It was a beautiful morning, if a little muggy, as I passed through the Kent countryside to Strood yesterday on my way to Climate Camp. I had to find out for myself what it was really like at the farm opposite Kingsnorth coal fired power station, where E.On wants to build the first new coal plant in the UK for over 30 years.
Joined by fellow climate campaigners, we received friendly smiles from local people who pointed us in the direction of Kingsnorth, egging us on our journey. (After all, not everyone wants to live next to a coal fired power station.)
Approaching the climate camp, we were greeted by a police garrison complete with horses, dogs and vans. Herded like cattle, we were stopped and searched extensively - after which we cheerfully resumed our journey to join the hundreds of climate campaigners peacefully enjoying the bright sunshine in a picturesque rural meadow. Or dangerous criminals plotting to cause grievous bodily harm, depending on who you listen to.
I haven't been out of London in ages, and I virtually skipped among the hundreds of colourful tents as I was given a tour of the camp and its various workshops, kitchens and eco-washing facilities. I was literally tripping over solar panels; the entire power supply to the camp comes from small windmills and solar cells. Even the cinema was bicycle powered and ground water purified for use with ingenious eco-filtration techniques.
I attended a few workshops that were running in a couple of the tents, like the Plane Stupid discussion on next steps to oppose building of the third runway and sixth terminal at Heathrow. What I found was that although there were speakers for these workshops, there wasn't any official leader. The philosophy behind the workshops is to open them up for discussion without having a chain of command dominating them, which I found liberating.
By mid-afternoon I found myself playing Frisbee with some of the campers and singing along to songs someone was playing on her guitar. Children played freely and were blissfully unaware of the police helicopter that landed nearby. I also visited the stand-off point on the farm where police raided the camp at dawn on Monday.
It was evening, and time for me to go (after being frisked again) as I had to be in to write this blog today. On my way back to London, I pondered on what's made the government go backwards on energy technology, when the future so clearly lies in renewables. I guess when E.On says jump, the government jumps.
