20 May 2008



This summer the Camp for Climate Action will pitch its tents outside Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent for a week of education, sustainable living and direct action. Everyone is invited to the camp, which is now part of an international movement, with eight climate camps on four continents planned for this summer. Together, we will show that the blind pursuit of economic growth at any cost is simply insane, and is to blame for the CO² emissions and ecosystem destruction that are causing catastrophic climate change.



Well you could put a rizla paper between my kind of green politics and the politics of the climate camp but it would be a remarkably thin one.

EON's KINGSNORTH power station in Kent will be the site of this summer's Camp for Climate Action, running from 4 th to 11th of August 2008.

The protest will begin with a one-day event at Heathrow, the site of the previous year's camp, before marching across London to Kingsnorth. This is one of eight climate camps targeting coal across the world this summer.

The camp will also challenge businesses set to profit from false solutions to climate change such as agrofuels. A day of action targeting the agrofuel industry will be an integral part of the week long camp.


Our view on the symptoms, science and solutions to climate change
The environmental problem.

Emissions of carbon dioxide, mostly from oil, gas and coal are rapidly raising the temperature and changing the weather. This is happening faster than at virtually any time in the Earths history. Most scientists, and even governments, agree that if we keep to business-as-usual then people, society in general and the ecosystems we all rely on for food and water will not be able to adapt to such rapid changes.

The scale of the problem is mind-boggling: the new report from the United Nations Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change says that if we continue with rapidly increasing fossil-fuel use, global average temperatures may rise by 6 degrees Celsius. The last time this happened was 251 million years ago and some 99% of all living individuals died. We must rapidly and radically reduce oil, gas and coal use.
The social problem.

Almost everything we do produces carbon dioxide emissions: work, travel, housing. To cut emissions, as many scientists suggest, by 90%, means serious changes need to happen. Who is going to solve climate change? The usual answer is either governments and changes in regulations, or individuals affecting companies by changing the products and services we buy. This is not going to work for one simple reason: the world is geared towards the extraction of profit, and increasing economic growth, and not lives of dignity for all. Just ask any of the 800 million people who will go hungry today. Profits come first. With this reality in mind, it's easy to understand why only the rhetoric changes. And emissions keep rising.

We, so-called ordinary people, will have to solve the worlds problems, largely in spite of the actions of governments and corporations. This social problem - the logic of economic growth superseding all else - is not new. The solution - that widespread grassroots social movements are key agents of change - is also not new. There is just a new urgency. We believe that climate change is effectively a referendum on what kind of world we want. A lot is going to change, whether we like it or not. So we'd better be involved in the creation of something much better than the world as it is now. To do this we must search for solutions that both reduce emissions and make our lives better.
Solutions?

Too big a problem? Too small a person? Join with others! The Camp for Climate Action is uniting people into a community taking collective action on climate change. The emphasis is to reduce emissions and have a 'better life' in many different ways. At last years camp, over 600 people converged outside Drax power station for 10 days of living, learning and making decisions together, all powered by renewable energy. The camp culminated in a day of mass action against Drax, which shook up the UKs biggest carbon dioxide emitter, and got the attention of the worlds media.

The camp, "a blend of Glastonbury and open-air science seminar" as The Independent put it, was an incredibly inspiring event that catalysed a new wave of radical action on climate change across the UK. This year, the camps effect will be amplified by simultaneous camps across the US. Who knows what changes thousands converging again will create. See you there?


Dear friends,

The planning for the Camp for Climate Action in 2008 is well under way and
this year its more ambitious than ever.

We aim to educate, inspire, and continue to build our movement, to take
direct action against the forces driving climate change, standing up to
the climate criminals who continue to put profit before the future of our
planet.

We plan to pitch our low-impact camp near Kingsnorth power station in
Kent, the site of the first of a new generation of coal fired power
stations. Many of us will travel to Kent in a carnivaleque caravan from
Heathrow and the site of the proposed third runway. Read all about it
at:http://www.climatecamp.org.uk

To make the camp happen we need more people, energy, creativity,
materials, and cash! Here's how you can help:

1. Donate! - we need to cover the cost of running the camp, from food to
eco-loos, workshops to legal support. Either fill in the attached standing
order form and send it to your bank (you can also do this over the net if
you have internet banking), or, instructions at:
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/donate.php

2. Participate! - come along from 3rd to 11th August, or get involved
beforehand and help organise the camp. More details at:
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/getinvolved.php

Hope to see you there,

The Camp for Climate Action 2008

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