earthfirst – Page 188

ELF pays home visit to CEO of Australia’s dirtiest Coal Power Station

Following the Australian Rudd government’s refusal to act on reducing carbon emissions while paying into the hands of the country’s largest polluters, the E.L.F payed a home visit to the CEO of the dirtiest power station in the industrialised world, Hazelwood Power Station, in Melbourne, Australia. They hand delivered the following note to Graeme York’s home:

Graeme York
27 Rydaldene Way

Graeme York
27 Rydaldene Way
Berwick, Vic

Dear Graeme,

As the Chief Executive Officer of Hazelwood power station, you are responsible for the dirtiest power station in Australia and the most polluting in the Industrialised World.
You are causing irreversible environmental destruction which will go on to harm not only those living on the planet today, but your children’s children too.

We hold you personally accountable for this assault against our Earth. We do not take lightly to the perpetual destruction of our land-base for the selfish and short-term objective of fattening your bank account.

The irreplaceable and precious eco-systems of this Earth are worth much more than your manicured lawn, expensive car and opulent suburban house. Your property will not remain safe so long as Hazelwood continues to pollute at such an inexcusable level, swallow millions of litres of fresh water every hour and cough out hydrochloric and nitrogen acids in return.

This Earth does not exist for the profits of avaricious CEOs like you,

The Earth Liberation Front.

Anti-Shell actions at Rossport, Eire

2nd June 2009

Rossport: Causeway at Shell compound ‘washed away’ by Shell to Sea action

2nd June 2009

Rossport: Causeway at Shell compound ‘washed away’ by Shell to Sea action

Part of the Shell causeway extending into the sea at Glengad was yesterday evening removed by Shell to Sea protesters. This was in protest at the illegal blocking of access to the public beach and to oppose the forcing of this unsafe project on the local community and the giveaway of Ireland’s natural resources.

A group of about 30-40 people waded into the sea to gain access to the causeway, and proceeded to remove a large amount of the stone which makes it up. They were confronted by a 70 Shell security after about half an hour of the action, at which point the people left. An upbeat and playful mood prevailed over a beautiful evening.

The Rossport Solidarity Camp has again taken up residence in Glengad, and after a very successful weekend, including a number of actions, will build up the resistance to Shell over the coming weeks and months.

—-

Monday the 1st of June saw the arrival of a multitude of assorted vessels to Broadhaven bay. The boats, which are subcontracted by The Royal Dutch Shell company (Shell), are attempting to prepare for works on the controversial Corrib gas project.

Today however, their progress has been significantly impaired by resident Shell to Sea activists that had already gathered a small, albeit formidable, fleet of kayaks, ready to deploy within short notice. The Kayaks were birthed from the Rossport Solidarity Camp, which directly overlooks the vicinity that the Shell boats have been operating in the past twenty-four hours.

Currently there are diverse assortments of vessels converging in the once pristine bay; the majority of these are either carrying out, or assisting, dredging and surveillance operations. An Garda Siochana, have also been sighted patrolling the work zone, along with two black ribs; The Laura Emily accompanied by its twin the Galltee, which are both brimming with men dressed in black military fatigues.

Works, taking place earlier this afternoon, came grinding to a complete halt when twelve activists in kayaks broke through the security line that consisted of nine high speed security boats. The activists managed to tactfully circumnavigate security boats for approximately two and a half hours, which effectively halted Shell dredging works for a considerable period of time.

After numerous attempts by Gardai to secure an arrest, they eventually managed to drag one man from his inflatable Kayak. The man, in his fifties, is reported to have been halting a dredger conveying silt into a barge, and thus stopping afternoon work.

This current work being carried out by Shell is likely to signify the impeding arrival of the Solitaire; at over 400 meters long the Solitaire is the largest pipe laying vessel in the world, and its expected presence in Co. Mayo will undoubtedly provoke formidable resistance.

At this point in the project, all dredging works carried out in Rossport are likely to be held as sacrosanct by Shell’s board of directors, and conversely seen as detrimental by the Irish public.

South American dam news

2 Arrests in Home Depot Dam Protest; Take Action!

May 27th, 2009

2 Arrests in Home Depot Dam Protest; Take Action!

May 27th, 2009
Two activists were arrested at a Home Depot in Glendale, CO, near Denver, after hanging a banner off the building that read, “Dam Home Depot, NOT Patagonia!” Home Depot is under pressure from International Rivers and allies for its ongoing financial involvement with the main Chilean interest promoting 5 dams in Chilean Patagonia.

Home Depot has a shareholders’ meeting coming up on Thursday, May 28 in Atlanta, Georgia. Contact them (before their May 28 shareholders’ meeting if possible, but certainly during or after as well) and tell them to cancel purchases of timber from the Matte and Angelini Groups (the companies CMPC and Arauco) for their involvement in plans to dam wild Patagonia, and to drop the charges against Earth First! protesters in Arapahoe County, Colorado. Call 1-800-553-3199 (press extension # 5), or send an email directly from this site.

For more background on the issue, visit International Rivers’ Patagonia page.

—

More South American Dam News

Chilean Patagonia: International Rivers deployed two large banners at Home Depot’s annual shareholder meeting in Atlanta, GA, USA, on May 28, demanding that the corporation sever ties with the two companies pushing plans to dam 5 rivers in wild Patagonia. Inside the meeting, protesters brought their demands directly to the company’s board.

The action came only a day after 2 Earth First! activists were arrested for dropping a similar banner off a Home Depot in Colorado. For more information on the campaign to Dam Home Depot and Save Patagonia, visit International Rivers’ Patagonia page.

Brazil: At least 7 people were killed when a water storage dam burst, flooding the city of Cocal da Estação, population 30,000. Thousands were left homeless or without electricity. Following the accident, a Brazilian dam expert estimated that 200 other dams in the country are at risk of failure.

In better news, a federal judge has suspended the environmental permit for the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu river, due to insufficient consideration of the effects on indigenous people. The Xingu dams have drawn a great deal of opposition on both legal grounds and from indigenous nations whose territory would be flooded or degraded if they go through. They are part of a much larger plan to scale up Brazil’s energy infrastructure through the construction of massive hydroelectric and nuclear plants.

Peru: The Central Ashaninka del Rio Ene (CARE), representative of the indigenous Ashaninka communities of the Ene Valley, declared its unequivocal opposition to the planned Pakitzapango hydroelectric dam stating, that “the Ashaninka communities of the Ene river … Repudiate the use of the Ashaninka word Pakitzapango in light of its spiritual and cultural significance for the Ashaninka People of Peru [and] Demand that any activity such as research, promotions, reports, meetings or proposals that support or promote the construction of the Pakitzapango dam are immediately called off. The Ashaninka of the Ene valley will NOT permit the entry of any institution carrying out any of the mentioned activities.”

Read the full declaration.

UPDATE (June 4 2009): It appears that the dams planned for Ashaninka terriotry in Peru are intended to sell electricity to Brazil, primarily for mining, metal processing and industrial agriculture industries in the Eastern Amazon.

Philippines: New Peoples Army seizes guns from mining company

On the evening of May 29, 2009, a platoon of the 3rd Pulang Bagani Company-NPA disarmed another 1102nd Provincial Mobile Group-PNP squad assigned as a security force of the APEX Mining Corporation in Barangay Masara, Maco, Comval. Swiftly seized were five high-powered rifles consisting of four (4) M16 armalites and one (1) M14 rifle after being surprised by the raiding NPA unit that entered the company compound. Since the target PNP unit did not make any armed resistance, they did not have any casualty.

The mining firm which is owned by the London-based Crew Minerals Corporation was punished for the continuing environmental destruction its operation has caused. One such devastation was the landslide in Barangay Masara last year that caused deaths and displacement in two barangays. Also, the 1102nd PMG-PNP in Comval forms part of the Investment Defense Force (IDF) — the Arroyo regime’s armed component that directly protects the interests of large mining companies and big agribusiness, and violates the inherent rights of poor peasants and lumads to their livelihood and ancestral lands.

from….

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/cgi-bin/statements/stmts.pl?author=mac;date=090531;lang=eng

climate rush bike ride report – no arrests; meanwhile, campaign materials confiscated….

1st June 2009
up to 200 cyclists joined the climate rush bike ride tonight outside chatham house where the corporate conference “coal: an answer to energy security?” was being held.

Cyclists assembled outside chatham house, while an energetic krishna band on wheels played rather good covers of sex pistols and other rousing tunes. a second sound system was used for short speeches and announcements.

there were quite a few police around, including some forward intelligence and photographer taking snaps (which dependent on a possible appeal to the house of lords by police, may soon be a pointless job if they can’t keep all their nice pics on a nice big database of innocent protesters).

slightly later than planned (isn’t it always), the mass set off on it’s mystery bike ride to visit ‘climate crime scenes’ and aiming to end with a picnic.

the ride took in BAA and E-ON HQs among other places, and after a few rounds of parliament square, set up a picnic on westminster bridge.

—-

The ‘Bike Rush’ gathered around 5 pm outside Chatham House, where earlier in the day 5 Climate Rush activists were arrested when they tried to block the entrance to the conference, ‘Coal: An answer to our energy security’ with a bike sculpture and a banner reading ‘NO NEW COAL – CLIMATE RUSH’.

By 18.10 when the protest moved off there were almost 300 cyclists and a tandem pulled sound system. The rush toured the main streets of the West End including Piccadilly Circus, Shaftesbury Avenue, Oxford St, Regent St, St James St and The Mall, passing Buckingham Palace and then cycling around Victoria before heading to the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge.

Some of the protesters rode in white dresses and hats evoking the Suffragette era, and one came in black as a widow, mourning the end of coal. Many more wore red sashes, copied from the purple sashes worn by the Suffragettes, but red, to signifying the we are at the highest level of danger – and some carried the message ‘Climate Code Red’. Others bore the suffragette motto, ‘Deeds Not Words’, and there were also sashes saying ‘No Airport Expansion’. ‘Action on Coal Now!, Trains Not Planes’ and ‘Pedal Power.’

Police on pedal bikes rode with the protesters, stopping the traffic at some junctions so the ‘Rush’ could safely and legally go through red lights, and at several points there were a couple of police Forward Intelligence Teams (FIT) beavering away as usual behind their long-lens cameras and video collecting thousands of images of protesters and journalists for the database they deny having. There were also police vans and more police outside several places occupied by ‘climate criminals’, including the government’s clumsily-named Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR), responsible for promoting much of its anti-environment climate warming activity.

The ‘Rush’ halted outside several of these offices of companies they accuse of criminal irresponsibility towards the environment, including BP in St James Square, the British Airports Authority at Victoria, and BERR. At each stop people came to the microphone to comment on the activities of these organisations and others we had passed, explaining how these companies were harming our environment.

After cycling around Parliament Square, and stopping to express support for the Tamils on hunger strike there, the mass of cyclists came to a halt on Westminster Bridge, and after a few minutes, decided to have the end of ride picnic in the middle of it.

A very long banner with the text ‘Remember Remember the 5th of December’ – the date of the Climate Demonstration – as well as a reference to the man often claimed as the only person to have entered parliament with honest intentions, was hung briefly from both sides of the bridge and displayed it on the roadway.

Police quickly cleared the cyclists from the southbound carriageway, but when I left around 15 minutes later the picnic was still continuing on the northbound side of the bridge, and no traffic was moving across the bridge in either direction.

——–

Police Abuse Powers To Prevent FA Cup Climate Protest

Police officers unlawfully confiscated campaign leaflets and T-shirts from climate protesters outside the FA Cup final on Saturday, preventing a legal demonstration from taking place. Activists from the Camp for Climate Action are calling this yet another example of over-the-top policing designed to silence environmental protest, and are redoubling calls for an independent public review of the policing of protest.

On Saturday just after 12 noon, two police officers stopped Alan Wen on his way to meet fellow climate campaigners outside the match. Mr Wen and his fellow campaigners had been planning to hand out leaflets to match-goers, explaining how E.ON, the sponsors of the FA Cup, are trying to build the UK’s first coal-fired power station in 30 years, which would have disastrous consequences for the climate [1]. Claiming to be acting under the London Local Authorities Act, the two police officers seized the flyers and T-shirts – all bearing the spoof logo “E.ON: F.OFF” – and demanded Mr Wen’s name and address, threatening to arrest him if he did not comply. In fact, the officers had no legal powers to do any of these things, and Mr Wen was not breaking any laws [2]. He is now considering making a formal complaint.

A spokesperson from the Camp for Climate Action’s legal team said: “Have the police learned nothing from the G20 protests? This was yet another disgraceful example of over-the-top policing, designed to prevent environmental protest from taking place. Why are the police abusing their powers to protect the profits of a giant energy corporation?”

This incident follows widespread public criticism of heavy-handed and aggressive police tactics at the April 1st G20 protests, as well as concern about inappropriate use of police surveillance and stop-and-search powers against environmental campaigners [3]. A report by the National Police Improvement Agency, thought to be critical of police tactics at last August’s Climate Camp protest at Kingsnorth power station, has been mysteriously kept out of the public domain [4]. Meanwhile, the Climate Camp’s legal team have slammed an upcoming review of the policing of protest by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), branding it a “whitewash” and refusing to be involved.

In an email to the HMIC explaining their decision [5], the Climate Camp’s legal team said “If a truly independent, wide-reaching and influential public review of the policing of protest were to be launched, we would consider becoming involved. However, the HMIC review is likely to be a biased, toothless whitewash and so we believe that our time will be better spent campaigning against the root causes of climate change.”

The human rights organisation Liberty have similarly declined to be involved in the HMIC review.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

[1] German energy corporation E.ON have applied for Government permission to build the first new UK coal-fired plant in thirty years at Kingsnorth in Kent. If built, this
power station would produce the same amount of carbon dioxide as the world’s 30 least polluting countries combined. If – as the Government have suggested – the new power plant is fitted with a demonstration “carbon capture and storage” (CCS) device, this would only reduce its emissions by a quarter. This means that even if the technology worked (which is by no means certain), Kingsnorth would still be far more polluting than a gas power station – let alone a switch to wind, solar, tidal, or wave, or simply using less energy in the first place, all of which are viable alternatives.

[2] The London Local Authorities Act
(see http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/localact1994/ukla_19940012_en_1#l1g4) gives police in London the power to confiscate literature “which advertises, or contains or comprises an advertisement, for commercial gain”. It only applies to commercial advertising and does NOT give police the power to seize campaign leaflets or T-Shirts. It is perfectly legal to distribute free leaflets in a public place so long as nothing is for sale. The Local Authorities Act also contains no provisions for police to search people to look for “free literature”, nor to take people’s names and addresses.

[3] See for example http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8061050.stm, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/henryporter/2009/mar/12/protest-kingsnorth and http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/apr/02/g20-climate-camp-protest-london-police-bishopsgate.

[4] http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2009/05/police-shelve-review-on-kingsnorth-protest/

[5] The full text of the email to the HMIC is copied below:

(Sent Friday 29th May 2009)

Dear HMIC,

We are writing to formally reject your offer of discussing how we might be involved in the HMIC’s “Review of the Policing of Public Protest”.

The disgraceful police behaviour at the G20 protests this April was part of a worrying ongoing trend in the disproportionate and aggressive policing of protest. At the Camp for Climate Action at Kingsnorth in 2008 we encountered the indiscriminate use of stop and search powers, the mass confiscation of personal property, and aggressive behaviour by police officers on multiple occasions. There is a desperate need for a truly independent public review into the policing of protest – but this HMIC review will be no such thing, for the following reasons:

* Lack of independent membership: The HMIC is staffed largely by ex-police officers, and despite its claims of independence retains strong ties with both the Home Office and the police. It cannot be trusted to carry out a full and fair review of police tactics.

* Narrowness of scope: The proposed HMIC review aims to “Assess the effectiveness and impact of public order tactics” and “identify difficulties and barriers” to their “successful implementation”. The closest it will come to critiquing these tactics will be to “examine the overall direction of public order goals, strategies and tactics” with relation to “the acknowledged principles of British policing”. The review will not consider whether some or all of the tactics used by police at protests are in fact completely inappropriate. It also continues to consider protest as a form of public order offence – i.e. a form of criminality – rather than a vital democratic right in a free society.

* Lack of influence: Even if this review were, against all the odds, to produce a serious critique of police practices we have little faith that its findings will lead to any significant shift in policy or practice. As a case in point, a similar review by the NPIA into the policing of the Kingsnorth protest seems to have been buried without any public exposure.

If a truly independent, wide-reaching and influential public review of the policing of protest were to be launched, we would consider becoming involved. However, this HMIC review appears likely to be a biased, toothless whitewash and so we believe that our time will be better spent campaigning against the root causes of climate change. We note that the human rights organisation Liberty have similarly declined to be involved.

Yours sincerely,

The Camp for Climate Action Legal Team

http://www.climatecamp.org.uk

Five Climate Suffragettes are arrested for blockading coal conference at Chatham

1st June 2009
The Climate Rush geared up for their Pedal Power Bike Rush this evening by blockading a conference, ‘Coal: an answer to energy insecurity?’ by gluing themselves to a giant bike sculpture. The Bike Rush is due to leave from that same place at 6pm sharp this evening.

In preparation for a protest bike ride this evening, seven members of the environmental action group, ‘Climate Rush’, have obstructed the main entrance to a coal conference, ‘Coal: An answer to our energy security.’ The bike rush: ‘Climate Rush presents Pedal Power’, will set off from outside this coal conference as it ends at 17:30.

On arriving at Chatham House the Climate Rushers held up a bike sculpture and a banner that read ‘NO NEW COAL – CLIMATE RUSH’. They were aggressively removed by the police and so far two young women, Yamuna (22, student) and Hannah (21, student) and three others have been arrested for aggravated trespass.

The group was demonstrating against the building of new coal fired power stations, recently given the go ahead by Ed Milliband MP. They had created a bike sculpture to represent how we must look to alternative sources of energy and transport if we are to avoid runaway climate change.

A member of the group, Marina Pepper, said:

“Our politicians are failing us on climate change, allowing multinational corporations to continue to sell us energy from coal, because there’s a profit in it. Putting the desire for profits before the needs of people and our planet is morally reprehensible. This is why we take direct action and will keep taking direct action”

The Bike Rush begins in St James Square at 17:00 and will end with a ceilidh and picnic in an undisclosed location.

climaterush@gmail.com
http://www.climaterush.co.uk

Eco-VIllage Occupation London 6th June Update + Other News.

Hello friends,

In this report:

News of the upcoming Eco-Village occupation taking place on a disused piece of land near Hammersmith starting on Saturday, 6th June (see attached e-flyer for details).

Hello friends,

In this report:

News of the upcoming Eco-Village occupation taking place on a disused piece of land near Hammersmith starting on Saturday, 6th June (see attached e-flyer for details).

The latest from the Tyting community farm occupation <--- information on how you can get involved and support the action.

And some interesting facts about the land in Britain.

ECO-VILLAGE OCCUPATION

The Eco village occupation begins on the 6th June. Meet at Waterloo Station at 10AM under the clock. Please try to be on time.

********Please Note**********

If you are coming for the opening stage of the eco-village occupation, you will need to bring a tent, water and food supplies. If you have access to kitchen equipment and other useful tat that you would be OK to loan, please bring it along too.

***************************

The Eco-Village Occupation is about to begin. Infinite possibilities lie ahead; what will happen depends on what we make it. By creating a sustainable community in the heart of the urban jungle, we have an opportunity to raise the consciousness of urban dwellers all around and shine a light on a way of living that goes far to solving the problem of the destruction of people and planet.

During the last public planning meeting, we had consensus on the following issues:

– A no vehicle on site policy. In order to maximize living space and encourage people to come to the village via sustainable means.

– Acoustic music only. So that we don’t make enemies of the neighbours.

– All major decisions in the eco-village to be decided via the consensual decision making of all the people in the eco-village.

Please come along and join us. Ideally, we are looking for committed people who share in the vision of the eco-village community and who are able to commit for an indefinite period, however if you simply want to stay for a night or two or even visit for a day, please feel free to come along.

This eco-village occupation is inspired by The Land is Ours which campaigns peacefully for access to the land, its resources, and the decision-making processes affecting them, for everyone, irrespective of race, gender or age. for more information, please visit:

www.tlio.org.uk

contact Carolyn on: 01727 812369 or Gareth on: 07515 166011 or

diggers360@yahoo.co.uk

Tyting Community Farm Occupation.

Six weeks ago a group of people (some fresh from the Raven’s Ait occupation in Kingston) asserting their common law right to live and grow food, commenced the occupation of Tyting Community Farm in Half Penny Lane Guildford. (a publicly owned site which has been vacant for several years).

Guildford council (the owner of the property) has been trying without success and with much local opposition to sell the community farm off by dividing it into smaller lots.

The council were granted an ‘interim possession order’ last Wednesday (27th May) and threatened to send in the police to remove anyone still on the site. On Friday morning, various contractors arrived and boarded up the farmhouse (but no police).

Far from denting their morale, the threat of forceful eviction has simply made those enjoying life at the farm more determined to stay their ground.

To see a video of what’s been happening at the farm please click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKe_uCHpokU

This occupation is open to anyone who would like to be part of the community, grow vegetables and live in a sustainable way, whilst helping to retain common rights to a valuable and beautiful piece of common land. If you want to get involved, simply grab a tent and some food (plus some seeds if you have them) and come along. Here is a map of the location of the farm.

Facts about the land in Britain

did you know that….

In Britain 70% of land is still owned by less than 1% of the population
Less than 8% of the country is under concrete
50% of the land in England and Wales remains unregistered
the Church of England has ‘mislaid’ 1.5 million acres it owned 100 years ago
the Royal Family now own or control the equivalent of an average-sized county in England.

* information courtesy of www.who-owns-britain.com

Shell compound breached in Glengad during RSC gathering

May 31, 2009
This afternoon at 5pm, over 200 people from the local community and the Rossport Solidarity Camp Summer Gathering attempted to dismantle Shell’s illegal compound at Glengad.

After a day of direct action training, local people and their supporters walked to the south side of the compound where they attempted to breach the fence in two places. They were met by strong opposition from over sixty Gardai, including many from the Public Order Unit.

At least five people who scaled the fence into the compound were held by security guards and later arrested.

Later in the afternoon, as the crowd were leaving, a further arrest was made when the Gardai targeted a prominent campaigner and forcibly detained him for speaking out against the actions of the Gardai.

Today’s action comes the day after Maura Harrington was released after 13 days in Mount Joy prison, Dublin for non-payment of fines, including a one thousand euro contribution to the Garda Benevolent Fund.

Around 200 people are attending the RSC summer gathering. It’s a beautifully sunny weekend and preperations are now well under way for another summer of action against Shell in Mayo, on land and sea. Come and be part of it!

71 arrested in Copenhagen resisting the World Business Summit on Climate Change

24th May 2009

24th May 2009
Protesters clashed with police in Copenhagen today while attempting to disrupt the World Business Summit on Climate Change, a gathering of the worlds largest corporations and, not coincidentally, biggest polluters. Organized by the Danish government, the Business Summit gave corporate interests unprecedented access to the ongoing UN climate talks, including face time with UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon and so called climate “hero” Al Gore.

The group of protestors, lead by a banner reading “Our Climate is not Your Business” attempted to breach police lines in order to disrupt the meeting. The lively group of activists wanted hightlight the damaging and disruptive role that corporations play in the international climate talks. The list of corporations attending included #1 carbon emitter in the world Shell Oil, Duke Energy (#12 at last count), and BP among other climate criminals.

“The Danish government appears to be under the impression that some of the world’s most polluting companies are going to put forward tough measures to tackle climate change,” said Kenneth Haar, a researcher with Corporate Europe Observatory. “But unfortunately this doesn’t seem likely to be the case. The majority of the corporations attending the World Business Summit on Climate Change seem more intent on pursuing business as usual – with the promise that future technologies will resolve the problem at a later date.

“Corporate lobbyists have been trying to influence the UN climate talks from the start. But now they are being invited to set the agenda before the negotiators have even sat down. If their demands are listened to, we might as well give up the fight against climate change now.”

The WBSCC draws into question the legitimacy of the UN climate talks. How can we trust a process that opens the door to the very corporations that created the climate crisis, while shutting out the worlds poor, indigenous, and land based

peoples who are least responsible for climate change, yet will bare the brunt of its impacts?

To get involved with the resistance to corporate control over the talks check out:

www.klimakollektiv.dk

More Arrests on Coal River Valley as Actions Against Mountaintop Removal and Coal Sludge Dams Continue

Non-violent Civil Disobedience in Coal River Valley, WV: Seventeen Arrested in Three Separate Actions

May 23, 2009: Coal River Valley, WV More than seventy-five residents of the Coal River Valley and members of a coalition that includes Mountain Justice and Climate Ground Zero picketed the entrance to Massey Energy’s Marfork mining complex today at noon. Seven people were arrested. The actions were in protest of the company’s plans to blast 100 feet away from the Brushy Fork coal sludge impoundment.

The demonstration began with a prayer and sermon by Bob “Sage” Russo of Christians for the Mountains. Referencing the Sermon on the Mount, he called upon citizens to be stewards of the Earth and to move towards sustainable, stable jobs.

Protestors stood in front of the gates of the mine facility with signs including “7 billion spilled, 998 killed.”

“Passersby on Route 3 were overwhelming supportive with honks, waves, and thumbs up signs,” Rock Creek (Raleigh County) resident Julia Sendor said.

During the protest, seven people approached the entrance to the dam facility and the Whitesville detachment of the West Virginia State Police asked them to leave. When the seven refused, the State Police arrested them. Dispatchers say the activists were sent to the Southern Regional Jail near Beckley, but that information has not been confirmed. Bail was reportedly set at $2,000 per person.

After the arrests, former U.S. Congressman Ken Hechler, a longtime opponent of strip mining, gave a speech. He underscored the responsibility of citizens to safeguard their freedoms and stand up for their rights.

The protest came just hours after activists carried out two non-violent direct actions to protest mountaintop removal and coal sludge impoundments.

This morning, at the Marfork facility, two people wearing hazmat suits and respirators were arrested after boating onto the Brushy Fork impoundment and floating a banner that read, “No More Toxic Sludge.” State Police charged the activists with littering and misdemeanor trespass and transported them to the Southern Regional Jail. Their bail has been set at $2,000.

At another action, six activists hung a “Never Again” banner and chained themselves to a massive dump truck on a Patriot Coal-owned mountaintop removal mine on Kayford Mountain. State Police arrived on site to find three people chained to the main axle of the truck and three others chained outside the truck’s cab. The police removed the six activists, who, along with two others supporting them, were transported to the Madison County Courthouse, where they were reportedly processed and released.

The toxic lake at Brushy Fork dam sits atop a honeycomb of abandoned underground mines. Massey Energy’s own filings with the state Department of Environmental Protection project a minimum death toll of 998 should the seven-billion-gallon dam break. Floodwaters would reach 38.78 feet in height in the town of Peytona, 26.61 miles downstream, within three hours and fifteen minutes of breakage.

—–

May 26, 2009: BECKLEY, W.Va. – Seventeen mountaintop removal activists had no choice but to enforce the laws since all administrative remedies have been exhausted, said some of the activists and supporters at a press conference today. The four still-jailed activists were released on their own recognizance by Judge Burnside shortly after the press conference, which was held on the Raleigh County Courthouse steps.

“I’ve lived in West Virginia most of my life. I’m sick and tired of big business and the corrupt government telling us what to do,” began Sid Moye of Mercer County, who participated in the Picket at Pettus. “They come in and they can take our land, they can ruin our water and they can take our resources. It’s not right and somebody has to do something about it so we do the little things that we can.”

Eric Blevins, also arrested in the Pettus action, said, “I asked the officer arresting me if Massey is going to be allowed to blast near the dam and he didn’t want to talk about it. I asked him, doesn’t he have a responsibility to enforce the law, and he said ‘Not those laws.'”

“We locked down on the Kayford mountaintop removal site with mud from Mingo County on our boots,” Ashlee Henderson said in a statement from the Kayford 8, “After we were arrested we had the dust remains from Kayford Mountain added to that mud.”

“Just because a mining permit is applied for,” Debbie Jarrell of Rock Creek, Raleigh County asked the crowd, “Is there a law that states that it has to be granted? If there’s a cleaner way to develop energy, such as the Coal River Wind Project, should we not take advantage of it?”

Matt Louis-Rosenberg pointed out the absurdity of the littering charges for the two individuals on the Brushy Fork Dam and the $2,000 bail for each of the protesters. He contrasted the bail rate with the $1,800 fine Massey paid in 1999, when 14.5 miles of the Coal River were blackened with slurry and the $15,000 A & G Coal paid for the death of three year old Jeremy Davidson outside of Appalachia, Virginia in 2004.

“It was extremely unjust that the magistrate illegally posted such a high bail, when our maximum fine was only one hundred dollars,” said Laura Steepleton of the Pettus 7, who was released this afternoon. “He justified his statement by telling us that we had no ties to the area. As a human being and a citizen of this country I do not only have a tie to this area, but a responsibility to ensure security for these mountains and the safety for the people of this beautiful community.”