Tuesday 25th October at 8am, people gathered for what has become the weekly local protest at gate one of Shell's refinery. After some tea and scones, people decided to stop a Shell truck. For about 30 minutes people stood in front of the truck without hassle, letting traffic pass on the other side of the road. Eventually the Gardaí removed people, in some cases being quite rough. One person was pinned to the ground for 5-10 minutes, immobilised. Other people were thrown off the road into ditches. The Gardaí did not hold back against one elderly protester who is almost 80, throwing him around without a second thought. After 10 or 15 minutes of people getting pulled off the road by guards, the truck inching forward as more people got in front of it and then once again get pulled off the road in a continuous rolling blockade, one person got up on top of the truck. She said she wouldn't have done this except that she was sick of seeing people getting thrown around on the road and she knew getting on top of the vehicle would defuse the situation by halting things until she either came down herself or could be removed Gardaí. After staying up on top of the truck for about 30 minutes, the protester climbed down and then was arrested, brought to Belmullet Garda station and released without charge later that day. Shell are scheduled to begin removing peat from the Aughoose tunnelling compound at the end of October or early November, which will mean hundreds of truck movements a day. Come up anytime and support the actions, or simply to visit the area and see for yourself what is going on. The Rossport Solidarity Camp is open to visitors and is located in a field in Aughoose, between Bellanaboy and Pullathomas. This Halloween weekend the Rossport Solidarity Camp is hosting a weekend of direct action training workshops. Also there will be a Day of Solidarity on the 11th of November 2011, at the Aughoose compound. It will mark 5 years since the baton charge on protestors at Bellanaboy. Please come and offer your solidarity to the community who have been protesting against the Corrib Gas project. To contact the camp, ring 085 114 1170 or email rossportsolidaritycamp[at]gmail[dot]com
Category: Climate Chaos
More blockades at proposed gas hub in Walmadan, Western Australia
22.10.11
A PROTESTER has tied himself to a communications tower near a proposed gas hub site in the Kimberley in a bid to stop survey work for the controversial project.
22.10.11
A PROTESTER has tied himself to a communications tower near a proposed gas hub site in the Kimberley in a bid to stop survey work for the controversial project.
The protester scaled the 30-metre tower at around 4am today and is suspended by a rope between the top of the tower and the ground near James Price Point [Walmadan]. Anti-gas hub protester Joseph Roe has told AAP the rope crosses an access road and any attempt to cut it to allow Woodside Petroleum contractors in would endanger the protester.
Police are at the site about 60km north of Broome where protesters have gathered to support the man up the tower. “If they cut the rope there will be a terrible accident. The police don’t know what to do,” said Mr Roe, a Jabirr Jabirr-Goolarabooloo man who has pursued extensive legal action against the project.
The protester up the tower, Scott Daines, has said he would stay there “for as long as it takes for Woodside to leave”.
Woodside contractors have been carrying out geotechnical survey work around the site of the proposed $30 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) precinct, with protesters keeping a constant vigil on the access road.
Mr Roe said he wanted answers from the Broome shire council about approvals for the tower to be changed from a weather observation station to a communications point for the Woodside project.
He said the gas hub project was a land grab by WA Premier Colin Barnett who was “hell-bent on industrialising our traditional lands”.
The Kimberley Land Council, on behalf of traditional landowners, has signed off on the deal which would deliver $1.5 billion in benefits to the region’s Aboriginal communities.
But the proposed gas hub has divided the Kimberley Aboriginal community and Broome residents. A final sign-off for the project by Woodside and its joint venture partners is expected by the middle of next year.
All Shell Deliveries Halted for the Morning
Weekly Tuesday morning protest turns into a sucessful blockade
Outside the gates of Shell's Bellanaboy refinery in Mayo on Tuesday 18th October, someone got on top of a tractor, blocking all Shell deliveries for the morning.
Weekly Tuesday morning protest turns into a sucessful blockade
Outside the gates of Shell's Bellanaboy refinery in Mayo on Tuesday 18th October, someone got on top of a tractor, blocking all Shell deliveries for the morning.
At 8am on Tuesday, about 15 people gathered at the gates of Bellanaboy refinery for the weekly local protest that has been happening the last couple months.
The first tractor that Shell tried to bring out was stopped by the protesters, and one person got onto the cab. This blocked all Shell traffic but local traffic was still able to squeeze by, as guards and protesters directed them around the stopped tractor. All the trucks of stone which Shell have begun bringing to the Aughoose compound were also stopped and turned back in the direction they came.
Eventually the person on the tractor got down and was not arrested. People stayed in the road blocking the tractor for the rest of the morning protest, until 10:30am.
There haven't been as many actions coming from the Rossport Solidarity Camp lately, as there has been so much work to do moving the camp from the field it has been in for the summer and setting up the winter camp down the road. However Shell has said it expects to begin peat removal from the tunnelling compound at the end of October, which will mean up to 475 truck movements a day (so stay tuned).
Come up and see the cozy new winter camp, visitors are always welcome! We are still located in Aughoose but further down the road towards Pullathomas, near Aughoose church. There is still plenty of work building the new camp to be done along with actions.
On the Halloween weekend, there will be a weekend of direct action themed workshops at the new Rossport Solidarity Camp. If you are interested in coming down or even running a workshop, let us know by email on rossportsolidaritycamp@gmail.com
Also there will be a Day of Solidarity on Friday, the 11th of November to mark 5 years since the baton charge and the major campaign of Garda violence began here in Mayo. Please come and show your support.
Thomson protesters strip to reveal the Naked Truth about biofuels
6.10.2011
3 protesters disrupted the launch of Birmingham airport’s first biofuel powered flight by stripping to reveal slogans opposed to the controversial new departure.
6.10.2011
3 protesters disrupted the launch of Birmingham airport’s first biofuel powered flight by stripping to reveal slogans opposed to the controversial new departure.
The Plane Stupid protesters mingled with passengers before calmly removing their clothes. Dressed in nothing but red body paint that declared ‘biofuels aren’t green’ they called on Thomson to reconsider their plans.
Thomson claim that biofuels offer a greener future for aviation, but respected environmental and social justice organisations from Friends of the Earth to The World Development Movement and Christian Aid believe that they will make the problems of global warming worse.
Today’s launch follows a delay of some months, after Thomson found they couldn’t source enough used cooking oil. Even for one short haul flight a week from one airport.
Protester Jo Turner said-
“It’s not surprising that Thomson have struggled to find enough recycled oils for their stunt. Demand for recycled road transport biofuels already far outstrips supply. Sadly, anyone with basic maths can see that used veg oils will never be a viable solution. They’re just a way of softening up the market to make way for the real nasties like palm oil and jatropha. Biofuels are a devil in disguise – a massively inefficient way of making fuel that destroys the very ecosystems we need to control runaway climate change.”
Protester Chris Cooper added-
“Thompson seem to be acknowledging that we can’t continue business as usual in the face of the current climate emergency. It’s a shame their solution is to make matters worse. Vast tracts of rainforest, ecosystems vital to halting climate change, are currently being trashed to make way for biofuel plantations.
Land that grows food is being stolen from some of the world’s poorest people so that it can start feeding planes. It’s a disaster.”
All three have been arrested and are awaiting charges.
Contact Emily Simon 07864643650 for interviews and more information.
Notes to editors:
1. The aviation industry talks about ‘novel’ biofuels which won’t compete with food and forests. While major concerns remain around these processes, including their use of synthetic biology, none are widely available. Palm oil appears to be the only realistic choice for commercial aviation biofuels over the next few years, it’s widely recognised for it’s destructive impact.
2. Currently palm oil plantations for a variety of uses cover 12 million hectares of land. The aviation industry claims that biofuels represent ‘zero carbon growth’. Biofuel watch calculate that by 2030 aviation would need 45 Million hectares of land to meet their growth goals. For more information see www.biofuelwatch.org.
3.On 1st July 2011 commercial airlines got permission to use 50% biofuels made from specially refined vegtable oils as well as other plant oils and animal fat in their engines.
4. Plane Stupid is a grass roots group that uses direct action to oppose airport expansion.
London September critical mass – pics and short report
sept 30 critical mass. police allow motorist to leave the scene of an assault and refuse to take details despite witnesses. did you witness the assault?
the balmy indian summer weather ensured a good turn-out for the critical mass bike ride last friday evening, and hundreds of cyclists enjoyed a joyous ride round london despite the occasional psychopathic motorist and a couple of crazy cops. the critical mass bicycle ride, now in in its 17th year, takes place on the last friday of each month throughout the year.
sept 30 critical mass. police allow motorist to leave the scene of an assault and refuse to take details despite witnesses. did you witness the assault?
the balmy indian summer weather ensured a good turn-out for the critical mass bike ride last friday evening, and hundreds of cyclists enjoyed a joyous ride round london despite the occasional psychopathic motorist and a couple of crazy cops. the critical mass bicycle ride, now in in its 17th year, takes place on the last friday of each month throughout the year.
the critical mass bicycle ride, now in in its 17th year, takes place on the last friday of each month throughout the year. cyclists meet from about 6pm on the south bank under waterloo bridge near the national film theatre, and normally set off on a ride by about 7.
the ride has no official organisers, and the route is never agreed in advance, relying instead on a ‘critical mass’ of front runners persuading the rest of the crowd to follow in any particular direction.
on friday, the convoy of four or five hundred cyclists (also including an increasing contingent of skateboarders) headed north over the bridge, and unusually took the underpass into kingsway before heading west and on to oxford street.
as the main purpose of the mass is to celebrate human propulsion over carbon, reclaim the streets, and show that cyclists have as many rights as drivers, it is sometimes a little contentious when the route includes oxford street so early in the evening, as it mostly disrupts public transport rather than general traffic (which isn’t allowed onto oxford street until later in the evening). however, the mass kept up the pace and only stopped briefly at oxford circus before heading to marble arch and down park lane.
by this time, cyclists had spread out a little and so it was harder to take all four lanes of the road. so despite the neon sign at the start of park lane warning motorists ‘delays possible’, some of them were frustrated to find cyclists in their path (even though they were quite likely to get held up again at a traffic jam at the south end of the highway), and among these motorists there was a police car, whose driver recklessly kept changing lanes without signalling, and deliberately cut across cyclists forcing them to veer to the left, and seriously risking injury.
further down park lane, there had been some sort of altercation, and a woman claimed she had been assaulted and pushed over by a motorist. the police car had stopped and the officers got out, but instead of investigating the assault, one of them was making comments loudly that “you cyclists are pests”. the young woman, along with witnesses to the assault, kept telling the police that she wanted to make a complaint and press charges, but the cops just ignored her, returning to their vehicle and winding their windows up. they also for a while refused to give any of their own details until several cyclists surrounding the car kept asking for their badge numbers, with which they eventually complied. they however refused to take any details of the alleged incident. the young woman is considering an official police complaint. if anyone witnessed the assault or took pics/video, please contact me and i’ll put you in touch. i only have the clip of the police ignoring her requests.
sometimes after an incident like this, the mass gets stretched out or split, but this time, the front runners were cycling round and round the duke of wellington arch at hyde park corner, so everyone reconvened and hundreds of bicycles once again rode together east along piccadilly, completely trapping a red diplomatic police car at one point, and on into piccadilly circus, trafalgar square (where a couple of cyclists jumped into the fountains to cool off), and down whitehall to parliament square. there, one rider briefly hitched a lift on the back of a lorry before we all headed up to buckingham palace, back to hyde park corner and then down to sloane square.
two hours in, and although numbers were beginning to lessen, when i left the ride there were still at least a hundred riders heading west down the king’s road.
the next ride will be 28th october.
http://www.criticalmasslondon.org.uk/main.html
More pictures and videos at http://london.indymedia.org/articles/10323
Check out if there’s a Critical Mass in your town – or start one
Hinkley Point blockaders declare victory over EDF Energy
3/10/2011
For about nine hours, we blockaded the nuclear power station with up to 400 people. This was the biggest anti nuclear power action in Britain for quite some years. It marked the beginning of a new anti nuclear power movement in this country, and you all made this possible.
3/10/2011
For about nine hours, we blockaded the nuclear power station with up to 400 people. This was the biggest anti nuclear power action in Britain for quite some years. It marked the beginning of a new anti nuclear power movement in this country, and you all made this possible.
This time, the blockade was tolerated by EDF and the police. Only one person was arrested when walking on the public footpath along the fence.
He was stopped and searched by police, and arrested for possession of a craft knife. Luckily, he was later released from Taunton police station without charge.
Those of you who came to the camp after the action are aware of a police incident: a mobile CCTV vehicle of Avon & Somerset police drove onto the camp site, filming all the time. After a while it was possible to persuade them to leave the site.
Stop New Nuclear sees this as a provocation, and we made it very clear that this incident destroyed a lot of the trust between the police and the campaign that had been built in the run-up to the blockade.
The police Silver Command has since sent an ‘apology email’ that says they’ve deleted the material.
The camp, demonstration, and blockade of Hinkley Point was not a one-off, nor was it the end – it should be the beginning of a powerful and creative anti nuclear power movement in Britain, that will stop the plans for eight new nuclear power stations in its tracks. To make this happen, we need you!
We are therefore organising a Stop New Nuclear gathering in Bristol in November (unfortunately, we have not been able to set the date yet), to discuss and plan the next campaigns and actions against nuclear new build in Britain. Please get involved – we need to grow as a movement, and this means we need more people organising our actions. Please check back for updates and register for the Stop New Nuclear gathering at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/gathering2011. More information will be available soon.
If you have any ideas for action, please share them in our ideas forum at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/ideasforum.
News from Hinkley Point
The Environment Agency has extended the deadline for objections to EDF’s environmental permit application until 15 December. This means we now have much more time to collect hundreds or even thousands of objections. Please download the objection sheet from http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/objections-discharges, print it, sign it, and send it of to: PSC, PO Box 4404, Sheffield, S9 4WF
Press release:
Anti-nuclear protesters have declared the mass blockade at Hinkley Point today as a victory over EDF Energy. The nine-hour blockade in Somerset attracted supporters from all over the UK. Several came from as far afield as Ireland, Germany and Belgium.
Stop New Nuclear spokesperson, Andreas Speck, said the blockade has put the government and EDF on the back foot. ‘Following the interest this blockade has attracted, both regionally and nationally, the government and EDF can no longer claim that the we need nuclear energy to keep the lights on.’
He continued: ‘Germany has committed to a nuclear-free future without buying nuclear power from France or building new coal-fired power stations. The German government is looking at a decentralised energy model with a mix of renewables and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) to bridge the gap left by withdrawal from nuclear. If Germany can do it, why can’t we?’
Angie Zelter, who hit the headlines in 1996 when she and other activists attacked a Hawk jet destined to suppress protests in East Timor (and was subsequently cleared of criminal damage by a jury), blasted EDF’s claims that Hinkley Point is sustainable.
She added: ‘Over its lifetime, Hinkley will consume more energy than it produces – if you take into account the energy used to extract uranium and the power needed to store radioactive waste for hundreds of years. It doesn’t add up.’
Zelter said the risk of flooding is an increasing worry. ‘Locals are well aware of the constant danger of flooding around Hinkley,’ she continued. ‘We have information from workers there that several years ago, floodwater breached the plant’s retaining walls.’
She added that this was a particular concern now that EDF wants to build two new mega reactors at Hinkley. ‘Radioactive waste from the proposed new ERP reactors will be so toxic that it will have to be stored on the site for over 100 years. With the growth in extreme weather conditions there is no guarantee that this waste can be stored safely.’
And Zelter blasted the government for claiming that nuclear is the only solution to combating climate change. ‘If the government can spend billion renewing Trident missiles and fighting Gaddafi in Libya, why can’t they find the money to build truly sustainable energy systems that would create a great many more jobs than the nuclear sector can?’
The mass blockade was described by Stop New Nuclear organiser, Andreas Speck, as a, ‘celebration of dissent’ with pro-nuclear supporters being entertained by a Welsh choir and popular festival band, Seize The Day.
A man arrested on a footpath close to the blockade was later released without charge.
—
Reports, pictures and video.
More photos
Camp photos
Bridgwater demonstration
Blockade of Hinkley Point
Some photos and some more
CND uploaded photos here
We are slowly uploading videos
new EF! Action Update
In an end of the summer compact EF!AU, find news about kicking shell in the teeth in Rossport again and then some more, solidarity with the community at Dale Farm, and anti-GM resistance – Spuds you Don’t Like demo in England, sabotage in Germany, France and Scotland.
In an end of the summer compact EF!AU, find news about kicking shell in the teeth in Rossport again and then some more, solidarity with the community at Dale Farm, and anti-GM resistance – Spuds you Don’t Like demo in England, sabotage in Germany, France and Scotland.
On top of the usual contacts and dates, read about solidarity with jailed Swiss nanotech activists, resistance against steel plants, mobile phone masts, mining and energy projects here & across the world – stay angry and don’t carry on as usual!
The quarterly EF!AU, August 2011
VILLAGERS RESIST POWER PLANT, DRILLING VEHICLE BURNED, TURKEY
reported by activists in Turkey:
reported by activists in Turkey:
“On 5th of September, drilling vehicles of Anadolu Group (this group is the biggest partner of McDonalds Turkey, Coca Cola Turkey) which tries to build a thermic power plant to Gerze-Sinop tried to enter Yaykil village. Local people and eco-activists barricaded the roads to village for defending their land, but police and gendarme attacked people with tear gas, pepper spray, water cannons and batons. Activists answered this attack with stones and slogans. During the police attack some buildings, barns, farms and bushes caught fire; 25 activists and 4 policemen injured.
Because of their resistance, drilling vehicles left the village. At night police took 6 activists in custody from their homes.
At night of September 6, a drilling vehicle which was waiting in a gas station near the village was burned by unknown people. The vehicle is totally destroyed. Gendarme and local police is still searching for the arsonists in Gerze.
For pictures you can check out: http://www.gerzegundem.com/son-dakika/yaykilda-kan-akti-h545.html
For the video of police attack:
http://webtv.sabah.com.tr/webtv/videoizle/gerzede-polisten-cevrecilere-sert-mudahale
Animal and Earth Liberation Supporters from Turkey”
German coal blockade during climate camp
30.08.2011
Since 10.30 this morning a group of over 50 activists have been blockading a coal transport railway in the Cologne area. The action takes place at the same time as the nearby international Climate Camp, protesting the open-cast mining of brown coal (www.klimacamp2011.de)
30.08.2011
Since 10.30 this morning a group of over 50 activists have been blockading a coal transport railway in the Cologne area. The action takes place at the same time as the nearby international Climate Camp, protesting the open-cast mining of brown coal (www.klimacamp2011.de)
The activists peacefully blocked the line early this morning, erecting banners and greenwashing the railway tracks. The protest is aimed at energy giant RWE, which operates a number of power stations in the area and is responsible for about 10% of Germany’s carbon dioxide emissions.
The protest is being kept well-supplied with blankets and food by members of the climate camp, and is currently preparing for a night on the tracks.
The international climate camp is situated in the village of Manheim which is scheduled to be destroyed in order to enlarge a brown coal strip mine. Brown coal, or lignite, is a less pure form of coal and is therefore much less energy-efficient and creates greater emissions than regular coal.
The international climate camp includes guests from as far afield as Colombia and Azerbaijan and aims to build links within the international climate justice movement, calling for urgent system change, not climate change.
Workshop for Actions and Alternatives – all-year-climate-camp
There’s something strange about climate change: It’s well-known, there’s no need for general education. Everybody supports approaching the problem and stopping human-caused climate change.
There’s something strange about climate change: It’s well-known, there’s no need for general education. Everybody supports approaching the problem and stopping human-caused climate change.
Although governments promise answers and solutions, we’re just watching a rapid increase of the climate catastrophe. Thus the suspicion comes to mind, that the right solutions haven’t been found – or rather that they’re not acceptable for economy and governments.
The question arises, if our world can wait for a solution. People in regions, where it comes to food shortage, scertainly not. At first, people in poor regions won’t be able to adapt to changes. Droughts or floods will force them to flee. Mostly various reasons urge people to flight, yet climate change will play an increasingly important role.
This fact by itself questions the distribution of raw materials and food on this world – or why the poorest, who contributed the smallest part of climate-relevant greenhouse-gases so far, shall bear most of the damage.
Europe guards itself: Legal barriers for fleeing persons are intolerably high and on the Mediterranean Sea, the European police force “frontex” provides a hardly passable blockade. We see this situation as cynical and dissatisfying – for the fleeing it’s rather fatal. On the basis of this example we want to illustrate that it’s about more than energy-saving lamps and recycled paper. Neither do we see the nuclear phaseout in Germany, linked to a half-hearted energy transition, as a solution. There’s a lot to do…
This flyer addresses to all persons, who are not willing to wait for a solution “from above” anymore. The aim shall be to take the initiative yourself, to see yourself as an active person in this “political power game”, in which we usually just should move as consumers. Let’s create determined, progressive politics together from below – for an entirely different climate.
Why in the Rhenish brown coal-mining region?
In this region, brown coal is mined in three opencast mines, mainly for six gigantic coal-fired power stations, whereby the vast bulk of CO2 in Europe is emitted. What “Wendland” is for nuclear energy, the Rhenish brown coal-mining region has to become for carbon energy. We want to work together with concerned locals – whole villages are forced to resettle – in solidarity against destruction.
We want to present a lively counter-image to capitalist destructiveness! Here, experimental living of a climate-neutral future, over there the tear-off edge, the hole – square-kilometres of destruction. Decide now!
Space for learning
Courses and seminars shall be provided in a Do-It-Yourself culture. Themes turn around climate-neutral life, non-hierarchical methods and forms of organisation, diverse kinds of theoretical stuff and methods of resistance. And since we neither belief in homogeneous concepts from above against climate change, nor find them desirable, we consider a debate from below necessary. A debate, in which everyone is invited to take part, which isn’t build up on expert’s hierarchies, which doesn’t seek unification, but which can stand different positions, in hope that there will arise syntheses out of tensions in between.
And action…
The workshop shall serve as a platform for different actions against destruction of the environment and living space. Thereby we focus on developing putting into practice methods of actions, which we together do with persons from there and elsewhere, which aim at the emancipation of the single individuals.
The Workshop for Actions and Alternatives is being built up from September (2011) on in
52355 Düren, Kallsgasse 20
How to get there and latest infos:
waa.blogsport.de
If you feel appealed by this text, there are diverse possibilities how you can take part:
– Come and see what we’re doing
– Contribute your ideas and talents (of organisation for example)
– Get in touch if you want to teach or learn something
– Distribute this flyer
– Offer your abilities: Lay-outing, writing, do research
– Donations of money would also help:
account of donation: