Categories
Uncategorized

Transport needs and Climate Breakdown – collective not individual action is needed

As part of the global climate strike about 25 thousand students marched through the center of Dublin city. This was one of many demonstrations that took place around Ireland, even the small dormitory towns around Dublin like Maynooth had their own demonstrations. So the actual numbers protesting in Ireland was probably in the region of 40,000.  In this piece Andrew looks at how collective action can halt Climate Breakdown using the example of the need for transport to illustrate why individual consumer choices cannot fix things.

Categories
Uncategorized

Exploring Violence, Non-violence & Extinction Rebellion – where XR gets the research wrong

Disagreements about the role of violence in political movements is at least as old as those movements. Extinction Rebellion have tried to short cut such discussions through reference to a piece of research they suggest shows non-violent movements are twice as successful in achieving their objectives. In this episode of We Only Want the Earth I examine what this paper actually claims and use this as a way to talk about non-violence and recent radical political movements.

 

Categories
Uncategorized

My alarm about Climate Change & Extinction Rebellion – WOWE1

The overwhelming evidence of Climate Change is causing me significant alarm, Extinction Rebellion is a response that has gained some traction but as I show here its ‘beyond politics, declare a climate emergency’ solution cannot deliver what is needed because capitalism and colonialism are the very political problems that caused Climate Change in the first place. [video]

 

Categories
Uncategorized

Science day / March4Science in Dublin April 22nd – video of march

About 1000 people marched through Dublin this afternoon as part of the international day of action in defence of science. The March For Science is an international initiative to stand up for science and evidence in the face of an alarming trend toward discrediting scientific consensus and restricting scientific discovery.

Categories
Uncategorized

Anarchism, Oppression & Exploitation – WSM position paper

I was part of a long education and discussion process that culminated in this new position paper on "Anarchism, Oppression & Exploitation" being agreed by WSM National Conference at the start of October 2014.

Categories
Uncategorized

Siberian craters – Yet another reason that we need action to stop Climate Change

Rather worrying news about those mysterious sink holes that have appeared in Siberia. It now appears they were giant methane releases – long forecast by climate change scientists as a likely positive feedback occurrence as permafrost in Siberia melted and released trapped methane. Worrying because methane is a 20 times more potent climate change gas than CO2 because it is more efficient at trapping radiation.

Categories
Uncategorized

Garda aggression in Erris as Shell remove Tunnel Boring Machine

Almost two years after Shell smuggled their Tunnel Boring Machine out of Dublin port in the middle of the night, and then spent 3 days meeting resistance across the country before getting stuck in the bog, they removed it from Erris Monday night.

Categories
Uncategorized

Shell compound breached, equipment destroyed in day of action against pipeline

The second day of the week of action saw an unexpected success when Shell to Sea campaigners managed to breach Shells fortified compound and force security to retreat to the inner compound.  While this happened much of the equipment, in particular the spy cameras, in  the outer compound was damaged or destroyed.

Categories
Uncategorized

Shell pipeline construction preparations destroyed in direct action in Erris

This morning (Sat 22 June) around 50 Shell to Sea campaigners kicked off the Week of Action against Shell’s experimental high pressure gas pipe in Erris by tearing up the bog road Shell has laid as part of its attempt to finish the pipeline.  They also destroyed the sandbag dam that Shell were attempting to build across part of the estuary in order to be able to work on the pipeline route regardless of the tides.  This was accomplished in full view of about 15 security from IRMS – the security company hired by Shell to repress protest.

 

Categories
Uncategorized

Hundreds of Garda deployed to protect Shell’s machine from the people of Ireland

A huge secretive Garda security operation Sunday night swung into operation in Dublin Port as Shell’s Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) left the port as part of a huge convoy of Garda vehicles.  News of the operation had leaked at the last minute meaning that with only an hours notice a handful of Shell to Sea campaigners managed to get down to the port entrance despite the pouring rain.  Most of us were pulled over and questioned by Garda at least once and the Garda helicopter stayed overhead as various Garda vehicles including a van load of riot cops with the door open drove past us repeatedly.