Activistas de Greenpeace Suben la Estela de Luz Como Protesta

Cross Posted From World War 4 Report

Four activists from the Mexican branch of the international environmental organization Greenpeace climbed the Estela de Luz monument in downtown Mexico City on May 16 to protest efforts by multinational companies to increase the commercial use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the country’s corn crops. The protesters unfurled a 70-meter banner reading “No GMO” and showing an ear of corn with a time bomb. Near the monument Greenpeace spokesperson Aleira Lara told reporters that transgenic corn is a time bomb for the Mexican countryside, since it endangers the 59 native strains of corn. The activists continued the protest for four hours and then left in a van; the Mexico City police made no effort to arrest them.

Fifth Arrest On Day 3 of Anti-Fracking Sit-In in Illinois Governor’s Office

Cross Posted from Root Force

Springfield, IL–For the third day in a row, concerned Illinoisans that have requested a meeting with Governor Quinn and that he reconsider his support of allowing hydraulic fracturing in Illinois, have sat-in in front of Governor Quinn’s office. Today 14 people joined the sit-in and the three people refused to leave as the capitol was closing were arrested. This brings the numbers of arrests for the week up to five.

Citizens sitting-in at Quinn’s office believe that that the voices of people that will be most affected by hydraulic fracturing have been ignored in the process of figuring out how to deal with this controversial practice which has left a wake of health and environmental problems in other states.

Earlier this year, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Illinois Environmental Council and Faith in Place, industry groups and lawmakers were convened by Governor Quinn and worked with Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office to craft a bill to place regulations on hydraulic fracturing in the state of Illinois. The bill, being touted by some of the environmental groups that helped craft it as, “the best in the nation” does not require that companies disclose proprietary chemicals that could be harmful to residents and workers. Local, grassroots environmental groups support a moratorium and were shut out of the regulatory bill discussions.

“It’s sad and enraging that they have trampled democracy by cutting a backroom deal to rush through a bill to regulate fracking. Now that it’s the 11th hour and the people who have not been heard and are politely requesting a meeting are being arrested by the people who should be representing our best interests.” said Jenn Carrillo of Bloomington-Normal, who was at the capitol today.

The sit-in started Tuesday after an executive committee hearing voted to unanimously support the regulatory bill.

Sarnia Pro-Tar Sands Conference Disrupted

by Amanda Lickers (Onondowaga Haudenosaunee) / Toronto Media Co-Op

The impacts of industrial development in the area now known as Chemical Valley are deep. The relationship between the 63 petrochemical industries and the occupied lands they are on is not a coincidence. The devastating affects corporations like Imperial Oil, Enbridge and Polysar have had on the environment, through contamination and corporate irresponsibility disproportionately impact bordering, and downstream Indigenous communities such as Aamjiwnaang and Walpole First Nations. The SunCor Energy refinery alone is responsible for processing 85,000 barrels per-day of gasoline, kerosene, jet and diesel fuels.

In the face of already environmentally devastating conditions in a political context of apartheid against Indigenous peoples, those already impacted by Chemical Valley now seek to say No to further industrial expansion – the proposed Line 9 reversal which will bring Tar Sands crude project much further East. In the spirit of standing ground and speaking out, local First Nations and Sarnia-settler community members as well as supporters from other regions, gathered together at Sarnia’s City Hall at 11am on Tuesday May 21st, 2013. Mike Plain, Anishinabe, Elder, and Aamjiwnaang community member opened the day’s events with an acknowledgement to all of Creation, reminding us that we are not separate from the natural world. Corrine Tooshkenig, Anishinabe-kwe, Elder, and member of Walpole First Nation, spoke to the importance of involving youth in the protection of Mother Earth and resistance to injustices. She led a water acknowledgement, reminding us of our connection to and the importance of water in our lives. Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants were invited to offer tobacco to the water with a spirit of gratitude and healing. She spoke of our relationship with our water, how water takes care of us, and how we have a responsibility to speak for the water now. Next Sam Elijah, Anishinabe-kwe, mother and member of Kettle & Stony Point First Nation spoke to the importance of inter-generational responsibility. Sam expressed her concerns about the ongoing and devastating impacts of the contamination and toxification of the land-base for both our current and future generations.

Swedish Riots Rage For Fourth Night

A car burns in the Stockholm suburb of Kista: Sweden’s capital has been hit by some of its worst riots in years. Photograph: Scanpix Sweden/Reuters

Cross Posted from The Guardian

Hundreds of youths burnt down a restaurant, set fire to more than 30 cars and attacked police during a fourth night of rioting in the suburbs of Stockholm, shocking a country that dodged the worst of the financial crisis but failed to solve youth unemployment and resentment among asylum seekers.

Violence spread across the Swedish capital on Wednesday, as large numbers of young people rampaged through the suburbs, throwing stones, breaking windows and destroying cars. Police in the southern city of Malmo said two cars had been set ablaze.

Media reports said a police station was set on fire in Stockholm’s southern suburb of Rågsved, where several people were also detained. No one was hurt.

Rioters defied a call for calm from the country’s prime minister, going on the rampage after nightfall damaging stores, schools, a police station and an arts and crafts centre in the four days of violence.

DR Congo Waits On Funding For World’s Largest Hydropower Project

The existing Inga I dam on the Congo River. Photograph: Reuters

Cross Posted from The Guardian

The world’s largest set of dams has moved closer to construction, with the World Bank and other financial institutions expected to offer finance and South Africa agreeing to buy half of the power generated.

In the past 60 years French, Belgian, Chinese, Brazilian and African engineers have all hoped to dam the river.

But decades of civil war, corruption, and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) reputation as a failed state have limited the hydropower developments at the country’s Inga Falls to two relatively small dams, built in 1972 and 1982. These, known as Inga 1 and 2, have a theoretical capacity of 1,400 megawatts but produce about half that.

A new $20bn (£13.2bn) development to generate a further 4,800MW was announced over the weekend in Paris, with work planned to start in October 2015. According to the DRC government, working with European and other consultants, five further stages at Inga Falls could eventually have a capacity of 40,000MW – equivalent to more than 20 large nuclear power stations.

World’s Tallest Dam Approved By Chinese Environmental Officials

The upper Dadu River, a tributary of the Yangtze River. Photo by: rduta/Creative Commons 2.0

Cross Posted from The Guardian

Chinese environmental authorities have approved construction plans for what could become the world’s tallest dam, while acknowledging that the project would affect endangered plants and rare fish species.

The 314 metre-high dam (1,030ft) will serve the Shuangjiangkou hydropower project along the Dadu river in south-western Sichuan province, according to China‘s state news agency, Xinhua. A subsidiary of Guodian Group, one of China’s five major state-owned power companies, will complete the project over a decade at an estimated cost of £2.9bn.

The dam will be far taller than the 185 metre-high Three Gorges dam along the Yangtze river – the world’s most powerful hydroelectric project – and slightly edge out the current record holder, the 300 metre-high Nurek dam in Tajikistan. The world’s second-tallest dam, the 292 metre-high Xiaowan dam on the Lancang (Mekong) river, is also in China.

China’s environment ministry acknowledged that the dam would have an impact on the area’s highly biodiverse flora and fauna.

U.S. Herakles Farms Halts Cameroon Palm Oil Development

Oil palm nursery in a Herakles Farm’s concession area. Last year Herakles Farms said it had permission to set up three nurseries covering 100 hectares even before producing a Social and Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA). Photo: © Greenpeace/Alex Yallop.

Cross Posted from Reuters

May 22 – A company owned by New York venture capital firm Herakles Capital has suspended work on a giant palm oil plantation in Cameroon after protests by environmental groups and villagers, highlighting opposition to land acquisitions in Africa.

Herakles Farms, which also has operations in Ghana, said it halted development of its proposed 60,000 hectare plantation – an area 10 times the size of Manhattan – and laid off 690 workers while the Cameroonian government reviews the 2009 deal.  The move came weeks after an order from the Forestry Ministry and a day after a joint report from Greenpeace and the Oakland Institute alleged that Herakles failed to obtain the proper permits prior to clearing rainforest for palm nurseries and was selling timber that was supposed to go the Cameroonian government.

The company said in a statement the government had ordered it to cease preparing land near its Talangaye palm oil nursery pending an assessment of the public usefulness of the project to the region.

Sovereign Nations Walk Out of Meeting With U.S. State Department Unanimously Rejecting Keystone XL Pipeline

Cross Posted from Huffington Post

The State Department, still with “egg on its face” from its statement that Keystone XL would have little impact on climate change, sunk a little lower today as the most respected elders, and chiefs of 10 sovereign nations turned their backs on State Department representatives and walked out during a meeting. The meeting, which was a failed attempt at a “nation to nation” tribal consultation concerning the Northen leg of the Keystone XL Pipeline neglected to address any legitimate concerns being raised by First Nations Leaders (or leading scientific experts for that matter).

Tribal nations added probably the most critical danger of the pipeline which is to the water. Their statement is below:

June 11th 2013 Call Out

The third anniversary of the international day of solidarity with Marie Mason, Eric McDavid, and other longterm anarchist prisoners is quickly approaching!

**June 11th 2013 Callout Statement **

June 11th is the international day of solidarity with Eric McDavid, Marie
Mason, and other longterm anarchist prisoners. If you are planning on
doing an event for the day, please email us at june11[at]riseup[dot]net. You can find
resources, information about events from previous years, and word on
upcoming events at june11.org. Read on to see our thoughts on what it
means to do longterm solidarity, on how Eric and
Marie inspire us, and to learn how June 11th began.

The state stole Eric McDavid and Marie Mason from us in 2006 and 2008 respectively. In the years since their arrests, repression has come to feel less like a specific event and more like an inescapable, ongoing nightmare. Sentenced to 22 years and 20 years, respectively, Marie and Eric remain in cages to this day, and know this nightmare more intimately than most.

TransCanada Reps Kicked Out of Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation

Cross Posted From Tar Sands Blockade

“You’re not welcome here… We’ve said no from day one.”

And with these firm words the TransCanada representatives were kicked out of Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation last week. The seemingly aloof TransCanada officials showed up at the Tribal Office in Eagle Butte, South Dakota in an attempt to win the tribe over to the pipeline, but were met with a swift, firm response. Robin LeBeau, Cheyenne River Sioux Councilwoman for District 5, saw them in the parking lot and promptly told them off.

The encounter was caught on video: