Scotland (Highlands & Islands) – Page 7

Earth First! Summer Gathering set-up plans announced

We can now announce that set-up will begin from around 2pm on Saturday, 31 July. Marquees, tools and construction materials will be arriving on site from Saturday morning so there will be plenty to do. You will be able to camp on the site from Saturday and there will be skeleton facilities (water, basic kitchen) from that time.

We also have a mobile number for setup which is 07766 947852. This will be on-site from Saturday lunchtime, and may well get answered in the few days beforehand but please don’t try ringing until then – e-mail will remain the main contact point until nearer the time – summergathering -{at}- earthfirst.org.uk

What we need to know:

*Please can you let us know when you are coming? – this helps us plan foods, facilities and what jobs to do when.

*It is also helpful if you can let us know if you have any particular skills or interests with respect to set-up – we might need drivers, so if you are over 25, hold a clean licence, are confident driving a 3.5 tonne Luton AND can bring along both parts of your driving licence please let us know.

*Similarly if you are arriving in a vehicle and could potentially provide lifts, transport equipment en route or run errands from site once you arrive please let us know. In this case it is very helpful if you are able/willing to supply us with a contact phone number.

How to get there

As you maybe aware that we do not announce the exact site of the gathering until one week before the main event, this means directions will be available on the website http://www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk/ from Wednesday, 27 July. We realise this will be short notice for people arriving on the Saturday, however to make things easier we will e-mail directions to set-up crew on that day (that still 4 days to check a map!).

The nearest train station is Derby if you want to pre-book train tickets, you will also need to take a local bus service from Derby (these are frequent). We are aiming to have a vehicle on site that can assist if people have difficulties between Derby and the site, so hopefully everyone will be able to get there okay.

There may be a very small number of lifts available from the Nottingham area across the weekend of Saturday 31st July/Sunday first of August. There may also be lifts from the Leeds area first thing on 31 July. Let us know if this may be of interest to you.

What to bring

*Everything you need to the gathering, tent sleeping bags etc. and especially a torch

*It may be wise to come a bit more self-sufficient in food and snacks than you would need to for the main gathering – we will have a basic kitchen but Veggies and the tuck shop are not arriving until Wednesday

*If you are able to bring any tools, especially for basic carpentry, these are often useful

Big thanks for offering to help out

Do get in touch if you have any questions

Love & rage

The EF! Gathering crew

The new Action Update – full of of action news and analysis

In the new summer edition of the EF! Action Update, read about coal trains blockaded, peat bogs defended, and gas terminals shut down. Find out about the dangers of nanotech, current state of nuclear GM trials in the UK, Tesco uprisings, golf course trashing, tar sands action and much more.

Be inspired by our protest camp feature and the recent Titnore victory. And from across the seas, read about our brothers and sisters struggling against whaling ship sabotage, coal port pirates, riots in Zagreb, mining firm occupations in Bolivia, dam resistance in Brazil and much more.

“We are going to inherit the earth . There is not the slightest doubt about that. We Are not afraid of ruins. We carry a new world, here in our hearts. That world is growing this minute.” – Durruti

To download the latest EF!AU for printing, go to http://www.earthfirst.org.uk/efau/actionupdate_summer10print.pdf

To read the latest EF!AU online, go to http://www.earthfirst.org.uk/efau/actionupdate_summer10.pdf

Coal Action Network website relaunched!

Check out http://coalaction.org.uk/ for the updated and re-vamped Coal Action Network website and detailed coal maps of the UK. It is hoped that this website will be a useful resource to anyone taking action – or thinking of taking action – to protect communities, environments and the climate system from coal projects.

The CAN website will be kept up-to-date with recent news from campaigns and the industry. Have a look at The Coal Maps – mapping coal across the UK, contacts page for campaigns and groups active on coal, useful resources for campaign groups, arguments against new coal, upcoming events and links to information and other issues. You can get in touch to contribute updates and information and sign up to the CAN email list.

Through this website we aim to help link community struggles and arm ourselves with the information we need to resist new open cast coal mines and coal-fired power stations.

Sabotage stopping Trump

April 29, 2010

Newly-planted marram grass was ripped up, fences pulled down, diesel supplies polluted and two JCB diggers destroyed, causing an estimated £50,000 of damage.

The damage was discovered on Monday. More than 1,000sqm of marram grass was ripped out of the ground at the 15th green, while 150 metres of fencing bordering the hole was also torn down.

April 29, 2010

Newly-planted marram grass was ripped up, fences pulled down, diesel supplies polluted and two JCB diggers destroyed, causing an estimated £50,000 of damage.

The damage was discovered on Monday. More than 1,000sqm of marram grass was ripped out of the ground at the 15th green, while 150 metres of fencing bordering the hole was also torn down.

Just 24 hours before, vandals had targeted two heavy diggers at the site, cutting their wiring, removing batteries and pouring sand into the engines. About 3,000 litres of diesel were also destroyed when the fuel was mixed with what is thought to be sugar.

The malicious assault is the latest evidence that the development is becoming increasingly unpopular. A poll published this week suggested Scots now oppose the scheme by two to one, despite claims it will boost tourism in the north-east and create thousands of new jobs.

Mr Trump, also known as ‘The Donald’, first announced his plans to build the “world’s greatest golf course” in March 2006, but his proposal took more than two years to gain approval after it was furiously opposed by conservationists. Critics argue that the resort, which will include two championship golf courses, 950 holiday homes and 500 houses, will wreck rare sand dunes, which are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. There are also concerns that Mr Trump will use compulsory purchase orders to force residents whose houses are in the way of his plans out of their homes.

The attack comes less than two weeks after a fire spread across six acres of grass and dunes at the site. The blaze was blamed on a discarded barbecue. It is not known if the incident was a deliberate act.

Upcoming action dates & activist gatherings, 2010 – updated

scroll down for latest dates…

8-10 October 2010
Earth First! tree planting weekend – Treesponsibility

10 October 2010
Glasgow airport shut-down action

12 October 2010

scroll down for latest dates…

8-10 October 2010
Earth First! tree planting weekend – Treesponsibility

10 October 2010
Glasgow airport shut-down action

12 October 2010
Global Minga for Mother Earth

12-16 October 2010
Direct Action for Climate Justice, CJA call-out

13 October 2010
It’s Hammertime! – Smash EDO

16 October 2010
Crude Awakening – big oil day of action in London City

23-24 October 2010
Stop Nuclear Power Network UK Gathering, Bristol

10-12 December 2010
Earth First! tree planting weekend – Treesponsibility

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Old dates from this calendar:

2010

15-17 January 2010
Peace News Winter Gathering, Nottingham

23-26 January 2010
Mainshill Pre-Eviction Gathering

5-7 February 2010
EF! Winter Moot, North East England

12-14 February 2010
UK Rossport Solidarity Gathering, Nottingham

19-21 February 2010
Camp for Climate Action national ‘where next?’ gathering, Bristol – regional ones happening over January & February (details here)

26-28 February 2010
No Borders Winter Gathering, Nottingham

14 March 2010
UK Tar Sands Campaign Gathering, York

11am till 6pm (Vegan lunch by donation)
With BP’s AGM just 1 month away, and 2 weeks of actions planned for 1st to 15th April, come and connect with other UK-based Tar Sands campaigners, share ideas and create actions. We’ll be looking at strategies and actions for targeting Shell, BP and the Royal Bank of Scotland – Britain’s Dirty Threesome on Tar Sands investment.

We’re meeting in Derwent College, York University, room D/056 – from the station or city centre, take bus number 4 to the very last stop, walk back about 50 meters, and the road entrance to the college is signed on the left. D/056 is accessed from the outside, beyond the dining hall and ponds.

1 April 2010
Fossil Fools Day

1-4 April 2010
The Huntington Lane Fossil Fools weekend convergence

1-15 April 2010
BP Fortnight of Shame
including London Mass Action

17-18 April 2010
Social Centres in a Time of Crisis, Leeds
A weekend of workshops, discussions and socialising for everyone with an interest in radical autonomous social centres

22-23 April 2010
anti-aviation 48 hours of sticker-whacking, subvertising, adbusting pandemonium

23-26 April 2010
Anti-nuclear Camp, Suffolk – see latest EF!AU for details

6-10 May 2010
Activist Tat training week: putting up marquees, erecting and mending flat pack toilets, as well as technical and theoretical (power, plumbing etc) skillsharing

15 May 2010
Party at the Pumps 2

21 May-5 June 2010
Merthyr to Rossport solidarity bike ride – Climate Chains

5-8 June 2010
Rossport Solidarity Camp Gathering, Ireland

11-19 June 2010
World Naked Bike Ride – 11 June: Manchester, Southampton; 12 June, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London; 13 June: Brighton, Bristol; 19 June, Sheffield, York

18-21 June 2010
Outdoor Skillshare, Scotland

19 June 2010
National Gathering of the Stop Nuclear Power Network, London

25 June-31 August 2010
Ecotopia Biketour, from Critical Mass, Towards Car Free Cities Conference, to the French & German climate camps and much in between.

6-12 July 2010
Anti-Industrial Land Defence Action Camp, Catalonia
Go only if you can speak Catalan or Spanish – http://acampadaderesistencies.blogspot.com

14-22 July 2010
Nordic climate action camp, Southern Sweden

22 July-1 August 2010
French Camp Action Climat, near Le Havre

22 July-2 August 2010
Swiss climate camp Fr / De

23-27 July 2010
Peace News Summer Camp, Oxfordshire

29 July-4 August 2010
Belgian Climate Camp, near Liege

4-9 August 2010
EF! Summer Gathering, Derbyshire

12-16 August 2010
Irish Climate Camp, County Tyrone

13-17 August 2010
Climate Camp Cymru

21-24 August 2010
Climate Camp targets RBS in Edinburgh: Action Days

21-29 August 2010
German Klimacamp, near Erkelenz

27-30 August 2010
National Animal Rights Gathering, near Northampton

27-29 August 2010
Dutch Earth First! Gathering and CJA meeting – Groen Front!

Activist Tat training week

There will be a free AT Co-op training week in Nottingham, from Thursday 6th of May to Monday 10th of May 2010.

This will include putting up marquees, erecting and mending the flat pack toilets and painting them for beauty and durability, as well as all the technical and theoretical (power, plumbing etc) skillsharing that launched the site crews of the No Borders Camp in Calais, and the Camp for Climate Action in Blackheath in 2009.

We would like to see 50 new people there. We can cope with 70 if they are
considerate and co-operative.

You can come for the whole week or just a couple of days. We’ll share the cost of excellent vegan food, and bring sleeping bags for the friendliest floors in Forest Fields, Nottingham. E-mail jed2f4[at]yahoo.co.uk if you’re coming.

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Do you have equipment? Spaces activist groups can use? Skills you would like to share with others? ATC are currently doing an audit of grassroots movements to see what materials we have and what we have to offer each other. Please take part in our questionnaire, and help us create a strong network where we share skills and materials.

The AT Cooperative (commonly known as ‘activist tat collective’) is a group of people who have come together to provide equipment, transport and training for grassroots movements. The aims of the group are as follows:

1. To source and provide equipment for events to grassroots campaigns at below commercial rates, by using existing resources and purchasing new materials.

2. To train people up in essential skills for putting on outdoor events.

3. To be a point of contact for individuals and groups seeking who are happy for others to use their equipment or who want to pass on their skills.

In all this, ATC aims to be as professional as possible, maintaining and storing equipment responsibly and ensuring that it is returned or replaced. This will reduce waste and free up valuable time for actual campaigning!

There is a lot more information on our website, so please read on.

http://www.atcoop.org.uk

Earth First! Summer Gathering, 4th – 9th Aug 2010, Derbyshire – location & programme announced/set-up plans & call-out

Ecological Direct Action without Compromise

5 days of workshops, skill sharing and planning action, plus low-impact living without leaders.

Meet people, learn skills, take action.

For latest details, see http://www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk/
Set-up plans & call-out
Location
Programme

Ecological Direct Action without Compromise

5 days of workshops, skill sharing and planning action, plus low-impact living without leaders.

Meet people, learn skills, take action.

For latest details, see http://www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk/
Set-up plans & call-out
Location
Programme
Want to do something to stop our planet from getting trashed?

EF! is about direct action to halt the destruction of the Earth. It’s about doing it yourself rather than relying on leaders, governments or industry. Direct action is at the heart of it, whether you’re standing in front of a bulldozer, shutting down an open-cast mine or ripping up a field of GM crops.

We’re a loose network of people, groups and campaigns coming together for ecological direct action.

Join us for 5 days of workshops, networking and planning actions, run without leaders by everyone who comes along. The gathering is also a practical example of low-impact eco-living and non-hierarchical organising.

What’s happening?
Over 80 workshops, discussions, planning, strategy and ‘where next’ sessions:

*Share and learn skills for kick-ass actions on land and water.
Small boat handling and blockading using kayaks / Blockading – tripods, lock-ons/ Fences / Climbing skills / Action reconnaissance / Security for Activists / Strategy and tactics / How to research corporations /

*Network current campaigns against ecological destruction
Open-cast mining / Genetic engineering / Agrofuels / Saving Iceland / Climate actions / Pipeline resistance in Rossport / Anti-nuclear / Airport expansion/ Tar Sands

*Think about eco-centric ethics and alternative ways of organising
Deep green ethics / Anarchist economics / Anarchist history / Radical Politics / Working without leaders/ Consensus decision-making

*Practical skills for ecological restoration and sustainable living.
Introduction to Ecology / Restoration ecology / Flora and Fauna identification / Vegan Cake making / Power from solar and wind / wild food / Squatting / Bike maintenance

As well as international campaigns round-up, networking and planning for future actions.

Cost and practical things
£20-30 according to what you can afford.
The gathering is in Derbyshire, the exact location will be announced the week before. More info on our website.

Find out more and join in!

Email us if you can offer a workshop, want to help out with the gathering or if you would like posters and leaflets to distribute.

We have now a stack of freshly printed posters advertising the gathering. If you’d like to send you some to stick up in your area or to take to events, festivals and the like, please email us. Alternatively you can also download the files and print your own. They are fairly large files! EF! gathering poster (A4)

We are now looking for people to run workshops and discussions at the gathering. Please contact us if you can offer something. Have a look at our programme page to see the kind of thing we’re looking for.

http://www.earthfirst.org.uk, summergathering _ NOSPAM _ @ _ NOSPAM earthfirst.org.uk

Plane Stupid issues 48hr subvertising challenge

It’s that time of year when every airline starts aggressively advertising for your business. Well, we’ve had enough. Plane Stupid is inviting all of you to take part in its very own subvertising competition. From Thursday 22nd April – Friday 23rd April, we’ll be launching 48 hours of sticker-whacking, subvertising, adbusting pandemonium.

The aviation industry spends millions every year telling us that we’re no good to anyone unless we keep flying with them. So it’s time to hit back! Like tobacco adverts, aviation advertising needs to become a thing of the past. But until then, let’s subvertise. Any poster, advert or billboard is fair game.

Whether you’re a first time activist looking for an easy way-in, or an old timer looking for some light relief………it’s time to take to the streets and reclaim some public space. Taking part is easy:

1. You can download a choice of designs from our Flickr site, or use your design skills to make your own.
2. Print them out on standard, non divided, A4 sticker paper (available from most printers and stationers).
3. Then find your nearest aviation advertisement.
4. Stick ’em up punk!
5. Take photographs, set up a new temporary email address in an internet cafe (under a pseudonym) and email your images to info@planestupid.com.

The group who stickers the most adverts in the 48 hour period wins. Wins what? Prizes! We got the bumper crop of 5 spray cans, Culture Jam by Kalle Lasn, Do It Yourself, A handbook for changing our world, by the Trapese Collective and Scribbleboy by Philip Ridley to give away.

Of course don’t feel limited to individual stickers, think big! You can write your own message on large stretches of blank wall paper to cover whole bill boards. Make up some wall paper paste, get a paint roller, a stick it up. If necessary – attach the roller to a broom handle for those hard to reach places. Helpfully, there’s some great how-to guides on t’internet.

One last point. Please be respectful about where you sticker. Corporate nasties are fine…..but the local old people’s homes may not appreciate your art on their walls!

Use your head, and remember to dress well for the occasion – caps and scarves are the in thing this subvertising season. Some officers of the law may be convinced that subvertising is borderline illegal, so take a friend as lookout, keep an eye open for CCTV and don’t get caught.

Social Centres in a Time of Crisis

A weekend of workshops, discussions and socialising for everyone with an interest in radical autonomous social centres.

• How can a new generation of social centres learn from the successes and failures of established ones? What are the ways in which we can best face up to the challenges?

A weekend of workshops, discussions and socialising for everyone with an interest in radical autonomous social centres.

• How can a new generation of social centres learn from the successes and failures of established ones? What are the ways in which we can best face up to the challenges?

• How can we sustain energy and dynamism? Can we stop the daily grind of actually running a social centre from eclipsing the politics and passion behind it

• Is there a way in which we can capitalise on the current widespread disaffection with mainstream politics? What is the role of social centres in a time of crisis?

• What is the current situation with your social centre? What’s going right, what’s going wrong, and what support do you need?

At the Common Place, Leeds 17-18th April 2010
http://www.thecommonplace.org.uk/

Saturday: 10am – 6pm, followed by dinner and entertainment
Sunday: 10am for brunch, 11am – 4pm

Lunch available on both days.

socialcentres2010@googlemail.com

BP Fortnight of Shame

The BP Fortnight of Shame is a call to action from the UK Tar Sands Network, Rising Tide and the Camp for Climate Action to force BP to reverse their crazy plans to move into Canada’s tar sands.

The BP Fortnight of Shame is a call to action from the UK Tar Sands Network, Rising Tide and the Camp for Climate Action to force BP to reverse their crazy plans to move into Canada’s tar sands. It runs between the annual Fossil Fools Day on April 1st, which in recent years has seen a flurry of action against the fossil fuels industry, and BP’s Annual General Meeting on April 15th. Grassroots groups across the UK, in solidarity with First Nations indigenous peoples, will be taking action to stop BP’s deadly plans in their tracks. This will include a global day of action on Saturday 10th April. All are encouraged to get involved.

Why Tar Sands?

Attempts to avert the planet from sliding into climate crisis are being threatened by a single massive project in the Canadian wilderness. Already, millions of barrels of tar sands oil are being extracted every day, producing three to five times as many greenhouse gas emissions as conventional oil. The extraction process is immensely resource-intensive, currently using enough natural gas every day to heat 3.2 million Canadian homes. Add to this the mass deforestation the projects are causing, ridding us of desperately needed carbon sinks, then it becomes clear this project cannot be allowed to continue if we are serious about preventing runaway climate change.

The effects tar sands are having on local First Nations indigenous communities are devastating. The tar sands development in Alberta covers an area the size of England, with toxic tailing ponds so huge they are visible from space, leaking poisons into the local water supply. Not only are indigenous livelihoods and futures being destroyed, but communities on land where tar sands extraction has been imposed are experiencing disturbingly high rates of rare forms of cancer and auto-immune diseases.

Why BP?

BP are the only major oil company with no tar sands extraction projects currently in operation. This is about to change. Since 2007, BP have quietly ditched the ‘Beyond Petroleum’ sham, because investing in renewables simply wasn’t making them enough profit. They have decided to go Back to Petroleum, with a vengeance, under the leadership of new Chief Executive Tony Hayward.

Moving into tar sands was one of the first steps Tony Hayward took, acquiring a half share in the Sunrise Project with Husky Energy. The Sunrise Project will be huge, producing 200,000 barrels of filthy oil a day, and using Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), an extraction process even more energy and water intensive than the more visible surface-mining operations.

The recession has given us a window of opportunity. BP have been forced to postpone their final decision on whether to go ahead until the second half of 2010. This means it is not too late for us to stop this outrageous project. BP are desperate for Sunrise to go ahead, and will certainly not go down without a fight, but with effective and sustained action we can win this one.
What can I do?

Local groups across the UK, from Brighton to Scotland, are already engaged in plotting and planning for the Fortnight of Shame. If your local group isn’t already planning something, then get suggesting ideas. If you haven’t already got a local group, then check out the local groups that form the Camp for Climate Action network. All are open to everyone to join.