A little less talk

With the conference over it's time to put all the rhetoric into action. In the UK, activists from Rising Tide have been busy doing just that - blockading a rail link from an open cast coal mine in Wales. 

The timing was perfect (for me at least), as I got to refer to the action while being interviewed on a campesina radio station in Cochabamba. Asked why people struggled in the UK and what that struggle looked like, I pointed out that while the UK might not currently be suffering such immediate and pressing problems from climate change, we all share the same planet and ecosystem and we share the same fight. I talked about the Rising Tide blockade which was happening as I spoke and about the climate campers who did an action in London in solidarity with protesters at San Cristobel.

Ben

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release – No Embargo

Bristol and Bath Rising Tide Stop Coal Train – Happening Now !

Today, people involved in the Rising Tide Network have literally puts their necks on the line by chaining themselves to the rails in order to block the rail link to the Ffoss y Fran Open Cast Coal mine near Merthyr Tydfil. They are currently blocking the movement of coal

trains from the mine to Aberthaw Power Station

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Please Call 07835366330 For on-site interviews and updates. Alternative

number (off site): 07909172768

Kim Green from Rising Tide (UK) said:

“We are Protesting the continued extraction and burning of fossil fuels in the face of a global climate emergency. The failure of the Copenhagen climate talks to deal with this huge problem, and the obvious policy inadequacy the three main UK parties contesting the general election to take the necessary action to tackle the problem has highlighted the need for the people to take grass-roots direct action.”

Kim Green continues:

“This action is also in support of the local people of Merthyr Tydfil whose campaign 'Residents Against Ffoss y Fran' have been fighting the mine for over six years. The mine causes noise pollution for up to 16 hours a day, dust and dirt are carried into the town by the wind, and it turns the rain black.”

The process by which Miller-Argent <#12839b95d12ae6d5_12839a907942cd50_1283996b59ac00fa_128398b0dc47dae8_sdfootnote3sym>were able to get the go ahead to exploit this resource at the social cost of both the local and global community, highlighting the democratic deficit in the planning process, which takes in to consideration the social-environmental impact of such projects. The newly formed quango “The Planning Commission” will only make these things worse, being able to ignore any consideration in favour of profit.

Miller Argent have been quick to pressure their small workforce into mobilising against local concerns - but their apparent concern for their

workers is betrayed by the fact that they are actually looking to sell the mine as the quantity of high quality coal is only about as half as good as

they initially believed. They are in fact making a loss on the project.

Notes To Editor:

1. Rising Tide is an international network of groups tackling the Root Causes of Climate Change and Climate Injustice .http://risingtide.org.uk/

2.Aberthaw Power Station is the biggest polluter in Wales. In 2006 it released 7.4. million tonnes of Co2. It is Projected to run until 2025 with

NO PLANS to fit carbon capture storage (CCS) technology. 40% of the coal for the power station is supplied by Ffos y Fran. It was targeted by Bristol & Cardiff Rising Tide in 2008.

3.Miller Argent own and run Ffos Y fran. Argent are in turn owned by the BT Pensions Group. Both of these organisations make much of their ethical and sustainable practices But in this case they seem to be placing profits over and above any element of social responsibility.

Posted via email from World People's Conference