Unnecessary Developments – Page 24

Tasmanian Activists Challenge Mining in The Tarkine

Two female activists from environmental direct action group Groundswell have taken peaceful action to highlight the detrimental impacts that mining in the Tarkine will have on healthy devil pop

Two female activists from environmental direct action group Groundswell have taken peaceful action to highlight the detrimental impacts that mining in the Tarkine will have on healthy devil populations living in the region.

At 10AM on Saturday, Feb. 2, Groundswell activists deployed a banner reading “FOR DEVILS SAKE, DON’T MINE THE TARKINE” from the Alexandra Suspension Bridge, in Launceston’s Cataract Gorge. The two climbers– a local law student and a doctor- remained suspended from the bridge for two hours until 12pm.

“The Tarkine region of North West Tasmania contains the last wild populations of disease free devils. Mining and associated activities are of significant threat to the devils of this region” said Groundswell spokesperson Sarah Van Est.

“Already under direct threat from the deadly facial tumour disease, loss of habitat significantly increases the likelihood of contact between healthy and diseased animals. This has the potential to increase the rate of spread of DFTD.”

“A further threat is the substantial increase of heavy traffic in the area, which would greatly increase wildlife roadkill” added Miss Van Est.

A leading wildlife expert, Prof. Hamish McCallum, head of Griffith University’s School of Environment and former chief scientist of the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, confirmed that the mines would have a potentially disastrous impact on devils.

“There is sufficient evidence to suggest that it may threaten the survival of populations of Tasmanian devils in the area,” said Professor McCallum.

Miss Van Est said that “Self-regulation and token fines offer no real incentive for wealthy mining companies to take measures to ensure protection for the endangered Tasmanian icon.”

As well as containing significant devil habitat, much of the Tarkine has already been independently verified as high conservation value wilderness. Groundswell is calling on the State and Federal Governments, specifically federal environment minister Tony Burke, to safeguard the area and the devils by ensuring immediate and ongoing protection in the form of National Park or World Heritage List status for the Tarkine region.

48 arrested in historic act of civil disobedience to stop Keystone XL pipeline

JULIAN BOND, BILL MCKIBBEN, MICHAEL BRUNE, AND OTHERS ARRESTED IN FRONT OF WHITE HOUSE IN CALL FOR ACTION ON CLIMATE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This morning, 48 environmental, civil rights, and community leaders from across the country joined together for a historic display of civil disobedience at the White House where they demanded that President Obama deny the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and address the climate crisis.

Among the notable leaders involved in the civil disobedience were Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club; Bill McKibben, Founder of 350.org; Julian Bond, former president of the NAACP; Danny Kennedy, CEO of Sungevity; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Connor Kennedy, and Daryl Hannah, American actress.

After blocking a main thoroughfare in front of the White House, and refusing to move when asked by police, the activists were arrested and transported to Anacostia for processing by the US Park Police Department.

“The threat to our planet’s climate is both grave and urgent,” said civil rights activist Julian Bond. “Although President Obama has declared his own determination to act, much that is within his power to accomplish remains undone, and the decision to allow the construction of a pipeline to carry millions of barrels of the most-polluting oil on Earth from Canada’s tar sands to the Gulf Coast of the U.S. is in his hands. I am proud today to stand before my fellow citizens and declare, ‘I am willing to go to jail to stop this wrong.’ The environmental crisis we face today demands nothing less.”

“We really shouldn’t have to be put in handcuffs to stop KXL–our nation’s leading climate scientists have told us it’s dangerous folly, and all the recent Nobel Peace laureates have urged us to set a different kind of example for the world, so the choice should be obvious,” said 350.org founder Bill McKibben. “But given the amount of money on the other side, we’ve had to spend our bodies, and we’ll probably have to spend them again.”

“For the first time in the Sierra Club’s 120-year history, we have joined the ranks of visionaries of the past and present to engage in civil disobedience, knowing that the issue at hand is so critical, it compels the strongest defensible action,” said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. “We cannot afford to allow the production, transport, export and burning of the dirtiest oil on Earth via the Keystone XL pipeline. President Obama must deny the pipeline and take decisive steps to address climate disruption, the most significant issue of our time.”

If approved, the Keystone XL pipeline would boost carbon pollution tomorrow by triggering a boom of growth in the tar sands industry in Canada, and greatly increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that this tar sands pipeline will boost annual U.S. carbon pollution emissions by up to 27.6 million metric tons – the impact of adding nearly 6 million cars on the road.

However, new research by Oil Change International (OCI) shows that the government’s estimates of the carbon emissions associated with Keystone XL underestimates the full impact of tar sands because a barrel of tar sands produces significantly more petroleum coke than conventional crude, which is more carbon-intensive than coal. The research can be found at: http://priceofoil.org/2013/01/17/petroleum-coke-the-coal-hiding-in-the-t….

OCI’s research shows that Keystone XL will produce enough petcoke to fuel five U.S. coal plants. The emissions from this petcoke have not yet been included in climate-impact analysis of the pipeline or the tar sands industry and OCI shows that it will raise total emissions by at least 13 percent.

Shell to Sea campaigner jailed for 3 months. 14th Feb

Ms Ní Ghraidm pleaded guilty to a Section 8 and 9 charge and refused to do community service as she felt her protest was a service to a community under siege from Shell. The Judge then sentenced Ms Ní Ghraidm to 3 months in jail.

Izzy has been a strong supporter of Shell to Sea for years and her commitment to the cause is much appreciated by us here in Mayo.
She has courageously stood up for our struggle to protect our community and is passionate in her fight to reclaim Irish natural resources.

Speaking from the Court, Shell to Sea spokesperson Terence Conway stated "Yesterday in Belmullet District court, we saw a committed environmental campaigner being jailed for a minor public order incident. On the other hand a Shell security guard who was caught dealing drugs is allowed to walk free. Ms Ní Ghraidm has taken a brave stand to support this community's struggle against a greedy multinational that will do whatever it is allowed to by the subservient State institutions".

Mr Conway continued "What we're experiencing is the selective application of the law. Yesterday Providence Resources dropped their Dublin Bay oil drilling licence because the State has not got it's required EU environmental laws in place. The same EU environmental laws apply to Corrib but are being ignored."

Lifelong Oklahoman Youth Pastor Locked to Machinery in Protest of Keystone XL 11 Feb

Earlier this morning, Stefan Warner, a youth pastor who was born and raised in Harrah, OK, locked himself to machinery being used to build the toxic Keystone XL tar sands pipeline through Creek land near Schoolton, OK.

Warner is taking action to protect the health of the North Canadian River, communities and land that this pipeline would run through from being irreversibly damaged by diluted bitumen (tar sands) leaks and spills. He is sending a clear message that the current day colonialism and disregard for the health and sovereignty of indigenous peoples in Alberta, Canada, and along the pipeline is unacceptable—from a Christian perspective, as well as a human perspective.

Tar sands pipelines have a horrendous track record: the existing Keystone 1 pipeline leaked 12 times in its first year, and at least thirty times to date. In 2010, the added dangers of tar sands pipelines were demonstrated by Enbridge’s Line 6B pipeline spill of more than a million gallons of diluted bitumen into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. The Kalamazoo tar sands spill is the costliest inland spill in U.S. history, draining the oil spill coffers and placing the $800 million and rising price tag onto the backs of local and federal taxpayers. But it is not the monetary burden that weighs heaviest. It is the toll on human life and the health of local ecosystems that is immeasurable, especially the toxicity of the diluted bitumen and undisclosed proprietary chemicals has proven devastating.

In addition to the immense dangers posed by the Keystone XL, TransCanada has been misrepresenting the economic effects of the pipeline. The majority of construction jobs are temporary and have been filled by Wisconsin-based contractor Michel’s, not Oklahomans and Texans. Despite TransCanada and the State Department’s rhetoric of energy independence, the diluted bitumen transported by the Keystone XL is destined for export to foreign markets after being refined in Gulf Coast refineries, and the National Resources Defense Council asserts that the KXL will increase domestic gas prices.

“I grew up in a town where the North Canadian River runs right through, and we can’t let the North Canadian become another Kalamazoo,” said Oklahoman youth pastor Stefan Warner. “I figure folks have to take action to stop our beautiful Oklahoma from being marred by a foreign corporation, and stand up to fight big corporations who think that poisoning people and stealing land is acceptable so long as they make a profit.”

Warner is acting with Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance, a coalition of Oklahomans and allies fighting to prevent construction of the Keystone XL which will bring dangerous and toxic diluted bitumen from the biome-consuming tar sands gigaproject to refinery communities in the Gulf. This action comes in the wake of dozens of similar actions which have actively fought construction of the Keystone XL in Oklahoma and Texas. In light of reports of shoddy welding by TransCanada whistleblower Evan Vokes and the recent release of photographs depicting holes in the weld of a pipe buried in Texas, the struggle to keep the Keystone XL from being completed is even more urgent.

Updates

At 8 a.m., direct support for Stefan was arrested without warning and placed in police car. Six other people on site are being detained.

At 9 a.m., six people detained now arrested. Seven police vehicles are on scene. Workers have lowered side-boom in disregard of Stefan’s safety and OSHA regulations. Stefan is still locked to machinery but lying painfully face-down on the lowered arm. Police are obscuring Stefan from view and not allowing anyone within photographing distance.

At 9:15 a.m., another individual arrested. This person was not initially detained but was prevented from accessing her vehicle since 8 a.m. Stefan
is still holding strong. It also appears that this action is also blockading an active frack site.

Indigenous resistance forces Malaysia to scale back twelve dam megaproject

A Malaysian state minister Friday said the government would not push ahead with building a dozen new dams on Borneo island, acknowledging they have caused outrage from local tribes and environmentalists.

The proposals sparked fears that the dams would destroy pristine rainforests, endanger wildlife, and displace natives in Sarawak, a Malaysian state crossed by powerful rivers with rich jungle habitats.

“It is not a firm plan to build 12 dams. I don’t think we will need that. We will only need four,” James Masing, Sarawak’s state minister of land development, told AFP in an interview.

Masing said the government was backing off in response to widespread criticism. Protests over the years have seen activists and locals staging blockades of roads into dam areas.

“I’m pleased that this type of thing (protests) takes place. Not all that we do is correct, and this shows we need to refine our plans and think again,” he said.

The now-complete Bakun mega-dam, which is not part of the new dam proposal, has already been dogged for years by claims of corruption in construction contracts, the flooding of a huge swathe of rainforest and the displacement of thousands of tribespeople.

Despite that, the government mooted constructing more dams as part of an industrial development drive to boost the resource-rich state’s backward economy.

Another dam at Murum, also deep in the interior, is nearing completion and two others are in the planning stages as part of the new proposal.

Together the four dams — at Bakun, Murum, Baleh and Baram — are already expected to put out nearly 6,000 megawatts of power, six times what Sarawak currently uses, Masing said.

“The protests are becoming more vocal on the ground so (the dam rethink) is a very good development for me,” said Peter Kallang, member of a Sarawak tribe and chairman of SAVE Rivers, an NGO that has campaigned against the dams.

However, he said plans for the Baram and Baleh dams should be scrapped as well, noting that the Baram dam would displace about 20,000 people, compared to about 10,000 at Bakun, and destroy irreplaceable forest.

He said SAVE Rivers last month organised a floating protest along the Baram river that cruised down river for three days and was met with support along the way by local tribespeople.

Kallang and other activists have also travelled abroad to lobby against the dams, including meeting officials of Hydro Tasmania, an Australian corporation that advises the Sarawak government on the dams.

The Tasmania government corporation pledged in December after meeting the activists that it would pull its personnel out of Sarawak by the end of 2013, Kallang said.

Sarawak’s tribes — ethnically distinct from Malaysia’s majority Malays — fear that they will lose their ancestral lands and hunting and burial grounds, as the government encourages them to make way for projects and move into new settlements.

Those are equipped with medical clinics, electricity, and Internet access. But village elders and activists say alcoholism, drug use, and crime are on the increase and anger is rising over continuing encroachment on native lands.

In one of the blockades in 2011, Penan tribespeople blocked roads into their lands for a week to protest logging and alleged river pollution by Malaysian firm Interhill until the blockade was dismantled by authorities.

Shell – Idiots at work

Having only just started working on the controversial tunnel, Shell's engineers are already facing significant problems.

As local people always predicted, the doib, an unusual blue/grey mineral soil found under peat bog, is causing issues.

Having only just started working on the controversial tunnel, Shell's engineers are already facing significant problems.

As local people always predicted, the doib, an unusual blue/grey mineral soil found under peat bog, is causing issues.

This is the first time such a machine has had to deal with this unstable viscous material. This once again highlights the experimental nature of the project.

Despite having taken more than a year to design and build, according to our sources the TBM got stuck after 30 meters having only just reached the doib. As we write there's no end in sight for this headache.
The tunnel and pipeline cuts right through Sruwaddacon Bay which is a designated conservation site, a candidate Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Area (SPA).

Shell has insultingly named the Corrib TBM ‘Fionnuala’ after the female of the Children of Lir, one of the legends most closely associated with the Erris region.

Although the environment's help is welcome, we could always use more people here. Now that the spring is here come and help make 2013 another unlucky year for Shell.

Background information on the tunnel (source : Shell.ie) :

"The TBM for the Corrib tunnel was designed and built in Schwanau, Germany by Herrenknecht, one of the world’s largest makers of TBMs."

"The tunnel will have an external diameter of 4.2m and an internal diameter of 3.5m and will run at depths of between 5.5m and 12m under Sruwaddacon Bay"

"When constructed, the tunnel will [if it's built] be the longest tunnel in Ireland and the longest gas pipeline tunnel anywhere in Europe."

"As the TBM moves forward, a series of 1.2m wide concrete rings made up of precast interlocking concrete segments is erected. These concrete rings, which are fabricated in Ireland, will eventually line the entire tunnel."

"As the cutter head rotates, hydraulic cylinders attached to the spine of the TBM propel it forward a few feet at a time."

Alexandra Park: Tree felling resumes at protest site, 8th Feb

Alexandra Park: Tree felling resumes at protest site
Tree felling in Alexandra Park, Whalley Range Manchester City Council said it would not be deflected from its plans

Tree felling has resumed at a Manchester park where activists climbed trees to prevent the clearance.

The felling was prevented last week when up to 70 people got into Alexandra Park, Whalley Range, on Thursday.

The protesters set up a camp and a number of them scaled trees in the park.

A Manchester City Council spokesman said it would not be deflected from its plans and legal action may be taken against the tree climbers.

Protestor Ian Brewer confirmed some demonstrators were still up trees but added: "There are not enough people at the camp, it is very disappointing.

"We've had good support with our petition but we need more people at the camp."

The council intends to fell 280 trees as part of a £5.5m project to return the park to the way it is supposed to have looked in Victorian times.
Raised flowerbeds

The authority said only 10% of the park's trees were being felled and local people have said they do not feel safe in the park.

But protesters claim the the actual number of trees to be cut down is more than 400.

The trees are being removed and replaced by raised flowerbeds as part of the regeneration of the park.

The plans also include creating new tennis courts and football facilities and improvements to the lake.

More than 2,000 people have signed an online petition opposing the felling of trees in the project, which received £2.2m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Eamonn O'Rourke, head of communities and culture for Manchester City Council, said: "The actions of a small, noisy band of protesters have been holding up much-needed improvements to the park which have widespread public support and indeed all the evidence from our ongoing conversations with local people suggest that the majority are behind the plans."
Council plans for park The council said people did not feel safe in the park

Tim Cooke, from Hulme, who is also protesting against the tree felling, said: "It's not improving the park – it is destroying the park by decimating a third of the trees.

"I would understand it if they were diseased but they are cutting down perfectly healthy trees."

Greater Manchester Police confirmed a woman was arrested on Friday on suspicion of aggravated trespass.

She was not charged but given a police caution.

Stop the Chop – Alexandra Park trees, Manchester

JOIN THE COMMUNITY PROTEST
SATURDAY 2nd FEB @ 1pm

JOIN THE COMMUNITY PROTEST
SATURDAY 2nd FEB @ 1pm
Protest Camp Open Now
We need YOU to help!

Peaceful Protest @ Alexandra Park to stop the felling of 400 trees against strong public opposition. As of Thurs 31st Jan, 2382 people have signed a petition to oppose the scale of tree felling and wildlife habitat destruction in the park, yet the council are ignoring public opinion. The meeting on 28/01 to discuss these plans further was cancelled hours before taking place & the works have steamrolled ahead felling 53 trees so far. On 31/01, around 80 local people of all ages and backgrounds gathered in peaceful protest, with BBC Northwest covering the story. For now, they have succeeded in bringing tree felling works to a halt. But the destruction starts again TODAY ! We need your help to save the remaining 347 trees & wildlife habitat areas!

Tell your family and friends, your neighbours and your community. Bring banners, bring goodwill – together we can make our voices heard! PEOPLE OF MANCHESTER UNITE!

Meet near the park gates on Alexandra Rd South and Claremont Rd.

PLEASE PROMOTE THIS PROTEST

www.savealexandraparkstrees.wordpress.com
Email: savealexandraparkstrees@hotmail.com
Twitter: @SaveAPTrees
Facebook.com/Save Alexandra Parks Trees
Action Group Tel: 07757 639 668

Decoy Pond camp evicted but the campaign continues! (31 Jan)

Decoy Pond camp – the third of three camps that had been erected on the path of the planned Bexhill-Hastings Link Road (BHLR) – was finally evicted yesterday (Wednesday 30 Jan).

In the end it took scores of security, bailiffs and police three days to evict all of the climbers – not to mention tunnelers, people in tripods and folk locked-on on the ground! Denied food, water and medicine by East Sussex County Council, the activists in the trees also had to contend with torrential rain and gusts of wind of up to 54mph (Met Office figure for nearby Battle)! See below for photos and films from yesterday (30 Jan). In total, 9 people were arrested, and the CHD is now helping to assist those charged, as they go through the court process.

After 48 days of continuous protest (with 28 arrests) some of those involved will probably now be taking a short but much needed rest. Nonetheless, the Campaign continues, with four activists in Court this morning (Thursday 31 Jan), more news expected from the High Court on Friday, the “Grannies’ Dinghy” action in the Valley this Saturday (2 February), and an opportunity for opponents of the Road to get together to form groups and plan future activities, this Sunday (3 February: 4-6pm, The Roomz, 33-35 Western Road, St Leonards on Sea, TN37 6DJ).

Many more activities and projects are also in the pipeline, so please sign the Pledge / like us on Facebook / follow us on Twitter (@combe_haven) / send a donation (use the PayPal buttons on this site or send a cheque) and stay posted for more news on Phase 2. A luta continua!

Day 48 (30 Jan): Decoy Pond Camp eviction continues!

[Update, 10.43am: First arrest of the day reported as campaigner removed from tree.]

30 Jan: Day 48 of the current phase of Combe Haven protests has begun with activists still in the trees at Decoy Pond Camp (see here for maps and directions). The eviction continues! East Sussex County Council are still insisting that no food, water, blankets or medicines be allowed up to the people high-up in the trees, who faced gusts of wind of up to 54mph last night.

Meanwhile, local grandmothers are mobilising to bring inflatable dinghies to the flooded valley ths Saturday (2 February) for an aquatic demonstration of their support for the peaceful protests.

Five people were arrested yesterday, bringing the total number of arrests so far to 26. All have now been released: one was cautioned, and the remaining four have been charged.

As we noted at the time of the eviction of “Base Camp”: This is only the end of the beginning for the protests against the Bexhill Hastings Link Road (BHLR)!

If you can’t make it down to the Valley this week then please sign the Pledge / like us on Facebook / follow us on Twitter (@combe_haven) / send a donation (use the PayPal buttons on this site or send a cheque) and stay posted for news on Phase 2!

Two short films from yesterday’s eviction:

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Press Information Note
Combe Haven Defenders [1]
30 January 2013

EVICTION OF HASTINGS ANTI-ROAD CAMP ENTERS THIRD DAY
Local grandmothers to show support with “Grannies’ Dinghy” action this Saturday (2 Feb)

30 January, 8.15am: At least four activists are still in the treetops of the third [2] anti-road camp along the route of the proposed Bexhill-Hastings Link Road (BHLR) this morning, as local grandmothers mobilise to bring inflatable dinghies to the flooded valley ths Saturday (2 February) for an aquatic demonstration of their support for the peaceful protests.

Campaigners are currently peacefully resisting the eviction of the Camp, which is located just west of Upper Wilting Farm in Crowhurst (TN38 8EG) [3]. East Sussex Council have denied food and water to the protesters – who have faced heavy rain and gusts of up to 54mph, fifty-feet up in the trees – since Monday morning [4].

Local grandmothers will be assembling with inflatable dinghies at 12.45pm this Saturday (2 February) at the Plough Inn in Crowhurst (TN33 9AW), from where they plan to mount an aquatic demonstration against the Road in the nearby flooded fields – fields through which the Road is supposed to pass [5]. An earlier action (“Grannies’ Tree”) was reproduced in both the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph.

The £100m Road project is one of over forty “zombie roads” that were declared dead years ago but have now been resuscitated as part of as part of Britain’s largest road-building programme in 25 years [6,7].

Seven people have been arrested since Monday, including Natalie Hynde, daughter of pop singer Chrissie Hynde [4]. The peaceful protests against the Road– which have now been running continuously for 48 days, with 26 arrests – have seized national attention over the past seven weeks [8].

Adrian Hopkins of the Combe Haven Defenders said: “Resistance has been growing to this awful scheme as each day passes and more people become inspired by the action so far taken to protect the beautiful Combe Haven valley. This is only the beginning of a sustained campaign of peaceful resistance to this environmentally disastrous white-elephant project.”

NOTES
[1] http://www.combehavendefenders.org.uk
[2] The first camp was established on 21 December. Two other camps along the route, ‘Three Oaks’ and ‘Adams Farm’, have already been evicted, on 14 Jan and 16-17 Jan respectively, resulting in seven arrests.
[3] For maps and directions see http://combehavendefenders.wordpress.com/camp-groundrules-directions/
[4] http://combehavendefenders.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/29-jan-escc-still-denying-food-blankets-to-activists-facing-44mph-gusts/
[5] http://combehavendefenders.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/sat-19-jan-grannies-photoshoot-2/
[6] See ‘Controversial ‘zombie roads’ scheme to be resuscitated’, Guardian, 10 October 2012, http://tinyurl.com/zombieroads
[7] http://bettertransport.org.uk/media/26-Oct-roads-report
[8] http://combehavendefenders.wordpress.com/recent-media-coverage/

JOIN THE COMMUNITY PROTESTSATURDAY 2nd FEB @ 1pm

JOIN THE COMMUNITY PROTEST
SATURDAY 2nd FEB @ 1pm