Action:Confronting the fossil fuel economy

Report written by Rikki
Click here to see a GREAT PHOTO SET

in many years of independent reporting, i've often seen situations where police have caused larger disruption than a handfull of protestors, closing roads, sometimes closing down businesses, and sometimes massively amplifying the power of the protestors alone (not that that's their intention). however, this evening was, i think, the first time that they so completely did the job of the activists for them, that the campaigners could sit in a nice warm pub and toast the met, instead of standing around in the cold themselves.

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.

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/.

UPDATE - Letter from prison: Tim DeChristopher speaks - http://www.peacefuluprising.org/?post_type=coverage&p=1256.

Previous message from Rising Tide North America ...

Dear Friends

Our movement is strong. We take risks and push envelopes. We take action when the places and communities we hold dear are threatened. And we won’t be intimidated by government or corporate efforts to break our resolve.

We have no choice. Big Oil and Big Coal want to poison our water, cloud the air we breathe with pollution and wreak havoc on the climate.

Our dear friend and comrade, Tim DeChristopher, of Salt Lake City, has taken steps that few others in this climate movement have taken. In 2008, he successfully derailed an illegal land sale that would have destroyed pristine Utah wilderness for oil and gas development. As a result, today, he was sentenced to two years in federal prison, slapped with a $10,000 fine, and immediately taken into custody by agents of the corporate state.

After the remains of the irish government gave approval on the 20th of January for the shell high-pressure gas pipeline and refinery in county mayo, activists have been staging blockades, actions and protests against shell in solidarity with the residents and activists of rossport. in london, on the 27th of January, LRT and Rhythms of Resistance's garage blockade was also called as a memorial to long-time climate activist val jones, who lost a long struggle against a debilitating disease just one year ago.

on the 20th of January, the irish government gave final approval for the shell high pressure raw gas pipeline which is being built in a beautiful area of county mayo in north-west ireland. shell is intending to use the pipeline to pump ashore unrefined gas to an onshore refinery.

the "corrib" gas field was initially discovered in 1996, and after exploratory drilling, the project began in earnest in 2003 when shell purchased an area of forest land from the irish forestry agency, and they began building the refinery in 2005.

Background - http://risingtide7.wordpress.com/.

Statement of Solidarity
We in Rising Tide UK congratulate the Australian "Rising Tide 7" for a bold action with a clear message, at an extremely important target. This kind of effective non-violent direct action is crucial, to demonstrate that the blind self-destructive pursuit of profit through fossil fuel extraction and combustion is unsustainable, destructive and must stop now.

Climate Change is accelerating. The effects are being felt daily around the world. We must take responsibility for our addiction to fossil fuel and the massive part that it plays in driving climate change.

We finally got our camera back from the police :)

Update: Restraining orders quashed
On Wednesday 1st December the Court of Appeal in London lifted restraining orders off 12 people who blockaded the 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.

Ffos y Fran coal train blockade
26 April 2010

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.

(All cameras were seized by police - instead sketches have been drawn to document the action.)