Wrekin Stop War"a beacon in the fog of misinformation" |
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Wrekin Stop War"a beacon in the fog of misinformation" |
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From the Climate Camp website:
The world is changing.
Food riots abroad, house prices and pensions collapsing at home, energy prices skyrocketing worldwide. And slap bang in the middle of all of this - climate change - which the government and the power giant E.ON propose to make worse by building the UK's first coal-fired power station in 30 years at Kingsnorth in Kent.
Suddenly, the future we all thought we could count on seems very unlikely. Yes, the world is complex, but one thing is clear: the economy isn't working for the benefit of most of us. Its seemingly endless growth hasn't brought happiness. Indeed, through carbon emissions, it has brought us to the edge. We need to change course.
Do you think Brown or Cameron will put us on a radically different path? No, we don't either. So we're working on alternatives by working together collectively. When large numbers of determined and well-organised people get together they can turn things around, making a historic difference.
The climate camp aims to do just that. Whether it's participating in the collective organisation of the camp, taking part in workshops (), or taking direct action to tackle dangerous developments like new coal-fired power stations; being at the camp is about people getting together to respond positively to the climate crisis.
There is only one thing that can stop Kingsnorth and override the profit motive driving it; a mass movement. We intend to start one and we want you to be part of it.
Wrekin Stop War and Wrekin Anarchist Group are pulling out all the stops to support Climate Camp. Some of our collective and other local comrades are already on-site in Kent whilst the rest of us will be undertaking Climate Camp on Tour actions locally over the week of the camp.
We feel that this wider approach is important because whilst the main camp at Kingsnorth will be a national focus for action against climate change, especially the burning of fossil fuels, the coal issue is one that is also with us at a local level. We are threatened with an open-cast mine at New Works and according to Friends of the Earth, the Ironbridge Power Station is amongst the most polluting in the country.
If you would like to get involved please contact us via the link on this website or wag@riseup.net
We will be updating this site with Climate Camp info as often as we can during the week but you can also find regular updates on the camp's own website: www.climatecamp.org.uk and Indymedia: www.indymedia.co.uk.
Update: 6th August 2008
Our Climate Camp on Tour actions have been a great success so far although sadly, yesterday's event had to be cancelled due to the weather. How ironic that we've been foiled by the climate!
It's not that we're fair weather activists, we've turned out in worse conditions but as what we had planned would have been virtually impossible in the rain, we decided to postpone. We'll just save that one for another day.
The banner drop on Monday made the local press and has led to an ongoing debate on the Shropshire Star website. See: Shropshire Star - Mine Protesters in Banners Stunt
There has also been a more vigorous debate around the subject on the local Telford Live forum and this can be viewed via www.telford-live.com (click on 'View all Topics', then 'Telford Chat' and view the debates via either 'Those M54 Banners' or 'Climate Camp on Tour 2008').
This morning (Wednesday), Graham from our collective has been interviewed at Climate Camp for the Jim Hawkins Show on Radio Shropshire. He was able to get across some of the reasons why he has gone to the camp, dispel some of myths about climate change and show activists in a positive light away from the media hysteria.
It should also be noted that Jim Hawkins himself made climate change a main theme of his show today and spoke at some length about the responsibility we all have to address this issue. Opinions from listeners were mixed but all-in-all this was a more constructive approach that we have come to expect from Radio Shropshire. To listen to the show, go to: BBC Radio Shropshire - Listen Again and click on 'Jim Hawkins in the Morning' (Graham's interview is about 2½ hours into the show and you can fast forward but you'll need RealPlayer to listen).
However, before we get too wrapped up in self-congratulation, it should also be noted that those on site at the Climate Camp are having a hell of a time with the police and this can only get worse as Saturday's day of action draws closer.
So far the police have used their stop and search powers as much as they can, attempted to 'psyche out' campers with the police helicopter and have tried to seize vehicles delivering people and equipment to the site. This was expected but in an escalation from last year's policing, the riot police have persistently tried to enter the site and last night (Tuesday) they drove up and down the camp boundary playing Wagner! We understand that at least two people from the West Midlands neighbourhood have been hospitalised and that police are using batons and pepper spray liberally.
None of this is being reported in the mainstream media, who appear to be going out of their way to make protestors look bad.
Climate Camp does not have all the answers but it is one of the only mass movements around at the moment that doesn't just talk about change but proposes real alternatives and proves that they work. That those participating in this are being intimidated, criminalised and brutalised is disgusting to any sane human being but also says something about the threat we pose to those in power and pulling the strings. Resistance is fertile!
The next group meeting will be on Tuesday 9th September from 7:30 - 9pm. As the venue is currently unconfirmed, please email us if you would like to come.
We're always pleased to welcome new faces. For further information
email:
admin@wrekinstopwar.org.
If you go to one demonstration and then go home, that's something, but the people in power can live with that. What they can't live with is sustained pressure that keeps building, organisations that keep doing things, people that keep learning lessons from the last time and doing it better the next time.
NOAM CHOMSKY.