News

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge gets reprieve
US government plans to let oil companies drill in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have been set back after that section of Bush's climate-unfriendly energy bill failed to pass the Senate. Companies are now reportedly looking for other ways to sneak in and grab the oil.

Russians reject McDollars
Residents of Voronezh in southern Russia have been turning out in their hundreds to protest against the building of a McDonalds outlet on the only park in the city centre. Over 200 people blockaded the site in shifts for five days in March, preventing builders from getting to work, but were removed by police on the sixth day. Planning permission for the outlet appears to be of questionable legality, though the city mayor is vigorously behind the corporation, even to the extent that, when protesters in 'Stop McDonalds' t-shirts dogged him at an architects presentation of the building, he had them removed by police 'for wearing the wrong clothes'!
Full story (in English) http://no-corp.voronezh.net/eng/ Send letters of protest to: Voronezh City Administration, Mayor A. Kovalev, Lenin square 1,Voronezh 394000, Russia

Bog Off Scotts!
A 'week of action' caused considerable disruption to South Yorkshire's Hatfield Moor peat extraction works (run by US multinational Scotts) in March during one of its busiest weeks of the season. On Monday 25th, with a lively street party of around 100 protestors blocking access to and from the site for approximately three hours. The day culminated in a sit-down protest in which 38 people were arrested for alleged public order offences. Other actions continued over the following days and the protests appear to have been highly successful.

Last month the government paid Scotts £17 million in compensation to stop mining peat at two other sites and to phase out peat extraction on Hatfield Moor. However, Scotts still intend to mine Hatfield Moor for another two years. Campaigners have a number of serious reservations about the deal: first, they argue that the levels of peat on Hatfield Moor are already getting dangerously low; meanwhile, evidence mounts of how past peat cutting has led to local species extinctions.
Details of the ongoing campaign against Scotts: Bog Off Scotts, c/o Cornerstone Resource Centre, 16 Sholebroke Avenue, Leeds LS7 3HB. 0113 262 3536 www.peatalert.org.uk
Friends of the Earth briefings on Scotts, peat extraction and alternatives to peat:
http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/corporates/case_studies/scotts