Greetings from the black hole: protesters at Ffos-y-Fran open cast pit in South Wales
Climate change campaigners marked the third annual "Fossil Fool's Day" on Tuesday with a series of protests around the world highlighting the need for us all to reduce the amount of carbon we burn. Here in the UK the focus was very much on coal, and sending a message to ministers that if new coal plants like Kingsnorth are built, they'll ruin any realistic chance that we have of meeting our commitments to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and represent a devastating failure of the government's resolve to tackle climate change. Key events included:
- the shutting down one of Europe's largest open cast coal mines at Ffos-y-Fran in South Wales;
- Earth First! activists blockading the UK's largest gas Terminal at Bacton in Norfolk;
- People and Planet building a 12ft high model of a coal-fired power station in Parliament Square;
- a "laugh-in" at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Dberr) over plans for a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth, Kent;
- activists masquerading as Porsche executives delivered a mock apology to an audience of protesting "polar bears" outside firm's main London showroom in Berkeley Square, after the luxury car firm toook London Mayor Ken Livingston to court over his new £25 congestion charge for gas guzzlers;
- In Glasgow, Fossil Fools presented their local climate change criminals with awards recognising their contribution to climate chaos;
- In Cambridge protesters targeted the Royal Bank of Scotland, one of the main financiers of climate crime.
- Today (April 3rd) Bristol Rising Tide continued the good work with a blockade of Aberthaw power station,Wales' worst polluter.
Other outbreaks of fossil foolery occurred in the US, Australia and New Zealand.
North America
- 25 'Billionaires for Dirty Energy' blockaded Citibank in New York;
- eight people were arrested in North Carolina after chaining themselves to diggers to halt work on the new Cliffside coal-fired power station;
- The Bank of America in Boston was blockaded because of its funding of coal companies.
Australia and New Zealand
- 200 people protested at Newcastle against the expansion of the world's biggest coal port, and prevented coal trains from entering the harbour;
- Air New Zealand Receives 'Fossil Fool' Award ;
- 3 arrests at peaceful parade in New Zealand.
Finally, just to show that protest is often at its most effective when there's a bit of humour involved, here's a link to a cool anti-coal viral: ev-eon.com is a coal marketing man's dream solution to the industry's problems - pass on the problem to the public!
