text from rising tide banner drop leaflet
rising tide | 27.04.2005 12:31 | Ecology | Health | London
Look up – the trees opposite BP’s HQ in St. James’ Square have been occupied by a group of concerned citizens. They have hung (with any luck) a banner reading 'BP fuels climate chaos'
Some will stay the night and greet BP workers for the second time tomorrow morning, to urge them to try to find a less destructive job, and to underline the company’s complicity in the climate crisis we’re all facing. They also hope to inspire others to take direct action for the planet and its people.
Some will stay the night and greet BP workers for the second time tomorrow morning, to urge them to try to find a less destructive job, and to underline the company’s complicity in the climate crisis we’re all facing. They also hope to inspire others to take direct action for the planet and its people.
We need to dismantle the oil industry before it’s too late!
BP’s 1st Quarter Results, the curse of oil & climate chaos…
Today, BP announces its 1st Quarter of 2005 trading results. We’ve taken this action to draw attention to what’s missing: spiralling climate chaos, systemic human rights abuses and untold ecological carnage. Record (government-subsidised) profits are plain to see. What’s better hidden is the fact that the oil industry – not to mention capitalism itself - is profiting handsomely yet again from the misery of the world’s most marginalised people. After all, wherever the industry operates, the curse of oil kicks in.
The torrents of greenwash about ‘sustainability’ that gush out of BP cannot disguise that fact it’s part of an industry that needs to be dismantled if we’re to see true social justice in the world. And that dismantlement needs to happen before climate change kicks in with full ferocity.
What about the election?
With two weeks to go before the general election, it’s worth reminding ourselves that when you need to make a real positive change, you don’t turn to the ballot box, you take direct action. And there was never a time when we needed positive change – towards a post-corporate, fossil fuel-free future – more than now.
Direct action certainly beats voting for Tweedledum1 or Tweedledee2, those intimate friends of the oil industry…
1: Blair Petroleum is connected umbilically to the Labour Government, which has set up a highly business-friendly carbon trading scheme (colonialism with a green face), and approved the handing over of millions of pounds of public money for the company’s BTC oil & gas pipelines, which will be a human rights disaster & produce 160m tonnes of CO2 each year for 40 years, causing untold damage to the world's climate; baku.org.uk
2: The Conservative manifesto contains no mention of climate change
This action is also part of the build-up to the international day of action on the root causes of climate change on July 8th 2005, timed to expose the weapons-grade hypocrisy sure to be detected in the pious utterances of Tony ‘Hot Air’ Blair and his cronies on the last day of the G8 summit in Scotland.
(www.dissent.org.uk/g8climateaction)
So what do we want?
* Immediate cuts of over 60% in CO2 emissions, moving up to 90% in time;
* Community owned and run (ie. non-corporate) renewable energy;
…for the whole list, go to
http://risingtide.org.uk/pages/about/political.htm
Talk to us in the trees or in the future: 07708 794665
london@risingtide.org.uk www.londonrisingtide.org.uk
See also www.artnotoil.org.uk & www.nationalpetroleumgallery.org.uk
rising tide
