Climate Chaos – Page 67

3 days of action for Beat the Boreholes in Rossport

Shell drilling stopped for an hour and a half

6.08.2010
Rossport Solidarity Campers go out before 7am and successfully prevent workers from accessing the drilling platforms.

Shell drilling stopped for an hour and a half

6.08.2010
Rossport Solidarity Campers go out before 7am and successfully prevent workers from accessing the drilling platforms.

9 Campers wadded and kayaked out to the platforms this morning and halted work for 1 and half hours. IRMS workers eventually secured the area by pushing people away and dragging their kayaks down the estuary. Kayaks were deflated by security and some people were dangerously forced to swim in high currents. There were no arrests.

We really need more people to come and take part in actions over the next two months. Please get in touch if you think you would be able to come down and help stop Shell.

http://www.rossportsolidaritycamp.org

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Shell drilling stopped for 5 hours – as Beat the Boreholes continues

05.08.2010
Yesterday morning 11 people from Rossport Solidarity Camp waded and kayaked out from the camp to again delay Shell’s survey work in Sruwaddacon Estuary. Overall drilling work was stopped for over 5 hours, with one person climbing up one of the legs of the drilling platforms. Several people also attached themselves to the 2 outer drilling poles which are under the platforms.

The campers went out before 7am to prevent workers getting access to the platform and held the platform for about 4 hours before being removed by IRMS security. Despite only 11 protesters being present, it took 50 IRMS to come before they could secure the area. After about 5 hours the drilling workers got on board and started preparing the drilling operation. Eventually they started drilling at around 1pm, despite the climber still being perched at the side of the platform. They drilled for approximately an hour before the climber came down and swam back to shore.

The drilling platforms are currently in a vital part of the SAC; close to bird feeding and nesting sites. At this time the estuary is also used as a migration route for Atlantic Salmon which are an Annex 1 species (the most protected EU category). They are very vulnerable to suffocation by suspended solids in the water clogging their gills and today we saw evidence of sediment spewing into the estuary from the boreholes. Movement of the platforms will also release suspended solids; endangering the supposedly protected salmon. This directly contravenes the purpose of the SAC which Minister Gormley seems to conveniently forget when it comes to facilitating big business here in Mayo but likes to remind us at other times such as on 2nd August in relation to restricting leisure activities to protect SAC’s, the Minister said;
“Along with other EU States, Ireland has designated certain areas for nature protection and, in those areas, that must be our priority. Many people, indeed, find recreation in the enjoyment of undisturbed nature,” he concluded .
Indeed Gormley, that is what the people of Erris have been saying for 10 years; its time to protect this SAC from Shell!

John Gormley’s recent press release:
http://www.environ.ie/en/Heritage/NationalParksandWildl…n.htm

rossportsolidaritycamp@gmail.com
http://www.rossportsolidaritycamp.org, www.shelltosea.com

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Shell disrupted – Beat the Boreholes continues

9.8.2010
Yesterday at about 2.30pm Shell began to lower “Jack – 1” – one of two survey barges currently in Sruth Fhada Chonn estuary SAC (Special Area of Protection) – in order to tug it to another part of the estuary.

The Rossport Solidarity Camp was ready and willing to claim free passage of the public estuary and in the process upset the operation. Over a dozen Shell security boats and two Garda RIBS couldn’t keep the 6 kaykers out, with two of them reaching the moving barge after an hour and a half of chase.

Shell’s jack-up barges are damaging Sruth Fhada Chonn estuary SAC (Special Area of Conservation) by drilling survey boreholes for the proposed Onshore Corrib Gas Pipeline tunnel – the latest route offered by Shell as a means to hook up the refinery to the well. At each new location the barges massive legs are lowered into the estuary crushing life beneath the sand. Estuary water is being used to lubricate the work, and and outfall pipe is discharging it back in to the supposedly protected waters.

The Gardaí seemed happy to let IRMS do as they pleased on the water, with kayakers being unlawfully rammed, grabbed, towed against their will – all on a public waterway. At one stage an IRMS boat stole one kayak from under its owner, capsizing him into the water. The Gardaí issued many Section 8 warning under the public order act (to the kaykers) but no arrests were made, despite one kayaker making it onto the moving rig.

Beat the boreholes continues, now both rigs are in the upper estuary – on the sand at low tide and accessible by walking.

rossportsolidaritycamp@gmail.com
www.rossportsolidaritycamp.org, www.shelltosea.com

Trashing, dashing, bashing, mashing: the new EF! Action Update

So what have you been up to the last few months? Just hanging around?
Maybe you’ve been part of human wheel-clamping aeroplanes, climbing up scaffolding tripods inconveniently placed in the road, smashing machines at open-cast mines, playing nuked-dead in the street, kayaking against borehole drill rigs in Ireland, burning mobile phone masts, resisting Tesco, camping against trashing of woodland, with some success at Titnore (& other protest camp updates), or getting in on BP’s act, spilling oil in public places.

Or have you been on holiday, taking part in indigenous blockades against logging, dams and mining, spilunking against high speed trains, slashing tuna cages, blockading Monsanto HQ, trashing GM fields, and more?

Maybe you’re in need of a break. But if you’re not, and are just champing at the bit, the return of AUntie MIffy’s problem page might help, addressing what to do if there’s no local group near you. There’s an article about the beginnings of EF! in this country, looking forwards to the next 20 years, to help inspire. If you need support to get things going where you live, do get in touch. And if all that’s not enough, here’s a quotation, from Paul Watson, the Sea Shepherd captain:

“Future generations will not have the chance and those that came before us did not have the vision nor the knowledge. It is up to us — you and I.”

Print version
Other issues and extra info

Anti-Coal Protest raft sails down River Seven

On Sunday 31st residents from the Huntington Lane Camp took their message onto the river Seven and sailed it downstream. The six person raft complete with a big “No New Coal” banner and UK Coal digger figurehead sailed down the River Seven and past EON’s Buildwas B coal fired power station which is where the coal from Huntington Lane will eventually end up. It then sailed further downstream and under the famous Iron Bridge where it was meet with cheers from a crowd of locals and tourists who had gathered on the bridge.

There was also a team on land who were raising awareness of the camp by talking to the people on the riverside and bridge about what they were doing and why they where doing it. Generally most people were supportive and positive about the campaign. The event also had a fair bit of local media overage with the Shropshire Star and Midlands Today both covering it.

The camp has now been stopping work at Huntington Lane almost six months, if you want to help then donations of food, tools and water are always appreciated as are new faces at the camp

West Midlands Climate Action
http://wmclimateaction.wordpress.com/
http://wmclimateaction.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/protest-raft-river-seven/

Waders tie down Shell testing rig in Mayo, Republic of Ireland

30.07.2010
10 people from the Rossport solidarity camp delayed Shell’s survey work for the dangerous and experimental Corrib gas pipeline yesterday. The campaigners waded out to one of the rigs drilling boreholes in the Sruwaddacon estuary the rig at high tide, fixed rope around the legs of the rig, and occupied the space underneath it to prevent the being moved to a new site. Work was delayed for around two hours.

Shell’s security guards IRMS cut the ropes around the rig, but did not try to remove the protesters so the occupation of the area under the rig continued until the Gardai arrived. Six of the waders were arrested and taken to Belmullet police station. Three others returned to the water in kayaks to make a further attempt to stop the rig but were blocked by security in speedboats – one kayaker was also arrested. All those arrested were later released without charge.

Shell is currently drilling survey boreholes to gather information to support its plan to put the gas pipeline through a tunnel running up the estuary. Campaigners from the local community and the solidarity camp have been obstructing the testing in a series of protests and actions on water and on land.

‘Beat the Boreholes’ campaign is up and running, inviting groups to the camp to take on an action against one of the estimated 80 boreholes. To get involved in the campaign, call or email the camp. The ‘Beat the Boreholes’ guide will be published soon.

Yesterday’s action coincided with Rossport Solidarity Camp member Niall Harnett’s 100th day in prison. Niall was sentenced to five months in prison on a trumped-up charge of assaulting a police officer, after making himself a thorn in Shell’s side with his work on the campaign over several years.

rossportsolidaritycamp@gmail.com
http://www.rossportsolidaritycamp.org

Beat the Boreholes continues!!

27.7.10
The community campaign against Shell’s work in the estuary is going strong with regular actions happening. Last week locals viewed the borehole-drilling rigs during a walk on the strands of the estuary at low tide. Shell moved the rigs yesterday but were slowed down by kayaker action.

Security around the rigs has been massive – 6-10 security boats including a constant daylight-hours watch on the shore near the solidarity camp, plus two so-called ‘safety boats’.

Members of the local community walked close to the drilling barges at low tide and showed their opposition to Shell’s destruction of Sruwaddacon estuary. The estuary is not only a Special Area of Conservation and Special Protected Area – it has been an integral part of life in the community for generations. Despite this, Minister John Gormley has given the go-ahead for Shell to damage it.
John Gormley minister@environ.ie

Last week 8 community supporters from the Rossport Solidarity Camp took their kayaks for a spin out on the water – and were met by a dozen security boats while having a closer look at the barges.

Yesterday signs that Shell were preparing to move the rigs to a new position led to a spontaneous action by a small group of kayakers from the camp. Although they were prevented from getting near the rig by the massive security presence, work seemed to stop while the kayaks were in the water.

Both rigs have now been moved a few miles upriver towards Aghoos, and are positioned opposite the house of Rossport 5 member Willy Corduff – a move some people are viewing as provocative.

Come to support and be part of community resistance. Beat the Boreholes is up and running, sign up for your borehole or find out how you can help – get in touch with Rossport Solidarity Camp!

Beat the Borehole guide coming soon.

For more info www.rossportsolidaritycamp.org

Beat the boreholes land division – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KULXgsqD18w
Beat the boreholes water division – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsuLn6iiWuw

European Climate Exchange (ECX) target of decocidio hacktivists against carbon trading scam

On Friday, July 23 at 23:23 UTC, the public website of the European Climate Exchange (ECX),
the leading marketplace for trading CO2 emissions in Europe, has been targetted by hacktivists
of the autonomous tech collective *decocidio* (#ϴ).

In a public act of digital direct action, the ECX website was taken offline and replaced with our message in an effort to try to raise awareness about carbon trading as a dangerous false solution
to the climate crisis, in support of the grassroots activists aiming to oppose the power structures and companies profiteering from the dysfunctional Cap & Trade scheme.
+ ECX website: http://www.ecx.eu
+ Mirror(s) of our message at: , http://nassibou.atspace.org

Earth First! Summer Gathering set-up plans announced

We can now announce that set-up will begin from around 2pm on Saturday, 31 July. Marquees, tools and construction materials will be arriving on site from Saturday morning so there will be plenty to do. You will be able to camp on the site from Saturday and there will be skeleton facilities (water, basic kitchen) from that time.

We also have a mobile number for setup which is 07766 947852. This will be on-site from Saturday lunchtime, and may well get answered in the few days beforehand but please don’t try ringing until then – e-mail will remain the main contact point until nearer the time – summergathering -{at}- earthfirst.org.uk

What we need to know:

*Please can you let us know when you are coming? – this helps us plan foods, facilities and what jobs to do when.

*It is also helpful if you can let us know if you have any particular skills or interests with respect to set-up – we might need drivers, so if you are over 25, hold a clean licence, are confident driving a 3.5 tonne Luton AND can bring along both parts of your driving licence please let us know.

*Similarly if you are arriving in a vehicle and could potentially provide lifts, transport equipment en route or run errands from site once you arrive please let us know. In this case it is very helpful if you are able/willing to supply us with a contact phone number.

How to get there

As you maybe aware that we do not announce the exact site of the gathering until one week before the main event, this means directions will be available on the website http://www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk/ from Wednesday, 27 July. We realise this will be short notice for people arriving on the Saturday, however to make things easier we will e-mail directions to set-up crew on that day (that still 4 days to check a map!).

The nearest train station is Derby if you want to pre-book train tickets, you will also need to take a local bus service from Derby (these are frequent). We are aiming to have a vehicle on site that can assist if people have difficulties between Derby and the site, so hopefully everyone will be able to get there okay.

There may be a very small number of lifts available from the Nottingham area across the weekend of Saturday 31st July/Sunday first of August. There may also be lifts from the Leeds area first thing on 31 July. Let us know if this may be of interest to you.

What to bring

*Everything you need to the gathering, tent sleeping bags etc. and especially a torch

*It may be wise to come a bit more self-sufficient in food and snacks than you would need to for the main gathering – we will have a basic kitchen but Veggies and the tuck shop are not arriving until Wednesday

*If you are able to bring any tools, especially for basic carpentry, these are often useful

Big thanks for offering to help out

Do get in touch if you have any questions

Love & rage

The EF! Gathering crew

Sabotage the Machines! Cutacre coal mine visit

21 July 2010
Activists entered the Cutacre coal mine in the early hours of a June morning, & sabotaged 7 monster-trucks, used to transport coal around the site.

They report that metal hair-pins were cut to length, coated in superglue & inserted deep into the locks of the vehicles. Another healthy dose of glue followed for good measure.

It is not known how long the vehicles were out of action- oddly nobody hung around long enough to find out.

The site is located in the Greater Manchester area, & is operated by “lets trash the planet” UK Coal. It is on land owned by ” lets sell our mums for money” Peel Holdings.

The activists say they were inspired by fine examples of sabotage at Mainshill, & hope that all over the country, people will resist the destruction, & sabotage machinery.

Nobody was arrested.

Oil Spill at the British Museum

13.07.2010
This morning three members of the art activist group Culture Beyond Oil poured non-toxic black oil around the British Museum’s world famous Easter Island sculpture, in protest at BP’s sponsorship of the museum. Emily James, Director of Just Do It, happened to be there and captured the action.

Following similar actions at the Tate Modern, Tate Britain and National Portrait Gallery in recent weeks, the activists targeted the British Museum because of the annual sponsorship it receives from the infamous oil company.

A recent report called ‘Licence to Spill’ from the campaign group Platform has pointed to the benefits of cultural sponsorship for oil companies, stating that “the ﬁnancial support that the companies [like Shell and BP] provide [to cultural institutions] strengthens their position as a part of Britain’s cultural and social elite, and creates a perception of making a positive contribution to our society”, thus giving them a “social license to operate”.

The statue around which the oil was poured* is known as Hoa Hakananai’a, a 2000 year old relic taken from Easter Island by European explorers. The story of the Easter Island statues is often cited as an example of the speed with which once strong civilizations have suddenly collapsed.

Ben Cooper, who is also part of Liberate Tate, said: “Oil sponsorship of public institutions is a problem that stretches way beyond BP and the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil industry has a long history of environmental and human rights abuses, and is currently pulling us closer and closer to a potential catastrophe on a global scale.

“Just like the forests on Easter Island, oil represents a resource being over-exploited despite massively increasing risks. With our relentless search for oil we are risking the collapse of the ecosystems on which we depend – just as the inhabitants of Easter Island did 2000 years ago”.

VIDEO AND PICTURES HERE: http://just-do-it.org.uk/oil-spill-at-the-british-museum

just.do.it.film@googlemail.com
http://just-do-it.org.uk/

summer camps in the UK & Merthyr coal train action sentencing – solidarity demo

The next month and a half are busy times if you like camping and politics! Peace News, EF! gathering, Welsh & UK climate camps….

The Peace News Summer Camp is almost upon us in sunny Oxfordshire, “an inclusive, democratically-run five-day experience-in-miniature of the kind of world we are trying to bring about”. This year, feminism joins our standing themes of peace and justice.
http://peacenewscamp.info/

The EF! Summer Gathering is of course in early August in the beautiful Peak District. “5 days of workshops, skill sharing and planning action, plus low- impact living without leaders. Meet and share skills with others who care. Plan actions and campaigns. Have fun. We’ve got over 80 workshops, planning, strategy and ‘Where Next’ sessions planned, get in touch if you want to offer a workshop! ”
A tonne of varied and amazing workshops and training sessions, full details at http://www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk/2010/front.html

And the Welsh Climate Camp is in mid-August (see callout below), “a basic ‘lite’ action-focused camp in South Wales; with its attention fixed firmly on coal. This will be linked to a sister-site /info-shop in Cardiff which will act as a point of contact before and during the camp. Workshops will be mostly limited to action-based training and information although there will be space to hear from community campaigns and open discussion forums throughout the camp.”
http://climatecampcymru.org/?page_id=1000

The UK Camp for Climate Action is heading north to Edinburgh at the end of August, “Our sustainable and collectively organised basecamp will give you the chance to learn, train up, and meet like minded individuals. Exciting action plans are currently in the plotting stages, so watch this space.”
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/actions/edinburgh-2010

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Open cast is trashing the south Wales landscape
It’s time to take action
Climate Camp Cymru
13 – 17 August

A momentum is building. Last year we camped next to Ffos y Fran – one of the largest opencast mines in Europe – for a week of workshops and sustainable living. This summer we’re going back to basics with a light action-based camp, targeting coal somewhere in south Wales.

Our current economic system is based on an addiction to fossil fuels and on maximising profit at the expense of people and the environment. Fossil fuel corporations cannot be allowed to progress unchecked. We need green jobs for Wales, not dirty destruction.

On the 13th we’ll meet in Cardiff and make our way from there to the site.
Things to bring:

> Tent
> Sleeping bag
> Warm clothes and waterproofs
> Plate, bowl, mug and cutlery
> and a bike could be useful too

Burning coal is destroying our climate, while opencast mining damages the earth and the health of local people. We must leave it in the ground.

Join a growing number of ordinary people taking direct action, and exploring alternatives, to stop the madness that is destroying the earth. This August 13th -17th come to Climate Camp Cymru.

www.climatecampcymru.org
info@climatecampcymru.org
07040 909 147

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Heading to Climate Camp Cymru on August 13th? 13 people who blockaded the railway at Ffos y Fran opencast mine in April are being sentenced at Merthyr Crown Court that day at 2pm. Why not drop by around 1pm for a solidarity demo.