Action Reports – Page 140

Glasgow airport protest announced – protesters arrested

6th April 2010

6th April 2010
4 men and 1 woman were arrested and charged on Wednesday 31st March for speaking in public about the climate effects of aviation at the reopening of Glasgow Airport Terminal 2. The group from Stop Expansion at Scottish Airports (SESA), including a legal observer and two photographers, were leaving the airport after holding a banner for a photograph outside Terminal 1 when a police van and police car pulled up and arrested 4 of the group.

Late into the night, riot police later went to the homes of the arrested without warrants. On Thursday the 5 were charged with obstructing normal airport business. All of the accused deny the charges. The group believes that those arrested were targetted because SESA is calling for a public non-violent peaceful protest at the airport on October 10.

Amelia Birrell, had riot police at her door after midnight saying that they wanted to question her son, Robbie. She said: “I think that this justice system is a joke when it locks up peaceful individuals until 6pm the next day when they are talking about such serious measures as climate change. We were made to feel like criminals when riot police searched around the whole of our house in the middle of the night. I know that the airport is a sensitive place but they are all passionate individuals worried about the future of our country and they were doing nothing to cause any disturbance. I am proud of my son, we are supposed to have freedom of speech in this country and such heavy handed policing is disproportionate and hypocritical.”

This is not the first time that Scottish anti-airport expansion campaigners have been subject to heavy-handed policing tactics. In January 2009 Geoff Lamb, a pensioner from Aberdeen was been held in a cell overnight for innocently writing ‘you fly, we die’ in the snow in food dye. Later in 2009, Plane Stupid exposed a massive police operation to bribe and infiltrate peaceful protest groups.

The disproportionate tactics we have seen by Strathclyde police mirror those infamously used by the Metropolitan police. Arrested for voicing concerns about the aviation industry’s massive and growing contribution to climate change? Who are the real criminals here?

http://sesacoalition.blogspot.com/

Huntington Lane Fossil Fools Weekend roundup

As part of Fossil Fools Day West Midlands Climate Action decided to support the Huntington Lane Camp against one of the UKs biggest Fossil Fools; UK Coal, who want to mine 900,000 tonnes of coal at Huntington Lane over a three-year period. The main idea of the Fossil Fools weekend gathering was to get as many people as possible down to the camp over the four days to help with the ongoing construction of the camp. The 230-acre site near the foot of The Wrekin encompasses part of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is also home to the protected scheduled New Works Ancient Monument. The Camp was set up three weeks ago in response to UK Coal felling trees which were part of ancient woodland so they can build a haul road to link the two parts of the site together.

A day before Fossil Fools Days saw the camp attacked during the night by three loud bangs, which it is thought came from someone either throwing fireworks or an air bomb into the camp. The camp which included young children were terrified after being woken up during the dead of night. One camper said

“It was terrifying, really terrifying. It was in the dead of night, deathly quiet, and then all of a sudden we heard these three thunderous bangs quickly one after the other.”

As a result of the attack a 24 hour watch has now been established at the camp

The weekend saw a steady stream of people visit the camp which has now grown to include two communal tipis and a third sheltered communal area is under construction which when finished will have raised flooring.

Friday the 2nd April saw two campaigners hang a banner from the famous Iron Bridge World Heritage Site landmark in view of thousands of Bank Holiday visitors.

“We are trying to raise awareness. We are still finding a large amount of people do not know proposals for a coal mine are in existence, let alone it being so close to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.”

Overall the mood at the camp is positive but we still need as many people at the camp as possible and anything you can donate would be appreciated. We still need Food, Water, Tarp, Ropes, Straw/Sawdust/Woodchips to soak up the mud a little and Walkie Talkies

http://wmclimateaction.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/fossil-fools-weekend-roundup/

Fossil Fools Day round-up

In the UK –

BP ad campaign hoax kicks off the Fortnight of Shame

In the UK –

BP ad campaign hoax kicks off the Fortnight of Shame

BP today had to halt the launch of a multi-million pound ‘Back to Black’ ad campaign. That’s right, BP’s award-winning ‘beyond petroleum’ brand took a hit today when a, previously unknown, PR agency delivered 22,000 revamped BP logos and a new sign to the company’s headquarters in St. James’ Square.The ad agency misinterpreted the brief to come up with a new logo that took account of BP’s decision to invest in the Canadian tar sands, and launched the multi-million pound ‘Back to Black’ campaign.

… What day is it? April Fools Day, a day for pranks both silly and serious.
So here’s what really happened:

Posing as representatives of a PR company, climate campaigners played a Fossil Fools Day prank on BP today by delivering 22,000 new logos – one for every BP logo in the UK – to the company’s HQ.

The campaigners, from London Rising Tide and the UK Tar Sands Network, piled boxes of ‘Back to Black’ logos on BP’s doorstep and d-locked a matching sign onto the building in protest at the company’s reversal of its decision to stay out of Canada’s controversial tar sands.

BP’s ‘beyond petroleum’ brand was never more than a slick charade and BP’s plans to move into the tar sands reveal the company’s true colours. We visited BP today to present a logo that’s more fitting for a company about to invest in the most destructive project on the planet.

Today marks the start of the BP Tar Sans Fortnight of Shame, which will see actions taking place up and down the country, all with a common message. Extraction in the Canadian tar sands is fuelling climate chaos and trampling indigenous rights, and we won’t let BP go into the tar sands without a fight.

If you want to get involved then come along to the BP Tar Sands: Party at the Pumps on Saturday 10th April, meet 1pm, Oxford Circus – more info at: www.risingtide.org.uk

tarsandsinfocus@googlemail.com
http://www.tarsandsinfocus.wordpress.com

Video

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Rising Tide disrupt Shell in Bristol

Activists from Bristol and Bath Rising Tide visited the Shell garage in Muller Road, Eastville at 8.30am yesterday to highlight the repression experienced by communities in County Mayo, Ireland who are trying to stop Shell building an onshore high pressure pipeline and gas refinery.

The community in Erris, County Mayo has seen continued harassment and intimidation by Gardai and Shell security, as well as the unlawful arrest and targeted jailing of key campaigners. In February fisherman Pat O’Donnell was sentenced to 7 months in jail for convictions of “breach of the peace” and of “obstructing a Garda”. The community has been fighting this project for over a decade. Construction of the gas refinery has resulted in the pollution of the local drinking water. Untreated waste chemicals from the refinery, including lead, mercury, arsenic and radon would be pumped into Broadhaven Bay despite it being a designated Special Area of Conservation. 1

The action was part of Fossil Fools Day, a global day of creative action against corporations who contribute to and profit from climate change. 2

Rachel Keevil from Rising Tide, chasing another activist with a large section of pipe, said “Shell are climate criminals. The gas pipeline in County Mayo will damage the environment and threaten the health and livelihoods of local people; all for the profit of Shell. It’s a pipeline to disaster.”

This street theatre was clearly a ridiculous representation of very serious events but opened up a space for talking with the public about the issues, many of whom took genuine interest, some saying they were inspired to write to Pat in prison.

Notes
1 http://www.shelltosea.com/node/21
2 http://risingtide.org.uk/node/336

Bristol and Bath Rising Tide
bristol@risingtide.org.uk
http://risingtide.org.uk/bristol

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Eon switch on to community renewables

PRESS RELEASE 01-04-2010

GREEN ENERGY GIFT FOR MEDWAY

German energy giant EON have announced that they are shelving controversial plans for a massive expansion of coal and gas
electricity generation in the Medway region. The surprising news emerged today as Eon contractors broke ground at the offices of Medway Council on Dock Road, Chatham, and started installing wind turbines and solar panels.

Eon media relations officer, Joe King announced, “We realise that continued investment in fossil fuels is a dangerous distraction from the urgent need to develop truly sustainable technologies so we’ve abandoned our dated plans to continue burning gas and coal. This wind farm for Medway council is just the beginning, we’re also offering all our customers heavily discounted shares in future community wind farm schemes, so they’ll actually co-own the systems that provide their power”.

In a leaflet passed out to passers by, Eon admitted that until now, only a trivial amount of their investments had gone into renewables but promised that would now change. Acknowledging the urgent need to drastically cut emissions in order to curb global warming and avoid disastrous climatic tipping points, the company promised they’d abandon their plans to turn Medway into a CO2 pumping hub, end further investment into fossil fuels, and instead commit to truly sustainable energy such as wind and sun.

However, a local activist Bennie Factor, expressed disbelieve, “This is a joke! All this renewable energy rhetoric represent nothing more than cyclical greenwash from these energy giants. Sadly, the reality is that they are still committed to business as usual, damning us all to continued greenhouse gas emissions and catastrophic climate change.”

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The FOSSIL FOOLS FARCE … is here!

Rising Tide-Plymouth & Art Not Oil-Plymouth took the Plymouth city centre streets to bring you the big “Fossil Fools Farce”, to remind us there are facts and names behind the Climate drama.

Today, on “Fossil Fools Day”, we bring you:

*The BIG OIL evil clown – Oil industry is the responsibility of the ‘taxpayer supported’ global expansion into the far reaches of the planet. Unless further exploration to find and exploit more oil and other fossil fuels is stopped, and instead accelerate the transfer of investment into renewable energy, the planet’s climate will not be able to withstand. Apart of massive CO2 emissions, the oil industry has been responsible for massive scale deforestation, local mortal diseases in oil field areas, ecological disasters, overriding indigenous rights and more human rights violations. All in the name of their profit.

Currently BP & Shell are investing in the tragic TAR SANDS project in Canada, which is the dirtiest and most expensive oil in terms of extraction and emissions that will lead us inevitably to runaway Climate Chaos -at a time when global oil resources are running out!

*The Crazy AVIATOR – In terms of damage to the climate, flying is ten times worse than taking the train. It’s responsible for 13% of the UK’s impact on the climate and it’s the fastest growing source of emissions in this country; between 1990 and 2050, emissions from aviation are set to quadruple, which scientists say could wipe out all other emissions savings we make in every other sector! The main cause of this massive growth in the UK is the proliferation of short haul routes – often unnecessary domestic ones.

In Plymouth we have Air South West ( owned by Sutton Harbour group – who also manage Plymouth airport!) publicising aggressively domestic flights between Plymouth-London and Newquay. Their ‘cheap’ price offers don’t tell you what we’ll all have to pay afterwards – the REAL price behind it: a planet that will never stop warming up. Besides, trains to Cornwall aren’t expensive! – and it’s a great landscape.

Fossil fuels are the main source of Greenhouse Gas emissions. However last December in Copenhagen the politicians sold us out to the fossilfools, corporate lobbyists and big banks. Now we’re left with “green capitalism,” a deeply unjust carbon market and continued assaults on our communities and ecosystems.

The stakes couldn’t be higher: destabilisation of the global climate, local communities destroyed by dirty energy extraction and combustion, devastating freak storms, droughts, floods, the list goes on …

If we’re going to stop climate chaos, the only real solution is to keep fossil fuels in the ground.

Join the positive characters of this drama and change the script of our future!

Join the inspiring WIND FAIRY, playing and trusting clean energy; the committed CYCLIST, who claims the future with pedal power! and
the down to earth PERMACULTURE, who respects the land, grows their own food and sows the seeds into our chance to be healthy and economically independent communities!

We can be the problem ..or the solution. That is our stance today.

NOTES:

-Join ‘Transition-Plymouth’ grassroots local initiative for a sustainable Plymouth!
Email: plymouthtransition@nature-mail.com or phone: 01752 222152

– Get the facts on Tar Sands: http://www.tarsandswatch.org/

– Stop supporting unethical fossil banks like RBS & Barclay’s. Switch yourself to an ethical one: the Co-operative or Triodos, or see:
http://www.vegansociety.com/Lifestyle-And-Nutrition/Finance/Ethical-Banking.aspx

– More alternatives: http://risingtide.org.uk/resources/positivesolutions

Rising Tide-Plymouth takes creative non-violent direct action and provides popular education to confront the root causes of Climate
Change.

www.risingtide.org.uk
www.artnotoil.org.uk

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Brighton – RBS out of order over Tar Sands

Royal Bank of Scotland cashpoints have fallen prey to an April fools prank in protest at RBS’s investments in Canadian tar sands. The cashpoints were disabled by local activist group Brighton Against Tar Sands (BATS) with signs which read ‘Investing in tar sands is OUT OF ORDER’. The signs were fixed to half a dozen cashpoints in Brighton and Lewes in the early hours of Thursday (1st April) morning.

The practical joke had a serious message. Tar sands oil extraction in Alberta, Canada is the single largest industrial CO2 emitter on the planet and has been responsible for destroying an area of ancient forest the size of England.

It is also home to First Nation tribes who have lived off the land for millennia. Due to the pollution they now have high rates of cancer and are losing their ancient hunting grounds.

BATS spokesperson Dan Stars said: “RBS is out of order. Tar sands is likely to be responsible for runaway climate change if the exploitation continues unchecked. It is wholly irresponsible for the bank to invest in what amounts to tarmageddon.”
http://http://www.flickr.com/photos/wdm/4327600119

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Back in the USA –

Colorado activists pulled an elaborate prank on Xcel Energy today, April Fool’s Day, announcing that the utility company pledged to switch to 100 percent renewable electricity statewide by phasing out not just coal plants, but natural gas as well. More

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Protesters boasting signs that read “Break America’s Oil Addiction” and “Coal is Dirty” crowd around Bank of America in downtown Asheville shouting and chanting slogans like: “What do we want? No Coal! When do we want it? NOW.” More

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An activist was arrested this afternoon at the Waterloo Branch of RBC Bank. Mark Corbiere was charged with mischief for hanging a banner reading “Boycott RBC” and “Stop the Tar Sands” from the roof of the branch, located in uptown Waterloo. More
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Pepco announces plan to shift all power facilities to wind and solar energy, may cancel planned rate hikes Pepco notifies its customers that it wishes “to serve the energy needs of our customers for generations to come – Washington DC. More

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Late last night volunteers with Portland Rising Tide blasted the city with over 3,000 fake newspaper covers wrapping the Willamette Week. With content including an interview with Bigfoot about pipeline plans. More

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Philadelphia environmentalists told morning commuters not to be “fossil fooled” by PNC Bank – a bank that calls itself “A Green Bank with Eco-Friendly Service”. PNC Bank has direct and indirect connections to mountaintop removal coal mining. More

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Blame Canada

In the spirit of April Fools day, 13 Cities in Canada have pulled creative pranks on fossil fuel industry supporters, or “Fossil Fools,” pleasantly confusing security guards, police, and the general public. More

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It’s not Down Under – New Zealand/

Camp for Climate Action Auckland has visited the offices of OMFinancial to present them with this year’s Fossil Fools day award for helping New Zealand’s biggest polluters cheat their way out of dealing with climate change. More

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Beware what happens in The Netherlands

Shell Apologises for Human Rights Violations in Niger Delta, The Hague. More

Fossil Fools Day 2010

Black Wood protest camp disappears over night to fight another mine, another day

2.4.2010
The Black Wood Solidarity Camp packed up the night before last and left the site of UK Coal’s new mine at Blair Farm, in Fife. The camp occupied the site for a week and a half to show UK Coal and other mine operators that no new mine or coal infrastructure is safe and out of reach of protesters.

The intention of the camp from the beginning was to hold a short-term occupation to bring attention to the issue, make links with local communities and cost UK Coal money. The occupation was a show of solidarity with local residents who opposed the mine, and with the currently occupied Huntington Lane open cast site in Shropshire.

One of the primary aims of the camp was to cost UK Coal money and make it more difficult for the company to cause such destruction in other places. Dunfermline Sheriff Court would inevitably have granted the summary eviction of the occupiers today and, coupled with the fact that bailiffs from the National Eviction Team recently visited site, the camp had undoubtedly already hit UK Coal profits.

The camp was set up on Sunday 21st March in protest against the devastating effects of open cast coal mining. Impacts on nearby communities will include noise and dust pollution, increased traffic on the roads through HGV movements, the loss of landscape, local ecology and biodiversity, and loss of access to recreation areas, not to mention the increased rates of respiratory diseases and cancer from exposure to coal dust. The mining of this coal will also release over 2 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere from combustion alone at near-by Longannet power station, directly contradicting the Scottish government’s targets to reduce emissions.

As environmentalists, the camp occupants made sure to leave the site as they found it, undamaged by their activities. This was unlike UK Coal – with felling operations complete, huge areas of birch and oak forest – designated ancient woodland – have been lost as well as the wildlife within it, which included nesting birds, bats and red squirrels. On top of this, the camp is conducting an ongoing investigation into allegations, supported by local witnesses, that fire damage to Great Crested Newt areas was carried out on behalf of UK Coal to facilitate the newts forced migration as a condition of planning consent.

Fiona Cooper from the camp said “We will be opposing more open cast coal sites in Scotland, as well as supporting other communities fighting the unsustainable and damaging growth of the coal industry in the UK, such as the Huntington Lane protest site in Shropshire.”

The camp would like to thank the people of Oakley and surrounding areas for their support throughout the occupation, and remind UK Coal of its obligations to restore the site when it is finished with it.

Black Wood Solidarity Camp
coalactionscotland@riseup.net
http://blackwood.noflag.org.uk/

Outdoor Skillshare//18-21 June, Scotland

**Please forward on to your networks, if you would like some posters/flyers to display, please get in touch**

///Outdoor Skillshare/// 18-21 June

An exciting weekend of workshops and skillsharing in rural Scotland.

Come and learn:
climbing and rope access, building tree houses, tunnelling, cooking for the masses, knot-tying, fire-lighting, wild foods and more!

**Please forward on to your networks, if you would like some posters/flyers to display, please get in touch**

///Outdoor Skillshare/// 18-21 June

An exciting weekend of workshops and skillsharing in rural Scotland.

Come and learn:
climbing and rope access, building tree houses, tunnelling, cooking for the masses, knot-tying, fire-lighting, wild foods and more!

At Mainshill Solidarity Camp we occupied land facing destruction. We lived outside, grew as a community and took continuous targeted action.
We want to focus on the skills needed to occupy and defend land with a weekend long event bringing people together to learn and share the skills for living outdoors as a community, building defences, resisting evictions and thinking about strategies for action.

These are transferable skills that can be taken away and used in a wide range of campaigns and actions.

This skillshare will be a safe, inclusive and participatory environment for learning new practical skills and is open to people of all abilities and experiences. If you have any queries or special requirements, please let us know – we will do our best to accommodate everyone’s needs.

We will be asking for donations toward food and other costs from those that can afford it.

If you want to find out more, or if you have skills you want to share then please contact us at: outdoorskillshare@riseup.net

//Workshop Timetable//

Friday
8:00-10:00 Breakfast
11:00 Workshop Facilitator Drop-in (2 hours, 11-13:00)
12:00 Confidence Building and Mutual Support (1 hour, 12-13:00)
13:00- 14:00 Lunch
14:00 Dealing with Problem Behaviour and Encouraging Participation (1
hour, 14-15:00)
16:00-16:30 Tea Break
16:30 Trip to Mainshill (2 hours, 16:30-18:30)
18:30- 19:00 Welcome Session
19:00 Dinner
20:00 Pub Quiz
22:00 Music. Jam. Fire.
00:00 Bedtime

Saturday
8:00-10:00 Breakfast
9:30-10:00 Welcome Session
10:00 Cooking for the Masses (3 hours, 10-13:00)
Fire Building and Lighting (1 hour, 10-11:00)
Tree climbing, general rope access skills (2 hours, 10-12:00)
Tripods (2 hours, 10- 12:00)
12:00Tool Use and Care (1 hour, 12-13:00)
13:00-14:00 Lunch
14:00 Facilitation for Consensus (2 hours,14-16:00)
Overcoming Oppression (2 hours, 14-16:00)
Tunnelling (2 hours, 14-16:00)
Vegan Baking (2 hours, 14-16:00)
16:00 Tea Break
16:30 Legal Observing (1.5 hours, 16:30-18:00)
Self Defence (1.5 hours, 16:30-18:00)
Site Electrics (1.5 hours, 16:30-18:00)
Tactics and Strategy for Defence (1 hour, 16:30-17:30)
18:00 Knots (1 hour, 18-19:00)
Protecting Your Habitat inc. toilets (1 hour, 18-19:00)
Radios (1 hour, 18-19:00)
19:00-20:00 Dinner
20:00 Films Talks, Craft Session
22:00 Open Mic
00:00 Bedtime

Sunday
8:00-10:00 Breakfast
9:30-10:00 Site Meet-up
10:00 First Aid (3 hours, 10-13:00)
Herb and Plant Identification (1 hour, 10-11:00)
Map reading and Navigation for beginners (2 hours, 10-12:00)
Treehouse Building (2 hours, 10-12:00)
13:00-14:00 Lunch
14:00 Blockading for Beginners (2 hours, 14-16:00)
Fences – getting through, over etc. (2 hours, 14-16:00)
Tree climbing- advanced, Arbouring etc. (2 hours, 14-16:00)
15:00 Comms (1 hour, 15-16:00)
16:00 Tea Break
16:30 Dragon Dynamics Empowerment Skillshare (2 hours 16:30-18:30) Field
Plumbing (1.5 hours, 16:30-18:00)
Recces (2 hours 16:30-18:30)
Tree climbing,general rope access skills (2 hours 16:30-18:30)
19:00-20:00 Dinner
20:00 Music – Performances
00:00 DJ
03:00 Bedtime

Kids’ Workshops

Saturday
10:00 Tree Identification (2 hours, 10-12:00)
14:00 Tree Climbing for Kids (aged 10+) (2 hours, 14-16:00)

Sunday
14:00 Consensus for Kids (2 hours, 14-16:00)
16:30 Clang, Bang, ShakeyShake, Crash! Making Instruments Out of Trash!
(2 hours, 16:30-18:30)

Lots more info at http://outdoorskillshare.noflag.org.uk

Eviction bosses show up at Black Wood as court hearing delayed

29.3.2010
Hours after the Black Wood Solidarity Camp successfully pushed back its eviction hearing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court this afternoon, members of the National Eviction Team including Martin Leyshon, Head of Resources, visited the site to document its defences and presumably to begin the process of evicting the camp.

The Black Wood Solidarity Camp is just over a week old so the appearance of the National Eviction Team at such short notice and before the eviction order for the site has even been granted shows that UK Coal want rid of the camp as soon as possible. Further still, the court papers are full of references to the recently evicted Mainshill Solidarity Camp, with police advising UK Coal that the longer the camp exists, the harder and more costly it will be to remove it.

And of course, they’re right, but numbers matter too. Please come and join the camp for as long as you can – even if just for a day, it will be greatly appreciated. The vibe on the camp is good, with defence-building and barricading happening all over the place with plenty of opportunities for people to get involved and lend a hand. See here for details of how to get the the camp.

The hearing for the eviction order of the Black Wood Solidarity Camp will take place on Thursday 1st April at Dunfermline Sheriff Court at 14:00. Come down and show your support for the occupation if you can.

Finally, UK Coal have claimed that the occupiers of Black Wood have caused fire damage to the site, disrupted a Great Crested Newt habitat and closed access to a footpath. The Solidarity Camp finds it ironic that a company about to provide fuel to a coal-fired power station, fanning the flames of catastrophic climate change, causing the forced migration of a protected Newt species and trashing their habitat on site, and permanently removing a right of way for the duration of the mine should accuse the camp of these things. The camp suggests that hypocrisy and deceit will get UK Coal nowhere.

Black Wood Solidarity Camp
coalactionscotland@riseup.net
http://blackwood.noflag.org.uk/

All coal ship movements cancelled at Newcastle Harbour (Australia) blockade

28 March 2010
A mass community protest at the biggest coal port in the world has succeeded in preventing coal ship movements all day today. Hundreds of peaceful protesters have occupied the harbour since 10am this morning. As the blockade closes, organisers are hailing it a success.

Naomi Hodgson, spokesperson for organisers Rising Tide Newcastle, said: “Today was scheduled to be a busy day in the world’s busiest coal port. Ordinarily, there would have been at least four or five coal ships move in or out of Newcastle Harbour today, but instead there were none.

“This an amazing demonstration of the power of peaceful mass action by the community. Hundreds of people united to protest the rapid expansion of the Australian export coal industry – this country’s number one cause of climate change.”

“We succeeded in not only shutting down the harbour, but in showing the political leaders in this country exactly what true leadership on climate change looks like. If Australia is serious about climate change, we will put an urgent stop to the expansion of coal, and begin replacing this devastating industry with safe and renewable alternatives.”

“Coal exports are the number one cause of climate change in Australia. The coal we export from NSW and Queensland already accounts for more greenhouse pollution that all onshore sources combined,” concluded Ms Hodgson.

Why blockade the world’s biggest coal port?

Now, more than ever, we need to be turning up the heat on the coal industry, and their friends in government. The export coal industry is Australia’s single biggest, and fastest growing contribution to the global climate crisis.

Newcastle, already the world’s biggest coal port, is opening a major new coal export terminal over the course of this year, bringing the export capacity of the Hunter Valley coal chain to an incredible 178 million tonnes of coal per annum. That’s the climate change equivalent of 30 Bayswater Power Stations. Within ten years, the coal corporations plan on exporting more than 300 million tonnes of coal per annum – a tripling of current export capacity.

Tripling coal exports means tripling coal mining. As Newcastle coal exports boom, more precious bushland will be razed, more waterways polluted, more communities ripped apart as the transnational coal companies carve their way westwards into the Liverpool Plains. The profits will be exported, but the devastation will stay here in the Hunter. The catastrophic effects of climate change will hurt all around the world.

This madness has to stop. The climate crisis is deepening, and time is fast running out. Politicians are failing to take action against the rampant coal companies, so we have to do it ourselves.

Hundreds of people will be doing just that in Newcastle on 28th March, and we’d love you to join us. We’ll be taking to the harbour in a big way, occupying the world’s biggest coal port with a mass of people, and demanding:

* an immediate ban on the expansion of the coal industry in Australia,
* a swift phase out of coal, replacing all coal industry jobs with jobs in renewable energy and other sustainable industries.

Climate protesters delay coal ship docking

Climate activists are attempting to prevent the docking of the first coal ship at Newcastle’s third coal export terminal.

The Panama-registered bulk carrier Sunny Success is entering Newcastle harbour to receive the first shipment of coal from the terminal.

An activist from Rising Tide is hanging from a rope in front of the berth and is blocking the ship’s access to it.

“The Australian coal rush is fuelling global climate change and preventing us from transitioning to sustainable industries,” said Steve Phillips, spokesperson for Rising Tide Newcastle.

“So far, neither the State nor the Federal Governments have demonstrated that they are serious about cutting our biggest single contribution to climate change. Instead, coal ports in NSW and Queensland are undergoing massive expansions, with extensive open cut coal mining projects in both states.

“This industry is destroying landscapes, destroying communities, and is directly threatening everyone’s future through major impacts on the global climate. Around the world, species are going extinct, people are being displaced, climatic disasters are becoming more ferocious because of the climate change we have already caused. It is time to get to the root of the problem, and start phasing out the coal industry.”

“The Australian export coal industry is already this country’s number one cause of climate change, and it is also the fastest growing. Newcastle currently exports 100 million tonnes of coal per annum. Already approved expansion projects will double this figure within a few years,” said Steve Phillips.

Approved in March 2007 by the NSW Labor government, Newcastle’s third coal terminal will increase the port’s capacity by 66 million tonnes per annum, or the equivalent of 160 million tonnes of greenhouse pollution. That is roughly equivalent to doubling NSW domestic greenhouse pollution from all sources.

For more images go to http://drop.io/risingtide
http://www.risingtide.org.au/

Read the report and gawp at the photos of the last impressive action at the port, a rail blockade to inspire us all

Shell apologises

Shell Apologises for Human Rights Violations in Niger Delta

The Hague, 27 March 2010

Today, Royal Dutch Shell is holding back the tears no more. Shell apologises to all inhabitants of Nigeria’s Niger Delta for the many years of human rights violations, for which Shell takes full responsibility.

Shell Apologises for Human Rights Violations in Niger Delta

The Hague, 27 March 2010

Confronted with massive evidence of human rights violations that can only be attributed to its operations in the Niger Delta, Royal Dutch Shell is extremely proud to be the first international petrochemical company to publicly say:

We are sorry.

Since Shell first discovered oil in the Niger Delta in 1956, the company has ravished the land and polluted the environment. “We thought these people didn’t know what was good for them,” explains Bradford Houppe, Vice-President of Shell’s newly established Ethical Affairs Committee. “We never knew that we were bringing them impoverishment, conflict, abuse and deprivation. Now we know.” Shell acknowledges that it is responsible for large-scale oil spills, waste dumping and gas flaring. Each year, hundreds of oil spills occur, many of which are caused by corrosion of oil pipes and poor maintenance of infrastructure. “Our failure to deal with these spills swiftly and the lack of effective clean-up greatly exacerbate their human rights and environmental impact,” says Houppe. “And that is wrong. It’s just really wrong.”

More than 60 per cent of the people in the Niger Delta depend on the natural environment for their livelihood. But due to the oil pollution, many of them use polluted water to drink and to cook and wash with, and eat fish contaminated with oil and other toxins. Oil spills and waste dumping have also seriously damaged agricultural land.

The destruction of livelihoods and the lack of redress have led people to steal oil and vandalise oil infrastructure in an attempt to gain compensation or clean-up contracts. Armed groups engage in large-scale theft of oil and the ransoming of oil workers. Government reprisals frequently involve excessive force and the collective punishment of communities, thus deepening general anger and resentment.

Between 2005 and 2008, the Nigerian government received around $36 billion in taxes and royalties from Shell. “They have never, not in the slightest, held us to account for all the wrong we did,” says Houppe. “So without taking back any of our apologies, by all means: blame them too!”

A comprehensive Plan of Action, featuring general apologies, detailed apologies, apologies in Braille and apologies in rhyme that Shell employees will hang on the walls in their offices, will be presented at Shell’s Annual General Meeting on 18 May 2010 in The Hague.

http://shellapologises.com/

Support Indigenous Resistance On Black Mesa!

At the end of an exceptionally hard winter of National Emergency status, and the beginning of a muddy spring, the Dine’ (Navajo) families of Big Mountain, and surrounding communities on Black Mesa continue to stand strong on their ancestral homelands! For nearly four decades the communities have faced the devastation of the U.S government and multinational coal mining corporations exploiting their homelands and violently fracturing their communities. Although the permit for the Black Mesa Mine expansion didn’t pass, and hopefully never will, families remain–resisting the Kayenta Mine and forced relocation.

“The Big Mountain Dine’ elders have endured so much since the 1970s and at the same time, they have defended and preserved that human dignity of natural survival, subsistence and religious values. They have resisted the U.S. government’s genocide policies to vacate lands that Peabody Coal Company recognized as the Black Mesa coal fields. The Big Mountain matriarchal leaders always believed that resisting forced relocation will eventually benefit all ecological systems, including the human race. Continued residency by families throughout the Big Mountain region has a significant role in the intervention to Peabody Coal’s future plan for Black Mesa coal to be the major source of electrical energy, increasing everyone’s dependency on fossil fuel and contributing to global warming. We will continue to fight to defend our homelands.” –Bahe Keediniihii, Dine’ organizer and translator.

Supporting these communities, whose very presence stands in the way of large-scale coal mining, is one way to work on the front lines for climate justice and against a future of climate chaos. There are also opportunities for long-term, committed supporters and organizers. Black Mesa Indigenous Support (BMIS) is looking for Regional Coordinators to organize year-round support and work towards movement building, which would maintain and enhance communication channels between the Big Mountain resistance communities and networks that are being established to support the Big Mountain resistance as well as other local forms of indigenous resistance, while building shared analysis, vision and movements for the liberation of all peoples and our planet. Please contact us for more information if you are interested.

The families are encouraging people to come to Black Mesa now! Support is requested all year long!

BMIS is a grassroots, all-volunteer run collective dedicated to working with and supporting the indigenous peoples of Black Mesa in their Struggle for Life and Land who are targeted by and resisting unjust mountaintop removal coal mining operations and forced relocation policies of the U.S government. One of the primary ways that we do this is to honor the direct requests of these families to extend their invitation to all people interested in supporting their resistance, to come to Black Mesa, to their threatened ancestral homelands, walk with their sheep, haul water and wood, whatever they ask of us. By coming to The Land, we can assist the elders and their families in daily chores, which helps us to engage with the story that they are telling as well as to claim a more personal stake against environmental degradation, climate change, and continued legacies of colonialism and genocide. We can support by being there so they can go to meetings, organize, weave rugs, visit family members who have been hospitalized, rest after a difficult winter and regain strength for the upcoming spring. With spring comes planting crops,shearing sheep, and lambing.
COME FOR A MONTH! Or Longer!

The elders on the land are very thankful for the support of their resistance over the last three decades. We at BMIS are asking those who have come before to continue the work you have started by coming back.
And for those of you who have never come to the land, we encourage you to start.
Deep thanks to all who made the November Caravan happen: let us continue the support through the year.

BMIS can assist you in the process of being self-sufficient on the land, which is vital. We are happy to speak with you over the phone or email and we offer important online resources like the Cultural Sensitivity and Preparedness Guidebook found on our website. Volunteers must read the guidebook and register with BMIS to ensure your safety and be accountable to the families. There are also plenty of great documents about the current and background information found on our website–one of the only on-line resources documenting this resistance.

“This land is being taken away because they’ve got power in Washington. We were put here with our Four Sacred Mountains ~ and we were created to live here. We know the names of the mountains and we know the names of the other sacred places. That is our power. That is how we pray and this prayer has never changed.” ~Katherine Smith, Big Mountain Elder

www.blackmesais.org
blackmesais@gmail.com – PO Box 23501 Flagstaff, AZ 86002 – 928-773-8086
BMIS can send letters/packages to families, however we encourage you to be in direct communication with the families.

Testimony from a Sheepherder:

I have just left after a four month stay on the Land. This was my 14th winter staying with Dine’ families residing on the so-called HPL and resisting the relocation laws by continuing to live on the land of their grandparents of generations back. It has been an intense winter. The big snowstorm was a sight to see, and reminded the elders of storms 40 and 80 years past, when there were many more families out there, and most of the elders didn’t live alone. And yes, the National Guard and US Army did come out to the families. I wondered at the irony of the hay, water, and other supplies, thinking how the families have lived under the threat of the Guard coming in to take them from their homes.

The OSM Life of Mine permit getting denied was a pleasant surprise. I had been looking at the hills, meadows and rocks that I have come to know, as becoming ‘reclaimed’ land through the mine expansion, and thinking of the long, hard fight to come. A second generation Black Mesa miner, and “HPL” resident stated that he was glad about the permit, and ready to see a change back to the old ways of living and away from mining.

The Supporter caravan at thanksgiving was a fast and festive, and abundant time. About 120 supporters for the week, but by the end of January there were only a few supporters on the land, and a list of families asking for a sheepherder. We were desperately calling out for people to come, and a few did, but only a few. And I thought, this is where the real support is needed- in the long haul, the deep snow.

Back in 1997, and again in 2000 the families were living under a threatening “deadline”, and there were literally hundreds of supporters on the land for months. I am grateful that there is no deadline as such now, but I do wonder what keeps us supporters from committing to coming out, or coming back. I have personally placed several hundred supporters in the last 12 years, and I marvel at how much we struggle to ‘get the word out ‘ and ‘get support to the Land’.

I am so honored and humbled by the loving hospitality I receive from the families. My sons are treated as family, and are growing up knowing the elders, kids and supporters, and about fighting for and supporting what is right. I have been raised out there myself in many ways. The Dineh people have been my teachers and mentors, my inspiration. I believe in doing all that I can to honor their request and invitation to come into the home, the land and the lives of the people indigenous to the land -what that means and what they are fighting for and against. I believe it is at the heart of the most important work today.

And I am writing this to remind us, you, that their door is open and there is a job to do- something that we are needing to understand, a connection that needs to be made and honored. It is time to come. It is time to come back. Its time to give back.
Please help us do this.

–Tree, BMIS volunteer and volunteer coordinator

Wet’suwe’ten Blockade Against Logging

March 27, 2010
For nearly five months now, a Wet’suwe’ten family in central BC has maintained a road blockade within their House territory.

The Canadian logging company Canfor was granted rights to log in the territory by the Provincial government in August 2009. However, they did so without consulting or gaining the consent of the Wet’suwe’ten Nation.

March 27, 2010
For nearly five months now, a Wet’suwe’ten family in central BC has maintained a road blockade within their House territory.

Canfor began their logging effort soon after they were granted their new rights–putting in danger the last remaining portion of the Wet’suwe’ten’s territory that has not already been torn apart by logging.

The company regularly entered their territory for roughly three months; until, one day in mid-November, they were greeted with a family roadblock on Redtop road.

Canfor has not been able to re-enter the territory since then; but they have tried dozens of times, even returnining as often as once a day.

The Canadian company also filed for an injunction against the Wet’suwe’ten family for restricting access to their own territory. A counter injunction is being sought against the company.

This is all taking place in spite of the Province’s constitutional obligation to consult the Wet’suwe’ten Nation, as well as a 2001 agreement between the Wet’suwe’ten and the BC Ministry of Forests which states that no logging may take place in the concession area without prior consultation.

The next court date concerning the Wet’suwe’ten’s intact forest and Canfor’s (secondary) logging rights to it, is expected to take place in June 2010.

Video interview