Climate Strike Preston, Lancashire 20 Sep 2019

The most uplifting of days, made lovely by all those in this video... we went from where this video starts at Preston railway station to the square where we talked, played music, discussed issues and as a community - enjoyed the feeling of empowerment that being amongst so much beautiful determination, joy and peaceful action brought with it.

Then we went on to Lancashire County Council where peacefully the young campaigners went in to ask if ONE PERSON from the Council could come and acknowledge our presence, acknowledge our reasons for being there and perhaps say they might act in some way... but alas, almost in their enitrity, Council staff humiliated and shamed themselves. Their behaviour was for the most part, ignorant, rude and emarassing to watch. In the cold, clean light of youthful eyes and the hope they brought with them - LCC staff looked like juveniles with bad attitudes.

I can't describe how appalling it was when they replaced receptionists with security guards, placed police at barriers and refused to interact at all with this small, peaceful, happy group of young climate strikers taking part in a global event of historic importance and necessity.

Then came Lancashire Police in heavy boots, ridiculous numbers and equipped with 'Evidence Gatherers' to intimidate the young strikers and give them a sense of wht it will feel like to be criminalised for your activism. The Police Liason Officers (in blue) - achieved nothing of note and nothing to be proud of - their interactions were futile and they did nothing to make the situation better... allowing the influx of the meaner looking cops and evidence gatherers, refusing to assist a young crying child aged 9 who urgently needed the toilet and constantly trying to tell young strikers what they could and couldn't do - when the information they were providing wasn't true at all. They treated them like they were fools - rather than young Lancashire people in need of adult assistance at a time of environmental emergency.

I was bereft for how it ended... it started with such beautiful promise and could easily have been the best damned protest on the planet if ONE PERSON had walked out of the elevator at LCC and said ...
"I get it, thanks for caring, I'll see what more can be done."

... I GUARANTEE that ONE PERSON would have been cheered and admired... and we'd have left with smiles. INSTEAD... many campaigners now plan to returnto LCC Monday 3:30pm to see if that ONE PERSON exists yet... and if not, there's Tuesday 3:30pm, Wednesday 3:30pm etc.

To all who came - it was a huge honour to be in your divine company

Striking times...

 

Our PM is discussing the Hulk, the US President is using a sharpie to pretend away his stupidity and on the news right now… well-dressed people are calmly chatting about the rights and wrongs of a day off from school or work, as if it’s some massive act of revolution… maybe it is? Maybe when we genuinely ‘revolt’ for the greater good (rather than individual grievance) it doesn’t have to be bloody and vicious – it can be the withdrawal of our participation in the mechanisms of life as we currently live it? “We are many, they are few” and as long as we keep hanging on for ‘democracy’ to save us in the form of a new colour at the helm of government – we’re doomed to keep on this suicidal road… we ARE many and those very few with the power who are in (or manipulating) government can’t be the solution ...when that’s where the problem lies.

All around is fear and anger and it’s overwhelming… the sense inside is to run and hide but the knowledge we have means we know – nowhere is safe from the threat to our very existence as a species that depends on nature’s ever-more polluted, poisoned, diminishing resources to survive. Across the world this Friday, our children are calling for us to join them for a day of peaceful response… if we don’t act now, the responses will eventually grow uglier. There is a choice for every one of us this week – to stand up for the life we all want to go on having ...or to abandon the children to a game of Russian Roulette where the gun is fully loaded.

Extinction is a real possibility (probability) unless we work each day to stop environmental and societal harm – even if we do take it from different angles and take our activism in different ways – it's the action that matters… the becoming ‘activist’. No ONE way of responding being right because with problems as big as we face – a diverse approach by people in different arenas (on the streets, in parliament, in academia, in the arts etc) is needed… to have us all though on ONE day, standing together in our communities is, I think… essential if we’re to get past our ridiculously far less consequential divides of borders, genders, roles, beliefs (none of which will need to be defended if we can't breathe the air, drink the water or exist in the climate).

I have been stuck focusing on fracking because it’s an incredible act of self-harm by our government and it’s happening before our eyes in the here and now. There are many more issues too of course that are making our future existence a gamble - but if we stop this one ... then explore how on earth it ever ended up for consideration and worse still, getting a cheery and enthusiastic 'Yes' from government, then we can begin to untangle our way out of the processes that trap us in this mess.

For me… I see fracking is a big, ugly and dangerous symptom of a disease that's rampant and unchecked in the places where power lies - single symptoms tell clearer stories but are never the full picture - the ‘disease’ is exhibiting in so many other cruel and dangerous ways ie:
-privatisation that's forcing the monetisation of all the things ie: education and health to be measured for profit rather than the greater values of a healthy, educated population
-austerity used as a tool to shape the economy and society to favour those with the power
-phoney media owned and controlled by those who design the news rather than reporting truths and investigating lies
-academic institutions where reports are paid for by industries with a planned outcome to make them look favourable and bury otherwise negative facts that as 'purveyors of knowledge' ...academics should be obliged to share

I recall reading about a well-respected academic who committed suicide in 2014 (search: Stefan Grimm) and being shocked at the way our academic institutions function – I had been in awe of places of learning and knowledge. His suicide note was sent a fortnight after his suicide as a delayed email and tells a story that sadly resonates today as the incidence of academic suicides grows:

“This is not a university anymore but a business with very few up in the hierarchy…profiteering and the rest of us are milked for money. You are targeted if your grant income is deemed insufficient. Those submitted to the research assessment hence support those colleagues who are unproductive but have grants. Grant income is all that counts here, not scientific output. This leads to a interesting spin to the old saying ‘publish or perish’. Here it is ‘publish and perish’.”

Grimm’s death is just one from the world of academics where financial pressure was key… there are many, many more and the situation is growing worse. For climate researchers and scientists, there are additional issues that are impacting mental health and leading to depression and suicide. A really, really long article (www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/07/weight-of-the-world-climate-change-scientist-grief) shares how it feels to KNOW the truth of the threat that all life on this planet faces… and then watch as governments across the world do nothing as a response... and worse. The intro to the research says:

“Are scientists, then, canaries in a psychological coal mine? Is understanding their grief important because their anxiety could become more widespread within the general population? That’s why, I chose them as a research sample. Put another way, climate scientists often resemble Sarah Connor of the Terminator franchise, who knows of a looming catastrophe but must struggle to function in a world that does not comprehend what is coming and, worse, largely ignores the warnings of those who do. “An accurate representation” of the Connor comparison, one scientist darkly notes, “would have more crying and wine.””

Below are the words of some of those interviewed for the article:
……………………………………………………
“I’m tired of processing this incredible and immense decline—and I’m a contributor to the problem. I have to walk away from the papers and don’t want to face myself in the mirror. I feel profound sadness and loss. I feel very angry.”
…
She had been taking these sorts of research trips for two decades, and over recent years she had witnessed about 85 percent of the island’s reef system perish due to rising ocean temperatures. “I was diving with tears in my eyes,” she recalls.
…
At 27 years old, realized she was “emotionally exhausted” by the toll of constantly scrutinizing the “huge tragedy” happening in the oceans. “I did not want to experience that fatigue,” she says, “because then I wouldn’t want to do this work anymore.”
…
“Studying earth science and thinking about climate change is a totally different ballgame than thinking about astrophysics. Astrophysics was pure science. I was looking for gravitational waves. It had no implication for the possible collapse of human civilization. But the unrelenting momentum of climate change does. I’m always thinking about it. That can be a burden. Whenever friends talk about flying off to vacation, I feel compelled to point out the large carbon cost to flying. I’d like to take a vacation from thinking about it. I’m not sure that is psychologically possible.”
...
“I have no child and I have one dog, and thank god he’ll be dead in 10 years.” Afterward, people asked Wilkinson if she truly believed that. “The truth is, I do,” she says. “And it’s only going to get more intense—the emotional nature of this work—as climate change happens and the necessary actions become more urgent.”
…
“I lose sleep over climate change almost every single night. I can’t remember how long this has been happening, but it’s been quite a while, and it’s only getting worse. I confess: I need help. I went to see a counselor and the therapist seemed unprepared for my emotional crisis. His simple advice was, ‘Do what you can.’”
……………………………………………………..

...please strike on Friday – do it for yourself or for Greta or for your kids or nature or any living thing you can think of – because that’s how bloody important this is. Why not? There is little risk or issue as it’s just ONE day where you make a ‘vote’ with your body and time that is actually seen and heard, then let’s see where we go from there. Unity of purpose that forces change, starts with one in-step step together and then in one day at least – the barriers between us don’t divide us x

Global Climate Strike - September 20th #ClimateStrike

Applying a straight-jacket

Bit by bit our rights are being taken away - there is no denying this, no escaping the reality and no way that our futures can in any way be an improvement on our pasts if this continues - in fact probably not much of a future worth having if it does.

My greatest fear is what we leave behind - not just environmentally but what the 'normal' will become for our children. The erosion of rights is steady and ongoing and we grow accustomed step by step to the limitations and the young.. grow, knowing the situation as their 'normal' and not realising how much was lost.

In 2017 activists built towers, slept in the entrance and caused daily impact to the fracking company – and next-to-no-impact on everyday folk... but legal case by legal case that we can't afford to challenge - we've been held back, slowed down and stunted. Rights, like much else are facing extinction or re-thinking - so they don’t have any true meaning any more. Recent times I’ve watched the loss of:

-the right of residents (through local democracy of their council) to say NO to planning applications like fracking - that threaten their homes, health and well-being. Westminster simply stepped in and overturned Lancashire County Council's rejection and here we are... shaken, shattered and virtually helpless in the face of the power that imposes this.

-the right of Parliament to hold current Government to account and reign them in - a 'no deal' Brexit (never on the referendum as a potential) and the prorogation (halting of Parliamentary activity) so that solutions can't be found in time. Those saying honour the 'will of the people' please consider that our population is 66 million+ people - 16,141,241 voted to REMAIN and only just over a million more voted to LEAVE and since the Referendum, much new information has emerged. What bit of where we find ourselves now, is the government interpreting as 'the will of the people'?

-the right to legally challenge decisions made by courts that although not 'removed' has now been set at such a high financial cost... we have little-to-NO hope of ever accessing the justice system. Today even Friends of the Earth could no longer continue in a challenge to the 'draconian injunction' that prevents peaceful protest having any impact at the opposed fracking site near Blackpool. (link: https://drillordrop.com/2019/09/01/priced-out-of-justice-environment-organisation-forced-to-withdraw-from-injunction-challenge

-the right to protest in any way other than standing quietly with a banner - the rights of free expression and freedom of assembly literally limited now to being still and being quiet. Swearing will get you arrested, in a cell and charged – as well as ‘bailed away’ from the protest area… meaning less who can be there. Case after case, costs after costs and all the time it takes – takes a mighty toll on activists who are already fighting for environmental justice – without having to re-define what the hell ‘justice’ is too.

We've discovered over 968 days in protest that the application of a straight-jacket can be done... without even being noticed if you stitch us up, one legal thread at a time.

Wednesday Women's Call for Calm

Addressing those impacted by Blackpool's fracking-induced earthquakes (fear, concern or damage) who are perhaps uncomfortable about becoming or joining "protesters". I have actively protested against fracking for years and know many feel unsure how to now join (as I did when I first got involved).

EVERYONE is welcome and every current protester - was just a resident somewhere, the day before too. I discovered a while back that women particularly found it more difficult to find their place in this and were not always comfortable joining demonstarations etc. so we set up Nanashire and on Wednesdays (107 of them so far!) - women gather and walk together to the Cuadrilla fracking site to hold a 15 minute silence, share concerns, share food, sing, dance and create a space each week that feels more calm and safe.

As 'Nanas' we take part in outreach events and meetings across the country as well as being at the site here regularly... if anyone would like to join us, please do message me or the page - or simply arrive at the fracking site on any Wednesday from around 10:45 am ...or better still, meet up at Maple Farm Community Hub (Nr. World of Water PR43PE & just 15 mn walk to site) at 10am and walk together.

Next Women's Call for Calm: https://www.facebook.com/events/708320446258021/

Repeating Patterns & Blueprints for: Causing Harm Without Consequence

(*spoiler: complicate public avenues for complaint, bury complaints, lose complaints... smother valid research with paid-for reports, manipulate perception by using those paid-for reports as standard reference in Press... belittle complainants, demonise protest... under-fund and under-resource Regulators so they are ineffective, put reporting responsibility in hands of industry itself, put more money into politics and legal cases than any residents can, instigate procedures that take time and succeed in nothing more than pacifying worried residents +++)

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Was reading about regulators etc and ended up in all sorts of places during the research... strange thing was though that so many of the research routes covered similar landscapes of process ...complete with repeating landmarks on all the horizons of an industry's journey into our communities.

Our world contains so many preventable harms we've not known or seen; it wasn't till I unravelled the processes involved in just one (fracking) that I come to realise it is essentially a replica and there's a sort-of blueprint for getting away with causing harm - and avoiding consequences.

Today I'm reading and seeing the basic pattern that is shared between just two stories - Fracking & Pig Manure (article ink at end). Take this snippet for example and spot the patterns with whatever environmentally damaging industry you're looking into:

[The Regulator told Mr Burdette that the images were inadequate proof. “They were basically saying, ‘There’s nothing we can do,’” he said. “They can’t stand behind evidence collected by somebody else.” Nor did they have funds to do their own surveys. For evidence, the Regulator said it could only review the company's self-reported logs. And in November when Burdette and others followed up, they say all public traces of their complaints had disappeared.

For years, residents say, regulators shielded the identities of polluters, burying public complaints against them and leaving those who lived nearby with few avenues for redress. The Industry Council, in a 2019 letter to the Regulator, said the “relatively minimal number of violations” in the state signalled “a robust and working regulatory system”.

As the industry grew, the state legislature protected it in numerous ways, even barring counties from restricting industry during the key expansion years. But lawmakers couldn’t ignore the mounting waste, particularly when it polluted waterways.

A study published by the Medical Journal concluded that families living nearby saw higher rates of infant mortality and deaths from anaemia, kidney disease, and tuberculosis.

The industry insists that health concerns are exaggerated. “We don’t think these types of symptoms or things are going on in the communities where we do business,” a Director said in a deposition in reference to an older study that had found increased depression, anger, and confusion among neighbours... “There are studies that can say almost anything,” he added.

In 2014 they passed a law keeping complaints filed with the state environmental agency confidential unless the department “determines that a violation has occurred”. A State representative said the provision was designed to protect industry from false accusations.

The Regulator interpreted the law to require disclosure of a complaint only when there’s a formal violation notice or penalty, which the agency has historically been loth to initiate. “We believe [that] if they find a violation of the permit, they just tell the operator, ‘Hey, this doesn’t look right. You need to address it” said the Managing Attorney.

Feeling unprotected by regulator, residents living nearby have turned to the courts, with more than two dozen lawsuits by more than 500 plaintiffs. Others looked to the machinery of government to hold the Regulator accountable. The Council described the complaints as part of a “coordinated, multi-pronged attack on the industry”.

Investigators visited and interviewed more than 60 neighbours. The residents described strong stenches that made them gag, vomit, and lock themselves indoors. Several also mentioned keeping silent, because “for more than 15 years, the government has been well aware of the conditions they have to live with, but has done nothing to help, so complaining would be futile,” Those who did complain reported “threats, intimidation, and harassment” by the industry.

The Regulator declined to comment when asked if it had adopted a more aggressive policy. Advocates describe a “bunker mentality” at the agency – a fear of appearing too proactive. For example, the Regulator missed its own deadline for creating the mapping tool. It then said the tool was “educational” and “not intended for regulatory purposes”.

“What the hell good is a community-mapping programme if it’s not going to slow down the degradation?”]
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Linkto Pig Farming piece that shows the similarities to fracking when dealing with harm to community and avoiding liability: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/27/it-smells-like-a-decomposing-body-north-carolinas-polluting-pig-farms

Choosing Battles...

In my head I hear my mum saying: "Choose your battles wisely..."

Since 2011 I have had one target...one red light in the distance that commands my attention and forces me to not waver or lose focus because when I do... I get lost in lesser things. There is quite literally a war on right here, right now – a war for reason, justice and truth: the very nature of the planet we rely on for every breath we take… is under attack and countless species extinctions forewarn that we too, are a fragile species and entirely dependent on the gifts of nature that sustains us.

Pollution, poisons and toxins are in our water, our oceans, our farmed fields and our air – nature’s ability to mitigate for the greed and industrialisation that’s at the root of this, is not going to be able to cope and maintain the balance needed for us to survive – if we don’t join her in the battle and force power to shift from the dangerous hands of those currently wielding it.

Right now, the ‘power’ is clearly with some greedy beast of a thing lying at the heart of the system of government and masquerading (quite badly) as 'democracy' - I can't describe it but it entertains industry/finance/business lobbyists ..like much-adored family and is deaf to 'we the people'.

It sells weapons to dangerous customers and turns its head when the collateral damage is counted in dead children.

It grips the controls of society and holds-fast to a fossilised past that fills its pockets and pleases its mates… favours, wealth and status pave over the cracks beneath their feet on a dying landscape.

It is old, blind, drunk on foolish pride and ignorant of reality… too puffed up to realise how small we all really are as a species.. in time.. in this beautiful, threatened place.

Deep inside me, a fermented, bubbling rage has been growing and I see it as precious and dangerous – not to be wasted on anything less than the intended target; I’m holding it back where I can – especially in the face of minor squabbles and tousles – this is vintage and for the bigger beasts that are fucking up a future for an entire planet's children ❤

Battles are a sad necessity in an unjust world ...but some battles are pointless and harmful in that they steal our energy/emotions/hearts and even our ability to then go on... the day-to-day calls to battle, to roll about with pigs or play fisticuffs with clowns… are beneath our honourable and urgent purpose. I do get my battle choices wrong… fail a lot and inadvertently drip-waste my rage on other matters and things but I’m learning little by little mum x

Fractured lives...

Unsettled, off-centre, unfocused and shaken... Cuadrilla and other frackers have abolutely no idea what happens to the humans where they drill. How our lives are impacted in a million ways at every stage of their destructive business. Lost time, joy consumed by worry... good times lost to research, online rebukes and challenges to obnoxious, uncaring, inhuman PR accounts that belittle and insult us.

Days spent trying to reason with police not to harm us, not to hinder us and begging (bloody on our knees) for some human right that would permit an outlet to this raging ball of venom building at the injustice and lunacy of this situation.

There's pollution/toxins/poisons threatening our very existence as a species - we've lost so many already to extinction and yet each day we rise to witness those with the power to stop the damage - drilling for more fossil fuels right here right now. Elsewhere a frozen north is on fire and the Amazon looks like hades... oceans are dying places of bleached coral and depleted marine life... our air in London is on the death certificate of an 8 year old girl.

THIS is an asylum and the dangerous ones are in charge - how does this change??? How do we wrestle control back into the hands of the wise?

Unnatural - it's all so bloody unnatural and positively murderous/suicidal.