Direct Action against the Climate Criminals

Rising Tide North America's First Direct Action - A coal plant blockade in Virginia, July 2006

Rising Tide North America firmly believes in the use of non-violent direct action as an necessary tool for challenge injustice and the grip climate killing corporations hold on our survival as a species.

RTNA’s groups often use direct action tactics — from critical mass bike rides, to office occupations and coal plant blockades — and provides training, support, and action ideas to community groups and organizations around North America. We see such actions as part of the rich tradition of civil disobedience for social justice around North America and the world.

Throughout 2008 RTNA is developing a number of printed resources providing ideas for protest targets that people around North America can find in their communities. Additionally, we will be providing literature with action planning advice.

We are also connecting with communities across North America who would like to expand their use of direct action, providing training and on-the-ground support.

If you’d like to help in our training efforts or would like support in organizing direct actions in your community, please contact action-[AT]-RisingTideNorthAmerica-[DOT]-org

www.climategroundzero.org

Together we <a href=”http://www.climategroundzero.org/2010/01/callmasseyonjan25″>made hundreds of phone calls yesterday</a> to Massey Coal, flooding their phone lines asking them to stop abusing the tree sitters and stop blasting Coal River Mountain. We did a great job, but it wasn’t enough and we need to take the next step and get WV Governor Joe Manchin to make them stop.<br><br>

Governor’s office: 1-888-438-2731<br>

<a href=”http://climategroundzero.net/2010/01/manchin_save_mountain_stop_harassment/”>Click here to report your call</a><br><br>

Massey Coal continues to break the law, harassing the two remaining tree sitters with horns at dangerous decibel levels, likely to cause permanent ear damage. This act is violent and can be classified under West Virginia State Code as felony endangerment.<br><br>

West Virginia state police have acknowledged the illegal nature of this act, but have done nothing in response to repeated pleas to state emergency numbers, state and federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, and other legal resources.<br><br>

Yesterday, Governor Manchin said “We will not in any way, shape or form in this state of West Virginia tolerate any violence against anyone on any side.” Massey air horns haven’t stopped. In addition, the sitters overheard the guards talking on the radio about using fire-hoses as an abuse tactic. Getting sprayed with water in sub-freezing temperatures while 60 feet up in the tree would be outright deadly and would prevent them from being able to even safely descend.<br><br>

Call Governor Manchin’s office and ask him to intervene in the violence against the sitters and support the end to mountaintop removal.<br><br>

Governor’s office: 1-888-438-2731<br>

<a href=”http://climategroundzero.net/2010/01/manchin_save_mountain_stop_harassment/”>Click here to report your call</a><br><br>

This abuse must stop. Massey has proven itself to be a criminal corporation, both in it’s policies towards the sitters and the people of the mountains. We need Governor Manchin to protect clean drinking water in West Virginia and nationwide. An end to mountaintop mining will protect the quality of life for Appalachian coalfield residents who face frequent and catastrophic flooding, heavy metals pollution and loss of freshwater streams as a result of mountaintop removal coal mining.<br><br>

What action can you take?<br>

Report your call here and let us know how it went<br>

Tell your friends by forwarding them this email or checking out our Facebook event<br><br>

Eric Blevins and Amber Nitchman are in high spirits, swinging high up in the trees. See <a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/climategroundzero/CoalRiverTreeSit”>photos from their cell phones</a> and <a href=”http://www.youtube.com/user/ClimateGndZero”>watch videos of the activists talking about this fight</a>. <br><br>

Thanks for contributing to this strong national effort — we all live downstream.<br><br>

The Climate Ground Zero team<br><br><br>

<i>Read about Governor Manchin’s statement yesterday on escalating violence in the coal fields on Coal Tattoo:<br>

<a href=”http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2010/01/25/manchin-calls-for-calm-in-the-coalfields/#more-1732″>http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2010/01/25/manchin-calls-for-calm-in-the-coalfields/#more-1732</a><br><br>

Read the day 5 update on Climate Ground Zero’s website:<br>

<a href=”http://climategroundzero.net/2010/01/coal-river-tree-sit-day-5-inside-the-action/”>http://climategroundzero.net/2010/01/coal-river-tree-sit-day-5-inside-the-action/</a></i>

http://climatevoices.wordpress.com/

Photo essay of the 12 December March in Copenhagen continues after this blog post:

Copenhagen Day of Action on Climate Change:

Energy in the Streets; Disappointment in the Negotiations

Late last night a draft text on the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) scheme was released.  It was strongly condemned by NGOs from around the world.  The text of this agreement gave mere lip service to Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and to safeguards against conversion of native forests to timber plantations, not including them in the legally binding body, but rather referring to them in a preamble. Continue Reading »

Protest and Non-Violent Civil Disobedience at Chevron, California’s worst climate polluter, on first day of United Nations climate change negotiations in Copenhagen

ACTION VIDEO by Ariel López

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O55lgPkOss

San Ramon, CA – As Chevron employees arrived to work early this morning, they were met by nearly 100 people who gathered in protest of Chevron’s global destruction of communities, the environment and the global climate. Protestors interrupted business as usual at Chevron, by blocking the main entrance to the corporation’s headquarters, as well as two additional entrances for several hours. 31 people were eventually arrested. By noon, most of those arrested were cited and released.

The protest and non-violent civil disobedience was organized by the Mobilization for Climate Justice West – a coalition representing more than 30 local social justice, environmental justice, and human rights groups – today to coincide with the first day of the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark. Similar protests are taking place nationally and globally.

As the largest and most polluting corporation in the state of California, Chevron was targeted locally for undermining efforts to combat global warming and expanding its operations into more environmentally destructive and polluting forms of crude oil like the Canadian tar sands. And, as the 3rd largest corporation in the U.S., Chevron is using its immense financial resources to influence federal environmental policy. In the first half of 2009, Chevron spent nearly $13 million lobbying the federal government, more than twice the amount it spent during the same period in 2008.

David O’Reilly, Chevron’s outgoing CEO, and John Watson, who will succeed O’Reilly on January 1, have sharply criticized domestic global warming legislation and robust long-term targets for reducing climate pollution. Their arguments, rooted in corporate self-preservation at the expense of the health and safety of people and the planet, fly in the face of a scientific consensus that calls for rapid, drastic action to reduce climate pollution.

“By working to derail effective climate change policy in the U.S., Chevron is undermining the UN climate negotiations where other nations are looking to the U.S. to make binding commitments to reduce emissions,” said Cathy Kunkel of Mobilization for Climate Justice. “Chevron’s opposition to significant action on climate change is in line with its history of environmental and human rights abuses in communities all over the world.

Chevron’s global operations, from Ecuador and Nigeria to Burma and the Philippines, have had disastrous impacts on local communities and ecosystems. Those impacts have also been felt closer to home. Last month, the California Air Resources Board ranked Chevron’s Richmond oil refinery as the state’s single largest climate polluter, emitting 4.8 million tons of greenhouse gasses in 2008 alone.

Local residents in Richmond have been fighting for decades to get Chevron to clean up its act. In addition to global warming pollution, the refinery emits toxic air pollution that has driven high rates of asthma and cancer in the surrounding community. Rather than address the effects of its operations on the health of the local community, Chevron recently attempted an expansion of its operations in Richmond that would have allowed the company to process heavier crude oil.

According to Jessica Tovar, community organizer with Communities for a Better Environment, “Chevron’s Richmond refinery is the number one greenhouse gas polluter in the state. Now is the time to make a green transition, rather then lock in dirtier crude refining in Richmond.”

“Chevron is a bad neighbor, and the community of Richmond has suffered as a result. We want Chevron to take responsibility for the environmental damage it has caused here in Richmond and abroad,” said Mari Rose Taruc, State Organizing Director for the Asian Pacific Environmental Network. “We want green jobs for Richmond and a healthy community, neither of which Chevron has provided.”

“Chevron has to know that we’re not going away. We’re breathing and feeling the effects of Chevron’s pollution every day. While we go to the graveyard, Chevron goes to the bank. We’re determined let Chevron know that they’re killing us in the process of making money. This has to change,” said Reverend Kenneth Davis from North Richmond after being arrested this morning.

Mobilization for Climate Justice West and more than 20 allied groups signed a letter to incoming Chevron CEO John Watson, calling on him to take three immediate actions:

1. Support equitable, science-based emissions reduction targets and climate solutions in international climate change negotiations and domestically.

2. Pledge not to support fake “grassroots” campaigns against national climate change legislation.

3. Cap the crude and stop expanding into heavier, dirtier sources of crude oil.

Read the full letter at:

http://west.actforclimatejustice.org/resources/open-letter-to-chevron/

Mobilization for Climate Justice West is taking action on the first day of the international climate negotiations in solidarity with allies in West Virginia who are also taking action on December 7 confronting the nation’s fourth-largest coal producer, Massey Energy to demand an end to destructive mountaintop removal coal mining (http://savecoalrivermountain.org).

http://west.actforclimatejustice.org

***PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY***

For Immediate Release: Monday, December 7, 2009

Contact: Ananda Lee Tan, (415) 374-0615

Gopal Dayaneni, (510) 847-3592

On November 30th, I spent part of my day lying on the ground in the middle of a busy intersection in the heart of Chicago’s financial district with my arms locked into big plastic tubes that connected me to 11 other people. Our arms, in the tubes, were linked to form a big circle of bodies and tubes, around the outside of a large banner reading “The air is not for sale!”. Continue Reading »

N30 Climate Justice Updates

http://www.actforclimatejustice.org/news-and-updates/

Action Map
Click the map for regional information

MOBILIZE! – NOVEMBER 30, 2009

As the world’s biggest companies and their friends in government continue to fight a transition to more just and sustainable ways of living, climate change threatens to turn our world upside down with water shortages, crop failures, sea level rise and ecosystem collapse.  A million species face extinction by the end of the century, and the people who have contributed least to the problem will continue to be the hardest hit.  What can be done at this critical juncture, with our future at stake?

Organize an N30 Action!

Throughout history, social change has come about when regular people get fed up with business as usual, get organized, and take to the streets. If we leave climate solutions up to politicians and corporations, then we will lose – not just a political battle, but the life-support systems of the planet.  Time is running out to avert the worst impacts of climate change: the time to act is now.

A broad coalition of organizations working for social, ecological, racial and economic justice has come together under the banner of the Mobilization for Climate Justice. Join us as we organize mass action on climate change on November 30, 2009!  November 30 (N30) is significant both because it immediately precedes the upcoming UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen and is the ten-year anniversary of the protests that shut down of the World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle, demonstrating the incredible power of collective action.

Every indication is that any agreement that emerges from Copenhagen will be nothing more than business as usual—sacrificing real emissions reductions in favor of market-based approaches that enhance corporate profits while delaying a transition away from fossil fuels. The current approach to climate change in the UN, and in the US Congress, is based on the creation of a new market in carbon emissions.  Carbon trading (aka “cap and trade”) and carbon offsets do not address the root causes of global warming, nor do they reduce emissions.  They are designed by and for corporations, and are a dangerous distraction that should be abandoned.

We urgently need to implement real solutions like ending excessive consumption, keeping fossil fuels in the ground, re-localizing production and consumption, and drastically reducing greenhouse emissions.  We must also protect the rights of workers, displaced peoples, and others affected by the transition.

In recent months, people of the world have taken valiant action for climate solutions. On Oct. 24th, people in 181 countries staged over 5,200 actions calling for global action on climate change. And on November 4, African delegates walked out of pre-Copenhagen negotiations in Barcelona – demanding that rich countries commit to deeper and faster emissions cuts – while European activists used civil disobedience to disrupt the talks.

And now, we’re asking you to join us in taking the next step – a global day of action for climate justice on Monday, November 30, 2009. Take the day off, get together with friends, and take a stand for real, just and effective solutions to the climate crisis!

__________________

WHAT YOU CAN DO ON N30:

Several actions are already being planned for November 30 – and many more will be coming soon – so if there’s an action happening in your city or region, we urge you to join it!  See the MCJ site for a map of N30 actions across the country and across the world.

If there isn’t an action being organized in your town, organize one! If you’re already involved in a campaign against a company that’s contributing to climate injustice, organize an action on against them November 30.  You can submit actions by clicking HERE.

If you’re organizing an action from scratch, we’d suggest you go after one of the following companies: Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Chevron, BP, or American Electric Power. We picked these six companies because they’re all, through their investments, lobbying, and day to day business, going out of their way to obstruct real solutions to the climate crisis.  For more info about them, see our Corporate Criminals page.

Corporations like these will keep trying to distract us with false solutions, but we will send them a loud, clear message: Our climate is not your business!

Help us spread the word – we’ll see you in the streets!

If you can’t make it out, please consider helping others take action by making a donation.

______________________________________

The Mobilization for Climate Justice is: Alliance of Community Trainers, Art in Action, Asian-Pacific Environmental Network, Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice, Bay Localize, Beehive Design Collective, Burmese American Democratic Alliance, Communities for a Better Environment, Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, Direct Action to Stop the War, Earth First!, Eco-Cycle, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Environment and Social Development Organization, Environmental Justice &

Climate Change Initiative, Enviro Show, Filipino American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity, Forest Ethics, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Global Exchange, Global Justice Ecology Project, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Headrush, Indigenous Environmental Network, Institute for Social Ecology, International Forum on Globalization, International Rivers, Justice in Nigeria Now!, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Movement Generation, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Pacific Environment, Poor Magazine, PR for People & the Planet, Rainforest Action Network, Richmond Mayor’s Taskforce on Environmental Justice and Health, Richmond Progressive Alliance, Rising Tide North America, Ruckus Society, SmartMeme, Solidarity, Uganda Network on Toxic Free Malaria Control, West County Toxics Coalition, Women of Color United, Youth In Focus, Zero Waste Vancouver, and 350.org

As the world’s biggest companies and their friends in government continue to fight a transition to more just and sustainable ways of living, climate change threatens to turn our world upside down with water shortages, crop failures, sea level rise and ecosystem collapse.  A million species face extinction by the end of the century, and the people who have contributed least to the problem will continue to be the hardest hit.  What can be done at this critical juncture, with our future at stake?
Throughout history, social change has come about when regular people get fed up with business as usual, get organized, and take to the streets.  If we leave climate solutions up to politicians and corporations, then we will lose – not just a political battle, but the life-support systems of the planet.  Time is running out to avert the worst impacts of climate change: the time to act is now.
A broad coalition of organizations working for social, ecological, racial and economic justice has come together under the banner of the Mobilization for Climate Justice. Join us as we organize mass action on climate change on November 30, 2009!  November 30 (N30) is significant both because it immediately precedes the upcoming UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen and is the ten-year anniversary of the protests that shut down of the World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle, demonstrating the incredible power of collective action.
Every indication is that any agreement that emerges from Copenhagen will be nothing more than business as usual—sacrificing real emissions reductions in favor of market-based approaches that enhance corporate profits while delaying a transition away from fossil fuels. The current approach to climate change in the UN, and in the US Congress, is based on the creation of a new market in carbon emissions.  Carbon trading (aka “cap and trade”) and carbon offsets do not address the root causes of global warming, nor do they reduce emissions.  They are designed by and for corporations, and are a dangerous distraction that should be abandoned.
We urgently need to implement real solutions like ending excessive consumption, keeping fossil fuels in the ground, re-localizing production and consumption, and drastically reducing greenhouse emissions.  We must also protect the rights of workers, displaced peoples, and others affected by the transition.
In recent months, people of the world have taken valiant action for climate solutions. On Oct. 24th, people in 181 countries staged over 5,200 actions calling for global action on climate change. And on November 4, African delegates walked out of pre-Copenhagen negotiations in Barcelona – demanding that rich countries commit to deeper and faster emissions cuts – while European activists used civil disobedience to disrupt the talks.
And now, we’re asking you to join us in taking the next step – a global day of action for climate justice on Monday, November 30, 2009. Take the day off, get together with friends, and take a stand for real, just and effective solutions to the climate crisis!
————————————————–
WHAT YOU CAN DO ON N30:
Several actions are already being planned for November 30 – and many more will be coming soon – so if there’s an action happening in your city or region, we urge you to join it!  See http://www.actforclimatejustice.org for a map of N30 actions across the country and across the world.
If there isn’t an action being organized in your town, organize one! If you’re already involved in a campaign against a company that’s contributing to climate injustice, organize an action on against them November 30.
If you’re organizing an action from scratch, we’d suggest you go after one of the following companies: Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Chevron, BP, or American Electric Power. We picked these six companies because they’re all, through their investments, lobbying, and day to day business, going out of their way to obstruct real solutions to the climate crisis.  For more info about them, see http://www.actforclimatejustice.org/tools-resources/dirty-money-and-dirtier-fuels-6-corporate-climate-criminals/
Corporations like these will keep trying to distract us with false solutions, but we will send them a loud, clear message: Our climate is not your business!
Help us spread the word – we’ll see you in the streets!
If you can’t make it out, please consider helping others take action by making a donation at www.actforclimatejustice.org.
————————————————–
The Mobilization for Climate Justice is: Alliance of Community Trainers, Art in Action, Asian-Pacific Environmental Network, Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice, Bay Localize, Beehive Design Collective, Burmese American Democratic Alliance, Communities for a Better Environment, Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, Direct Action to Stop the War, Earth First!, Eco-Cycle, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Environment and Social Development Organization, Environmental Justice &
Climate Change Initiative, Enviro Show, Filipino American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity, Forest Ethics, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Global Exchange, Global Justice Ecology Project, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Greenpeace, Headrush, Indigenous Environmental Network, Institute for Social Ecology,
International Forum on Globalization, International Rivers, Justice in Nigeria Now!, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Movement Generation, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Pacific Environment, Poor Magazine, PR for People & the Planet, Rainforest Action Network, Richmond Mayor’s Taskforce on Environmental Justice and Health, Richmond Progressive Alliance, Rising Tide North America, Ruckus Society, SmartMeme, Solidarity, Uganda Network on Toxic Free Malaria Control, West County Toxics Coalition, Women of Color United, Youth In Focus, Zero Waste Vancouver, and 350.org

Save Coal River Mountain

PETTUS, W. Va. – Early this morning two concerned citizens, Dea Goblirsch and Nick Martin, locked down to a drill rig on Coal River Mountain’s Bee Tree mountaintop removal site, effectively stopping blasting. Two others, Grace Williams and Laura Von Dolen, joined them in direct support, holding a banner with the message “Save Coal River Mountain”. Continue Reading »

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