[Onthebarricades] Ecological protests, November 2008
global resistance roundup
onthebarricades at lists.resist.ca
Thu Sep 17 08:21:48 PDT 2009
* NIGERIA: Women in nude protest over oil spills
* CHILE: Dam-building protested
* INDONESIA: Scavengers demand end to waste imports
* MACEDONIA: Protests force pollution monitoring at refinery
* RUSSIA: Eco-activists under violent attack
* PHILIPPINES: Architect pulls out of port project over ecological impact
* INDONESIA: Greenpeace blockade palm oil tanker
* PHILIPPINES: Aerial spraying protesters shave heads
* SPAIN: Greenpeace target nuclear plant
* UK: Manchester - Airport "tea party" protest
* INDIA: Orissa - Protest against proposed slaughterhouse
* INDIA: Orissa - Protesting the entry of GM crops
* INDIA: Karnataka - Tree-cutting protests in two cities
* HOLLAND: Rotterdam - Eco-activists form protest chain at coal plant
* POLAND: Coal mine protest; protesters attacked by miners
* CANADA: Oilsands intrusion protested
* JAPAN: Road-building project blockaded
* ITALY: Protest against polluting cars
* US: Vermont - Nuclear plant protested
* AUSTRALIA: Activists chain selves to power station conveyor belt in
coal protest
* UK: Two days of action against coal
* Climate protests escalate worldwide
* AUSTRALIA: Protests for preservation of forests
* AUSTRALIA: Fremantle - Protest against lead exports
* AUSTRALIA: Protesters demand GM crops ban
* TAIWAN: Conservationists join China protests
* AUSTRALIA: Dam protester kayaks from Brisbane to Sydney
* SCOTLAND - UK: Protest fails to save park trees
* UK: Protest at opencast mine
* WALES - UK: National Trust members protest building on site
* AUSTRALIA: Gunns AGM attracts protesters
* US: Texas - Protest for TV recycling
* AUSTRALIA: Pipeline route blockaded
* AUSTRALIA: Thousands protest global warming
* US: Rockies - "dump the dump" protest
* US: Tampa - protest over building plans
* US: Brentwood - development protest
* US: Oregon - Treesit over logging
* Greenpeace fly kite against GM maize
* AUSTRALIA: Pipeline protest
* NEW ZEALAND: Solid Energy AGM protested - Save Happy Valley
* NEW ZEALAND: Farmers join protest over sewage
* UK: Fancy dress protest against Heathrow expansion
* US - HAWAII - Rail controversy continues
* US: Cheyenne - Plans for drilling at reserve draw concern
Preservationism
* US: Historical re-enactors protest park, site closures
* CANADA: Protest to save red caboose
* WALES - UK: Protest over hospital demolition
* UK: Protest to save quay
* GEORGIA: Armenian bloggers protest demolition of churches
http://allafrica.com/stories/200811241401.html
Daily Independent (Lagos)
Nigeria: Bayelsa Women Prepare for Nude Protest Over Agip's Recalcitrance
Emma Gbemudu
24 November 2008
Yenagoa — Aggrieved Ikebiri community women in Southern Ijaw Local
Government, Bayelsa State, have concluded arrangements to embark on a
nude protest in Yenagoa this week.
This, according to them, was because of alleged failure of the Nigeria
Agip Oil Company (NAOC) to pay compensation for several oil spills in
the area since 2006.
The protest became imperative as the people alleged the state government
and NAOC had been insensitive to the plight of inhabitants, especially
on the spill disaster.
They are demanding for a compensation of N15 billion from the Italian
oil giant to address the problem of their polluted river, fresh water
swamp and farm lands which are the means of their livelihood.
Emotions are rising in the community as no fewer than 13 persons from
the area had lost their lives following the adverse effects of the
several spills, resulting from corrosion and equipment failure of NAOC's
facilities in the locality.
Speaking with Daily Independent in an interview on Sunday in Yenagoa,
Ikebiri Women leader, Ebitari Agbakabuwou, however, noted that the
police authorities were aware of the proposed protest but that they were
appealing to them to shelve the idea.
Agbakabuwou said: "Ikebiri kingdom are the victims of Agip's incessant
oil spills from the crude oil pipelines since 2006 till date. The
impacted area cover over 130,124 and 489 hectares of fresh water and
forest swamp land, which is completely wasted due to high level poverty,
hunger and malnutrition in the community."
The women leader continued: "We will go naked in the state capital
because we have been raped by oil spillage for the past 25 years. There
was no oil spill site inspection report. The cause of the spill was as a
result of corrosion and equipment failure as the lines were due for
change due to long stay within the environment. The leakage points have
not been clamped by Agip. The company should effect the cleanup of the
impacted area."
Embittered Agbakabuwou lamented that her aged mother, Madam Bouse-ere
James, died just last week from an acute diarrhea attack, since there
was no alternative water than that from the polluted river to drink from.
She disclosed that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) entered with
NAOC had since expired in 2003, and that the company allegedly refused
to embark on any developmental project in the community.
According to her, when an MoU expires, the oil firm was bound by
relevant provisions to embark on a project yearly, pending when a new
one would be written.
Several efforts to reach NAOC's spokesman in Port Harcourt, Hardine
Orife, failed as his mobile phone was ringing out.
http://en.mercopress.com/2008/11/20/marches-to-protest-building-of-dams-in-chilean-patagonia
Thursday, November 20th 2008 - 12:00 pm UTC
Marches to protest building of dams in Chilean Patagonia
Several hundred demonstrators gathered outside of Endesa’s Santiago
headquarters Wednesday evening to protest the Spanish-Italian
electricity company’s plans to build a huge hydroelectric complex in
Chilean Patagonia
Accompanied by a musicians and a troupe of colourful costumed dancers
demonstrators crowded around the building’s entrance carrying signs that
read “Protect Patagonia” and “Let’s Get Chile’s Water Back.“
“I think there are different ways to produce energy and in this case,
although it would be relatively clean energy, I don’t think flooding
Patagonia is the best option,“ Fernando, a natural resources engineering
student, told the Patagonia Times.
Endesa, working in collaboration with Chilean energy company Colbún,
plans to build five massive dams in far southern Chile’s Region XI:
three along the Pascua River and two along the Baker. Together the dams,
which have an estimated price tag of 3.2 billion USD would add some
2,750 MW of electricity to Chile’s strained central grid. Chile’s
current overall generating capacity is approximately 13,000 MW.
The project is currently being evaluated by Chilean environmental
authorities, which must approve the plan before construction can begin.
Backers say it will go a long way toward meeting the country’s growing
appetite for electricity, estimated to increase by some 6% annually.
Patagonia’s glacier-fed rivers, furthermore, represent clean and
efficient energy sources, Endesa and Colbún insist. And, because the
water is located right here in Chile, it is not – unlike imported oil
and natural gas – subject to uncertain price and supply variations.
The project’s many opponents, on the other hand, say the dams will
devastate the Baker and Pascua Rivers and open up Chilean Patagonia –
considered one of the world’s last pristine wilderness areas – to
further industrial exploitation.
Of equal concern, they say, are plans by Canadian-owned Transelec to
build a 2,300 kilometre power line, potentially the world longest to
transport the electricity from Patagonian Region XI to energy hungry
central Chile. The estimated 1.6 billion USD transmission line, critics
warn, would mean clear cutting countless acres of wilderness land and
promises to leave a lasting scar across southern Chile’s unique landscape.
“Even though there are other ways to produce energy, (Endesa and Colbún)
choose what’s cheapest for them and most harmful for us,“ said Angelo, a
Greenpeace volunteer. “There’s wind and solar energy, also tidal and
geothermic energy. In they end those options require a bit more
investment, but it has to be done. In Spain they’re already doing it,
because the laws require it. Here, companies do what they want.“
By Benjamin Witte (patagoniatimes at gmail.com)
Scavengers call for end to waste imports
Jakarta -- As many as 12,000 scavengers calling
themselves the Indonesian Scavengers Association
(IPI) demonstrated at the House of Representatives
(DPR) building in Jakarta on November 11 demanding
an end to the importation of waste into Indonesia.
“Stop waste importsâ€, shouted IPI general
chairperson Kuswoyo during a speech in front of the
DPR.
According to Kuswoyo, the importation by “ill-
disciplined†companies not only brings down the
price of domestic waste and brings suffering to
scavengers, but also violates the law. “This is
clearly written in the lawâ€, said Kuswoyo when
speaking with Detik.com.
Kuswoyo and around 50 other representatives of the
scavengers were later allowed to meet with DPR
members who told the protesters that they would
follow up their concerns.
http://see.oneworldsee.org/article/view/151584/1/3193
Protests Succeed: OKTA Accepts Obligation to Install Pollution Measuring
Stations
Dejan Georgievski
26 November 2008
The protests of the local population in the villages surrounding the
Macedonian oil refinery OKTA, near Skopje, including the block of
traffic into and from the refinery, yielded results. The management
accepted the demands of the locals and will install pollution levels
measuring equipment and will reconstruct the waste water disposal system
of the Refinery.
The agreement was reached last Monday, at the Ministry of Environmental
Protection, which will be one of the signatories, together with the
representatives of the refinery and the Municipality of Ilinden.
Žika Stojanovski, Mayor of Ilinden, said he was optimistic that the
problem with traffic blocks will be solved and added that it was agreed
for OKTA to procure the necessary equipment as a donation to the Ministry.
The agreement marked the end of the prolonged protests of the citizens
of Bujkovci and Miladinovci, the two villages closest to the refinery,
who have complained for years over the pollution released by OKTA,
causing rising rates of incidence of cancer and respiratory diseases and
conditions. Stojanovski noted that all activities will commence
immediately after the signing, and that road-blocks will be removed but
could appear again if the implementation of agreement doesn`t proceed as
planned.
The pollution of the refinery has had huge negative effects on the air
and the soil in the area, causing irreparable damages to current and
future generations. Furthermore, the horrible stench coming from the
refinery installations can be felt for kilometres around.
An anonymous group of authors retreated to satire and prepared,
motivated by the plight of the local population, an internet web-site
for the `faux` OKTA Village Travel travel agency, which offers the
so-called pollution tourism, offering the refinery as an attractive
destination under the motto: OKTA Village – A place for a new and
colourful experience. (For more, visit www.oktavillagetravel.com).
The OKTA Management, owned by Greek company Hellenic Petroleum, has
refused for years to accept the responsibility for the pollution. From
the moment it was privatized, the media repeatedly claimed that the
Greek owners invested almost nothing to improve the environmental
protection standards at the Refinery, which uses outdated technology and
needs through reconstruction and upgrading of technology.
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/11/24/f-rfa-szacka.html
Moscow File
Chilling attacks
The price of protest in today's Russia
Last Updated: Monday, November 24, 2008 | 6:15 PM ET
A neighbour discovered Mikhail Beketov on November 13. He was lying
unconscious, beside his house near Khimki, a suburb of Moscow.
File photo of Russian journalist Mikhail Beketov from June 2001. The
editor of the Khimkinskaya Pravda newspaper, Beketov was brutally beaten
in November 2008 and found unconscious near his home outside Moscow.
(Mikhail Metzel/Associated Press)
Covered in blood, his skull was cracked and his leg was fractured, those
being just some of the wounds he had sustained. Nobody knows how long he
was out there. He was taken to the local hospital.
Currently, he's in a coma. His leg and several fingers have been
amputated due to frostbite.
A few days ago, he was transferred to another hospital because of the
severity of his condition. But also because the first hospital had
received a number of anonymous phone threats concerning Beketov.
"I 'm not sure he will make it," says his friend and fellow
environmental activist, Mikhail Matveev.
Saving a forest
Beketov, 49, is a journalist, the owner and editor-in-chief of a local
newspaper, Khimkinskaya Pravda, which has been critical of the
authorities in Khimki. Beketov blew the whistle more than once on local
officials and murky businesses.
His latest battle was to try to save a section of the Khimki forest
where developers want to build a commercial and service centre, part of
a future highway connecting Moscow to St. Petersburg.
The first threats came a year ago. In May 2007, his car was set on fire.
Last summer, his puppy was shot dead by strangers in front of his
neighbours' eyes. Then, a few weeks ago, he received a phone call. An
unknown voice said: "You are targeted."
To protest the brutal attack on Beketov, a small group of about a dozen
people gathered last week in a square near the Kremlin on a cold
November afternoon.
They wanted to deliver a letter to President Dmitry Medvedev, alerting
him to the Beketov case as well as to other, similar attacks on
journalists and human rights activists recently.
"This brutality, this intimidation, has to stop," says Matveev. "We
should have the right to voice our opinions and to protect our forests."
When I asked, who did he think was responsible, he answered without
hesitation: "Local authorities linked to local developers."
At that point, the group of protesters was suddenly surrounded by more
than 20 police officers. Only three were allowed to enter the
presidential administration office at a time. Most of them just had to
wait, while the police kept an eye on everyone.
Attacked with a syringe
Among those left outside to freeze was a young French women, a
sociologist who has lived in Moscow for almost 10 years. Carine Clement,
38, runs the Institute for Collective Action, which connects activists
and researchers concerned about rights for tenants and workers.
Carine Clement (CBC)
On November 13, the same day that Beketov's body was found, she was
heading to a public meeting to discuss the current economic crisis when
two young men approached her and stuck a syringe with some sort of
liquid in it in her thigh.
"It was the third physical attack against me in two weeks," she said.
She went to a hospital but so far no toxic substance has been detected
in her body. She thinks it was simply aimed to scare her. "But next
time," she says, "Who knows?"
She is absolutely positive that these attacks are linked to her actions
against illegal construction and the violations of environmental and
democratic norms in Moscow and its outskirts.
Movements such as hers are spreading very fast in Russia, she says, and
they are not at all welcome by local authorities and the developers, who
she suspects of being behind the attacks. "It can also be some fascist
movements," she adds.
For Clement, it's clear these incidents are on the rise. What seems to
have changed, she says, is that now the attacks are not only being
perpetrated against specific political dissidents and intellectual leaders.
More and more ordinary people, who have become active by simply
defending their fundamental rights, are currently being victimized.
Is she scared?
"I'm more careful now," she says, smiling and pointing to the young man
who stands behind her. He is her bodyguard.
Men in the shadows
It is difficult to know exactly how many journalists and social
activists have been attacked and murdered in Russia in recent years. The
U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists reports that at least 47
Russian journalists have been killed in questionable circumstances since
1992. Of those that took place in the past eight years, 13 "bear the
marks of contract hits," it says.
Indeed, the attacks against journalists and activists continue even as
the high-profile trial of those linked to the killing of Anna
Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist who was gunned down two years ago
and who happened to be a harsh critic of Vladimir Putin and his protege,
Chechen President Ramsan Kadyrov, is getting underway in the Russian
capital, behind closed doors.
The Russian Interior Ministry, trying to reassure the public, said that
the best Moscow investigators have been assigned to find those
responsible for the brutal assault on Mikhail Beketov
In Politkovskaya's case, the investigation took two years. But those
facing trial today are only small fry. The big fish, the main suspect
who pulled the trigger, is still at large.
No need to say that those who ordered the killing will probably never be
found.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20081129-175207/Architect-gives-up-1M-in-protest
Architect gives up $1M in protest
By Robert Gonzaga
Central Luzon Desk
First Posted 23:37:00 11/29/2008
Filed Under: Environmental Issues
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Philippines—For his belief in protecting the
environment, architect and urban planner Felino Palafox Jr. lost what
could have been six months of payroll worth $1 million (P48.8 million).
Palafox said he had broken ties with a Korean-backed project in this
free port after he learned that more than 300 trees would be destroyed
to give way to a casino and hotel resort.
“There are 366 trees there, and 37 of them are century-old, so they are
heritage trees already. The reason why I broke with that group (Grand
Utopia Inc.) is because I refuse to compromise myself and the
environment,” Palafox told the Inquirer by interview on Friday.
“I would have gotten $1 million—six months worth of payroll. But that’s
rape of the environment,” he said.
“Frankly, in Korea, a project like this will never be allowed. Their
government and people will not allow it. But here, government officials
let it happen and we are treated like second class citizens,” he said.
Not his work
Palafox said a foreign architectural firm tapped him to design Grand
Utopia’s casino hotel but in the end, he noted, it all amounted to being
asked to sign on other people’s work.
“They wanted my name and license, asked me to put my name on the work of
others. They have to be investigated for that. No foreign architect can
practice in another country without a license,” he said.
Palafox said the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority is “trying to get away
from the issue.”
“They said in their letter to Eric Park of Grand Utopia that the area
was classified as an urban jungle zone. How can they build several
levels of basement garages there if they won’t get rid of the trees?” he
asked.
SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, however, said the agency would protect
trees inside the free port and would exert all efforts to save these
amid the development of the $120-million Ocean 9 Casino and Hotel Resort.
SBMA promise
“We won’t stand for the cutting of trees. Definitely, we won’t allow
it,” said Arreza.
Amethya dela Llana-Koval, head of the SBMA Ecology Center, said the
project site is within the central business district of the free port
zone that is not classified as a protected area.
“We only characterized that area as an urban jungle because it was
densely populated by trees. But the zoning of that area is commercial,
so there should really be no objection to establishments being built
there,” Koval said.
‘Green spaces’
She said no trees would be cut in that area, a former mini golf course
established by the United States Navy here.
“No trees will be cut. That’s our policy. What we’re going to do is ball
the trees, nurture them, and place them in ’green spaces’ within the
free port. Some of them will even be left in the area, around the
perimeter of the proposed establishment,” she said.
The relocated trees, Koval said, would be taken to the “green spaces” or
areas where no or minimal development are allowed.
She said the SBMA has given Grand Utopia a demolition permit and a
temporary fencing permit. The firm does not have any authority to touch
any of the trees in the area, she said.
“They have applied for permits to ball (transplant) the trees, but they
have yet to submit the balling plan. The relocation areas are already
identified and by the time the environmental compliance certificate has
been issued to Grand Utopia—probably by December this year if they
comply with all requirements —then the relocation of the trees can
begin,” she said.
Koval said the casino and hotel resort project is considered by the SBMA
as “non-critical,” which means that the ecology center can issue an ECC
to Grand Utopia without the need of the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources to approve it.
“It is within the jurisdiction of the SBMA, but we will coordinate with
the DENR,” she said.
http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/11/14/greenpeace-continues-its-protest-in-dumai/
11/14/08 16:00
Greenpeace continues its protest in Dumai
Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - Environmental activists from Greenpeace
continued their campaign in Riau Province on Thursday by hanging on the
anchor chain of a crude palm oil tanker MT Iso Corallo at Dumai port.
Southeast Asian Greenpeace Campaigner for Forest Bustar Maitar said here
on Thursday the ship was carrying the CPO of PT. Sinar Mas to Rotterdam,
the Netherlands.
"This action is a protest against Sinar Mas's continued damaging of peat
land in Papua, Kalimantan and Sumatra," Maitar said.
Previously, the Greenpeace activists also launched such protest by tying
them up to the anchor chain of another CPO tanker, the Gran Couva, on
Monday (Nov 10).
The action was stopped by the police.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gfR4ra3YHr4m8pgdDgWJni7HfSTw
Greenpeace stops palm oil shipments from leaving Indonesia
(AFP) – Nov 10, 2008
JAKARTA (AFP) — Environmental group Greenpeace said Monday it had
stopped several palm oil shipments from leaving Indonesia and called for
an end to forests and peatlands being destroyed to make way for plantations.
The ships were about to leave from Dumai, Indonesia's main oil export
port, to Europe.
"Greenpeace activists painted the words 'Forest Crime' and 'Climate
Crime' on the hull of three palm oil tankers and a barge full of
rainforest timber," Greenpeace Southeast Asia Forest Campaigner Bustar
Maitar told AFP.
"The government and businesses should stop the rapid conversion of
forests and peatlands into palm oil plantation in order to combat
climate change," Maitar said.
A Greenpeace activist was also chained onto the anchor chain of a ship
carrying palm oil owned by the Wilmar group to stop it leaving for the
Netherlands.
"Deforestation will continue without strong commitment," Maitar said,
adding that meeting demand for palm oil was possible without further
deforestation.
Greenpeace said massive tracts of tropical forests in the easternmost
Papua region were being converted for oil palm plantation.
The group has also exposed ongoing forest destruction for timber in
Papua and discovered fresh forest clearances in the peatland forests of
Riau.
The rapid conversion of forests and peatlands for palm oil and pulp
plantations is a major driver of deforestation in the country.
Forest destruction has made Indonesia the world's third biggest
greenhouse gas emitter behind the United States and China.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2008/11/22/news/environmentalists.shave.heads.to.protest.delay.in.ca.ruling.html
November 22, 2008
Environmentalists shave heads to protest delay in CA ruling
TIRED of waiting for the Court of Appeals (CA) resolution on the
controversial ordinance banning aerial spraying, some members of the
militant group Mamayan Ayaw sa Aerial (MAA) Spraying shaved off their
heads.
The group said CA justices gravely violated their rights as they
continue to delay the resolution of the case.
What's your take on the Mindanao crisis? Discuss views with other readers
The night before this, the students treated the protesters to a night of
music and poetry from various universities and colleges of Cagayan de Oro.
Male protesters shaved off their heads in front of the CA building
before staging a noise barrage that lasted for 10 minutes. Also they
encouraged motorists to blow their horns as a sign of support to their
cause.
Alfredo Calud, one of the senior members of MAAs from Davao City, said
their decision to get bald was triggered by the CA's undue delay in
resolving the issue on whether or not the ordinance banning the aerial
spraying is constitutional.
Earlier, the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association
questioned the constitutionality of the Davao City ordinance that banned
aerial spraying in the banana plantations.
"We are demanding justice and this justice is being stolen from us. This
(shaving of heads) is our way of telling the Court of Appeals that many
are being lost in our villages-lives, good health, livelihood and the
environment," Calud said.
Doods Tangonan III, a volunteer of Xavier University's Kristohanong
Katilingban Pagkakabana (KKP), one of those who joined the group of
people who shaved their heads, explained that he was in solidarity with
Maas "because what they are fighting for is the sanctity of human life
and the integrity of the creation."
"Let this be the statement of the youth group that I am representing,
this is in solidarity of the struggle against aerial spraying because I
know, we know, that the environment that they are fighting to be
preserved and the lives they struggle to be protected against the harm
of aerial spraying, speak of the goodness of their intentions," Tangonan
said.
Two members of the Sumilao farmers also shaved their heads. The Sumilao
farmers also traveled from Bukidnon to Cagayan de Oro to show their
support to the cause of Maas.
For three days, they stayed at the camp called Kampo Alang sa Luwas ug
Makinaiyahanong Pag-uma (Kalampag), setup by the Maas few meters away
from the CA office.
After shaving their heads, the protesters staged a noise barrage in the
hope that they will smash the "continued inaction of the CA justices."
Around 4 p.m. Thursday, at least 30 nuns visited the campers and led a
prayer rally, with the special intention that the justices will be
enlightened into resolving immediately the fate of the ordinance.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/20/europe/EU-Spain-Nuclear-Protest.php
Spain: Greenpeace protests outside nuke plant
The Associated Press
Published: November 20, 2008
MADRID, Spain: Greenpeace parked a cargo container at the entrance to an
aging Spanish nuclear power plant Thursday and some of its activists
climbed inside, in a protest demanding the facility's immediate closure.
Other activists chained themselves to the gate of the plant in Garona in
northern Spain, the environmental group said. The entrance was not blocked.
Greenpeace said the protest is to press the government to shut down
Garona immediately and eventually Spain's five other nuclear power
plants. Greenpeace said the Garona plant, which came on line in 1970, is
obsolete and has safety problems.
Spain's six nuclear plants provide 20 percent of the electricity
consumed in the country, according to the Industry Ministry.
In its general election campaign earlier this year, the ruling Socialist
party said it would phase out nuclear energy in favor of renewable sources.
"It is time the Socialist government lived up to its pledge to close
Garona and the other nuclear plants, said Greenpeace's director in
Spain, Juan Lopez de Uralde.
Industry Ministry Miguel Sebastian said in an interview published
Thursday that the government is open to letting utilities invest money
in existing plants to improve safety and prolong their operating lives.
"Otherwise, they will gradually be closed as planned," Sebastian was
quoted as saying by the newspaper Publico.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1081365_tea_party_airport_protest?rss=yes
Tea party airport protest
Brian Lashley
November 23, 2008
PROTESTERS staged a tea party in the grounds of an historic cottage to
show their opposition to plans to expand Manchester Airport.
Airport bosses want to build a £20m extension to the freight terminal on
land off Runger Lane, Wythenshawe.
They have applied for permission to demolish Grade II-listed Rose
Cottage and three other historic properties nearby, as well as a natural
pond and dozens of mature trees.
Chilly
Environmental campaigners, politicians and locals braved chilly winds
and rain for the tea party at the 400-year-old cottage on Hasty Lane.
Lib Dem councillor Martin Eakins said: "These plans were drawn up before
we entered recession. The arguments for local air flight expansion
didn't add up then, and they've lost further credibility since.
"The airport should do the right thing and withdraw these barbaric plans
before its reputation is totally discredited."
Committee
The plans are expected to go before the main planning committee next month.
A spokesman for Manchester Airport said: “Rose Cottage and the area
around it have been proposed for airport development since 1974 and we
have kept our tenants informed of the plans.
“The long term prospects for aviation freight are strong, and we want to
continue to build upon the success that Manchester Airport has provided
for our region in terms of economic growth.”
The airport forecasts cargo using its World Freight Centre will increase
from the current 166,000 tonnes to more than 271,000 tonnes by 2015.
They say both units, measuring 196,000sq ft and 50,000sq ft, would
create 60 jobs. The extension is part of the airport's massive expansion
programme between now and 2030, enabling it to cope with 50m passengers
a year and a huge amount of freight.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/01/stories/2008110151540300.htm
Other States - Orissa
Protest against proposed slaughterhouse
Correspondent
CUUATCK: Hundreds of residents drawn from at least half-a-dozen villages
falling under erstwhile Ward No.46 of Cuttack Municipal Corporation
(CMC) on Friday demonstrated in front of the district collector’s office
demanding shifting of the proposed slaughterhouse in Mattagajpur of the
locality.
The CMC on October 21 had notified that five slaughterhouses would be
opened in the city including one at Mattagajpur on the eastern limits of
the city.
Ever since the notification came, people of the locality resented the
proposal.
At a protest meeting held here earlier this week, people from adjacent
areas of Mattagajpur, Hat Sahi, Dhia Sahi, Gatiroutpatna, Poporda,
Kantilo, Nuapada, Sartol, Bali Sahi and Tini Gharia resented the CMC
proposal stating that the area is famous for having several Hindu
worship places of repute.
“Having a slaughter house in the vicinity would spoil the spiritual
sanctity of the place,” the people complained.
They had threatened that they would go to any extent to protest the
opening of the slaughter house in the area.
Accordingly, villagers took out a massive rally and demonstrated in
front of the collector’s office and submitted a memorandum to this effect.
http://article.wn.com/view/2008/10/28/Protesting_GM_brinjals_Orissa_entry/
Protesting GM brinjal's Orissa entry The Statesman
BHUBANESWAR, Oct. 28: While anti-genetically modified (GM) crop
activists continue to protest against GM crops, the Bt (bacillus
thuringiensis) brinjal is most likely to be sown in the state next
month, claimed Living Farm, an anti-GM group. The brinjals will be sown
as part of the countrywide field trials of Varanasi-based Indian
Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR), said Mr Debjeet Sarangi of
Living Farm. The seeds of Bt brinjal developed by Mumbai-based
Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company, a...
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/16/stories/2008111660180300.htm
Karnataka - Mangalore
Okkuta protests against tree-cutting
Staff Correspondent
________________________________________
Agitators carry
a cut tree in’ funeral procession and put it on pyre’
________________________________________
MANGALORE: The Rashtreeya Parisara Mattu Vanya Jeevi Premigala Okkuta
staged a protest here on Friday against cutting of trees.
The trees had been cut for widening and concreting of the stretch
between Lalbagh and KSRTC bus-stand and between Canara College and Lalbagh.
The protestors took out a funeral procession of a cut tree. They later
kept the tree on the pyre in front of Gandhi statue near Saibeen
complex. The procession was led by secretary of the Okkuta Shashidhar
Shetty. The agitators were holding candle lights and banners that read:
“ahimsa paramo dharmaha”.
‘Bangalore-model’
Mr. Shetty criticised the corporation for cutting trees in the name of
development. “The authorities in Bangalore have not cut the trees for
development. As a result, Bangalore has remained a garden city in spite
of developments.” He urged the authorities in Mangalore to adopt the
same model here. Although the authorities had promised to plant three
saplings for every tree cut, the same quantity of oxygen and shade could
not be expected to be given by the new trees, he said.
Representation
The okkuta, in a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, has urged the
Government to protect trees and wildlife. The trees and wildlife had the
right to survive and it needed to be respected, the okkuta said in the
letter.
It suggested to the Government to provide solar fencing for agriculture
fields of farmers and appointment of a wildlife expert in every
district. The okkuta demanded that natural and organic farming be
promoted in the State.
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080071974
Bangaloreans protest to save city's green cover
Rati Ramadoss
Monday, November 10, 2008, (Bangalore)
In Bangalore over 500 people gathered to protest against the widening of
140 arterial roads for the metro train. Widening the roads will mean
cutting down thousands of trees that line the roads, and a complete loss
of green spaces in the city.
A court appointed committee and the Bangalore municipal corporation
recently sanctioned the widening of the roads, which will mean more than
30,000 trees will be cut.
"Trees as part of the built-in heritage is very important to protect,
and I think Bangalore also belongs to people who walk, not just those
who drive around in cars," said a Bangalore resident.
It's not just the green cover that people are worried about.
Krishnamoorthy has owned a stationery store on Avenue road in the city
for the past 48 years. But when the road is widened, the 100-year-old
shopping area will go, and that will be the end of business for the
shopkeepers.
"Avenue Road has been around for so many years. It will be a huge
problem for all of us. They are widening the road by 1 kilometer. This
will make sure that 1.5 lakh people lose their jobs," said
Krishnamoorthy, shopkeeper.
The reduction in Bangalore's green spaces is an issue that resonates
with many environmental activists throughout the world, and is relevant
to all our major cities today. With the voices of dissent only growing
louder in Bangalore, one just has to wait and see what the government
has to say.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Science&set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=nw20081115160530243C177680
Environmental activists form protest chain
November 15 2008 at 04:56PM
The Hague - Dozens of Greenpeace activists have chained themselves to
construction equipment at the building site of a new coal-fired power
station in Rotterdam, police and the environmental body said Saturday.
Three journalists were fined for trespassing on the Maasvlakte building
site of power company E.ON, and negotiations were underway to get the
activists to leave, police spokesman Huub Veeneman told AFP.
"About 40 to 50 people have chained themselves up to all kinds of
machines and cranes since this morning," he said. "We are busy talking
to them to persuade them to unchain themselves. If not, we will take
them into custody."
About another 40 activists were walking around freely on the site, where
the group had set up camp on Friday night.
The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior was offshore with another few dozen
people on board to provide moral and logistical support to the activists
on the ground, spokeswoman Agnes Derooij told AFP from the ship.
Greenpeace said in a statement its activists have halted construction to
protest "unfolding climate disaster." They intended to stay there "until
the coal plant is cancelled."
"The consequences for the climate from this coal plant would be so
dramatic, that urgent action is needed now," said the head of
Greenpeace's energy and climate campaign, Meike Baretta.
The body contends that coal is responsible for a third of global
greenhouse gas emissions.
"Coal-fired power stations undermine European targets to cut emissions
by 30 percent by 2020. Quitting coal is essential to a meaningful deal
to save the climate."
E.ON said in a statement earlier in the year that the new power station
had been approved in line with Dutch nature conservation laws.
"Its environmental performance is leading in the world and fits in with
the plans of the Rotterdam/Rijnmond area to continually improve the air
quality," it said.
Whatever the outcome of Saturday's negotiations, said Veeneman,
"everybody who was in the forbidden area will get a fine."
Sapa-AFP
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=081115204736.ic8bqdrw&show_article=1
Dutch arrest dozens at Greenpeace chain protest
Nov 15 03:47 PM US/Eastern Comments (0)
Dutch police on Saturday arrested more than 80 Greenpeace activists,
many of whom had chained themselves to structures and machinery at the
site of a new coal-fired power station in Rotterdam.
The environmental group said its action, part of a Europe-wide protest
against German power giant EON, was to protest an "unfolding climate
disaster".
Police spokeswoman Mignon van der Laan told AFP the 82 people arrested
had been taken to three police stations in Rotterdam for trespassing on
the Maasvlakte building site.
"They will all be freed by the end of the evening," she said.
The group had set up camp on the perimeters of the site on Friday night.
"This morning, in spite of an agreement with the police, they entered
the site and were therefore trespassing," said Van der Laan. Thirty-two
among the group chained themselves to machinery, buildings and cranes,
and had to be freed by police.
"We had to arrest all of them. Fifty have been fined for being on
forbidden territory, but the 32 who chained themselves will be given a
warning to appear in a Dutch court within days to answer to charges."
Three journalists were also fined.
"The consequences for the climate from this coal plant would be so
dramatic, that urgent action is needed now," the head of Greenpeace's
energy and climate campaign, Meike Baretta, said in a statement.
The body contends that coal is responsible for a third of global
greenhouse gas emissions.
"Coal-fired power stations undermine European targets to cut emissions
by 30 percent by 2020. Quitting coal is essential to a meaningful deal
to save the climate," Baretta's statement said.
The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior was offshore from Rotterdam with
dozens more people on board to provide moral and logistical support to
the activists on the ground, spokeswoman Agnes Derooij told AFP from the
vessel.
EON said in a statement earlier in the year that the new power station
had been approved in line with Dutch nature conservation laws.
"Its environmental performance is leading in the world and fits in with
the plans of the Rotterdam/Rijnmond area to continually improve the air
quality," it said.
EON spokesman Hans Schoenmakers told AFP from the site that while
activists were entitled to protest, "what we don't like is that they
enter our premises and create unsafe conditions.
"Of course, we cannot deny that carbon dioxide is emitted from power
plants, but we do try to do this in as clean a way as possible.
"Electricity has to be produced, and it cannot all come from wind and
solar energy," he said.
Greenpeace spokesman Andre van der Vlugt said 18 nationalities were
represented by the group, including Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany,
the Netherlands, and Sweden.
http://www.insurancenewsnet.com/article.asp?n=1&neID=20081116375.4_bb0200259951187a
Greenpeace blocks Rotterdam harbor to protest coal-fired power plant
Copyright: XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
BRUSSELS, Nov 16, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- Two
Greenpeace ships have blockaded a harbor in the Dutch port of Rotterdam
in a bid to stop the construction of a coal-fired power plant in the
port area.
The German energy company E.ON plans to build eight new coal- fired
plants in Europe, one of them in Rotterdam's industrial area. The two
ships are preventing ships carrying coal from entering the port, Radio
Netherlands reported Sunday.
Greenpeace says coal is the most polluting energy source.
On Saturday hundreds of environmental activists blockaded the
construction site of the new E.ON plant. Dutch police intervened to end
the protest.
http://www.poland.pl/news/article,Greenpeace_protests_against_planned_coal_mine,id,354207.htm
Greenpeace protests against planned coal mine
2008-11-12, 15:25
Greenpeace activists from Poland and abroad are protesting near the lake
of Goplo, north eastern Poland against the construction of the Konin
coal mine.
The ecologists claim that the mine will not only cause the drying out of
the lake, but also threaten the whole eco-system of the region.
A huge Greenpeace camp had been set up in the village of Roztoka, where
the ecologists also constructed a giant sphere shaped conference room,
resembling the globe.
The Konin mine authorities were surprised to hear about the planned
protest; the company had not received any information about the
Greenpeace action. The mine’s spokesman said that the allegations of the
mine causing the drying up of the lake, had not been confirmed by experts.
The Greenpeace protest precedes a giant conference planned for December
in the western city of Poznan devoted to climate changes.
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4AN5SL20081124?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews
Polish miners, greens clash on eve of climate talks
Mon Nov 24, 2008 12:43pm EST
By Gabriela Baczynska
WARSAW (Reuters) - Greenpeace protesters clashed with coal miners at a
new opencast mine on Monday in an incident highlighting Poland's
environmental dilemma on the eve of a major U.N.-led conference on
climate change.
The western Polish city of Poznan will be the venue for the December
1-12 conference aimed at agreeing a new global climate package to
replace the Kyoto protocol which expires in 2012.
But Poland still relies on polluting coal for more than 90 percent of
its growing energy needs. Along with other ex-communist European Union
states, it opposes parts of an EU climate package forcing big cuts in
carbon dioxide emissions.
"This is a protest against burning coal and against extracting coal from
a mine like this one," Greenpeace Poland spokesman Jacek Winiarski said
at the Jozwin opencast mine near Poznan.
"We were stopped violently by miners... but fortunately nobody was
hurt," he said of the protest, which involved about two dozen Greenpeace
activists waving "Quit coal!" banners.
The Jozwin mine lies near Goplo lake, listed on the EU's Nature 2000
program aiming to safeguard threatened species in the bloc. Investments
can still be conducted in such areas if studies show there is no better
option.
Konin, the firm that operates Jozwin, also plans to open a second
opencast mine in nearby Tomislawice but environmentalists say this could
destroy Goplo, home to rare wildlife.
The company says it has all necessary permits to press ahead also with
the second project, which it estimates to cost around 200 million zlotys
($65.10 million).
"We don't plan to scrap this project. Why should we?... We will open the
site in two to three years' time. Usually such mines operate for 15 to
20 years," Konin spokesman Radoslaw Stankiewicz told Reuters.
KING COAL
Greenpeace says Poland should cut its reliance on coal and switch to
more environmentally-friendly sources of energy.
The Polish government wants to diversify the country's energy sources
without harming economic growth, especially at a time of global
financial crisis which threatens to undermine Poland's efforts to catch
up with richer western Europe.
Some Poles share Greenpeace's concerns but others say wealthier western
EU states had built up strong infrastructure before embracing the
environmental cause. Poland has begun to receive large-scale EU funds to
modernize its dilapidated infrastructure, including roads.
Greens clashed with local residents and police two years ago in
months-long protests over a key highway bypassing the Rospuda river, a
wilderness area also protected by Nature 2000, an event that triggered a
debate in Poland over how to balance economic growth and protect the
environment.
(Editing by Gareth Jones)
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=e0fcc582-3fc3-4601-9d66-c0cf163a3cd3
Ft. Chip residents, activists protest oilsands intrusion
Clara Ho, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Sunday, November 02 2008
Mike Mercredi is ready to fight what he calls the "slow industrial
genocide" that oil companies are waging on the people in his hometown of
Fort Chipewyan.
Last year there were over 20 deaths in the community of 1,200 people.
Many were cancer-related deaths, which Mercredi said are linked to the
oilsands activities in nearby Fort McMurray.
"Let's put a lid on it and slow things down," he said. "The graveyard is
getting full."
View Larger Image
Participants from the Council of Canadians annual general meeting on
Saturday march from Veteran's Park at 102nd Street and MacDonald Drive
to the legislature to demand a freeze on new approvals of oilsands
expansion. The banner's reference to Olympic activity on native land
refers to land-claim conflicts on the West Coast.
Greg Southam, The Journal
Mercredi was among the group of 200 activists who marched through
downtown to the legislature grounds Saturday afternoon demanding a halt
to new approvals for oilsands projects.
As they walked down Jasper Avenue from the Crowne Plaza Hotel, they
waved signs and large banners with messages such as "Oil boom, planet
doom" and "Crude is rude" while cars drove by and honked in support.
The march was organized by the Council of Canadians who were in Edmonton
hosting their annual general meeting.
Supporting the aboriginal residents of Fort Chipewyan who have been
impacted by oilsands development were Edmonton-Strathcona MP Linda
Duncan, Friends of Medicare executive director David Eggen and members
of the local Raging Grannies activist group.
Duncan said the economic downturn provides an opportunity for the
federal and provincial governments "to bring people together, figure out
a strategy, and figure out how we're going to consider environment and
human health."
Assembling on the steps of the legislature building, Maude Barlow, the
United Nations' newly appointed water adviser, said oilsands activities
need to be slowed down for the sake of future generations.
"This is not a sustainable future, this is a death future. This is a
future that rapes from the planet so that we can continue to live a
certain lifestyle for a few more years and leave our children with the
legacy of a dying planet," she said.
Barlow clarified that she's not calling for to end all oilsands
activity. Rather, she is rejecting the approval of new projects while
recommending a full, environmental assessment to find safer, more
sustainable ways of mining energy.
Barlow's message was the focus of this year's annual general meeting,
which started Friday and ends today.
One of Saturday's workshops, led by Council of Canadians energy
campaigner Andrea Harden-Donahue, Greenpeace oilsands campaigner Mike
Hudema and Parkland Institute director Gordon Laxer, examined the need
for a Canadian energy strategy in the wake of peak oil and climate change.
Laxer said he is advocating for a strategy that would supply Canadians
first to develop a strong environmental policy as well as "ensure that
Canadians don't freeze in the dark in an international supply crisis."
Harden-Donahue argued there would not be jobs lost in the slowing of
oilsands activities, but more green jobs available in the renewable
resources industry. And Hudema urged workshop attendees to consider the
human impact of the oilsands on northern communities such as Fort Chipewyan.
As for Mercredi, he said he would keep fighting to spread the message to
slow oilsands development. "When faced with death, you do whatever you
can to survive. So I'm going to fight to the end."
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200811190076.html
Protests as roadblock dismantled
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
2008/11/19
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Land ministry workers began dismantling a large wooden structure
blocking a planned expressway tunnel site in Tokyo, amid protests by
opponents to the project on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said it took
action to aid construction of the Metropolitan Inter-City Expressway,
known as the "Ken-O Expressway," to connect Chiba and Kanagawa
prefectures through western Tokyo.
Conservationists set up the structure in February near the south exit of
a tunnel under construction through Mount Takaosan in Hachioji, western
Tokyo.
The group carries out preservation work on the 599-meter
mountain.(IHT/Asahi: November 19,2008)
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-11/2008-11-22-voa29.cfm?CFID=156225121&CFTOKEN=63960790&jsessionid=66305def028d02e173b1637e6976364b2859
Greenpeace Protests Against Polluting Cars in Rome
By Sabina Castelfranco
Rome
22 November 2008
Ancient Rome was the backdrop for the latest protest staged by the
international environmental group Greenpeace against polluting cars.
Activists say a new European standard aimed at reducing automobile
carbon dioxide emissions must not be lessened. Sabina Castelfranco
reports from Rome.
Greenpeace activists staged a bit of theater to make their point against
polluting cars. Some dressed as barbarians drove three German cars: a
Mercedes, a BMW and a VolksWagen into Circus Maximus Saturday morning.
Other activists dressed as ancient Romans blocked the cars in a symbolic
show of protest.
One of the costumed activists explained the significance of colorful
protest.
"I am a barbarian, just like car-manufacturers are," the activist says,
"because they do not reduce their carbon dioxide emissions in such a
devastating climate."
Greenpeace blames the Italian government for backing German carmakers in
efforts to diminish new planned legislation on carbon dioxide emissions
for cars.
Campaign Director Giuseppe Onufrio explains. "German car producers are
heavily lobbying the European Commission to lower the existing proposal
on the regulation for the CO2, carbon dioxide emissions for cars," he says.
The European Union has proposed reducing emissions by 130 grams per
kilometer by the year 2012, and reducing another 95 grams by 2020.
Greenpeace says governments including, Germany, Italy, France and
Britain have been applying pressure to lessen these objectives.
Andrea Lepore is one of the Greenpeace campaigners. "They are trying to
weaken the first European legislation to reduce emissions from passenger
cars," he says.
Activists unrolled a banner in Latin that read: "Go back CO2. Polluters
will not prevail." They accused Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi, whom they described as the new Roman Emperor Nero, of
helping to destroy a new proposed E.U. energy and climate package.
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/headline_news/article.jsp?content=D94LA1G80&utm_source=markets&utm_medium=rss
Greenpeace protests genetically modified crops being used in food sold
in European Union
November 24, 2008 - 07:36 a.m.
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Greenpeace is urging the European Union to ban
genetically modified crops from being used in food sold in the bloc.
The environmental group says genetically modified organisms, or GMOs,
pose "unpredictable risks" to both consumers and the environment.
Greenpeace activists climbed the EU headquarters building in Brussels
and unfurled a huge yellow banner saying "Stop GMOs!"
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081104/NEWS02/811040368/1003/NEWS02
Yankee protest clears PSB offices
A Montpelier firefighter lets a pedestrian into the Chittenden Bank on
State Street in Montpelier on Monday while, in the foreground, a protest
against Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant takes place on the sidewalk.
Authorities said members of the Yankee protest made demands inside the
building, then dumped a smelly substance on the floor, sparking a
precautionary evacuation of part of the building. The material was
determined not to be hazardous and no one was harmed. Police are
investigating.
Stefan Hard/Times Argus
By THATCHER MOATS Times Argus Staff - Published: November 4, 2008
MONTPELIER — Protesters dumped material that had been soaked in urine —
or a similar smelling substance -— in the offices of the Vermont Public
Service Board on Monday, prompting an evacuation of parts of the
building, according to police and fire officials.
About 15 to 20 protesters entered the office on the fourth floor of the
Chittenden Bank building on State Street to express displeasure with
Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, officials said.
The group made demands of a secretary, handing her something to sign,
said Montpelier Police Sgt. Neil Martel. When she would not sign, they
dumped material on the floor that smelled of urine, Martel said. The
material seemed to be some type of foam packing material, said
Montpelier Fire Chief Gesualdo Schneider.
The fourth floor and most of the third floor were evacuated, said
Schneider, but the fire department quickly determined that the material
was not hazardous.
Schneider said firefighters spoke with protesters through a third party,
and were told that the material was not dangerous. In addition, some
protesters had their children with them when the material was dumped,
which also indicated it wasn't hazardous, Schneider said.
Montpelier Police Chief Anthony Facos said the activity amounted to
unlawful mischief or disorderly conduct, but Martel said no one has been
charged with a crime and police will not continue their investigation.
"There is no further investigation at this point," Martel said.
Martel said the people who actually dumped the material were at the back
of the group, so no one in the Public Service Board office was able to
identify them. There is also no video of the incident, he said.
The fact that the protesters are seeking the spotlight also played into
the decision not to keep investigating, Martel said.
"It's a fine line; they're looking for attention," Martel said.
Protesters handed out reading material that said the group was named
Green Mountain Earth First! and was rallying against the "unsafe
conditions at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power reactor and to petition
the Public Service Board to revoke Entergy's Certificate of Public Good."
The 36-year-old nuclear power plant is in Vernon, and the owner of the
plant, Entergy Nuclear, is seeking a 20-year extension on its license,
set to expire in 2012.
The Vermont Public Service Board is responsible for regulatory oversight
of power plants in the state, including the Vernon plant.
Problems with the plant's cooling towers along with a recent evacuation
because of increased radiation levels in the control room has prompted
public concern about the safety of the plant.
http://news.www33.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=661871&rss=yes
Two charged over power station protest
18:34 AEST Fri Nov 7 2008
74 days 20 hours 14 minutes ago
Demonstrators who chained themselves to a Tarong Power Station conveyer
belt have been arrested.
Two environmental protesters have been charged after spending
four-and-a-half hours chained to a conveyor at one of Queensland's
largest coal-fired power stations.
A third protester, who unfurled a banner reading "Stopping climate
crisis at the coalface" on a pile of coal, was also charged on Friday
with trespassing at the Tarong power station in southern Queensland.
The trio triggered an evacuation of the power station around 7.15am
(AEST) when they were discovered.
Police removed the pair, who had attached themselves to a coal conveyor,
just before noon.
Protest spokeswoman Clare Towler said the action was taken to highlight
the need for faster action by the federal government on cutting
greenhouse gas emissions.
"Community-led action like this is not going to go away," Ms Towler said.
"The UN climate talks are coming up in December and that's when the
federal government will be releasing emission targets for 2020.
"Well, 2020 is too far away. We want to know what Australia's reduction
targets will be for the next year, the year after or in five years time
before climate change is irreversible," she said.
Tarong Energy CEO Helen Gluer said the action was irresponsible.
"To have these trespassers show such a blatant disregard for the safety
of our employees and themselves is abhorrent," Ms Gluer said.
"Thankfully, there were no injuries to Tarong Energy employees,
contractors or the trespassers."
The protest did not disrupt power supplies.
The three protesters are due to appear in the Kingaroy Magistrates Court
on December 4.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/07/2413496.htm
Police negotiate with conveyor belt coal protesters
Posted Fri Nov 7, 2008 2:00pm AEDT
• Map: Tarong 4615
Police say two demonstrators are still chained to a conveyor belt at a
south Burnett power station in south-east Queensland.
It is believed they are protesting about Australia's continuing reliance
on coal as an energy source.
Three people entered the grounds of the Tarong Energy power station,
south of Kingaroy, just after 7:00am AEST today.
Two of them have been chained to the conveyor belt taking coal into the
power station for about five hours.
A Tarong spokesman says the plant was evacuated when the security breach
occurred.
He says there is no threat to power supplies at this stage.
Police are at the power station trying to resolve the situation.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/01/2407554.htm
Protesters chain themselves to power station conveyors
Posted Sat Nov 1, 2008 10:43am AEDT
Updated Sat Nov 1, 2008 11:55am AEDT
• Map: Muswellbrook 2333
Environmental activists managed to disrupt operations at one of the
country's largest coal-power stations at Muswellbrook, in the New South
Wales Hunter Valley this morning.
Four protesters have attached themselves to conveyor belts while another
25 have been taken away from the site by police.
The activists say they hope to highlight the failure of the Federal
Government to stop Australia's rising greenhouse gas emissions.
The operators of the plant will not comment on the disruptions but
protester Georgina Woods says production has been affected.
"We have attached ourselves to the conveyor belts that send the coal
into the furnaces that burn it and create carbon dioxide pollution," she
said.
Management at the power plant have spoken with protesters but Ms Woods
says the action will continue "for as long as possible".
"Actions like this are only going to become more common while the
Government continues twiddling their thumbs," she said.
Ms Woods says police have approached the four protesters padlocked to
the conveyor belt and asked them to leave, but there has been no
violence or aggression.
Bayswater power station was commissioned in 1985 and has been the
state's greatest source of electricity, producing about 17,000 GWh a
year, or enough to power two million Australian homes.
-ABC/AAP
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4A009520081101?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews
Environmentalists protest at Australian coal plant
Fri Oct 31, 2008 9:20pm EDT
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Environmental activists chained themselves to a
conveyor belt at one of Australia's largest coal-fired electricity
plants Saturday to protest slow government action on climate change, a
spokeswoman said.
Four protesters from the group Rising Tide, three men and one woman,
carried out the action at the Bayswater plant north of Sydney, Rising
Tide spokeswoman Georgina Woods told Reuters.
Police were at the scene and had detained approximately 25 other
protesters, Woods said, adding that electricity generation had also been
disrupted.
"They have chained themselves with piping. They have locked themselves
there," she told Reuters. "They cannot be removed. The police will have
to cut them off."
Run by Macquarie Generation, the Bayswater plant is one of Australia's
largest coal-fired plants. Located near Muswellbrook in the Hunter
Valley of New South Wales state, it generates approximately 17,000 GWhs
of electricity a year and is one of the state's main sources of electricity.
Rising Tide says the plant produced 14 million tons of carbon dioxide in
the year to June 2007 and is Australia's biggest single source of
greenhouse gas emissions.
The group said its protest was prompted by an upcoming UN climate change
conference in Poland, which Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is expected to
attend. One of Rudd's first actions after his election last year was to
commit Australia to ratifying the Kyoto protocol on climate change,
leaving the United States as the only major country not to have done so.
Spokesmen for Macquarie Generation and the New South Wales state police
could not immediately be contacted for comment.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=658908&rss=yes
25 arrested at NSW power station protest
Three climate-change protesters were "needlessly wasting police time"
when they chained themselves to a conveyor belt at one of Australia's
largest power stations, NSW police say.
Two men and a woman were charged over the protest at the Bayswater power
station in the NSW Hunter region, while another man was charged after
filming the protest.
A police statement said three Newcastle men, aged 45, 26 and 27, and a
Katoomba woman, aged 26, had been charged with entering and remaining
upon enclosed lands over the incident.
"While police respect the right of an individual or group to protest,
the community needs to remember these are people who willingly placed
themselves in this position," Assistant Commissioner Lee Shearer said in
a statement.
"These people are intent on needlessly wasting police time and resources
when the community expects our police to be out there preventing crime
and helping the public when they most need assistance."
Energy production at the site was brought to a standstill.
About another 20 protesters at the site were asked to leave, which
police say they did without incident.
Climate action group Rising Tide had said that 29 people were arrested.
Rising Tide spokeswoman Georgina Woods said the protest, which started
at 8am (AEDT) on Saturday and finished about 2pm, aimed to send a
message to the Australian government that it is not acting fast enough
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"We are waiting for the government to announce our greenhouse gas
reduction strategy in December," she said.
"We are here to send a message to the federal government that they are
not acting fast enough, that there is a growing level of frustration in
the community about this, the biggest single challenge that we face."
Bayswater power station was commissioned in 1985 and has been the
state's greatest source of energy, producing about 17,000 gigawatt-hours
of electricity a year which is enough for two million average Australian
homes.
The plant uses about eight million tonnes of coal each year.
Ms Woods said Rising Tide was planning another protest on November 22 at
Australia's equal largest power station, Eraring Power Station, south of
Newcastle.
"That will be a vigil," she said.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/protesters-cut-power-production-at-tarong/2008/11/07/1225561095172.html
Protesters arrested at Tarong Power Station
November 7, 2008 - 9:36AM
Three demonstrators who chained themselves to the main conveyor belt
carrying coal to Tarong Power Station, north-west of Brisbane, have been
arrested.
Protest spokeswoman Clare Towler said the action was taken to highlight
the need for faster action by Rudd government on cutting greenhouse gas
emissions.
"Australia's greenhouse pollution is rapidly increasing, and our
addiction to coal-fired power is the main cause,'' Ms Towler said.
"We are taking peaceful direct action because we refuse to stand by
while our government sacrifices the Great Barrier Reef and a safe future
for our children.''
A police spokesman said the demonstrators were being taken to a
watchhouse and charges would be laid.
It took police several hours of negotiating to remove the demonstrators
from the conveyor belt.
The trio caused an evacuation of the power station around 7.15am when
they were discovered.
Tarong Energy chief executive officer Helen Gluer said police removed
all protesters by 11.50am.
Ms Gluer said there were no injuries.
"To have these trespassers show such a blatant disregard for the safety
of our employees and themselves is abhorrent,'' Ms Gluer said.
She said the demonstration did not have an adverse impact on the station
operations.
AAP
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/environmental-activists-to-stage-48hour-protest-1039249.html
Environmental activists to stage 48-hour protest
By Elizabeth Barrett, PA
Friday, 28 November 2008
Up to 30,000 climate refugees could be created if plans to build a new
coal-fired power station go ahead, a report claimed today.
The findings by the World Development Movement were released as
environmental activists prepare to stage a 48-hour protest today as part
of their ongoing campaign against the new plant at Kingsnorth power
station in Kent.
The group's report entitled "Carbon Evictions: the UK's role in the
forced migration of climate refugees", claims 30,000 people - the
population of Strood, close to the site - would become refugees
worldwide as a result of the new plant.
It estimated the UK would be responsible for 5 per cent of global C02
emissions causing a 4C rise in global warming, thus creating 10 million
of the predicted 200 million climate refugees by 2050.
Benedict Southworth, director of the World Development Movement said:
"The effects that climate change will have on the world include more and
worse cyclones; flooding; drought; and sea level rises that will force
people to leave their homes.
"The Government must wake up and realise that we can't promise to reduce
carbon emissions with one hand and give carbon intensive projects like
the Kingsnorth coal power station the thumbs up with the other.
"If emissions aren't reduced significantly in the UK, 10 million of the
poorest people in the world will become homeless. Those people have done
little to contribute to climate change, but they will suffer the worst
consequences."
Camp for Climate Action, who is organising the two-day action, said
protests will take place across the country, with supporters planning to
target plant owners E.ON and potentially banks that have invested in the
company.
The group orchestrated a week-long heavily policed protest at the site
near Hoo in August, culminating in a day of direct action, during which
campaigners attempted to "shut down" the power station.
Susan Moore, of Camp for Climate Action, said: "E.ON, companies in its
supply chain and anyone associated with new coal in the UK are all
potential targets. Burning coal is the dirtiest way to produce
electricity and we refuse to stand by as the green light is given to a
new generation of coal fired power stations."
The current E.ON-owned Kingsnorth plant is due to close in 2015.
However, the company plans to replace it with a new two-unit coal-fired
power station, the first for 30 years, which it claims will be 20 per
cent cleaner.
Emily Highmore, E.ON spokeswoman, said: "We are respectful of their
right to protest. Our concern is that they do it peacefully and lawfully."
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/11/413424.html
UK Coal Industry Braced for 48hrs of Protests
E.on F.off | 24.11.2008 13:07 | Climate Chaos | Globalisation | Social
Struggles
Today the ‘E.on Face Off’ direct action campaign was officially
announced to the press (see press release below). The direct action
campaign will start with the 48 hours of action against E.on and New
Coal (Friday 28th / Saturday 29th Nov).
Get together, get creative, and plan an action!
For target ideas and action resources see - http://www.e-onf-off.org.uk/
If you would like a pre-made leaflet to use on the day – you can
download one from - http://risingtide.org.uk/node/306
PRESS RELEASE
UK COAL INDUSTRY BRACED FOR 48 HOURS OF PROTESTS
Climate activists launch ‘E.on Face Off’ direct action campaign
November 24th 2008: For immediate release
The stage is set for a face off between climate activists and the UK
coal industry, with 48 hours of action kicking off at 12.01AM on Friday
28th November 2008 [1].
The protests, called by the Camp for Climate Action [2], are part of an
ongoing struggle to prevent a return to coal powered electricity
generation in the UK, and will be the first major salvo of a new
campaign to stop the construction of a new coal fired power station at
Kingsnorth in Kent [3].
Susan Moore, of the Camp for Climate Action, said today: ‘With these
protests, we are launching an ongoing direct action campaign designed to
cause maximum disruption to all aspects of the construction of
Kingsnorth power station. E.on, companies in its supply chain, and
anyone associated with new coal in the UK are all potential targets.
Burning coal is the dirtiest way to produce electricity, and we refuse
to stand by as the green light is given to a new generation of coal
fired power stations’.
Campaigners have been spurred on by their recent victory against
Kingsnorth’s owners, E.on. This month, a national wave of student
protests forced E.on to abandon its graduate recruitment tour [4].
Activists are now preparing to step up the campaign against E.on and new
coal by targeting both their day to day operations and their brands.
‘We are going to hit E.on where it hurts, by damaging their brand. Once
we expose E.on’s greenwash, and people see the company for what it truly
is – one of the biggest climate criminals in the UK – we will start to
see people changing their energy suppliers and organisations refusing
their dirty sponsorship money’, said the Camp for Climate Action’s David
Elliot.
Activists have used the internet to organise and advertise the 48 hours
of action, launching a new website (www.e-onf-off.org.uk), and using
social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. The new E.on-F.off
website provides activists with resources for direct action and
information on key targets, such as addresses for the Coal Authority,
E.on and UK Coal offices, and schedules for FA Cup games. The 48 hours
of action have intentionally been organised to coincide with the 2nd
round of the E.on-sponsored FA Cup.
Organisers predict dozens of actions across the UK during the 48 hour
period, but details of the planned actions are being kept under wraps.
ENDS
For more information visit:
http://www.e-onf-off.org.uk
www.climatecamp.org.uk
Contact:
Telephone: 07772 861 099 and 07932 096 677
Email: press at climatecamp.org.uk
Notes for editors:
[1] Full details available at: www.e-onf-off.org.uk.
[2] The Camp for Climate Action (www.climatecamp.org.uk) has called the
48 hours of action. Rising Tide, Plane Stupid and the Campaign against
Climate Change are all supporting the call and mobilising their supporters.
[3] E.ON have applied for Government permission to build the first new
UK coal-fired plant in thirty years at Kingsnorth in Kent. If built,
this power station would produce the same amount of carbon dioxide as
the world's 30 least polluting countries combined. The new government
Department for Energy and Climate Change is currently deliberating over
whether to give the go-ahead for a new coal power station at Kingsnorth,
and an announcement is expected soon. The Kingsnorth decision is likely
to influence plans for six other coal-fired power stations: Longannet,
Cockenzie, Tilbury, Fiddler’s Ferry, Ferrybridge and Blyth. See:
www.peopleandplanet.org/dl/kingsnorth_briefing_June_08.
[4] Anti-coal protests at graduate careers fairs around the UK have
forced E.on to cancel the remainder of its recruitment tour. The energy
company has seen at least seventeen of its careers events disrupted over
the last month. For more information see
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/11/412804.html
E.on F.off
Homepage: http://www.e-onf-off.org.uk
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/11/413427.html
Tell E.ON to f off! - Protest
Climate Camper | 24.11.2008 13:31 | Climate Chaos | Ecology | Energy
Crisis | Nottinghamshire
As part of 48 hours of nationwide action against E.ON, called for by the
Camp for Climate Action, Rising Tide, Plane Stupid and Campaign against
Climate Change, Nottingham students are calling a demonstration outside
E.ON's city centre offices (Mount St, NG1 6PG).
Meet at 11.45 in front of the the town hall in Market Square on Friday
27th Nov. We'll then move over to the offices at 12pm to flyer and
protest about E.ON's plans to build a new coal fired power station at
Kingsnorth in Kent, a venture that will wreck any serious plans to cut
carbon emissions and protect the planet and its' population from the
most disastrous effects of climate change.
Why target EON and Kingsnorth?
The proposed power station will emit between 6 and 8 million tons of CO2
every year, and is just the first in a plan to build up to seven new
coal fired power stations. This will wreck the UK's chances of meeting
its own target of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050.
Climate change isn't about warmer summers in Blighty. It's about serious
changes that will cost millions of people (particularly those that are
the worst off and living precariously) their livelihoods and lives. If
we can stop E.ON, other companies will be discouraged from risking
similar plans, and we will send the strong message that the energy
crisis needs to be tackled positively, implementing the solutions that
will get us off fossil fuels.
If you're in need of some motivation, watch this short animation 'Wake
Up, Freak Out – then Get a Grip'. Very well made and stunningly lucid.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5T_3WJPYY9g
Everyone welcome, spread the word! Bring banners, costumes, instruments
and a sense of injustice; help us tell EON to f off!
Climate Camper
Homepage: http://www.e-onf-off.org.uk/
http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/38691
From: , Worldwatch Institute, More from this Affiliate
Published November 20, 2008 08:01 AM
Climate Protests Escalate Worldwide
Lynne Purvis stood apart at a Ritz Carlton cocktail party Thursday night.
Surrounded by coal, oil, and natural gas executives at a Bank of America
energy conference in Key Biscayne, Florida, Purvis and her six friends
had not been invited. Armed with banners and signs, they still made
their presence known.
"Bank of America forgot to put alternative energy into the agenda,"
Purvis, a member of the activist group Everglades Earth First!, said
into her megaphone. "So as the clean energy transition team, we were
asked to speak to you all tonight."
The party guests were less than impressed with Purvis's sense-of-humor.
One guest allegedly wrestled the activists' banner out of their hands.
During the melee, Purvis said, two of her associates were doused with beer.
"We did commit trespassing," Purvis said. "But is trespassing truly a
crime as opposed to putting the entire planet in turmoil?"
Climate activists worldwide are raising the stakes, with many turning to
civil disobedience to make their voices heard. Actions in recent months
have ranged from chaining themselves to coal conveyor belts in Sydney,
to forming port blockades in the Netherlands, to scaling smokestacks in
the United Kingdom.
The rise in activism reflects growing frustration against the continued,
and expanding, use of coal as a source of energy. The fuel, while
affordable, is directly linked to climate change and air pollution.
"What I see is - in the last year - it just exploded and went from being
a sizable amount of people, several thousands of very active youth all
around the country, to just hundreds of thousands of young people," said
Brianna Cayo Cotter, communications director for Energy Action
Coalition, a network of North American youth climate activists. "I feel
like the floodgates are about to open. We have the numbers. We have the
skills. We have the passion."
In Europe, where some 50 new coal plants are being planned, Greenpeace
is leading a continent-wide campaign [PDF] to halt eight upcoming
projects in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In the United
Kingdom, plans are under way to build the country's first coal plant in
34 years. Activists have escalated their opposition to the proposed
construction this year.
In the United States, a nationwide fight against 150 proposed new
coal-fired power plants that began four years ago has put a serious dent
in the coal industry's plans. Through the courts, government lobbying,
and acts of civil disobedience, activists have helped cut in half the
number of new coal power stations.
The movement achieved a major victory last week. In response to a Sierra
Club lawsuit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled that a
proposed coal plant in Utah would need a plan for controlling its carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions before being granted a federal operating permit.
The ruling essentially delays all such permits for the time being. "In
the immediate future, no new coal plant will be moving forward," said
Virginia Crame, a Sierra Club associate press secretary.
Meanwhile, the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) has staged campaigns
targeting two of the largest funders of such coal projects: Bank of
America and Citibank. Last weekend, RAN and Greenpeace organized more
than 50 events across the country to protest the banks' financial
support of the fossil fuel industry.
"A lot of people are jazzed up about it because global warming was such
an important issue in the election on the state and federal level," said
Mary Nicol, the Greenpeace student network coordinator. "The cleanest
coal plant is the one that isn't built. The youth generation really
understands that."
Environmental author Bill McKibben organized 1,400 simultaneous
call-to-action events, known as Step It Up, in 2007. He has since
founded 350, an organization that raises awareness of the 350 parts per
million of CO2 equivalent that many climate scientists consider the
maximum level necessary for a stable climate.
Following a rally at the U.S. Capitol yesterday, McKibben said that
plans for a fall 2008 global day of action would be announced at the
climate conference in Poland next month. "Hopefully there will be
rallies on every corner of the planet. We have organizers working on
every continent except Antarctica," he said. "We need people to realize
that coal is the dirtiest fuel on our planet."
McKibben also said he expects more acts of civil disobedience in the
next year. "It'll happen. Keep your eyes open in D.C.," he said.
The Energy Action Coalition is expecting 10,000 participants at its
second annual Powershift, a conference of climate workshops, lobbying,
and protests in Washington in February. Similar "climate camps" have
been held this past year in London, Hamburg, and Newcastle (Australia).
The large-scale campaigns rekindle memories of effective grassroots
campaigns from the 1960s and ”�70s. But a saturation of information has
made it more difficult now for organizers to attract attention, said
Paul Wapner, director of the Global Environmental Politics Program at
American University.
"There is a changing landscape in which activism in general, not just
environmental, finds its expression," Wapner said. "With the Internet
and all sorts of media, it's hard to figure out how one makes a
difference and not just have their message get lost in the virtual world."
Regardless of whether the world is watching, more activists are risking
arrest for the cause, and more support is coming their way.
In the U.K., six Greenpeace activists faced criminal charges this past
summer for damaging a coal-fired power station on the Kent coast. With
the support of NASA climatologist James Hansen, an Inuit leader, and
other environmentalists, the defendants argued that they were acting on
behalf of the world - specifically the Pacific island state of Tuvalu,
the Arctic ice cap, and China's Yellow River, they said.
The jury ruled that their actions were indeed protecting property in
England and across the globe. The activists were cleared of all charges.
In the United States, 11 protestors who formed a human barrier to a
power plant construction site in Virginia in September faced 10 criminal
charges and a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison, until a plea
bargain was reached last month. Hansen again offered his support.
"If this case had gone to trial, I would have requested permission to
testify on behalf of these young people, who, for the sake of nature and
humanity, had the courage to stand up against powerful ”�authority,'"
Hansen said in a prepared statement [PDF].
Next month, Lynne Purvis will appear in court as well. She faces charges
of trespassing, unlawful assembly, and resisting arrest following a
protest earlier this year against the construction of a natural
gas-fired power plant in the Everglades. She, too, requested that Hansen
testify on her behalf, but he has yet to respond.
Stories of climate activists who have avoided punishment did not,
however, influence Purvis, she said. "I honestly don't pay too much
attention to that kind of stuff. My personal motivation is that whatever
the consequence, it's better than the massive consequence that will be
felt by the entire community and the entire planet."
Ben Block is a staff writer with the Worldwatch Institute. He can be
reached at bblock at worldwatch.org.
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2412620.htm
Protestors push for preservation of native forests
PRINT FRIENDLY EMAIL STORY
PM - Thursday, 6 November , 2008 18:30:00
Reporter: Jayne Margetts
MARK COLVIN: With a fresh round of logging starting in NSW,
conservationists are calling on the State Government to stop cutting
down native forests.
Logging has just begun on an area of land at Bermagui on the state's
south coast.
Protestors have been out in force arguing that all native forests should
be preserved as carbon sinks, and as valuable habitats for animals.
Jayne Margetts reports.
(Sound of chain saw)
JAYNE MARGETTS: Another swathe of Australia's native forest is getting
the chop.
This time it's a 180 hectare area of land in between two national parks
at Bermagui. John Hibberd from the Conservation Alliance wants it and
other areas like it to be preserved as carbon sinks.
JOHN HIBBERD: All native forests are really important for carbon sinks.
As they get older more and more carbon is stored in them and we believe
that if native forest logging stopped in Australia a massive saving in
carbon emissions could be made at the stroke of a pen.
I'm not talking about carbon emissions straining and something in 10 to
15 years time, right now the Federal and State Governments across
Australia could massively reduce the carbon emissions of this country.
JAYNE MARGETTS: Environmentalists and local residents have begun a
campaign to protect the forest.
ENVIRONMENTALISTS: Save our forests!
JAYNE MARGETTS: Protestors say the forest is a valuable habitat for
animals, especially the severely depleted koala population. But so far
their calls have fallen on deaf ears.
POLICE OFFICER: Your arguments, your discussions about koalas are
irrelevant to me.
JAYNE MARGETTS: The police have been blocking them from entering the
logging site.
POLICE OFFICER 2: All you people right now are currently within the
exclusion zone
PROTESTER: Remove the loggers then.
POLICE OFFICER 2: If you don't leave the exclusion zone you'll be
arrested. Okay? You've got 2 minutes.
JAYNE MARGETTS: One woman who swore at a police officer was carted off
to the station.
FEMALE PROTESTOR: I wanna be arrested!
JAYNE MARGETTS: Environmentalist Prue Acton says the forest is only just
recovering from the last logging operation 20 years ago.
PRUE ACTON: The spotty gums are only just coming back, when they're
starting to have their full carbon and their full size and their full
beauty and the understorey is coming and the animals are returning and
the soil is stabilising. What are we doing instead? We're just going to
chop them down.
JAYNE MARGETTS: Research from the Australian National University is
adding weight to the campaign. A study has found that eucalypt forests
hold three times the amount of carbon than was previously thought.
And there are economic arguments too.
Dr Judith Adjani, an economist from the ANU say the logging of native
forests is unnecessary.
JUDITH ADJANI: We can substitute for, easily substitute for all of our
native forests chip exports using our hardwood plantation resources. If
we want to not log native forests we can do that because we have enough
plantations both hardwood and softwood to meet virtually all of our wood
needs.
JAYNE MARGETTS: The protestors are hoping to get their message through
to the state government.
John Hibberd again.
JOHN HIBBERD: We're asking the State Government to immediately intervene
in this matter. We want them to stop the logging not only in this
Bermagui corridor forest but also in the forest to the South where the
logging is intended to move next year and where the koalas are actually
living and breeding at the moment.
And we also want them to scrap the Regional Forest Agreement. That
agreement was made 10 years ago. It's now out of date. The world has
moved on.
JAYNE MARGETTS: But The NSW Environment Minister Carmel Tebbutt says
large areas of forest are already protected under legislation and
there's no plan for a review.
CARMEL TEBBUTT: There were very important conservation gains that came
out of the Regional Forest Agreements. 300,000 hectares of national
parks and reserves added for example in that Eden area as a result of
the Regional Forest Agreements. Now it is simply not possible to go back
and unpick those agreements, without placing at risk those important
conservation gains.
MARK COLVIN: NSW Environment Minister Carmel Tebbutt ending that report
by Jayne Margetts.*(see editor's note)
*Editor's note: the ABC acknowledges that although a balancing comment
was gathered from the NSW Environment Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, a
representative of the logging industry should have been included to
cover all aspects of the story.
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuId=77&ContentID=109049
Hundreds expected at Freo lead protest
20th November 2008, 9:00 WST
Protesters will rally in Fremantle today calling on the State Government
to scrap its plans to export lead through the port city.
The protest, starting at noon in Kings Square next to the Town Hall, has
been planned by Fremantle mayor Peter Tagliaferri and various community
groups.
Flagged as “the first lunch-time rally in Fremantle’s history”, the
protest is being held in anticipation of the Government’s approval of
Magellan Metals proposal to transport lead through the Fremantle Port
despite Premier Colin Barnett’s pre-election pledge he would not permit
the shipping of lead out of any “heavily populated area”.
Mr Tagliaferri said he anticipated hundreds of people would attend as a
sign of the community’s firm anti-lead stance.
Fremantle MHR Melissa Parke, Fremantle MLA Jim McGinty and shadow local
government minister Paul Papalia are also expected to attend.
PERTH
LILSA CALUATTI
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/06/2412059.htm
Protesters demand GM crops ban
Posted Thu Nov 6, 2008 1:01pm AEDT
Updated Thu Nov 6, 2008 1:00pm AEDT
• Map: Mount Barker 6324
A group of people calling for a ban on genetically modified (GM) crops
in Western Australia has staged a protest in Mount Barker.
About 30 people marched to the Minister for Agriculture Terry Redman's
office yesterday afternoon.
The protest follows an anti-GM demonstration of about 500 people in
Perth last week.
Protest organiser Karen Andersson says the group has collected about 160
signatures from people in Denmark who are opposed to GM crops.
"We want to extend the moratorium, we need more time, we need more
independent research before we can give it the go ahead," she said.
"And we need labelling so people, consumers can make choices."
Mr Redman says while he understands the group's concerns, he is
confident trials of GM crops will go ahead in WA.
"This Government did highlight prior to the election that it was likely
to be more liberal in respect to GM in Western Australia and I think the
cautious approach we've taken so far is an appropriate step to looking
at that technology and seeing if it is appropriate in WA," he said.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/china-taiwan-relations/2008/11/03/181467/Conservationists-protest.htm
November 3, 2008 9:36 am TWN, The China Post news staff
Conservationists protest arrival of pandas
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Wildlife conservationists joined yesterday in a noisy
protest against a visit to Taipei by Chen Yunlin, chairman of the
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS).
Chen will arrive today for a four-day visit.
“We have three presents for the ARATS chairman,” a spokeswoman for the
Taiwan Animal Society Research Association said yesterday.
While here, Chen will formally exchange two giant pandas with Formosan
serows and Sika deer, both indigenous to Taiwan. Chen first gave the
pandas to honorary Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan in 2005.
The animals could not come to Taiwan while the pro-independence
Democratic Progressive Party was in power. Wildlife conservationists are
opposed to their arrival in Taiwan too.
Chen Yu-min, the spokeswoman, said the three presents — two reports on
the cruelty to caged animals and an animal well-being encyclopedia —
will be handed over today to Lai Shin-yuan, chairwoman of the Mainland
Affairs Council.
“We want the MAC chairwoman to give our presents to the ARATS chairman
when they meet,” Chen Yu-min said.
The reports tell stories of cruelty to black bears and other animals
China has imported from abroad and caged in their zoos.
Taipei is ready to accept the two giant pandas. A new house for them has
been built at the Taipei City Zoo in Muzha.
“No matter how gorgeous and comfortable their house in Taipei may be,”
Chen Yu-min said, “the giant pandas won’t be happy here because they are
caged.”
She called on Lien Chan and Chen Yunlin not to make the giant pandas
their “political pawns.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/01/2407719.htm
Dam protester kayaks from Brisbane to Sydney
Posted Sat Nov 1, 2008 8:35pm AEDT
A Queensland man has wound up a month-long mission paddling his kayak
from Brisbane to Sydney to protest against plans to build a dam on a
river in south-east Queensland.
Kayaker Steve Posselt arrived in Sydney Harbour this afternoon.
He is protesting against the Queensland Government's proposal to build a
dam on the Mary River, saying it threatens the local habitat, in
particular the survival of the Lungfish.
Mr Posselt carried with him a bag containing thousands of protest
letters, which he handed over to the Federal Environment Minister Peter
Garrett, who has the final say on whether the dam proceeds.
"[Environment Minister] Peter Garrett accepted the 3,000 or so letters
from us, said thank you for bringing them to him and we're just asking
him to use his powers under the Act," he said.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24586448-421,00.html?from=public_rss
Kayaker protesting Queensland dam reaches Sydney
By Belinda Cranston
AAP
November 01, 2008 05:57pm
Water courier ... Steve Posselt hands 3000 protest letters to
Environment Minister Peter Garrett / Carlos Furtado
A 55-year-old kayaker's marathon paddle from Brisbane to Sydney ended
today as he handed protest letters to Federal Environment Minister Peter
Garrett.
Civil engineer Steve Posselt paddled about 42km a day since his protest
journey began on October 4.
He is protesting against the proposed Queensland Traveston Crossing Dam,
which he said risked the local waterways.
"We are treating our rivers as drains and they are responding as
drains," Mr Posselt said.
"If we don't fix this, we are threatening our very existence."
Mr Garrett met Mr Posselt at the Sydney Opera House, along with a small
crowd of conservationists, and said he was happy to accept the bag of
letters.
The Environment Minister was also shown a life-sized replica of the
waterway's threatened lungfish.
Professor Jean Joss, who breeds lungfish for research purposes, said she
was not sure if Mr Garrett would reject the Queensland plan to dam the
Mary River.
"If you had have asked me that five years ago I would have said `of
course'. But who knows now. He's a politician," she said.
Mr Posselt said he intended to return to Queensland tomorrow, but this
time he would travel by road.
"I'm not going to paddle. I'm not that silly," he said.
http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Grassmarket-trees-axed-after-protest.4651717.jp
Grassmarket trees axed after protest
Published Date: 01 November 2008
THE remains of five poplar trees in the Grassmarket were being cleared
away yesterday, after the council moved in to chop them down.
They were removed after experts found decay in the trees and said they
could only last a few more years. Dozens of residents protested,
delaying the multi-million redevelopment of the area while the council
debated their fate.
The trees will be replaced with mature lime and oak trees imported from
Germany, and it is hoped the project will be completely finished by the
first week in December.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/11/412127.html
Local residents protest at Lodge Farm open cast site
Jonny Lloyd | 02.11.2008 11:46 | Climate Chaos | Nottinghamshire
At noon yesterday (Saturday) around 40 people braved rain and cold winds
to protest outside the new open cast mining site at Lodge Farm, in
Smalley Derbyshire.
UK Coal, which owns the site, plans to extract one million tonnes of
coal from the 300 acre site over the next four years.
From the outset, UK Coal’s plans were opposed by local residents,
several MPs and Amber Valley district council, and Derbyshire County
Council refused planning permission for the open cast site. However UK
Coal appealed the decision and following an appeal hearing, communities
secretary Ruth Kelly overrode ordinary people’s concerns in favour of UK
Coal’s interests and agreed that the scheme could go ahead.
Saturday’s protest was organised by Erewash and Amber Valley Environment
Network, EAVON, and was just the latest in a long series of protests and
direct actions by people concerned at the local and global effects of coal.
Speaking to the Ilkeston Advertiser, prior to the protest, Neil Padget,
from The Smalley Action Group, said: "Opencast mining at Lodge House is
bad enough, and the national precedent that has been set by the
government, in allowing this, is appalling.
Many locals also fear, and with good reason, that UK Coal will be given
permission to extend the site, and that mining in the local area may go
on for decades."
While there are justifiable fears for the impact on the local community,
many of Saturday’s placards demonstrated that protesters were equally
concerned with the wider effects on climate chaos of coal burning.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/nov/02/national-trust-wales-heritage
Protesters take on National Trust
Heritage group leaders win key vote over plan to develop Welsh site, but
members fight on
• Lisa Bachelor
• The Observer, Sunday 2 November 2008
• Article history
National Trust members have vowed to continue their fight against the
charity over a planned housing development on one of its heritage sites.
The members lost a vote to scrap the plans at the trust's AGM yesterday
but are now planning to call an emergency meeting of the trust, which
they hope will see off the development.
The long-running protest centres on the charity's plans to build a new
village in the grounds of the Erddig estate, near Wrexham in north
Wales, which will be made up of 223 houses and flats, including 55
affordable homes.
The trust maintains that the new development is necessary to secure
future funding for the upkeep of the estate, which was bequeathed to it
in 1973 by its last squire, Philip Yorke. But opposition to the plans
has been growing for two years both from locals who are concerned the
development will destroy the character of the area and from members
around the country who are concerned about the trust's new role as
housing developer.
'It is a breach of the National Trust's duty to protect our heritage and
the rural environment,' said protester Aran Jones, one of the 352 to
sign a petition against the plans. 'They are acting like speculative
developers rather than a heritage organisation.'
Only last week the National Trust announced that it would take a more
positive environmental stance with a focus on protecting green spaces in
England, Wales and Northern Ireland after a survey of its members
revealed that 94 per cent want the charity to become more involved in
local green spaces.
'My objection is about the hypocrisy,' said Marc Jones, Plaid Cymru
councillor in Wrexham and trust member. 'The charity's chairman
announced it should spend its reserves buying up greenfield land to
protect that land from government housing development, yet the same
trust is going full speed ahead to build a commuter housing estate.'
Two resolutions about Erddig were put forward at the AGM. The first was
to scrap the development and the second was to remove the directors who
are behind what the protesters describe as 'a major switch in policy
from conservation to speculative property development'.
The resolutions were defeated, but the Rhostyllen group is resilient,
claiming it expected the decision because of a voting system they say
gives the trust's chairman 'a proxy block vote of several thousand'.
Now the group says it is confident it has enough support to press ahead
and call an emergency meeting of the National Trust. To do this it will
need the support of 8,000 members. 'We are very confident that we have
this level of support,' said protester Carrie Harper. 'We know that many
people have resigned their membership in protest and others have
contacted us to say they are disgusted by what the trust is doing.'
Residents of Rhostyllen have been running a 'Not on Erddig' campaign for
almost two years . Locals also argue that the low-cost homes in the
development will be affordable only to outsiders coming in from
Liverpool and Manchester and not for locals. Cymuned, a Welsh-language
pressure group supporting the Rhostyllen protest, claims the plans
violate the wishes Philip Yorke made when he donated the estate. The
National Trust maintains that Yorke left the property in the knowledge
that some of the land to be sold was developable.
'Where we take on land, we have to ensure there is a potential source of
funding and it was always intended this land could and would be sold,'
said Peter Nixon, director of conservation at the National Trust.
Things came to a head in January when local people voted against the
plans in an official referendum organised by the council. 'The National
Trust director in Wales said they would bide by popular will but they
totally ignored this referendum result,' said Jones.
The trust may yet be forced to reconsider its future direction as this
is not the first time it has faced opposition to a planned development.
Five years ago it faced the wrath of locals over its plans to demolish a
derelict hospital in the grounds of the Cliveden Estate in Berkshire, in
order to build houses. The development went ahead despite this opposition.
The mounting concern over this move into the arena of housing
development was underlined by another resolution at yesterday's AGM.
Seven people put forward the resolution, backed by the required 50 other
members, asking the trust to ensure sustainability be at the heart of
all its decisions in the future.
'The Cliveden Village was a missed opportunity; it is not large enough
to sustain any of its own services and every journey to and from its
rural setting will have to be by car,' claimed the group. 'We call on
the trust to take great care in controlling future developments.'
The trust recommended members to vote for that resolution, unlike the
two concerning Erddig, and it was passed.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/30/2405458.htm
Gunns AGM attracts protesters
Posted Thu Oct 30, 2008 11:08am AEDT
About 50 protesters gather outside the Gunns AGM. (ABC News: Chook Brooks)
About 50 protesters have assembled outside Gunns' headquarters in
Launceston.
The timber company's annual general meeting is being held today.
The protesters have signs reading "Stop the Pulp Mill" and "Gunns -
Extreme Capitalists."
But there are also pro-forestry signs at the AGM this year saying "It's
the Greens who Stink " and "Compost all Greens rubbish."
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa081117_wz_dtvprotest.1c07733bb.html
Protesters target TV recycling
02:26 PM CST on Monday, November 17, 2008
WFAA-TV Staff
TV Recycling Protest
Cynthia Izaguirre reports
November 17th, 2008 More WFAA Latest News
DALLAS — With just three months remaining until the nation's transition
to digital television, manufacturers of old analog TVs got a ghoulish
recycling report card.
The Texas Campaign for the Environment says more than half of the 17
companies ranked by the group scored a failing grade because they have
no recycling programs in place.
Members of the group marched in Dallas Monday dressed as zombie-like
"dead" TVs to emphasize their point.
Sony received the highest grade — a "B-minus" — based on its pioneering
a national "takeback" program for old receivers.
Funai, Hitachi, JVC, Mitsubishi, Philips, Thomson, Vizio, Target and
Sanyo all recieived an "F" because they have failed to establish any
voluntary recycling program.
Manufacturers were graded on things like the size and scope of their
program and how committed they are to recycling products responsibly.
The digital switch will occur on February 17, 2009. That's when
full-power TV stations will cease analog transmissions and viewers who
don't have cable or satellite service will need either a digital-capable
TV set or a digital TV converter box to continue to watch free TV.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/13/2418823.htm
Eight arrested in pipeline protest
Posted Thu Nov 13, 2008 2:41pm AEDT
• Map: Melbourne 3000
Eight people were arrested during a protest today against the
north-south water pipeline near Glenburn, north of Melbourne.
Workers began laying pipes for the project this week and protesters
tried to block the route today.
One of those arrested, Jan Beer from the protest group, Plug the Pipe,
says they had a stand off with security and police.
"The Sugarloaf Alliance security people are the ones that have arrested
everyone not the police," she said.
"The police just stand there as sort of a back up, it is the alliance
people that say they are arresting us under the water act for tresspass
or obstruction or sometimes both."
The protesters say they will continue to fight the project.
"We are not finished, we're angrier than ever," she said.
"Mr Brumby and Mr Holding need to be very aware that this will be
pursued to the bitter end and it will mean the end of their Government."
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/thousands-march-to-stop-climate-warming-20081115-67k0.html
Thousands march to stop climate warming
November 15, 2008
Thousands have taken part in marches around Australia calling for action
to stop climate warming.
Nature Conservation Council of NSW spokeswoman Cate Faehrmann said the
group was pleased with the number of people who took part in its fourth
annual Walk Against Warming.
"The year after Kevin Rudd was elected (prime minister), we were
wondering if people would turn out in force," Ms Faehrmann told AAP
after the event in Martin Place in Sydney's CBD.
"This demonstrates people are still concerned about this issue.
"They get that the government is acting too slow."
A colourful crowd showed up in Martin Place, despite the grey skies.
Some were dressed as polar bears. Others wore windmills on their backs.
Others carried placards of penguins with messages that read: "Don't
build your home on my home," and "Some like it hot, penguins not".
Ms Faehrmann told the Martin Place crowd the government needed to reduce
greenhouse pollution "to the levels that science is telling us is
necessary for a safe climate, not just to the level the fossil fuels
industry can live with".
"How hard is it to stop logging our native forests and protect them in
perpetuity to the vital role they play in stabilising our climate?" she
asked.
"How hard is it to build a fast and efficient rail service at the same
time as you are planning new suburbs?"
Fellow speaker, 17-year-old schoolgirl, Sasha Hunt, said urgent action
was needed.
"Looming on the horizon is the destruction of my future," she said.
"I know we still have the ability to change the world for the better.
"To not act now would be a disaster."
Ian Smallman, who brought his 11-year-old daughter Ciara to the Sydney
march, said: "I think it's the most important issue in the world right now."
He said he thought it unfortunate people were more focused on the global
financial crisis, which he described as a short-term problem, compared
to the long-term problem of climate change.
John Mobbs, 73, said the world was on a unsustainable path in many
areas, including population, pollution of the ocean, and general food
production.
"This is a chance to walk with people with similar views," he said.
He added he wasn't sure if the government would
take the walk seriously.
"The government has proven many times it hasn't taken much notice of
people walking in the streets, but I remain optimistic."
After the speeches, the crowd marched to Hyde Park where they were
treated to entertainment.
In NSW, walks took place in towns including Bowral, Wagga Wagga, Port
Macquarie and Yass.
Walks were also organised in all Australian capital cities on Saturday,
except Canberra, which is due to host a similar event on December 6.
Participants at the Brisbane CBD Walk against Warming rally formed a
people-map of Queensland.
Rally organiser Cassie McMahon said Queenslanders were particularly
concerned with the impact of global warming on the Great Barrier Reef
and neighbouring Pacific Islands.
"We're asking the federal government to set targets that will mean
Pacific Islanders will not be inundated due to rising sea levels and
that they will be able to have a better chance of adapting to climate
change," Ms McMahon said.
The Brisbane rally featured the slogan "Save our Neighbours, Save our Reef".
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/nov/10/adams-group-protests-ok-of-dump-site/?partner=RSS
Adams group protests OK of dump site
By John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published November 10, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
A group of Adams County residents piled garbage bags Sunday to protest
what they say is a dump that has been approved by county officials
without a public hearing.
The group, calling itself "Dump the Dump," objects to a landfill at East
88th Avenue and Schumaker Road, about five miles east of Denver
International Airport. The residents say the county gave the dump
administrative approval without notifying neighbors.
Most neighbors were unaware of the site until graders showed up and
began preparing for the landfill, said Leslie Gerbracht, who said she
can see the dump from her front porch.
County Attorney Hal Warren said the county approved the site as a place
to store fly ash, a byproduct of burnt coal that is used as an
ingredient in concrete. In 2005, a county planning director approved
switching the permit to household waste.
The residents have challenged that decision in Adams County District
Court, where the lawsuit is pending, Warren said.
http://southshore2.tbo.com/content/2008/nov/26/ss-dozens-protest-plans-for-homes/news/
Dozens Protest Plans For Homes
By YVETTE C. HAMMETT
yhammett at tampatrib.com
Published: November 26, 2008
TAMPA - Taxpayers didn't purchase conservation lands all across
Hillsborough County only to have developers access subdivisions through
the middle of them, South Shore residents told a county official last week.
They showed up by the dozens at a zoning hearing to oppose plans to put
1,087 homes in a rural area, then pave an access road through endangered
scrub habitat.
The zoning hearing master has two weeks to submit a recommendation to
the county commission on the proposed rezoning of 537 acres in Balm and
Wimauma from agricultural residential to planned development.
County planners have already put a condition on the rezoning request,
limiting the development to 350 homes unless owner Turfgrass America can
purchase right-of-way for a second entrance into the property.
Turfgrass America purchased the 537-acre sod farm after the original
owner sold 1,600 acres to the Environmental Lands Acquisition and
Protection Program in 1999, but retained the 50-foot right of way to
Balm Road for farm access. The right of way runs through the ELAPP tract
and would be used as a roadway in and out of the development.
A second entrance would require an extension of 19th Avenue over
Bullfrog Creek, which could create other environmental issues, residents
said.
The developers have agreed to provide wildlife crossings on both roads
at the urging of county biologist Keith Wiley.
Opponents say that's not good enough.
"This project will isolate and fragment Balm Scrub and Bullfrog Creek,"
environmental activist Vivien Handy said.
"Environmental protection is ranked as a top priority among citizens in
Wimauma," she said, adding that this project doesn't meet that priority.
Balm activist Marcella O'Steen said the development could become yet
another ghost town as the bad economy keeps people from buying new homes.
Turfgrass attorney Andrea Zelman said the developer has agreed to
concentrate most of the density on the innermost portions of the
property with open space between the development and the ELAPP site.
And, she said, the rezoning is just a first and early step. "They are
not going to go out and build a ghost town."
The alternative to the controversial development is for the county to
purchase the land.
The Turfgrass America land is ranked on the "A" list for acquisition
through ELAPP. That list goes to the county commission in December for
consideration.
ELAPP purchases only from willing sellers. Turfgrass Vice President Ron
Mahan said he is aware of the ranking and that the company will consider
all serious purchase offers.
http://www.citytv.com/calgary/yourcity_64505.aspx
Brentwood Development Protest
Not everyone is pleased with the new development in mind for Brentwood.
For Your City Kristen-Ellen Fleming
The northwest community of Brentwood is split about plans to transform
the area into a transit-oriented-development.
"We already have our share of traffic problems within the community,"
says Ward 7 alderman Druh Farrell, adding "our intention is to make them
better not worse with this development."
A petition with 850 signatures was delivered to city hall Wednesday
afternoon. The residents behind it want to stop the TOD.
"Get the community directly involved because now that they know the
scale of the project the community is up in arms, says one 25-year resident.
City planners want to see an urban village, including high density
housing around the Brentwood LRT station.
Although new to Calgary, the TOD model is being incorporated in cities
all over North America.
The idea being, TODs ease traffic problems by encouraging people to use
transit and walk within their communities.
The petition will be delivered to city aldermen when the project goes
before council on December 8th. Residents will also get a chance to
speak at the public hearing that same day.
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_111208_news_tree_protest.1a6eea4e1.html
Student protester in Salem tree cited for trespassing
05:39 PM PST on Friday, November 14, 2008
By ERIC ADAMS, kgw.com
SALEM, Ore. -- A protestor who camped in a pine tree this week in the
State Capitol State Park was cited for trespassing Friday.
Watch KGW report on protest
Jasmine Zimmer-Stucky clambered about 50 feet up the pine tree on
Tuesday and originally planned to stay through Friday night.
Zimmer-Stucky was protesting a Bush administration plan to increase
logging on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management.
Others who were protesting with her may also face tresspassing citations
for being in a closed area without a permit, according to Oregon State
Police.
Zimmer-Stucky is a member of the Eugene chapter of the environmental
group Rising Tide, based in Britain.
The group draws attention to climate-change issues, including public
transportation and cap-and-trade permits.
A Rising Tide spokeswoman in Oregon said the logging plan provides a
short-term gain for a few companies at the expense of long-term
environmental and economic sustainability.
State Capitol Park Manager Jim Bader said Oregon supports using the park
for political expression; however, camping is not allowed in the park
and those staying overnight must first obtain proper permits.
"Park rules are there to protect people and the park's resources," Bader
said. "Visitors who don't follow those rules risking being cited."
The group had also hoisted a platform into tree, which Bader said also
violates park policy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/387499_logging13.html
Last updated November 12, 2008 9:13 a.m. PT
Student in Oregon Capitol tree to protest logging
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALEM, Ore. -- A University of Oregon student plans to spend the rest of
the week in a pine tree at the state Capitol to protest a Bush
administration plan to increase logging on land owned by the Bureau of
Land Management.
Jasmine Zimmer-Stucky clambered about 50 feet up the pine tree on
Tuesday and plans to stay until Friday.
Zimmer-Stucky is a member of the Eugene chapter of the environmental
group Rising Tide, based in Britain.
The group draws attention to climate-change issues, including public
transportation and cap-and-trade permits.
A Rising Tide spokeswoman in Oregon said the plan provides a short-term
gain for a few companies at the expense of long-term environmental and
economic sustainability.
http://www.breitbart.com/image.php?id=iafp081112193432.u2xywr9mp0&show_article=1
Greenpeace activists fly a kite to protest against the cultivation of
genetically modified maize
Greenpeace activists fly a kite to protest against the cultivation of
genetically modified maize. Genetically-modified maize can affect
reproduction in mice, an Austrian study has found, although its authors
have dismissed warnings by environmental groups that it could also harm
humans.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24710198-2862,00.html
No arrests at peaceful pipeline protest
Nick Higginbottom
November 26, 2008 02:30pm
DOZENS of anti north-south campaigners protested today at the sugarloaf
pipeline construction site just outside Yea.
Though no-one was arrested, the protestors claimed victory and said the
pipeline alliance, which is responsible for the pipe's construction, was
on legally shaky ground when it arrested eight people two weeks ago.
Plug the Pipe spokeswoman Jan Beer said the protest was identical in
nearly every way to the one conducted a fortnight ago yet this time
no-one was arrested.
She claimed the pipeline workers had been given strict instructions not
to arrest anyone.
Pipeline workers have the authority to remove people from the
construction site under the Water Act.
But Melbourne Water rejected the claim, and said it was pleased the
protest had been conducted peacefully and without incident.
The Senate last night passed an amendment to bill for the Rudd
Government's $13 billion takeover of the Murray Darling Basin that would
veto the Sugarloaf Pipeline project.
Water minister Tim Holding said he couldn't understand why any political
parties would want to support the ammendments which would ultimately
block part of Melbourne's water supply.
http://www.guide2.co.nz/money/news/business/solid-energy-public-meeting-attracts-protest/11/4127
Monday, 24 November 2008 - 7:21pm
Wellington, Nov 24 NZPA - State-owned coal miner Solid Energy held an
annual meeting for the first time today, saying it wasn't a hint about
privatisation or an invitation to protest.
The "stakeholder" meeting in the end did not resemble a typical
shareholder meeting as protesters stormed the stage.
"They tried to chuck a great big cream pie in my face from point blank
range and didn't succeed," said chief executive Don Elder.
"I knocked their arm and they missed and they tried to pour coal over me
but I managed to grab the bag out of their hands," he said.
The Save Happy Valley Coalition said the meeting was a stunt. The group
staged a stunt itself, four dressing up as Santa Claus to highlight its
belief that the coal industry was in a fantasy world perpetuating a myth
of "clean coal".
"What was needed was another fantasy character to help bring Solid
Energy back to reality," the coalition said.
Mr Elder said the coalition was invited but a group of them disrupted
the meeting and were removed by security at the Langham Hotel.
About 150 people turned up for the annual meeting. The audience included
shareholding minister Simon Power and Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee.
"The rationale for the meeting is to improve the understanding of what
we are doing as a company," said chairman John Palmer.
He said it was an opportunity for the board and management to be
subjected to the sort of scrutiny that businesses of size, particularly
those in public ownership, were subjected to regularly.
"By using a more standard public company reporting format, it should not
be implied that we have an expectation about the privatisation or
partial privatisation of state-owned enterprises in general and Solid
Energy in particular," Mr Palmer said.
Dr Elder said executives from other energy companies and customers
attended the meeting. The NZ Shareholders' Association was invited but
no questioners identified themselves as members of the association.
There was good news for the government shareholder as the company said
it expected dividend and dividend provisions in the current year to
exceed $100m.
The company paid a dividend of $34.4m to the Crown on October 31 for the
2008 year.
Dr Elder said Solid Energy wanted to be transparent. Most of the
questions were about strategic, rather than operational issues.
The protesters said the company planned to turn the pristine wilderness
of Happy Valley on the South Island's West Coast into an open cast coal
mine, killing endangered species.
NZPA WGT pjg kn
http://tvnz.co.nz/business-news/solid-energy-attract-sturdy-protest-2329596
Solid Energy attract sturdy protest
Published: 2:08AM Tuesday November 25, 2008
Source: NZPA
State-owned coal miner Solid Energy held an annual meeting for the first
time on Monday, saying it was not a hint about privatisation or an
invitation to protest.
The "stakeholder" meeting in the end did not resemble a typical
shareholder meeting as protesters stormed the stage.
"They tried to chuck a great big cream pie in my face from point blank
range and didn't succeed," says chief executive Don Elder.
"I knocked their arm and they missed and they tried to pour coal over me
but I managed to grab the bag out of their hands," he says.
The Save Happy Valley Coalition says the meeting was a stunt, and so the
group staged a stunt itself, four dressing up as Santa Claus to
highlight its belief that the coal industry was in a fantasy world
perpetuating a myth of "clean coal".
"What was needed was another fantasy character to help bring Solid
Energy back to reality," the coalition says.
Elder said the coalition was invited, but a group of them disrupted the
meeting and were removed by security at the Langham Hotel.
About 150 people turned up for the annual meeting. The audience included
shareholding minister Simon Power and Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee.
"The rationale for the meeting is to improve the understanding of what
we are doing as a company," says chairman John Palmer.
He said it was an opportunity for the board and management to be
subjected to the sort of scrutiny that businesses of size, particularly
those in public ownership, were subjected to regularly.
"By using a more standard public company reporting format, it should not
be implied that we have an expectation about the privatisation or
partial privatisation of state-owned enterprises in general and Solid
Energy in particular," Palmer said.
Elder says executives from other energy companies and customers attended
the meeting. The NZ Shareholders' Association was invited but no
questioners identified themselves as members of the association.
There was good news for the government shareholder, as the company said
it expected dividend and dividend provisions in the current year to
exceed $100 million.
The company paid a dividend of $34.4 million to the Crown on October 31
for the 2008 year.
Elder says Solid Energy wants to be transparent. Most of the questions
were about strategic, rather than operational issues.
The protesters say the company plans to turn the pristine wilderness of
Happy Valley on the South Island's West Coast into an open cast coal
mine, killing endangered species.
Burning cleaner?
Solid Energy says it is confident it will be able to produce cleaner
thermal power in 2009.
It follows the connection to the national grid of a new generator near
Huntly , powered by coal seam gas.
Elder says the gas is almost pure methane, which means it only produces
1% of CO2. On that basis, it has a much lower carbon footprint than
other natural gases.
The new generator powers about 500 households.
Elder says while that number is small, the company is currently
exploring other coalfields in Huntly.
The coal seam generator is a first for New Zealand.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10544825&ref=rss
Farmers join protest over sewage
4:00AM Tuesday Nov 25, 2008
A farmers' group has added its voice to those trying to stop the
Whangarei District Council from dumping untreated sewage into Whangarei
Harbour during emergencies.
The council has applied to the Northland Regional Council to renew its
resource consent to discharge up to 24,000 cu m a day.
The council says the cost of fixing the infrastructure is $5 million to
$21 million, and it would use its consent only during emergencies,
usually brought on by deluges.
Five Whangarei Harbour hapu - Ngati Kahu o Torongare, Te Parawhau,
Waiariki, Ngati Korora and Nga Uri O Pohe - last week announced their
opposition, and they have been joined by Farmers of New Zealand.
"Northland Regional Council requires dairy farmers to provide for
stormwater diversion and sufficient storage to ensure there are no
discharges during wet periods," operations director Bill Guest said.
"We are of the opinion that rules relating to management of waste or
effluent must be consistent across sectors."
Mr Guest said any claims that the district council did not have the
money to pay for a necessary infrastructure upgrade were unacceptable.
"We believe [the council] needs to address its core business by
prioritising its revenue towards the provision of adequate
sewage-treatment infrastructure."
The council's infrastructure manager, Simon Weston, said the only way to
end the spills would be a huge investment.
This would require a change in priorities or extra charges on
ratepayers, he told the Northern Advocate.
Mr Weston said those wanting to end the discharges should think about
making submissions to the council's 10-year plan, which comes up for
consultation next year.
He said only 15 people turned up to a meeting the council called last
year to get feedback before it spent millions on fixing overflows from
two pumping stations.
The Advocate said the discharge consent was for the equivalent of 10
Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Public submissions on the consent application close with the Northland
Regional Council today.
- NZPA
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7756329.stm
Saturday, 29 November 2008
Fancy-dress protest at Heathrow
Ministers are expected to make a decision on Heathrow within weeks
Up to 100 protesters dressed as the prime minister are expected to join
a rally to oppose the expansion of Heathrow Airport in west London.
Campaigners wearing Gordon Brown masks and ears joined other protesters
in Lampton Park, Hounslow, west London.
Any expansion would include a new runway, allowing the total number of
flights to increase from 480,000 at present to 605,000 by 2020.
Ministers are expected to make a decision on Heathrow in weeks.
Independent body
Rally organiser John Stewart from the campaign group HACAN said:
"All the Gordon Browns in the world - and there will be a lot of them at
this protest - won't convince anybody that expansion is needed.
It's bad for the environment and most people don't buy his line that
it's needed for the health of the economy
John Stewart, rally organiser
"It's bad for the environment and most people don't buy his line that
it's needed for the health of the economy."
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats oppose the idea of a new runway,
as do environmental groups, while some backbench Labour MPs are calling
for a rethink.
Richmond councillors are also taking part in the protest.
"We are totally opposed to any form of expansion at Heathrow," said
Richmond council leader Serge Lourie.
"The airport has reached maximum capacity."
Heathrow's owner BBA said that if a third runway was approved, then it
would an accept an independent body with the power to limit flights for
environmental reasons.
http://www.khnl.com/global/story.asp?s=9280937
City releases draft EIS on rail transit; groups still clash
Posted: Nov 03, 2008 2:47 AM GST Sunday, November 2, 2008 9:47 PM EST
Updated: Nov 03, 2008 7:57 AM GST Monday, November 3, 2008 2:57 AM EST
Cliff Slater
Kirk Caldwell
By Diane Ako - bio | email and Joe Aikala
HONOLULU (KHNL) - The city releases a major report today, which does
nothing to quell the controversy about rail. This 2 inch thick book is
the city's draft environmental impact statement, released Sunday
morning. The estimated costs to build rail have jumped, now $4.2 billion
to $5.3 billion depending on the route.
Salt Lake Boulevard is one of the possible stops of the proposed rail
line. The city says you'll see more than 20% less traffic with the help
of rail transit. Opponents say that's all spin. Cliff Slater of Stop
Rail Now hastily called an afternoon press conference. "Why did they
take so long to release this? They're releasing it on a Sunday morning
when they could've released it last week."
Slater's Stop Rail Now group said the report doesn't say anything.
"We're very disappointed we don't have even the kind of access to
information we had with the alternatives analysis." He and his staffers
added that they only had a few hours to skim the material and will
release more statements as they have time to study and digest the
information.
At the supporters' headquarters, Go Rail Go, dozens of volunteers were
ready to canvass more homes on Sunday afternoon, and they will do it
again Tuesday. State representative Kirk Caldwell (D-Manoa) of Go Rail
Go encouraged the volunteers to continue to tell people, "Rail is the
best solution to moving people from their homes to their jobs so they
can get home earlier and spend more time with their families."
Caldwell said the report confirms all that they've been saying, and
more. "The draft EIS says traffic congestion will be reduced by 20%.
Previously we thought it was going to be 11%. People are concerned the
cost will be out of the ballpark. The draft EIS says that, adjusted for
inflation, the cost is within the ballpark."
Opponents said it's just not true. Said Slater, "We're going to spend
billions of dollars and traffic is going to get worse."
Here's another sticking point. Who will pay for the rail? The draft
report says the feds "have agreed to consider" the city's request for
$1.2 billion. Go rail Go says this is going to be THE economic stimulus
for Hawaii for the near future. Stop Rail Now said think about it- the
federal government has other economic problems on its table now.
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/11/21/news/wyoming/24-blm.txt
BLM to review protests of leasing of popular area
Energy company spokesman says drilling would cause little disturbance
By The Associated Press
CHEYENNE - The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has received 127 protests
on its plans to sell oil and gas leases in a popular hunting and
recreation area near Flaming Gorge Reservoir, south of Rock Springs.
The BLM has identified 18,049 acres in the Little Mountain area for a
lease sale scheduled on Dec. 2, agency spokesman Roger Alexander said
Thursday.
Conservationists, hunters and others say they value the area too much to
allow oil and gas development. Industry representatives say they are
confident they can extract natural gas from the area without much
disturbance.
The BLM will review the protests, and the agency's state director in
Cheyenne will decide whether the proposed Little Mountain leases will be
included in the sale, Alexander said. He said the decision on the
parcels likely would be announced one or two days before the sale.
For the same sale, the agency also has proposed leasing 2,960 acres in
the Jack Morrow Hills area north of Rock Springs. That drew 13 protests.
Conservationists say the Jack Morrow Hills, part of the Red Desert,
should be protected.
Alexander said the agency is considering a total of 247,645 acres for
the sale.
The Little Mountain area drew the most protests of the tracts being
considered for sale. Alexander said written protests were received from
conservation groups, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and many
individuals.
Leases have already been sold in the Little Mountain area, and Devon
Energy Corp. has drilled one pilot natural-gas well and plans to drill
another next year. It also has been conducting a seismic survey to
gather data on where best to drill.
Devon spokesman Chip Minty said the company has not determined the scope
of any future drilling beyond the two pilot wells and cannot say now
whether it will participate in the Dec. 2 BLM lease sale.
However, Devon has determined that if more expansive drilling activity
is undertaken, it can be done with comparatively little disturbance,
because the natural gas is contained in a rock formation that
encompasses a large area and can be tapped from anywhere, Minty said.
"So we're able to avoid historic locations, we're able to avoid places
that are sensitive habitat, and so we're able to pinpoint where we want
to drill because the shale is pervasive," he said.
And with the use of horizontal drilling, in which drilling rigs sink
wells down and then angle out horizontally, Devon can drill multiple
wells from one pad, he said.
It all means fewer natural-gas well pads will be needed in the Little
Mountain area compared to other fields, such as Jonah in Sublette
County, where the natural-gas deposits are more dispersed and horizontal
drilling isn't as effective and efficient.
"So you look across the landscape and you're not seeing a horizon dotted
with well sites because the well sites that we have will be far more
limited than what you might have in the Jonah field," Minty said.
Minty also noted that Devon has halted its pilot drilling and seismic
surveying during hunting season. The seismic survey will cost the
company an additional $1 million because of the hunting season stoppage,
he said.
The Little Mountain area is prized among locals for its elk, antelope
and mule deer hunting. Gov. Dave Freudenthal, himself a hunter, is among
those who expressed concern about the energy activity in the area,
saying hunting there is "truly a once-in-a-lifetime event."
"I would ... emphasize that the Little Mountain area is considered by
many to be Sweetwater County's crown jewel for wildlife and recreation,"
Freudenthal has said. "Any activity in the area must be undertaken with
the greatest caution and sensitivity."
Trout Unlimited has also expressed concern about how energy development
will affect fishing in the area.
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/11/19/news/doc49247bb921462936163449.txt
Historic re-enactors protest park, site closings in Springfield
By Mike Riopell
mike.riopell at lee.net
Advertisement
SPRINGFIELD -- A group of historic re-enactors protested at the Illinois
Capitol Wednesday in an effort to keep state parks and historic sites
open. | Prison supporters take fight to Springfield | Judge blocks
transfers from prison | Mayor: State cooking the books on parolees
About two dozen parks and historic sites are set for closure at the end
of the month as part of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's budget-cutting plans.
Southern Illinois University doctoral student Dan Hechenberger was among
the protesters Wednesday, saying staff at historic sites in particular
can help teachers make history lessons more interesting.
Hechenberger said many students don't perk up at the thought of learning
history, but hands-on experience can help.
"They can help bring it alive for the kids," Hechenberger said.
The protest came on the same day hundreds of prison workers and their
families were to gather in the Capitol to fight the governor's plan to
close Pontiac Correctional Center.
Lawmakers have tried to send more money to Blagojevich in an effort to
keep the sites and parks open past Nov. 30. But Blagojevich said Tuesday
he wants to cut the state budget even further.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2008/11/17/nb-caboose-move.html?ref=rss
Protesters hope to derail caboose move
Last Updated: Monday, November 17, 2008 | 3:57 PM AT Comments6Recommend12
CBC News
A small group of people in Grand Bay-Westfield are hoping to save a town
landmark before its northwestern trek to a new home.
An old, red caboose that once served as the town's visitor information
centre will be on its way to Edmundston later this week. The
northwestern city is turning its old train station into a tourist
attraction, and the 1930s vintage caboose that now rests in Grand Bay
Westfield, about 20 kilometres north of Saint John, will fit right in.
But that's not going over well with the roughly 15 placard-waving
protesters in Grand Bay-Westfield who rallied around the caboose on
Monday morning.
Louise Touchbourne, 10, was among the demonstrators hoping to keep the
landmark from leaving.
"Shediac has its lobster and Nackawic has its axe, and I don't think
they would just give that away," she said.
The transfer to Edmundston was made possible when Grand Bay-Westfield
decided it didn't want to pay to maintain the caboose now that the town
has a new tourist centre at the River Centre.
Concern over heritage seems to run in the family. Jim Touchbourne,
Louise's father, said it's a shame Grand Bay-Westfield is losing a
symbol of its railway past.
"I think that a town of this size, in this day and age, should be able
to maintain something of this magnitude for the future and use it as a
teaching tool," he said.
Touchbourne admitted it's unlikely the town will be able to save the
caboose from its northern trip, but said he hopes this serves as a
reminder of the importance to save heritage items.
"If we ever have the good fortune to have an artifact of this size and
magnitude ever again, that we know not to take it for granted and that
the citizens don't take it for granted, and that we want to maintain it
and keep it, it's worth it."
Linda Caron, a member of the town's heritage committee, said the caboose
is the community's largest artifact and losing it comes as a shock.
"We weren't consulted on that at all, I don't know how that came about,
we weren't part of that decision making and it would have been nice for
the heritage committee to be part of that," Caron said.
So far, 500 people have signed a petition to keep the caboose.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7725254.stm
Friday, 14 November 2008
E-mail this to a friend
Protest over hospital demolition
Protesters are against the demolition of any buildings on the site
Around a dozen people have protested against the demolition of buildings
at an ex-psychiatric hospital as the site is prepared for future
development.
Work to demolish some outbuildings at the North Wales Hospital in
Denbigh has been halted after the discovery of a protected species of bat.
Protesters are concerned some buildings which are grade-II listed could
be in danger when work re-starts.
The site owners said no buildings will be demolished without permission.
Ayub Bhailock, a consultant with Freemont Denbigh Ltd, which owns the
site, said permission for demolition of certain buildings had been
issued three years ago, in conjunction with Denbighshire Council, the
Welsh Assembly Government and Cadw.
I think people might be worried that the whole site is being demolished
- that's misconceived
Ayub Bhailock, developer
He said they were parts of the site which were added after the original
hospital was built.
Misconceived
He said: "The main purpose of this is to protect and maintain the main
building. It's a beautiful building.
"I think people might be worried that the whole site is being demolished
- that's misconceived, it's the later buildings that were added."
The property was bought by a private owner in 2002 and the council
granted outline planning permission for new housing on the site.
The downturn in the economy means there is now little demand for housing
land, and other options are being considered for the site, including its
possible use as a prison.
Demolition work began earlier this month.
Denbigh Hospital was built in 1844 and closed in 1995
Campaigners say one of the demolished buildings, Erddig Ward (also known
as Bryn Golau) was a listed building and should have been left intact.
Bats
Colin Jones, who runs the website www.northwaleshospital.co.uk and has
organised Friday's protest, said many campaigners were against the
demolition of any buildings.
He added: "We're particularly concerned about listed buildings - none of
them should go.
"It is a sad day because for so long the hospital has been left
stagnant, and their only resort to solving the problems is pulling down
the history of our town, rather than making use of what we have."
Some campaigners are concerned about the preservation of bats found in
the complex.
Campaigner Craig Hornby said he had seen them on numerous occasions.
He said: "I believe bats are protected within the UK and I hope
something can be done to highlight this issue."
In a statement, Denbighshire Council said: "Only those buildings which
are the subject of the listed building consent can be demolished.
"The owners and contractors are aware that separate procedures have to
be followed before demolition proceeds, including the need for licensing
from the Welsh Assembly Government if bat roosts are to be disturbed."
http://www.bluesheets.co.uk/dnn/News/tabid/56/newsid416/139/FREE-THE-QUAY---TIE-A-YELLOW-RIBBON/Default.aspx
FREE THE QUAY - TIE A YELLOW RIBBON....
From 10.30 am on Saturday 8 November Free the Quay protestors will be
tying protest ribbons to the Mistley Quay fence
Since the fence went up over a month ago, people have spontaneously come
from far and wide to attach numerous protest ribbons, flowers and signs
to the fence.
Hundreds of small ribbons were attached by sailors at the Boat Rally on
28 September. But earlier this week Trent Wharfage workers spent over
two hours laboriously removing them all.
Saturday's mass ribbon tying session follows Free the Quay's spectacular
and award-winning protest float in the Harwich Guy parade, as another
expression of popular feeling about the fence.
All are welcome to join in. Ribbons and rags will be available on the
day, but people are also encouraged to bring their own.
http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=27839
Armenian bloggers protest destruction of Armenian churches in Georgia
27.11.2008 17:59 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian bloggers gathered at the Georgian Embassy in
Yerevan today to demand that demolition of the Armenian cultural
heritage be stopped and those guilty be punished.
The protesters were carrying posters of Norashen church and banners
reading “Save Armenian churches in Georgia”, “Republic of Georgia not
Europe still Asiatic” and a small coffin with an inscription “The
newborn Georgian democracy. This newborn democracy is dead already” on it.
What is happening to Armenian churches in Georgia is nothing but
genocide of our cultural heritage, according to historian Samvel
Karapetyan. A crime has been committed and those guilty should be
punished by the international court, he said yesterday.
Over 650 Armenian churches are situated in the territory of Georgia,
most of them already appropriated or destructed by the Georgian side.
On November 16, Georgian monk Tariel Sikinchelashvili instructed workers
to raze to the ground the graves of Mikhail and Lidia Tamamshevs.
This barbarian act outraged Armenians, who demanded to let the graves in
their place. However, Father Tariel responded with harsh statements.
Upon arrival of representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church and
parliament member Van Bayburt, the Georgian monk said he just wanted to
replace the gravestones to “clean under them.”
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