Posts Tagged ‘action’
Clean Air, Good Jobs & Justice for All!
June 6th, 2010
Coming to the U.S. Social Forum? Then, don’t miss THE big action of the Forum to shut down the world’s biggest waste incinerator and demand clean air, good jobs, and justice for all!
Join the People of Detroit on Saturday, June 26 for a Rally, March & Mass Demonstration to End the World’s Biggest Waste Incinerator!
Action starts at 9 am at Detroit Public Library, 5201 Woodward, Detroit.
Help us make history this summer! Join thousands of community activists, environmental groups and labor unions in demanding climate, community and labor justice!
Detroit’s waste incinerator is the largest incinerator in the world, operated by the world’s largest incinerator company – Covanta.
- Burning garbage is one of the primary sources of cancer-causing dioxins in the world
- Burning garbage for energy produces more climate pollution per unit of electricity than coal power plants.
- Over 90% of waste burned can be recycled or composted, generating more than 10 times the number of jobs than burning or burying these valuable resources.
- If all the waste buried or burned in the U.S. were to be recycled and composted, hundreds of thousands of long-term jobs could be created while reducing a massive toxic burden for some of the poorest communities in this country.
Detroit Mayor David Bing can choose to embrace Zero Waste Detroit’s plan for green jobs – expanding curbside recycling throughout the city and ending incineration of Detroit’s trash.
If you wish to join, support or endorse this day of action, email organize@cleanairgoodjobsjustice.org
Stay tuned to http://www.cleanairgoodjobsjustice.org/ for more info!
The Facebook event posting – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=127846467243004
WHAT IS IT?
On June 23rd, environmental justice organizers will be guiding a tour through Toronto to expose institutions most responsible for the environmental and social impacts of Canada’s extractive industries both at home and abroad. Canada is home to 75% of the world’s mining and exploration companies, making it a global leader in this industry. Canada’s place within the G8 nations is largely due to the exploitation of Indigenous peoples, their lands and rural poor for mining, tar sands and oil/gas exploitation.
As residents of Canada, we will not standby while the Canadian government, banks, and corporations continue to destroy people’s livelihoods and ecosystems to secure wealth accumulation for a select few.
WHAT SHOULD I BRING?
We encourage folks coming to dress up and challenge those in power with costumes, floats and fancied up bicycles. We will be working on several floats in lead up but encourage all to dress up for our action.
Ideas for costumes: Executives with blood on their hands, corporate zombies, people covered in Tar Sands bitumen,. etc. (fake blood and bitumen will be provided)
WHERE AND WHEN?
Please join us at 11 am on June 23 at Alexandra Park.
For more information or to endorse the event, please contact: toxictourTO@gmail.com
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=127661243928642
WHY TAKE PART IN THE TOXIC TOUR?
The toxic tour will focus on four themes:
1. The extractive industry is violating human rights and the rights of mother earth. The federal government supports these companies even as human rights workers are killed, local peoples poisoned, and entire communities displaced. From the tar sands in northern Alberta to gold mines in Papua New Guinea to copper mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Canadian companies are exploiting indigenous and poor communities alike, violating their right to self-determination, poisoning their lands, manipulating any leadership that they can access, and often supporting brutal military and security operations.
2. The extractive industry is exacerbating the climate crisis. The tar sands gigaproject is the most destructive industrial project on earth and will be the leading contributor to climate change in Canada, making it impossible for our country to meet its international climate commitments. The climate crisis has been caused by the industrialization of developed countries like Canada, while disproportionately affecting indigenous peoples and the global south who are faced with sea-level rise, drought, permafrost melt, desertification, melting glaciers, and increased extreme weather events. These and other problems brought on by the climate crisis have destroyed the livelihoods of millions who are dying and being displaced from their homes.
3. The education system is taken over by corporate interests. The University of Toronto, Canada´s largest academic institution, is taken over by corporations, many of which are linked to the extractive industry. This corporate influence stifles open, honest, and critical debate in our institutions of higher learning and demonstrates how a wealthy few can dominate and shape the way people think. As an academic institution that strives to create the ‘leaders of tomorrow,’ we must challenge the notion that corporate greed and exploitation has any place in our education system.
4. The Canadian economy is dependent on exploiting marginalized peoples and the environment. Harper would not be at the G8 if it wasn’t for exploiting the resources and people of countries that the G8 is purposely shutting out of discussions. Solutions, however, are there—but the Harper government refuses to give people the ability to determine the future of their own lives and livelihoods.
The Fire This Time: Burning Bridges
May 23rd, 2010
Steve D’Arcy and Syrah Canyon in The Bullet
“Respect Indigenous Rights” banner at this year's May Day rally in Toronto.
Across Canada, activists have been reacting to the May 18 arson attack on a bank in Ottawa by a group claiming to be politically motivated. The group – calling itself FFFC – set off a fire bomb inside a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) branch in the Glebe residential neighbourhood near the city’s downtown, and then posted a video of the attack on the internet.
Along with the video, the group issued a ‘communiqué’ in which they suggested that RBC was targeted because of its sponsorship of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver earlier this year, on stolen Indigenous land, and the bank’s role as the leading financier of the environmentally destructive Tar Sands megaproject in Alberta, which has led to elevated cancer and death rates in First Nation communities living downstream along the Athabasca River, while contributing massively to climate change.
Few amongst the Left could disagree, of course, with a strong condemnation of RBC, Canada’s most profitable and most notoriously immoral financial institution. RBC fully deserves to be challenged, with determination and militancy, whenever possible. However, there is debate on the action taken by the FFFC against RBC. The crux of this debate turns on questions of tactics and strategy.
Political Arson?
Many people have been sharply critical of the arsonists’ use of a tactic that endangered the lives of both nearby residents and the emergency workers who had to deal with the fire (there was also the possibility of there being night workers in the bank cleaning). The actions of the arsonists were irresponsible and reckless. Anyone who has had the unfortunate experience of being in a fire, fighting a fire or treating a fire victim can tell you just how dangerous a fire can be. Fire is very powerful and unpredictable and, even if it was not the intention of the arsonists to do so, it was within the realm of possibility that people could have been seriously injured and/or killed (as occurred in the Greek anti-austerity protests when a bank was firebombed, workers killed, and a huge setback to the momentum to the protests followed). We expect such disregard for human life from the major corporations themselves, not those who oppose them. It is delusional to think that any pain brought on by this action would be borne by the system of capitalism, the state, or even the RBC. You can’t burn those things down. It is business as usual for all of them. In fact, this action has served their interests.
Read the rest of this entry »
Party at the Pumps 2
May 18th, 2010
UK Protestors shut down the Islington based Shell petrol station on the 15th of May 2010 for 5 hours on a sunny Saturday in protest against Shell’s involvement in the Canadian Tar Sands project.
Crank up the volume and enjoy…….
Party at the Pumps is in solidarity with communities around the world who are resisting Shell and BP’s destruction of lives and livelihoods, poisoning of lands and waters, and fuelling of climate chaos. In Northern Canada, Shell’s tar sands projects are ignoring First Nations treaty rights, causing rare forms of cancer and killing wildlife.
This action is jointly called by London Rising Tide/London Tar Sands Network and Climate Camp London.
http://www.no-tar-sands.org
http://www.risingtide.org.uk
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/london
Day of Action, Night of Mourning
Against Offshore Drilling
Once again the fossil fuel industry has brought crisis to the Gulf Coast. Devastation of untold proportions spews non-stop from BP’s oil well as politicians try to save face with empty promises, and oil companies preserve their profits with PR campaigns. This catastrophic spill comes on the heels of Obama’s plan to expand offshore drilling. The price of burning fossil fuels is too high. From combustion to extraction the oil industry poisons our communities, destroys ecosystems, and destabilizes the climate. Now is the time to stop offshore drilling dead in its tracks and drive another nail into the fossil fuel industry’s coffin.
[DOWNLOAD FLIER JPG | PDF ]
Map of actions up soon. Let us know about your action here!
Take action Friday May 14 to demand:
-An immediate ban on all offshore drilling
-A rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels
-No bailouts for the oil industry. All recovery costs must be paid for by BP, Halliburton, Transocean and other implicated companies.
-The federal government must remove any caps on liability for oil companies.
-BP provides full compensation for impacted communities and small businesses.
-BP provides full funding for long-term ecosystem restoration for impacted areas.
-Oil companies operating in the Gulf fully fund restoration of coastal ecosystems damaged by canals, pipelines, and other industry activities.
Take action at:
-BP gas stations and offices
-Halliburton and Transocean offices
-Federal buildings
-Offices of members of Congress
-State government officials in states affected by Obama’s offshore drilling proposal.
-Critical Mass bike rides
-Vigils to mourn the unspeakable loss brought by this spill
-Get creative!
Please report your actions to oilspill@risingtidenorthamerica.org
Massive “Climate Action Now” Banner unfurled
April 28th, 2010
Action in British Columbia
[Photos are available here]
Historic homes are being demolished, and ancient indigenous sites are under threat from the South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) project here on the Fraser River bank. The est. $2 billion SFPR is part of the controversial Gateway program, which would greatly increase greenhouse gas emissions in BC.
The action took place at River Road and Centre Street in Delta. It coincides with the multi-faith Pilgrimage to Burns Bog, and is visible from the pilgrimage route across the Alex Fraser Bridge. Pilgrims and activists aim to raise awareness about Burns Bog, a large, carbon-sequestering peat bog also under threat from the SFPR freeway.
“Our neighbours are being forced out of their homes, and ecosystems are being bulldozed,” says Delta resident Ernie Baatz. “Schools and programs are being cut across the province to pay for this climate changing freeway. We have to stand up to this appalling waste.”
Baatz and fellow activists also planted trees at the site today, to highlight the area’s potential as a riverfront park, not a riverfront freeway. Although preparatory work has begun on some sections of the SFPR, no build contract is in place. A request for proposals was issued by the Ministry of Transportation in April 2009.
The action is part of a week of events dubbed “Earth Action Week” by GatewaySucks.org and the Council of Canadians (Delta/Richmond chapter).
Bolivia Climate Conference
April 21st, 2010
|
Action in the UK -
An excellent day of action, including the closure of three BP petrol stations!
——————————–
BP hit by tar sands protests in London, Brighton, Oxford and Cambridge
Oil company targeted by nationwide protests in advance of crucial AGM vote
Protesters demand BP pulls out of “the most destructive project on Earth” – the Canadian tar sands
For photos, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/no-tar-sands and http://www.no-tar-sands.org. Brief reports of the London and Oxford actions can be seen at http://www.demotix.com/news/297925/bp-party-pumps and http://www.demotix.com/news/298075/bp-tar-sands-protest-oxford.
Today, oil giant BP was struck by multiple protests over its controversial plans to extract oil from the Canadian tar sands (1). Hundreds of climate activists in London, Brighton, Oxford and Cambridge (2) targeted the company with simultaneous demonstrations and street parties, including forecourt invasions which closed three BP petrol stations in London and Brighton (3), (4).
BP Station in Plymouth closed down as part of Fortnight of Shame
April 10th, 2010
TWO women chained themselves to petrol pumps at a Plympton garage yesterday in a protest aimed at petrol giant BP.
The two women locked themselves to pumps at the BP Chaddlewood Service Station garage in Ridgeway after 2pm in a demonstration against BP’s investment in tar sands oil.
Tar sands is a type of heavy bituminous oil found chiefly in Canada and Venezuela which has been criticised by environmentalists. They claim the extraction process generates two to four times as much greenhouse gas per barrel of product as conventional oil refining.
Six people from the Plymouth Rising Tide (PRT) and Kernow Anarchist Network groups demonstrated, but only two chained themselves to pumps while the others handed out leaflets and held banners.
The station, which is run by a franchise but supplies BP petrol to customers, was shut during the protest. Sarah Mana, of PRT, protested but was not one of those arrested. “We saw it as necessary to make a radical call,” she said. A BP spokesman said: “We support the demonstrators’ right to express their views, but not to put their lives or the lives of others in danger. “Our prime concern was the safety of staff, customers and the site. We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience this caused.”
Two people were arrested by police in connection with the incident.
London, Ontario actions against Fossil Fools
April 3rd, 2010
London, Ontario, Canada celebrated Fossil Fools Day by organizing blitz actions against 3 branches of RBC (the Royal Bank of Canada), as well as a Critical Mass bike rally, in which a breakaway group took over a highway.
[Clicking any of the photo thumbnails will take you to more photos from our actions. And here are some more photos from our bike rally.]
==================================
RBC Actions:
Instead of just protesting outside, a group of activists brought their message inside RBC during their peak hours, to temporarily disrupt the bank’s dirty business. The plan was simple and easy to replicate. We marched into the branch, chanting with a megaphone to get the attention of bank managers, tellers and customers with our boisterous entry. We handed out and threw around flyers to explain what we were up to, and more importantly, why we were there. One of the flyers was about Fossil Fools Day, and the other one was about campaigning against the tar sands. A large “Climate Justice” banner was also displayed, inside the RBC building.
One activist read a speech over the megaphone; this speech was written collectively by the participants minutes before the first disruption:
“RBC is Killing the Planet. They are the leading financiers of the world’s most environmentally destructive project: The Albertan Tar Sands. The bank you do business with and work for is literally killing First Nations people by poisoning the Athabasca River. RBC is profiting off the destruction of native communities and turning forests, wetlands, and lakes into open pit mines, poisonous tailing ponds, and toxic wastelands. By investing your money into this bank and its projects you are selling out the future of life on earth by accelerating climate change. RBC and other corporations who put profit above all other considerations are unsustainable and incompatible with life on this planet. Close your accounts and invest yourself in the future.”
MONTREAL – On Thursday, April 1, 2010, a group of over 70 left Dominion Square in the heart of Montreal to make the 15 km journey to the city’s east end to shine a light on the largest urban oil refining center in Canada. Drawing contingents of activists from various student, social and environmental justice groups, the Bike Bloc organized by Climate Justice Montreal made its way down Rene Levesque to Berri and up to Sherbrooke Street, heading on a collision course with the Enbridge Trailbreaker Tar Sands expansion pipeline.
“The east end of Montreal is a seldom seen and discussed region, but it is the largest urban oil refining center in Canada,” said Pierre-Olivier Parent, an organizer with Climate Justice Montreal. “It is a vast wasteland of oil, gas and chemical storage tanks, threatening the health of local residents and all Montrealers. If completed the Trailbreaker would bring the direct effects of the Tar Sands right here.”’
The bikes entered the post-apocalyptic petroleum wasteland just beyond the last metro station, passing first by Shell Canada’s Montreal Development. The massive refinery has recently been put up for sale, announced by “A Vendre” signs lining the road, proudly offering up “800 skilled employees” as part of the package deal for any eager buyer.
“Rather than expanding the petroleum infrastructure that is destroying ecosystems and communities, we need to build a clean energy economy, creating meaningful jobs for thousands of people including those working at the Shell Refinery. Our society needs jobs that are not dependent on unstable, destructive resources that soar and crash, creating environmental and economic catastrophes,” says Cameron Stiff, a local sustainability organizer and activist.
This post was submitted by Cameron Fenton.
Fossil ‘Fools Day Protests Set for 30 Cities; Target Coal, Oil, Natural Gas and Big Banks
SAN FRANCISCO—More than 30 cities throughout North America have organized demonstrations against the fossil fuel industry, corporate banks and big environmental organizations for April 1’st national Fossil ‘Fools’ Day. Demonstrations are being coordinated by Rising Tide North America , which has also launched an online campaign targeting “Big Green” groups that have taken money from the worst corporate polluters. Key targets of the campaign include Conservation International, National Wildlife Federation and Environmental Defense.
The National Day of Action – organized by Rising Tide North America, Mountain Justice, a coalition of Canadian climate activists and others – will feature clownish parades, flyering, subversive advertising, creative street theater, and non-violent direct actions targeting the coal, oil, natural gas and banking sectors. Cities where actions will take place include Asheville, Boulder, Chicago, Edmonton, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Ottawa, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Washington D.C. Corporations targeted will include Chevron, JPMorgan Chase, NW Natural Gas, Pepco and Shell. Read the rest of this entry »
German energy giant EON have announced that they are shelving controversial plans for a massive expansion of coal and gas electricity generation in the Medway region. The surprising news emerged today as Eon contractors broke ground at the offices of Medway Council on Dock Road, Chatham, and started installing wind turbines and solar panels.
Eon media relations officer, Joe King announced, “We realise that continued investment in fossil fuels is a dangerous distraction from the urgent need to develop truly sustainable technologies so we’ve abandoned our dated plans to continue burning gas and coal. This wind farm for Medway council is just the beginning, we’re also offering all our customers heavily discounted shares in future community wind farm schemes, so they’ll actually co-own the systems that provide their power”.
In a leaflet passed out to passers by, Eon admitted that until now, only a trivial amount of their investments had gone into renewables but promised that would now change. Acknowledging the urgent need to drastically cut emissions in order to curb global warming and avoid disastrous climatic tipping points, the company promised they’d abandon their plans to turn Medway into a CO2 pumping hub, end further investment into fossil fuels, and instead commit to truly sustainable energy such as wind and sun. Read the rest of this entry »
Climate Camp pranks the Carbon Traders at OMFinancial
April 1st, 2010
Climate Camp pranks the carbon traders.
Don’t be fooled by Carbon Trading!
Newmarket, Auckland: 1st April 2010
Camp for Climate Action Auckland has visited the offices of OMFinancial to present them with this year’s Fossil Fools day award for helping New Zealand’s biggest polluters cheat their way out of dealing with climate change
April 1st, Fossil Fools day is an international day of action against the fossil fuel industry with pranks being pulled on key players of the fossil fuel industry.
“Climate change is no laughing matter, but carbon trading is a sick joke that won’t do anything to stop New Zealand from being dug up to get even more fossil fuels out of the ground. We’re here to turn the tables on these fossil fools and give them what they deserve. The 2010 New Zealand Fossil Fools day award.” says climate camp participant Gary Cranston.
“Carbon markets are geared towards prolonging the fossil fuel economy for as long as possible rather than developing strategies for a rapid, just transition away from carbon-based fuels. The complex system of carbon credits and offsets allows polluters to continue the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure rather than forcing them to abandon these projects. The only thing your average New Zealander will get out of this charade is rising electricity bills and rising sea levels.” says Gary Cranston.
“Last December in Copenhagen, the politicians sold us out to the fossil fools and corporate lobbyists like the International Emissions Trading Association. Instead of 350 parts per million (ppm) of carbon in the atmosphere as ‘required by science’, the Copenhagen Accord signatories’ promised 15% emissions cuts from 1990 levels to 2020 could in reality translate into a 10% increase once carbon trading and offset loopholes are factored in. We’ve been left with nothing but carbon market shenanigans designed to distract us from the truth. Stopping runaway climate change means leaving fossil fuels in the ground.” Read the rest of this entry »
Follow @RANactions on Twitter for updates
Hi Res Pictures
Activists Risk Arrest with Elaborate Protest at EPA HQ; Demand Immediate Action to Stop Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining
Group Erects Purple Mountain Majesty At EPA; Say “If Administrator Lisa Jackson Won’t Visit the Appalachian Mountains, They Will Bring The Mountains to Her”
In an attempt to further pressure EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to enforce the Clean Water Act and halt mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR), activists early this morning erected two 20-foot-tall, purple tripod structures in front of the agency’s headquarters. A pair of activists perched at the top of the tripods have strung a 25-foot sign in front of the EPA’s door that reads, “EPA: pledge to end mountaintop removal in 2010.” Six people are locked to the tripods and say they won’t leave unless Administrator Jackson commits to a flyover visit of the Appalachian Mountains and MTR sites, which she has never done before.
This is the latest in a series of actions and activities aimed at pressuring the EPA to take more decisive action on mountaintop removal coal mining. Today’s tactic is modeled on the multi-day tree-sits that have been happening in West Virginia to protect mountains from coal companies’ imminent blasting. Called the worst of the worst strip mining, the practice blows the tops off of whole mountains to scoop out the small seams of coal that lie beneath.
“We’re losing our way of life and our culture,” said Chuck Nelson, Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: action, cap-and-trade, civil disobedience, climate, coal, mtr, trees and forests | 
No Comments »