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BRITISH AIRPORTS GO BESERK OVER PLANNED CLIMATE PROTEST
GREENPEACE, UK - The aviation industry is taking five million people -
including a lot of their own staff - to court. If you're a member or
supporter of a group that's concerned about climate change, the chances
are you're a defendant too. The industry seems to want to ban five
million of us from Heathrow and all routes to the airport, including the
Piccadilly line, parts of the rail network, and sections of the M25 and
M4.
In three weeks' time, the Camp for Climate Action is due to gather near
Heathrow to peacefully protest against Heathrow's vast contribution to
climate change (the airport's planes emit more greenhouse gases than
many individual countries) and its planned third runway expansion.
The owner of Heathrow, the British Airports Authority, seems to be,
frankly, terrified.
It's seeking an injunction, which names as defendants "all persons
acting as members, participants or supporters" of anti-aviation group
Plane Stupid, anti-noise group HACAN and AirportWatch. The injunction is
to stop people from setting foot on Heathrow and "the arterial
infrastructure serving" it.
So far, so good. Just another example of the aviation industry's
corporate bullying, albeit a draconian one.
But the interesting bit is that AirportWatch, named on the injunction,
is just an umbrella organization. Its member organizations include the
National Trust, the RSPB, the Woodland Trust, the Campaign for the
Protection of Rural England, Transport 2000, Friends of the Earth and
Greenpeace, among many others.
The combined supporter base of these organizations is well over five
million people.
And it includes the Queen, patron of the RSBP and CPRE. Prince Charles,
president of the National Trust, would also be banned from Heathrow and
its surrounds . . .
Even more bizarrely, the injunction covers many of BAA's own staff.
Their 2006 Corporate Responsibility report tells us that BAA sent its
airport staff to the RSPB nature reserve at Lochwinnoch "where they
spent the day building nest boxes for the native bird population". Which
seems to fit the description of "persons acting as members, participants
or supporters".
A source who's spoken to BAA has just told us that BAA is deliberately
making the ban as broad as possible, and leaving it up to the police to
apply it with common sense. Which means, if BAA wins, the police will
have the right to stop you, me or Her Maj from, say, getting on "all
railway trains and carriages operating upon the Piccadilly line. . .
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/aviation-industry-
takes-the-queen-five-million-brits-and-itself-to-court-20070726
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THE REACTION. . .
INDEPENDENT, UK - Heathrow airport's owner BAA was isolated and assailed
from all sides as it headed for a legal and physical showdown with
protesters over an attempt to ban a mass demonstration against climate
change that has enraged civil rights groups. Within hours of its
disclosure, politicians, lawyers and protesters condemned an injunction
that would prevent five million members of the public from attending the
Camp for Climate Action as "ludicrous," " absurd" and "unenforceable".
The capital's transport authority, Transport for London (TfL), was
furious at the inclusion of the Piccadilly line in a list of places
police could arrest protesters and demanded it be dropped from the
action. Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, denounced BAA's plans as a
"serious infringement of civil liberties and an attack on the right to
peaceful protest". Britain's biggest environmental organization, the
National Trust, described the court action as "over the top", warning
that it "smacked of absurdity".
BAA insisted that it would not back down but said that it would amend or
drop the injunction if the protesters gave undertakings about their
intentions.
But the the Camp for Climate Action insisted that the week-long action
from 14 August would take place regardless of the High Court case. Up to
5,000 people are expected to attend what could be the biggest protest
against climate change in the UK.
BAA was besieged with hundreds of calls from the public yesterday asking
if they would be barred from Heathrow.
On Monday, BAA served the draft injunction on four activists
representing five environmental organizations opposing the airport's
expansion. One of the organizations, AirportWatch, is a coalition of 10
green groups including the RSPB, the Woodland Trust and the Council for
the Protection of Rural England - bringing five million members into the
action. It would force protesters to give 24 hours' notice together with
their names and ban them from going within 100 metres of any airport
installation.
Anyone deemed to be breaking or intending to break its terms could be
arrested on the Piccadilly line of the London Underground, platforms six
and seven of Paddington station, which serves the Heathrow Express, and
sections of the M25 and M4 motorways, as well as the airport and its
vicinity.
TfL wrote last night to BAA demanding the removal of all references to
the London Underground from the action. A spokesman said: "There was a
huge amount of anger here because there was no consultation about the
terms of the injunction. The first we knew about it was when we read
about it in The Independent. An injunction of that kind would be
completely unenforceable ... It would be massively disruptive to the
network."
Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, said: "BAA
must have taken leave of its senses if it sincerely believes that the
threat of a peaceful demonstration about the environment should merit
the use of police state powers to chase environmental campaigners across
the London transport network. This idea is daft, illiberal and dangerous
nonsense."
Theresa Villiers, the Conservatives' transport spokeswoman, said: "I can
understand BAA would want to take steps to prevent the disruption of the
summer rush at Heathrow. But what they seem to be applying for in court
appears to be over the top.". . .
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/transport/article2811656.ece
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LIVING OFF THE GRID IN BRITAIN
NICK ROSEN, GUARDIAN - I reckon there are 75,000 people living in nearly
25,000 off-grid homes in the UK. These are homes not connected to mains
gas and electricity, water and sewage or even the phone lines that bind
the rest of us into a system that wastes energy transporting it around
the country, and loses up to 30% of water through leaks.
To get some idea of how many are living this way, I traveled round the
UK for most of last year researching a book, How To Live Off-Grid. I met
some of the thousands of normal families living this way, in everything
from brick houses to yurts. . .
Perhaps the nation's off-grid housing stock can be classed as an
investment in a carbon-free future. Every off-gridder automatically
reduces their energy and water consumption by up to 90% compared with a
typical household. . .
The figure of 75,000 is only those living off-grid all year round. It
does not include part-time off-gridders - the winter renters who go out
in their vans or take to their yurts and caravans. This triples the
winter numbers.
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/ethicalliving/story/0,,2134370,00.html
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OAKLAND CONSIDERS ZAMBONI TO CLEAN UP GOOSE POOP IN PARK
CAROLYN JONES, SF CHRONICLE - The issue is poop. A ton of it. Each week
at Lake Merritt. Downtown Oakland's bucolic nature reserve has such a
serious overpopulation of Canada geese -- which drop about a ton of poop
a week on the 122-acre park -- that the city is considering introducing
dogs to herd the geese into fenced enclosures, buying a goose poop
Zamboni and spraying the goose eggs with mineral oil to prevent them
from hatching.
In addition, park users and bird experts have suggested that the real
answer might be coyotes, the primary predator of Canada geese.
"No one's talking about shooting the geese -- we don't need more
gunshots in Oakland," said Jennie Gerard, chief of staff to Oakland City
Councilwoman Pat Kernighan. "But people cannot lie down on the lawn
because there's so much poop. It's an aesthetic issue. It's gross.". . .
Not long ago, the geese were nearly extinct in the Bay Area. But over
the last few decades they've gradually replenished their numbers, thanks
to international protections, lack of predators and a certain
obliviousness to cars, people, pollution, noise, lights, dogs and cats.
. .
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/25/BAGF0R6DIP1.DTL
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DOMESTIC WARMING 2006
US PIRG - With a scorching summer and mild start to winter, the 2006
average temperature for the contiguous United States was the second
warmest on record, according to the National Climatic Data Center. Every
state in the lower 48 experienced above normal temperatures in 2006. Our
analysis of 2006 climate data showed:
In 2006, the average temperature was at least 0.5 degrees F above the
30-year average at 87 percent of the locations examined. The Upper
Midwest and Mountain West in particular experienced warmer-than-normal
average temperatures in 2006.
The average maximum temperature was at least 0.5 degrees F above the
30-year average at 81 percent of the stations examined.
Warmer-than-average days hit Texas and the Great Plains the hardest in
2006, with average peak temperatures soaring more than 5 degrees F above
normal in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The average minimum temperature was at least 0.5 degrees F above the
30-year average at 80 percent of the stations examined. Minimum
temperatures were particularly mild in the Upper Midwest, where
temperatures soared almost 5 degrees F above the 30-year average in
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Duluth, and Rochester, Minnesota.
http://www.uspirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/
global-warming-solutions/global-warming-solutions/
feeling-the-heat-global-warming-and-rising-temperatures-in-the-united-states2
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BRITISH AIRPORTS GO BESERK OVER PLANNED CLIMATE PROTEST
GREENPEACE, UK - The aviation industry is taking five million people -
including a lot of their own staff - to court. If you're a member or
supporter of a group that's concerned about climate change, the chances
are you're a defendant too. The industry seems to want to ban five
million of us from Heathrow and all routes to the airport, including the
Piccadilly line, parts of the rail network, and sections of the M25 and
M4.
In three weeks' time, the Camp for Climate Action is due to gather near
Heathrow to peacefully protest against Heathrow's vast contribution to
climate change (the airport's planes emit more greenhouse gases than
many individual countries) and its planned third runway expansion.
The owner of Heathrow, the British Airports Authority, seems to be,
frankly, terrified.
It's seeking an injunction, which names as defendants "all persons
acting as members, participants or supporters" of anti-aviation group
Plane Stupid, anti-noise group HACAN and AirportWatch. The injunction is
to stop people from setting foot on Heathrow and "the arterial
infrastructure serving" it.
So far, so good. Just another example of the aviation industry's
corporate bullying, albeit a draconian one.
But the interesting bit is that AirportWatch, named on the injunction,
is just an umbrella organization. Its member organizations include the
National Trust, the RSPB, the Woodland Trust, the Campaign for the
Protection of Rural England, Transport 2000, Friends of the Earth and
Greenpeace, among many others.
The combined supporter base of these organizations is well over five
million people.
And it includes the Queen, patron of the RSBP and CPRE. Prince Charles,
president of the National Trust, would also be banned from Heathrow and
its surrounds . . .
Even more bizarrely, the injunction covers many of BAA's own staff.
Their 2006 Corporate Responsibility report tells us that BAA sent its
airport staff to the RSPB nature reserve at Lochwinnoch "where they
spent the day building nest boxes for the native bird population". Which
seems to fit the description of "persons acting as members, participants
or supporters".
A source who's spoken to BAA has just told us that BAA is deliberately
making the ban as broad as possible, and leaving it up to the police to
apply it with common sense. Which means, if BAA wins, the police will
have the right to stop you, me or Her Maj from, say, getting on "all
railway trains and carriages operating upon the Piccadilly line. . .
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/aviation-industry-
takes-the-queen-five-million-brits-and-itself-to-court-20070726
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE REACTION. . .
INDEPENDENT, UK - Heathrow airport's owner BAA was isolated and assailed
from all sides as it headed for a legal and physical showdown with
protesters over an attempt to ban a mass demonstration against climate
change that has enraged civil rights groups. Within hours of its
disclosure, politicians, lawyers and protesters condemned an injunction
that would prevent five million members of the public from attending the
Camp for Climate Action as "ludicrous," " absurd" and "unenforceable".
The capital's transport authority, Transport for London (TfL), was
furious at the inclusion of the Piccadilly line in a list of places
police could arrest protesters and demanded it be dropped from the
action. Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, denounced BAA's plans as a
"serious infringement of civil liberties and an attack on the right to
peaceful protest". Britain's biggest environmental organization, the
National Trust, described the court action as "over the top", warning
that it "smacked of absurdity".
BAA insisted that it would not back down but said that it would amend or
drop the injunction if the protesters gave undertakings about their
intentions.
But the the Camp for Climate Action insisted that the week-long action
from 14 August would take place regardless of the High Court case. Up to
5,000 people are expected to attend what could be the biggest protest
against climate change in the UK.
BAA was besieged with hundreds of calls from the public yesterday asking
if they would be barred from Heathrow.
On Monday, BAA served the draft injunction on four activists
representing five environmental organizations opposing the airport's
expansion. One of the organizations, AirportWatch, is a coalition of 10
green groups including the RSPB, the Woodland Trust and the Council for
the Protection of Rural England - bringing five million members into the
action. It would force protesters to give 24 hours' notice together with
their names and ban them from going within 100 metres of any airport
installation.
Anyone deemed to be breaking or intending to break its terms could be
arrested on the Piccadilly line of the London Underground, platforms six
and seven of Paddington station, which serves the Heathrow Express, and
sections of the M25 and M4 motorways, as well as the airport and its
vicinity.
TfL wrote last night to BAA demanding the removal of all references to
the London Underground from the action. A spokesman said: "There was a
huge amount of anger here because there was no consultation about the
terms of the injunction. The first we knew about it was when we read
about it in The Independent. An injunction of that kind would be
completely unenforceable ... It would be massively disruptive to the
network."
Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, said: "BAA
must have taken leave of its senses if it sincerely believes that the
threat of a peaceful demonstration about the environment should merit
the use of police state powers to chase environmental campaigners across
the London transport network. This idea is daft, illiberal and dangerous
nonsense."
Theresa Villiers, the Conservatives' transport spokeswoman, said: "I can
understand BAA would want to take steps to prevent the disruption of the
summer rush at Heathrow. But what they seem to be applying for in court
appears to be over the top.". . .
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/transport/article2811656.ece
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LIVING OFF THE GRID IN BRITAIN
NICK ROSEN, GUARDIAN - I reckon there are 75,000 people living in nearly
25,000 off-grid homes in the UK. These are homes not connected to mains
gas and electricity, water and sewage or even the phone lines that bind
the rest of us into a system that wastes energy transporting it around
the country, and loses up to 30% of water through leaks.
To get some idea of how many are living this way, I traveled round the
UK for most of last year researching a book, How To Live Off-Grid. I met
some of the thousands of normal families living this way, in everything
from brick houses to yurts. . .
Perhaps the nation's off-grid housing stock can be classed as an
investment in a carbon-free future. Every off-gridder automatically
reduces their energy and water consumption by up to 90% compared with a
typical household. . .
The figure of 75,000 is only those living off-grid all year round. It
does not include part-time off-gridders - the winter renters who go out
in their vans or take to their yurts and caravans. This triples the
winter numbers.
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/ethicalliving/story/0,,2134370,00.html
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
OAKLAND CONSIDERS ZAMBONI TO CLEAN UP GOOSE POOP IN PARK
CAROLYN JONES, SF CHRONICLE - The issue is poop. A ton of it. Each week
at Lake Merritt. Downtown Oakland's bucolic nature reserve has such a
serious overpopulation of Canada geese -- which drop about a ton of poop
a week on the 122-acre park -- that the city is considering introducing
dogs to herd the geese into fenced enclosures, buying a goose poop
Zamboni and spraying the goose eggs with mineral oil to prevent them
from hatching.
In addition, park users and bird experts have suggested that the real
answer might be coyotes, the primary predator of Canada geese.
"No one's talking about shooting the geese -- we don't need more
gunshots in Oakland," said Jennie Gerard, chief of staff to Oakland City
Councilwoman Pat Kernighan. "But people cannot lie down on the lawn
because there's so much poop. It's an aesthetic issue. It's gross.". . .
Not long ago, the geese were nearly extinct in the Bay Area. But over
the last few decades they've gradually replenished their numbers, thanks
to international protections, lack of predators and a certain
obliviousness to cars, people, pollution, noise, lights, dogs and cats.
. .
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/25/BAGF0R6DIP1.DTL
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DOMESTIC WARMING 2006
US PIRG - With a scorching summer and mild start to winter, the 2006
average temperature for the contiguous United States was the second
warmest on record, according to the National Climatic Data Center. Every
state in the lower 48 experienced above normal temperatures in 2006. Our
analysis of 2006 climate data showed:
In 2006, the average temperature was at least 0.5 degrees F above the
30-year average at 87 percent of the locations examined. The Upper
Midwest and Mountain West in particular experienced warmer-than-normal
average temperatures in 2006.
The average maximum temperature was at least 0.5 degrees F above the
30-year average at 81 percent of the stations examined.
Warmer-than-average days hit Texas and the Great Plains the hardest in
2006, with average peak temperatures soaring more than 5 degrees F above
normal in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The average minimum temperature was at least 0.5 degrees F above the
30-year average at 80 percent of the stations examined. Minimum
temperatures were particularly mild in the Upper Midwest, where
temperatures soared almost 5 degrees F above the 30-year average in
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Duluth, and Rochester, Minnesota.
http://www.uspirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/
global-warming-solutions/global-warming-solutions/
feeling-the-heat-global-warming-and-rising-temperatures-in-the-united-states2
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