Unnecessary Developments – Page 13

Ongoing Blockade Of Fracking Site In Sussex

Fracking company Cuadrilla Resources are trying to start drilling in Balcombe, West Sussex and the community is trying to stop them.

Update (2:45pm): Beginning to look like Balcombe 1 – Cuadrilla 0. Thoughts are turning to Day 2 of blockade!

Update (12:45pm): Now over 250 people at site. Come down and join the party!

Update (10:45am): Large crowd. Truck isn’t going anywhere. Come on down!

Update (9:45am): Gazebos are up. Gala settling in for long haul. Come on down!

Update (9:00am): Great Gas Gala going strong. Trucks now backed up all through the village.

Update (8:30am): Great Gas Gala is well underway. A truck tring to deliver equipment is being blocked from entering the fracking site. Numbers are growing.

Photos of evolving blockade at Cuadrilla Resources fracking site in Balcombe, Sussex. Around 250 people, truck immobilised outside site, seems to have mysteriously developed fault with brakes. Gazebos up, legal briefing for locals, another truck stopped in village. Another 15 more trucks were due today. Now seems unlikely any will get on. Cuadrilla had wanted to be up and drilling by weekend.

Large Number Of People Blockng Entrance

Atmosphere Relaxed At Present

Camp Being Set Up

Faulty Brakes On Truck

Police Hanging Back For Now

Cuadrilla have temporary planning permission to drill at site in Balcombe. Permission expires in September and drilling will take at least 6 weeks so any significant delays could scupper their plans. They are exploring for tight (shale) oil, and the Kimmerage Clay shale layer they are targeting is similar to the Bakken Shale in North Dakota. Full scale production would involve thousands of wells, pipelines and compressor stations coating the Sussex countryside. This is before you get to water contamination, air pollution and accelerating climate change. See http://frack-off.org.uk/latest-news-from-the-great-gas-gala/ for updates

Indian tribe blocks Pan-American Highway to protest land invasion

23 July 2013 Cross posted from Survival

23 July 2013 Cross posted from Survival

A key South American highway connecting Paraguay and Bolivia is being blocked by an Indian tribe angry at the destruction of their rapidly-shrinking island of forest.

Ayoreo Indians today blocked the Trans-Chaco Highway, which forms part of the Pan-American Highway, and have vowed to maintain their protest until outsiders who have occupied their land are removed.

The Indians are angry about the illegal invasion of their land by two Paraguayan farmers, in an area to which the Ayoreo secured official land title 16 years ago.

The farmers and their workers have erected cattle fences and bulldozed wide tracks, and claim that the land belongs to them. They were guarded by police, to prevent any attempt on the Ayoreos’ part to stop the work.

The land is titled to the Ayoreo, but the farmers have erected cattle fences and bulldozed wide tracks.

Although most members of the Ayoreo tribe are contacted, some groups are known to remain uncontacted in the forest in the area now under threat.

The Ayoreo have said to Survival International, ‘We don’t want any outsiders in our territory – it’s dangerous for us, and dangerous for our relatives in the forest. We’ll stay here [on the road] until all the outsiders leave our land.’

Uncontacted ChacoA special report from the Paraguayan Chaco. Recently contacted Ayoreo Indians are worried for the future of their uncontacted relatives.

Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘The Ayoreo are extremely angry that one of the few parts of their territory that they had managed to secure is now being invaded by outsiders, with the connivance of the local police. It seems like the authorities in Paraguay favor the rich and powerful over people like the Ayoreo, who simply try to live in peace on their own land.’

Michigan Activists Locking Down to Halt Tar Sands Pipeline Construction

From MI-CATS Press Release:

Monday, July 22nd, 2013

From MI-CATS Press Release:

Monday, July 22nd, 2013

This morning Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands (MI-CATS) is taking direct action near Stockbridge `to halt construction of the Tar Sands pipeline 6B expansion project of Canadian corporation Enbridge. Over 40 Michiganders have come to oppose the infamous corporation’s flagrant expansion of the very same pipeline that spilled out into the Kalamazoo River only three years ago. Enbridge claims they have restored the river after a spill is no excuse to expand the pipeline, expanding the pipeline increases the risk for everyone.

Residents are currently halting Enbridge’s construction plans by putting their bodies on the line in an act of non violent civil disobedience against Enbridge’s plans. At least 6 people have been arrested so far as police attempt to shut down the protest. 4 people are currently locked down to construction equipment and refusing to move. Police have arrested their medical support team and threaten to arrest anyone who tries to approach them.

These measures come after the exhaustion of every method within the law, as it has has become apparent from our experiences all throughout the state. Our state government is ready to set aside its own laws and legal processes to accommodate this foreign corporation.

Enbridge itself has consistently demonstrated that their sole priority is their own bottom line, not the health and safety of the people of Michigan, our ecosystem, and even their own workers.

Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands seeks to unite the people of Michigan toward the common goal of stopping all transportation of tar sands oil in the state and advocating against the production and transportation of tar sands everywhere. We work in solidarity with the global movement against harsh fossil fuel extractive practices.

According to one person who is participating in this action “This pipeline is a disaster for Michigan’s water and the global climate. I’m blockading this pipeline to prevent the next spill because I care about Michigan’s air and water. People all over the world are taking action in their own community this Fearless Summer. We need to leave all fossil fuels in the ground.” – William Lawrence of East Lansing

We will not allow Canadian tar sands to pass through our backyards. We will no longer allow the same Canadian corporation responsible for the tar sands which still lie at the bottom of our Kalamazoo River to place all of us at risk. We are taking this action to protect from another spill and to ensure a livable planet for generations to come.

Location of the action is the Enbridge 6B easement off of Grimes west of M-52 near Stockbridge, MI. Look for the orange construction signs and the police presence. ‪#‎micatsact‬. Updates on the action will continue, as events unfold.

This is MI-CATS’ second action at the Enbridge 6B pipeline this summer; in the first an activist climbed inside the Enbridge 6B pipe. Follow @MichiganCats and @efjournal on twitter for updates

Flotilla Protests Development in Manatee County

Residents opposed to the proposed Long Bar Pointe development project gathered in boats on Sarasota Bay to protest losing the last piece of undeveloped shoreline in Manatee County.

Dozens of protestors gathered on a flotilla of boats, kayaks, paddle boards and jet skis in Sarasota Bay Saturday afternoon.

“This is tipping point for Manatee County, we got to make a decision which way we go,” protestor Jaime Canfield said. “Do we want to follow the rest of Florida and develop the coast or do we preserve it.”

Canfield is opposed to an ambitious project that threatens to remove mangroves and sea grass in Sarasota Bay to make way for a marina and five-star resort-style development. The project is proposed for an area that parallels El Conquistador Parkway where 75th Street West intersects with 53rd Avenue West that has long been agricultural.

Currently a project including condos and single family homes with docks is already approved but developers want to expand.

Developers behind the project — Carlos Beruff of Medallion Home and Larry Lieberman from the Barrington Group — however believe the project will be a welcome and much needed addition to Manatee County.

The new plans call for a mixed-use development — single- and multi-family units, hotel, marina, office and commercial space, and a conference center — on the 463.2 acres.

However nearly 295 acres is within the Coastal High Hazard zone, an area prone to flooding during storms. Because the land is vulnerable in a storm, developers must get the county to amend the comprehensive plan to allow for the more intense development.

Terri Wonder, one of the organizers of the protest thinks an amendment to the comprehensive plan is a terrible idea.

“We hope Carlos changes his mind now or before Aug. 6,” Wonder said. “If not, that the Manatee County Commission will not ratify his project.”

Wonder, a Bayshore, resident said she grew up on Siesta Key and saw how development changed the island. She moved to Bayshore Gardens to get back some of what she had lost and because Siesta Key became to pricey.

Many of the protestors including Wonder are concerned about the effects the proposed development will have on the bay, a breeding and feeding ground for dolphins and manatees.

The boaters gathered in a flotilla and shared banners and signs reading “Protect the bay” and “Save our Shore.” They even targeted the project’s financing, which is from Bain Capital.

“We want to preserve what is precious,” Wonder said. “Homeowners want to retire here and their children and grandchildren want to come here.”

Wonder fears that if the project is approved, development will reach a point of no return and that Manatee County will no longer represent the best of Florida.

“Well it’s interesting because last night we held a meeting at the El Conquistador Country Club and we received a tremendously positive reaction from people that would be thrilled that there would be some place to go, eat and enjoy the water,” Lieberman said. “They were thrilled that there would be a revitalization of Manatee County.”

Liberman says one of the project’s environmental experts was at meeting to explain how the project intends to have zero negative impact to the environment.

“I know there are a lot of people that are protesting, but these people have not seen the plan. They have not talked to the expert environmentalist who have guaranteed us that this would have a positive environmental impact on the environment and Sarasota Bay,” Lieberman said. “They are out there protesting and they don’t know the facts and that is dangerous.”

Longtime Bayshore resident Richard Nelson looked to the Sarasota side of the bay Saturday afternoon and then around him, fearful of the changes that could come.

“Look at this, they all want it to look like that,” Nelson said. “That actually looks more like the Bronx.”

Nelson moved to Florida from New York City nearly 23 years ago, and he says he hasn’t regretted it for a day.

“We have to try and preserve everything we got,” Nelson said. “You have to fight for it or else they are just going to try and do whatever they want.”

Protest call out! Vedanta AGM, 1st August, London.

1st August, 2pm. The London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square, W1K 6JP.

Please spread the word and join us for this year's Vedanta AGM demo (flyer attached). Affinity group actions/street theatre/banners etc encouraged.

1st August, 2pm. The London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square, W1K 6JP.

Please spread the word and join us for this year's Vedanta AGM demo (flyer attached). Affinity group actions/street theatre/banners etc encouraged. This will be an international day of action and is usually well covered in Indian and UK newspapers.

We will bring the defiant energy of the Dongria Kond tribe to London, as they fight the final stages of their 10 years battle for survival against Vedanta’s planned mega mine.

Parallel demonstrations are already planned in Odisha and Delhi in India on this international day of action.

Bring drums, placards, banners and lots of energy!

JOIN OUR GRASSROOTS SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT TO STOP THIS KILLER CORPORATE!

Vedanta Resources is a FTSE 100 British-Indian mining company guilty of thousands of deaths, environmental devastation, anti union action, corruption and disdain for life on earth. They have become one of the most hated and contentious companies in the world.

In Odisha, India they are trying to mine a mountain inhabited by an ancient tribe – the Dongria Kond – who have successfully fought them off for more than 10 years. Their fight is in its final stages, and we need to mobilise all our energy to ensure Vedanta is kicked out of the Niyamgiri mountains forever.

Vedanta is now diversifying into oil and gas, and expanding into Africa, Sri Lanka and possibly even the Arctic. They currently operate in Zambia, South Africa, Liberia, Namibia, Australia, Sri Lanka, and across India.

Coverage of last year's AGM demo in the Guardian newspaper

Since last year’s AGM Vedanta are guilty of a major toxic gas leak affecting thousands of people at their Sterlite subsidiary copper smelter in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. At their Jharsuguda Aluminium complex they released fly ash over farmland polluting rivers and villages. In Zambia they tried to fire 2000 workers from their Konkola Copper mines and smelter before being stopped by the Zambian Government. One Zambian employee was shot dead at the plant.

At Niyamgiri, Odisha, Vedanta with it’s cronies in the Odisha state government are trying to force their mega bauxite mine through at any cost. They are using police harassment, manipulation, threats and distortion of the legal system to prevent the Dongria Kond from voting against the project in the coming weeks. Forces have even opened fire on women and children threatening them not to oppose the mine. But the Dongria are stronger than ever and prepared to fight tooth and nail to save their mountain in these final stages.

Vedanta are supported by the British government, as well as our banks, pension funds and financial institutions. Vedanta is 64.9% owned by CEO Anil Agarwal and his family via various tax havens. Top shareholders include Standard Life, Blackrock inc. and JP Morgan – the same financiers of South African miner Lonmin who shot and killed 34 protesting mine workers in August 2012.

Last year's AGM demo

Foil Vedanta is a solidarity movement working directly with those affected by Vedanta in India and elsewhere. We are currently trying to get Vedanta de-listed from the London Stock Exchange.

Please join activists who will be rallying in Odisha, Goa and Delhi on 1^st August as part of an international day of action to stop this killer corporate and it’s supporters.

We will be rallying outside Vedanta’s Annual General Meeting in solidarity with the Dongria Kond tribe of Odisha.

New Blockades in Guangdong, Third Major Protest This Week

17 July 2013 Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have promised to halt production at two factories near Sihui city after demonstrators blocked the gates, clashing with workers in the third mass e

Local residents said vehicles continued to come in and out of the main gates of an ink-making plant and a print factory on Tuesday, however, raising suspicions that production may still be going on.

The promise from local government officials came after hundreds of residents of Sihui’s Baisha village converged on the Nanyue Screen Printing Factory and the Precision Ink. Co. Ltd. plant, which they claim are polluting the local environment.

“We blocked up their gates using cement,” one protester surnamed Lu said on Tuesday.”We demanded that the workers on the production floor stop work, but they closed the door on us and wouldn’t let us in.”

“A group of people got overexcited and forced their way onto the shop floor, and got into a fight with some of the workers there,” Lu said. ”A number of villagers were injured in the fight, and had to be taken to hospital.”

Mounting anger

A second Baisha resident surnamed Liang said anger had been mounting over alleged pollution from both factories among local people for a number of years.

“In recent years, people have been getting sick, and it’s getting worse and worse,” Liang said. “A lot of villagers have developed respiratory diseases like asthma and pneumonia.”
“A lot of people have constant sore throats and inflammation, too, while some of the older people in the village have lung cancer,” he said.

“The kids all have upper respiratory tract inflammation, asthma and even pneumonia.”
Lu said villagers were still suspicious that the promise to halt production hadn’t been carried out, because both factories provided high levels of income to local government through taxation

“These two factories are class A taxpayers to the Sihui municipal goverment,” he said. “They are very large, and they pay huge amounts in taxes.”

“They are big customers around these parts, and they hire a lot of workers, so of course the government is going to be on their side.”

‘Running normally’

An employee who answered the phone at the neighborhood committee of the ruling Chinese Communist Party in Sihui’s Chengzhong district declined to comment. “I don’t know about this,” the employee said.

Repeated calls to the district environmental protection department went unanswered during office hours on Tuesday.

An employee who answered the phone at the Nanyue Screen Printing Co. said administrative staff were operating normally on Tuesday, but declined to comment on the protest, or on the reported halt in production.

“We are all at work, and things are running normally,” the employee said, in reference to the office staff. “I don’t really know about it, because the top-level leadership is dealing with it.”

Third protest

The Sihui confrontation on Monday marks the third mass environmental protest in Guangdong this week.

On the same day, thousands of people marched in Huadu district of the provincial capital Guangzhou in protest over plans to build a waste incinerator plant on their doorstep.
And the Huadu protest came just one day after residents of Jiangmen won an apparent concession from local officials, who said they would cancel plans to build a nuclear fuel processing plant near the city after three days of demonstrations.

Worsening levels of air and water pollution, as well as disputes over the effects of heavy metals from mining and industry, have forced ordinary Chinese to become increasingly involved in environmental protection and protest.

Honduran Army Kills Indigenous Leader of COPINH Who Resisted Dam in Rio Blanco

16 July 2013 On Monday July 15th, while the Lenca community of Rio Blanco, in Honduras, marked 106 days of resistance to the building of Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam, the Army indiscriminately shot at the demonstrators killing one of the l

Tomas was a Lenca indigenous leader who was part of his community’s Indigenous and Auxiliary Council and of the National Council of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH).

The Honduran activist was shot dead while he was walking with other community members to the project’s facilities owned by Desa and Sinohydro companies, while his son, who was seriously injured by a high-calibre bullet, is in hospital and his life is in danger, Berta Caceres, leader of COPINH, told Real World Radio.

Berta described the act as “a desperate and criminal reaction” by the companies that want to build a dam on River Gualcaeque, seriously affecting the communities living there. The Honduran army supports the companies, said Berta, and they even pay for the transportation and maintenance of troops deployed by the Honduran government in Tegucigalpa in Rio Blanco.

On Monday night, COPINH reported of more military troops being deployed in Zacapa, Santa Barbara, and there were fears of new shootings against civilians during the wake of the murdered indigenous leader.

“The community is outraged. We are in great sorrow, also because we believe we have to continue our struggle”, said Berta during a phone interview. “As the elections approach (in November) they want to teach COPINH a lesson”, she explained and said the community decided to continue occupying the access to the dam.

A few hours after the incidents, COPINH had reported that since Friday 12, top executives of the company Desarrollo Energético Sociedad Anónima (DESA)- which is in charge of the project together with the original group Sinohydro – travelled to meet with local hitmen, who are responsible for direct threats against several members of the indigenous council, including Tomas Garcia.

Before they started shooting at civilians, the military made no attempt to talk with the activists, said Berta.

The leader of COPINH was illegally arrested in May and submitted to a trial for purportedly having an illegal weapon, something that the court could not prove and the case was finally dismissed.

The leader highlighted that in the new cases of repression against residents of the community of Rio Blanco, we urgently need international solidarity to report the civic and military authorities and both companies for murder.

“We are aware that we are confronted with an impunity strategy in a context that seems to be worsening”, said Berta. She said the communities’ determination to defend their territory is strengthened in these situations of state and private violence.

In fact, river Gualcarque is considered an essential part of the Lenca spirituality and the communities are confronting the business projects as a tribute to their culture’s symbolic figure: Lempira.

“We continue fighting, we are not afraid, we will not be prey to fear and we will continue this peaceful but strong battle for life”, she concluded.

Residents raise sinkhole warning signs over Shell tunnel

Yesterday (14th July), local residents and supporters raised signs on Sruwaddacon estuary, warning of the sinkholes that continue to appear over Shell's tunnel.

Yesterday (14th July), local residents and supporters raised signs on Sruwaddacon estuary, warning of the sinkholes that continue to appear over Shell's tunnel. Residents first noticed the sinkholes beginning to appear in the special area of conservation on the 20th May and numerous sinkholes have appeared along the tunnel route since then.

The warning signs which read "Danger Sinkholes: Keep Back" were erected in order to warn users of the estuary of presence of the sinkhole, which have been up to 8 foot deep. Residents were forced to put up the warning signs after both Mayo County Council and the Department of Energy & Natural Resources, despite being contacted, have failed to take any action.

The National Parks & Wildlife Service are also believed not to have investigated thus far the possible damage that may be occurring to the benthic life in the estuary, despite the area being both a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area.

Shell to Sea spokesperson Terence Conway stated "When Shell experts were giving evidence in the oral hearing, there wasn't a word about sinkholes and the bubbling up of possible contaminated material to the surface of the special area of conservation".[1]

Shell have previously sent up to 10 workers with shovels out on the estuary in a failed attempt to fill in the sinkholes.

Mr Conway continued "We can currently follow the path of the tunnel by the trail of sinkholes that have appeared on the strand. Failure to regulate has caused alot of suffering in Ireland, yet the Government are still allowing Shell to do whatever they want. The sinkholes are further proof that the Government continues to abandon their responsibility to regulate Shell."

Links

[1] YouTube Video: What's happening in Shell's Tunnel? – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hvz2l27Ooc

[2] Reports of sinkholes above Corrib tunnel investigated
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/reports-of-sinkholes-abo…54717

[3] Midwest Radio Clip about third sink-hole in Sruwaddacon estuary
http://www.shelltosea.com/content/midwest-radio-clip-ab…tuary

Bubbling in the water in the foreground while people raise warning signs in the background of photo

Police Fire Water Cannons to Quell Protest as Baton-Wielding Shop Owners Threaten Reporters in Istanbul

15 July 2013 Police have fired water cannons and tear gas to the several thousand protesters gathered on Istanbul’s İstiklal Avenue to protest a midnight bill adopted this week by the Parliament which curbed the supervision of the Chamber of Architects and Engineers (TMMOB) in all urban projects, giving full authority to the Environment and Urban Planning Ministry. Some shop owners also threateningly attacked with batons reporters an protesters chased the protesters into the side streets by the police.

Members of TMMOB, of whom many were among the most active leaders of the Taksim Solidarity Platform that initiated the protests over the demolition of Gezi Park in Istanbul, as well as many protesters, had joined the demonstration in Galatasaray Square that started at 5:30 p.m.

However, police did not allow the group to walk to Taksim Square after the Governor’s Office refused to grant permission. Police demanded the protesters to end the demonstration after the statement, warning them that a dispersion by force would be carried out against them if they failed to do so. Most of the protesters dispersed while the police chased them into the side streets, cutting off some of the pedestrian entrances to the İstiklal Avenue.

Shop owners with batons attack protesters, reporters

After scattering, some of the protesters started to regroup on the İstiklal Avenue. Water cannon trucks and panzers were also dispatched to the area. Live footage showed riot police using tear gas in the side streets, while reports said that they also fired rubber bullets to protesters.

Meanwhile, a group of baton-wielding shop owners attacked protesters running from the police. They also threatened reporters, trying to prevent them in vain from filming and taking their pictures.

Police also detained protesters, including art scholar Osman Erden. Erden was seen bleeding from the mouth while he was taken into custody.

‘No to crazy projects’

Earlier, a spokesperson for the group slammed the midnight bill, saying the government wanted to “silence” architects and engineers to prevent hurdles in grandiose urban projects. “They don’t want us because we are against [Istanbul’s] third bridge, because we said no to Canal Istanbul,” he said, referring to the massive-scale construction works branded as “crazy projects” by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

During his speech, the crowd also chanted “no to the third bridge, no to canal Istanbul, no to crazy projects,” hinting that the demands of the protesters could widen.

The spokesperson also recalled that many members of the Taksim Solidarity Platform and other civil groups were harassed and ill-treated while in custody, including Mücella Yapıcı, the general secretary of TMMOB’s Istanbul office.

“We won’t surrender,” he said.

Protesters were also seen holding pictures of Ali İsmail Korkmez, the fifth Gezi protester to have died, who passed away this week after succumbing to his injuries, inflicted by assailants who beat him with sticks.

Earlier, mothers whose children had been detained organized a sit-in in GalatasaraySquare, calling for the end of arbitrary detentions.

Gezi Park was opened on July 8 after being in police lockdown for more than three weeks. The opening of the park had caused incidents as police intervened once again against protesters, taking into custody 50 people, including a number of NGO members.

Activists Form Human Pipeline on Flatbush Avenue to Protest Natural Gas Pipeline

Activists say they’re concerned wildlife would be impacted if something went wrong with the pipeline being built in Brooklyn. (July 14, 2013)

Dozens of activists formed a human pipeline on Flatbush Avenue today in protest of a natural gas pipeline that’s being built through parts of Brooklyn.

Parts of the pipeline are already under construction to connect Brooklyn with a pipeline that goes up and down the East Coast. Activists say they’re concerned about the impact the underground flowing gas could have on the borough, wildlife and the environment.

A representative from Transco, the company behind the project, argued that opponents are overlooking the fact that the environmental benefits of natural gas are exactly what is driving the project. It is also the primary reason why the mayor specifically cited this project as key to helping the city achieve its clean air goals, Transco says.

The spokesperson added that Transco has been safely providing natural gas to New York City for more than 50 years without incident.

A public comment period will be held to discuss the project further.