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New Old Coal for Notts

A coal mining firm is considering reopening a pit in Nottinghamshire which could be the deepest in the UK and one of the largest in Europe.

According to the BBC, Doncaster-based UK Coal are looking at reopening the Harnworth pit which closed in 2006. The pit is likely to reopen later this year, and could, they claim, create 400 jobs, although production would not actually be restarted for a further three years. Studies are being carried out at the moment, but the company believes there could be as much as 40 million tons of coal available at the pit.

Jeff Wood, vice president of the Union for Democratic Mineworkers (UDM, most famous for scabbing during the Miners' Strike), welcomed the reopening of the pit, coming, as it does, when the Wellbeck colliery in Nottinghamshire is coming to the end of its workable life and facing closure by the end of the year: "The good news is... there's now an opportunity to transfer to Harworth, which could potentially mean another 20 to 25 years of work."

With coal power a central concern of various climate change action networks, the reopening of Harnworth may not pass entirely unopposed. All the coal produced by UK Coal goes to customers in this country. The biggest of these are Drax Power Station in Selby, North Yorkshire, which in 2006 was the target of the first Climate Camp, as well as power firms EDF and E.ON. The latter has already been visited by local climate campaigners on more than one occasion. Last year, activists came close to shutting down the the E.ON-run Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station and on April 1 this year, the company's offices on Mount Street, Nottingham were blockaded as part of Fossil Fools Day.

Links: Camp for Climate Action | Climate IMC | The Coal Hole | Eastside Climate Action | Network for Climate Action

Live Earth or let die

Even the most insulated of you cannot have failed to notice that Live Earth took place last Saturday, offering rock stars an opportunity to flaunt their supposed environmental credentials in a spare fifteen minutes, before jumping on their private jet to swan off to a gig elsewhere. (Unfortunately, this is hardly an exaggeration.) The corporate sponsorship is similarly unconvincing. Even Chevrolet, who make SUVs which wouldn't look out of place on a battlefield, have their fingers in the pie.

Excuse me if I sound cynical, but my conversion to the Church of Al Gore is late in coming.

I'm far more interested in the burgeoning direct action movement which was kicked off by last year's Camp for Climate Action near the Drax power station in Yorkshire. At the moment this movement is relatively small and it is characterised by a distinct lack of celebrity involvement. Nevertheless, a series of high profile actions at power stations and airports have had a direct impact on carbon dioxide emissions and the leading emitters, even inspiring the emergence of a similar movement in the States. If they don't change in response to the arguments, perhaps a threat to their profit margins will encourage them.

That is not to say that we can rely on direct action alone. A recent Ipsos Mori poll found that 56% of those surveyed believed that there was still a debate amongst scientists about the reality of anthropogenic climate change, with a further 13% apparently unsure either way. The reality of course, is that the scientific consensus is overwhelming. Overturning the work of the well-funded denial lobby and the mainstream media's "impartiality" (which has all too often meant giving the deniers undeserved legitimacy) will not be easy, but it is vital if we are serious about halting climate change.

To be sure, this was one of the stated intentions of Live Earth, but did it really have any success in this regard. What little I saw of the TV coverage in the UK was less than insightful, with presenters Jonathan Ross and Graham Norton interspersing the various bands with assorted banalities. David Attenborough was, presumably, busy.

It's almost a cliche, of course, to note that China alone, with its booming economy and massive population could single-handedly cancel out any improvements made by the rest of the world and these concerns have only been increased with the announcement, last month, that the People's Republic has overtaken the US as the world's leading emitter of CO2. This is a real problem and a difficult one, but shouldn't be allowed as an excuse for inaction in the west.

It is noteworthy that, in a fashion, China too is witnessing the emergence of an environmental direct action movement. Unlike its British counterpart, however, the Chinese movement seems to be a response primarily to local concerns. The head of the country's environmental agency admitted last week that public anger at pollution had fueled a wave of petitions, demonstrations and riots across the country. Whether these expressions of anger, which seem to be largely autonomous and spontaneous, can impact on policy, or if they are simply repressed out of existence by the Chinese state remains to be seen. Nevertheless, I wonder if there isn't some scope for solidarity efforts on the part of British activists. The future of the world might just depend on it.

Take Back the Power

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Earlier today (April 10), activists from Nottingham entered Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station and chained themselves to equipment, preventing it from operating, while supporters maintained a presence outside. The power station is coal-fired and generates huge amounts of carbon dioxide, contributing to global warming. The action is part of Spring into Action, "a week of workshops, events, music and action on climate change happening at different venues across Nottingham."

One of those involved in the action explained in a press release, "The threat of climate change is so huge and the government so complacent that the people themselves are now acting in proportionate response to this and targeting the root causes of climate change. It's not enough to reduce emissions individually – we need to act together to challenge fossil fuel consumption."

Ratcliffe was targeted because coal-fired power stations (of which it is one of the largest) are the biggest producers of CO2 per unit of electricity generated. It is also symbolically significant because the power station is visible from much of Nottingham and familiar to anybody who knows the city. The story certainly seems to have piqued the interest of local media receiving coverage on the The Evening Post and BBC Nottingham sites and was the top story on BBC local radio during their midday bulletin.

The police inevitably turned up and reports suggest that eleven people were arrested. Inspector Glenn Harper, of Notts Police, told The Evening Post, "The site is potentially dangerous to anyone who is unfamiliar with its layout and there are busy roads close by." Protesters shouldn't be misled into believing that the police were there to ensure business carried on as usual with minimal disruption, rather, "Our main priority is to maintain the health and safety of all those involved; the protesters, staff at the power station and the police officers who attend."

In case there's any confusion and to preempt any questions in the comments, I haven't been involved in any of this, having been out of town for a few days. The foregoing is derived from media reports, primarily coverage on Notts Indymedia. For the timebeing that's all I know.