London – Page 21 – Earth First!

Plane Stupid turf Virgin Atlantic out of their seats at the PR awards

21st October 2009
Last night seven Plane Stupid activists and one Heathrow resident popped over to the PR Week Awards and hijacked a table reserved for Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Atlantic have been strong advocates for the third runway at Heathrow and expansion of Britain’s airports, which we thought they shouldn’t get away with.

Dressed in glamorous evening wear, the activists entered the glitzy awards, which celebrates the highlights of the year’s public relations work. They occupied Virgin Atlantic’s table and refused to leave.

Christine Taylor, who lives next door to Heathrow and whose mother is due to lose her home if Heathrow’s third runway goes ahead said:

“It’s crazy to build more runways around London – we already have six. My mother wants to live out her days in her own home, but the bully boys of aviation think their profits are more important. Tonight at the PR awards we gave them a taste of what it’s like to be turfed out of your rightful place.”

Hot off the press and packed with Direct Action – the new Earth First! Action Update is out!

Rebellion, a spark in search of a powder keg – the new Action Update is out, the quarterly round-up of ecological direct action from the UK and beyond.

What’s in this issue?

Rebellion, a spark in search of a powder keg – the new Action Update is out, the quarterly round-up of ecological direct action from the UK and beyond.

What’s in this issue?
Old King Coal meets his Match, but the Nuclear Empire Strikes Back! Read tales of flotillas, bishop-bashing, blockades and occupations as the Rebel Alliance takes on the Empire. The rebels have also been hanging around in nets and on platforms, occupying and locking-on at coal terminals, and passionately attacking power station fences around the world, trying to shut ’em down. Mainshill protest camp continues to pro-actively resist open-cast mining – they climb, occupy, and by night, anonymous pixies sabotage. Who knows when they sleep – with a strong alliance with local villagers, they welcome YOU to come and play anytime, with a gathering at the end of October.

Want more? Radio-towers toppled, dams and trucks seized, naked oil streaks and green smears in defence of the wild, a shit dumped with shit…resistance to peat mining, genetic engineering, logging and Shell in Ireland, and for Vestas wind turbine factory and workers on the Isle of Wight.

Still not enough? Stopping Tesco, climate campaigning successes, runway invasions, more ecotage, and the EF! Winter Moot, plus contacts and upcoming dates.

To download your copy go to this website:

http://www.earthfirst.org.uk/efau/actionupdate_oct09.pdf

If you want paper copies to distribute, contact us at: actionupdate@earthfirst.org.uk or pick up a bunch from our stall at the Anarchist Bookfair in London. To print your own, download from http://www.earthfirst.org.uk/efau/actionupdate_oct09print.pdf

Wanted: We are very skint! Please send us some dosh to help us pay for the printing.
Cheques can be made out to Earth First! Action Update, and posted to The Basement, 78a Penny St, Lancaster LA1 1XN

Love and Rage
Your Action Update collective

Rampart Eviction – The Priest and the Chainsaw

The rampART Social Centre was evicted at 5:30am this morning by 45 police, bailiffs and a priest.

After over 5 years and many eviction scares it has finally happened… 3 people and a dog were inside when police attempted to chanisaw the door. They also had climbers going up to the roof conjuring up memories of the raid during the G20 in April. Police are blocking the entrance to all three roads leading to the social centre with vans and their bodies. They are handing out a piece of paper with a telephone number to call to get belongings out of the building. If you are able to help move or store stuff please contact the rampART collective – rampart@mutualaid.org.

517 years of resistance: Global mobilisation for Mother Earth, Monday 12 October

517 YEARS OF RESISTANCE

12th October is an international day of protest in solidarity with indigenous people and against global warming – a “Global mobilisation for Mother Earth”

517 YEARS OF RESISTANCE

12th October is an international day of protest in solidarity with indigenous people and against global warming – a “Global mobilisation for Mother Earth”

Come and join us to support the “Minga” of indigenous resistance called by the Coordinadora Andina de Organizaciones Indigenas (CAOI). We support the struggle of Latin American native peoples and protest against the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union and agro-fuels.

MEETING POINTS (Mon 12-10-09)

4:45 Colombian Embassy 3 Hans Crescent SW1 (Knightsbridge tube)
5:30 Peruvian Embassy 52 Sloane Street SW1
5:50 Spanish Embassy Chesham Place SW1
6:30 UK Foreign Office Parliament Street SW1 (Westminster tube)
7pm Department for Energy and Climate Change 3 Whitehall Place SW1 – where we will join the Agro-fuels don’t ROC(k)! demonstration against renewable energy subsidies for Agro-fuels called by the Campaign against Climate Change, Biofuelwatch and Food Not Fuel.

NO TO EU FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS!

The European Union (EU) plans to open up the Andean region’s services, natural resources and biodiversity to even greater despoliation by pushing through Free Trade Agreements that favour multinational corporations. The deals made behind closed doors by the governments of Colombia and Peru are a threat to Andean integration. The EU is trying to isolate the progressive governments of Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Alongside them are the indigenous peoples and their organisations who were never consulted over the negotiation process. Indigenous peoples do not recognise the EU agreements because they will destroy ancestral territorial rights and collective knowledge. The UK government is particularly responsible for this policy – the former EU Trade Commissioner was Peter Mandelson who has been replaced by another Labour politician, Baroness Cathy Ashton.

FOOD NOT FUEL!

The UK government is diverting renewable energy subsidies to subsidise power stations that use agro-fuels. While the UK’s last but one factory producing wind turbines has closed and solar energy firms are struggling, vast “renewable energy” funding is going to agro-fuels which actually make global warming worse and threat food security around the world. In Colombia the cultivation of African Palm for agro-fuels is linked with displacement and violence, while destroying biodiversity and the fertility of the soil.

INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE – VIVA LA MINGA!

The indigenous people have had enough; they will not put up with false promises, lies and trickery any more. They are out on the streets fighting: to “liberate Mother Earth” from the destructive alliance between multinational corporations and local elites, and for a dignified future for their children and their communities. They are a moral force rising from below to reclaim what is justly theirs, life itself.

Bolivia Solidarity Campaign · Colombia Solidarity Campaign · Hands Off Venezuela · Latin American Workers Association · Movement of Ecuadorians in the UK · Polo Democrático (UK) · Rock around the Blockade ·
P&p Coordinadora Latino-Americana c/o PO Box 8446, London N17 6NZ

please click in the link below to download poster:
https://www.yousendit.com/download/ZW9Ea3NaY3lEbUkwTVE9PQ

Hit the Production of Climate Chaos – get involved – 13th December call for actions

The climate catastrophe has not happened by random chance and the melting glacier is not its place. Our economic system, the way it produces goods, and the way they are transported and finally consumed is the root of climate change.

We do not believe that this COP will solve the climate crisis. The delegates, NGOs and company representatives are stuck in an ideology of never ending economic growth and universal market solutions to all human-made problems, such as ecological destruction. Social justice issues are consequently ignored.

On December 13th we call for action on this economic system. We encourage affinity groups to take action on targets in Copenhagen, and abroad. In the Morning of December 13th we will also shut down the harbour of Copenhagen through a mass action blockade. The harbour is a key symbol of the global free-market economy. Here becomes visible what is usually hidden: ecological deterioration, economic and social exploitation, and utter injustice.

Since the dawn of colonialism the global shipping industry has been characterized by violence. What was once gold pillaged from the Incas is these days profit based on cheap resources and cheap labour – usually transported by ships. Today, container shipping is one of the foundations of capitalism. There are hardly any regulations: fuel is not taxed, emissions are not subject to control and borders are seemingly non-existent for container ships. At the same time, the never ending need for more cheap goods is almost limitless. The ‘free’ global flow of goods continues to grow – with benefits for only the few.

But whereas these flows of goods can enter the EU/ rich world freely, humans cannot. As soon as people do not have the right passport or enough money when entering rich countries, they are put in prisons, deported and deprived of the most basic human rights. And the militarisation of the seas is not just happening around the EU borders. It is also used to protect international shipping, like in Somalia where international fishing fleets have robbed Somali fishermen of the fundamental elements of their existence.

Finally, international shipping is more than just a method of transport for the global economy. It is in itself a primary cause of climate change. Approximately 5% of Global Greenhouse Emissions are produced by the shipping industry. Container ship fuel is basically toxic waste left over from petrol production, containing high amounts of sulphur and mercury. And like international flights, nobody is responsible for shipping industry emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.

Climate justice and real social change will not come from above. Effective change has to come from everyone – affected, responsible, and observer. True change has to be organized and realized by people all over the world – all people on the streets and in the fields. We say no to the power of governments, companies and so-called non-government organisations which are only interested in maintaining their power, influence and flows of capital.

We will try to stop this madness for a day. Fighting for climate justice means changing our economic system and this needs to happen here in the rich global north, which reaps the most benefits from the disaster. For the free flow of people and ideas, instead of flows of goods to benefit the few.

Contact htp@riseup.net to get involved with planning the action, or come to one of our next meetings: Berlin October 3-4 & Copenhagen October 18.

Disrupting E.ON at London City University undergraduate fair + Kingsnorth shelved, or not? (+ Tilbury)

7th October 2009

7th October 2009
E.ON, were holding a talk at the student recruitment fair yesterday. The company is responsible for the planned new coal power stations at Kingsnorth, which combined would produce the same carbon emissions as Ghana. With the report by the Global and Humanitarian forum stating that three hundred thousand people are already dying already each year due to climate change, it isn’t a viable option.

The group of activists stormed the talks yesterday by E.ON, getting past the security guards who were holding a pretty tight presence outside the doors, quite possibly due to the continued protests against E.ON at student fairs last year http://leaveitintheground.org.uk/?p=185 .

While three burly guys jumped on one activist, the others handed out flyers to the bemused students woken up from the corporate PowerPoint slumber. An activist took to the podium to tell the audience what E.ON are really about. Claiming themselves as a Green Energy Company while 95% of their investment is into non renewable energies is a clear sign of greenwashing and the corporate bullshit that students have to listen to.

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Kingsnorth power station plans axed – Local Campaigners Respond

8.10.2009
The timing couldn’t be better, Kingsnorth Climate Action Medway (KCAM) and WDM hosted a debate tonight to discuss the future of coal in Medway. The meeting culminated in the announcement that E.on have essentially pulled out of building a new coal fired power station at Kingsnorth.

Local campaigner Trish Marchant said “Its fantastic news for us, but it’s a small victory. We in Medway will be sending our support to the next local group who take on the fight” In a heavy blow to the government’s plans to promote energy from coal, the German company have said they will not pursue the new plant in the UK until at least 2012.

Jane Harris, a local KCAM campaigner said “This is a step in the right direction, it shows that people really do have the power to challenge the government and corporations. However, according to UN figures climate change is currently responsible for 300,000 deaths per year. We need to seriously rethink any plans to use new coal, we need to be focusing on renewable green energy”.

Should the project have gone ahead, the coal units would have been be the first to be built for more than 20 years.

Dave Davidson, a resident of the peninsula said “I’m cautious about Eons real agenda. Are they trying to apply pressure to Ed Milliband to make a decision or are we really seeing the change we have been working for. I hope for the future of our planet that it’s the latter.”

Jill Osborne of Tipping Point said “Its been amazing working alongside such committed locals. The people of Medway certainly know how to mount a resistance. This victory will be a huge inspiration to climate change campaigners across the world.”

http://kcam.co.cc

—

– Climate Camp responds

Wednesday, 7 October 2009: Climate activists celebrated victory against carbon intensive coal power last night, as energy company E.ON announced they were indefinitely delaying building a new power station in Kent. The Camp for Climate Action targeted the Kingsnorth site in August 2008 1 as coal is one of the most environmentally destructive ways of generating electricity.2

E.ON’s anouncement comes as hundreds of activists prepare for the Great Climate Swoop on 17th October, when they plan to take control of Ratcliffe-on-Soar3, another coal-fired power plant operated by E.ON 4. Activists will be co-ordinating the protests through text messages and twitter, which were also used to plan the G20 protests.

Activist Dennis Stevens said: “This is an amazing victory which shows how ordinary people can take back the power from corporations and government which do not value people and the environment. We need a social movement to develop community control of our energy supply and our society; not our current system which ignores the needs of people and the climate.”

Resistance by Climate Camp activists to the Kingsnorth plan has been widespread, including the Tipping Point shop in nearby Gillingham which works within the local community to expose E.ON’s greenwash, and actions targeting E.ON’s PR firm Edelman and construction firms bidding for the Kingsnorth contract. Climate Camp activists have also dumped coal at E.ON student recruitment events, given out leaflets at FA Cup football matches sponsored by E.ON, and even disrupted a climate change conference sponsored by the energy giant itself.5

Emma Jackson added: “E.ON are finally recognising that the days of building new coal-fired power stations are over. Now we have to start shutting down existing power stations, and that’s why we’re going to Ratcliffe-on-Soar next week. And if E.ON try and bring back their plans for Kingsnorth then we’ll be back there too”.

More information on the Great Climate Swoop at Ratcliffe on Soar is available at thegreatclimateswoop.org

Ends.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1 Kingsnorth would have been the first coal-fired power station in the UK for more than 30 years.

2 If built, Kingsnorth will emit between 6 and 8 million tons of CO2 every year. If all the coal plants proposed for Britain are built, an extra 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year would be pumped into the atmosphere, almost a tenth of the UK’s current total emissions.

3 Ratcliffe-on-Soar is the UK’s third most polluting power station and emits more CO2 each year than Costa Rica.

4 climatecamp.org.uk/actions/climate-swoop-2009

5 leaveitintheground.org.uk/?p=185

Tel: 07772861099, 07040900905 or 07932096677
Email: press@climatecamp.org.uk

http://tippingpoint.co.cc

—

Or is it really a success?

Headlines would suggest a major ground breaking victory for the enviromental movement and the campaign against new coal with the announcement by Eon however the Tipping Point blog suggests the news might not be so significant (see http://climateshop.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/news-sinking-in/). Eon has since confirmed that it remains in the governments competition to build a demonstration carbon capture and storage facility attached to a coal-fired power plant by 2014 and since the winner is unlikely to be announced untill 2011 how can Eons annoucement be taken as a victory?

All Eon are saying is that they a likely to delay commiting cash to build the new plant for the next two or three year so that certainly does not translate as shelving the project, not when they are still seeking the billion pound gift from Ed Miliband to trial the CCS.

—

What does this mean for coal in the UK?

It is the suspension of the key project that has so far defined the battle over new coal in the UK. It is therefore highly significant, but not a fatal blow. The investment freeze could be un-frozen with the right level of subsidy, and has no direct impact on the other plants being considered for CCS demonstration. There is now a new threat emerging at Hunterston in Scotland, from a consortium including RWE and Dong energy (a Danish utility) for a plant identical to Kingsnorth, and they are claiming they will build with or without Government assistance.

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Health warning – report from mainstream newspaper, hence “ecofriendly”!!!

POWER FIRM HALTS PLANS FOR NEW GREEN STATION 12th November 2009.

PLANS to build a new, ecofriendly power station in South Essex have been put on hold.

The existing power coalfired power station at Tilbury is due to be decommissioned in 2014,possibly even in 2013.It had been expected that its operators, npower, would replace it with a new power station, but on Monday they announced they wouldn’t now be making an application to build a new supercritical coal-fired power station at the site.

There has been a power station at Tilbury since 1956, with oil-fired Tilbury ‘A’ coming online to the national grid a year later.Coal-fired Tilbury ‘B’ followed in 1967 and has operated, with significant efficiency upgrades since then. The original station was mothballed in 1981 and eventually demolished in 1999, allowing the creation of the station’s innovative environmental centre.

However, a European directive which came into force on 1 January, 2008 gave the power station just 20,000 hours of operating life before it has to be replaced by a more environmentally-friendly, carbon efficient system (see further below for data *1* ). Nigel Staves, Tilbury Power Station manager, estimates that timescale will run out as early as 2013. He says: “Given the current market, we are unable to make an economic case for this new coal power station. “We are also considering the outcome of the Government’s policy review on the conditions for new coal stations. For this reason, our plans for Tilbury are now on hold. “However,we firmly believe new, more efficient, coal-fired generation should ultimately have a role to play in a low -carbon economy alongside gas, nuclear power and increasingly renewable energy sources. “We continue to see the Tilbury site as an important one, both to RWE npower and in terms of the future of power generation in the UK. “Given the existing energy infrastructure and proximity to areas of high demand for electricity, it is an obvious choice for power generation. “We are now reviewing potential options.”

RWE npower said this meant it would not be progressing with its bid for Government funds to develop a carbon dioxide capture demonstration plant at a new Tilbury station, but it remained interested in other opportunities to develop the technology.

Stop Vedanta mining in India : meeting on how you can help

Saturday 17th Oct 2-4pm London School of Economics

Saturday 17th Oct 2-4pm London School of Economics
Corporate murder, environmental crimes:
Vedanta plc, DfID and the Indian State
PUBLIC MEETING AND FILM SCREENING

Samarendra Das activist, film-maker and researcher will discuss these and related issues at a screening of extracts from his remarkable film Wira Pdika (Earthworm and Company Man) in which people from the Adivasi Dongria Kondh and Majhi Kondh communities, activists, singers and dancers, forest dwellers and fisher people speak about their lives and their struggles against Vedanta. If Vedanta are not stopped, the mine will destroy the Niyamgiri hills – known as the most beautiful mountains in India – wiping out the ancient civilization of the Dongria Kondh adivasi community who regard the Niyam Dongar mountain and forests of the area as their Gods. It will also lead to unprecedented environmental disasters, water pollution and mass unemployment.

sasg@southasiasolidarity.org
07846873341

The meeting will be in Rm 302 Clement House, London School of Economics, The Aldwych, London WC2
(Map of LSE at http://www2.lse.ac.uk/mapsAndDirections/findingYourWayAroundLSE.aspx)

http://www.southasiasolidarity.org

For more info on what’s at stake check out
www.actionaid.org.uk/index.asp?page_id=101732

For latest news check out
http://londonminingnetwork.org

Pirate For the Sea London Screening

8.30pm 28th September 2009, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS. This evening will be the first screening in the UK of ‘A Pirate for the Sea’ a documentary on the life of Paul Watson, founder and Captain of Sea Shepherd. The Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for Sea Shepherd UK, will be introducing the film and holding an audience Q&A afterwards.

Trailer can be seen here: http://www.artistsconfederacy.com/pirateforthesea/

Tickets are available from the Barbican Box office here: http://www.barbican.org.uk/film/event-detail.asp?ID=9431

‘Pirate for the Sea” is a biographical film of Captain Paul Watson, the youngest founding member of Greenpeace Canada. He organized early campaigns protesting the killing of seals, whales, and dolphins. Greenpeace ejected him for being too much of an activist. Starting his own organization, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, he went on to sink illegal whaling ships, stopped Canadian seal hunts for ten years, permanently halted sealing in British Isles, killing of dolphins on Iki Island, Japan, etc. This documentary witnesses his latest campaigns and explores the personal and environmental history of this controversial marine conservationist.

More info on Sea Shepherd: http://www.seashepherd.org/

Camp for Climate Action – protest round-up

Wednesday 2nd September 2009

Activists Invade Construction Company HQ

Wednesday 2nd September 2009

Activists Invade Construction Company HQ

Activists from Don’t Build Kingsnorth have today invaded the Dartford offices of construction giant Laing O’Rourke. The protest is against the company’s bid to build Britain’s first coal fired power plant in 30 Years at Kingsnorth in Kent.

A large group of activists entered the offices, handed out leaflets and talked to staff. Meanwhile, another team scaled the building and hung a banner reading “Don’t Build Kingsnorth”.

Laing O’Rourke is among six companies bidding to build the controversial power station which would, if built, emit more carbon dioxide than the entire country of Ghana[1].

One of the activists, Pietro Testa (35) said, “In their publicity Laing O’Rourke claim that their people want to respond to unprecedented environmental challenges. We’re here today to hold Laing O’Rourke to account and to tell them clearly that building Kingsnorth would directly contribute to an unprecedented environmental catastrophe.”

Another activist, Hannah Chisolm (21) added, “Coal is the dirtiest form of fossil fuel. Climate change is already killing 300,000 people a year[2]. Building another coal power station is clearly insanity. We were inspired by Thames Valley Climate Action’s action at the offices of another Kingsnorth bidder, BAM Nuttall earlier in the year. Any firm bidding to build Kingsnorth needs to know the extent of the opposition they will face.”

“A year ago I went to the Climate Camp[3], which was held outside Kingsnorth. Today’s protest shows that, even though the location of the Climate Camp has changed, Kingsnorth remains a target for Climate Change campaigners.”

Contact: 07950 457 344 for interviews and photos

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center: http://cdiac.ornl.gov/
2. Global Humanitarian Forum: http://www.ghf-geneva.org/
3. Climate Camp: http://climatecamp.org.uk/

Leaflet handed out to staff

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2.9.09
This morning climate activists entered the Dept of Energy and Climate Change [pic], protested outside [pic] and blocked the door with a canoe [twitpics 1|2|3|4]

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Climate Activists Hit Big Business and Banks

Tuesday 1st September 2009

Today over 300 activists from the Climate Camp took action against the root causes of climate change.

20 activists blockaded the headquarters of RBS in the City of London from 8.15am [1]. Seven activists glued themselves to each other in the trading floor inside the offices, and were removed by the police at 1.30pm. One has been arrested. 70 protesters arrived at 10am and rushed a second entrance, forcing RBS to close the building. As of 4pm, the activists were showing no signs of leaving. [RBS-specific press release]
[Videos 1 | 2 | 3]

7 naked protesters demonstrated at the offices of Edelman PR, exposing the naked truth behind E.ON’s greenwash campaign around new coal-fired power stations in the UK. [2] The superglued protesters were removed at 1pm. [Edelman-specific press release] [Edelman protest video]

At 11am activists from Alberta, Canada, accompanied by 300 participants from the climate camp, marched from Trafalgar square to the National Portrait Gallery, the Canadian embassy, and the head offices of BP and Shell. [3] Activists climbed onto the balcony of the Shell building in Waterloo and dislodged the ‘S’ from the main sign to reveal the word ‘Hell’. [BP protest video] [Shell protest video]

Maddie Alinska said: “This shows that people realise that it is becoming necessary to take action because bankers, corporations and politicians are unwilling and unable to meet the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. We are seeing first hand how everybody has the right and responsibility to take action on climate change.”

Many of the people who took part in the actions were first time protesters who took part in Direct Action training at the Camp for Climate Action. [4]

Tracy Singh commented: “It’s the first time I’ve taken to the streets like this. Climate Camp has given me the skills and the confidence to get involved. I’ve gotten so tired of waiting for governments and businesses to do something – it’s about time we took matters into our own hands.”

Notes for Editors

1. RBS is 70% owned by the UK government, but is nonetheless continuing to invest in carbon-intensive industries, including millions in E.ON since being nationalised.
2. Edelman PR have been handling E.ON’s account since 2008. E.ON own both Kingsnorth power station in Kent, and the Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant in Nottinghamshire, the 3rd biggest coal station in the UK.
3. Shell are heavily committed to the mining of Tar Sands in Canada, which is causing the death and disruption of Alberta’s indigenous communities. BP have taken a significant stake in the operations since 2007. The National Portrait Gallery is sponsored by BP.
4. The Camp for Climate Action has targeted Drax (2006), Heathrow (2007), Kingsnorth (2008) and was held in London this year August 28th – September 2nd.

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Congratulating eOn for winning the Great Climate Swoop vote – videos 1 | 2

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September 1, 2009
An affinity group of anarchists who had been participating in Climate Camp and had been concerned about the tone and low impact of some of the mainstream camp actions decided to visit the Daily Mail head office in the hope of having a few words. The immediate trigger for this was the poor write up the Camp had received in that week’s paper which stereotyped those at camp as ‘young, posh idiots’, although all the activists involved had many other motivations for this action. Most of all, as working-class people with a sense of basic human solidarity, all those present detested the Mail for its sexist and racist overtones and long record of consistently scapegoating and demonising marginalised social groups such as immigrants, queers, transpeople, the unemployed, youth stigmatised as “chavs”, as well as specific instances like the incredibly inaccurate hack job of an article about anarchists in the run-up to the G20.

The group located the Mail’s head office on Derry Street in leafy Kensington, masked up and attempted to enter the building, flying a red and black flag and shouting anti-capitalist and anti-Daily Mail chants. The group approached a door clearly marked ‘Visitors’, but were made to feel rather unwelcome by the reaction of several security guards – both uniformed and plain clothed – who immediately locked the revolving door and attacked and threatened the ‘visitors’. Public reaction was warm, with some passers-by photographing and filming the action and shouting their opposition both to the Mail and the severity of the reaction.

There was a disproportionate over-reaction by armed police, culminating in a very visible get-together on the scenic banks of the lake in Hyde Park – several police vehicles, several anarchists, and several swans were in attendance. Although the group didn’t get to have the little chat they’d intended with the Mail journalists, those involved spoke of feeling invigorated and empowered by the action and its reception – intimidating heavily armed men just by singing and asking questions, for instance, was a new experience for many of them. And we bet the hacks shit themselves a little bit too.

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Autonomous Anarchists for Earth Liberation
1.9.2009
Last night Autonomous Anarchists took action against some of London’s biggest climate criminals.

last nights targets were..

*E.ON – Chains around their door handles and expanding foam in their locks.
*World Coal Institute – Is now bearing a new and more appropriate slogan ‘Stop Climate Change Now’.
*D1 Oils PLC – Expanding foam in the locks and also now reads ‘Stop Climate Change Now’.

A handful of Starbucks also got the expanding foam treatment, just for good measure. (no capitalist coffee for the bankers while they’re waiting for their locks to be replaced!)

The actions were in solidarity with the Climate Camp activists taking direct action on climate criminals around London today, we hope you enjoy your ‘rambling raffle of resistance’!

…..

1st September 2009

direct action against climate criminals

Last night between midnight and 2am a group of autonomous anarchists targetted 4 buildings across central London for their continued involvement with crimes against a planet meant to be shared by all of us, not auctioned off for profit.

The world coal institute had its door handles chained together and expanding foam piped into its locks, the activists then went on to target E.ON (the company behind climate camp target Kingsnorth power station) with more expanding foam and graffiti reading “stop climate change now A”, an identical attack was then aimed at D1 Oils PLC and one more at a Starbucks coffee outlet (recently slated in the media for keeping their taps running 24 hours a day)

Whilst their has been speculation about this being misinformation I assure you these attacks DID happen, whilst the graffiti may well have been scrubbed off this morning the activists did their best to make sure that no one would be able to enter the buildings and cause even more atrocities today.

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Messages left at Blue NG Bath HQ
Friday 4th September 2009
It seems that people have taken it upon themselves to remind Biofuels company Blue NG that Biofuels are causing major ecological and social catastrophe throughout the globe.

On my way to work this morning, I noticed that the offices of Biofuels company Blue NG had been redecorated with chalk messages highlighting the social and environmental effects of Biofuel. The messages also showed support for the decision of Southall councillors and residents to reject the building of a Blue NG biofuels refinery on their doorstep.

Messages included –
* Planet – 10, Blue NG – 0 (a reference to the number of councillors who voted against the plant)
* Greenwash won’t biofool us

and loads more

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Climate Camp Strike Twice

Monday 31st August 2009

Climate Campers are heading out into London after several days of learning about climate change and taking action at the Blackheath Camp. Activists are launching a ‘clean up operation’ of the Treasury at 11am today, and a flash mob at London City Airport at 12 noon.

Armed with boiler suits and cleaning equipment, the protesters will expose the Treasury’s continued dirty practice of using taxpayers’ money to fund fossil fuel extraction(1) in spite of the Government’s claim to be a global leader in the fight against climate change. The protesters will announce their presence on this ‘anti-bank holiday’ by dropping a banner proclaiming ‘Climate Change Doesn’t Take Holidays’.
[Cleaning the Treasury video]

Protester Nimsha Doshi says “We’ve had enough of false solutions and false promises. We’re here to expose the Government’s role as a climate criminal, and the political system’s failure to fight against climate change”.

At London City Airport, the campers are protesting against the recently approved 50% expansion of the airport. Local residents were outraged this July as Newham Council, supported by Mayor Boris Johnson, agreed to allow an extra 50,000 plane journeys from the airport, bringing City’s annual flight total to 120,000.(2)
[Flashmob report]

Climate Camper Anna Markova said: ‘We will be there to protest against corporations driving the climate change agenda. They have pushed through the expansion of London City Airport against the wishes of the local community. This December the same big businesses will be flying from here to promote false solutions, like carbon trading, at the UN Climate Conference at Copenhagen. We can’t afford to let businesses drive us into climate crisis.’

‘London City Airport and Newham Council have cooperated to misinform and deceive the residents of South East London. The expansion means improving transport for the rich at the cost of further worsening air quality and noise pollution in the area, and eroding the health and wellbeing of local communities.’

Climate Camper Tara Williams said, ‘After a few days of workshops and training at the Camp, I’m getting ready to take direct action. Many of us who have never taken part in direct action before are now poring over maps and planning the next protests. With European Climate Exchange and Barclays targeted earlier in the week, it’s now 4 down, 18 to go…’ (3)

Ends

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Notes to Editors

1. The Government now has a majority stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland, who fund carbon-intensive industries such as tar sands extraction in Canada.
2. The aviation industry is the fastest growing CO2 emissions source in the UK. Nearly 30 airport expansion projects are planned in the UK at the moment. The Government plans to offset these emissions through the EU Carbon Trading scheme, which will put the burden on developing countries instead of actually lowering emissions.
3. Climate Camp released a target list of 22 ‘climate criminals’ earlier in the week, containing the head offices of some of the country’s most polluting corporations, and departments responsible for failing climate policies.

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Climate protesters scale Carbon Exchange – 27th August 2009

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Climate protesters scale Carbon Exchange

27th August 2009
Climate change protesters have scaled a building in the City to highlight their opposition to carbon trading.

Activists targeted the Carbon Exchange in Bishopsgate at about 0900 BST and unfurled a banner claiming carbon trading to be a “false solution”.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said about 20 activists were at the site and that officers were “in attendance”.

Hundreds of protesters have gathered in London as part of Climate Camp – a week of “education on green issues”.

The site for the camp – Dartmouth Field in Blackheath, south-east London – was kept secret until the last moment and details were sent to activists by text.

Activists had repeatedly refused to reveal the final location, saying they did not trust the police.

It followed accusations that the Metropolitan Police were heavy-handed in policing the G20 protests.

The site was chosen because it is within view of the City and near the River Thames, organisers said.

A Climate Change spokeswoman said: “Some people are making huge profits from carbon trading, and politicians are telling us it’s cutting carbon emissions but it’s not.

“Carbon trading is a false solution that is doing nothing to tackle climate change. So businesses, bankers and governments are just gambling with our planet.”

The four key themes of the annual camp are education, direct action, sustainable living, and building a movement to tackle climate change.

Ch Supt Helen Ball, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “As yet we don’t know what camp participants intend to do in the days ahead.

“I’d like to repeat our request that they talk to us about any protests they are planning so we can ensure a proportionate policing response and minimise any further impact on Londoners.”

The campers have wind turbines on site and say they are composting their food and toilet waste.

Flood plains

Campaigners say that about 3,000 activists are expected to visit the camp over the coming week.

They will be invited to workshops on a range of subjects, from climate change, biofuels and the fight against Heathrow airport, to yoga, wooden pencil-making and pedal-powered sound systems.

Organisers said this year’s venue symbolised the financial and corporate centres of power, and was within the flood plains of the River Thames, which they warned was at risk of bursting its banks as climate change escalated.

The heath was the setting for the Peasant’s Revoltuion, which saw thousands of protesters demonstrate against taxes more than 700 years ago.

The site hosted Jack Cade’s Kentish rebellion against King Henry VI in 1450, which was followed by the Battle of Deptford Bridge in 1497 during which Cornish rebels camped at the site.