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Day 2: Low-Impact Living At The Climate Camp

IMC UK | 15.08.2007 22:16 | Climate Camp 2007 | Climate Chaos

Wednesday August 15th After an early alert - around 9am a large Forward Intelligence Team (FIT) skirted the East perimeter, with an even larger group of Climate Campers responding by blocking the FIT cameras view - the camp got off to a productive start:

After the site coordination meeting at 9:30am, the workshops kicked off, covering a wide range of topics including low-tech sanitation, nuclear power, climate change and global justice, decentralised energy, aviation and climate change, introduction to permaculture, and movement building. Read a report about the 'Wales LNG pipeline' workshop. Indymedia facilities are on-site, the entire campsite has wi-fi, powered by wind generators and solar arrays. Indymedia workshops have been going on since early morning, including open publishing, writing, reporting, and digital photography. The site is now wheelchair-accessible. Campers fitted up kitchens and installed a 'grey water' system, 4 wind generators provide power. New neighbourhoods, like the West Midlands neighbourhood are being built. [pics]

Climate activists from the US and New Zealand, including the Convergence for Climate Action, the US social forum, the East Coast USA climate camp, The Yes Men, The Earth First! Journal, Rising Tide, have sent empowering messages in solidarity [video 1 2].

At 4pm, about 80 people left camp to participate in a local march against the airport expansion, but were held up by police, penned in and lead toward the perimeter of the airport – almost into the area covered by the BAA injunction. On the way, the police decided to block the A4 to lead the pen across it. Two hours later, the group headed back to the camp in heavy rain. One person was arrested for 'obstructing a police officer' (a FIT photographer) [report 1, 2, 3 | pics 1, 2]. More info on the ticker.

Videos: Videos summarising Workshops at the Climate camp | Video of a summary of a workshop given by Mark Lynas on the 2 degree tipping point | How to set up a grey water recycling system using bath tubs and straw

Camp website | workshops | bust card | directions | corporate media archives 1, 2

Mark with the soon-to-be-completed solar hot showers.
Mark with the soon-to-be-completed solar hot showers.


There is much more to say: On the 14th, 40 Heathrow cargo handlers walked out in strike, more strikes are expected in the next days. If you want to find out more about the police presence around the camp, the behaviour of the FIT team, or the cooking preferences in London and Scotland, check the ticker. There are also rumours that ceiliths have been danced, but no pictures or reports have been posted yet. For those who are not present at the camp, it would be great to get reports about the workshops, the discussions, the setting up of low impact infrastructure etc. One reader is asking for a picture of the floodlights set up by the police.

IMC UK

Comments

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Bit of a damp squib so far.....

16.08.2007 17:53

Numbers a down, failed to disrupt Heathrow yesterday, failed to disrupt either Farnborough or Biggin Hill today! Ten nicked at Biggin.

Hope it gets better at the weekend or the whole thing will look like a farce.

Reality Check


Really?

08.09.2007 13:41

1500 people living, learning, being inspired and taking action together collectively and the world's media talking about radical action on climate change didn't look like a damp squib to me...what do you want?

Camper