Direct Action Protest Temporarily Shuts Down Utah Tar Sands Project

onJun 28, 2014 @ 11:35 PDT

An environmental group called Women of Action Against Violent Extraction (WAAVE) shut down U.S. Oil Sands’ mining operation in Utah temporarily on June 16, citing tension around whether the project’s permits are legal.

The women swarmed a bulldozer on the site and asked the operator to stop working. A two and a half minute YouTube video posted June 19 by PeacefulUprising.org shows the bulldozer operator asking them to talk to his supervisor.

The protest was at the U.S. Oil Sands project at PR Spring on the Tavaputs Plateau in eastern Utah, about 50 miles west of Grand Junction, Colorado. The project is the first tar sands mine in the U.S.

Three protest groups, Peaceful Uprising, U.S Tar Sands Resistance and Canyon Country Rising Tide, have set up a permanent protest vigil at the site and are encouraging such direct action protests of the project.

By Anne Landman

Revealed: Pro-AI Data Center Group Spending At Least $2.54M on TV Ads to Influence Ohio Election

ByEdward Donnelly and Rei Takver

on Nov 2, 2026 @ 09:42 MST

Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, and Greg Brockman are among the Silicon Valley megadonors reportedly linked to a campaign to influence voters in a state at the heart of the data center boom.

Series: Tech vs Climate

us/Ohio Denies Evidence of Fracking Waste in Drinking Water. Its Own Records Show Otherwise.

ByJustin Nobel

on Oct 30, 2026 @ 09:02 PDT

As more than a billion gallons of oil and gas wastewater flood beneath Ohio, pollution concerns reach its heated governor’s race.

President Trump Unveils EPA’s New Contradictory Methane Proposal at Campaign Rally

ByRachel Santarsiero

on Oct 30, 2026 @ 06:00 PDT

The agency is loosening methane rules while keeping its authority to regulate them. Critics say the stance leaves federal climate law in limbo, inviting a bigger rollback later.