Other – Page 14 – Earth First!

Chinese Environmentalists Protest, Riot, Defeat Copper Plant in Sichuan

9/7/12

Following three days of mass protest, overturned police cars, tear gas and violent clashes between protesters and riot police, the city government of Shifang in the province of Sichuan, southwest China, announced last week that it is scrapping plans for a copper alloy plant. This is but one of dozens of industrial projects that have been successfully defeated by large scale protests and riots in China in recent years. As in protests elsewhere in China, enraged activists stormed the city’s government headquarters and staged a successful occupation.

“We have so many people in Shifang. We aren’t afraid of them (the authorities),” an 18-year-old activist boldly stated to Reuters by telephone from Shifang just before the government acquiescence to demands. “The Shifang people will definitely not surrender.”

But the victory comes with serious sacrifice. Dozens of protesters have been injured and many more rounded up and detained. Their legal future is uncertain.If similar post-protest crack-downs are of any insight there will be dozens of more organizers rounded up in the months to come as government attempts to quiet such protests publicly is countered by a private draconian witch hunt to silence “ringleaders.”

The government has accused the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong and the Dalai Lama for instigating the violence. But these are the common scapegoats used by the government anytime popular uprisings take place in China.

A Letter of Resistance in Shifang

The following is a translation of a handout posted around the city of Shifang in the lead up and during the protests.

Save Shifang! All City Residents Unite!

People of Shifang, let’s save our city!! It already a “cancer town,” and they still want to build that molybdenum copper plant. We resolutely oppose this! This is our shared home, and it is our responsibility to protect it. Everyone is responsible for protecting the environment!!

Perhaps many people still do not know Shifang plans to build a molybdenum copper plant, and still more people do not know the damage this will cause. Once construction of the factory begins, it will already be too late. We do not want to leave Shifang! Shifang is the “Bright Pearl of Western Sichuan.” We cannot leave! Heavy metal pollution will cause us terrible harm.

Are there really that many Shifang residents who have the money to move to another province? We must come together and work to keep the molybdenum copper plant far from Shifang!

People of Shifang, rise up!!

Earth First! Summer Gathering Update – programme, directions, website and more

It’s only weeks until the Earth First! Summer Gathering begins.
Five days of workshops, info sharing and learning new skills, 1-5 August.

The Earth First Summer Gathering takes place each year to provide a space in which the radical ecology movement can share skills and plan for future campaigns and actions.

Discussions around the importance of community building in inner cities, the state of the anarchist movement and patriarchy in activism.

Skill shares including women's self-defence, researching corporations and navigation.

Campaign round ups from Frack Off! Smash Edo and Luddites 2000 amongst others.

If you have workshops you like to run or discussions you'd like to facilitate then email us at earthfirstsummergathering@riseup.net

Full programme.

Camping is on a sliding scale of £30 to £15, pay what is genuinely appropriate.

Food will be from Anarchist Teapot and meal tickets will be £5 a day.

Kids can have separate meals if they want for £3 a day.

There will be a couple of kids spaces, and special workshops being ran for kids. If you’d like to run any kids workshops get in touch at earthfirstsummergathering@riseup.net.

If you want you dog to come along then you’re going to have to email us at earthfirstsummergathering@riseup.net

And of course there will be entertainment and a bar open in the evenings.

The camp is ½ mile from the Berrington village, and 1 mile from the larger village of Cross Houses.

We encourage non-cycling campers to use public transport if possible as Cross Houses is on a bus route.

BY TRAIN
The nearest train station is Shrewsbury. You can then get the bus to Cross Houses (see below). If coming from a long distance it can sometimes be cheaper to get a ticket to a large station such as Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Manchester or Crewe and then a separate ticket on to Shrewsbury. Check national rail for train times and prices. If coming from the London direction, it’s generally cheaper to buy a Super Offpeak Return, specifying “London Midland & Arriva only”.

BY BIKE
See here for directions and a map to the camp from Shrewsbury for cyclists and drivers.

BY BUS
When you arrive at Shrewsbury train station, ask someone to point you to the bus station. It’s only a few minutes walk from the train station. The bus service that runs from town to within a mile of Crabapple is the 436 towards Bridgnorth. It runs every hour from 7.40am to 5.40pm with a “late” one at 7.40pm. The journey to Cross Houses is approx 15 mins. You will need to press the stop button when you see the sign for Cross Houses. Some of the services on this route are low-floor accessible buses. Please note that the last bus leaves Shrewsbury at 7.40pm, Monday to Saturday and there are no Sunday bus services. For the bus timetable see here http://shropshire.gov.uk/bustimes/timetable.jsc?timetable=436mfi0412.
The camp itself is about 1 mile from the bus stop. From the bus stop at Cross Houses, walk back towards Shrewsbury past the petrol station (on your right) and take the first left turn signed “Berrington”. After about ½ mile, the road forks at the edge of the village. Take the right turn signposted “Betton Abbots” and we’re about ¼ mile up the road on the right.
If you intend to come by bus but need help getting to and from the bus stop, you can arrange a pick up with us: details will be available nearer the time.

BY TAXI
There is also a taxi rank just outside Shrewsbury train station. Accessible taxis can be got from here.- but it is MUCH cheaper to book a cab from a local company – Comet Cabs 01743 344444, or Vincent Cabs 01743 367777. Vincents also have a booking office just across the road from the station, which is handy if you don’t have a phone to book a cab in advance.

USEFUL LINKS
See here directions and a map to the camp from Shrewsbury for cyclists and drivers.
See a map of where the site is here
See the bus timetable
Directions from places other than Shrewsbury

Earth First! Summer Gathering Collective
earthfirstsummergathering@riseup.net

http://earthfirstgathering.weebly.com

Agriculture Action Camp 5-10 July Den Bosch NL

From the 5th till 10th of July in Den Bosch in the Netherlands, ASEED will organize a 6 days long camp. The camp will involve workshops, trainings, discussions, and action, for good ecological initiatives, an alternative food chain, alternatives to industrial farming, and against gentech and meat industry, and more..

Do you know where your food comes from? Do you want to take food in your own hands and make the food chain shorter between the farmers and consumers? Do you also want to know more about the struggle against GMOs and industrial farming that is dominated by big companies? Do you want to organize actions against the meat industry and the imports of animal feed? But you are also interested in producing your own food on a sustainable, climate neutral, autonomous and social way? Are you not afraid of getting your hands dirty in a workshop? All of these and more will be covered during the camp. We invite activists, slow-foodies, farmers, gardeners, students, animal friends and people who want to learn and share skills on sustainable agriculture to come to the camp. Mark your agendas and join in!

Last year the first Agriculture Action Camp in The Netherlands took place in the Flevopolder with 70 participants camping on an organic farm for three days. We had a program full of workshops and discussions, and two actions close to the camp against GM crops and soy greenwashing. The participants opted for a replay, so here comes the second camp once again with an interesting programme of workshops, trainings, action and nice atmosphere.

Hello everybody,
We are getting closer to the date it is all going to start, the location will be in the city of Den Bosch (or ‘s Hertogenbosch) in and around a squatted community garden project Graafse Hof in a residential area in the East of the city. The workshop program is getting more and more concrete. Confirmed are amongst other things: GMO update by Greenpeace, GMO field liberation movements by FLM Belgium (more contributions/examples
from similar movements in other countries welcome!!), introduction into different forms of sustainable agriculture systems (biodynamic, agroecology, permaculture), seed saving, worm composting, getting to know your gardening tools, action trainings by Vredesactie, tractor driving, talks with and working with farmers, food sovereignty: what does it mean, European movement, concrete examples, and more to come. The program starts on Thursday 5th in the evening and goes on till Monday 9th July.

Give a Workshop?
Want to come and give a workshop yourself? Great! We are in particularly interested to hear about reclaim the fields land occupation actions, or similar campaigns/initiatives going on, as well as the Reclaim the fields movement in general. Also looking for someone who can tell more about the European Campaign for Seed Sovereignty. But anything relevant, you’re welcome to propose.

Info stall @ mini alternative agro fair on Saturday 7 July, 13.00?
Saturday we want to focus on getting more mainstream people to participate in the camp. The workshops are more introductory and their will be a small fair. Want to have stall to spread materials from your project or action group? Let us know.

Networking @ Worldcafe on Saturday 7 July, 20.00
Saturdaynight we will turn a tent into a nice cafe, where everyone can come to exchange ideas and examples. Organisations, Initiatives and Individuals have the opportunity for reservating a table, where people can sit around to have informal conversations. Want to have a table your project/initiative/campaign? read more here:
http://landbouwactiekamp.contrast.org/?page_id=181

Action
Monday July 9 will have a focus on doing one or more actions. Possible targets/topics are mentioned in the call out from before. The camp will decide collectively what it will become at the beginning of the weekend.

Finances & travel costs reimbursements
We have some funding for the camp but not enough to cover all costs, so we would ask a participants for a contribution of 7,50 if you come 1 day, less per day if you stay longer (see the website under practicalities).
We have some limited possibilities to (partially) cover travel costs from people coming from abroad, AND coming on the 4th of July (help build up) and/or stay till 11th (help break down). Let us know if you want to come, and travel costs are an issue. If you can travel on one of these dates, we can probably reimburse (some) costs.

Want to reserve a workshop slot, info stall or worldcafe table, or just know more about the camp, contact us via landbouwactiekamp@aseed.net.

We still need people to;
-make the kids program and organize the kids area in the camp
-help us with the infrastructure preparations of the camp, & be there on the 4th to set up the camp,
-translation and editing texts,(NL, ENG, DE mainly)
-help us out with program content,
-facilitate workshops, translation during the workshops etc..

Cheers and hope to see some of you @ Den Bosch.

ASEED

http://www.landbouwactiekamp.net/

Carnival of Dirt

On Friday 15 June, London will experience its first ever Carnival of Dirt, a carnival like no other. More than 30 activist groups from London and around the world have come together to highlight the illicit deeds of mining and extraction companies.

Reports and photos from the day: 1 | 2 | 3

http://www.carnivalofdirt.org

Windsor eco-occupation

10th June 2012

a group calling themselves 'diggers2012' and loosely affiliated with the occupy movement, are on route to a piece of disused land on the windsor great park estate. yesterday, as they set off from syon lane community allotment, police served a pre-emptive injunction on them forbidding them from entering or camping on crown estate land.

10th June 2012

Eco village occupation in Windsor this June

On Saturday 09th June, we will be walking from Syon Lane Community Allotment in West London to Windsor. We will be camping for one night on the route. Our aim is to start a community on a piece of disused land on the Crown Estate.

We plan to grow our own food, make shelters and live sustainably: to show an alternative to our system of crisis. We call for the right for everyone to be able to use the disused land to live on, free the yoke of debt and rent.

If you share our vision, and you are willing to work to achieve it, we welcome you to join us.

Meetup Details

Meet at Syon Lane Community Allotment on Sat 09th

June from 11 a.m. We will be departing at 1 p.m sharp.

Bring camping equipment, warm clothing, mug, bowl, spoon and a torch. Also please bring seeds and any useful equipment if you can.

Should you wish to meet us in Windsor, or at some other point along the journey, please call the numbers below on the day.

If you would like to know more about this project, please visit: www.diggers2012.wordpress.com or email diggers2012@yahoo.co.uk

Alternatively you can call or text the following numbers: 07963 475 195 / 07905 283 114 to find out more.

Syon Lane Community Allotment Directions and map.

Street Address: The lane adjacent to Platform 1, Syon Lane Station, Rothbury Gardens, Isleworth, Middlesex, TW7 5JG
Getting to the site: We are situated on the long strip of land adjacent to Platform 1 of Syon Lane Station, which is on the southern railway line coming from London Waterloo via Kew Bridge and Hounslow.
Nearest Tube: Osterley – Turn left out of the station, follow the Great West Road until you reach Syon Lane, then turn right. Then turn right down a footpath before you cross the railway bridge, it will lead you through to Rothbury Gardens, and you will see our site entrance opposite.
Nearest bus stop:London Road – Busch Corner (237/267/235) – Come up either Spur Road or Syon Lane until you reach the railway bridge. Then go onto Platform 1 and follow the footpath between two metal fences, you will see our entrance on your left.
Map link: http://g.co/maps/ga6mn

http://diggers2012.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/events/388997621152693/
http://london.indymedia.org/events/12282
https://twitter.com/#!/freetheland

Farm occupied in USA

29 April 2012

We are reclaiming this land to grow healthy food to meet the needs of local communities. We envision a future of food sovereignty, in which our East Bay communities make use of available land – occupying it where necessary – for sustainable agriculture to meet local needs.

http://takebackthetract.com/

29 April 2012

http://takebackthetract.com/

Reclaim the Fields Spring Gathering 2012 – details & updates

@ The Wilderness Centre, Mitcheldean, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, GL17 0HA

The first Reclaim the Fields Gathering of the year will be taking place this March at the Wilderness Centre in the Forest of Dean.

Pre-Gathering Help needed:

@ The Wilderness Centre, Mitcheldean, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, GL17 0HA

The first Reclaim the Fields Gathering of the year will be taking place this March at the Wilderness Centre in the Forest of Dean.

Pre-Gathering Help needed:

Anyone interested in helping out with the running/ setting up of the event, should come to the Wilderness asap. If you're interested in giving a talk, or demonstrating a skill – get in contact, or just show up and arrange to use one of the "spaces" available with one of the Protect The Wilderness Crew.

The provisional timetable includes:

Thursday 8th:

*Introduction to Reclaim the Fields – where we've come from and recent action, including feedback from the European Gathering.
* Wilderness Centre introduction & housekeeping
*Open Introductions; introduce your self & your projects & continue networking with our noticeboard

The remainder of the day is designed around open spaces, giving people a chance to work & communicate around these suggestions so far:

*WWOLF (woofing with teeth) and Reclaim the Field Trips
*Seed Sovereignty & grower-to-grower seed distribution networks
*Carrots session e.g. RTF internal structure/sharing workloads
*Using the food sovereignty principles as a strategic framework – (in a UK context)
*How to organise & maintain effective land occupations
*Composting gender
*Planning for International Peasants Day of Struggle on April 17th
*Legal options for accessing land
*Protecting bee populations

Friday 9th:

*Session on general Reclaim the Fields strategy and focuses for 2012
Workshops and talks:
*An introduction to land rights
*History of Land rights struggles in the Forest of Dean

Followed by a consensus based guerilla gardening action… remains open to suggestions!
(ideas so far…)
*Food forest, in an abandoned quarry
*Care home for the elderly
* Clear-felled Forestry land
* Victorian walled garden

Saturday 10th:

Protect The Wilderness open skill-share day!
Seed swap, Community bring and share.
Gardening the organic community garden, and walled garden.
Music and feasting!

Not forgetting gardening, charcoal burning, baking in the cob oven, seedbomb making, cobbing the round-house, and chopping wood through-out!

£5 suggested donation per day, no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Items to bring:
Warm clothes, two sets (if you mind being muddy)
bedding, camping mats
tools for g-gardening [spades, forks, mattocks, billhooks]
Instruments, dancing shoes,
seeds for seedbombs,
home-grown veg, pickles, jams, whole foods

More info about the Wilderness Centre: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Protect-the-Wilderness-Centre-Forest-of-Dean/321890141176064
Who to contact for more information: use the RTF UK email list or email frankynecklace@yahoo.co.uk

Gourds work be done,

Protect The Wilderness,
Reclaim the Fields!

Lebanese Activists Sit-in to Protest Environmental Destruction

19.2.12

Tripoli residents organized a sit-in Wednesday to protest against the recent felling of several trees in the city and to demand answers on who was ultimately responsible for the decision.

19.2.12

Tripoli residents organized a sit-in Wednesday to protest against the recent felling of several trees in the city and to demand answers on who was ultimately responsible for the decision.

Inhabitants of the northern city’s Al-Mina suburb held Wednesday’s sit-in on the city’s main boulevard. Protesters slammed the recent move, and also urged relevant authorities to undertake the necessary actions to prevent similar incidents from happening again in the future.

However, the mayor of Al-Mina, Mohammad Issa, said the trees had been felled following a petition from other residents, who had demanded the trees be cut down after an incident two years ago in which a palm tree fell on a car and resulted in the death of a young woman.

In compliance with the resident’s petition, Issa said that 14 trees, none of which were older than 15 years, were cut down. The mayor also expressed his willingness to plant new trees to replace those which were cut down.

Residents described the felling of old trees as an environmental massacre. “Trees do not harm anyone; we need to preserve the green spaces in light of the growing usage of concrete,” said Zaki al-Zaylaa, an environmental activist.

Zaylaa added that cutting down such trees was irresponsible and questioned who had the authority to decide when trees can be cut down as such. Zaylaa, a member of an environmental committee affiliated to the municipal council, denied the committee had any role in cutting down the trees.

Mass Action, Barricades and Lock Downs Fail to Halt Development for the Mega-Rich

18.2.12

City officials said on Wednesday morning they were pleased with how the operation in the Schlossgarten park went. They said 2,500 officers had encountered little violence.

18.2.12

City officials said on Wednesday morning they were pleased with how the operation in the Schlossgarten park went. They said 2,500 officers had encountered little violence.

But protesters, who were trying to protect 176 trees that authorities say need to be cut down or moved as part of the project, charged that police had been overly aggressive during the eviction and had even attacked people with batons.

A spokesman for the protesters, Matthias Herrmann, called the operation “hectic and escalating.”

But a Stuttgart police spokesman said that there had been only “occasional baton use” when protesters attempted to set up a barricade. A 38-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly set off fireworks near officials, according to police.

Other protesters had to be forcibly cut away after they chained themselves to trees. Some used pallets to erect barriers on access roads, police said. Two even encased their arms in concrete and police were still figuring out how to deal with them as of mid-morning.

Stuttgart 21 is a multi-billion-euro project that aims to transform the Baden-Württemberg state capital into a major European transport hub by laying 57 kilometres of new track and rebuilding the city’s main train station underground while turning it around 90 degrees.

But many have baulked at the cost of the plan and what they say will be damage to the local environment. Violent protests flared in 2010, but the government has insisted that construction must continue. On Sunday, protesters tried to mount heavy equipment to prevent the cutting down of trees but were removed by police in a prelude to Wednesday’s eviction.

At the park, protesters had set up dozens of tents and tree houses before the police operation began at about 3 am. Officers first asked protesters to leave on their own – which some did – before they began the eviction.

Stuttgart 21 project spokesman Wolfgang Dietrich said the police operation had gone “very well” because protesters had, for the most part, abstained from violence. Authorities could begin felling trees as early as Wednesday afternoon.