Coal

Climate actions in Gatwick, Essex and... Legoland?

Posted by jamie — 8 August 2008 at 11:39am - Comments

The Lego replica of Kingsnorth power station complete with 'Stop Climate Change' banner

The Lego replica of Kingsnorth power station complete with 'Stop Climate Change' banner © Hans Bricks

Not one, not two but at least three climate change-related happenings popped up around the country yesterday, many of them carried out by Climate Camp attendees. Although the camp is primarily focused on coal and the proposed new power station at Kingsnorth, today's activities also highlighted other climate threats such as aviation and biofuels. Here is just a taste of what's been happening:

Article tagged as: aviation, biofuels, climate camp, climate change, coal, direct actions, kingsnorth, plane stupid

Carry on camping for the climate

Posted by bex — 6 August 2008 at 4:12pm - Comments

Climate Camp

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While I've been stuck at my desk following the debates about Climate Camp police tactics, activists’ intentions and whether environmentalists are mostly ‘filthy adulterers’ (Julie Burchill, bless), the Climate Campers have been busy turning a quiet field into a living/working space powered by renewable energy, and debating the future of coal, the climate change movement and the planet.

Article tagged as: climate camp, climate change, coal, energy, kingsnorth

Update from Climate Camp

Posted by jamie — 4 August 2008 at 5:03pm - Comments

Climate Camp: no new coal

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In a pleasant grazing meadow outside Strood, the Climate Camp is open for business and I'm here for a couple of days to see what's going on, cover it for the blog and, more importantly, get involved.

It's difficult to talk about the camp without touching on some of fractious actions of the police. Fortunately, nothing much happened and, after a frustrating period when we could all have been doing something more constructive, the police withdrew.

Article tagged as: climate camp, climate change, coal, kingsnorth

Keeping the lights on - without new coal

Posted by bex — 1 August 2008 at 5:57pm - Comments

Keeping the lights on

Keeping the lights on - without new coal

"[U]nless we want to risk our security of supply and face greater cost burdens, stations such as Kingsnorth must be part of the energy mix."

 

"Currently, we have to use a mix of energy sources to power our country - fossil fuel, renewable energy and nuclear power. Together they provide us with a reliable electricity supply. And although the use of low-carbon energy sources is growing, fossil fuel will continue to generate power, not just here but around the globe."

 

Senior government and Big Energy have been working hard to propagate the idea that, to keep the lights on, we need to build new coal plants.

So, is it true?

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, energy, energy efficiency, energy gap, nuclear power, poyry, solutions

Camp for the climate at Kingsnorth

Posted by jossc — 30 July 2008 at 9:46am - Comments

Kingsnorth coal-fired power station, Kent

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This summer's Camp for Climate Action takes place next week at Kingsnorth in Kent, where German utility company E.On aims to build the UK's first coal-fired power station for decades. If the government gives the go-ahead, which could happen in October, the CO2 emissions from this one new plant would equal that of the 30 lowest emitting countries in the world combined.

Coal is the most polluting of all fossil-fuels, and if Kingsnorth is built then plans for six similar plants are likely to be approved, emitting a colossal 50 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. So this decision is crucial, which is why activists from all over the country and around the world will be coming to make their voices heard.

Article tagged as: climate camp, climate change, co2 emissions, coal, eon, fossil fuels, kingsnorth

Brown urged to cancel new coal power plants

Posted by jossc — 22 July 2008 at 3:31pm - Comments

Stop Climate Chaos say no to new coal

Stop Climate Chaos activists were at Kingsnorth in Kent this morning to urge the Prime Minister to abandon plans for a new generation of coal-fired power plants. They planted flags outside the existing power station as a symbol of opposition to Kingsnorth 2, a new development which, if it gets the go-ahead, will be the first new coal plant to be built in the UK for 30 years.

Developer E.ON UK plans to demolish the existing plant and replace it with a new coal-fired unit that is 20 per cent cleaner. But coal is the dirtiest, most carbon-intensive fuel known to mankind, and despite the industry's efforts to talk up 'clean coal' technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS), such developments are in their infancy and would not be available for at least a decade, even if they can be made to work.

Article tagged as: CCS, climate change, co2 emissions, coal, eon, gordon brown, kingsnorth, stop climate chaos

Video: Melting Point

Posted by bex — 18 July 2008 at 10:32am - Comments

An excellent film from The Ecologist exposing the tactics used against environmental protestors - from espionage and legal threats to news manipulation and violence:

Via Plane Stupid.

Article tagged as: activism, climate change, coal, direct actions, media, police, protests, videos
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