Professional Documents
Culture Documents
August 2008
Action Update
A quarterly round-up of ecological and other direct action from around Britain and beyond
is on a massive scale. The impact is so
www.earthfirst.org.uk
Coal Resistance
International news world’s largest mangrove forest.
In August 2006, Phulbari witnessed the
stranglehold on our region”.
www.mountainjusticesummer.org
Coal is the most carbon intensive form of killing of five people by paramilitary www.risingtidenorthamerica.org
fossil fuel use, and the biggest historical Bangladesh Rifles during a massive rally www.katuahef.org
cause of climate change. If we are to cut against the project. Hundreds more were There will be three Climate Camps in the
our carbon emissions enough to prevent injured among a crowd of some 50,000 USA this summer:
catastrophe, we must stop burning coal. people opposing an openpit mine which www.climateconvergence.org
Coal is everywhere. But climate change would cover an area containing more
affects everything. And the people most than a hundred villages. Black Mesa resistance
affected by climate change and mining www.phulbariresistance.blogspot.com
are the indigenous peoples of the planet
and the poorest communities in coal rich
areas.
North America
Often these are people with the smallest
carbon footprints, who the world needs Fighting mountain top removal
to be learning from, not destroying to The Appalachian Mountains in North
burn more coal. Resistance is growing America are being literally blown up to
globally to the mining, transportation mine coal. ‘Mountain top removal’ is a
and burning of coal. Here are just some form of strip mining where the moun
tains are blasted away, the coal seams In South West USA both mining and
of the coal projects being targeted.
plundered, then the spoil dumped into power plant construction are being res
For loads of info about coal mining and
thousands of valleys leaving unusable isted by the indigenous people of the
local resistance check out this site:
toxic land around some of the poorest Black Mesa. Black Mesa Indigenous Sup
www.minesandcommunities.org
communities in the USA. Local water, port describes:
homes, schools and communities are be 'In 1974 the US Congress passed Law al
Venezuela ing devastated. legedly to settle a socalled land dispute
between the Dineh and their Hopi neigh
Resistance is increasing, and in the last
In Venezuela, bours. This law required the forced relo
few years Mountain Justice, Earth First!
the ecoindi cation of well over 14,000 Dineh and a
and Rising Tide have been taking action,
genous de hundred plus Hopi from their ancestral
targeting mines, power plants, offices,
fence group homelands. The ‘dispute’ being settled
billboards and the banks that are finan
Homo et was, in reality, fabricated by the US gov
cing coal.
Natura are ernment as a way to obtain easier access
This has included taking over the only
accompanying to stripmine one of the largest coal re
bridge into a coal fired power plant in
the indigenous serves in North America.
Virginia, blockading the construction of
and ecologist The land known as Black Mesa is home
new power plants in Florida and North
resistance to thousands of traditional sheep her
Carolina. The latter resulted in police us
against the the ders, weavers, silversmiths and farmers.
ing tazers and pain compliance to get
TransGuajira For hundreds of years before Europeans
people to unlock from equipment.
'Poliduct' fossil came to the Americas the Dineh and
Most recently on 30th June twelve activ
fuel infrastructure that supports big coal Hopi existed in balance with each other
ists from Blue Ridge Earth First! and
and big oil in the region, the Bolivar or and with Mother Earth.'
Mountain Justice blockaded Dominian
America Harbor, and the raillines that In 30 years the Black Mesa mine has
Coal in protest against the construction
are part of the coal industry expansion contributed an estimated 325 million
of new coal plants and new nuclear re
in Zulia. tons of CO2 to the atmosphere. The ex
actors at Lake Anna.
www.homoetnatura.org panded mine could potentially contrib
ute an additional 290 million tons of
Bangladesh CO2 to the global warming crisis!
Lives are being attacked from all sides
Phulbari is the coal capital of with the relocations, the drop in the wa
Bangladesh and British company Global ter table from water mining for slurry,
Coal Management are working to build a affecting drinking water springs and
huge opencast coal mine. Local people desert plants shrinking by the year from
are opposed to the project and there has lack of rainfall due to climate change.
been no genuine public consultation. But over 30 years on and the Elders
The proposed mine would divert a river, carry on resisting.
suck an aquifer dry for 30 years and www.blackmesawatercoalition.org
evict thousands of people from their www.blackmesais.org
homes. The coal would be exported via a One of the three North American climate
railway and port in the Sundarbans, the camps this year is being held in the Ap
palachians to “fight the coal industry's
Cross-Atlantic ried out including the digging up of the
front lawn of Solid Energy's HQ, occupa
troyed village of Lacoma has been the
focus of several longterm occupations,
tions and banner drops at the HQ. tree protest camps, sabotage of heavy
Solidarity Protestors have twice blockaded railway machinery and pumps over the past dec
tracks used to move coal, with two ade. Direct action is ongoing.
people locked directly onto the rail In South West Germany local activists
tracks, and a third hanging 30m above have blockaded coal trains for the Man
the ground from a tree and a support nheim coal power station as well as ac
rope attached to the tracks. cess to the power plant itself. In May
www.savehappyvalley.org.nz several hundred people stormed the
plant in protest to plans to build a new
Australia additional plant on the same site.
In Newcastle people are fighting the ex
The company responsible for much of pansion of the worlds largest coal port –
the destruction in the USA is Peabody set to increase its capacity by 60%. This
Coal, who are now also moving into has included a string of direct actions in
business in Australia after buying up Ex cluding locking onto trains, and ob
cel Coal. Here, in the region around structing trucks, offices and construction
Newcastle, indigenous members of the sites, culminating in this year’s climate
United Nations of South Pacific, people camp. The camp began with an invita
from 3 aboriginal nations and local res tion to Aboriginal country by local Pam
idents occupied the offices of Peabody balong traditional owners Peta and Ar
www.klimacamp08.net
Coal in solidarity with the people of thur Ridgeway.
www.lacoma.info
Black Mesa. On 13th July, over a thousand people
http://de.indymedia.org/2007/09/19
Arthur Ridgeway who is a traditional marched to the Carrington coal terminal
5301.shtml
owner of the Pambalong area that now “The children led the march which me
makes up Newcastle said: “Climate andered along the edge of the coal rail
change now is a global issue and the
global community must now act to pro
line until we held a 5 minute silent vigil
in front of the massive coal stockpiles.
Netherlands
tect what is left of our precious environ Then, one by one, small groups of In the Netherlands five new coalfired
ment. These coal companies have no people made their way over or under the power plants are planned to be built.
place in our future the way they desec fenceline and onto the tracks. By the end E.on is making a concerted effort to be
rate the earth and our sacred home of the day, 57 people had been arrested the first company to start building next
lands. Peabody’s practices in America and we succesfully halted all coal trains spring. E.on is also planning to build a
have shown that they have no regard for through the Carrington port for the day. coalfired plant in Antwerpen, Belgium
the earth there and they will do the The atmosphere was amazing... you Dutch Earth First! (Groen Front!) have
same here. We will not let the desecra could see huge grins on people's faces been resisting with blockades of E.on
tion of indigenous cultures continue, and hear the excitement in their voices Headquarters, bike demos and other
here in Australia or overseas”. as they shared stories of the day. Collect protests. www.groenfront.nl
ive action a beautiful thing.”
On 27th June activists locked on to and
New Zealand shut down a conveyor transporting coal
Over the Tasman Sea in New Zealand
people have been occupying Happy Val
into Muja power station in Collie. Two
activists were arrested.
Ground
ley since January 2006, in an effort to
halt development of a proposed open
www.climatecamp.org.au
www.risingtide.org.au Kingsnorth!
cast coal mine. Solid Energy’s mine a
UK climate campers are vowing to
planned 96 metre deep pit would com
pletely obliterate this pristine valley, and
Germany prevent the construction of the first
new coal power station (likely to be
pollute local rivers with heavy metals Activists in Germany are gearing up for
Kingsnorth) should the government
and acid mine drainage. The coal pro their Klima Camp, from 15th 24th in
go ahead with plans.
duced would create as much carbon di Hamburg, planning to stop construction
An ongoing campaign of civil dis
oxide as all of New Zealand’s domestic of the new HamburgMoorburg coal
obedience is being planned, to stop
transport. Lots of actions have been car power plant, which is being built by en
construction at the plant itself but
ergy company Vattenfall despite massive
also to target all parts of the chain,
local opposition.
including suppliers and contractors.
Resistance against opencast has a long
The campaignis planned to involve
tradition in East Germany where wanton
people from all walks of life from all
destruction started in 1923 and carries
parts of the country with accessible
on to date under the auspices of Vatten
information, direct action training
fall. Huge areas of the Lausitz (inhabited
and frequent actions at the plant.
by the Sorbs, a slavic speaking minority)
The decision on Kinsgnorth will be be
have been ripped up, many villages des
made by the government in October,
troyed and ten thousands of people
so watch this space.
forcefully resettled. The now partly des
Leave it in the Ground!
Whilst protests are mounting against cli opposing the mine for years. More than Digger diving fun
mate change, the coal industry continues 10,000 signed a petition opposing the Work on the Derby site has begun, with
to rumble on in the background ex mine not surprising given that it will UK Coal building access roads and pre
tracting, transporting and burning the mean coal dust, noise, and a 200m deep paring a plant compound. Actions to dis
most climate damaging of all the fossil pit as little as 35m away from homes. rupt work have been taking place, in
fuels. There are 14 deep coal mines Despite this, the Welsh Assembly, en cluding obstructing a steamroller which
open in the UK at the moment, and 4 couraged by Westminster, gave the go was being used to set a tarmac ramp for
more planned. But for the coal industry ahead. Since November campaigners heavy plant machinery on 29th June.
opencast is where it’s really at there are have been helping local residents make Leave it in the ground also held two
33 opencast mines in the UK at the mo some noise about the mine engaging in noise demos at the UK Coal HQ.
ment, with 30 more in planning or de civil disobedience on site. The mine has
velopment a near doubling of mine been closed down twice, bringing public
sites. and media attention to the issue, and Coal train stopped
Open cast mining is cheap and there is supporting the local campaign with ral
money to be made: Using enormous lies and meetings in Merthyr and
mechanised machines, a small number Cardiff.
of workers can rip apart the landscape It's an empowering campaign, working
and get to the coal, meaning no need for with local residents and using creative
expensive underground tunnels and protest. To get involved, email reclaim
shafts. Unfortunately, this makes open merthyr@gmail.com
cast amazingly destructive to the envir www.stopffsoyfran.co.uk
onment around the mine, as well as a www.thecoalhole.org/facts/merthyr/
climate disaster. It also means that new
mines usually provide very few jobs.
Currently 29% of the coal we use comes Derby squat
from the UK – the rest is imported from Twentynine climate campaigners halted
equally destructive mines around the eviction alert a train taking coal to Drax power station
world also to focus of local resistance. in North Yorkshire on 13th June. Drax is
The antiopencast squat near Shipley,
the single biggest source of CO2 in the
Derbyshire is on full eviction alert after
UK, and train services delivering coal to
Ffos-y-Fran UK Coal won a possession order on Fri
day 18th July. Activists have been oc
the station remained stopped for the
day. Up to 100 police officers, some in
FfosyFran opencast coal mine near cupying the house at Prospect Farm (re
riot gear, had to be drafted in to remove
Merthyr Tydfil will be the biggest named Bodge House) and surrounding
the activists. Protesters used safety sig
opencast in the UK and a climate dis trees since mid June.
nals to stop the train on a bridge over
aster waiting to happen. MillerArgent The farmhouse is scheduled for demoli
looking the power station, before climb
want to dig up coal which, when burnt, tion under UK Coal's plans for a hun
ing on board and dumping coal off onto
will produce about 30 million tonnes of dredhectare opencast mine removing 1
the tracks. Others used a network of
CO2 every year. Local people have been million tonnes of coal over five years.
climbing ropes to suspend themselves
The plans were opposed by local
under the bridge from the train .
people and refused by the council,
Leave it in the Ground! but central government, in its hun
ger for energy supplies at any cost, E.on greenwash
National Meeting overturned the refusal in spite of
planning policy guidelines. On 16th July E.on took a double hit to
Action Update c/o The Basement, 78a Penny St, Lancaster LA1 1XN