Bristol

Contact Bristol and Bath Rising Tide
bristol@risingtide.org.uk
c/o Kebele, Robertson Road, Easton, Bristol BS5 6JY

Our meetings

Next meeting: Mon 9th January 2012, 7pm at Kebele social centre (address above).

Westside neighbourhood at Kingsnorth climate camp 2008. Picture credit: Jess Hurd.

Formed out of and inspired by the first Climate Camp in August 2006, Bristol Rising Tide has gone from strength to strength. We are motivated by the growing evidence that climate change is well underway and and that those in power are not going to do much more about it than rearrange the deckchairs on the Titanic.

We are an open, autonomous, grassroots direct action group: everyone is welcome except the police and their mates. We have adopted the
People's Global Action Hallmarks, a statement which affirms our rejection of all systems of domination - you name it - capitalism, patriarchy, racism, and any other -isms or -ologies that divide and oppress us. We don’t believe governments or businesses are going to solve our problems: We are going to have to do it ourselves, learning as we go.

Recent Activity

Bristol Rising Tide activists fined for coal action in Scotland

On 22nd December, two Bristol Rising Tide activists appeared at Lanark Sheriff's Court to be sentenced following an action to stop work at the Mainshill open cast mine back in March 2011. The two were fined £400 each for aggravated trespass by Sheriff Stewart.

They were part of a group who entered Scottish Coal's Mainshill mine in South Lanarkshire to disrupt coaling operations. The two Bristol activists managed to reach and scale a huge 260 tonne 'prime mover' in the bottom of the pit, one of the two biggest machines on the site. Other activists there to support them were brutally attacked by Scottish Coal employees and Trustcare Security. The action lasted over 4 hours before a specialist police team from Glasgow removed the people occupying the excavator, which had been in the process of loading coal from the seam on to dump trucks.

The action in March was part of the on-going campaign by Coal Action Scotland to resist the expansion of the open cast coal mining in the Douglas Valley in South Lanarkshire. In 2009/2010 there was a 7-month occupation of the site by the Mainshill Solidariy Camp; over 70 people were evicted from the site, with 45 being forcibly removed and arrested

Coal Action Scotland are now focusing their efforts on resisting the proposed new mine at Glentaggart East. This would involve the extraction of 4 million tonnes of coal, twice the size of Mainshill. Bristol Rising Tide will be hosting an info tour by Coal Action Scotland in the New Year - watch out for further details on Indymedia.

For a picture of the action see: http://bristol.indymedia.org/article/707082
See also: http://coalactionscotland.org.uk/

Fracking Hell - Bristol Rising Tide shut down the country's only hydraulic fracturing rig!

Frack Off

Fracking is a nightmare! Toxic and radioactive water pollution. Tap water you can set on fire. Earthquakes. Runaway climate change. To produce expensive gas that will soon run out. Yet another false solution to try and maintain fossil fuel use!

The controversial proposed Fracking site in Hesketh Bank, Lancashire was shut down on the morning of 1st December as a group of Bristol activists stormed the drilling rig. Three of the climate justice campaigners from Bristol Rising Tide scaled the Cuadrilla Resources equipment with supplies and stopped work for over 13 hours. PHOTOS - http://www.flickr.com/photos/71113300@N08/.

The drilling rig is the only operation of its kind working in the country, after a similar exploratory site in Blackpool was shut down in the spring because it induced two earthquakes in the area.
The same site was occupied last month by another group- “Frack Off”, and local community resistance across the country is gaining ground.

'Fracking' - film and discussion

We held a Rising Tide Cafe event on Monday, 13th June at Cafe Kino, to
discuss the new lunatic method of extracting fossil fuels called 'Fracking' and to show the Academy Award nominatated documentary film 'Gasland' (about Fracking in the USA see www.gaslandthemovie.com)

There are various plans for fracking projects in the UK including in S.Wales and Somerset.

Update on coal in South Wales
Miller Argent plan to "restore" another bit of land near to Ffos y Fran mine by digging a massive hole in it. Coal would be opencast from the site at Nant Llesg over 15 years.

Exploratory work began in August 2011 and will continue for six months in preparation for a potential planning application in Spring 2012. If successful, work could start in 2014.

Miller Argent already operate Ffos y Fran, one of the largest opencast coal mines in Europe. There has been a long campaign opposing Ffos y Fran by the local community, some of who live within 40 metres of the mine and have to suffer black rain and noisy machinery at antisocial hours.

Resist Nuclear New Build

EDF want to trash the Somerset countryside in preparation for a new nuclear power station they don't even have planning permission to build yet. (Read more)

The day we blocked the railway

The day we blocked the railway from Alined Gif on Vimeo.

A puppet show by Otherstory

Telling the story of Bristol & Bath Rising Tide's blockade of the railway from the Ffos y Fran opencast coal mine near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales in April 2010.

Recorded at a Rising Tide benefit at the Boneyard Bar in Bristol

Restraining Orders Quashed
On Wednesday 1st December the Court of Appeal in London lifted restraining orders off 12 people who blockaded the railway at Ffos y Fran coal mine in April 2010. Miller Argent have for years been operating the noisy, polluting mine, described by the Crown Prosecution Service as "a highly controversial project", despite the strong objection of the local community, some of who live within 40 metres of the mine and have to suffer black rain and noisy machinery at antisocial hours. The full court transcripts aren't available yet so we're not sure what this means for those with similar cases. (Read more)

Avonmouth Coal Terminal Banner Drop

Activists from Bristol and Bath Rising Tide dropped a banner reading 'Import Coal: Export Poverty' from Avonmouth bridge near the docks, as part of a global week of action for climate and environmental justice. The Royal Portbury Docks contains one of the largest coal import terminals in the UK. There are currently plans to build several new coal power stations in the UK, and 71% of coal used in Britain is imported. (Read more)

Merthyr to Mayo Solidarity Bike Ride

Across the planet, in the places where fossil fuels are sourced, people are resisting new energy developments.

Communities are standing together to defend their homes, health, land and water, and our shared planet… This is localised resistance with huge global significance….

From the tar sands of Alberta, Canada to the woods of Mainshill, Scotland….

from the rivers and plains of the Niger Delta to the Amazon jungles of Peru….

and

from the valleys of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales to the Northwest coast of Mayo, Ireland… (Read more)

Ffos y Fran Coal Train Blockade

Ffos y Fran is one of the largest opencast coal mines in Europe. The local community in Merthyr have led a long-running campaign against it. One day last April we shut down the rail link to nearby Aberthaw power station. (Read more)