Greenpeace activists board coal ship on Great Barrier ReefIn a climate change protest over Australian coal exports, Greenpeace activists boarded a bulk coal carrier while navigating through the Great Barrier Reef on 23 April 2013. The ship, the MV Meister, had just loaded coal from Abbot Point, located 25km north of the town of Bowen on the central Queensland coast. Abbot Point coal loading facility is being expanded, with four new coal terminals proposed to be built, part of the development of 9 new coal terminals for the Great Barrier Reef Coast.

Related: Greenpeace petition - We stand in solidarity for action against coal | Queensland's Coal addiction - talk by Guy Pearse | Greenpeace activists say Coal ship highlights 'Reef in Danger' | Global Warming imperils coral reefs: 2 degrees warming is too hot say scientists

Philippines protest on Earth Day 2013Philippines, 22 April 2013. 300-strong climate activists and anti-coal advocates stormed the Department of Energy to voice out their opposition to coal mines and coal-fired power plants promoted by the government and to launch the group’s Campaign Against Dirty Energy and for People’s Access to Safe, Renewable and Democratic Energy Alternatives.

This is in celebration of Earth Day and the group’s National Day of Action against Coal.

Led by the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), the groups brought body bags, gas masks and paper-made Philippine Cockatoos wearing masks to avoid the pollution from coal and highlighted how coal damages not only the environment and biodiversity but our lives, literally taking lives -, thus, the statement: COAL KILLS.

Iraq has suffered decades of war with much of the social and agricultural infrastructure being damaged and now poorly maintained. Climate change was already impacting the country under Saddam Hussein with desertification and reduced river flow rates. Climate impacts of desertification, water scarcity, flood damage from more intense rain when it falls, are all taking their toll on food production. The legacy of decades of war, UN sanctions and a dictatorial regime have only added and multiplied these impacts.

Sound the Alarm Rally, Salem OregonOregonians rallied on the steps of the State Capital in Salem on Wednesday 13 March to protest Australian company Ambre Energy's Morrow Pacific coal export project which would transport 8 million metric tonnes of coal annually by rail and barge down the Columbia river destined to be burnt in China, with the pollution returning by prevailing winds to the US and Canada.

Columbia Riverkeeper reported on their facebook page that 425 people attended the midweek rally in Salem to stop coal export. See pictures of the rally on Demotix. You can read more about the fight to stop coal export from the Pacific Northwest at Power Past Coal.

Related: Coal exports emerging as a major climate fight in Pacific Northwest (December 2012)

Stop T4 march, Newcastle, Australia: Photo by Lucy Alcorn / Coal Mine Action GroupUp to 1500 people attended a rally in Newcastle today in opposition to a fourth coal loading terminal being built, nicknamed T4. Gathering at Customs house at 10am, people marched to Civic Park, chanting 'our water, our health, more precious than your wealth' and 'one two three four, no to T4'. Protestors are concerned with the impact of coal mining on agriculture and water resources, coal dust pollution risks to public health, environmental concerns, and contribution to global climate change. Newcastle is the world's largest coal export port.

My favourite photo from the protest (see Photos on Flickr) is a placard saying "The reason you want another coal terminal is that you are fucking Greedy" which perhaps states the obvious...but sometimes the obvious needs to be put in such blunt terms. Already China is indicating it wants to cap it's coal consumption to 4 billion tonnes per year, not much higher than it's current consumption. Much of the recent coal expansion in NSW and Queensland, and the development of other unconventional fossil fuels like CSG, has been driven by the increasing prospect of restrictions placed on fossil fuel extraction due to carbon emissions and the threat of global warming. These companies want to rip as much as they can out to make their profits before community outrage forces them to stop.

'Funeral for Our Future': 26 Arrested Blockading TransCanada Office. Escalating resistance to Keystone XL: 'If President Obama will not reject the pipeline, we will stop it ourselves' Reposted from Common Dreams. By Common Dreams staff writer Jon Queally.

Climate activists in Westborough, Massachusetts were being arrested on Monday after blockading the entrance to corporate offices of the TransCanada corporation, the Canandian tar sands pipeline company hoping to receive approval for its controversial Keystone XL project. Calling it a "Funeral for Our Future" and carrying a coffin emblazoned with the words 'Our Future' the protesters held flowers and sang an elegy as they marched in procession. As supporters gathered outside - chanting and singing songs in unison—dozens of protesters were inside where they refused to move, despite warnings from local police.

Related: Funeral for our Future Blog | Tar Sands Blockade Blog: Over 100 Hold a "Funeral For Our Future" at TransCanada Office Outside Boston | Youtube Video of protest | Desmogblog: State Department Keystone XL Study Done by Oil Industry-Connected Firm with Big Tobacco, Fracking Ties | Ecowatch: Keystone XL petition to President Obama | Sign the Keystone XL Pledge of Resistance

Members of Red Lake Band protest Enbridge pipeline which runs illegally through their tribal land. (Photo: Monte Draper/ Bemidji Pioneer)Day seven of blockade: Group hopes to slow down the flow of Canadian tar sands oil

Reposted from Common Dreams. Written by Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams staff writer

Braving frigid temperatures and intense snowfall, a group of Red Lake Nation tribal members are now on their seventh day of a blockade of an Enbridge oil pipeline, which they say passes illegally through their sacred tribal land in northern Minnesota.

Related: Youtube video: Red Lake Direct Action to stop illegal Enbridge pipeline

The occupation utilizes a pipeline safety law which states that if a person or thing remains situated above a pipeline for over 72 hours the pipeline must be shut off. The protesters hope that the demonstration will slow down the production of tar sands in Canada.

The encampment began on February 28th, with the 72 hour mark passing days ago. Though Enbridge has not yet "stopped the flow," Cobenais said in an email, the group "continues to stand the line."

Pacific Warriors Day of Action against Climate change March 2, 2013Malo ni! My name is Mikaele Maiava. I'm writing from the Pacific Island archipelago of Tokelau to ask you to join with us in action as we take on the fossil fuel industry.

Last October, Tokelau turned off the last of its diesel generators. In their place, we switched on our solar plants, making Tokelau the first country in the world to become 100% renewably-powered. (See Tokelau installs 100 percent solar and ditches diesel power to combat climate change)

DC Indymedia reported :
On the 17th of February, the "Forward on Climate" march and rally against TransCanada's racist, earth-destroying Keystone XL tar sands pipeline took place while President Obama went golfing with Big Oil in Florida. It was the largest protest I have seen in several years, with the Tar Sands Blockade website claiming a turnout of 50,000 people.

From the arrival of leading elements of the march back at the Washington Monument to the arrival of the last element seemed to be in excess of an hour. One report said the march, which crammed the road from curb to curb, was strung out over a mile long.

Related: James Hansen improptu interview on Washington march | Voices of Resistance: Four Women Tell Why They're Rallying in D.C.             
Photos - Largest Climate March in History | Fairfax Climate Watch Climate Change Rally Draws a large turnout Videos: Democrarcy Now - Tens of Thousands Rally to Stop Keystone XL Pipeline & Urge Obama to Move "Forward on Climate" |
Portland - Climate Justice Activists in Portland, OR Occupy Exhibit for Tar Sands Profiteer ESCO Corp. |
San Fransisco - Biggest Climate Change Rally in American History Brings Out Thousands in DC, San Francisco |
Los Angeles - Shut It Down, Mr. President | L.A. Participates in Protesting the Keystone XL Pipeline (part 1, part 2)