Rising Tide UK - Action:Confronting the fossil fuel economy

London police solidarity blockade of shell petrol station

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:49:03 +0100

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.

Bristol Rising Tide activists fined for coal action in Scotland

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:53:31 +0100

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

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 09:04:12 +0100

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/.

We Won't Be Intimidated

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:52:00 +0200

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.

LRT and Rhythms of Resistance's Memorial & Rossport Solidarity Protest

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:28:31 +0100

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.

Rising Tide UK Statement of Solidarity with RT7

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 12:54:58 +0100

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.

Coal Train Blockaders in Court + Action Snaps

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 16:52:47 +0100

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.

Coal Train Blockade at Ffos y Fran

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 16:28:01 +0100

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.)

Santa visits BT

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 15:14:02 +0100

Santa visits BT and exposes coal investment
2 December 2009

This morning a team of Santa's arrived at the BT offices in Bristol Temple Quay to expose the truth behind the companies pension scheme. BT pensions are funding coal mining in South Wales, where Merthyr Tydfil hosts one of Europe's largest opencast coal mines.

Rising Tide 7 - Stop Misuse of Victim’s Compensation

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 13:10:47 +0100

Seven Australian Rising Tide activists are being pursued by Port Waratah Coal Services, which is made up of Rio Tinto and Xstrata, for US$525,000 in "victim's compensation" as a result of a non-violent blockade of the world's largest coal port on September 26 last year.

Homeless Polar Bears at RBS

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 18:20:14 +0100

Climate refugee polar bears blockade the Oil Bank of Scotland
15 October 2007

A group of ‘climate refugees’ blocked the vehicle entrance to the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Corporate Offices at Temple Quay to shine the spotlight on climate criminals RBS, the self-proclaimed ‘Oil and Gas’ Bank. Six people from Bristol Rising Tide for Climate Action in polar bear costumes locked themselves together and prevented all vehicles entering the RBS branch. This was part of a National Day of Local Action against the Royal Bank of Scotland called by those hugely concerned with the devastation to the climate, planet and people.[1]

Rising Tide & UK Tar Sands - Everyone's Down Stream

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 19:12:34 +0100

A new film from You and I Films.

We Are Ten! Rising Tide: Ten Years of Direct Action for Climate Justice

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 12:53:09 +0100

In November 2000, activists from across Europe and beyond came together at the UN COP 6 climate talks in den Haag in The Netherlands. They formed the Rising Tide coalition for Climate Justice: a group that recognised, even in 2000, mainstream climate politics’ failure to rapidly or fairly address the emergency that was, and still is, a rapidly warming planet. And it’s been ten years since that understanding inspired them to exercise the most powerful tool people have - the capacity to organise themselves and collectively take action.

Rising Tide is today an international network spanning 4 continents, made up of groups and individuals motivated by the desire to reclaim power, confront corporate greed and build positive, just solutions to climate change.

“World Peoples Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth” - A Rising Tide Report

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:52:24 +0200

“Conferencia Mundial de los Pueblos sobre Cambio Climatico y las Direchas de Madre Tierra”-
BOLIVIA, COCHABAMBA – APRIL 2010

Quote from the “Structural Causes” group text:

“The climate crisis we live in isn’t only a problem of rising atmospheric temperatures... Capitalism as a patriarchal system of endless growth is incompatible with life on this finite planet. For the planet, every alternative for life must necessarily be anti-capitalist. But not only this, it must be more than anti-capitalist. The Soviet experience has shown us that a predatory production system with devastating conditions that make life similar to that of capitalism was possible with other ownership relationships. The alternatives must lead to a profound transformation of civilization. Without this profound transformation, it will not be possible to continue life on planet Earth. Humanity is faced with a huge dilemma: continue down the road of capitalism, patriarchy, Progress and death, or embark on the path of harmony with nature and respect for life.”

Camp for Climate Action Report Back

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:44:15 +0200

Rising Tiders from across the UK traveled to this year’s climate camp. Our first reaction – wow the site is in the back garden of RBS HQ! (Hats off to the people who took the site). The camp was undoubtedly smaller in size than previous camps but that was made up for in the number of actions that took place and the great spirit around the camp. We all got stuck in to helping the camp run smoothly; setting up, cooking, helping in the kids space, taking shifts on the gates, helping meetings run well, and of course helping to plan actions!

On Saturday we ran a Greenwash Guerrilla workshop and action where 70 people came along to find out more about greenwash detection. After the workshop people made their own suits, collected their detection device of choice and off we set for a test run. And where better than across the footbridge to RBS HQ. After we had managed to establish that the levels of greenwash leaking from the building were at an unprecedented level, the police arrived and under a section 60 power stopped and searched most of the guerrillas. Forward Intelligence Teams took photographs and we all refused to give our details.