"The only solution to climate change is a drastic cut in our energy
consumption. Drax continues to belch out emissions while we are staring catastrophe in the face. It has to go."
The Camp for Climate Action will be held in ‘Megawatt Valley’, near Leeds, home of Drax, Eggborough and Ferrybridge power stations. The camp promises education about climate change, sustainable living, and direct action targeting those responsible for the worst emissions.
The Camp for Climate Action is inspired by environmental protest camps such as the Newbury Bypass campaign, and the Eco-village in Stirling, which was a base for anti-capitalist protests at the G8 in 2005.
The camp will be held from 26th August - 4th September. Powered by alternative energy, the camp will demonstrate practical solutions in action. The camp will offer information, education and space for debate on the science and politics of tackling climate change. There will be practical skills to learn, from ideas for sustainable living to strategies for taking action.
Activist Zoe Armstrong said: "Climate change casts a huge shadow over our society. Governments and corporations cannot solve this problem for us, it’s up to us to act now. The Camp for Climate Action will be a key moment in kick-starting the radical action that is needed to tackle climate change."
For more information visit:
www.climatecamp.org.uk
Contact:
0794 458 6036
0790 180 2177
info@climatecamp.org.uk
1 – Drax burns more than 13 million tonnes of coal every year (Drax
website http://www.draxpower.com/about.php?page=fun ) and emits 20.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, making it the largest single emitter in the UK (Guardian, 16 May 06
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1775695,00.html )
Drax is the UK’s 4th most polluting power station per unit of electricity produced (WWF ‘Dirty Thirty’ report, October 2005
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/dirty30rankingfinal260905.pdf )
2 – The Camp for Climate Action is being organised through open public meetings. These meeting have taken place in Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford, Bristol, Leeds and London. The next meeting will be held in Scotland.
3 - 'Drax the Destroyer' is also a Marvel Comics villain.
Comments
Hide the following 9 comments
Puny Humans!
21.06.2006 09:48
MORE POWER!
DRAX THE DESTROYER
thoughtless
21.06.2006 11:25
If you succeeded in closing drax, which obviously you wont, then you are playing into the govs hands as it ushers in new nuclear stations.
We have to have energy, it has to come from somewhre, this gung ho just say no infantile action is likely to produce little more then hot air, stupid pictures and a good day out and ego massage for all involved....
BTW, make sure you cycle there.... :-O
pragmatist
Action is needed now!
21.06.2006 16:26
So let's sit back then and wait for politicians to 'fix' the problem for us then eh? Cos after all, its at the top of their agenda isn't it?!
Why don't you come along to the camp; there'll be plenty of workshops on how individuals can reduce their energy consumption, and of course, you didn't think we had neglected to consider the issue of how people came to it, did you? We're currently concocting ways of ensuring that people who come to the camp do so in an environmentaly friendly fashion, such as through a mass bike ride....
camper
pragmatism
21.06.2006 18:08
Many people are currently growing organic veg to make the camp a little more sustainable - why don't you give it a try?
Croltbopper
1984
24.06.2006 01:46
1984
tut, tut 1984
26.06.2006 16:13
Eric Arthur Blair
Carbon Seqestration?
13.07.2006 12:03
Oh dear oh dear, another one falls for the con of carbon offsetting.
It doesn't work!!! It's a total lie and a farce, and not only that but the tree plantations are destroying communities worldwide.
Trees can soak up a bit of the carbon, but they only store it temporarily - it gets released again sooner or later. This is no good when you're taking stored carbon out of the ground and adding it to the atmosphere on a permanent basis - soaking it up temporarily solves nothing in the long run, though it might conveniently lessen your guilt for taking that flight.
Even if all the trees do survive (which they don't), and even if it worked in theory (which it doesn't), the calculations involved are based on a lot of guesswork and little else. Of course, the companies doing this are only too happy to take your money with a smile on their faces in exchange for reducing your guilt.
But you know what? It's all BULLSHIT - a happy pill that utterly craps on the environment but makes you feel a little bit better. Unfortunately, far too many people have been suckered into actually believing it works!
I'd suggest you read a copy of New Internationalist magazine issue 391 (the current issue - July 2006) entitled "CO2NNED", where the carbon sequestration myth is debunked conclusively and shown for the utter bollocks it is. If you'd prefer not to make use of a dead tree version, it should appear on their website for free in a couple of months time.
The reason you might be feeling a slight twinge of guilt when getting on a plane is because it's absolutely devastating for the environment! Deal with that small problem (by not getting on the plane), before bigger ones come along and deal with us all in rather nasty ways.
The "choice" is that simple - we don't have one.
We don't need cheap flights. We don't need free plastic toys with our breakfast cereal. We don't need a new car every few years. We don't need disposable cups, plates and cutlery. We don't need plastic carrier bags. We don't need ANY of this shit, but it's KILLING our planet, and it's going to KILL US too!
Planting a few trees and carrying on as normal just isn't going to cut it this time, so WAKE UP!
Pull The Other One!
Not all locals are against your aims but........
30.08.2006 19:51
So far we have found most protesters to be reasonable and well behaved. I hope this continues through tomorrows direct action.
However I do think you need to think through more carefully your targets. Of course Drax is a big and symbolic target but at the end of the day they merely supply to a demand. You will not change anything unless you change that demand or you change the nimbyism and planning stupidity which is delaying the deployment of renewable energy generation.
For example there are plans to put wind turbines on land to the south east of Drax but these are mired in protests by locals and delays in planning.
And then, of course, there are all the objections from those lucky enough to live in the upland areas of the country who don't want to see locally sited wind turbines but who are happy to take the electricity generated by the likes of Drax.
Steve
my definition of a carbon sequestration styleeee
28.09.2006 12:36
i am not postive about this, but i think sequestration is the method of 'capturing' and then pumping CO2 into underground natural caverns or something. rather than offsetting, which is as you described.
regardless, neither of these things will work, i believe, and are very dangerous in these times of failing around for a cureall.
as far as i am aware, NO ONE can guarentee the safety of these sequestered caverns of CO2. they will forever be sat there, vunerable to geological activity- and who would want to pass that nightmare scenario down to future generations? the thought of all that CO2 erupting out....
isn't it a rather epic form of sweeping our s**t under the carpet??!
the only secure thing to do is bring our emissions down, NOW. 7-10 years' window of opportunity, people....
katy
e-mail: katymuffin@hotmail.com
Homepage: http://www.beahero.bravehost.com (temporary address)