Reclaim the Power, the action camp that shut down Cuadrilla’s operations in Balcombe for a week last year, will take place near Blackpool between 14 – 20 August. The precise location of the camp will be revealed on the starting day.
Reclaim the Power, the action camp that shut down Cuadrilla’s operations in Balcombe for a week last year, will take place near Blackpool between 14 – 20 August. The precise location of the camp will be revealed on the starting day. An estimated 1000 participants from across the UK and local residents will take part in 6 days of direct action, training, and workshops as they join the dots between social, climate and economic justice.
More info in press release. Programme
Action Days in the Rhineland Coalfield
Action Days in the Rhineland Coalfield
Lots of things were happening in the Rhineland Coalfield today: Early in the morning, four activists locked themselves to coal train tracks. Two more activists abseiled themselves from a bridge. These two blockades stopped the coal transportation between the open-cast mine Hambach and the power plants. Further north, at the edge of the Garzweiler mine, a group of 80 people took a seat in front of the buckets of the digging machine, some of them locked themselves together. Another group ventured further down into the mine and climbed on the wheels the digging machine, accompanied by a Samba band and rebel clowns. And last but not least, about 20 activists were blockading the gate to the mininig area for six hours. It seems that more and more people are willing to take direct action against the polluting industry to stop climate change!
The Rhineland Coalfied is situated in the Western part of Germany, close to the Dutch bordier. There are three huge open-cast lignite mines, and right next to it, some of Europe's dirtiest coal-fired power plants, which emit about 100 million tons of CO2 per year.
Lots of the activists had their base on the climate action camp, that is taking this week on a piece of land that is scheduled to be digged away soon for the lignite mine.
View images of the action days on www.klimacamp-im-rheinland.de
There are currently three community blockades / protest camps – West Newton, Crawberry HIll (both in Yorkshire), and Upton (Cheshire).
For other news, upcoming events and info, see http://frack-off.org.uk
July 17th, 2014 – from Swamp Line 9
Individuals from Six Nations and their allies have interrupted work on a section of Enbridge’s Line 9 pipeline. The work stoppage began around 10am this morning. Individuals involved asked workers to leave, asserting that the land is Haudenosaunee territory guaranteed under the Haldimand deed, and that Enbridge’s workers were present without consent or consultation.
“Meaningful consultation isn’t just providing information and going ahead without discussion – it’s giving the opportunity to say no and having a willingness to accommodate.” says Missy Elliot.
“Enbridge left a voice message on a machine with one person. That’s not meaningful – it’s not even consultation.” Emilie Corbeau, there in support of Six Nations points out.
Those involved intend to host an action camp, filling the time with teach-ins about Six Nations history, indigenous solidarity and skill shares centering on direct action.
The group states that they’ve tried the other processes available to them and here out of necessity. “We’ve tried pursuing avenues with the NEB, the township and the Grand River Conservation Authority. Our concerns were dismissed. What other choice do we have if we want to protect our land, water and children?” Missy Elliot of Six Nations asks.
Under bill C-45 the section of the Grand River adjacent to the Enbridge work site and pipeline is no longer protected. Approximately half a million people rely on drinking water provided by the Grand River.
“This isn’t just about line 9 – or Northern Gateway, Energy East or Keystone XL. This is about pipelines – all of them.” Daniell Boissineau, of Turtle Clan, asserts. “This is about the tarsands and how destructive they are to expand, extract and transport.”
“This is a continental concern. It’s not just a Six Nations issue or an indigenous issue. We share the responsibility to protect our land and water as human beings.” Elliot states.
Greetings and Salutations from the Hambacher Forest Occupatio
Greetings and Salutations from the Hambacher Forest Occupation!
We are presently blocking the expansion of the largest opencast lignite mine in Western Europe with tree sits and barricades through out the Hambacher Forest. After the last eviction on March 27th 2014 we re-occupied the forest, this time, building up two tree sits with multiple platforms, tree-houses, walk ways in between and barricades .
At present we are facing regular intrusion of repressive law enforcement destroying our structures on the ground and have already faced two largescale evictions using tactical teams costing millions of euros while at the same time, the German government, is cutting sustainable energy subsidies. Instead choosing to compensate for the shut down of nuclear power plants with support to the extremely polluting and ecologically catastrophic coal industry (in our case RWE power company which is engaging in massive green washing PR campaigns).
We would like to send you updates and inform you of the upcoming Climate Camp and Skill-shares Gathering (July 26th to August 3rd 2014) happening in our vicinity which we are also helping to organize. We also have a support camp with legal status at the edge of the forest functioning as a de facto activist eco village with a vegan kitchen, guest
caravans, straw bail structures, gardens and many other on-going sustainable projects, to which we would like to invite all of you who may find yourselves in our neck of the woods.
As of recently, we have also built an info-shop/library for which we would like to appeal for any extra literature that you would be willing to share with us. We could cover the costs of shipment and if possible discount rates of literature itself not to mention we would be extremely interested and gratefull if you would be willing to share any back issues or extra literature. If this is a possibility please also respond with your preferable snail-mail address, as we would like to share some of our material with you as well.
We have a support centre in Duren, which is unfortunately undergoing a bit of transition at the moment. For the time being the literature for our Meadow Base Camp info-shop and the Climate Camp could be sent, care of one of our supporters:
Frau Annika Lindberg
Rohrbachstr. 37
60389 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
If you would be interested in updates from the forest please include your PGP key in the correspondence.
There is a sense of urgency as even though the forest has been occupied for two years now there is a new autobahn ready for opening in September bypassing the one separating the last remnant of the forest from the mine allowing the mine to expand and logging and strip mining to commence on the last remnant of the forest. We expect that to be the time of mass police actions. For that reason it is mega important to both get the word out and keep people involved, inspired and on track of the importance and the context of the struggle.
View more pictures of the action here.
July 7th, 2014 EUGENE—Scores of activists with Cascadia Forest Defenders and Earth First! converged on the Seneca Jones biomass plant this morning to protest the company’s privatization of public lands in the Elliott State Forest and ongoing pollution in West Eugene.
Currently several people have locked themselves to equipment at the plant, effectively blocking the “truck dump” where biomass is loaded into the incinerator. A banner has been dropped off of a tower reading: “Seneca Jones: Privatizing the coast range, polluting West Eugene.”
The activists are bringing attention to Seneca Jones Timber’s role in privatizing the Elliott State Forest. This month Seneca closed on their purchase of 788 acres in the Elliott, called East Hakki Ridge. Co-owner of Seneca Kathy Jones recently expressed the company’s intention to clearcut East Hakki and replace it with Douglas fir plantation.
Cascadia Forest Defender Richard Haley commented, “However Kathy Jones paints it, her company is a bad neighbor everywhere it operates. Here in Eugene, Seneca pollutes. In the Elliott, Seneca clearcuts and puts up ‘no trespassing’ signs in pristine, never before logged forest. East Hakki is no longer a place where locals can go hunt, fish, hike, camp or watch birds. Now it is corporate property.”
Coos Bay citizen science group Coast Range Forest Watch documented Marbled Murrelet nesting behavior in East Hakki Ridge in May. The bird is federally protected under the Endangered Species Act, which prohibits actions that injure or kill threatened species–including destruction of habitat. A month after Marbled Murrelets were found in East Hakki, conservation law organizations filed to sue Seneca Jones in the event of logging in the timber sale. Murrelets were also found in two timber sales purchased by timber company Roseburg Forest Products. Another parcel is up for sale this fall, and the State Land Board is considering privatizing the entire forest.
Despite Seneca’s claim of being sustainable, the biomass plant failed its first EPA air pollution test in 2011 but still requested more state funds to offset its production costs. In spite of its high impact on local air quality, Seneca receives 10 million dollars in tax credits from the state of Oregon under the Business Energy Tax Credit Program.
“The plant has had a bad reputation in this community since its opening,” said West Eugene resident Matthew Hawks. “It’s marketing itself as a ‘green’ solution in my neighborhood, but is actually harming the environment around us, especially the air we breathe.”
The plant, which only employs 11 people, releases an estimated 17,900 pounds of air toxins into West Eugene Neighborhoods annually, in addition to the 73,000 pounds released each year from the mill itself. There are three schools within three miles of the Seneca biomass facility.
“While clearcutting and privatization in the Elliott State Forest is done in the name of public schools, this irresponsible company is taking millions of public dollars and impacting the health and safety of school children in their own neighborhood. It feels really twisted,” said Cascadia Forest Defender Cordelia Finley.
The Eugene-based Cascadia Forest Defenders carried out this action with activists from across the continent following an annual Earth First! camp-out in the woods of Southern Oregon, called the Earth First! Round River Rendezvous.
3rd July
3rd JulyRathlin Energy yesterday, Wed 2nd July, brought massive convoys of equipment on to the West Newton test frack site near Withernwick.
There were multiple large convoys, totalling 64 vehicles. The well pad was extremely crowded with vehicles and equipment.
There was a very heavy police presence with numerous vans and riot vans, around a hundred police through the villages of New Ellerby, Marton and West Newton.
High Fosham road was closed to pedestrians and traffic.
West Newton has had anti fracking Protectors camping at the site since May 9th. There is another camp at Rathlin's other well site in East Yorkshire, Crawberry Hill.
Louise Castro, a protector camping at the site said, "It's chaos and mayhem here- local villagers were forced to trail across the fields just to see what was going on, and were devastated- some burst in to tears when the scale of it hit home. Rathlin have ridden roughshod over the traffic plan worked worked out with the villagers."
Ian Crane, a former oil executive also living at the anti fracking camps said, "Today the locals got a taste of what is to come on a daily basis if the unconventional oil and gas industry is allowed to go ahead with fracking in this area".
Pauline Hakeny, a resident of nearby Skirlaugh said, "I'm really shocked at the amount of vehicles- they promised us this would never happen- and also the amount of police- there were loads of vans and officers in all the surrounding villages."
The convoys were protected by hundreds of police and riot vans, while local residents were blocked from accessing their own homes and one elderly resident burst into tears at the scale of what was happening. West Newton is one of two locations in East Yorkshire that Rathlin are attempting to frack. At both West Newton and Crawberry Hill, Rathlin have had planning permission for exploratory drilling since 2012. Earlier this year they also got Environment Agency permits that last until September, in the case of Crawberry Hill, and longer in the case of West Newton. “We knew they were due to do the tests at either site at any time”, says our source from campaign group HEY Frack Off. Small protests camps were set up at both locations in May. Crawberry was the larger, with number averaging at 20: Not only was it looking likelier that Rathlin would hit there first as the permits ran out sooner, but it's nearer urban centres like Beverley and Hull. Crucially, it is in the area of the massive underground aquifer that is relied on for drinking water for much of the population of Hull and East Yorkshire: “If that were to be contaminated it would be an absolute catastrophe”. So far, Crawberry Hill has yet to see any significant activity. Over at West Newton, the protection camp has been tiny but doggedly persistent. The villagers in the very rural area have been slow on the uptake but now seem to be waking up to what's about to happen on their doorsteps. At first, they'd been bizarrely anxious about the camp and upset about the protesters' presence, rather than their villages surrounding a hellmouth of the environmental armageddon. “It's an unbelievably conservative area. Some people didn't even want to contact HEY Frack Off because of our 'controversial' name!”, says our contact. “Most of the local residents have swallowed Rathlin's line and their PR hook, line and sinker.” But recent well-attended public meetings, and individual conversations, have shown awareness is slowly starting to sink in. Maybe the locals are slowly starting to organise? Just to show how much they respect the local residents, when the convoys came onto site at West Newton yesterday, they “ran roughshod” over the planning conditions that had been agreed between the local council (East Riding of Yorkshire) and Rathlin Energy to sweeten the fracking pill for local residents. Firstly, they failed to give the stipulated 14 days notice before any activity commenced. Sneaky, but not surprising given the momentum the anti-fracking movement's been gaining. Secondly, they spectacularly flouted the traffic management plan which promised local residents no more than one truck every ten minutes. Yesterday saw two massive convoys of lorries – around 65 vehicles entering the site. Needless to say, the well pad was crowded. In terms of policing, our contact reports: “Police have said they have learned from the mistakes of Barton Moss and Balcombe where they allowed peaceful protest in the form of slow walking in front of vehicles down public highways. It's been made quite clear in East Yorkshire that anyone who gets in the way of a vehicle on the public highway will be arrested immediately.” Police have even admitted to campaigners that it's a “game of numbers”, and that if there were as many protesters as police they'd have to review their tactics. The location of the West Newton site is so rural that keeping up communications – from simple phone calls to live streaming – is difficult. The campaign is encouraging any potential protectors to get in touch. The camp phone number is 07773739937.
3rd July from SccNEWS Convoys of trucks carrying equipment descended on West Newton yesterday, where Rathlin Energy are commencing their exploratory
3rd July from SccNEWS Convoys of trucks carrying equipment descended on West Newton yesterday, where Rathlin Energy are commencing their exploratory fracking drilling. As the first major activity at the East Yorkshire site kicked off, a handful of protesters and many more anxious locals could only watch in horror as the fracking trucks made their way along the long single track lane towards the well.
Updates: Exact location has been releases – see here.
Travel – book your travel to Castle Cary or Bruton train station, then it's a bus journey and 20 minute walk.
Updates: Exact location has been releases – see here.
Travel – book your travel to Castle Cary or Bruton train station, then it's a bus journey and 20 minute walk.
Bus times are : 8.14am – 9.44am – 11.44am – 12.33pm – 2.14pm – 4.33pm (last bus). There's no Sunday service so we will timetable a shuttle bus to return.
Cycling: Bruton is better if you are cycling as it is a mile shorter, and there is also a bus from there too. The last bus from here leaves later. (Bus times from Bruton are: 9:09am – 10:39am – 12:12pm – 1:39pm – 3:54pm – 5:39pm)
We will post the exact address three weeks before the gathering.
Refreshments – ‘This year there is no bar on site. People are welcome to bring their own but we ask that there's no drinking before dinner/7pm. Anyone causing a nuisance or breaking our Safer Spaces policy will be asked to stop and/or leave. There will be a cafe & snack bar on site.’
Dogs – ‘This year dogs are welcome, but please get in touch in advance, and keep them on a lead at all times on the site.’ Further info
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28th-31st August 2014, in the South West….
A place for people involved in radical green direct action to come together….
to talk….share skills….learn….listen….play….rant…. find out whats going on….
scheme….live outdoors….hang out….laugh….
experience non hierarchical, low impact, family friendly living.
An activist camp that spans 5 days and consists of a programme of workshops throughout each day facilitated by people like you and me who think they have a skill or a level of knowledge in a subject that is valuable to share with others to improve their activism.
Is this camp for you? Whether you're just starting out in the world of direct action or you're an old (glued and paint-stained) hand at it, you're welcome here.
The action dates and protest gatherings page is once again working! Apologies, we accidentally deleted it!
If there's any ecological actions that are openly advertised, protest camps or campaign gatherings, that you want to add to it, do it through the submit report link and in the subject, make it clear it's to add to the calendar. Thanks.
The action dates and protest gatherings page is once again working! Apologies, we accidentally deleted it!
If there's any ecological actions that are openly advertised, protest camps or campaign gatherings, that you want to add to it, do it through the submit report link and in the subject, make it clear it's to add to the calendar. Thanks.
