Bill Rixon and fellow demonstrators from Third Act Maine will travel to D.C. to join in a rally calling for a moratorium on a new liquified natural gas terminal proposed for the Louisiana coast. Luna Soley / The Times Record
A group of Maine climate protesters is heading to Washington, D.C. next month to join others across the nation rallying against a proposal to build 20 new liquified natural gas terminals in Texas and Louisiana.
More than a dozen members of Third Act Maine will travel to the nation’s Capitol on Feb. 5 to participate in the protest.
Many in the group have been practicing closer to home.
When retired public school teacher Bill Rixon first planted himself outside L.L. Bean with a banner that read “PROTECT MOTHER EARTH” last September, he promised “I’ll be out here in January, if that’s what it takes.”
January is here — and so is Rixon, his banner faded and a little tattered by wind and rain. He was joined on Wednesday by six other members of Third Act Maine, the local branch of an organization that brings together Mainers over 60 to campaign against climate change. They have been demonstrating against L.L. Bean’s partnership with Citibank to offer their Bean Bucks Mastercard. According to a report on fossil fuel investing by global banks, Citibank invested the second-largest amount between 2016 and 2022, totaling $332 billion.
Since L.L. Bean’s CEO Steven Smith paid Rixon a visit outside the retailer’s corporate headquarters in Freeport in October, the group has been active outside new Costco and Chase Bank locations as well as maintaining their presence outside L.L. Bean’s flagship store.
“I continue to send Steven Smith weekly updates as to what we’re doing,” Rixon said.
Citibank is one of the top financiers of the development in Louisiana, CP2, which would produce about 20 million tons of natural gas annually, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
“We’ve just lived through the hottest year in history,” Rixon said. He thinks building the new liquified natural gas terminals would “wipe out any gains we’ve made” in terms of carbon emissions.
On Thursday, Chuck Spanger spoke on behalf of Third Act Maine in front of the Maine House of Representatives in support of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“We are experiencing fiercer, more frequent and more damaging storms,” Spanger said in his speech. “Today, we need a serious, binding treaty to end the expansion of fossil fuel projects. And we need it now.”
Rixon and Third Act will be joined in D.C. by “frontline people who are already victimized by the existing LNG terminals,” as Spanger puts it, including residents of the Gulf Coast and spokespeople for Indigenous communities.
Their goal is to persuade U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to put in place a moratorium on new LNG terminals or, even better, to permanently update the criteria for the granting of licenses for fossil fuel developments like them.
Rixon remains disappointed in L.L. Bean. The way he sees it, they, like Citibank, are “passing themselves off as good neighbors and good citizens, when in reality, they’re complicit in deepening the climate crisis.”
He’s still hoping the outdoor leader will cut ties with Citibank, setting an example for other large retailers. But for now, there’s other work to be done.
As Spanger puts it, “We don’t point fingers, we’re the ones.”
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.