Photos available soon at risingtidenorthamerica.org!

BOSTON, MA – Activists with Rising Tide draped a 25-foot banner reading, “Mountain Top Removal Kills Communities: EPA No New Permits. MountainJustice.org” on 1 North Congress St., at the intersection of New Chardon Street and Congress Street, at the downtown offices of the Environmental Protection Agency this morning. The group is urging the agency to block over 150 pending permits for mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Virginia.1

“Mountaintop removal is destroying our nation’s most diverse forests and historic communities,” said Alex Johnston, a Rising Tide activist. “President Obama and the EPA need to take immediate action to stop the bulldozers from destroying America’s oldest mountains and Appalachians homes.”
Continue Reading »

What YOU should know about the American Clean Energy and Security Act

Today, June 26th, House Representatives are expected to vote on ACESA, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES Act), H.R. 2998 (formerly H.R. 2454)

Background: ACESA is a comprehensive national climate and energy legislation that climas to establish an economy-wide, greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade system and critical complementary measures to address climate change and build a clean energy economy. The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 33-25 to approve the ACES Act on May 21. Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-California) and Rep. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts), chairman of a key subcommittee, introduced the bill on May 15, after floating a discussion draft in March.

ARTICLES of reference ABOUT the failed ACESA policy

GEORGE MONBIOT: Why do we allow the US to act like a failed state on climate change? The Waxman-Markey climate bill is the best we will get from America until the corruption of public life is addressed

It would be laughable anywhere else. But, so everyone says, the Waxman-Markey bill which is likely to be passed in Congress today or tomorrow, is the best we can expect – from America. (continue reading)

KEN WARD: 9 damned good reasons why some U.S. environmentalists should heartily oppose Waxman-Markey

Waxman-Markey just plain sucks and we would be fools to not fight about that fact within our own ranks. I’ve no intention of trying to add to the volumes of data and policy being tossed around on the finer points of the bill. The bottom line is clear enough from any cursory summary: 450 ppm isn’t good, the U.S. ought to be calling for 300-350 ppm; the bill as presently written doesn’t even have a hope of getting us to 450 ppm if it becomes the model for the world (all those offsets, way too late implementation, dropping GFC’s and so on); and—please stretch a bit here—let’s not forget that cap-and-trade was the worst of a bad lot that everyone now touting it used to oppose, for excellent reasons. If we are intellectually honest, then there are more than enough reasons to disagree with the majority opinion here. (continue reading)

Institute for Policy Studies: Good News, There’s a Climate Bill — Bad News, It Stinks

Right out of the starting gate, the bill provides a ridiculous number of giveaways to industry — something President Barack Obama campaigned against as unfair to consumers: Upwards of 85 percent of pollution allowances are being given away for free to the electricity sector, with many of these free permits not phasing out until 2030. This means little to none of the revenues coming into the public coffers from this “cap and trade” scheme will be used to protect low and moderate households from energy price increases, as envisioned by Obama. (continue reading article)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Thursday June 18th, 2009):

Hi-Res Photos, B-roll and Video will be available, www.mountainaction.org.

Activists Risk Arrest to Stop Mountaintop Removal

Activists scaled 20-storey tall mining machinery this morning to call attention to nation’s worst form of coal mining; This is the first time a dragline has been scaled on a mountaintop removal site

COAL RIVER VALLEY, W. VA.—Moments ago, four concerned citizens entered onto Massey Energy’s mountaintop removal mine site near Twilight WV and have begun to scale a150-foot dragline machine to drop a banner that says, ‘stop mountaintop removal mining.’ The climbers plan to stay on the enormous dragline, a massive piece of equipment that removes house-sized chunks of blasted rock and earth to expose coal, until police arrest them. Equipped with satellites phones and a web camera, the climbers will be available for interviews.

This is the first time a dragline has been scaled on a mountaintop removal site, and marks the latest in a string of increasingly dramatic protests in West Virginia by residents and allies from across the country. This act of protest against mountaintop removal comes just days after the Obama Administration announced a plan to reform, but not abolish, the aggressive strip mining practice. Continue Reading »

“Twelve Lanes? That’s Insane!” chanted 70 Portlanders as they rallied at Mississippi Avenue, just south of Mason Avenue Sunday evening. The rally was accompanied by a mobile bike-carted sound system, live musicians, and a huge banner unfurled from the roof of a nearby construction site reading “More Lanes=More Cars=More Climate Change. No CRC!” The protest followed a “Pedalpalooza” bike ride earlier in the afternoon – organized by Portland Rising Tide which toured areas of North Portland impacted by the current Columbia River Crossing (CRC) proposal, talking to neighborhood activists opposed to the project.

“Building a bridge of such obese proportions in a city that prides itself for its environmental leadership is deeply hypocritical,” said Sarah Goforth. “If our city truly aims to create sustainable transportation options to reduce car traffic, then building a super-sized mega-bridge will only impede these efforts.” Continue Reading »

Week of Action in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples in Peru
June 15th-19th
www.risingtidenorthamerica.org

Rising Tide North America is calling for a week of action starting Monday June 15th to show solidarity with the indigenous tribes resisting Peru’s attempt to open their lands to the oil, gas, and logging industries.

Last week over 85 people were killed by Peruvian police while protesting the governments plans revoke protections for traditional lands and allow for industrial exploitation of the Amazon. The plans are a part of the new free trade agreement between the US and Peru. Since the Peruvian government announced these plans, tribes around Peru have been blockading roads, oil installations, and other critical infrastructure. But the government has begun to brutally crack down on the unarmed blockades, resulting in last week’s massacre.

There are signs that the protests in Peru, and international pressure, are beginning to work. Peru’s congress just voted to suspend two of the laws in question, in hopes of getting the situation under control. Indigenous communities and labor unions however have made clear that this is not enough, and are continuing the blockades and protests. Continue Reading »

Protesters clashed with police in Copenhagen this weekend while attempting to disrupt the World Business Summit on Climate Change, a gathering of the worlds largest corporations and, not coincidentally, biggest polluters. Organized by the Danish government, the Business Summit gave corporate interests unprecedented access to the ongoing UN climate talks, including face time with UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon and so called climate “hero” Al Gore.

The group of protestors, lead by a banner reading “Our Climate is not Your Business” attempted to breach police lines in order to disrupt the meeting. The lively group of activists wanted hightlight the damaging and disruptive role that corporations play in the international climate talks. The list of corporations attending included #1 carbon emitter in the world Shell Oil, Duke Energy (#12 at last count), and BP among other climate criminals.

“The Danish government appears to be under the impression that some of the world’s most polluting companies are going to put forward tough measures to tackle climate change,” said Kenneth Haar, a researcher with Corporate Europe Observatory. “But unfortunately this doesn’t seem likely to be the case. The majority of the corporations attending the World Business Summit on Climate Change seem more intent on pursuing business as usual – with the promise that future technologies will resolve the problem at a later date.

Continue Reading »

Climate Ground Zero, West Virginia, All Summer

Come to West Virginia to take direct action against mountaintop removal coal mining. CGZ will be coordinating action training camps and organizing actions against coal companies destroying the mountains and communities of WV. We will have non-violence and other trainings, a kitchen and people who can explain the corrupt practice of MTR. We are hoping to shut down the sites on an ongoing basis all summer long. But we need your help.

www.climategroundzero.org

Contact Guin at 304-854-7372, guinstigator@yahoo.com

Cascadia Summer 2009

The Pacific Northwest is looking hot for direct action this summer with plans for massive public lands logging on the table. Thanks to a scheme called the Western Oregon Plan Revisions (WOPR) passed by Bush at the last minute around 25,000 acres of public lands will be cut. That’s a 436% percent increase in logging. Aside from the horrific impacts on the local ecosystem the logging would result in releasing 180 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere. The equivalent of putting one million cars on the road for 132 years.

Fortunately Oregonians are gearing up for a summer of resistance with several action camps and direct actions planned throughout the summer:

May 23-25 Cascadia Summer Campaign Action Camp

June 20-26 Trans and Womyns Action Camp

June 29-July 6 Earth First! Round River Rendezvous

July 8-July 15 EF! Climbers Guild Intensive Climb Camp

For more information contact forestdefensenow@gmail.com

www.forestdefensenow.org Continue Reading »

WE STAND AT A CROSSROADS.

Confront Copenhagen at Home

www.ACTFORCLIMATEJUSTICE.org

read and pass on the Mobilization’s
Open Letter to the Grassroots

The facts are clear. Global climate change, caused by human activities, is happening, threatening the lives and livelihoods of billions of people and the existence of millions of species. Social movements, environmental groups, and scientists from all over the world are calling for urgent and radical action on climate change.

On the 6 December, 2009 the governments of the world will come to Copenhagen for the fifteenth UN Climate Conference (COP-15). This will be the biggest summit on climate change ever to have taken place. Yet, previous meetings have produced nothing more than business as usual.

There are alternatives to the current course that is emphasizing false solutions such as market-based approaches and agrofuels. If we put humanity before profit and solidarity above competition we can live amazing lives without destroying our planet.

For a just transition to a low carbon future we must invest in community-controlled renewable energy and leave fossil fuels in the ground. We must stop over-production for over-consumption. All should have equal access to the global commons through community control and local sovereignty over energy, forests, land and water. We must acknowledge the historical responsibility of the global elite and rich Global North for causing this crisis. Equity between all peoples in the North and South through reparations of this ecological debt is essential to climate justice.

Climate change is already impacting people, particularly, indigenous and forest-dependent peoples, women, small farmers, workers, marginalized communities and impoverished neighbourhoods who are all calling for action on climate- and social-justice.

We call on all peoples around the planet to mobilize and take action against the root causes of climate change and the key agents responsible, both in Copenhagen and around the world.

This mobilization has already begun but is still in the planning stages. We have time to collectively decide what these mobilizations will look like, and to begin to visualize what our future can be. It is now time to take the power back!

We encourage everyone to start mobilizing today in your own neighbourhoods and communities.

Please get involved and take action for climate justice.

Hope is not just a feeling, it is also about taking action.

To read the Mobilization’s Open Letter to the Grassroots Continue Reading »

April 20 300 people took to the streets of Charlotte, NC to demand that Duke Energy stop the construction of the 800 mw Cliffside coal plant in Rutherford County, NC. After rousing speeches from coalfield residents and local church leaders the crowd marched to Duke Energy’s headquarters. Shouts of “No new coal!” and “Cancel Cliffside” echoed off the skyscrapers of the nations second largest financial center, as the crowd wound its way through the lunch hour traffic.

The protest was a fine example of solidarity in the movement. Folks from Ohio fighting AMP coal plants, Kentuckians resisting mountaintop removal, West Virginians defending Coal River Valley, Virginians fighting Dominions Wise County Coal Plant were all there. Asheville, Boston, Baltimore, and Bay Area Rising Tide were all representing in the streets of Charlotte and played a part in making this a successful action.

Once the march arrived at Duke Energy headquarters we presented CEO Jim Rogers with a letter for him to sign, declaring that he would cancel the Cliffside plant. Unsurprisingly he did not come down. Not content with just going home, 44 people crossed onto Duke Energy’s property to deliver the letter to Rogers. The police gave one warning and then began to make arrests. As protestors were led to police vans the crowd chanted, “Arrest Jim Rogers” and “You can put our friends in jail. But we will drive the final nail.” Those arrested ranged from young college students  to  80 year old grandmothers.

This protest is an important and exciting escalation in the fight against Cliffside and for the anti-coal movement as a whole. Lets keep up the good work and continue to extend our solidarity to all communities fighting the fossil fuel industry. We’ll be back in Charlotte on May 7th which is being held at Duke’s headquarters. As one sign at the protest said, “Jim Rogers, we won’t stop until you do!” For updates check out www.stopcliffside.org

Wednesday, April 1^st

Asheville, NC – In response to the North Carolina Division of Air Quality (DAQ) ruling that Duke Energy’s Cliffside coal plant is a “minor source of emissions”, 30 protesters gathered at noon today outside Governor Perdue’s Western North Carolina office in downtown Asheville to demand that she revoke the plant’s permit.

In a demonstration organized by Asheville Rising Tide, protesters set up a bed in front of Governor Perdue’s office with people in business suits representing Duke CEO Jim Rogers, DAQ head Keith Overcash, and Governor Perdue under sheets and covered in money. Banners reading, “Governor Purdue in bed with Duke Energy” and “Stop Cliffside” were held in the background. Protestors also roped off the office entrance with Global Warming Crime Scene tape.

While Beverly Perdue publicly opposed Cliffside during her campaign for the Governorship, following the DAQ’s ruling she sent out a press release defending the decision to classify Duke’s new coal plant as a “minor emitter.”  A report released last month by the Civil Society Institute found that Duke Energy contributed nearly $30,000 to Gov. Purdue’s election campaign and $40,000 to Lt. Governor Walter Dalton. Since the report was released there have been calls for corruption inquiries into the relations between Duke Energy and Purdue. “We know who Governor Purdue and the DAQ are taking their marching orders from,” stated Jill Walker of Asheville Rising Tide. “With this ruling it is clear that they are more interested in protecting Duke’s bottom line than the health of North Carolinians.”

Throughout Duke’s application process, the DAQ, controlled by the Governor’s office, has consistently showed favoritism to the industry they are charged with regulating, at the expense of public health, water conservation, and attempts to curb climate change. “It is absurd that the DAQ could rule that the dirty Cliffside coal plant, which will emit millions of tons of pollutants each year, including greenhouse gases, mercury and other heavy metals, could even be considered a minor source of emissions,” stated local farmer Tobias Wolfe.  “Still, it is not too late for Governor Perdue to do the right thing for the people of North Carolina and call for the cancellation of Cliffside.”

Today’s protest was part of an international day of action called Fossil Fools Day (www.fossilfoolsday.org) that calls for an end to fossil fuel extraction and consumption. Duke Energy is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the US; if completed, the Cliffside plant would emit over 6 million tons of CO2 every year. According to the UN’s International Panel on Climate Change we have only 6 years to begin reducing emissions in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. There has been growing opposition to the Cliffside coal plant both in North Carolina and nationwide. Last year, NASA’s chief climatologist James Hansen, called on Jim Rogers to cancel the plant.

Asheville Rising Tide is a member of the Stop Cliffside Coalition (www.stopcliffside.org), a coalition of faith-based,social and environmental groups organizing a mass rally and civil disobedience at Duke Energy’s headquarters April 20^th.

Rising Tide North America and its allies are calling for a day of action against the fossil fuel industry on April 1st 2009…FOSSIL FOOLS DAY!

Confronted with droughts, extreme weather, poisoned waterways and food shortages the fools at the head of the fossil fuel empire continue to plunder the earth, with the governments as court jesters at their side.

A powerful vibrant climate justice movement is emerging world-wide. Coal plants are being shut down. Mountaintop removal is being challenged. Big oil in Canada and other parts of the world are feeling the effects of a new consciousness around global warming. Thousands are in the streets pushing the limits.

But more needs to happen. It’s time we ask ourselves, how serious are we about stopping climate change?

Climate change threatens our very survival, and weather chaos is increasingly upon on us – it is up to us to launch a global uprising against the fossil fuel industry. Continue Reading »

Only a few years ago, some companies were saying climate change wasn’t a problem. Now, as its impacts become apparent, many of the same corporations are suddenly scrambling to claim leadership on the issue. Desperate to avoid regulation that may hit their profits, they present a dizzying array of “false solutions,” quick fixes that perpetuate inequalities in our society while they can cash in on the crisis. Upon closer examination, many of these technologies and policies are merely dangerous detours on the road to a just, livable planet, distracting us from the root causes of the crisis.

Rising Tide North America is pleased to announce the release of the first short yet comprehensive survey of these bogus climate change solutions.

The 20 page pamphlet — “Hoodwinked in the Hothouse” — covers topics as diverse as Clean Coal, Agrofuels, Geoengineering, Carbon Offsets and over a dozen other non-solutions to the climate crisis, all in concise, colorfully illustrated and information packed essays. Download it now ( PDF)!

Continue Reading »

Video Available HERE

Boston, MA – Seven activists from Rising Tide Boston disrupted a lecture at Harvard University being delivered by Arch Coal CEO Steve Leer, who was speaking on the future of “clean coal” technology. The activists attempted to enlighten the coal baron and the lecture attendees on the true cost of coal extraction.

Continue Reading »

This Valentine’s Day, February 14th, 2009, join Rising Tide Boston (RTB) in demanding that Bank of America stop its funding of the dirty and deadly coal industry and demanding, in solidarity with City Life/Vide Urbana, stop its unjust foreclosures and evictions of working families. Closing your account with Bank of America (BOA) is an important step in bringing closure to this unhealthy relationship.

Read Rising Tide Boston’s National Call to Action to Break Up with Bank of America on Valentines Day! There’ll be at least a half-dozen account closings going on across the country already. Contact valentinesday@risingtideboston.org to plan your own! Resources are available at risingtideboston.org.

Saturday January 10, 2009 – Indiantown Florida

Seventeen Earth First! activists were arrested this afternoon in an effort to re-open Barley Barber swamp for public use and immediate scientific monitoring. Expressing great concern for the impact Florida Power and Light has had on this landmark property, activists engaged in civil disobedience to assert the need for immediate independent scientific monitoring of the oldest bald cypress trees in Florida. The group has made multiple requests of FPL to re-open the swamp and address the deteriorating condition of the area they promised to preserve.

Video, call for support, and much more after the fold!

Continue Reading »

On December 19 Utah resident Tim DeChristopher took creative and effective action to disrupt an auction that was selling off oil and gas leases on hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands in Utah. As around 100 concerned citizens rallied outside opposing the opening up of wilderness areas to the oil and gas industry, Tim entered the auction and started bidding. Time and again he outbid the speculators, and when he failed to outbid them he managed to drive the price way up. According to local news reports he “caused chaos” in the auction room, costing companies hundreds of thousands of dollars and  prevented 22,500 acres of land from being developed for fossil fuel extraction (at least for the time being). Tim’s actions were extremely effective at throwing a wrench in the works of the oil and gas industry and he is to be applauded.

Unfortunately federal agents were not as sympathetic and detained Tim for a couple of hours. He may be facing federal charges in which case he will need our support. You can follow the link below to donate to his legal defense.

Continue Reading »

Radical new agenda needed to achieve climate justice

The Poznan statement:

12 December 2008

Members of Climate Justice Now! – a worldwide alliance of more than 160 organisations — have been in Poznan for the past two weeks closely following developments in the UN climate negotiations.

This statement is our assessment of the Conference of Parties (COP) 14, and articulates our principles for achieving climate justice.

THE URGENCY OF CLIMATE JUSTICE
We will not be able to stop climate change if we don’t change the neo-liberal and corporate-based economy which stops us from achieving sustainable societies. Corporate globalisation must be stopped.

The historical responsibility for the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions lies with the industrialised countries of the North. Even though the primary responsibility of the North to reduce emissions has been recognised in the Convention, their production and consumption habits continue to threaten the survival of humanity and biodiversity. It is imperative that the North urgently shifts to a low carbon economy. At the same time in order to avoid the damaging carbon intensive model of industrialisation, the South is entitled to resources and technology to make this transition. Continue Reading »

Navajo and Hopi tell Office of Surface Mining in Denver

THANKS to everyone who helped us make our point to the Office of Surface Mining yesterday! OSM disconnected their phone line because so many people flooded them with calls!

This is just the begining of this battle, we are more determined than ever to not allow our homelands to be turned into “minor” decisions for coal interests! I hope you will continue to stand in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples and the “front line” communities that are taking a stand against these major entities!

Please help us get this update out and again thank you!!

-Enei

Enei Begaye
Co-Director, Black Mesa Water Coalition
PO Box 613 Flagstaff, AZ 86002-613
phone: (928) 213-5909
fax #: (928) 213-5905
www.blackmesawatercoalition.org

Continue Reading »

• See the full statement from Rachel Smolker, daught of Environmental Defense founder Robert E. Smolker
• First-hand Account of Environmental Defense Occupation

Washington, DC – As the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change opened today in Poznan, Poland, grassroots climate activists took over the Washington DC office of Environmental Defense. The activists stated that they had targeted ED, one of the largest environmental organizations in the world, because of the organization’s key role in promoting the discredited approach of carbon trading as a solution to climate change.

Dr. Rachel Smolker of Global Justice Ecology Project and Global Forest Coalition read a statement, which said in part, “My father was one of the founders of this organization, which sadly I am now ashamed of. The Kyoto Protocol, the European Emissions Trading Scheme and virtually every other initiative for reducing emissions have adopted their market approaches. So far they have utterly failed, serving only to provide huge profits to the world’s most polluting industries. Instead of protecting the environment, ED now seems primarily concerned with protecting corporate bottom lines. I can hear my father rolling over in his grave.”

Note: The Washington, DC Environmental Defense (sic) should not be confused with Canada’s Environmental Defence.

Continue Reading »

Maine Youth Give Pierce-Atwood something to think about...

Maine Activists Target Portland Law Firm for Role in Commodifying Maine’s Groundwater

People from across Maine brought trash bags full of empty plastic water bottles to Pierce Atwood Law Firm’s office in Portland, ME on the morning of Friday, November 14 to demonstrate the physical ramifications of the corporate bottling industry for Maine’s landfills. The law firm represents both Nestle’ Waters North America and the Nature Conservancy in their water acquisition projects throughout Maine. Nestle’, the Nature Conservancy, and Pierce Atwood share both financial resources and leadership in order to pursue an agenda of commodifying Maine’s groundwater. Young Maine residents and their allies gathered in Portland to protest against Pierce Atwood’s role as the legal liaison in the corporate theft of Maine’s water. In particular, those gathered were concerned about Nestle’s continued legal action against the people of Fryeburg as well as the Nature Conservancy’s refusal to remove commercial water extraction from the development easements attached to the Plum Creek development plan for the North Woods.

Continue Reading »

Leonardo Cerda is an Ecuadorian youth climate, energy and sustainability activist studying International Relations and Political Sciences at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador.  He’s also starting up organizing Marea Creciente / Rising Tide and a Climate Camp there!

Leo’s been involved in resistance movements against the oil industry in Ecuador since he was fourteen years old. He and others in his community starting doing workshops around the Amazon at that time, in different indigenous villages, discussing the causes and the future consequences of the oil industry, it’s relationship to climate change and the many other devastating consequences to people and the environment. Continue Reading »

Nothing could sway the Dominion 11 from their mission–not the cops and certainly not the prospect of free food. Early on the morning of Sept. 15, activists from a range of environmental groups formed a human barrier to block access to a coal plant being built by Dominion in rural Wise County, Virginia. As acts of civil disobedience go, this wasn’t exactly Bloody Sunday. The police took a hands-off approach and even offered to buy the protesters breakfast if they unchained themselves. (They declined.) But the consequences were far from trivial. The activists who had formed the barrier to the construction site were arrested and charged with trespassing, and they eventually paid $400 each in fines. That’s nothing, of course, compared with the punishment the Dominion plant will inflict on the environment. If completed, the plant will emit 5.3 million tons of CO2 a year into the atmosphere, roughly the equivalent of putting a million more cars on the road.

The future of coal will dictate the future of the climate. Plants in the U.S. that burn this low-cost, high-carbon fuel account for about 40% of the country’s greenhouse-gas emissions, not to mention other air pollutants. Right now there are about 600 coal power plants in the U.S., and an additional 110 are in various stages of development. Without ways to capture the carbon burned in coal and sequester it underground, new plants all but guarantee billions of tons of future carbon emissions and essentially negate efforts to reduce global warming. “Business as usual can’t continue as long as coal is destroying the climate,” says Hannah Morgan, 20, one of the Dominion 11. “We are not going to back down.” Continue Reading »

Nov.4, 2008-Montpelier, VT

Citizens Demand Certificate of “No-Good” for Vermont Yankee!

Demanding the closure of Vermont Yankee, Green Mountain Earth First!, RTNA, and other citizens challenged the Vermont Public Service Board at their state office in Montpelier-Vermont’s capital-Monday morning. Dressed as elves and Santa Claus, the group entered the offfice and insisted that the Public Service Board (PSB) revoke Entergy Vermont Yankee’s Certificate of the Public Good and instead sign a large cardboard Certificate of the “Public Bad.” “We’ve talked with Santa Claus and clearly Entergy Nuclear has been up to no good,” said one of the elves entering the office. The group held photographs of Vermont Yankee’s 2007 cooling tower collapse and 2004 transformer fire as well as a giant banner reading ‘Do the Public a Service: Closer Vermont Yankee!’ The suddenly, an unforecasted “snowstorm” enshrouded the entire office-bringing an early (nuclear) winter to the annoyed PSB office personnel.

Continue Reading »

As the sun fell on Halloween, the undead victims of mountain top removal coal mining rose up and descend upon Bank of Americas and Citibanks in Boston. It is no coincidence that while Bank of America and Citibank make a killing on coal, coal is killing Appalachian communities that fall prey to dirty energy companies whose interests in profiting from strip mining outweigh the value of lives and mountain communities. In 2006, Bank of America invested twice as much in dirty energy as it did on clean energy projects. In 2006, Citi’s investments in coal were 200 times greater than their investments in clean energy, making them the number one financier of coal worldwide.

Photos available here.
Continue Reading »

Northwest Caravan To Support The Struggle For Survival On The Front Lines Of Resistance at Big Mountain, Black Mesa, AZ. 2008

Indigenous nations are disproportionately targeted by fossil fuel extraction & environmental devastation and Black Mesa is no exception. At this moment Peabody Coal Co. is planning to seize tribal lands and massively expand dirty coal strip-mining operations. In 30 years of controversial operation, Peabody’s Black Mesa Mine has been the source of an estimated 325 million tons of CO2 that have been discharged into the atmosphere.* If expansion plans are permitted, it would exacerbate already devastating environmental and cultural impacts on local communities and significantly add fuel to the fire of the current climate chaos we face globally. Coal from the Black Mesa mine could contribute an additional 290 million tons of CO2 to the global warming crisis!*

Institutional racism has fueled neglect and abandonment of public needs such as water, maintenance of roads, health care, and schools. Daily life for Big Mountain residents hasn’t changed too much over the years, except that more of them have become elderly and now struggle with daily chores. Due to lack of local job opportunities and federal strangulation on Indian self-sufficiency, extended families are forced to live many miles away to earn incomes and have all the social amenities which include choices in mandatory American education. It is increasingly difficult for families to come back to visit their relatives in these remote areas due to the unmaintained roads and the rising cost of transportation. Continue Reading »

A coalition of Klamath River Indian tribes, fishermen, conservationists and local supporters (including Cascadia Rising Tide) ramped up their campaign to remove four fish-killing dams on the river today when they held a spirited protest in front of PacifiCorp’s headquarters in Portland.

The “Day of Action Against PacifiCorp” started off at 8:30 a.m. on September 18th when local activists hung a banner proclaiming “Warren Buffett Kills Salmon, Jobs and Communities” over Interstate-84 in solidarity with the Tribes. Around 200 people marched from Holiday Park in Portland at noon to converge in front of PacifiCorp for a press conference at 1 p.m.

After the conference, 70 people occupied the area in front of the headquarters, effectively shutting down the front entrance to PacifiCorp as company staff locked the doors. Continue Reading »

Pictures here
Video coming soon!

On October 7, just past noon, four activists chained themselves to the front entrance of the Citi branch in Harvard Square, Cambridge. The action started as a protest in front of the Bank of America branch a block away before marching down the street to Citibank, where the four activists had already chained themselves to the front door, closing the bank for a period of time. Over 150 people attended the protest, while many more onlookers gathered in Harvard Square.

Continue Reading »

Members of Asheville Rising Tide traveled to Wise County to support this inspiring action organized by local Wise County residents, Earth First!ers, and anti-coal campaigners. As we listened to events in the Gulf unfold in the wake of Hurricane Ike, it seemed appropriate to be acting in solidarity with community activists at the ground zero of climate change, a new coal-fired power plant fueled by mountain top removal coal blasted out of the surrounding mountains. We hope this escalation will contribute another step toward building a mass movement against coal extraction and burning everywhere…

Monday, September 15^th

Wise County, VA-At 6:00am this morning around 30 people from across the country blocked the entrance to the construction site of Dominion Virginia’s new coal-fired power plant in Wise County, VA. Continue Reading »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 13 NOON
Land Use Regulatory Commission (LURC) 18 Elkins Lane – Harlow Building  22 State
House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0022

For More Information Contact: Logan Perkins – 207-615-5158

Hoopla for the North Woods
Maine Earth First! says No More Games
Bold Protest Urges LURC to Reject Massive Plum Creek Development Plan

Augusta, ME – In a bold stunt today, a dozen people affiliated with  Maine Earth First!, protested at the LURC office in Augusta. One woman  suspended herself 35 feet in the air from a giant tripod made of wooden  poles, while others hula-hooped on the ground below her. Under the  banner “LURC: Do the right thing! No Development! Plum Creek can’t buy  ME” the concerned citizens gathered to make it clear that the only  responsible decision is for LURC to reject Plum Creek’s entire plan.  Maine Earth First! is an all-volunteer group of Maine citizens working toward the protection of all remaining wild places in Maine as sources  of biodiversity, climate stability and cultural heritage.

Continue Reading »

From July 28 – Aug. 4th over 400 people gathered on a pesticide-free farm in Coburg, Oregon to learn, share, organize and network. Workshops and keynotes covered issues from the I-5 bridge expansion (Columbia River Crossing) to growing vegtables year-around. The week highlighted fossil fuel development projects throughout the West, and then created a space for people to learn the skills needed to fight them.

The phrase direct action has been invoked in many ways for many movements. Often, in the climate movement it is used to describe non-violent civil disobedience that directly confront and seek to physically halt fossil fuel development projects, such as lock-downs to equipment and road blockades. At this year’s West Coast Convergence for Climate Action, we spoke of direct action as not only taking action against dirty fossil fuel projects, but also taking action for community solutions and sustainability!

The week led up to a day of civil disobedience on Monday, which consisted of two major acts of disruption, street theater and rallies. It was awesome to learn about the details of proposed dirty energy projects, then hear the personal stories from impacted communities fighting them, and then finally organize and take action in the efforts to stop them. Continue Reading »

August 11 Richmond, VA Despite a massive police presence throughout the city and our major action plan derailed by law enforcement harassment, 50 activists snaked their way through Richmond today in an un-permitted march, paying visits to several climate criminals. Carrying banners reading, “No Nukes, No Coal, No Kidding” and “Social Change not Climate Change,” people marched to the headquarters of Massey Energy, Dominion, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and Bank of America.

At Massey Energy, a notorious coal company involved in mountaintop removal coal mining, activists surrounded the entrance and yelled, “Hands off our mountains!.” The group then moved on to the Department of Environmental Quality which recently rubber stamped Dominion’s dirty coal plant in Wise County, VA. Next the group brought the party to Dominion, who is building the aforementioned coal plant as well as proposing a new nuke plant in Louisa County, VA. Chanting “No coal, no nukes, we won’t stop until you do!” the activists attempted to take over Dominion’s plaza but were repelled by police on horses. In a show of interspecies solidarity one horse bucked a cop off its back.

To wrap things up for the day, the crowd moved on to the the towering Bank of America building, one of the largest funders of the coal industry. Continue Reading »

August 7 Louisa, VA Activists from the Southeast Convergence for Climate Action occupied the welcome center for Dominion’s North Anna nuclear power plant today. The action was taken to protest Dominion’s plans to build two new nuclear reactors and to call out nuclear power for the false solution that it is to the climate crisis. “We are here to serve notice on the so-called ‘nuclear renaissance’ that the anti-nuclear movement is alive and well,” said Glenn Carroll, coordinator of Nuclear Watch South.

In all 25 people occupied the visitors center for 2 hours until police came in to remove them. The protestors wore shirts that read “Nukes not Welcome” and chanted and sang. “We chose to take non-violent direct action because Dominion and the federal government have completely failed to address the climate crisis,” said Paxus Calta who lives twenty miles from the plant. The protesters also gave their own version of a tour for visitors revealing the true nature of the nuclear industry. In all 6 people were arrested for refusing to leave the building and were escorted out in handcuffs to the cheers of their friends. Continue Reading »

Asheville, NC Today Asheville Rising Tide’s billionaire bloc descended on Bank of America’s regional headquarters to demand that BoA continue to invest their money in coal. The Billionaires for Coal carried signs reading “More Profit, Less Mountains” and sipped on dirty (coal) martinis to applaud BoA for its funding of mountaintop removal coal mining as well as the new generation of dirty coal plants. The Asheville Police Department did an excellent job of blocking access to the bank entrance and the ATM surely scaring off a number of bank customers.

Two days before, activists with Croatan Earth First! visited three Bank of America branches in Raleigh and Chapel Hill. The activist entered the banks raising a ruckus and handing out fliers to customers until being forced to leave. The motley crew of billionaires then proceeded to demonstrate outside and informing the public of BoA’s dirty deeds. A few weeks before several activists were detained by police in Charlotte, NC (BoA’s hometown) for hanging anti-coal poster’s in the neighborhoods of several BoA executives homes. After intensive interrogation, they were let go without charge (remember kids, never talk to cops).

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Please help offset bail costs by donating! Money will be collected care of the Earth First! Journal.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Several people were arrested late Monday morning (July 7 while protesting plans for a proposed coal-fired plant in southeast Ohio.

Police were forced to subdue protestors after they entered the headquarters of American Municipal Power, located on Airport Drive in east Columbus, 10TV News reported.

Dozens of members with the group, Earth First, were at the headquarters protesting plans to build a new power plant in Meigs County.

According to police, five demonstrators entered the building and chained themselves up. Officers used Mace when the demonstrators refused to leave, 10TV News reported.

Eight people were arrested during the demonstration, police said.

More info:
http://cbusimc.org/node/13900

Channel 10 News

The controversy over the I-5 expansion project known as the Columbia River Crossing took a theatrical turn on Wednesday, as politically charged street performance took center stage outside a packed city hall. Meeting attendees were greeted with a fake check point just past an area marked off by “Global Warming Crime Scene” tape.

Decked out in a Men-in-Black style uniform marked with the insignia of the “Oil Enforcement Agency”, an actress known as Agent Burns was busily preparing a ticket for a bemused member of the Portland Business Alliance on his way to the meeting. “This is your final warning sir, if you’re intent on testifying in favor of the bridge, we’re going to have to write you up for abuse of a foreign fossil fuel,” chided the agent.

[Hi-resolution images after the jump!]

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On the surface, broad-based solutions to global warming appear to be emerging in Congress. But with even a meager scrubbing of the surface, Senators Lieberman and Warner’s “Climate Security Act” (S. 2191) – which is scheduled to be debated on the Senate floor in June – turns out to be perhaps the greatest greenwash of our generation.

Everyone who cares about the climate and a just energy future would do well to take a good, hard look at the Lieberman-Warner (L-W) bill. It could frame the climate debate in the US for a generation. Continue Reading »

May 25, 2008 – Charlotte, NC Today, activists with Asheville Rising Tide broke ground on a new 800 Mw clean energy power plant in Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers front yard. The power plant will tap into a previously unexplored energy source known as hot air which has been found in large concentrations at Roger’s residence, 330 Eastover Rd, Charlotte, NC. “The hot air emitting from Jim Rogers mouth has been around for quite some time, but the last couple of years has seen an exponential growth of this untapped energy source as Rogers parades around the country calling for greenhouse gas reductions while building the dirty Cliffside coal plant. This was simply an opportunity we couldn’t pass up,” said Jill Rockingham, chief engineer for the project. Continue Reading »

During the Fall and Winter of 2007-08, RTNA worked extensively with Native Forest Network-Gulf of Maine (NFN) and other groups in Maine to stop Plum Creek Timber and Real Estate’s proposed massive development of the Moosehead Lake Region in northern Maine’s North Woods. Part of the Great North Woods of eastern North America-this particular region is the largest undeveloped wildland in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River; this region is home to such species such as the Canada lynx, black bear, wolves, moose, loon, and many other native species. This region has also for many generations supported a traditional local economy that included subsistence hunting & fishing, primitive recreation, and eco-tourism. Plum Creek plans to impose luxury vacation resorts, golf courses, gated communities, marinas, and more-along with significant introduction and expansion of roads and other invasive infrastructure.

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[from the Indigenous Environmental Network and others]

New York City, NY – Indigenous Peoples attending the Permanent Forum are outraged that their rejection of the carbon market has been ignored in the final report of the 7th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII). The final report of the PFII hails World Bank funded carbon trading, like the Clean Development Mechanism, as “good examples” of partnership despite the human rights violations and environmental destruction they have caused.

“Indigenous Peoples attending the 7th session of the Permanent Forum are profoundly concerned that our key recommendations on climate change are not being taken into account by the Permanent Forum. This Permanent Forum was created precisely to recognize, promote, and support the rights of Indigenous Peoples,” says Florina Lopez, Coordinator of the Indigenous Women’s Biodiversity Network of Abya Yala. Continue Reading »

April 23 Charlotte, NC Today activists with Asheville Rising Tide, Rainforest Action Network, and Croatan Earth First! hit the streets of Charlotte, NC to protest Bank of America’s annual shareholders meeting. Bank of America has seen an escalating level of protest in the past year for its funding of the coal industry. Bank of America has provided billions of dollars in loans to companies including Massey Energy, Arch Coal, and Alpha Natural Resources which are responsible for the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining in southern Appalachia. In addition Bank of America is funding a number of new coal plants including Duke Energy’s Cliffside power plant in Western North Carolina. Continue Reading »

Thomas Friedman, the author and NY Times columnist, was invited to Brown University to give a keynote speech on Earth Day, before a packed auditorium. His talk, titled “Green is the new Red White and Blue” was about how corporate environmentalism (based on putting a price on the atmosphere, and investing in biofuels and techno-fixes) can restore America to its “natural place in the global order.” Luckily, this outrageous neoliberal capitalist propaganda was interrupted with a surprise visit from the Greenwash Guerrillas. After splattering him with two green cream pies, leaflets were thrown to the crowd, stating:

Thomas Friedman deserves a pie in the face…

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The photos are ordered from east to west around the world (New Zealand is 1st, U$A last)…
60 actions are featured here: if you have a photo from an action that is missing email it to fossilfools–AT–RisingTideNorthAmerica–DOT–org. View this post to see the slideshow!

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Boston, MA – Copley Square, April 1, 2008. April Fools! As of 9:00AM, in conjunction with a downtown rally, four activists have locked themselves to the front entrance of the Bank of America branch in Copley Square. They are protesting the bank’s funding of coal and energy companies who are among the worst contributors to climate change, and directly responsible for innumerable human rights abuses in communities where coal is extracted and burned.

More photos and updates available at the Fossil Fools Day website

Please support legal costs for this action!

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At 6:30 this morning, North Carolina residents locked themselves to bulldozers to stop the construction of Duke Energy’s massive Cliffside coal-fired power plant being built 50 miles west of Charlotte, NC. “In the face of catastrophic climate change, building a new coal plant is tantamount to signing a death sentence for our generation,” said local farmer Matt Wallace, while locked to a bulldozer. The concerned citizens also roped off the construction site with “Global Warming Crime Scene” tape and held banners that read “Coal Fuels Climate Change” and “Social Change, not Climate Change.”

We’re actively looking for donations to get people out of jail!

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Early Monday morning dozens of concerned community members from Palm Beach County and all over the nation put their bodies on the line to halt construction of FPL’s West County Energy Center (WCEC), demanding energy efficiency, truly clean, renewable energy and a moratorium on development in south Florida. Everglades Earth First! blocked the main entrance to the WCEC site, a proposed massive 3800 MW gas-fired power plant that would emit 12 million tons of CO2, a leading greenhouse gas, every year. The plant is currently under construction despite ongoing legal challenges to the plant’s needed permits and certification, which have been spearheaded by the local Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition.

A dozen activists locked themselves together through metal pipes as 200 supporters rallied around them. The blockade stopped work on the construction site for six hours before a total of 27 people were arrested. Continue Reading »

[The Beehive Collective is a political art and design collective and a local Rising Tide contact - they are preparing to launch a major new "graphic campaign" focused on Mountain Top Removal coal mining in collaboration with others in Rising Tide.]

In anticipation of our most exciting and busy year to date, featuring the launch of two new graphics campaigns, our swarm of eleven is in need of five more workers. We are currently seeking a few passionate and committed organizers, educators, and artists to join us full-time in Maine, at satellite Hive locations, and on the road, beginning as soon as possible.

Please pass this note on to others who might be interested! Continue Reading »

This Spring, two womyn from the Portland Animal Defense League, Rising Tide North America and Stumptown Earth First! will be on tour up and down the west coast with an interactive and engaging presentation. We’ll be offering a two hour presentation on radical eco-feminism and environmental ethics. Eco-feminism is the social movement that regards the oppression of women and nature as interconnected. It is one of the few movements and analyses that actually connects two movements. Radical ecofeminist theorists have extended their analyses to consider the interconnections between sexism, the domination of nature (including animals), and also racism and social inequalities. Consequently it is now better understood as a movement working against the interconnected oppressions of gender, race, class and nature. Continue Reading »

Cascadia Rising Tide joined forces with Stumptown Earth First! to hold an action and rally at the downtown Portland office of NW Natural (local gas utility), for their involvement in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) related pipelines, which threaten to clear-cut strips of forest throughout Oregon for new fossil fuel infrastructure.

Piling dozens of trees on NW Natural’s downtown office entryway, activists with Stumptown Earth First! and Cascadia Rising Tide, sent a message to the LNG-invested gas company: “There’s nothing Green about Clear-cuts, No new pipelines”. Continue Reading »

Read about Rising Tide North America’s older actions, activities, and reports…