UK Pranksters target the Fossil Fools Industry‏

Pranksters target the Fossil Fool Industry
April 1st 2008 – For immediate release
At 6.30 am this morning, as part of Fossil Fools Day, activists
blockaded the main access road leading to the UK's largest off shore
gas terminal at Bacton in Norfolk. 40% of the UK's domestic gas comes
ashore here, is processed and distributed by pipeline.
At 7am, protesters halted work at one of the biggest opencast coal
mines in Europe, on the outskirts of Merthyr, Tydfil. They intend to
remain on the site for several days. Several groups of protesters
have chained themselves to large excavation machinery, while another
group has blockaded one of the main entrances to the site.
At 7:30 30 people blockaded the entrances to E-on's offices in
Nottingham. People covered in green paint to represent E-on's
greenwash, locked onto the front entrance to E-on's office and stood
in front of other entrances preventing E-on workers from getting to
work. E-on is trying to build the first new coal fired power station
in the UK in 50 years, at Kingsnorth in Kent.
Lindsay Jones, at the open cast mine in Merthyr, said, “Fossil Fools
Day is about taking direct action to prevent the fossil fuel industry from
destroying our future. The only real solution to climate change is to keep
fossil fuels in the ground.”
Also this morning, Leading advertising agency Y&R location was
targeted by London Rising Tide activists to expose their role in
promoting the false solutions of carbon offsetting having recently run
a advertising campaign for Land Rover proclaiming the 1st 1 40,00
miles of a new car are carbon neutral. Other clients include BAE
Systems and Chevron.
At The Bacton Gas Terminal, Martin Sampson announced “We refuse to let
companies like Royal Dutch Shell & ExxonMobil reap ever rising
profits, no matter what the cost to the planet or human life. We need
to shrink, not protect, the fossil fuel economy if we are to survive
climate change.”
Fossil Fools Day was called by the international Rising Tide network
and its allies to highlight the fact that the fossil fuel industry is
the single biggest driver of climate change. Groups involved in the UK
include Rising Tide, the Camp for Climate Action, World Development
Movement, People and Planet, the Network for Climate Action and Earth
First!
True to the spirit of April Fools Day, elsewhere in the country a
series of pranks were pulled against the reputations of major
polluters and complicit governments.
On London’s South Bank, a spoof product launch publicised E.ON’s new
carbon capture and storage device (see www.ev-eon.com). In Parliament
Square, campaigners from People and Planet built a coal power station
complete with 12ft cooling towers. Also in London, activists issued a
public apology on behalf of Porsche for trying to repeal recent
changes to the London congestion charge. At the Department for
Enterprise, Business and Regulatory Reform, WDM held the world’s first
laugh-in over plans for new coal at Kingsnorth.(1) In Norwich,
campaigners announced that Norwich Union was withdrawing its £6.1
billion worth of investments in the fossil fuel industry.
Rebecca Lewis, of Rising Tide, said “Today’s events have shown that
there is a powerful and growing movement of people who are willing to
step out of line and risk their liberty to prevent vested interests in
business and government from placing
their bottom line before our common future.”
And Earlier today a fossil fools award was presented by a climate
refugee polar bear to management at the Air New Zealand Holidays in
Auckland, while in Christchurch a peaceful fossil fools day parade was
violently disbanded by police leading to several arrests. Activists in
Newcastle, Australia home of the world's Largest coal port visited a
local K-mart with bags full of coal, and a large colourful banner
which asked the question 'How does buying stuff fuel climate change?'
in order to swap their bags of coal for some cheap consumer products.
Protest reports are still coming in from the UK and are also planned
at over one hundred locations across the United States
later today. (2)
For more interviews and print quality photos, contact Rising Tide:
info@risingtide.org.uk
07961 917 535