Friends

 As both a Rising Tide UK Campaign and a Rising Tide National Group, "Art Not Oil" has railed against Big Oil cultural sponsorship since 2004. We are pleased to announce it has now become a coalition of autonomous organisations united around the aim of ending oil sponsorship of the arts and sharing resources as the Art Not Oil Coalition.

The founding members of this new coalition alongside Rising Tide UK are:- Liberate Tate, Platform, the Reclaim Shakespeare Company, Shell Out Sounds and the UK Tar Sands Network; who have agreed to campaign together under the following :-

ART NOT OIL COALITION JOINT STATEMENT

Organised by the Coal Action Network:

Thought that the battle against coal had been won? Think again! Open cast coal mining is alive and well!

UK Coal have been trying to bring this extreme energy to Bradley in county Durham. First their planning application was unanimously rejected by the local council. Then they lost on appeal and now they're seeking a judicial review.

Please join The Coal Action Network at 9am on 5 June at the Royal Courts of Justice and let UK Coal know that no community consent means no open cast mining! Bring lots of banners and be prepared to make some noise!

Extreme Energy Gathering, 27/28th April 2013
At MERCi, Manchester, UK

The Extreme Energy Gathering will bring together diverse campaigns and communities that are resisting extreme energy extraction methods for a weekend of networking, strategising and sharing of skills and knowledge.

What is Extreme Energy?

South West Extreme Energy Gathering, 30th March 2013, 10 – 4pm

A gathering is taking place at Hamilton House, Stokes Croft in Bristol to bring together people interested in or active around resisting extreme energy developments in the South West.

The day will be an opportunity to:

*Find out about different campaigns in the South West
*Understand the concept of Extreme Energy & connect local campaigns to the bigger picture
*Build relationships & solidarity between groups
*Share strategies and skills

The event takes place a month before the national Extreme Energy Gathering that is taking place in Manchester 26-28th April.

What is Extreme Energy?

• Evidence of police/corporate collusion as police serve legal papers on activists on behalf of EDF, and hand over personal data.
• Key CCTV footage at police station may have been deleted.
• Counter-Terrorism Command visited activist at home.
• Home Secretary Theresa May questioned in Parliament.

For more information, photos, film footage and interviews email press@nodashforgas.org.uk or phone 0744 7027 112.

On Sat 9th February, suspicious people in hi-viz vests, representatives of some big corporation, were spotted in Keynsham by members of Frome Anti Fracking, Transition Keynsham and Bristol Rising Tide. They started to set up a drilling rig, right in the centre of town. "Shale Gas at any cost" seemed to be their motto.

At 6am on 23 November, 10 protestors from South West Against Nuclear and Bristol Rising Tide blockaded access to EDF energy’s nuclear sites at Hinkley Point, preventing the morning shift from starting work. 4 people in arm locks formed a barrier across the main access road at Wick Moor Drove in a bid to prevent further ground clearance work at the planned Hinkley C site and to protest at EDF’s plan to extend the life of aging reactors at the Hinkley B station.

A dark cloud is gathering. The threat of unconventional gas development hangs over us all. With almost 100 test wells permitted and the first production development threatening Scotland, the government’s dash for gas depends on the creeping sell off of the British Isles.

This cabal of opportunistic extraction companies, government mandarins and political jokes think they are getting away with it. They are so FRACKING wrong.

On Dec 1st there will be a nationwide simultaneous show of resistance.