August 2009
Turn On Turn Off
Bike drawing No more wind turbines
Carry on climate camping
Last month we challenged you to go meat or dairy free for one day of the week. This month we challenge you to go to a climate camp. After spending the last 3 summers camping at Heathrow Airport, Drax Coal Power Station, Kingsnorth Coal Power Station and in the middle of London, at the European Climate Exchange, during the G20, climate camp is going national. This summer there are camps in Scotland (3 - 10 August), Wales (13 - 16 August) and in London (27 August - 2 September).
Climate camp is the place for concerned citizens of all colours, from the hardiest protester, to the shyest letter writer, to people who’ve never taken any action on climate change before in their lives. The camp is organised entirely by volunteers, and anyone can get involved in that side of things by just turning up to a meeting and having their say.
The camps are a peaceful demonstration of another way of living, rather than being just another angry protest.
See them high
The Caledonian Road cycle tour is heading up to Edinburgh this weekend to begin their 6 week adventure round Scotland. You can see who they are, where they’re going and how they’re going to get there on our website.
They’ll be performing for the passing public at te pOOka (August 17th - 19th 5-7pm), Kirkcaldy Gala (August 22nd), Kinghorn Ecology Centre (August 30th) and at Knowetop Community Farm (Sunday September 6th). If you’re near any of these places, we’d love to see you at a performance. Make sure you come and say hello afterwards.
If you’d like to hear all about the flat tires, teasing tour mates, trials and tribulations of the Caledonian Road tour, email liz@otesha.org.uk with the subject ‘Whatever the heather’.
See them low
The East Coast cycle tour have tried to rename themselves Sunshine Coast, but we have a sneaky suspicion that the Met Office might disagree (climate change strikes again). They also head off this weekend, starting in Norwich then looping around East Anglia for six weeks before finding themselves and their bikes (and three trailers) back in Norwich.
If you’re Norfolk folk, Suffolk folk or Cambridgeshire folk you can catch them performing at the Green Quay (August 17th), the Shop in Cambridge (August 22nd), Kersey Mill in Ipswich (September 1st and 2nd) and Greenbuild in Cromer (September 12th and 13th).
If you’d like to hear all about the flat tires, teasing tour mates, trials and tribulations of the East Coast tour, email liz@otesha.org.uk with the subject ’Flat as a pancake but blow me it’s windy‘.
A Time Comes
Make a tea and sit back to watch this one. It’s only short but it’s big. A Time Comes is a 20min film in which the 6 Greenpeace campaigners that came to be known as the Kingsnoth Six, recount the events that brought them to climb a coal chimney, the court case against them and the victory they won. The title comes from a Martin Lurther King quote which ends ‘when silence is betrayal’.
The story of the Kingsnorth Six had us literally on the edge of our seats as the six Greenpeace campaigners dropped over the edge of the Kingsnorth coal power station chimney. The chimney is approximately the size of the Canary Wharf Tower, it took the Six a gruelling nine hours to climb the chimney from the inside, hauling their supplies after them. It brought a tear to the eye to see one campaigner wipe a tear from his eye as he remembered the feeling the not guilty verdict brought.
The Six were on trial accused of causing £30,000 of criminal damage to the Kingsnorth chimney (from painting the word Gordon on it, in very big letters). Their defence was that they had 'lawful excuse' - because they were acting to prevent far greater damage to property around the world "in immediate need of protection" from the effects of climate change (that burning coal contributes to). Kingsnorth Power Station has become a landmark for high carbon industries and this case is a landmark for direct action and climate change campaigners.
Birds do it, but the bees don’t seem to anymore
We like bees and we like the Bee boy dance crew. Bees are very important, they pollinate the plants that give us food. And they keep disappearing, no one knows quite why, even the Archers are worried about it. The finger's been pointed all over the place, including at pesticides, mobile phone signals, mites in the hive and a lack of wild flowers.
Someone, possibly Einstein, once said, "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man". The National Audit Office worked out that the value of the bees' pollination services as £200m a year. The retail value of things pollinated by bees was valued closer to £1bn. So, basically if the bees disappear, we're in big trouble, great big trouble.
So savour the bees and save our bees!
And finally
This month we’ve mostly been learning about permaculture.
Jo, Hanna, Liz & Tom
The Otesha Project UK
www.otesha.org.uk
P.s. the Wild West cycle tour arrived home safe and sound, read about their exploits on the road.