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Home | Thursday 17th September 2009 | Issue 691

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HAZE OF SMOKE

Last weekend (Sept 12th-13th) saw a protest at the Hazlewood Coal-fired power station 200km east of Melbourne, which is Australia’s biggest source of carbon emissions and the dirtiest coal plant in the world. It is owned by UK company International Power.

After setting up a camp near the station, the big demo was on the Sunday, with over 500 turning out in a range of affinity groups, including the Wombat Warriors – one of several teams who broke through the fence but were nicked approaching the station – and the Ministry For Silly Walks. The 250-strong police contingent included horses and helicopters. 22 were arrested.

Australia has the highest carbon emissions per-capita in the world, and generates 78% of its electricity from coal, when it’s stating the obvious that the country should be using solar. In a situation that mirrors the Vestas story here in Britain, what was going to be Australia’s largest solar energy plant near Mildura, Victoria was closed after the company Solar Systems went into administration on September 7th. Demonstrators will be visiting there this week.

* Back in the UK, people are mobilising towards a big action to shut down the Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal-fired power station over October 17th-18th. See www.thegreatclimateswoop.org

* There will be an International Day Of Climate Action on October 24th – see www.350.org

* Things are building up towards the COP15 Climate Conference in Copenhagen on November 30th (incidentally the 10th anniversary of the Seattle WTO conference that kicked off the global summit hopping movement). This will be the biggest summit on climate change ever held so let’s make the protest a biggie as well. See www.risingtide.org.uk/copenhagen

Keywords: australia, climate change, coal, denmark, ratcliffe-on-soar


 

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