Blog: Climate

Kingsnorth trial day three: world's leading climate scientist gives evidence

Posted by bex — 3 September 2008 at 10:45pm - Comments

James Hansen

James Hansen in conversation outside Maidstone Crown Court © Rezac/Greenpeace

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This is a difficult blog to write - mostly because I'm not sure what to leave out. Today, at the Kingsnorth trial, the world's leading climate scientist told the court that emissions from Kingsnorth led to damage to property worldwide, as well as the extinction of species and the creation of climate change refugees. Gordon Brown, he said, should announce a moratorium on all new coal plants without carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Another witness - an authority on climate change impacts in the UK - said all citizens and governments needed to "act with urgency". And two of the defendants, Emily and Kevin, gave impressive testimonies about why they took the action they did. And there's nowhere near enough space to write about it all.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, kingsnorth, kingsnorth six, legal, trials

Kingsnorth trial day two

Posted by bex — 2 September 2008 at 10:05pm - Comments
Ben StewartDefendent Ben Stewart

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It's hard to say whether there were more or fewer nerves on the way to court today. On the one hand all the defendants now feel - visibly - more comfortable with the court surroundings than they were at the start of the proceedings yesterday.

On the other hand, today was the day some of them were going to take the stand for the first time. Either way, listening to the Star Wars theme tune blaring over the radio as we made our way to Maidstone in the minibus could only be a good thing for morale.

We filed into the court room at around 11am. By 11.30 - after circulating some documents to the jurors - the prosecution had closed; it was the turn of the defence.

The defendant's QC, Michael Wolkind, is a pleasure to watch at work. He started by introducing six "of the nicest people... accused of saving the planet".

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, kingsnorth, kingsnorth six, legal, trials

World's leading climate scientist to appear as a witness at the Kingsnorth trial

Posted by bex — 2 September 2008 at 1:58pm - Comments

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Just a quick blog to break the news: the world's leading climate scientist, Professor James Hansen - a director of NASA - is going to appear tomorrow afternoon as a defence witness in the Kingsnorth trial.

Professor Hansen is Al Gore's science adviser and a former adviser to the White House on climate change. I'll be reporting on his statement to the court tomorrow.

Article tagged as: coal, kingsnorth, kingsnorth six, legal, trials

Paradise saved - for now?

Posted by jossc — 2 September 2008 at 12:11pm - Comments

July 08: Greenpeace divers protesting against the planned oil shale mine

Greenpeace divers protesting against the planned oil shale mine

Australia has stepped back from the brink of madness and decided to shelve plans to mine oil shales right on the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef.

Proposals to extract millions of tonnes of oil shales from the Whitsunday Islands threatened to drain precious water supplies, and to risk toxic leaching and air pollution - as well as increasing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.

Fortunately, following a strong protest campaign led by the local Save Our Foreshore group, common sense has prevailed and last week Queensland premier Anna Bligh announced a 20-year moratorium, effectively ending the threat for the immediate future.

Article tagged as: co2 emissions, esperanza, great barrier reef, moratorium, oil shales, tar sands, whitsunday islands

Kingsnorth trial day one: the prosecution

Posted by bex — 1 September 2008 at 8:38pm - Comments

No new coal

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This morning, the Kingsnorth Six - plus a few hangers on like myself - made their way from a rural Kent retreat to Maidstone Crown Court for the start of the Kingsnorth trial.

I've spent the day watching the proceedings from the public gallery. (It's my first time in a Crown Court and I'm pleased to report that it's all true: the court really does all rise, there are curly wigs, and barristers really do look up the finer points of law in thick legal compendia.)

Actually, the whole experience is fascinating; the careful negotiations, the nuances of argument and the hints of theatricality have all left me a little agog. And having a friend's-eye view of the defendants and their motives makes it pretty poignant too.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, kingsnorth, kingsnorth six, legal, trials

Kingsnorth Six: meet the defendants

Posted by bex — 29 August 2008 at 12:40pm - Comments

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Meet the defendants in the Kingsnorth Six trial:

 

KevinKevin Drake
Kevin Drake is 44 and lives in a Wiltshire village with his wife and daughter. He is a freelance industrial rope access safety supervisor. Kev is a proud father and values humour and family life, and enjoys being outdoors and likes interacting with the natural world through activities such as caving, camping, rock climbing and body boarding. He has been volunteering for Greenpeace for ten years.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, defendants, kingsnorth, kingsnorth six, legal, trials

Do you want to make cars less polluting? Now's your chance

Posted by jamie — 28 August 2008 at 3:26pm - Comments

While congestion charging schemes to control CO2 emissions from traffic are proving controversial in London and elsewhere, there's a chance we might see some action in Brussels on this problem very soon.

Article tagged as: cars, climate change, co2 emissions, fuel efficiency, transport

Coal: the Kingsnorth Six on trial

Posted by bex — 28 August 2008 at 8:13am - Comments

Kingsnorth coal-fired power station

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On Monday, six brave Greenpeace souls will be appearing at Maidstone Crown Court for the start of a trial centring around Kingsnorth, coal and climate change.

In October last year, they took a personal stand to protect the environment and climbed to the top of the smokestack at Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent.

Now, the Kingsnorth Six (Ben Stewart, Emily Hall, Huw Williams, Kevin Drake, Tim Hewke and Will Rose) are being prosecuted for criminal damage.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, kingsnorth, kingsnorth six, legal, trials
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