Chances are, you already do quite a few of these already. These ideas certainly aren’t new or ingenious. However, they are simple, easy and attainable. So if you see something new on the list, give it a go. There are always things we can work on.
Your Two New Best Friends…
…are your reusable shopping bag and stainless steel thermos, of course. The thing about shopping trips and coffee runs is that they’re often unplanned, so you can’t realistically say no to plastic bags or paper cups. The problem is that these one time slip-ups really add up for the planet. But its easy to avoid if you always keep these two essentials with you. Never leave home without them!
Go Veggie Once a Week
It’s probably no surprise thatmeat production and processing requires an immense amount of water and land—morethan is required to produce any other form of food. So even if it’s just once a week, eating a vegetarian meal makes a difference. As an added bonus, a plant-based diet has countless health benefits, including lower cholesterol and a reduced chance of heart disease.
Naomi Klein speaking at the Klimaforum09 in Copenhagen.
Tomorrow morning another large and important demonstration will be held in Copenhagen. This time the Climate Justice Action network is organizing a huge non-violent demonstration where the demonstrators are planning to march into the Bella Center, where the climate talks are being held. At the same time concerned NGO representatives and delegates are going to walk out and successfully shut down the talks and establish a people’s assembly. Why? Because the deal we really need is not on the table.
“On the 16th of December, at the start of the high-level “ministerial” phase of the two-week summit, we, the movements for global justice, will take over the conference for one day and transform it into a Peoples Assembly.
Our goal is to disrupt the sessions and open a space inside the UN area to hold the Assembly. The assembly will give a voice to those who are not being heard, it will be an opportunity to change the agenda, to discuss the real solutions, to send a clear message to the world calling for climate justice.”
So much is happening today in and around Italy as the G8 meeting is taking place. That is why we are trying out something new here on Green Blog. We will be reporting about all the climate-related news coming from the G8 camp with the help from Twitter.
Will the G8 leaders agree on a strong climate plan and a roadmap to the Copenhagen climate talks? Or will they fail once again? Stay tuned to find out!
A third runway is proposed to be built at the Heathrow airport in the UK. Once constructed the third runway would make Heathrow to the single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. It’s expected that the airport would emit nearly 27 million tonnes of CO2 every year. A sum that is equivalent to the emissions of 57 of the least polluting countries in the world combined.
Here in this video Emma Thompson, a British actress and Greenpeace activist, is being interviewed about her anger against the third runway. The video is about 3 months old I believe. But I think it clearly show what kind of feelings people have towards the third runway and the hypocrisy from the UK government.
Today it’s Earth Day, a day intended to inspire awareness and gratitude for the environment. And could you find a better way to celebrate the Earth than becoming a climate activist? No, I think not.
“We’re mobilising 3 million people to join our fight for the climate, to force governments to act against runaway climate change. Help us reach our goal! Become a climate activist by signing up for free so we can send you action alerts and, about once a month in most countries, our newsletter.”
After the Kingsnorth Climate Camp in August last year I heard that the police had been in overwhelming numbers and that there had been some “clashes” with the protestors. But I could never imagine how ruthless the actions from the UK police actually were against the peaceful and legal protestors until I saw this video:
Earlier this month Lib Dem MP David Howarth held a press conference in Westminster to present a “highly disturbing and potentially explosive report” about how the police in the UK turning into a police state by “criminalising legitimate protest”.
It documents a concerted campaign by police to deter, smear, intimidate, harass, and criminalise UK citizens who did nothing more than attempt to exercise their right to peaceful protest in the name of an important cause. The following film accompanies the report and fully conveys the extent of the scandal.”
Yesterday it was revealed that on November 28 one activist managed to breach the coal-powered Kingsnorth plant, one of the most heavily guarded power stations in Britain. The activist singlehandedly managed to get in, stop the power station and get out the same way without being noticed or caught by the security on site.
The £12m defences of the most heavily guarded power station in Britain have been breached by a single person who, under the eyes of CCTV cameras, climbed two three-metre (10ft) razor-wired, electrified security fences, walked into the station and crashed a giant 500MW turbine before leaving a calling card reading “no new coal”. He walked out the same way and hopped back over the fence.
As a result the coal-powered Kingsnorth plant was shut down for hours, which apparently reduced the climate change emissions in the UK by 2%.
Action on the Maasvlakte: activists plant 18 flags, one for each nationality at the camp
As part of their global Quit Coal Campaign, Greenpeace activists from 18 different countries have today occupied the construction site of a new E.ON coal fired power plant on the Maasvlakte in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The construction of the plant has halted and the activists say they will stay until the coal plant is cancelled.
“E.ON is ignoring all science around climate change by insisting on plans to construct eight new European coal fired power plants. The plant in Rotterdam is intended to be the first, even though it has not yet been granted the necessary permits. The previous evening the activists put up tents, next to the building site, to bear witness to the unfolding climate disaster. Then at first light they moved onto the site, paralysing the construction of the plant.”
The activists have locked themselves onto strategic points at the construction site and occupied the building cranes.
Peaceful environmental activists who were protecting an old-growth forest in Tasmania, Australia, have been violently attacked by timber workers as they were blocking the road for them.
The timber workers attacked the car that the protestors were using to block the road using a sledgehammer and kicking in its windows. They later dragged out a 22-year-old protestor and kicked him repeatedly.
The brutal attack was caught on tape by one of the protestors:
Image shows activists shoveling down coal from the train. The dirty coal-plant Drax can be seen in the distant. Photo: Climate Camp.
Today activists from Climate Camp stopped a train carrying coal to Britain’s biggest coal-power station. Armed with a banderol with the text “Leave it in the ground” the activists started to shovel down the coal to the ground.
The protestors had food and water with them so they could be “able to remain on board for several days.”
“We are ready to stay here for as long as Gordon Brown and the government keep burning polluting fuel in these power stations,” said one of the protesters before clipping climbing ropes to the train’s wheels and the bridge girders. Although flimsy, the web would risk damage to the train or bridge if any attempt was made to drive off.”
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