Author: earthfirst

Frack Off (London) Stage Die In Outside Shale Gas Conference

Members of the group Frack Off (London) staged a die in outside the Responsible Shale Conference in London. [1]  The conference held at Hogan and Lovells explores the benefits of shale gas and informs investors of its challenges.  Speakers include members of the shale gas industry from the United States as well as senior members from StatOil, IGas and the British Geological Society.  It is believed that they are preparing for the British Geological Society’s latest estimate of shale gas within the country. [2]

The demonstration comes within days of protest group No Dash for Gas’s ending their record occupation of the West Burton gas power station. [3] Both these demonstrations are part of the ongoing debate over the UK’s energy future.  Last week Energy minister John Hayes entered the fray by suggesting that there are enough wind turbines in the UK and that we need to invest in shale gas. [4]

The group says that the die in was to highlight the fact that burning gas is not a clean fuel and that it will lead to us not meeting our climate change targets. Gideon George, a participant in the demonstrations says “Building more power stations to run on shale gas only leads to more coal being burned as the price drops on the global market. Instead of continuing to invest in dangerous fossil fuels, the government needs to continue to invest in renewables so that we can tackle climate change.  Otherwise droughts and extreme storms like Hurricane Sandy will become commonplace.”

Fracking uses water and a mixture of chemicals to extract shale gas from the ground. The process is credited with reducing the price of gas in the United States. However in the UK the process caused two minor earthquakes in Lancashire.

END

Notes for Editor
All photos are courtesy of Guy Bell.  Please contact him for high resolution photos – guy@gbphotos.com

[1]http://www.responsibleshale.co.uk/
[2]http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/10/16/uk-shale-idUKBRE89F0JW20121016
[3]http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/05/no-dash-for-gas-end-occupation
[4]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/9644558/Death-knell-for-wind-farms-Enough-is-Enough-says-minister.html

Frack Off (London) is a peaceful direct action group campaigning against all forms of unconventional fossil fuel extraction.  They have performed street theatre outside DECC and co-hosted last year’s ‘frack mob’ outside the unconventional gas conference.

Indigenous Communities in Oaxaca, Mexico Fight Corporate Wind Farms

More than five centuries after Colombus’ arrival in the Americas, the invasion of European powers continues to threaten traditional ways of life in indigenous communities in Mexico.  The conflict against the corporate takeover of the ancestral lands of the Huave, or Ikoots people, in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca is just one of the struggles continuously being played out in the face of trans-national development policies such as Plan Puebla Panama (now known as Proyecto Mesoamerica).

The Ikoots people of Oaxaca have inhabited the Isthmus of Tehuantepec for more than 3000 years, pre-dating the better-known Zapotec culture in Oaxaca.  They are a fishing society that depends on the ocean for their livelihood; the Ikoots peoples’ history is so integrated with the sea that they are also known as Mareños (“Oceaners”). Now Ikoots communities are struggling to defend their ancestral lands from multinational corporations who want to build wind turbines in the water along the coast, in the very ocean that has supported their way of life for centuries.

In April of 2004, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) sponsored a study to accelerate the development of wind projects in the state of Oaxaca, which found that the best area for wind project development was in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in the heart of the ancestral Ikoots territory. [1]  The proposed Parque Eolico San Dionisio (San Dionisio Wind Park), a wind farm to be constructed in the ocean along the coast, would consist of 102 wind turbines in the water outside the town of San Dionisio del Mar (and 30 more outside neighboring Santa Maria del Mar), two electric transformer substations, six access paths and additional support structures. [2] It would take up 27 kilometers of coastline.  The multinationals implementing the project have also informed the Mexican government that they will need to install 5 mooring docks in the Laguna Superior, a coastal lagoon that local communities heavily depend on for fishing. [3]

The construction of wind turbines would have a devastating effect on both Ikoots society and the environment.  The community fears that the vibration from the machines would destroy the aquatic life in the area, which is the economic basis of survival for Ikoots communities such as San Dionisio del Mar, San Mateo del Mar and San Francisco del Mar.  “This is the life of the poor: we fish so we can eat and have something to sell, to have a bit of money.  They say that now that the wind project is here, they’ll give us money for our land and sea, but the money won’t last forever.  We don’t agree with this. How are we going to live?” says Laura Celaya Altamirano, a resident of Isla Pueblo Viejo and the wife of a fisherman. [4] The wind turbines also present a threat to migratory birds and would damage the ecosystems of the local mangrove swamps.  In addition, the proposed construction would desecrate Ikoots sacred territory, namely the Isla de San Dionisio and the Barra de Santa Teresa (known by the Ikoots communities as Tileme).

The proposed location for the aquatic wind farm is San Dionisio del Mar, a town of about 5000 residents.  The project in San Dionisio is being implemented by a consortium called Mareña Renovable, which consists of the global investment bank Macquarie, based in Australia; the Dutch investment group PGGM; and the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan.  It includes turbines constructed by the Danish Company Vestas Wind Systems, and the involvement of two wind power companies:  Grupo Preneal of Spain, and DEMEX of Mexico.  The project also has funding from the Inter-American Development Bank. [5] The electricity from the farm would be used to power such corporate giants as FEMSA (based in Mexico, the largest beverage company in Latin America), Coca-Cola, Heineken, and other multinational corporations. [6]

A total disregard for the environment and the livelihoods of local people is par for the course when multinationals step in to take over communal lands for profit.  In the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, wind power companies have been exploiting local communities for years, pressuring farmers (most with little formal education) to sign contracts they often don’t understand in order to give up their rights to land that has been held communally for generations. “Oaxaca is the center of communal landownership. There is probably no worse place to make a land deal in Mexico," says Ben Cokelet, founder of the Project on Organizing, Development, Education, and Research.[7] Developers held meetings with locals in which model windmills the size of dinner platters were shown; they were led to believe they could continue farming around them. Later they were shocked to see 15-to-20-story turbines constructed, taking up acres of their land.  Developers pay the farmers a pittance in exchange for their land, often paying only 1/5th of what they would pay for similar land in the US, or 1/7th of what they would pay the Mexican government for the same land.  And, in a move that exacerbates tension in the community, local leaders are given better deals for their land in order to make the process more appealing to the rest of the population: "The first guy or two that bites gets [$8] per square meter. That's a hundred times better contract than the other people," says Cokelet. “But the 98 percent of farmers who sign afterwards sign on for rock-bottom prices. Those one or two people who bite – they don't bite because they're lucky. They bite because they know someone. And their job … is to sell it to all their neighbors." [8]

There are currently 14 wind farms built on land in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, with 4 under construction in 2012 and 3 more scheduled for 2013. [9]  According to the Declaración de San Dionisio del Mar, released on September 17 by the indigenous rights organization UCIZONI (La Unión de Comunidades de la Zona Norte del Istmo – The Union of Communities in the North Zone of the Isthmus), the communities affected by the 14 existing wind farms have not benefited from lower electricity rates; rather, the intention of the farms is clearly to serve the interests of transnational corporations such as Coca-Cola, Walmart, Nestle, Bimbo and others. [10] The wind turbines in San Dionisio are the first proposed turbines to be built in the sea.  Ikoots communities would not even benefit from the jobs created by the wind turbines; the construction and maintenance of the wind turbines would most certainly be given to employees of the multinational corporations funding the project, not to local fishermen.

The Ikoots community of San Dionisio del Mar did not consent to this project, nor were they even informed that it was under consideration.  The International Labour Organization, a United Nations agency dealing with labor rights, specifically states in its Convention 169 (Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) that “special measures… be adopted to safeguard the persons, institutions, property, labour, cultures and environment of these [indigenous] peoples. In addition, the Convention stipulates that these special measures should not go against the free wishes of indigenous peoples.” Mexico ratified this convention in 1990. [11] In this case, there was no public forum or announcement regarding the construction of the wind farms.

“A common practice of foreign businesses is to ‘buy’ [via bribes] the local PRIista authorities,” says Carlos Beas Torres, a leader and co-founder of UCIZONI and a well-known activist for indigenous rights. In 2004, Alvaro Sosa, the then-president of the “comisariado de bienes comunales” (essentially, the commissary for the territory held in common by the community), signed a preliminary contract renting a section of land to the Spanish corporation Preneal without the knowledge of the town’s residents. The 30-year contract that gave the multinationals access to 1643 hectares of land; Sosa did not inform the community of this action and accepted bribes in exchange for his consent.[12]  The people of San Dionisio del Mar did not find out about the existence of this contract until late in 2011, when the municipal president, Miguel López Castellanos (a member of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional, or PRI), again without consulting the community gave his permission for the consortium Mareña Renovables to begin construction of wind turbines in exchange for a payment of between 14-20 million pesos (between $1-1.5 million USD). The multinationals claim to have given him 20 million pesos, but Lopez Castellanos only admits to receiving 14 million pesos. [13]

Upon this discovery, the residents of San Dionisio held a public assembly where they demanded that the municipal president revoke his consent for the wind farm, which he refused to do. In February, representatives from the community met with DEMEX in Mexico City to request that the contract process start over, but were turned down. [14] Thus the struggle for control of the Ikoots’ ancestral land began.

Not surprisingly, an intense resistance movement against the wind farm has surged in San Dionisio del Mar.  The townspeople have initiated a legal battle in the Tribunal Unitario Agrario (Agrarian Unitary Tribunal), the government agency in charge of settling agrarian disputes, in an attempt to nullify the contract.  However they are also taking direct action in an attempt to defend their land.  In late January 2012, community members took possession of the municipal palace in San Dionisio in protest, ejecting municipal president Miguel López Castellanos, creating the Asamblea General del Pueblo de San Dionisio (General Assembly of the People of San Dionisio), and declaring themselves in resistance.[15]  In April, the San Dionisio communal assembly prevented employees of the multinationals from laying out access roads in the Barra de Santa Teresa, and set up a permanent watch to make sure the contractors do not return. [16] In September, community members organized a national encuentro (or gathering) in San Dionisio, with the participation of around 300 people from 25 different indigenous and activist organizations from 6 different states in Mexico.[17]  The intent of the encuentro was not only to raise awareness on what was happening on Ikoots land, but also to create a large-scale national plan of action to resist megaprojects such as the wind farms. “It’s practically a second Spanish Conquest; they’re coming again to snatch our land with a contract that is completely advantageous, draconian and in violation of our rights as indigenous people,” says Jesús García Sosa, a representative of the Asamblea General. [18]

The resistance movement continues to grow despite threats and intimidation, as well as actual physical attacks on community members committed by opposing political factions. The general consensus is that these factions are being paid by the multinationals involved to hamper resistance to the development project. On August 25, a representative of the Asamblea General named Moisés Juárez Muriel was brutally attacked while walking home in the evening by two men who beat him with stones. He was taken by two compañeros in resistance to the IMSS-Complamar clinic, where he was refused treatment because the clinic was under control of the municipal president. [19] In mid-September, immediately after the conclusion of the encuentro in support of the Ikoots community members in resistance, a group of heavily armed individuals surrounded the municipal palace that the community members were occupying, pointing guns at and intimidating the people who were guarding the building. [20]

Resistance movement leaders have also received public death threats from political parties and anonymous sources. On October 6, a group of PRI agitators marched through San Dionisio, making specific death threats against Bettina Cruz Velazquez, a well-known human rights activist and founder of the Asamblea de los Pueblos Indígenas del Istmo de Tehuantepec en Defensa de la Tierra y el Territorio (Assembly of Indigenous Peoples of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Defense of Land and Territory). Cruz Velazquez is deeply involved in the resistance movement against the wind project. Human rights groups in Mexico have formally asked the governor of Oaxaca, Gabino Cué Monteagudo, to guarantee her safety.  [21] Carlos Beas Torres of UCIZONI has received threatening phone calls for his public stance in opposition of the project. [22]

In some cases, attempts to stop resistance support have led to clashess. In mid-October, two organizations, El Frente por la Defensa de la Tierra (The Front for the Defense of the Earth) and UCIZONI sent a caravan of support attempting to bring food and supplies to the community in resistance in San Dionisio. A blockade was set up by armed PRIista sympathizers of the municipal president, Miguel López Castellanos, to keep the caravan from passing. [23] A violent confrontation ensued.

“The store owners in San Dionisio belong to the PRI and refuse to sell food to the people resisting the wind project,” says Carlos Alberto Ocaña, whose father (a native of San Dionisio) was the driver of the first truck in the supply caravan. “When the caravan approached the town, it was stopped by a blockade of about 70 people. They had guns, machetes, and gasoline for setting the cars on fire.  My father was in the first truck with five other people. They PRIistas in the blockade pulled them out of the truck and started beating them.” The police eventually arrived, but the caravan was unable to pass the barricade to reach San Dionisio and eventually it was forced to turn back without delivering the supplies.

On October 17 and 18, members of the Asamblea General of San Dionisio, UCIZONI, la Asamblea de Pueblos Indígenas del Istmo en Defensa de la Tierra y el Territorio, la Alianza Mexicana por la Autodeterminación de los Pueblos (Mexican Allaince for the Self-Determination of the People, AMAP), and a half dozen other groups held protests in Mexico City. They held rallies in front of the Interamerican Development Bank, Mitsubishi, Coca-Cola, Vestas, and the Danish embassy. Their goal was twofold: to impede the construction of the wind park in San Dionisio, but also to publicly denounce the environmental and cultural damage that threatens the Ikoots communities of the Isthmus. They were received and allowed to present written complaints at the Interamerican Development Bank, Vestas, and the Danish embassy.  oca-Cola-FEMSA refused to meet with them. [24] As of this writing, the Ikoots communities’ struggle against corporate takeover continues; in November representatives of the community will travel to the Netherlands, with the support of Dutch unions, to present a letter of protest in person to the Dutch investment company PGGM.  In the words of Asamblea General representative Jesús García Sosa, “We will not allow that business and government to yet again displace us from our territory, which symbolizes our very life, our mother, our father; we can’t sell it to them or put a price on it, much less in exchange for projects of death and plunder.” [25]

On October 30th, President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, who was in Oaxaca to inaugurate a new highway, also travelled to inaugurate the Piedra Larga Wind Park. Calderon saluted the project, citing it as a solution to poverty and climate change, and mentioning the “additional income” the residents of the town Unión Hidalgo would receive for allowing the turbines to be installed on their communal land.

Meanwhile, 300 meters outside the park, theirn entrance blocked by national police, nearly 200 people from different communities in the region including San Mateo del Mar, San Dionisio del Mar, San Francisco del Mar, Unión Hidalgo, Juchitán, Santa María Xadani and the UCIZONI, protested the park’s opening. [26]

FOOTNOTES

1. Noticias de Oaxaca, Oct. 14 2012.

2. Noticias de Oaxaca, Aug. 20 2012.

3. Noticias de Oaxaca, Apr. 21 2012.

4. Noticias de Oaxaca, Aug. 20 2012.

5. Recharge News, Mar. 12 2012.

6. Noticias de Oaxaca, Apr. 23 2012.

7. Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 26 2012.

8. Ibid

9. Noticias de Oaxaca, Oct. 11 2012.

10. UCIZONI statement, Sept. 17 2012.

11. International Labor Organization Convention 169.

12. La Jornada, Aug. 23 2012.

13. Noticias de Oaxaca, Aug. 20 2012.

14. Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 28 2012.

15. El Sol del Istmo, Jan. 30 2012.

16. Noticias de Oaxaca, Apr. 21 2012.

17. Despertar de Oaxaca, Sept. 28 2012.

18. Noticias de Oaxaca, Aug. 20 2012.

19. Quadratin Oaxaca, Oct. 9 2012.

20. Ibid.

21. E-Oaxaca, Oct. 15 2012.

22. Quadratin Oaxaca, Oct. 9 2012

23. E-Oaxaca, Oct. 11 2012.

24. La Jornada, Oct. 17 2012:

25. Noticias de Oaxaca, Aug. 20 2012.

26. Eco Noticias Huatulco. Oct 30, 2012.

Hambach Forest anti-open cast camp prepares for eviction (Germany)

The Hambach Forest has been occupied for half an year now. The forest will get cleared to make way for the coal-open-cast-mine "Hambacher Tagebau". This is together with two more open-cast-mines in the region and the power plants that burns the coal, europes biggest producer of CO2. They have already started to cut the forest, and the eviction of the camp can happen any day. So read this anti-eviction-guide and see what you can do!

 

Before the eviction

The clearing of the Hambacher Forest hast already started. The forest is eviction threat. If you have time, it makes sense to come to the forest and support the activists locally in the protection of the forest
Think about whether you and your group can spend a couple of days in the forest to support the Hambach180 campaign. If you know when you come write an email to  hambacherforst@riseup.net You find the the flyer of the campaign here
Use the Ushahidi-Apps (Android/iPhone) for our Stop-RWE-Crowdmap, to keep you up to date and report of solidarity actions or the eviction of the spot!
Send your mobile phone number to  hambacherforst@riseup.net to get on the sms eviction list. In case of exiction you will be informed directly.
Prepare beforehand when and where you want to do solidary actions. Seek out places of RWE in you region, as on this map, which is still upgraded piece by piece. Make a research by yourself!
Draw a banner beforehand. Here are some items you can use on the banner: Hambacher Forst bleibt
There is a design for flyers you can spread on a spontaneous demonstration: Demo-Infoflyer_Rückseite

Maybe you make it to organize an information session in the short term. There is an ODP presentation Hambacher Forst bleibt.odp or as PDF: Hambacher Forst bleibt.pdf Here are some videos
At the end of the week there is most likely printed stickers and posters. There is a b/w master copy: Hambacher Forst bleibt
Distribute stickers and posters in your city!

Solidarity actions

Following is a list of planned solidarity actions on Day X:

Berlin:

14 clock, rally in front of the International Trade Centre Berlin (S+U Friedrichstraße)
19 clock, spontaneous demonstration, meeting place in front of the church at Lausitzer Platz (U
Görlitzer Bahnhof)
Hamburg:

17 clock, spontaneous demonstration in front of Café Knallhart on University Campus (Van Melle Park 9)
Cologne:

14 clock, central of RWE Power AG, Stüttgenweg 2, 50935 Cologne
Essen:

18 clock, Front-exit Central station Essen

more to follow! Organize yourselves and inform us about it:  info@ausgeco2hlt.de

During the eviction

Think about whether you can come as fast as possible in the forest. Find out about the current situation:  http://hambacherforst.blogsport.de,  https://stopprwe.crowdmap.com or phone: 01577-5440595
If you can‘t come into the forest or the distance is too large decentralizes solidarity actions are important. Now it’s time for your prepared actions. Take pictures and write articles on  http://de.indymedia.org,  http://linksunten.indymedia.org and  https://stopprwe.crowdmap.com , and send them to ausgeco2hlt-press coordination:  presse@ausgeco2hlt.de
If you use Twitter to report use the hashtag #hfb
If you have relevant information on the eviction during the eviction, such as Police closures, spontaneous demonstrations etc, post them on  https://stopptrwe.crowdmap.com

After a solidarity action try as fast as possible to come in the forest or get informed what makes sense

In general

In case you still get your power from RWE or its subsidiaries: power switch see i.e.  http://www.atomausstieg-selber-machen.de/
Organize local events.
Establish a local group which work on the topic coal, a decentralized, ecological and social energy transition or climate justice
Come to our meetings, see  http://ausgeco2hlt.de
Visit the Hambacher Forst, i.e. with your political group
Organize solidarity parties to raise money for anti-repression costs. ausgeco2hlt will soon likely establish a flow-border legal support fund for climate justice activists.
Donate to the forest, the WAA or ausgeCO2hlt, or ask wealthy people you know.
Talk about the campaign, the forrest, the movement etc. in your social media channels and with your friends
Distribute posters, stickers and more in your city. There are master copies: Hambacher Forst bleibt
Link  http://hambacherforst.blogsport.de and  http://ausgeco2hlt.de

ZAD – Reoccupation Demonstration November 17th. (France)

Notre Dame des Landes
Facing the evictions:
Demonstration of reoccupation !

To rebuild – against the airport!

Pitchforks, wooden beams, planks, nails and tools in hand…
Meeting Saturday November 17th in the morning.

Notre Dame des Landes
Facing the evictions:
Demonstration of reoccupation !

To rebuild – against the airport!

Pitchforks, wooden beams, planks, nails and tools in hand…
Meeting Saturday November 17th in the morning.

To read the call online or dowload posters, flyers… http://zad.nadir.org/

The struggle against the airport project of Notre-Dame des Landes kept on growing in the last years. Among other initiatives, an occupation movement has spread on the houses and farmland threatened. A year ago, facing
increasing threats on the different houses, huts and gardens, inhabitants of the ZAD and solidarity collectives called for a mass demonstration of
reoccupation in case of evictions.

When Caesar is floundering…

On Tuesday, October 16th the dreaded eviction offensive started.  1,200 policemen invaded the 1,800 hectares of the ZAD. They attacked gradually occupied houses and huts, destroying them and washing away every garbage
pieces out of the area, leaving nothing that could be used to rebuild. Occupiers and all those who joined them on the spot resisted, barricaded, reoccupied. Together, we have done everything to stop the destruction machinery and block police movements … We're still here!

Our determination was strengthened by a great wave of solidarity coming from the entire country and beyond: daily demonstrations in Nantes and in various cities, supplies and materials, support actions on representation
of socialist party, Vinci, airport manufacturers and other crushers of our lives…

While most homes have already been evicted as well as some huts, many other occupiers remain in the woods, in the fields, in the trees. New constructions are already underway. In addition to the occupiers, « legal » inhabitants and local peasants are also threatened to have to leave the ZAD in the coming months. This is to say that this XXL eviction attempt is going to last. Wise guys from the departmental authority officially called their military operation: "Caesar." It is up to us show them how the resistance against the airport is actually relentless, they will finally be defeated and ridiculous.

We keep on fighting, we are still here!

Beyond the call to join the area and continue the solidarity actions in the coming weeks, we confirm today that a mass demonstration of reoccupation will take place on Saturday, November 17th 2012, starting
from one of the villages near the ZAD.

After this first eviction round, we are looking forward to a time of broad, constructive and offensive mobilization, shared by the various parts of the struggle: occupiers, peasants, inhabitants, local people and from elsewhere, associations and solidarity groups… The objective is to reconstruct an open collective place on threatened lands, meant for
struggle organization. We want to make this place a hub for occupiers and people struggling against the airport, a starting point for new housing constructions, an antenna to organize resistance to future works: those of
the airport and its highway (which is the first stage of the project, meant to begin in January). They well may militarize the area; they will not prevent us from resettling here.

Ayrault, Vinci and others – the message is clear: Fuck off the land!

—- Additional and practical infos —-

– Occupiers from the ZAD and people from the network Reclaim The Fields launched this call for reoccupation. They previously had occupied wasteland with more than a thousand people in May 2012 in order to settle the vegetable farm "Le Sabot". Today we invite all people and groups to spread information on this initiative and to join November 17th organization.

– Beyond a demonstration, this is above all about a collective action that will gain power from a long and active presence of the greatest number of persons. Plan to be there for the weekend and more if you can: to begin the occupation, to continue constructions, to defend, and to generate ideas for the future.

– Bring diverse and varied tools and materials, overalls, sound, wacky creations, portable radios, pies to share and unfailing determination.

– It is possible to arrive the day before. Meeting and camping spots will be announced in the days before the event.

– Given the energy required to resist against evictions by then, and the consequent exhaustion of occupiers, success of this event depends crucially on the involvement of solidary individuals and collectives
everywhere. We call for public meetings, relaying information and car sharing in each village for November 17th.

– Posters and flyers to print and photocopy are available on the website, and on paper in nantes (B17) or in the ZAD (Vache-Rit). Any financial support is welcome (check payable to « Vivre sans aéroport » ("Living without an airport ?), La Primaudière – Notre-Dame des Landes 44130 ; bank transfer: 20041 01011 1162852D32 36)

As the situation changes every day, check information regularly on:http://zad.nadir.org/

For November 17th, we are looking for wooden beams, construction and climbing materials, kitchens, tents, musicians, batukadas, huts kits, tools, tractors…

For any exchange, help, relays, and proposals:  reclaimthezad@riseup.net

— Why do we struggle? For the resistance to the airport and it?s world. —

At Notre-Dame des Landes, policy makers and concreters are working on anew airport to fulfil their dreams of voracious metropolis and economic expansion. For 40 years they have been wanting to destroy under concrete
2,000 hectares of agricultural land and habitats situated on the north of Nantes. The concerned area is called ZAD, originally named ?Zone d?Aménagement Différé? (Deferred Development Zone) by airport stakeholders is now ?Zone A Défendre? (Zone To Defend).

Since the beginnings of this project, resistances are organizing. This struggle is at the crossroads of issues on which unite and think of common strategies. Through it, we are fighting feeding on a drip, industrial
society and global warming, territory control and economic development policies, cities and ways of life standardization, privatization of the commons, myths of growth and the illusion of democratic participation…

Today as yesterday, the opponents are far from giving up and keep on struggling via: demonstrations, legal actions, links with other struggles, hunger strikes, circulation of newspapers, free tolls operations,
oppositions to drillings, sabotages, disturbance of impact studies and archaeological excavations, office and building sites occupations, etc.

To the detriment of the state and Vinci who buy and destroy to clear the ZAD, life and activity densified and diversified in the zone over more than three years. Many abandoned houses have been rehabilitated and
occupied, huts were built on the ground and in the trees, collectives occupy land to produce vegetables. Meeting spaces, a bakery, a library, homes, were open to all. More than a hundred persons were constantly living in the ZAD, supported by many other people, local and from elsewhere, who met and organised there. This presence on the ground has allowed rapid reactions against the works? process undertaken by Vinci. It is this creative and subversive pack that they seek to eradicate today in order to start the building sites.

We keep in mind the past victories against megalomaniac projects, from the nuclear industry to the military. As in the Carnet, in Plogoff or in the Larzac, we know that this airport can still be stopped. We look at the other side of the Alps where opposition to the construction of the high-speed train line Lyon-Turin mobilizes the entire Susa valley, where tens of thousands of people prevent the works. Here as well, any attempt to concrete the land will cost them dearly.

Campaigners from No Dash for Gas abseil 90m down power station chimney to end 7 day occupation

This morning the last two campaigners from No Dash for Gas abseiled down the side of one of the chimneys they have been occupying at EDF’s West Burton power station for the past 7 days to end the most audacious and high profile direct action in recent years. Four campaigners had left yesterday, all have handed themselves in to the police.

Total occupation time: 7 days
Total CO2 saved: 19117 tonnes

The seven day protest saw 16 activists occupy the flues of two of the chimneys at the UK's newest gas-fired power station. Whilst up there, they rigged a rope between the two chimneys and people were able to travel across. The group, No Dash for Gas, were there to stop emissions, halt construction of the power station and highlight the senselessness of the government's proposed 'dash for gas' in the upcoming Energy Bill. In a move that the government's own Select Committee on Climate Change has said might be illegal, the government wants to build up to 20 new gas-fired power stations. This would lock us into relying on fossil fuels for another 30 years, making it impossible to hit emissions reductions targets, and ensuring household energy bills continue to rise.

Ewa Jasiewicz, one of the campaigners and the last person coming down from the chimney, said:
 

“This was the first time activists have managed to successfully shut down a power station, and the longest occupation of a power station the UK has ever seen. We stopped 20,000 tonnes of CO2 being emitted, prevented any construction work on the site for a week and got our message about how reckless and ridiculous, let alone probably illegal, George Osborne's proposed 'dash for gas' is out to thousands of people. I'm proud of what we've achieved – but it's only the start of the battle for our energy future.”

During the week-long occupation, Energy Minister John Hayes’ anti-windfarm outburst demonstrated that the Coalition's energy policy is in utter disarray. We also witnessed Hurricane Sandy wreak unprecedented damage in one of the most severe warnings of the effects of climate change the world has seen. By shutting down West Burton for a week, No Dash for Gas have demonstrated the need to make the transition away from a fossil-fuel-dependent energy infrastructure. Danny Chivers, one of the campaigners who occupied the central chimney, said:

“Hurricane Sandy demonstrated all too clearly that climate change is already serious – and it's only getting more so each month it gets ignored. Companies like EDF are getting away with murder, for the sake of some short-term profit. They are burning more and more fossil fuels, like gas, when we desperately need a sustainable and fair energy system. The technology to supply our energy needs through renewable energy sources already exists, but the people with the power are recklessly and irresponsibly ignoring this.”

Day 7: Update and photos from No Dash for Gas

 

 

No Dash for Gas activists have now prevented over 14,500 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted, as the chimney they are occupying had to be shut down

They are saving over 2300 tonnes of CO2 emissions every day

 

 

No Dash for Gas activists have now prevented over 14,500 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted, as the chimney they are occupying had to be shut down

They are saving over 2300 tonnes of CO2 emissions every day

The Govenment's dash 4 gas is illegal because it will make it impossible 2 meet legally-binding emissions reductions targets under Climate Act

Just 2 activists left occupying the chimney as they head into day 8. Longest-running power station occupation ever!

They've had workers contacting them in private giving their support. Can't speak openly, fear for of jobs

 

Grapes of wrath

Vineyards in Sark  sabotaged.

Support wires – some up to 200 yards long – have been cut and repairs will take up to six months. The cost is estimated at tens of thousands of pounds.

Vineyards in Sark  sabotaged.

Support wires – some up to 200 yards long – have been cut and repairs will take up to six months. The cost is estimated at tens of thousands of pounds.

Kevin Delaney of Sark Estate Management says staff who have been working on the project are distraught.

In all 40,000 vines have been affected out of the 100,000 planted. The support wires were severed at both ends and in the middle. Mr Delaney said it was a “night of devastation”.

The act of sabotage came ahead of a protest about the scale of vineyard plantations in the island. The Agriculture Committee have called for a halt on the conversion of grazing land. They fear it will lead to the collapse of farming and damage biodiversity.

More than 80 islanders staged a protest near a field currently being ploughed for vineyard development.

In a public statement the committee say

“The scale of this new monoculture will have a devastating effect on Sark’s unique and diverse wildlife. Many species which rely on Sark’s healthy fields – from earthworms, insects, butterflies, moths, bats, birds, up to Peregrine Falcons which nest around our cliffs, will suffer as the traditional environment is impoverished.

“We call on the Sark Estate Management to halt present work and reconsider the agricultural plans and priorities for their land in Sark.”

The agriculture committee say they have worries about the use of Bordeaux Mixture, which contains copper sulphate, becoming airborne and spreading outside the vineyards. 

TAMPAKAN MASSACRE: International solidarity requested against SMI-Xstrata corporation (Philippines, Switzerland)

SMI-Xstrata is a Swiss corporation which has a mining application in south Cotabato, Mindanao. despite the resistance of the community the Philippine government is backing-up the said application.

SMI-Xstrata is a Swiss corporation which has a mining application in south Cotabato, Mindanao. despite the resistance of the community the Philippine government is backing-up the said application.

In order to silence the resistance the government use the military. 13 people were killed including an 8 years old boy and 3 months pregnant woman. The culprit is based in Switzerland. We are asking for your support to put pressure on the corporation to stop the destruction of natural resources and to seek justice for the victims.

At 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 18, in Datal Aliong, Kiblawan, Davao del Sur, Juvy, 27, wife of B’laan leader Daguil Capion, was shot in cold blood together with her two sons, Jordan, 13, and John, 8 by elements of the 27th Infantry Battalion, led by 1st Lt. Dante Jimenez. The youngest daughter Vicky, 4, escaped but was wounded.

When a relative of the victims said that it was better if the children were not harmed, a soldier replied “mas maayo nga tiwason  ang  mga bata para wala’y witness” (better to finish off the children, so there are no witnesses). Before Juvy was shot, the relative heard Juvy say, “tama na ayaw namo sige ug pabuto kay naigo nako” (please stop firing your guns,  as I am already wounded). But the soldiers kept firing their guns.

Immediately after the incident, Colonel Alexis Bravo, commander of the 27th Infantry Batallion, conducted press conferences for radio and print, claiming the incident was an ‘encounter’ with the NPA. Evidence however showed there was willful intent to kill innocent children and their mother. They even talked to the unarmed mother before killing her. How can that be an encounter? Juvy, the mother, together with her husband Daguil, are active leaders in opposing the mining project. Col. Bravo, Lt. Jimenez and seven other soldiers were relieved of duty immediately after the massacre.

Kiblawan Mayor Marivic Diamante, who is an active supporter of Xstrata-SMI and receives millions in ‘development’ funds from them, and who is often a guest speaker in mining conferences in Manila, attempted to take possession of two children who were vital witnesses, saying they would be brought to the hospital. The mother of Daguil refused, triggering a tug of war, pacified by Atty. Hawtay of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). The children are now safely in the hands of the Social Action Center of Marbel. (Sources – Task Force Detainee of the Philippines, Social Action Center Marbel, rappler.com, LILAK).

The military wants to convince everyone it is a counter-insurgency war. They do not see it as a people’s war against the multinational they protect. They talk of suspected communist rebels. That is the way they justify their presence. They say they are there because the rebels are there. They say they want to protect the people from the rebels. But they kill instead the people they say they protect. In truth, from their actions, they are there to support and protect the mining project. Before the multinationals came, there was peace in Tampakan. Now the domain of the B’laans has been mutilated.

For more details (WARNING: Contains graphic photo's of masacre) http://onsiteinfoshopphilippines.wordpress.com/newsupdate/

Residents protest at Manchester Airport

On Saturday 3rd November around 100 local residents and campaigners took part in a protest walk against the proposed World Logistics Hub at Manchester Airport. The protesters braved the cold to take a route around the 90 acre former greenbelt site, which is threatened by the plans to build 43 cargo sheds and almost 1,500 car parking space

Local residents, wildlife enthusiasts and environmental campaigners spoke at various points along the walk, sharing their experiences of fighting Manchester Airport expansion and highlighting the numerous ways that the plans would affect local people and the environment.

 

The Wildlife Walk came the week after the Wythenshawe Area Committee‘recommended for approval’ the World Logistics Hub plans, on the 25th October.  The application will now be sent to the Planning and Highways Committee at Manchester City Council for a final decision on 22nd November 2012. A number of attendees at the Wildlife Walk, keen for their concerns to be brought to this Committee, pledged to attend this November meeting at Manchester Town Hall.

Several Councillors of the Wythenshawe Area Committee backed the Logistics Hub plans based on the Airport's promises of local job opportunities. However campaigners argue that

job creation figures proposed by the Airport are inflated.

Jane Beetson from 'Stop Expansion at Manchester Airport' campaign  said “When Manchester Airport first announced plans for a second runway, they claimed 50,000 jobs would be created.  No-where near that number of jobs materialised.  Just like then, they are misleading the public now.”

She added, “Local Councillors say they will force the Airport to give jobs to local people but in practice they will have no way of enforcing this on the firms that move into the new office and warehouse spaces.  We need to create green jobs in sustainable industries not dirty aviation.” 

The Wildlife Walk was also an opportunity for wildlife experts to explain that Airport's promises of preserving wildlife are also unrealistic, and that creating a 'mitigation zone' is no substitution for leaving habitats untouched.

Along the route, campaigners encountered the threatened habitats of numerous plant and animal species. Several mature oak trees line Sunbank Lane, providing nesting opportunities for rare birds, and potential roosting spots for endangered bat species. The site is also home to 12 ponds occupied by Great Crested Newts, an endangered species found only in the North West of England. Walkers were also able to spot signs of protected animals for example badger snuffle holes and mole hills in the green space around Sunbank.

Campaigners prevent carbon emissions in longest-ever power station occupation

Government’s dash for gas branded ‘indefensible’ in wake of Hurricane Sandy

Government’s dash for gas branded ‘indefensible’ in wake of Hurricane Sandy

EDF has confirmed that the UK’s newest gas-fired power station will remain shut down after more than thirty No Dash for Gas climate change campaigners evaded security and entered the site on Monday morning. Sixteen of them are spending their third day at the top of two 300 ft smokestacks at the West Burton plant in Nottinghamshire, and last night built new barricades out of scaffolding, ladders and wood. They have abseiled down inside one of the chimneys to set up camp in tents suspended from ropes inside the flues. [1] As long as they hold their position above the furnace the plant is unable to operate.

Because the plant was not yet fully operational and not connected to the grid, the campaigners claim they have prevented 2371 tonnes of CO2 emissions a day by shutting down the one working chimney. This is equivalent to the energy that an average home uses for 182 years, or taking 465 cars off the road for a year. [2] As the human and economic costs of Hurricane Sandy become clearer, the need to take action on climate change and avoid many more instances of such extreme weather-related disasters has never been more pressing.

Anneka Kelly is one of the activists occupying one of the chimneys. Speaking on a mobile phone she said:

"Energy bills are going through the roof, the East Coast of the US has been devastated by Hurricane Sandy, we’re seeing droughts and floods across the world and global temperatures are rising. Yet the government, at the behest of the Big Six energy companies, wants to build 20 new gas power stations. This is indefensible. Gas is expensive, highly polluting and we don’t need it. We should be investing in clean high-tech renewables that slash pollution and in the long run will cost a lot less.”

West Burton power station in Nottinghamshire has been targeted because it’s one of the first in a new generation of highly polluting gas plants planned for the UK. [3] The Coalition Government recently announced it intends to give the green light to as many as 20 new gas plants – a move that would crash Britain’s carbon targets, contribute to the climate crisis and push up bills. This decision is likely to be confirmed when the delayed Energy Bill is published towards the end of November. But the activists echo many scientists and the government’s own advisers in calling for an end to plans for a new dash for gas and investment in a high-tech carbon-free electricity system instead. [4]

Contrary to claims by ministers and the industry, gas is a dirty fuel that poses an unacceptable threat to the environment. It’s also expensive – official figures from Ofgem show that the average UK energy bill rose £150 last year, with £100 of that due to rising wholesale gas prices.[5] Only last week EDF raised their prices, following most of the other major companies and plunging even more people into fuel poverty. Meanwhile high-tech renewable systems are rapidly coming down in price, meaning that soon they will be cheaper, while communities across the country are turning their back on the Big Six energy companies in favour of cooperative community energy schemes.

The activists have not yet decided when they are going to come down, but have pledged to give the police several hours warning, and hand themselves in. Nevertheless, the police have criticised them for wasting taxpayers’ money on an expensive police operation.

Ewa Jasiewicz, one of the activists occupying one of the chimneys, said : ‘It’s EDF who are wasting taxpayers’ money. There is no need for such a heavy police presence on the ground and helicopters in the sky. It’s not like we’re trying to escape! We have communicated with the police from the start and assured them this is a responsible protest, with safety at its heart. We will give them plenty of warning when we intend to come down, and will hand ourselves over.’

Find out more at www.nodashforgas.org.uk
Follow us on Twitter: @nodashforgas
Like us on Facebook: No Dash for Gas

ENDS

Notes to editors:

  1. The night-time incursion was launched at 2am when the raiders got through the security fence. Under cover of darkness fifteen of them crossed the expanse to the chimneys then split into two groups and began the 300ft climb to the top. They are now building barricades to defend their positions. They have enough supplies with them to last at least a week and say they’re in it for the long haul. The plant was shut down shortly after the campaigners began the ascent. A further team remained on the ground to liaise with the plant’s managers. Before launching the protest they engaged in extensive consultation with an expert engineer and each underwent intensive safety training.
  2. According to the government, Combined Cycle Gas Turbine plants like this emit 353g of CO2 per kilowatt hour: http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/policy-legislation/emr/2179-eps-impact-assessment-emr-wp.pdf . This plant had been generating 280 megawatts:
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/30/no-dash-for-gas-occupy . 353g per hour for a day is 8.47 kg a day (353 x 24 = 8470g) and 8.47 x 280,000 is 2371 tonnes a day. That’s the same as energy that an average home uses for 182 years, or taking 465 cars off the road for a year. A driver would have to drive their car non-stop, night and day, for ten and a half years to emit that much…
    http://www.yousustain.com/footprint/howmuchco2?co2=2371+tons
  3. West Burton gas power station is a 1,300MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plant, currently under construction in Nottinghamshire. It is comprised of three turbine houses and chimneys, labelled Units 1, 2 and 3. Unit 2 is complete and is operating at almost full capacity. Units 1 and 3 are further behind, with Unit 1 closer to completion than 3. When complete, the new CCGT plant will emit approximately 4.5 million tonnes CO2 per year when operating at full capacity. This is more than the annual emissions of Paraguay. [i]
  4. The Government's independent climate advisers, the Committee on Climate Change, have called for our electricity system to be almost entirely carbon free by 2030.[ii] They have defined this as meaning that our electricity system should produce no more than 50g of CO2 for every kilowatt hour of electricity generated, by 2030. The Chair of the Committee on Climate Change, John Gummer, recently wrote to the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Davey, to warn that George Osborne's plans for a new generation of gas power could be illegal: “extensive use of unabated gas-fired capacity… in 2030 and beyond would be incompatible with meeting legislated carbon budgets.” [iii]
  5. Figures from Ofgem show that in 2011 the average UK energy bill rose by £150, with £100 of this due to the rising cost of gas. [iv]

Facts and figures on the dash for gas:

· Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Davey, has called for 20GW of gas power stations to be built by 2030, approximately 20 new power stations. [v]

· He has also guaranteed that gas power stations that already have planning consent can, if built, continue emitting CO2 unabated until 2045, i.e. their full life-span, by exempting them from emissions regulations. [vi] There is currently 13GW of gas that has either recently been completed, is in construction, or has been granted planning consent. [vii]

· Lord Turner, in his former role as Chair of the Committee on Climate Change, wrote to the Energy Secretary to warn this would lead to “the risk that there will be too much gas-fired generation instead of low carbon investment” and that the policy could take emissions "beyond the limits implied by carbon budgets."[viii]

· Last week, EDF hiked their energy prices by 10.8%, the highest of any of the big six energy companies so far this winter.

· Recent polling by YouGov found that 55% of people want more windfarms, compared to just 17% who want more gas power stations. [ix]

· An ICM poll found that more than two-thirds of people would rather have a wind turbine than a shale gas well near their home. [x]

· The Offshore Wind Valuation Group found that harnessing just 29% of the practical offshore renewable resource by 2050 would generate the electricity equivalent of 1 billion barrels of oil annually, matching North Sea oil and gas production and making Britain a net electricity exporter. [xi]

[xi] http://offshorevaluation.org/downloads/offshore_valuation_full.pdf