Original subtitles

4 .30 in the morning, we are in the bayou in Louisiana for a direct action

protest for what environmentalism looks like in America today.

I used to be behind the desk.

Imagine the United States 50 years from now, when the wetlands and the coast is

gone, the sea level is rising.

These swamps here are protecting millions of people from Mississippi

floods. So the consequences of destroying the Chapala Basin will be a

catastrophe of trillions of dollars.

How does this affect me?

I'm in America's largest swamp, where an oil company is building a new 160 -mile

monster called the Bayou Bridge Pipeline.

Projects like this threaten everything from crawdads to the fishing industry.

And worse, it erodes the natural barrier protecting 2 million people from

floods. Dean Wilson, a local who monitors work sites and reports

not happy.

When you come through here, what does it feel like to see all of this?

Yeah, it is heartbreaking.

I've been living, hunting and fishing in the swamp for full -time 16 years.

I've been here for over 30 years.

And to see this kind of destruction, this is completely unnecessary.

And it is illegal.

They're like bad boys who didn't clean up after themselves after dinner. It's a

bunch of kids who shouldn't be getting dessert.

Exactly.

I'm not much of a nature guy.

I'm more of what veterinarians refer to as an indoor cat.

But I can't hide from reality.

We're destroying our environment and running out of time.

I remember watching the end of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests and

where that movement would go.

Apparently, here.

This is the tail end of the Dakota Access Pipeline. So for all those people

started fighting up in North Dakota, there are a handful of us that are still

fighting down here in the South. That's right. The same company whose pipeline

was protected by fire -hosing protesters, Energy Transfer, is at it

Their CEO, Kelsey Warren, is building another pipeline through one of the

world's most fragile ecosystems.

I want to meet the people risking everything to stop it and see just how

they will go for the cause.

We need you here now! We need you now!

That's Cherie Foytland, one of several indigenous women leading the movement to

fight pipeline construction.

She had me meet at the Frog City Travel Plaza because she wouldn't disclose

their camp's location. On the upside, me and this truck have the same name.

waiting to meet the environmental activist.

I did leave my AC on in my room, and I'm not coming back for two and a half days

because we're camping outside.

Do I go back and turn off that AC?

I don't know if I'm even going to have a future generation.

My wife and I are still discussing whether we should have kids. Now is not

time. The point is, that AC is going to be left on.

Oh, Sheree Jordan.

I'm Sheree. Sheree, nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, too. We're going to go

to the Indian Bayou Cube.

Okay, great. Yeah.

So why the cloak and dagger situation here? Oh, we do have to be a little

careful because we've made a few enemies.

We protect our people a lot, so we don't just let anybody come in, you know.

So we have to pass the vetting process before then going officially in?

Yeah, pretty much.

This group of protesters is called Louis -Levis, which is French for water is

life. And their camp is a certain Genete Quoi, which is French for no working

bathrooms.

The camp attracts activists from around the country who identify as water

protectors, environmentalists, and machete connoisseurs.

How do you identify?

I'm Cindy Spoon.

So classic.

She's been here for ten months, which is impressive, because I've been here ten

minutes and I'm already sunburned. So what drew you here?

So I live in a town that has a ton of fracking. There was fracking at my

campus. There was fracking in our parks. There's fracking by our hospitals.

There's fracking everywhere.

And in 2014, we passed a ballot initiative by popular vote to ban

within our city limits.

And about six months later, the state of Texas passed a new state law that

banned fracking bans.

So that's one of several experiences I've had where I've, like, been a part

organizing and community where we've done everything legally, we've done

everything right, we've tried it all, we've done it all by the book, and

The book changes.

Right, they just change the rules.

Louis Levy plays by their own rules because the book is always changing.

Last year, Louisiana passed a law that basically criminalizes protests of oil

and gas, and at least seven other states have introduced similar legislation.

Cindy found this out the hard way.

While protesting on public waterways, Rent -A -Cops pulled her from a kayak,

-tied her hands behind her back, and detained her. These people have refused

identify themselves. We know they're not police officers.

They can't tell me what I'm being charged with. They can't tell me what

going to. They ripped me out of a boat.

If the state prosecutes, she faces up to five years in prison.

Can I go here?

Is the space taken? Oh, no.

No? Yeah, I don't want to be here.

You don't want to be on the camera? Okay, this is like high school all over

again.

I'm going to go here.

Okay, family, we wanted to get together for a little action planning meeting.

As you all know, it's a swamp action, which means that we only have so much

in the boat.

Just be mindful, like I said before thousands of times.

Everybody's role is super important.

It doesn't matter if you're doing the dishes or...

If you're out there on the swamp and everybody takes turns and moves around

different places.

So we just appreciate everybody showing up.

For safety, do you guys do like a buddy system or anything like that? We take

care of each other for sure. So we keep we're keeping track of everything, you

know. So like when you get arrested tomorrow, when you get arrested

there would be people there when you get out. If we're spitballing here, maybe

I'm the kind of guy who like stays behind. So if other people get arrested,

call me.

I help with the organization.

I get a good Wi -Fi signal.

We got a word for those people.

Yeah? Cowards.

Cowards. Cowards.

Don't be a coward, dude. Don't be a coward. Okay. Not everybody's supposed

get arrested.

But you're here for a reason. It's not just to do some silly TV show. I'm just

warning you. You see how much I'm even struggling with the sun right now. All

right. I'm sorry. I have to put your cameras away for a minute until we get

roll set.

Turn off the cameras is not what I want to hear in the middle of nowhere,

surrounded by people unafraid of breaking the law.

If tomorrow's direct action is anything like the past, Louis Levy will be

scaling cranes and handcuffing themselves to bulldozers.

Whatever. I can hang.

Do I put this in a hole? Is there a hole to put this in?

Look at the yellow webbing at the end corner of fly sheet to indicate the

right corner orientation.

Yellow webs meet a lining.

and centering the fly on the tent body so the four bungee cords with J

gibberish. While taking the standard amount of time to pitch a tent, it hit

that I could end up in jail. All good. I can be brave.

But as I hide from my crew in the air -conditioned Subaru, double -fisting

snacks, I start to wonder, am I cut out for enacting change?

I can't fucking believe it. this shit.

This is why I live in New York.

Every element is uncomfortable.

Why would you ever want to save this place?

The protesters are fighting an uphill battle.

The bayou is oil country. You can walk into any dollar drink happy hour and

a couple gold -plated oil rig necklaces and a gusher of support for the

pipeline. I've been in oil field almost all my life. I've worked offshore.

I've worked international.

It's needed.

Good for the country. I've been in the oil field 43 years. We all got a handle.

If you crude oil, you need everything. If you crude oil, you brush your teeth

with everything.

I don't brush my teeth with oil. Turns out the beard ponytail is right.

Petroleum is in everything, including your goddamn toothpaste.

I googled it.

Down here, water is life, but oil is livelihood.

And you can't blame the locals for wanting to work. Should we wean

off? Are you okay with a wean? Maybe not a full stop, but a nice little wean?

I don't see it anytime soon.

We still need the earth. We still need the earth.

With a $72 billion impact on the economy, the oil industry has to stay by

big old ball.

The residents don't always benefit.

This is an area that understands that the oil industry has given them a ton,

we're not producing the oil. It's just going to course through the state, so

we're taking all the risks.

with very few rewards.

You know who is reaping those rewards?

Energy Transfer's billionaire CEO and bargain -basement John Grisham villain,

Kelsey Warren.

They want to stick around and continue to do what they're doing. Great.

But we're building the pipeline.

Energy Transfer and the authorities like to greet protesters with their classic

welcome. If you're using dogs and fire hoses, you're on the wrong side of

history. That weighed heavily on my mind as I woke up for today's direct action

in a bayou vinaigrette of sweat and bug spray.

So it is just a little after 2 o 'clock.

We got the wake -up call.

I experienced an amazing element of duality where I can assure you I got no

sleep, but I also have the feeling of being angrily awoken.

our way to the Atchafalaya Basin to try to put our bodies in the way to stop

construction.

in the swamp right now on our way to the Bayou Bridge pipeline.

You don't realize it's been so long since you've been on a boat until you

a boat. And then you realize it's been a while since you've been on a boat.

And I wish I spent a little time Googling boat safety before I got out

When you shine your light out there and you see those amber -looking eyes, those

are alligators.

Are they with them?

We just passed the pipeline site, and there was a big tugboat that they think

was police or security, and it was following us. So we went past it right

and people are deciding whether or not to continue to drive by or circle around

again. We haven't seen a boat this entire hour ride until we got

to the pipeline site.

Oh. Shit.

Sorry, there's nothing we can do about this, could we?

Oh.

Well, we're taking on a lot of water.

that we capsized our boat about 200 yards past

the site.

Call me. I have some service.

So that's got to happen.

There's more there.

We just capsized.

So what the fuck just happened?

So, basically,

shit happens.

And we were in the boat.

I think what happened was the police boat was making some circles, created

big waves, and it basically sunk our boat.

Do y 'all have another water container like this? Could you bring it over here?

Well, I think we should wait and get one out.

Yeah, let's all work on getting one out.

Any lights want to shine over there? Anybody have any extra flashlights?

I have your headlamp.

Okay, so I'm starting to worry. A bit.

No one knows where we are. We have spotty cell service.

We've managed to bail out our boat, but the engines are shot, meaning there's no

way out.

So... I have to put my full faith into these guys.

Nervously chewing on my coat like my seven -year -old self, I realize we're

close to a site teeming with security looking for people who might seem

suspicious.

I'm pretty sure I'll be leaving here in handcuffs.

But the protesters have seen worse.

I went through a hurricane one time on a frigate.

So, yeah, they handle the waves a little bit better in these little aluminum

boats.

Yeah. Yeah.

All right, we got another boat.

We're kind

of

stuck here.

They're hanging out in a group.

There's a little bit of a stage stick going around trying to keep the

away and the bad demons.

Bad news, I think they've already got here.

The camp is markedly more chill than we are.

That lady is taking a nap right now. There's a guy walking around in shorts

a t -shirt, no shoes, in the frickin' bayou, carrying oranges.

He refuses to put our butts back.

He's like an environmentalist nymph.

You're seeing the fragility of life in the swamp. I mean, you never know what's

going to happen, and it happens pretty sudden.

You're just kind of at the mercy of the swamp herself and what she wants, you

know. Do you feel like the direct action was the environment taking a direct

action on us?

No.

Five hours in the swamp feels like five days, but I'm beginning to feel like one

of the activists.

I'm committed to standing alongside these fighters, my team.

Maybe this is where I belong.

Here in the swamp with people willing to risk everything. Screw it, that's my

boat.

I take my crew and flee like the heroic rich folks who escaped the Titanic.

With a day like today, is it a loss?

It's not a loss.

We recover, we come back stronger like we say every time. This isn't a loss by

no means at all.

Look, step back.

It's the spirit of the basin. There's something about it that draws you here.

bet you're all going to come back here again.

I was ready to go home, but Louis Levy is determined to fight on because they

know what's at stake, human lives.

The Bayou Bridge pipeline terminates in St. James Parish, a predominantly

African -American community surrounded by petrochemical refinery.

The pipeline further threatens the air and water supply of a parish already

living in fear of a catastrophic spill or fire, which I can see happening for

some reason.

You can smell it and you can see it. Oil and gas.

Oil and gas, as far as the eye can take.

Energy transfer has one of the worst spill records in the biz, averaging a

every 11 days.

If an airline spilled a passenger every 11 days, we'd be livid.

The folks here claim to suffer from headaches, hair loss, and elevated rates

cancer, all common side effects of living in the path of sociopathic

industrialists, and why it's sometimes referred to as Cancer Alley. Don't

consider our community as Cancer Alley because it's not.

It's a death row.

This is Sharon, a local teacher whose family has been in the community for

generations. She's meeting with Louisiana activist Anne Rolfes to learn

use a homemade air quality tester.

Because when the government fails, sometimes your only hope is a woman with

bucket she got at Home Depot.

Feels like we're kind of like Ghostbusters here. That's right. You

Venkman? We want the new version with the women as the Ghostbusters. Come on

now. Box office flop, but if you want to do it, I understand it, I support it.

All right, I'll be Kate McKinnon.

So what's happening right now is that air is being sucked actually out of the

bucket so that when this opens, the air will come in that bag.

The problem isn't that they don't know that it's poisonous. This is important

help people get the information, and then they're armed with something to go

the industry with.

People are living in what we call a toxic gumbo of a lot of different

This is Louisiana, where gumbo should have shrimp, not sodium hydroxide.

But no one is listening, so residents are taking matters into their own hands,

and they'll take any help they can get.

What do you think of these other groups that are trying to fight the pipeline?

It gives me hope that someone cares about us.

I don't think they should do anything that's illegal, but I don't know,

sometimes it makes you wonder. If you don't mind going to jail, just stand up

for what you believe in.

You know, like Martin Luther King did, but it angers you so much until you just

want to do something.

But even if you do something, is it enough?

And if not, should we just go home and call it an apocalypse?

What happens if this pipeline gets finished?

Well, even if it gets finished, it doesn't mean it's going to pump oil.

whole other fight right there, a whole other struggle. When we started this

campaign, which is almost two years ago now, we were going to build an awakening

here in South Louisiana of people who are willing to take action to protect

water and protect our environment. And we are getting bigger every single day.

It's been several months since I was in Louisiana, and like me, many of the

activists have moved on. That's because the Bayou Bridge pipeline is now nearly

complete. The state ruled that energy transfer could use eminent domain to

on private property, helping them tear through the last leg of construction.

But don't worry, they have to compensate each of those landowners with a

whopping $150.

But the water's life movement fights on.

Its front lines exist wherever reckless fossil fuel companies are destroying the

environment. So, Kelsey Warren, you better get used to people bike -locking

their neck to your front gate. This water is light.

If you don't witness this stuff and think to yourself, man, I could do more,

then you may not be a coward, but you definitely are shallow.

I may be shallow and I may be a coward, but after visiting the bayou, getting

eaten alive by mosquitoes and nearly drowning, I still somehow believe this

place is worth fighting for. I want to live in peace, you know, making a living

and forget about the world.

But who else is going to do it?

But even if being outside isn't your thing, trust me, I'm still on the fence,

there are other reasons to take action, which brings me back to my initial

question. How does this affect me?

I love my friends that are vegans, that care about whales, but I am selfish.

I am doing these things because they impact humans.

Now that is a pitch I can get behind.

I've seen the heat up in the sky.

And I've watched it all and said goodbye.

They call it trouble.

Trouble in my head.