Wilderness Defence – Page 83

North Carolina: ELF Vandalizes Home of Bank of America Director

“North Carolina:
Steve Jones, a member of the board of directors for Bank Of America, the United States’ primary investor in mountain top removal coal mining, had his house visited twice during the night recently.

On the eve of the Summer Solstice, we visited him the first time, smashing the front window on the cute lamp in his driveway and leaving a sticker on the post to let him know why we’d visited. Also on this night we glued the locks and put stickers on a Bank Of America branch in his town. 2 weeks later, on the eve of the full moon we returned to his house and smashed to bits the rest of the lamp and splattered black paint all over the sign with his address/mail box and steps/walkway.

Animal rights activists have long used red paint to mark murderers of many sorts; we chose black paint because it is black like the coal sludge that covers Tennessee, making the earth toxic in a disaster said to be worse than the Exxon Valdez spill. This disaster was uncommon only in that it got press coverage.

It is black like the water that comes out of the taps when people in effected communities turn on their taps for water. And it is black like your heart. For the kids, for the bears, for the mountains, for the wolves, for the fish, for our mother, We will be back. ELF.”

Communique from the Earth Liberation Front Press Office. Click here for the press release.

The View from the Trees – spring & summer in Cascadia, USA,

Humboldt Earth First! Canopy Communique #1
Cutten, South Cascadia, the McKay Tract canopy. The landscape unfolds below us as a patchwork quilt of war. Looking west, one sees the suburb, progress enacting its will upon the occupied countryside. More development is planned, but it is not yet happening. We have primarily met friendly people who live here, and enjoy hanging out in the forest. We asked them if they want their suburb to grow, to continue to “develop,” and they emphatically do not.

Among the second- and third-growth trees to the south lay a few erroneous mini-mansions encroaching upon the landscape, with stumps in their yards wider than any of the three SUVs in their driveways. The residents enjoy a quiet life until one of them starts running powertools.

We look east and see the tops of enormous old-growth redwoods towering above the hundred-year-old second growth. Some friends live here, including spotted owls, ospreys, turkey vultures, black bears, newts, voles, flying squirrels and arboreal humans.

To the north lies a clearcut. Three years ago, Green Diamond (GD), formerly Simpson Timber Company, came in and cut down every last tree in the unit, leaving a few huge burned-out snags. Pampas grass and milkweed grow to human height in the trees’ absence, but this area is dry and getting dryer.

They planted a few baby conifers, redwoods and others after they cut. Those trees are now three years old, meaning they can cut a couple more units and then start re-zoning the land from timberland to residential. More mini-mansions are planned. So it goes.…

However our forest friends disagree with these plans. They want to live, and our solution is to live with them. For the past several months, we’ve been occupying two tree villages in the McKay, tying in as many giant trees as possible with traverses to protect them with our own bodies from being cut down. Tree-sitting has been used to defend forests in Humboldt for decades, and traverses enable a few humans to defend a large number of trees without leaving the canopy.

We chose this grove because the trees stand directly against the march of Leviathan in the form of suburban development, and the neighbors (in house down below) stand with us, and give us love and support. The other grove, (also slated to be clearcut), features an osprey nest, at least one spotted owl nest, flocks of turkey vultures circling overhead, a trail and campsite used frequently by bears, and a creek that serves as watershed for the Humboldt Bay’s healthiest population of Coho salmon. These critters have also shown much love to the treesitters, particularly the flying squirrels who share our food at night and the owls who hang out, provide moral support and watch us climb.

GD, is now the most-active transnational timber corporation remaining in Humboldt. They have clearcuts scheduled every year across the Northwest, and have largely escaped public scrutiny by a process of 21st-century greenwashing and alliances with the state. For example, the GD Habitat Conservation Plan for spotted owls gives the owls a vague, constantly shifting zone of “habitat” on GD land and a few remaining “wildlife trees”, usually of low monetary value, on land that they clearcut. In return, GD gets a bunch of “incidental take” permits for owls, which is a license to kill them at will. The GD plan for the McKay Tract is clearcutting, followed by residential development to double the size of Cutten, California, adding more residents to the near city of Eureka.

So far, no chainsaws have fallen upon the McKay this year. However, Summer operating season is upon us, logging could begin any day of any week. Neighbors are continuing to raise their voices in support. They hike, bike, and ride horses along the logging roads in solidarity with residents of the forest. Treesitters are still needed to live in the canopy, protecting this last refuge of wild creatures from the perpetual war that is human progress. Anyone wishing to spend part or all of the summer up in trees is encouraged to contact Earth First! Humboldt at (707) 834-5170; www.efhumboldt.org.
“May the forest bewitch you,” the canopy ninjas of EF! Humboldt.

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********Newsflashes:

Cascadia Summer Continues…
July 13th, 2009

The logging blockade in Oregon’s Elliot State forest was raided by a reported 60+ police accompanied by a bulldozer. 27 people were arrested. This marks only the beginning of Cascadia Summer.

Meanwhile, here in Humboldt we are steadily continuing the occupation of our local rainforest canopy to stop Green Diamond from logging 41 acres of Redwood forest over 100 years old. The grove is home to Spotted Owls, Osprey and Black Bears. It is a refuge that is surrounded by young tree plantations, clearcuts and suburbs.

We have set up multiple tree-sits and a traverse rope network tying up a large area of forest near the Spotted Owl nest. The ropes allow above ground travel and increase the effectiveness of the tree-sits by linking many trees together.

So far the company has held off from logging though the plan has been approved for months. Green Diamond says they won’t send climbers up to take activists out of the trees because it’s “too dangerous”.

If you would like to live and work in the Redwood forest canopy or help support our activities please give us a call or write us an email.

contactefhum@gmail.com

707-834-5170

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Earth First! Blockades Logging Road in Oregon
July 7th, 2009
Early yesterday morning, a large team of activists (including Humboldt EF!ers) skillfully and valiently blockaded a logging road to protect over 70 acres of 100+ year old coastal forest that was being cut down. This kicks off the “Cascadia Summer” campaign to highlight ongoing environmental damage and shut down highly destructive logging activities in the Pacific Northwest. Some of our comrades are locked to the van in the picture as well as barrels full of concrete that block the road. Others are perched high atop structures that have support ropes that are attached to the gate and to the overturned van. Any attempt to move the van or gate and the structures would collapse and harm the activists. They are still there and have put out the call for more to join the effort.

Here are some links to stories about the ongoing action in Cascadia.

Cascadia Summer Blog

FD’s Blog (more pictures)

News story 1

News story 2

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Green Diamond Threatening Tree-sitters With Extraction
June 19th, 2009
Early this morning, tree-sitters in the McKay Tract recieved threats from Green Diamond employees. The GD employees stated that if the activists did not come down that GD would send climbers up to arrest them.

Yesterday, at least 2 GD employees spent nearly the entire day on the ground around the tree-sits and attempted to get ahold of a rope hanging from one of the sits. It was quickly pulled higher by a sitter.

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Rainy Spring Days
May 15th, 2009

Update from the woods: There have been no signs of trucks or heavy machinery as of yet. Well timed spring rains are keeping the roads muddy and undrivable. We are on the lookout for any signs of company activity.

What we have seen lately are Spotted Owls, Osprey, large Black Bear tracks in the mud and a Green Diamond surveyor. The wildness and beauty of this forest is an inspiration. The ongoing assistance from our local supporters is crucial, thanks for all the help!

If you would like to join us in the forest or help from town please do, more tree-sitters and ground crew are always needed.

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Flying Squirrel Discovers Tree-sitters
March 17th, 2009

This Northern Flying Squirrel arrived at the tree-sits last week. It was the first of it’s species to be seen by activists living in the Redwood canopy since the first tree-sit went up in August of last year. The squirrels are nocturnal and are sometimes preyed upon by Spotted Owls. They mate in May and June and live in groups in the cavities of large trees. They have often been seen in the past in tree-sits in old-growth groves.

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Alert- GD Employees In McKay Today
March 13th, 2009

Though logging hasn’t started, Green Diamond is frequently visiting the tree sits, sometimes bringing sherrifs along. Today, two activists were chased through the forest by loggers but safely got away. Ground support is on alert and tree-sitters are prepared to defend the tree-villages in the event that logging begins. If you want to be part of our action alert list please let us know. You don’t necessarily have to trespass to support the tree-sits. There are many things to do in town and one of the sits can be witnessed from Northridge Rd. in Cutten, east of Eureka.

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McKay 09 Update: No Logging Yet
March 6th, 2009

Tree-sitters are maintaining their vigilance as logging could begin any day. More trees have been added to the traverse rope networks, there are now over 20 Redwood and Sitka Spruce trees being defended. They range in age from 70 to over 100 years old. Tree-sitters are requesting camp stoves with re-usable fuel bottles, large tarps, climbing gear, reading material, and most importantly- more people to join them in the defense of this forest and our planet.

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EF! Humboldt Tree-sit Update
February 25th, 2009

* Spotted Owl nesting season protections to begin on March 1st. Green Diamond cannot cut within 1/4 mile of the Owls nest until they determine whether or not the Owls have successfully mated. If they find that the Owls have mated, the so called protection would only last for a matter of months. If not, they can go ahead and log. Green Diamonds findings will most likely be kept secret. The fox is guarding the hen house.
* Earth First!ers are occupying part of this territory to defend not only the Owls habitat but as much of this diverse eco-system as we can.
* The numerous activists occupying trees here are weathering the storms and continuing to expand the defended areas.
* Unidentified persons wearing hard hats have made multiple threats to cut the trees down.
* The defense of this forest continues…

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More Eco-Warriors Ascend Threatened Redwoods in McKay Tract
February 19th, 2009

There are now two tree-sit villages defending areas of forest in the threatened Redwood groves of Ryan Creek. Green Diamond employees and Humbldt County Sheriffs visited both sites yesterday and inspected the situation. Today, different workers appearing to be loggers visited at least one site and also inspected the tree-sits. This escalation of activity by the company may indicate they are preparing to log very soon.

There are multiple traverse lines throughout both of the tree-sit areas. These are not always clearly visible from the ground. Activists have put red DANGER tape around many of the trees that, if cut, pose a deadly threat to the tree-sitters.

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Arboreal Protesters Occupy Threatened Redwoods
December 2nd, 2008

Tree-sitters unfurled a large 30 ft. wide banner this morning on the edge of the great Redwood forest, east of Eureka, Ca. The banner reads “Hey Green Diamond, Stop Clear-cutting -Earth First!”. The sitters remain aloft and are occupying several large second growth trees that are slated for logging. We invite the public to come and see the threatened forest for themselves. (Directions below).

The Green Diamond Resource Company plans to log 60 acres of large second growth and residual old growth Redwoods here in the near future. The two groves represent the oldest remaining forest and best habitat for old-growth dependent species like the Northern Spotted Owl. The owls are nesting in the other grove where trees over 1,000 years old still stand. Green Diamond has a permit to destroy the habitat of this endangered species. The Green Diamond land is located in the “McKay Tract” and totals 7,200 acres. Nearly the entire Tract (and the entire California Redwood range) has been clear-cut once already since the 1800’s and over half of the tract has been logged within the past 20 years. The McKay Tract encompasses the Ryan Creek watershed. Green Diamond also has plans for residential development here, threatening the health and survival of the largest Coho Salmon population in the Humboldt Bay watershed. We’ll have more info and updates on this in the near future.

Directions:

From Arcata go South on 101.

Turn Left on Myrtle Ave.

Turn Right on Harrison.

Harrison turns into Manzanita.

Turn Left on Dolbeer St.

Turn Left onto Walnut Drive at 3 the way intersection.

Stay on Walnut and look for the big green watertanks.

Shortly after that turn Left onto Northridge rd.

The forest will be on your left and the big white banner is visible from the road.

Please be respectful to the neighbors, thanks.

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Mass Extinction – It’s Real – Fight It!
November 20th, 2008

Coho Salmon, Chinook Salmon, Marbled Murrelets and Northern Spotted Owls are just a few of the species that are rapidly declining in our immediate area. Both Northern Spotted Owls and Chinook Salmon are facing assaults from Green Diamond, a company we have been building a campaign against since this spring.

They have an upcoming logging operation in the “McKay Tract”, directly east of Eureka. Green Diamond is planning to clear-cut Spotted Owl nesting groves after February 15th and is working to get Humboldt County planners to set in stone plans for future development of the area. Please contact us to join multilateral grassroots efforts in building a coalition to advocate for protection of this area . EF! Humboldt is actively organizing against the upcoming logging and housing development proposals. We are seeking more participants, any amount of time or material contributions are much appreciated.

Human beings are on the verge of causing a mass extinction of life on Earth. A majority of the world’s biologists now believe that if current trends continue, half of all species of plants and animals living today will be extinct in less than 100 years. The general public, however, is almost entirely unaware of this crisis. – Species Alliance

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Latest EF! Humboldt Action Press Release
August 25th, 2008

For Immediate Release: Monday, August 25th
contact: Jeremy Jensen (707) 834-5170
Earth First! Turns Attention To Green Diamond Resource Co.

Eureka, Ca.- A new Earth First! tree-sit in a Green Diamond Resource logging plan east of Eureka ended as suddenly as it began.

With the new owners of the former Pacific Lumber Company pledging to not log Old-Growth trees, a proposal by Green Diamond Resource Company to log Ancient Redwoods grabbed the attention of Earth First! Humboldt.

Most of the trees range from 80-100 years old but in one of the two groves there are numerous scattered Old-Growth trees that were not cut during the original logging of the area in the late 1800’

s. The company is also proposing residential development in the same area under Option B of the Humboldt County General Plan Update.

“Clearcutting and Old-Growth logging are crimes against nature and humanity,” said Jeremy Jensen of EF! Humboldt, “Development is the nail in the coffin.”

Activists conducted multiple searches of the area and made several discoveries. The locations of several Old-Growth redwoods that were slated to be cut, and the presence of at least three Northern Spotted Owls in the threatened forest.

Days after stealthily establishing a tree-sit in a giant Old-Growth Redwood that was clearly marked to be cut, the sitters worried that they had been prematurely discovered when field surveyors were heard walking around on the forest floor.

Though no words were exchanged, a dangling cluster of white 5 gallon buckets made the tree-sit highly visible.

Three days later, a Green Diamond employee returned to mark the occupied tree and at least two other imperiled Old-Growth Redwoods as “Wildlife Leave Trees”, seeming to indicate that they won’t be cut.

This surprised EF! Humboldt activists because the California Department of Forestry had already approved the logging plan.

While the activists suspected it was a deceptive move to trick the tree-sitters into coming down, another piece of information came to light.

An Earth First!er reviewing the logging plan document discovered that GDRC would not be allowed to log the area until next February 19th at the earliest. This is due to the fact that lumber companies are required by California law to allow trees in adjacent clearcuts to reach three years of age before logging neighboring forests.

The Earth First!ers decided to remove the platform and gear from the tree, assess the new situation and re-calibrate the defensive strategy for the threatened groves.

“At least now they know we’re serious,” said a tree-sitter by the name of “Crossroads”.

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Breaking News: EF!H Tree-sit in the McKay Tract
August 22nd, 2008

Earth First! tree-sitters have been discovered in a gargantuan Ancient Redwood by a Green Diamond Resource Company employee just east of Cutten in the “McKay Tract”. Green Diamond is planning for residential development of large sections of the McKay Tract after they log all they can. This is a classic cut-and run strategy, make money by taking the trees and then sell the land to developers.

The Ancient Redwood was located a few weeks ago by EF! Humboldt activists during exploratory searches of the area, triggered when the plans to log two Redwood groves in the Tract were made public. The tree bore the blue paint designating it for cutting and was quickly occupied. Most of the 60 acre logging plan is to be clear-cut under Green Diamonds plan. The Green Diamond employee has now reportedly marked the tree as a “Wildlife Tree” and it’s possible that it will not be cut. Strangely, this logging plan has already been approved and we are not assuming that the company is sincerely planning to leave the tree.

This may be a tactic to get the sitters to come down. There was company activity in the area several days ago but no contact was made. The tree-sit may have been spotted at that time and this could be a direct response by the company.

The tree, named “Millennia” by activists, appears to be well over 200 ft. tall. It is countless hundreds, if not over one thousand, years old.

The sitters vow to remain in the tree until it is definitely protected. Though the sitters occupy only one giant tree, both of the groves are defacto wildlife refuges and need be protected in their entirety. The mature stands harbor many animals that have no where else to go in the logging-ravaged landscape east of Eureka, Ca.

During the initial search of the area, the activists were visited by a Northern Spotted Owl. The California Dept. of Forestry refuses to protect this area as Owl habitat even though the Spotted Owls are endangered and still in decline. We suspect that the Owls are nesting here because of the frequent visits from them, the large number of owl pellets on the ground, and the fact that this is one of only 2 or 3 isolated groves in the McKay Tract where dense stands of large trees remain standing.

The grove where this tree stands is comprised mainly of 100 year old Redwoods that grew following the original logging of the area around the turn of the century. This was one of the first places logged due to it’s close proximity to Humboldt Bay. The Ancient Redwoods that remain here were left standing due to either an undesirable shaped trunk, tree caves, or the steepness and instability of the ground around the tree.

The trees in the clear-cutting zone are not marked for logging, in those areas only the scattered trees to be left are given a distinguishing mark. This tree is within a geologically unstable area next to a creek were the company is limited to only selection logging. This type of logging requires that the trees selected for the cut be marked.

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For more info & photos, visit http://efhumboldt.org

Two climate activists lock on to Bluewaters powerplant in Australia

26th June 2009
Bluewater Coal-fired power station protest: lock-ons shut-down and arrests

The following is the media release for yesterday’s action at Bluewaters coal-fired power station near Collie.

26th June 2009
Bluewater Coal-fired power station protest: lock-ons shut-down and arrests

The following is the media release for yesterday’s action at Bluewaters coal-fired power station near Collie.

Two activists locked onto a conveyor belt at Bluewaters coal-fired power station near Collie, Western Australia.
The action is to protest Griffin Energy’s decision to burn wood from WA native forests for energy production. The two activists were arrested and later removed from the conveyor belt by police, after more than six hours of preventing coal from being fed into the power station. A third activist has also been arrested at the site.

Bluewaters Coal-fired Power Station brought to a halt by forest activists

Early this morning, two activists locked onto a conveyor belt at Bluewaters coal-fired power station near Collie. The action is to protest Griffin Energy’s decision to burn wood from WA native forests for energy production. The two activists were arrested and later removed from the conveyor belt by police, after more than six hours of preventing coal from being fed into the power station. A third activist has also been arrested at the site.

“Griffin Energy is one of WA’s worst contributors to climate change. The company has recently opened yet another coal-fired power station and is constructing another three,” said Ms Jael Johnson, spokesperson for the action. “To add insult to injury, it now proposes to burn wood from our precious native forests as fuel and count this as renewable energy.”

“The WA public has a right to renewable energy. Here we have an abundance of wind, solar and wave energy. CETO, a wave energy company, has chosen to be a part of this renewable revolution. Griffin also has the opportunity to join Western Australian businesses committed to sustainable solutions. There is no place for coal-fired power station or native forest logging in a sustainable WA,” said Ms Johnson.

Griffin Energy recently won a tender from the Forest Products Commission (FPC) to buy between 250,000 and 400,000 tonnes of native forest logs a year.

Our native forests provide the WA community with clean air and water, biodiversity, and homes for unique WA plants and wildlife. Native Forests also store huge amounts of carbon. After logging and burning, the carbon is released into the atmosphere. Globally, deforestation and logging contribute about 27% of all climate change-causing greenhouse gases.

“Research in the eastern states shows that if native forests are left undisturbed, they can play a vital role in storing carbon and contributing to a climate change solution.

“Instead of protecting them for their vital role in reducing climate change, Forestry Minister Terry Redman proposes to allow Griffin to burn native forest logs, thereby releasing massive amounts of GHG and accelerating run-away climate change. This is an atrocious distortion of a system that should be leading us towards a zero-carbon economy, not further away from it.

“The people of WA will have to pay for Griffin’s reckless corporate behaviour long after its shareholders are done lining their pockets. So we will continue to disrupt the operations of organisations like Griffin for as long as they continue to display such corporate recklessness and short-sightedness.

“At the same time we support the calls from the Australian Manufacturers Workers Union and the Australian Council of Trade Unions for a just transition to a renewable society that leaves no worker or community behind,” said Ms Johnson.

MEDIA CONTACTS ON SITE
Ms Jael Johnson: Mbl: 0438 856 981
Ms Emma McIntyre: Mbl: 0415 258 301

Mainshill Solidarity Camp latest

11th July 2009
We’ve made it to the weekend without being evicted and we’ve been rebuilding the defences which were dismantled by Scottish Coal and the police. We’ve been inventing new creative fortifications to dupe the cops and stop the destruction of Mainshill. The support from the local community has continued to be fantastic – we’d like to say a big thank you.

Now is the time to come to Mainshill – we need to be prepared for eviction and need more people to come and stay in our treehouses. Here are some pics from the last couple of days – there’s something for everyone!

Also, we’re celebrating our one month birthday on Sunday 19th July with another community picnic – all are welcome.

Victories in Virginia, US of A

In the past several months, three efforts that Earth First! (EF!) has contributed action and energy to in Virginia have gained significant victories. In each of these cases, our involvement has been relatively small compared to the efforts of other groups, and all credit is due to them for doing the un-sexy, demanding work of dragging these industries through the courts and regulatory processes where these victories were ultimately won. While we envision and work to create a world where destructive projects are stopped by sheer force of grassroots direct action, we do indeed believe in using every tool in the toolbox.

Here’s a brief synopsis of some of those tools being put to work over the past two years:

The first action taken by the current incarnation of Blue Ridge Earth First! (BREF!) was a demonstration at the home of a developer driving efforts to build a Wal-Mart in Blacksburg, Virginia. There was never a long-term direct action strategy hashed out to defeat this project. While an emerging community group developed support and momentum towards legislating and later litigating their opposition into law, our action served chiefly as a reminder that civil discourse with those who would desecrate our communities for a buck is no virtue. The demonstration was also the coming-out party for a new EF! chapter ready to give some teeth to the environmental movement in the hills of Virginia.

As BREF! shifted our focus to other projects, efforts to stop the Wal-Mart through any well-mannered, government-sanctioned and truly boring means necessary, persisted and ultimately reigned triumphant by way of appealing a local zoning ordinance all the way to the Supreme Court of Virginia. While the parade of Earth First!ers making merry in developer Jeannie Stosser’s front yard played a small part in the whole turn of events, it is nonetheless a gratifying victory for our more well-behaved allies and a pleasant reminder that, when pressure builds, it eventually breaks.
On the mountaintop removal (MTR) front, a bittersweet victory was won on May 7, when the Army Corps of Engineers, responding to a prompt by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), rescinded a permit for A&G coal’s Ison Rock mine. Over the past several years, the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, a local community group has clogged regulatory processes and spoken out loudly against this mine. In 2004, A&G’s failure to conform to the laws for exactly how a mountain is supposed to be destroyed resulted in a boulder rolling off of a MTR mine and killing a three-year old boy asleep in his bed, prompting Katuah Earth First! to chain, lock and glue the gates to that mine closed. In 2007, this same corporation was the target of sabotage at one of it’s Wise County mountain-top removal sites by a group calling itself the “Committee to Defend the Land and People.”

The Ison Rock mine would have totaled 1,300 acres in scope and would have buried three miles of streams. This is the first time that a MTR permit has ever been rescinded due to intervention by a federal regulatory body—evidence that the mounting and increasingly militant opposition to MTR of the past several years is having an effect on policy decisions. The EPA and Army Corps reasoned that the sprawling mine would violate the Clean Water Act if it dumped mining waste into streams, a practice that always accompanies MTR operations known as “valley fills.” The bitterness of this win comes with the fact that, shortly after Obama’s EPA rescinded this and five other permits, the coal industry applied pressure for the administration to give word on 42 other pending MTR permits, which resulted in the EPA declaring that they’re all fine to proceed. Why are six MTR/valley fill mines in violation of the clean water act and 42 aren’t? Politics. They’re throwing us a bone here. We’ll take that bone, and then we’ll beat them senseless with it. All MTR buries streams! Until all MTR permits are revoked, we won’t stop!

In another case of the Clean Water Act finally being enforced, Dominion Power’s plans to add a third reactor to its Lake Anna nuclear plant were thwarted by a lawsuit brought forth by the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) in February. Lawyers for BREDL, an organization supporting environmental justice struggles throughout the southeast, proved in court that operations at the plant are raising temperatures in Lake Anna to over 100 degrees in the summertime. This is the same power plant where EF!, Rising Tide and others staged a sit-in during last summer’s Southeast Convergence for Climate Action.

In the nearly two years that our small EF! collective has existed, we’ve made a deliberate effort to execute direct actions with a timing and sensibility that work concurrently with the campaigns of our friends, neighbors and allies who have the stomach to tangle up the state within the parameters of its own procedures. We do not have the time, taste, expertise or resources to spearhead these efforts ourselves but we see how they can be utilized effectively. The problem with any victory won by virtue of state approval is that the state retains the power to reverse that judgment. By bypassing the “designated channels” to express our dissent and employing actions that directly disrupt the operations we oppose, we demonstrate a readiness among the general public to reject the rules of our oppressors and defend ourselves as is our natural right. This presence reinforces the truth that favorable government actions are forced by the will of the people rather than being handed down by the benevolence of the ruling class. If we treat these wins as the end of a story and allow the hard-earned and slowly-built grassroots power that produced these victories to whither, then this is as close to justice as we will ever get. If, instead, we understand them as markers in the movement towards achieving all power to all people, then onward. It is the propagation of this sentiment as well as the specific points of impact resulting from our actions that we contribute to the environmental movement in the mountains of Appalachia.

Victory Over Mexico’s La Parota Dam

Interview: June 30, 2009
From June 2009 World Rivers Review

Since 2004, thousands of Mexican farmers have been fighting the construction of La Parota Dam in the state of Guerrero. They have staged blockades, protests and legal actions and have faced violent police repression in return. In May, the Mexican press reported that the government would postpone La Parota Dam until after 2018. World Rivers Review interviewed Rodolfo Chavez Galindo, a leader of the vibrant movement to stop the dams, about the battle over La Parota.

WRR: How is the local movement organized?
RCG: The Council of Communal Lands and Communities Opposed to La Parota Dam (CECOP) was created by farmers and indigenous peoples to defend their lives, land, water and natural resources. It is composed of more than 5,000 men and women from 39 villages. Its principal strength is that decisions are made in a communal way, in assemblies that have been held every Sunday without fail during the six years we have been fighting the project.

The movement began on July 28, 2003, when the peasants of three villages blocked engineers with the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) from entering community lands. The CFE had illegally entered the community’s land without people’s permission. The land compensation process had not started, nor the environmental licensing process. The CFE cleared thousands of trees – which is a federal crime – opened roads, and brought in heavy machinery to begin construction. People got angry when they cut trees, fences and crops.

WRR: What was the reaction of the government?
RCG: The CFE removed the machinery from the peasants’ lands. The community set up guard posts to ensure the CFE would not return. The CFE has not been able to re-enter these lands since 2003. The resistance was strengthened by lawsuits, which have suspended the project until now.

The CFE tried other tactics, paying off government officials to try and expropriate the land. They convened fraudulent assemblies. When the farmers who were the owners of the lands tried to enter these assemblies, the CFE impeded their entry with 1,500 police that repelled the farmers with tear gas. Instead, the CFE filled the meetings with people they brought from the cities who were not farmers, a move that was totally illegal.

WRR: Besides road blocks, what other tactics have you used to fight the project?
RCG: Faced with these serious violations, the movement turned to the law. They asked the courts to nullify the assemblies and after three years won a court order. In 2008, the CFE admitted that it could not begin work on the dam because it had not obtained the required permissions, and it had been defeated in the courts.

Lawsuits were also brought on environmental grounds based upon CFE’s illegal deforestation and on criminal grounds based upon forged signatures used by CFE to legitimize the fraudulent assemblies. Using the law has been one of the movement’s strongest weapons, but the most important has been the strength and determination of the movement itself.

WRR: Has CECOP presented its case at an international level?
RCG: We presented the case of La Parota to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) through a petition signed by 102 Mexican organizations. The DESA Committee issued a recommendation that the Mexican government respect the decisions won by the farmers in the courts, that they respect their legitimate property rights and that any decision be based on a process of free, prior and informed consent by the farmers.

Other UN officials visited the area and recognized the farmers’ rights to defend their land. They also confirmed violations of the rights of indigenous peoples and the right to information and consultation.

WRR: How did farmers react when the Mexican press reported that the government is postponing La Parota until 2018? Is this true?
RCG: We have received no official information about this from the CFE. And, our demand is that the project be cancelled once and for all, not postponed!

After delivering a petition to President Calderón demanding a meeting with the CFE, we met with them on May 21, 2009. Our position is that La Parota Dam in Guerrero state, the Paso de la Reyna Dam in Oaxaca, and the Arcediano and El Zapotillo dams in Jalisco must be cancelled, and that those displaced by El Cajón Dam in Nayarit must receive just compensation.

To win, we will need unity among diverse movements, beginning with dam-affected communities. We must integrate our struggle with others suffering from environmental degradation in Mexico and in other countries. And, we must strengthen the struggle for an alternative energy policy.

More information:

International Rivers’ La Parota Campaign

Solidarity for Happy Valley in Tauranga

7 May 2009
Banner Hung to Highlight Climate Crimes

Solid Energy and Genesis continue to profit from coal mining in New Zealand despite their “million dollar” greenwash marketing campaigns.

Happy Valley is a pristene native wetland near Westport, on the west coast of the South Island. Solid Energy plan to extend their already massive open-cast coal mine at Stockton into Happy Valley.

7 May 2009
Banner Hung to Highlight Climate Crimes

Solid Energy and Genesis continue to profit from coal mining in New Zealand despite their “million dollar” greenwash marketing campaigns.

Happy Valley is a pristene native wetland near Westport, on the west coast of the South Island. Solid Energy plan to extend their already massive open-cast coal mine at Stockton into Happy Valley.

Two years ago a group of people concerned about climate change and the native ecosystems set up an occupation camp to protect Happy Valley. On the 21st April this year the camp was forcibly removed by Solid Energy.

Tauranga port is a key location for the trafficking of coal in and out of New Zealand by Solid Energy and Genesis. This banner was hung on a mega billboard (bearing a poignant message!) along a major road and railway used for transporting coal, in order to highlight the continued climate crimes committed by Solid Energy and Genesis in this time of global and ecological emergency.

http://www.savehappyvalley.org.nz/

Rossport solidarity demo at Irish Embassy

2nd July 2009

2nd July 2009
People gathered in London outside the Irish Embassy at 1pm yesterday to protest at the draconian jailing of 7 Shell to Sea protestors in Co. Mayo, Ireland. The 4 women and 2 men were arrested on Sunday June 28th for their part in the ongoing campaign against the construction of the Shell Corrib gas pipeline in Erris, Mayo. They were remanded on Mon June 29th to appear at court this Friday, 3rd July at 10.30am. Those being held on remand were all charged with minor public order offences (section 6: breach of the peace, section 8: refusing instructions of a guard and section 9: willful obstruction of a highway – 3 of them were arrested for simply walking across the road). None of these offences would usually result in someone being put on remand. We are concerned that the treatment of the protestors has been unjust for the following reasons;

– None of the protestors had previous convictions, yet they were refused normal bail conditions
– Judge Devins denied and/or deferred decisions on their kegal aid, although it was evident that some of the protestors are not able to afford their legal representation.
– Judge Devins has shown her disdain and bias against Shell to Sea protestors. Sending people to jail whose first offence is to be arrested for not obeying the directions of a guard is ridiculous and unprecedented.

We delivered a letter to the Irish Ambassador calling for him to ensure that the protestors are treated fairly, released from remand, and are allowed access to the legal aid to which they are entitled. It also expresses general concerns regarding the recent treatment of protestors by the Gardai and by the security that Shell have employed have employed to protect their gas project – Integrated Risk Management Services. I-RMS have been continually accused of using excessive force against the protestors. The letter also calls for a fair and thorough investigation into the recent allegations and for assurances that campaigners who are carrying out their democratic right to protest are treated fairly and their human rights upheld.

* The protest also hoped to raise awareness of events in Co. Mayo by holding banners and giving out leaflets asking people to support the seven on remand, and to make their protest against the actions of Shell and the Irish Government.

For further infomationa and updates: www.indymedia.ie and www.corribos.com
Email: info@corribos.com

Shell to Sea spokespersons: Ms Maura Harrington (T.087 9591474) an Mr Terrence Conway (T.086 0866264). Rossport Solidarity Camp media co-ordinator: Mr Niall Harnett (T. 086 8444966)

Palm Oil Gala Dinner & Dance pictures

The Climate Rush held a Gala Dinner and Dance outside the Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, London last night (1 July 2009) as a protest against the deforestation of tropical forests to grow biofuel crops.

A jazz band played, and suffragettes and orang-utans danced in the street outside the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair as profiteers from global despoliation were having their own party inside.

Tropical forests are being felled, releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide, to grow biofuel crops such as palm oil. Global corporations are making huge profits, indigenous peoples are illegally forced off their land and wildlife in these areas is largely eliminated.

As the Climate Rush flyer states, “90% of orangutans have disappeared since the Suffragettes first appeared 100 years ago.

The event started with a picnic in the park, the garden of Grosvenor Square opposite the hotel. Then the jazz band began to play and people moved out onto half of the street, rejecting the pen police had created “for your safety”. Many demonstrators waved and posed and shouted greetings to Neil, the police photographer who was photographing and filming the event.

After dancing on the street for around half an hour there was a “rush” across the street to the hotel doorway, which made little impression on the row of police across its front. Many of the police seemed rather amused throughout the event, although there were one or two who slightly lost their temper in the rush itself, and at one point two people were rather roughly thrown to the ground by a small police charge. Neither seemed badly injured.

Following this, a number of the demonstrators sat down on the road for a while. Half of the police then withdrew and watched from around 100 yards down the road. Eventually people got up and briefly danced a conga, then decided to go back into the park to continue their picnic, and I went home for dinner.

Palo Gordo does not want trash from San Marcos, Guatemala

Neighbours of Pajopom Village from Esquipulas Palo Gordo don´t want trash from San Marcos anymore. From June 15th 2009 they have prevent the discharge of garbage in an illegal garbage dump in their community by having a pacific protest in front of the community saloon. Adults, young people and even children had been rotating since early in the morning until the sunset, in order to fight for their lives and a safe environment.

In the afternoon on Friday, June 5, a group of neighbours representing Pojopom Village from Esquipulas Palo Gordo filed a complaint against the municipal governments of San Marcos and Esquipulas Palo Gordo, because of the illegal dump in their community, in the assistance office of the Public Ministry in the municipal head, San Marcos.
The neighbours decided to use said means alter having exhausted three years of dialoguing with the mayor of San Marcos, Mr. Carlos Enrique Barrios Sacher and the mayor of Esquipulas Palo Gordo, Mr. Francisco Rogelio Sandoval. The talks, since December 2008, were mediated by the San Marcos’ Human Rights Ombudsman office. Thanks to the mediation process an agreement had been reached, but which was not acted upon by the mayors, even though they were given an extension.

The community spokesman declared, “We are not in agreement that the trash of another municipality continues contaminating our land. We will defend the earth that belongs to everyone. We do not want to be accomplices in the irresponsibility of our ignorant, lying and negligent officials, who are paid with our tax money.”
Gracias al pronto actuar de los funcionarios del Ministerio Publico se elevo la denuncia a la Fiscalía de Delitos contra el Ambiente en la ciudad de Guatemala.

The officials of the Public Ministry brought the complaint to the District Attorney of Crimes against the Environment in Guatemala City. An ocular inspection was requested to the Ministry of Environment and Natural resources, on Monday June 15th.
On Tuesday June 23 members of the National Civil Police, specifically the Division for Environment Protection got to the place to investigate about damaged houses, contaminated rivers and bad odours in the place, caused by the illegal dump.

Meanwhile, the neighbors from Palo Gordo had been preventing more trash discharges in the mentioned area.