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Barton Moss Day 22: Wed 18 December

Big Bus Blockade

Another unexpected arrival. A big orange bus appears to have mysteriously broken down, blocking the entrance to the fracking site. What next?

Big Bus Blockade

Another unexpected arrival. A big orange bus appears to have mysteriously broken down, blocking the entrance to the fracking site. What next?

Five brave Barton Moss Protectors are locked to a BIG ORANGE BUS preventing access to IGas’ site.

* One locked to the steering wheel and accelerator
* One locked underneath
* One locked to the roof-skylight
* One locked to the back door by the neck
* One locked to front door by the leg

The blockade lasted for six hours until the afternoon, after police eviction teams removed the Defenders. iGas’ drilling rig arrived to site later in the day – having been significantly delayed.

The action is part of the growing opposition to fracking and in reaction to the Governments announcement yesterday of a new licensing round for onshore oil and gas which will now cover over 60% of the UK and will include the whole of Greater Manchester.

Stephen Lockwood who lives at the Barton Moss Protection Camp said, “Fracking is highly dangerous. The government is actively promoting it despite overwhelming opposition from the local communities it’s being imposed upon. Not only are they allowing the oil and gas companies to ride roughshod over the democratic process, environment and legally binding climate change targets, they are now giving them tax breaks whilst they do so.”

He continued, “Many powerful government figures have financially declared interests in the oil and gas industry and are ignoring the will of the people. It’s up to all of us to call them to account and stop these toxic developments.”

Ministers have also published draft legislation for tax breaks for fracking companies – while confirming the industry will offer financial incentives of £100,000 per well to persuade people to accept fracking in their local area.

$We know you're gonna frack..$

Local resident, 82 year old Anne Power said, “What are the government thinking? How can they think that covering the whole of Greater Manchester with fracking rigs is a good idea. The industry themselves have admitted that they are struggling in the face of public opposition yet the government continue to think they can force this on us.”

She continued, “I have been delighted to see the resurgence of the community spirit in Salford and in fact, all over the country but what has this country come to when our younger generation are forced into taking such drastic action in order to protect their communities?”

The land on which IGas plan to drill is leased from corporate giant Peel Holdings who own vast swathes of land in the area, including the Manchester Ship Canal and a number of ports and airports. Peel Holdings, the empire of billionaire John Whittaker[3], has several pockets of land leased for drilling in the Manchester area including another a site in Trafford for which IGas also has planning permission. Peel look to be tied up with the future of unconventional gas in the North West where they have been securing parcels of land for fracking development in recent months.

New UK Fracking License Areas Confirmed

December 17th The UK government has announced that roughly 60% of the UK is now available to be licensed to fracking companies.

December 17th The UK government has announced that roughly 60% of the UK is now available to be licensed to fracking companies. After a brief “consultation” period it is likely that the licenses will be handed out to fraking companies in the first half of 2014. The licenses would cover the exploitation of both shale oil and gas and coal bed methane (CBM).

The area is based on that covered by a newly finalised Strategic Environmental Assessment (PDF). Despite the name the document does not seem to be particularly focused on the environment and does not address the long term impacts of issuing these potentially 30 year long licenses.

To extract the amounts of gas that companies are bragging are in existing license blocks would require tens of thousands of wells. If large additional areas are licensed next year, the scale of threat will be much larger still. These developments would devastate our remaining countryside, industrialising huge areas with well pads, pipelines, compressor stations and processing plants.

The reality of unconventional gas is that it is very hard to extract. It is literally scrapping the bottom of the fossil fuel barrel. Densely packed wells must be drilled (up to 8 wells per square mile) over large areas, since each well individual wells does not produce much gas and then only for a short time. Worse, fracking is not an isolated technology but is part of a wider trend towards more extreme forms of energy extraction, which if not resisted could see even larger threats such as Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) become widespread.

Right now the community around Barton Moss near Manchester is fighting the threat to their region posed by IGas Energy’s attempts to drill a Shale/CBM exploration well there. Across the country communities are getting organised to resist these threats, with around 70 anti-fracking groups already formed in the last two years, and that number growing fast.

Barton Moss giant wind turbine protest

December 16, 2013

Wind Turbine. Photo by Sherborne G.

The fracking test site at Barton Moss has been blockaded with a giant wind turbine blade!

Around fifty people arrived at 5.30 this morning to leave this imaginative early Christmas gift for fracking company IGas.

The Barton Moss site, near Salford in Greater Manchester, is the latest frontline in the battle for clean energy in the UK. IGas are trying to carry out test drilling to see if the site is suitable for extracting coal bed methane and shale gas, despite strong opposition from local residents and the community protection camp that has been resisting the drilling since mid-November. However, the site’s only entrance is now completely blocked by the 1.5 tonne blade, so there won’t be any drilling equipment heading in there for a while…

~Sherborne G.
Barton Moss Protection Camp.

http://northerngasgala.org.uk/ – for regular updates, press release with references from today.

Livestream from action

Barton Moss Protection Camp Barton Moss Road, Just off A57 next to Airport, Eccles M30 7RL

ADDRESS:
Barton Moss Protection Camp Barton Moss Road, Just off A57 next to Airport, Eccles M30 7RL

LINKS:
BIFF ! (Britain & Ireland Frack Free)
Barton Moss Community Protection Camp

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BartonMoss

Barton Moss fracking protest continue

Day 17: Fri 13th December

A big day of resistance from the Barton Moss Protection Camp against IGas’ drilling plans. Around 12 drilling trucks were delayed entering the site for 2 hours under a heavy police escort. Three people were arrested, including a pregnant women and elderly lady. Police were widely condemned on social media for their hea

Day 17: Fri 13th December

Many trucks also left the site the same afternoon, taking a lot of equipment with them. It is believed that IGas are preparing for their next stage of exploratory drilling.

Friday 13th December marks a year since the government lifted the moratorium on fracking but we’ve still had no fracking this year thanks to the amazing and inspiring community campaigns around the country.

Photos at http://northerngasgala.org.uk/ along with news from other days

Fracking test site in Greater Manchester blockaded with giant wind turbine blade

Fifty pro-renewables campaigners deliver 17 metre, 1.5 tonne wind turbine blade as “Christmas gift” for fracking company IGas

Entrance to Barton Moss test site blocked, to prevent drilling vehicles from entering

For hi-res photos, interviews and film footage call 07968700604

for rolling updates: https://twitter.com/nodashforgas

At 5.30 this morning (Monday 16^th December 2013), fifty people blocked the entrance to IGas's exploratory drilling site in Barton Moss with a giant wind turbine blade. The campaigners arrived at the site in Salford in Greater Manchester, proceeded to unload and assemble the 17-metre blade from its three component segments. They were spotted by a security guard who called the police, but the officers who arrived on the scene were too late to prevent the blockade from being set up.

The campaigners then left, leaving the heavy wind turbine blade in place across the entrance, complete with a large red Christmas bow. Currently all vehicle access the site is being severly disrupted by the 1.5-tonne blade, which cannot be moved without large numbers of people or specialist equipment.

IGas have obtained permission to drill a 3000 metre (10000 foot) test well at Barton Moss, in the hope of extracting both coal bed methane and shale gas. If the tests prove successful, IGas would then be likely to use the controversial extraction method of horizontal slickwater hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) to blast gas out of the ground [1]. In the US, where fracking has been underway for several years, the practice has been linked to water contamination, air pollution, and risks to local water supplies, with over 1000 leaks and spills reported in one year in North Dakota alone [2]. If fracking were to spread across the UK, it would lead to the extraction of large amounts of oil and gas that would otherwise have remained in the ground, with serious consequences for the climate [3].

The fracking industry itself has admitted that the practice is unlikely to bring down energy bills [4], and economist Nicholas Stern has accused the Government of “baseless economics” for claiming otherwise [5]. Meanwhile, the Government's own Committee on Climate Change has released a report showing that a shift away from fossil fuels to renewables and energy efficiency could save the UK public £85 billion per year [6].

Following a summer of high-profile anti-fracking protests at Balcombe in West Sussex, which ended when the drilling company Cuadrilla withdrew its fracking application [7], Barton Moss is now widely seen as the new frontline in the battle for clean energy in the UK [8], and in November 2013 a “Barton Moss Protection Camp” was set up at the site. Actions are frequently launched from the camp to disrupt drilling activities at the site, and at least ten people, including local residents, have been arrested in the last few weeks [9]. This year's anti-fracking protests seem to have shifted public opinion; according to national polling by the University of Nottingham, support for fracking dropped significantly after the summer protests at Balcombe [10].

Today's action was carried out by a group of people from all over the UK who had been inspired by the Reclaim The Power protest camp at Balcombe earlier this year. Sandra Denton, who was one of the people who put the blade in place, said: “We've delivered this early Christmas gift to IGas to remind them that we don't need damaging, risky and polluting energy sources like oil and gas to power the UK. The Government and the big energy companies are planning to build a new wave of gas-fired power stations, partly fed by thousands of fracking wells across the British countryside. This would lock us into using this expensive and dirty fossil fuel for decades to come, trapping us in a future of spiralling energy prices and disastrous floods, storms and droughts as climate change kicks in. Meanwhile, a shift to properly insulated homes powered by clean, community-owned or publicly-controlled renewable energy would rescue millions from fuel poverty, prevent thousands of winter deaths and give us all a decent chance at avoiding runaway climate change.”

Rachel Thompson of Frack Free Greater Manchester, a separate local group who are campaigning against fracking in the area, said: “The Government's plan to increase our reliance on gas – including fracked gas – would lead to higher energy bills and more pollution. The only reason they're going down this path is because of the power and influence of the big energy companies. The Big Six can make far bigger profits from fossil fuels than from clean energy or home insulation schemes, which is why they're using their cosy relationship with Government to block renewable alternatives and keep us all burning their expensive gas. That's why we all need to stand up for a fairer, cleaner, more democratic energy system without the Big Six profiteers in charge.”

Pearl Hopkins, a local resident, said, "I didn't know today's action was going to happen but I'm very glad it did. It's great that people are coming from all over the country to support us at Barton Moss – and with creative blockades like this one. Local people have tried using all the official channels to object to this scheme, but the Council and IGas seem determined to brush our concerns under the carpet and carry on regardless. We'd like renewable energy for the future – not the destruction of our towns and countryside with thousands of drill sites."

ENDS

Notes for Editors

[1] http://frack-off.org.uk/fracking-manchester-igas-threatens-barton-moss/

[2] http://www.propublica.org/article/the-other-fracking-north-dakotas-oil-boom-brings-damage-along-with-prosperi

[3] The International Energy Agency has calculated that we need to leave two thirds of known conventional fossil fuels in the ground to have even a 50% chance of avoiding runaway climate change. This calculation doesn't include unconventional fossil fuel sources like shale gas and coal bed methane, which means we can't really afford to burn these forms of fuel at all. See Page 11 of http://newint.org/blog/the_fracking_files.pdf

[4] http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/29/browne-fracking-not-reduce-uk-gas-prices-shale-energy-bills

[5] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/baseless-economics-lord-stern-on-david-camerons-claims-that-a-uk-fracking-boom-can-bring-down-price-of-gas-8796758.html

[6] http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/11/uk-carbon-targets-benefits

[7] http://www.resource.uk.com/article/UK/Cuadrilla_withdraws_planning_applications-3584#.Uq4AkOK3AgU

[8] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/barton-moss-the-latest-front-line-in-britains-unconventional-energy-revolution-against-fracking-8967753.html

[9] http://northerngasgala.org.uk/

[10] http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/02/fracking-protest-support-shale-gas-poll

Australian Anti-Logging Blockade Enters Second Day

12th December For the second day 40 conservationists have maintained a forest protest action at Stony Creek in East Gippsland. Police Search and Rescue arrived at the site this afternoon.

12th December For the second day 40 conservationists have maintained a forest protest action at Stony Creek in East Gippsland. Police Search and Rescue arrived at the site this afternoon. They proceeded to tie-off cables connected to the tree sit, to release the logging machinery. Police climbed the tree-sitter’s tree, removing the platform and the protester’s personal belongings, including blankets, food and water. The tree-sitter remains perched on branches at the top of the tree. Two people are still at the top of tripods on the road, continuing to block access to log trucks. Logging contractors have began felling trees within the logging coupe.

“The commitment of these dedicated people, willing to face arrest or difficult conditions in the tree-tops, demonstrates their resolve to see our forests and endangered wildlife protected for the future” said Miranda Gibson, spokesperson for Still Wild Still Threatened.

“The destruction of forests that are home to threatened wildlife displays repeated disregard for the the government’s own scientists and is an afront to the tax-payer who foots the bill. ” said David Caldwell, Goongerah Environment Centre (GECO).

Maya People of Sipacapa Issue International Call for Solidarity

11th Dec The Maya People of Sipacapa issued an international appeal for solidarity this past weekend, in the midst of ongoing protests against Goldcorp Inc.’s mining activities in San Marcos, Guatemala.

The Maya began protesting with campesino communities on December 4,2013, setting up two separate blockades on the Inter-American Highway — at Kilometer 170 in Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán, Sololá and Kilometer 242 near Pajapita, San Marcos.

According to the appeal, issued by The Mayan Council Of Sipacapa on December 7, Goldcorp and its subsidiary EntreMares de Guatemala are violating a community decision to reject any mining exploitation in Sipacapa.

The Maya are now demanding the withdrawal of both the company’s personnel and its machinery from Sipacapa, and requesting ”that central government authorities respect the community consultation carried out in 2005.”

They are further demanding an end to any ongoing efforts to force them to accept the new mine as well as the presence of various government officials “To resolve this issue, since the only thing we seek is peace”, state the Maya People of Sipacapa, adding, “The presence of the mine is causing social conflict, on a family level and on a community level, and it is destroying our social harmony.”

In addition to their demands, the Maya People Of Sipacapa are asking “our sisters and brothers from other nations to accompany us in this struggle which [is] in benefit of all.”

Below, please find the December 7 Appeal from the The People Of Sipacapa, in English and Spanish. English translation by Rights Action.

The People Of Sipacapa, Via The Mayan Council Of Sipacapa, Informs:

To all sisterly and brotherly peoples, national and international authorities, national and international social and human rights organizations;
To the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of the Interior; and
To EntreMares (Goldcorp Inc.):

Sipacapa Already Said No To Mining Exploitation.

“Sipacapa Is Not For Sale”

In 2005, the population firmly rejected mining exploration and exploitation in its territory, as was documented in the acts of the community consultation carried out in good faith on June 18, 2005 in each community of the municipality.

Since that time, the community has continued to defend that position. The population does not want its land destroyed by metallic mining, which only leads to social contamination (conflict), environmental contamination, health problems, deterioration of wildlife and economic injustice, as we see in the sister municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacán, department of San Marcos.

Nevertheless, on April 30, 2012, the Ministry of Energy and Mines – through its general director of mining – issued a mining exploration license to the company EntreMares de Guatemala (owned by Goldcorp Inc.), called the “Chocoyos” license, to exploit gold, silver, nickel, cobalt, chromium, copper, lead, zinc antimony and rare earth elements in an area of 23 square kilometers.

For these reasons, we have been protesting peacefully since December 4, 2013, to reject the presence of exploration machinery and personnel from EntreMares/ Goldcorp. We demand the withdrawal of this machinery and the company personnel from the territory of Sipacapa, and request that central government authorities respect the community consultation carried out in 2005.

We request and demand that they cease to force us to accept the presence of the EntreMares/ Goldcorp mine in Sipacapa. We continue to be intimidated by the presence of the National Civilian Police.

We also demand the presence of the departmental governor, the director of Energy and Mines, the Minister of Energy and Mines and the Human Rights Prosecutor. We request their presence in our municipality to resolve this issue, since the only thing we seek is peace. The presence of the mine is causing social conflict, on a family level and on a community level, and it is destroying our social harmony.

We ask our sisters and brothers from other nations to accompany us in this struggle which in benefit of all. Municipal authorities should not be promoting destructive projects.

Municipality of Sipacapa, San Marcos

December 7, 2013

URGENT: Q’eqchi Leaders Attacked with Machetes on Eve of Megadam Construction

August, 2013 funeral for two Q'eqchi children killed in an assassination attempt against an opponent of Hidro Santa Rita's planned dam on Guatemala's Dolores River 10th Dec From

August, 2013 funeral for two Q'eqchi children killed in an assassination attempt against an opponent of Hidro Santa Rita's planned dam on Guatemala's Dolores River 10th Dec From Guatemala Solidarity Project:

Four leaders of the Q’eqchi community Monte Olivo were attacked and severely injured with machetes by employees of the Santa Rita hydroelectric company who also carried firearms. Police were called but refused to arrest the attackers. On Wednesday the company plans to begin construction of a hydroelectric dam that would flood communities and destroy the local ecosystem. The dam is being constructed in violation of national and international law which require consultation of the communities, which strongly oppose the project. In August the community was also attacked and two children were killed in retribution to human rights complaints filed by the community.

We are extremely concerned that further violence will occur this week in support of the illegal dam. The GSP condemns the attack and calls for the immediate arrest of those responsible, including the intellectual authors of the attack. The GSP calls for the suspension of construction and immediate cancellation of the shipment of machinery to the region.

Take Action

1 Call Edgar Villanueva at the Gutemalan Embassy in the United States at (202) 745-4953 or (202) 745-3873 and demand the immediate arrest of those responsible, including the intellectual authors of the attack. Also ask for suspension of construction and immediate cancellation of the shipment of machinery to the region.

2 Sign our new petition calling for justice for Saquimo Setana, a Q’eqchi community located nearby Monte Olivo which has also participated in mobilizing against the dam.

3. Support our partners through a contribution to the Guatemala Solidarity Project. We are a volunteer run organization and all funds go to our partners in Guatemala. The best way to donate is to send a check to our fiscal sponsor, “UPAVIM Community Development Foundation” to UPAVIM, PO Box 63, Marshfield, VT 05658. Please write “GSP” in the notes/memo section of the check. Or donate online by visiting http://www.upavim.or/donate Click on the yellow donate button, then YOU MUST WRITE ‘Guatemala Solidarity Project’ for the purpose. We thank our fiscal sponsor UPAVIM for helping us ensure that your contributions are tax deductible and that all funds (other than bank transaction) go to our partners in Guatemala.

Algonquins Erect Land Protection Camp within Wildlife Reserve, Stop Illegal Logging

10th December This past Spring, Quebec’s Ministry of Natural Resources—without meaningfully consulting the Algonquins of Barr

10th December This past Spring, Quebec’s Ministry of Natural Resources—without meaningfully consulting the Algonquins of Barriere Lake—issued permits for the 2013-14 operating year to Resolute Forest Products and other large logging companies who have subsequently clear-cut vast tracts of the forest this past summer and fall, up to last week, when the Algonquins stopped the unauthorized logging, which has been taking place in violation of signed Agreements with the First Nation.

Resolute Forest Products and other logging companies have already damaged many sensitive area sites on the Barriere Lake Trilateral Agreement Territory, including sensitive area sites which the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources and the logging companies know to be of particular cultural and ecological importance.

Today the Algonquins have erected a Land Protection camp within the La Verendrye Wildlife Reserve at the Poigan sector, to stop unauthorized logging from damaging Algonquin cultural sites and critical wildlife habitat until an already agreed upon Measures to Harmonize Process is re-established on an urgent basis. The Algonquins of Barriere Lake are demanding that the Quebec government:

Cooperate in a measures to harmonize process to identify and protect cultural and ecological sites.
Honour the 1991 landmark Barriere Lake Trilateral Agreement and related 1998 Agreement with Quebec on Co-Management and Resource Revenue Sharing among other issues.

Italy: Police Arrest Four on Terrorism Charges Against High Speed Rail

9th December Police on Monday arrested four alleged anarchists in the northwestern Piedmont and the northern Lombardy regions on terroris

9th December Police on Monday arrested four alleged anarchists in the northwestern Piedmont and the northern Lombardy regions on terrorism charges.

The four suspects were allegedly planning to carry out attacks using explosives against a high-speed train line currently being built between Italy and France, according to investigators.

Prosecutors in Piedmont’s regional capital, Turin ordered the arrests after an attempted attack on 13-14 May at a buiding site in Chiomonte in Piedmont’s Valle De Susa using molotov cocktails.

Work began this year on the main 58-kilometre tunnel, of which 12 km are in Italy, for the 15 billion euro train-link due to go into service around 2023.

The line will cut three hours off the current seven-hour train journey between Paris and Milan.

But it has sparked fierce opposition including from residents, environmental groups and local mayors. Protesters claim drilling to build the train link will damage the local ecosystem and could release potentially harmful substances into the environment.

Dozens have been arrested and hundreds of demonstrators and police injured in violent protests over the high-speed link and scores of environmental activists sent to trial. Far-left ‘black block’ extremists from Italy and other countries have infiltrated the protest movement, acccording to police.

In 2010, a bullet was mailed to Turin mayor Sergio Chiamparino for his support for the project, which Rome has vowed to complete.

Construction of the high-speed link in Italy was brought to a standstill by protests before and after the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006.