Thirty or so Scottish Climate Camp activists and residents of Douglas visited South Lanarkshire Council offices in Hamilton at 11am today to further highlight health risks associated with open cast mining and climate change in general. 'Think globally, act locally' one of them said. They held banners saying 'coal kills' and 'community health not Lord Home's wealth'. Police, however, prevented them from entering the building.
Environmentalists staged street theatre in several parts of Hamilton 'awarding' coal criminals for their involvement in letting Mainshhill Wood (South Lanarkshire) open cast mine go ahead. These shamed individuals were: Mr Danny Meikle Cllr, Ms Karen Gillon MSP, Mr Jim Hood MP and Mr David Alexander Cospatrick Douglas-Home.
Kirstie Stramler, Ph.D. atmospheric scientist and researcher called for an independent study to investigate the health effects of open cast mining on local residents. Ms Stramler has just written a preliminary report 'Adverse effects of open cast coal mining. Health Stats.' Publicly available NHS statistics indicate a higher rate of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) amongst people of Douglas village compared to the UK average or the coastal town of Prestwick, upwind from the mines.
Three independent journalists were detained by the police in a separate incident near Mr Meikle's home. This councillor tried to enter his office building unnoticed and was heard saying 'Stay away from my f****** house' to the protesters.
Climate Camp in Mainshill Woods near Douglas is the first event of this kind in Scotland featuring a 320W solar panel, composting toilets and grey water systems. Activists received a warm welcome from local residents who hope to stop the extraction of 1.7 million tonnes of coal. Burning of fossil fuels adds more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.