UK Ecology Feature Archive
Big Blether 4 unites muddy grassroots activists
08-10-2004 20:43
The 4th Big Blether took place from 1st- 3rd October 2004 in an embryonic permaculture community in North Perthshire, named Culdees.
About 70 activists from Scotland and far beyond joined the gathering to exchange skills, enjoy themselves and forge links with old and new friends of a diverse range of groups engaged in the struggle for social justice.
[pictures | programm | feedback]
Campaign Against Tesco: Save the Slough Cedar
25-09-2004 10:23
When Tesco first bought and developed the site, this rare tree was granted a specific Tree Protection Order, in recognition of its importance. Now, Tesco have new expansion plans, which do not include keeping the Cedar.
Local residents have gathered several thousand signatures in various petitions of protest and are planning demonstrations, including a protest outside the Planning Committee on Tuesday 28th September at Slough Town Hall.
Read the Full Story
Windbags Against Windfarms
06-09-2004 12:07
The proposals are being opposed by the MP for South Cambridgeshire, Conservative Andrew Lansley, who has either been convinced by the myths of local and national opposition groups, or is merely following the Tory party line.
A local group, Stop Cambridge Wind Farms, has appeared to propagate the same misinformation as a national anti-wind farm group, Country Guardian. The Guardian (Newspaper) reported that Country Guardian "strongly denies accusations of having close links with the nuclear industry (its chair is Sir Bernard Ingham, who is a paid lobbyist for British Nuclear Fuels)".These links obviously make its denial very hard to swallow.
Because wind farms have proved so surprisingly controversial groups have appeared to balance the debate, including the British Wind Energy Association, and Yes 2 Wind, a coalition between Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and WWF. These provide answers to all the common misconceptions. There is also a campaign called Embrace the Wind which asks people to register their names if they support wind power.
Read more on Indymedia: Cambridgeshire FOR Windfarms | Wind Farms v Nuclear | Against wind farms? | and more...
Iron Age hill fort faces destruction in Cornwall
25-08-2004 12:05
Cornish Iron Age hill fort faces destruction!Eviction Alert - Two Mile Coppice, Weymouth
03-08-2004 15:56
We only just heard that there has been a camp set up, adjacent to the old teddy bear woods & pink castle site, Weymouth, Dorset. The eviction hearing is on Thursday.
Take back the Streets of Edinburgh
03-08-2004 09:05
Around seventy protesters "took back the streets" in an action in Edinburgh on Saturday 31st of July, 2004. Several sit-down protests were held, and Princes Street was seized before moving on to Tollcross, where two people were arrested.
[ full report with pictures | call for street party | Reclaim the Streets]
Native Americans protest at Scottish Power annual shareholder meeting for river restoration
29-07-2004 14:26
A broad umbrella group of 26 people from various environmental, academic and economical organisations and members from four Native American tribes, travelled to Scotland from Southern Oregon and Northern California to lobby, protest at and negotiate with Scottish Power, the parent company of PacifiCorp, which is responsible for the negative impacts of several dams on the Klamath River, its water quality, salmon population, surrounding environment and neighbouring communities.
Previous reports:
[ pictures of protest at Scottish Power's annual shareholders meeting | call to write protest letters | reply to consumer boycott | Klamath river support delegation in Scotland | U.S. Court Rules in Favor Of Hoopa Valley, Yurok Tribes! | Native Americans, Enviros, and Fishermen Battle Scottish Power | Myth and facts about the Klamath River dams ]
Audio reports:
[ interview with scientist | interview with Klamath Tribe | interview with sociologist | Interview with commercial fisherman | interview with Yurok tribe | Environmental Racism Conference 1 | Environmental Racism Conference, Eugene, January 2004 ]
Road Alert: New Road Building Proposed for the Peak District
26-07-2004 17:53
The proposals for a by-pass for villages on the edge of the Peak District are now gaining momentum and have reached a 'crucial stage' according to the recent South Pennine Integrated Transport Strategy (SPITS) newsletter. The by-pass is part of wider developments for the A57/A628/A616 Woodhead route, strengthening the road links between the M1 and the M67 on the outskirts of Manchester. There are fears that this route could eventually become a major M67/M1 cross-Pennine link road. A significant component of the current scheme involves building a new road through a section of the Peak District, and other beautiful environmentally sensitive areas.
There has for a long time been talk and speculation in Sheffield about new road building in the peak district to improve links between the Sheffield area and Manchester. It has now come to light that what could eventually be the first stage of developing a new M1/M6 cross-Pennines link road, the A57/A628 Mottram-Tintwistle by-pass, is going through the public planning process. The July SPITS newsletter reports that the Highways Agency is inviting tenders for a Design and Build Contract for the bypass. The successful contractor will be responsible for the preparation and design of the road scheme, assisting in getting the project through the statutory processes, and finally for the construction of the bypass. The newsletter also reports that it 'looks inevitable that a public enquiry will precede implementation' of the by-pass' construction.
Log Off
18-07-2004 20:48
Early last week activists occupied the Australian Consular Offices in Manchester in a protest against old growth logging in Australia. After seeing the destruction caused by logging in areas such as Victoria and Tasmania activists in the UK decided to target the Australian consulate.
Australia is home to some amazing areas of “old growth” rainforest, which have remained relatively unaltered by humans for thousands of years. Now, it is being felled at an alarming rate, even in supposedly “protected” areas.
In Tasmania, 90% of native forest felled is converted into woodchip for the Asian paper industry. Thus, priceless ancient forest is trashed and sold for $15 (less than £6) per tonne to make cardboard. There are huge campaigns against this logging in Australia, involving direct action blockades, tree-sits, marches and rallies, lobbying, and more.
Save Newsham Park
17-07-2004 23:00
Funny Weather
11-07-2004 19:03
Have you noticed that we don't seem to get seasons any more, just weather ...
Does it make you wonder what's going on? It's July, and we have cold nights, storms, showers. Is it just more bad weather, or is it another sign of climate change?
Hold on a minute. Wasn't this whole global warming thing meant to lead to long hot summers? Vineyards and orange groves in the south of england. No one said anything about storms ...
Sorry to disillusion you, but as the temperature rises, there is more and more energy in the global weather system. And more energy leads to more extreme weather - high winds, heavy downpours and severe storms.
Get involved [ Rising Tide | Stop Esso | No New Oil ]
Sainsburys Blockaded Nationally [updated]
02-07-2004 11:54
Sainsbury's chilled food distribution centres were blockaded across the country on Thursday in protest against GM feed being fed to dairy cows. Sainsbury’s five biggest UK distribution centres were shut down as evironmentalists and consumers simultaneously blockaded the supermarket chain's chilled-goods depots in London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol and Sheffield. They were chained together through steel tubes, or sat up scaffold tripods, blocking the depot gates. The co-ordinated action was intended to halt distribution of Sainsbury's dairy products that come from cows fed GM animal feed.
The protest follows Sainsbury’s failure to provide non-GM fed milk as standard, despite rivals like Marks and Spencer and the Co-op doing so. The action was taken in solidarity with farmers, demanding they get a fair deal of 2p on the pound for non-GM milk. The coalition of groups campaigning on this issue includes Farmers for Action, the Small and Family Farmers Alliance, The Small Farms Association, the Wholesome Food Association, the Institute of Science in Society, Genetic Food Alert and the Genetic Engineering Network (see GM animal feed campaign PDF). Also see National press release
Local reports: Birmingham report, photos and video | London
Yorkshire | Liverpool [ 1 , 2 ] and photos [1 | 2]
Bristol report and photos
Sainsbury's Essex Waltham Point Depot Blockade Report
See also Genetic Engineering Network
Latest news:
Cows leaflet shareholders are Sainsbury AGM - Monday 12th July
Store demo in Plymouth - Saturday 10th July
Farmers vist Welsh store - Saturday 10th July
A Week Of Resistance to BP And Big Oil
16-06-2004 06:44
A week long Exhibition of Resistance to BP and Big Oil, and the corporate hijacking of the arts is now under way on in London. A space has been squatted specially for the event [Photos]. The address is 50 Chalk Farm Road, Camden.
Update Tuesday 22nd: Another protest was called on Monday night during the BP sponsored awards ceremony at the Portrait Gallery. As protestors were gathering at around 7pm, four London Rising Tide activists chained themselves across the front door effectively shutting down the National Portrait Gallery. It was also announced that the alternative exhibition has been extended for a week, and it is now likely to be open until Saturday 26th June in the squatted gallery.
On Wednesday 16th climate change activists and artists held a 'Greenwash or US' Street Party outside BP HQ, many carrying artworks revealing a true portrait of an oil company. The street party then marched to the private view of the BP sponsored National Portrait Gallery Awards. When protesters tried to move towards the entrance of the National Gallery, police rapidly moved in and pushed people back. In the resulting scuffles one person got arrested for "not moving" [video of the arrest] The party then continued for several hours without any more incidents, and later in the evening it was followed by the opening of the art exhibition at the squatted venue [Report | Photos of street party].
Over the weekend, there will be daily workshops and events in the exhibition space as well as on the streets. These will include speakers from West Papua and Colombia, a Jam Night, film night, and lots of other fun stuff such as painting, subvertising, guerilla cinema, radio, food and discussion. See Programme of Events.
London Rising Tide | Burning Planet
Climate change in Edinburgh...
17-05-2004 09:10
How to experience your own greenhouse effect. Wander through Edinburgh city centre in a dinosaur costume on an usually hot day in mid-May. Better still get a mate to wear a rubber George W. Bush mask – after 5 minutes inside georges head their brain will be boiled too…
So why a dinosaur and why George Bush? We didn’t just want to experience a personal climate change, this was the return to Edinburgh’s streets of international climate action day – a global day of marches and events on May 15th. [Pictures and call].
Nuclear sub out of control
07-05-2004 08:32
On Yer Bike! 10 years of London Critical Mass
28-04-2004 21:26
Anarchism on wheels? Or just a bunch of cyclists getting together on a Friday evening? Sit back, close your eyes and imagine a thousand people cycling along a central London street... filling the street... there aren't any cars... the noise of the traffic is drowned out by music, whistles, bike bells and people having conversations while cycling together…
On the last Friday of April 1994 London’s first Critical Mass took place with about 50 cyclists, and this month's ride on Friday 30th April will be a celebration of 10 years of reclaiming London’s tarmac.
Police surround BP's AGM to silence alternative opinions
18-04-2004 21:44
Eco Homes Land Occupation Protest
09-04-2004 09:47
Update April 15: Direct action over Easter weekend saves the Roundhouse [Photos and Reports
Over Easter, sympathisers from across England and Wales, are converging on the Pembrokeshire National Park to protest at the ordered demolition of Tony Wrench's roundhouse (see previous feature) and the double standards displayed by the planning authority who have given outline permission for a Bluestones holiday centre in the park, consisting of 340 log cabins imported from Eastern Europe, and 60 studio flats.The protesters plan to occupy land in the Park, erect another turf-roofed roundhouse, and to hold an "Ideal Low Impact Home Exhibition" (see info).
See The Land Is Ours
and
Protestors Convicted Over BP 'Redwash'
31-03-2004 19:14
The two Manchester protesters who covered a British Petroleum stand in fake blood during the 2002 CBI conference in Manchester's G-MEX appeared at the crown court last week charged with criminal damage. Their action addressed BP's greenwash as the company sought profit from catastrophe in the impending Iraq war and the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipelines project. The jury found them not guilty of 4 counts of damaging clothing but could not reach a unanimous verdict on the damage to the stand. Eventually the pair were found guilty of the charge.
The G-MEX incident proved humiliating for security organisers, coming two days after protesters successfully stormed the building. CBI chief Digby Jones told the press that he would ensure the pair received maximum punishment. The conference had been besieged by protests over corporate globalisation, equal pay for women, fire service pay and the Iraq war.
Marshalls, Hands off 9 Ladies!
26-03-2004 19:13
An office occupation of a Marshalls PLC building took place on Thursday 25th March in Elland, West Yorkshire, as a group of up to 25 activists from Yorkshire, Manchester, Derbyshire and Lancashire decided to ram home the message that corporate exploitation and destruction of our woodlands will not go unchallenged (see photos). The following day people also blockaded and occupied a Marshalls depot in Mansfield Woodhouse.
Marshalls is a huge multinational company specialising in landscape and construction materials, especially stone. Marshalls is a particularly 'hot' target at the moment as its subsidiary Stancliffe Stone is behind the plan to quarry the hillside below Stanton Moor, right next to the Nine Ladies Stone Circle. This insidious plan to quarry a place of rare natural beauty in the middle of the Peak District National Park has been up to now unsuccessful due to the fight put up by the people at the Nine Ladies protest camp. Marshalls however has recently stepped up the pressure to evict the camp and go ahead with the quarrying despite objections from a whole range of actors. Read Latest Camp Update including photos (27/03/04)
Related News:
Sherwood Tree Camp: Possible Eviction Alert (week beginning 29/03/04), despite a 30 day "safe period", during which an independant survey is being conducted - read campaign report update.
A new tree occupation started on Thursday 25th March against the proposed F5 road scheme, planned for the A1159 Priory Crescent north, Southend on Sea, Essex. Meanwhile Bilston Glen Protest Site has a Free Cafe on Saturday 4th April
Older 9 Ladies feature | Nine Ladies Anti Quarry Campiagn | Marshalls PLC website
