Protesters target West End, Fort Pitt bridges with banners

Greenpeace is taking credit for taking climbers to the West End and Fort Pitt bridges this morning to unfurl banners stating "Danger — Climate Destruction Ahead. Reduce CO2 Emissions Now."

Pittsburgh police and River Rescue crews swarmed the bridges where an estimated 20 protesters assembled. A banner was unfurled from the West End Bridge, but police intervened at the Fort Pitt Bridge to stop a simultaneous attempt there, said Mike Crocker, a Greenpeace activist who said he was the team leader coordinating the event from the North Shore near Jerome Bettis' Grille 36.

Crocker, who came to Pittsburgh a few days ago from Washington, D.C., said dozens of Greenpeace activists nationwide planned the stunt for more than three months.

He said eight American activists were chosen to scale the West End Bridge because they could skillfully climb and rappel. Four formed human anchors to cinch the flag in place, and four lowered it down.

"As with all large events that we do, safety for everyone was paramount," said Crocker.

They climbed back up to the bridge deck and awaiting police took them into custody about 1 p.m.

Two hours before that, four people wearing climbing gear, helmets and Greenpeace T-shirts were leaning away from the bridge deck, suspended from ropes and talking with police officers. About 35 feet below them, four more activists dangled above the river holding ropes attached to a banner.

River Rescue crews watched the activists at the bridge from boats below. Officers fanned out across railroad tracks near Carson Street.

"We chose the West End bridge for the main focus of the action because it was an iconic bridge and one of the most important to the city," said Gabe Wisniewski, a Greenpeace activist from San Francisco. "It's a powerful image to see the banner unfurl and it sends a very important message to world leaders."

Greenpeace activists said the banner was an 80-by-30-foot business card telling G-20 ministers that the organization's scientific and legal experts are in town this week and would listen to determine whether promises made at the recent G-8 summit in Italy to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions would be announced before a larger conference in Copenhagen.

Crocker said "about a half-dozen" activists on the Fort Pitt span were supposed to deploy a much smaller banner but police stopped them.

Throughout the morning, activists monitored levels of security, including patrol boats, uniformed officers patrolling the shores of rivers and helicopters circling above.

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