"A train loaded with radioactive waste ended its controversial journey through Germany on Monday. Its path had been blocked by up to 50,000 protesters over the weekend, sparking violent clashes between police and anti-nuclear activists."

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to, despite very strong public opposition, extend the lifespan of Germany’s 17 nuclear reactors has helped highlight the issue of these nuclear waste trains. See my post from last year regarding this matter: Atomkraft? Nein danke! 50.000 people protest against nuclear energy in Germany. The anti-nuclear organizations in Germany have as a result of this seen the largest mobilization of protesters in recent years this past weekend. And the protests are expected to continue with severe long-term political consequences for Merkel and her political pro-nuclear friends in the coming elections. Apparently the current right-wing coalition in Germany never imagined that there would be this much and strong opposition against nuclear energy in Germany. An energy source that is expensive, dangerous, not cost-effective and will worsen climate change.

Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, held a speech (see video) in front of around 50 000 protesters in Dannenberg, Germany, where he lashed out against the CASTOR nuclear waste transports which he called "an example of the nuclear madness" which must be stopped. Naidoo called on Merkel and Germany to end their investments in an "outdated" and "obsolete" energy source and instead focus on a "real energy revolution", a successful renewable energy sector which currently employs 380 000 people in Germany:

" The CASTOR nuclear waste transport is an example of the nuclear madness that must end. It is a train convoy carrying eleven 100-tonne containers of radioactive waste that is reprocessed in France and returns to Germany each year for storage. Measurements of these eleven containers done by ANDRA (National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management) show that the radioactivity in each container is higher than what was released at Chernobyl in 1986 – this makes the CASTOR transport effectively a Chernobyl on wheels.

The final destination for this dangerous convoy is Gorleben, Germany – where it is to be placed in a storage facility that is completely geologically unsuitable. Of course, there is no suitable storage site for nuclear waste – the nuclear industry has no permanent solution for the problem of radioactive waste."

Video of the “nuclear train clashes” in Germany:

From 20 to 40 young people in white masks attacked the camp of the defenders of the Khimki forest park [RUS], Igor Podgorny [RUS] and Novaya Gazeta [RUS] reported. The police intervention didn’t help – instead several environmentalists and journalists were detained.

Sounds nasty. By now a couple of main stream international media have picked up the story. Like AP: Police detain Moscow forest activists

Russian police on Friday detained two journalists and 15 protesters at a suburban Moscow forest where they have been living to try to protect the woods from destruction. [...] The forest in Khimki has been the focus of controversy for years over plans to chop down much of it for highway construction. Khimki lies on the increasingly jammed route from Moscow to Sheremetyevo International Airport and St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city. A local newspaper editor who reported extensively on the issue was severely beaten in 2008 and left wheelchair-bound and brain-damaged. [...] The activists called the police at the break of dawn on Friday when a group of some 100 young men who had covered their faces blocked the campsite, thus allowing the [tree chopping in an alledgedly illegal area] work to resume, Moscow Regional police said in a statement.

An associated protest was similarly cracked down upon reports The Moscow Times: 5 Detained in Bid to Give Khimki Timber to Putin

“The police swooped down on us and detained us, acting in a very rude and harsh fashion and turning a peaceful event into a brawl,” [head of the Left Front group, Sergei] Udaltsov said.

Also read: Environmental activists violently attacked by timber workers and Watch: Greenpeace activist violently attacked by bluefin tuna fishermen

“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.”

During her days in Copenhagen Naomi Klein has encouraged people to take part in this demonstration. Yesterday she spoke about tomorrow’s action at an event in Christiania: see video one and video two. In an interview with Katherine Goldstein, from the Huffington Post, Klein said that “its a possibility that there will be mass arrests” during the protest:

“I’m not concerned about people’s safety, but I do think its a possibility that there will be mass arrests. I think its a powerful message that people care enough to get arrested.”

And the organizers of the protest are expecting confrontation with the Danish police. In an interview with the Guardian Kevin Smith, an organiser for activist group Climate Camp, said:

“The Danish government knows just how embarrassing it will be when hundreds of delegates walk out tomorrow to join us in the protest tomorrow against the climate talks, and it is trampling over all manner of civil liberties to try and prevent that from happening.”

Earlier today Tadzio Mueller, a spokesman for Climate Justice Action, was arrested by plainclothes police as he left the Bella centre.

“It’s unbelievable that in a supposed democracy, undercover police are silencing spokespeople that are criticising the climate talks”, Smith said. “How far are the Danish authorities prepared to go to stop tomorrow’s protest from going ahead?”

Watch Naomi Klein talk about the Reclaim Power! demonstration tomorrow in this video from Grist:

“In Berlin an estimated 50,000 people have joined a demonstration against nuclear power in the run-up to the German general elections.

The rally was headed by a convoy of 350 tractors, which drove past the office of Chancellor Angela Merkel,” Radio Netherlands Worldwide reports.

Back in 2001 the former Social Democratic chancellor, backed up by the Greens, pushed through a new legislation in 2001 that would phase out nuclear energy from Germany within two decades. But the Social Democratic and Green government lost the election in 2005 to a right-wing coalition consisting of the current Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats and the liberal Free Democrats.

Angela Merkel, who successfully blocked a strong climate deal for the European Union last year, now wants to scrap the nuclear phase-out legislation that the SPD pushed through in 2001. This is similar to what is happening in Sweden after a coalition of right-wing parties won the recent election there. According to Merkel, Germany “cannot phase out nuclear energy as quickly as some imagine.”

“But in the long term, that’s to say in the second half of the century, we will experience a large amount of renewable energy sources. We are convinced that we will be able to stop using nuclear energy at some point”, Merkel said.

The Social Democratic chancellor candidate, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is accusing Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats and the liberal Free Democrats “of leading the country into an energy policy dead-end and endangering domestic security.”

On the same day as the anti-nuclear protest in Germany were taking place Greenpeace released a survey which found that 59% of Germans are against Merkel’s proposal to extend the deadline for the country’s already aging nuclear reactors.

“Our responsibility is to phase out power plants that endanger the health and livelihoods of future generations, said Greenpeace Finland’s nuclear campaigner, Lauri Myllyvirta at a speech the Brandenburg Gate.

“Each year nuclear power plants are kept running means more nuclear waste, more uranium mining, higher risk of accidents. There is no excuse: Climate change can be best tackled without nuclear plants. The nuclear phase-out in Germany is one of the reasons for the success of wind and solar energy all over the world. A relapse into nuclear power in Germany would send a very bad signal to other countries.”

Nils Diedrich, a political scientist at Berlin’s Free University, says that if Merkel and her right wing coalition manage to push through this pro-nuclear legislation “we’ll see a real battle”. He warns that “then there will be massive demonstrations.”

Although Germany is one of the leading countries in renewable wind energy it still has a dirty and toxic energy portfolio. 42% of the country’s energy comes from coal and 23% from nuclear energy. Only about 15% of the energy comes from clean renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

Images from the Gruene.de

We will post the latest news on our Twitter channel. We will also display the Twitter updates on our front page as well as updating this blog post.

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!

UPDATED WITH IMAGES AND VIDEOS FROM DAY 2!

Latest updates displayed first:

Day Two

Watch: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon criticises G8 climate efforts http://su.pr/6VoTAd

Conclusion: The internet is mainly negative on the subject of g8, according to Google. http://su.pr/1iHfFv

UN S-G : ‘Much more needs to be done if governments are to seal the deal on a new climate agreement’ http://su.pr/9VVJpz

Sign our petition to hold @BarackObama and other #G8 leaders accountable on #climatechange http://bit.ly/g9Ybh

VIDEO: climate campaigner Ben Stewart talks about why he’s living on a coal smokestack during the #G8 http://su.pr/2gSvz5

Greenpeace: Five coal plants occupied by climate activists during G8 Summit http://su.pr/2RYC36

“Progress on #climatechange [at the #G8] was not enough.” UN Sec General Ban Ki-moon

Russia says 80% emissions reduction target by 2050 “unacceptable” http://su.pr/2L2L25

Take 2 painting STUPID on chimney at Brindisi, Italy’s most greenhouse-polluting coal plant. http://twitpic.com/9s4f5

G8 leaders failing to stop climate change http://bit.ly/zjJqL

G8: World leaders fail to agree specific target for climate cuts http://su.pr/2y1Aiz

G8: World leaders fail to agree specific target for climate cuts http://bit.ly/4hTvfy

RT @Greenpeace 35 hours occupying Brindisi. The sly has cleared over the mediterranean sea. We can see Albania from here!

“Only the G8 can agree on absolutely nothing, ignore the most pressing subjects and then claim a major breakthrough” #G8 RT @V_R_

Greenpeace are occupying FIVE coal plants now during the #G8! http://su.pr/2ethbZ

Blogs from activists on coal plants are posted here http://bit.ly/AEoq

Take Action! Ask world leaders to personally attend climate conference: http://su.pr/1O0eWk

This morning 5 climbers scaled Italy’s newest coal power plant near Rome to paint “G8 STOP THIS”

30 hrs @ Brindisi pwr plant. Just chkd out massive greenhse pollution exhausts. http://twitpic.com/9rn0y #G8 #climateaction RT @Greenpeace

Day One

BBC: G8 set new global warming targets http://su.pr/1N41Wq

Mount Rushmore banner: “America honors leaders. Not politicians. Stop Global warming.” http://su.pr/4M5qQk

The #G8 summit negotiations to halve global carbon emissions by 2050 have failed! Instead agree on a max 2C degree limit for climate change.

More TreeHugger: Big Climate Change Fail: Major Nations Fail to Agree to 50% Emission Cuts by 2050 http://su.pr/AGRu33

TreeHugger reports: Greenpeace Drapes Poster Over Mount Rushmore to Call for Climate Action http://su.pr/1BIj59

100 Activists Climb Coal Chimneys To Demand G-8 Leaders Get Tough: http://su.pr/9akeBI

Pictures from the G8 Coal Plant Action in Italy today: http://su.pr/6aFTjt

Watch: G8 Coal Plant Action http://su.pr/1kLokl #G8

You-Turn the Earth, a global campaign to let leaders know that we want to stop runaway climate change http://su.pr/3ktrSx

GP have actions going on in Italy with over 100 activists occupying coal power plants + a banner hanging on Mt. #Rushmore #climateaction #G8

Greenpeace is hanging a banner with a message to Obama on Mt Rushmore right now! http://su.pr/2rzliz

The Guardian: Greenpeace activists hijack Italian power stations http://su.pr/1GYWQ4

“a new coal plant at kingsnorth would emit more than the one we’re occupying near venice” http://su.pr/3OMa5o RT @greenpeaceuk

Want to be part of a global community ready to take action to demand action? Become a climate activist: http://su.pr/1g2ld1

#Obama staff say #climate change not caused by fossil fuels. GP leaks doc to press http://su.pr/1NGool Obama then changed #G8 RT @Greenpeace

Want 2 know how the #G8 countries score on #climate? see how #WWF scores them http://su.pr/1DBmjt

“Its the same gridlock we had last year when Bush was president.” http://su.pr/2wZSjP

G8 fails to get emerging powers to agree on climate change goals http://su.pr/2EVPMI

Half of emissions in the atmosphere are from coal. And every g8 country is planning new coal plants RT @greenpeaceuk

G8 emissions pledge is ‘scientifically illiterate’: http://su.pr/30qNfW

Oh my! G8 strip mob from Avaaz: http://su.pr/31wNOM

Watch: G8 Cooking Up the Planet and Spicing it with CO2 http://su.pr/1BLyO4

Greenpeace urges the G8 to ‘heal the world’ http://su.pr/A8rCHa

Greenpeace currently occupying power stations in Italy for L’Aquila summit http://su.pr/2Z1QUf

Greenpeace goes to the G8 http://su.pr/25r6zJ

Take Action! Ask world leaders to personally attend climate conference: http://su.pr/1O0eWk

Major nations have failed to agree to set a goal halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 http://su.pr/1NeVRY

Watch and read about G8 #climateaction as it happens in Italy today http://su.pr/2ethbZ

John Hocevar, from Greenpeace’s flagship the Rainbow Warrior, writes about the assault on the Greenpeace staff blog:

“We are in Valletta Harbor in Malta. We learned that there were two vessels here owned by Fuentes, the tuna tycoon who controls over half the bluefin catch in the Mediterranean. We decided to board the vessel to inspect the cargo and documentation. Three women, Emma, Rita, and Liz, were the first to volunteer.

After the vessels refused our polite request to allow us access, Emma stepped on board to press the point. She was immediately attacked – they punched her, pulled her hair, picked her up and threw her overboard. One person hurled a large wooden pallet which whistled by our heads, and another tossed a full bucket of paint into one of our boats. If either of those had hit their intended targets, someone could have been seriously injured, but fortunately no damage was done.”

This all reminds me about the video which shows peaceful environmental activists who were protecting an old-growth forest in Tasmania, Australia, being violently attacked by timber workers.

If the third runway in the UK is the proof of the country’s climate hypocrisy then Sweden’s would be the huge new highway projects in Stockholm and Gothenburg.

In Gothenburg, the second-largest city in Sweden, climate activists from Klimax and the Friends of the Earth “decorated” cranes with banners, planted trees and even had a breakfast on the construction site to highlight and protest against the climate highway madness being built in Sweden.

“It’s bad enough that large amounts of taxpayers’ money is being wasted on projects that won’t work, but these road projects will even lead to an increase of carbon dioxide emissions. It’s ironically that that we activists’ risks getting arrested while the real criminals, who on a consciously and cynically way make decisions that will lock us into a continued increase of carbon dioxide emissions will go free. We just can’t sit quiet while climate criminal politicians threaten future generations living condition; it’s every citizen’s obligation to put pressure on the decision makers so they make climate friendly choices”, said Lovisa Börjeson from Klimax in Gothenburg.

Watch:

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:

Via Ecowar

Last week, during the Clinton Global Initiative, Al Gore encouraged young people to use civil disobedience to stop the construction of CO2 emitting coal plants.

“If you’re a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration.”

Countries around the world are investing money into new coal plants while ignoring their obvious threat to our climate and environment. For example, about 28 coal plants are under construction while 20 other projects “have permits or are near the start of construction” in USA alone. None of these coal plants have any carbon capture or sequestration. In fact there is not a single commercial-scale project that does this anywhere in the world. And probably there will never be any at all.

Al Gore most likely found it safe to urge for civil disobedience after the “landmark global warming trial” in UK two weeks ago. Either way, having a politician like Al Gore encouraging people to take direct non-violent action against CO2 emitting coal plants really show us how deep into trouble we are when it comes to climate change.

But then I have to ask myself. Why just young people Al Gore? And wouldn’t it send a powerful message around the world if you yourself took part in these actions?

On July 5, 2008 about 5,000 citizens of Melbourne gathered in the City Square to protest man-made Climate Change and then marched through the City Centre to make a HUMAN SIGN saying “CLIMATE EMERGENCY!” in the nearby Alexandra Gardens. An aeroplane was hired to take photos for the media – for an aerial photo of the “CLIMATE EMERGENCY!” Human Sign and other photos of this great event see: Climate emergency rally Melbourne July 5 2008 over at GreenLivingPedia.org.

The Climate Emergency Rally involved more than 50 community groups concerned about lack of Australian State and Federal Government action on climate change and variously linked to an Australian Climate Emergency Network.

Reports, photos and video of the “CLIMATE EMERGENCY!” Human Sign and Rally were transmitted around Australia by the various TV and newspaper networks.

I was there with members of my own local Yarra Valley Climate Action Group (our beautiful Yarra River Valley is the heart of the 15,000 square kilometre City of Melbourne region in Victoria). For pictures of the Banner of the Yarra Valley Climate Action Group see: Climate emergency rally Melbourne July 5 2008 over at GreenLivingPedia.org.

Like the other Climate Emergency Network groups, the Yarra Valley Climate Action Group (YVCAG) seeks to INFORM others in various ways about the Climate Emergency and Sustainability Emergency and has placed a series of well-referenced and succinct “10-point Climate Emergency Fact Sheets” on its website. SOME of the more serious of these key Climate Emergency Facts are summarized briefly below for these various Facts Sheets by way of background to this Climate Emergency Rally report.

MAN-MADE, CO2-DRIVEN GLOBAL WARMING SCIENCE INFORMATION. Top US climate scientist Dr James Hansen (Head, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, GISS, New York) says that we have gone too far: “The evidence indicates we’ve aimed too high – that the safe upper limit for atmospheric CO2 is no more than 350 ppm“, and wants a “negative CO2 emissions” policy of cessation of CO2 pollution and reducing atmospheric CO2 pollution (e.g. by use of renewable and geothermal energy, re-afforestation, returning carbon as biochar to soils).

GLOBAL WARMING DANGERS AND SOLUTIONS FOR OLDER PEOPLE. Heat waves will differentially kill elderly people. In 2003 there was a heatwave in Europe that killed 35,000-50,000 in Europe and nearly 15,000 in France. Older people were differentially affected, the problems being that older people are frailer, more prone to heat stress and have diminished brain signalling of dehydration stress. Retirement benefits require GDP growth, carbon-based growth is no longer possible but cheap, non-carbon energy alternatives are already developed. For people who are self-funded retirees on superannuation schemes or government pensions it is necessary for GDP growth to compensate for outlays and inflation.

“COAL IS KING” AUSTRALIA CO2 POLLUTION FACT SHEET. Australia is the world’s #1 Developed Nation CO2 polluter. Consulting the US Energy Information Administration database we obtain the following information on “annual per capita fossil fuel-derived carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution” in “tonnes (t) per person per year” for Australia and other major polluters (2004 data): 19.2 (for Australia; 40 if you include Australia’s coal exports), 19.7 (the US), 18.4 (Canada), 9.9 (Japan), 4.2 (the World), 3.6 (China), 1.0 ( India) and 0.25 (for Bangladesh).

POLLUTION DEATHS FROM FOSSIL FUEL-BASED POWER PLANTS. “Annual coal-based electricity deaths” [and "total annual fossil fuel-based electricity deaths"] are 170,000 [283,000] (the World), 11,000 [13,000] (India), 47,000 [47,500] (China), 49,000 [72,000] (the US), 3,400 [6,900] (the UK), 4,900 [5,400] (Australia) and 2,700 [3,800](Canada) as compared to 110 [360] (heavily renewable-based New Zealand).

Individuals and organizations linked to the Australian Climate Emergency Network (CEN) have a common set of values and objectives, specifically a goal of a safe climate future for all people, all species, and all generations that can be achieved by the Global Community concurrently halting man-made greenhouse gas emissions, removal of excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and actively cooling the Earth. The core values of the Climate Emergency Network (CEN) are as follows: “We have no right to bargain away the lives of others. Our goal is a safe climate future for all people, all species, and all generations”. The Australian CEN asserts that “The Global Community must concurrently halt man-made greenhouse gas emissions, remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and actively cool the Earth” and has listed the following as its key Objectives:

1. All levels of all governments across the globe must recognise and work together to fulfil their responsibility to secure a safe climate; it is their moral and legal duty-of-care to their citizens.

2. Underpinned by legislation, governments must lead a large scale transformation of the economy to a post-carbon society.

3. Given the extreme urgency and enormous scale of transformation required, governments must recognise and declare a Climate and Sustainability State of Emergency, whilst respecting basic human rights and freedoms.

4. The community must be engaged in recognising and supporting the Climate Emergency. Therefore, we will work to engage citizens in taking responsibility for recognising and responding to the emergency.

Unfortunately “Coal is King” in climate criminal Australia, the World’s #1 coal exporter and the Developed World’s #1 annual per capita CO2 polluter. The irresponsible and myopic State and Federal Governments of Murdochracy Australia – concerned more about VOTES than about the welfare of the Planet – are simply refusing to act in a timely fashion, while paying spin-based lip-service to the seriousness of man-made Climate Change.

The Melbourne Climate Emergency Rally came at the end of a disastrous fortnight in which 2 (TWO) new, huge fossil fuel-based power plants were announced for the State of Victoria (of which Melbourne is the capital); the State Government of Victoria stated it intended to bill responsible community groups for the legal costs associated with their ethical opposition to the enormously CO2-polluting Victorian desalination plant project; and the release of economist Professor Ross Garnaut’s Draft Report on Climate Change warning that Australia risked losing natural wonders like the Great Barrier Reef and Kakadu if it didn’t act now to combat global warning – but which, in addition to many other major flaws, paradoxically supported continued but “cleaner” coal burning-based electricity in Australia.

Below are some quotations from the speakers at the Climate Emergency Rally in the heart of Melbourne.

Andrea Bolch (president of the organization “Your Water Your Say”):

“The proposed water factory [one of the world's biggest desalination plants] will emit up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year; a new power station is being built to power it. It can never be carbon neutral. There are alternatives to securing our water future with a fraction the emissions and a fraction the cost. Three times the capacity of the proposed factory falls on our city and runs into our bays every year. Collect that, and recycle our 2 billion litres of sewerage effluent; that is responsible, sustainable, climate safe water policy.”

Emeretta Cross (a Tuvaluan mother who left the Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu that is slowly being submerged through man-made global warming and consequent sea level rise):

“With the rising sea levels we’ve got salt water seeping through and it’s actually killing off the natural agriculture. We need to import produce so then it becomes a problem with pollution. It also becomes a health crisis for our people, let alone the possibilities of migrating around the world. [it was a] mother’s responsibility to teach the children about what they stand to lose. It is today that we have to do something for our families and our friends both here and abroad.”

Dr Bob Brown (Senator, Leader of the Australian Greens Party and great advocate for the environment and human rights):

“We are one of the most vulnerable nations in the world. Climate change is a disaster which is on our doorstep. We, in this wealthy lucky nation, must take a lead for the rest of the world to follow. By 2050 we need a reduction in greenhouse gases by 90 per cent if not a totally carbon-neutral economy.”

David Spratt (author, together with Philip Sutton, author of Climate Code Red: The case for emergency action (Scribe, Melbourne, 2008), an extremely important book endorsed by NASA’s Dr James Hansen as “a compelling case … we face a climate emergency”):

“Today, we actually have the economic and technical capacity to make this change if we have the so-called political will. The idea of emergency action with as many resources as is necessary is no longer a radical idea, it’s simply a necessary idea.”

Hopefully the Melbourne “CLIMATE EMERGENCY!” Human Sign will inspire other Climate Action Groups around the world to do likewise. The time for ACTION is NOW.