A different way to mark April Fools’ Day 4

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1. 

   Pompey Road Posted 10:36 am
   26 Mar 2008

   Item No. 7I hate to keep nagging on this but always try to add the phrase & valley fill to the term Mountain Top Removal. It takes a little more typing but it puts the focus on the most destructive part of Mountain Top Removal which is the Valley Fill which oft times includes covering up a fresh water stream. The most destrutive part of a MTR is the whole valley eco system that gets wiped out when you push the overburden over into a pristine valley.
   
   The eons of time and nature was good to us down here. It was not until we become civilized that destroying our habitat become fathomable or fashionable.

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2. 

   Erik Hoffner Posted 3:42 am
   30 Mar 2008

   trueTrue, Pompey Rd....they might have noted that in their list.
   Speaking of, this is the place to go to establish if the coal burner near you is buying from a MTR/valley fill operation:
   http://ilovemountains.org/
   Just plug in your zip code for another reason to dim the lights...
   Erik
   
   The Orion Grassroots Network: 1,200+ grassroots groups working for conservation & more
   
   

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3. 

   Erik Hoffner Posted 12:35 am
   01 Apr 2008

   Fossil Fools day begins with arrestsPress release just received:
   COAL PLANT BLOCKADE KICKS OFF INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST AGAINST FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY IN THE US - 8 ARRESTED
   April, 1st - Proclaiming April 1st "Fossil Fools Day," climate change activists with the international Rising Tide network and its allies in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia targeted companies responsible for runaway carbon dioxide emissions today.
   North Carolina residents kicked off the day of action in the US at 6:30am by locking themselves to bulldozers to stop the construction of Duke Energy's massive Cliffside coal-fired power plant being built 50 miles west of Charlotte. "In the face of catastrophic climate change, building a new coal plant is tantamount to signing a death sentence for our generation," said local farmer Matt Wallace, while locked to a bulldozer. "Building this plant would lock us into another 50 years of burning coal at a time when we need to be doing everything in our power to end our reliance on fossil fuels."
   Shortly after activists locked themselves to construction equipment, police arrived on the scene and arrested 8 people, using pain compliance holds and tazers on those locked down.
   Earlier this morning, climate activists in Nottingham, UK blockaded the offices of E-on, a company trying to build a new generation of coal-fired power stations in the UK, while another group in Wales halted work at one of the biggest opencast coal mines in Europe. Globally, more than 150 actions were carried out on April 1st.
   "The Fossil Fools in government and industry are playing games with our future: the time for lip service and half-measures is over," said Jane Calhoun, who took part in shutting down the Cliffside construction site. "Direct action is necessary to stop those who watch the planet burn while counting the money they make from the fire."
   Leading climate scientists such as NASA's James Hansen believe that dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions must begin immediately to avoid catastrophic climatic shifts, yet most policy proposals consist of modest goals that are decades off. Today's confrontational actions reflect an urgency that many activists see as missing from the current discussions in the media, congress, and industry.
   The actions also reflect the activists' conviction that the climate initiatives being presented by corporations and government have been focused on promoting consumption-based, profit-driven "solutions" that only serve to maintain business as usual.
   "The focus on switching lightbulbs or putting a green spin on practices like burning coal is a dangerous distraction from the root causes of this crisis," said Karen Bailey of Rising Tide. "To survive climate change, we need to end the extraction of fossil fuels, reduce rich people's energy consumption, localize economies and revolutionize public transportation."
   The Fossil Fools Day of Action was called for by the international Rising Tide network, active in the UK, US, and Australia, and was joined by Rainforest Action Network, students active in the Energy Action Coalition, the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, Earth First!, and the Australian Student Environment Network.
   Building on the momentum of today's actions, the Rising Tide network is collaborating on international "Camps for Climate Action" this summer in a half-dozen countries. The events focus on mobilizing the grassroots movement for climate justice and will culminate in direct actions against local climate criminals. In the US, camps are planned in New York, Virginia, and Oregon. Last year's climate camp in the UK targeted Heathrow International Airport and brought international attention to the climate impacts of flying.
   Action updates and photos will be posted at http://www.fossilfoolsday.org as reports come in.
   
   The Orion Grassroots Network: 1,200+ grassroots groups working for conservation & more
   
   

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4. 

   Erik Hoffner Posted 4:53 am
   01 Apr 2008

   and this just in...Today there was also a blockade of a Bank of America in Boston, a blockade of a gas terminal in the UK, and a blockade of a coal plant in Wales (as well as
   
   over 100 other actions)...
   
   
   
   The Orion Grassroots Network: 1,200+ grassroots groups working for conservation & more
   
   

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