacific. On July 10, 1985, French DGSE agents executed «Operation Satanique», bombing Greenpeace's flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, in Auckland, New Zealand.
The North Dakota court ruling against Greenpeace will have an impact for some time, especially since Greenpeace intends to appeal. Maltsev remarked, «If American courts start honestly doing their jobs, not even Soros could pay for them». George Soros, a financial manipulator who is currently funding anti-Trump campaigns and protests with his son, is mentioned here aptly.
In Maryland, which is run by Democrats who are obsessed with the green agenda, their cult-like devotion to solar and wind energy has led to disaster. Electricity costs have doubled, leaving over 264,000 residents unable to pay their bills.
Despite renewables’ inability to generate stable power without subsidies, Maryland's Governor Wes Moore opposes building traditional power plants, contradicting renewable energy dogma. Consequently, around 40% of the required electricity must be purchased from neighboring states. The local press has raised conspiracy theories about Governor Moore, asking, «Is he a Soros agent?»
Tyler Durden (a pseudonym for the collective contributors at ZeroHedge) comments on this failed policy, attributing the crisis to Maryland’s leadership prioritizing apocalyptic environmentalism. This prioritization inherently slows economic growth and fuels inflation.
According to Durden, Governor Moore and his associates prioritize illegal migrants over their citizens, «bankrupting residents with toxic green policies that cause inflation», which constitutes a significant breach of their oath to uphold citizen welfare.
Frustration with eco-radical violence has accumulated over the years. Eco-radicals increasingly resemble Makhno’s anarchists during the Russian Civil War: initially village protectors, they degenerated into organized criminal gangs.
In the U.S., eco-radicals have disrupted major sporting events, damaged priceless artwork, and blocked highways during rush hour. ZeroHedge claims that these are not random acts of civil disobedience but rather part of a coordinated strategy to weaken American energy infrastructure and increase consumer costs.
Notably, the executive director of the Climate Emergency Fund told The New Republic that their movement «must have a radical wing that disrupts normalcy».
Donald Trump's supporters advocate for a return to normalcy, firmly rejecting eco-activists’ ritualistic dances around theories of anthropogenic global warming and their worship of photovoltaics and wind turbines. Consequently, the Biden administration's hurried allocation of $20 billion toward the green agenda before leaving office faces uncertainty. Trump is demanding that banks freeze these Democratic subsidies and redirect the billions elsewhere.
One of Trump's first actions as president was to notify the UN of the U.S.'s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, effective January 27, 2026. Trump consistently labeled global warming claims as nonsense, fabrications, or hoaxes.
The tide has shifted. Discredited after her misguided attacks on Israel, Greta Thunberg is unlikely to lecture world leaders from the UN podium again. Similarly, militant, Russophobic Greens like Germany's Annalena Baerbock, who is known for her «360-degree turn» comment, will have a hard time continuing to impose their dogmas.
Meanwhile, national realists are demanding the restoration of the Nord Stream pipelines to regain access to cheap Siberian natural gas, which has been a critical driver of German economic growth and stability for decades.
The U.S. court's condemnation of Greenpeace, once considered untouchable, signals a significant shift in the global agenda. Trump is genuinely following through on his inaugural promise by launching a «common-sense revolution».