1.
Quarry quarrel
In response to the Amey Roadstone
Corporation's (ARC) appeal to the
Somerset County Council for doubling
the size of its Whatley quarry in
Mendip Hills, Somerset, British environmental NGOs recently organised
one of the year's biggest direct action
campaigns. Hundreds of activists
camped on December 4, blocking the
quarry site's approach roads, shutting
it down for the day. Whatley quarry is
one of the biggest in Europe. The ARC
plans to dig 50 m below the water
table which, environmentalists say,
would jeopardise water supply to 300,000 residents in Bristol and North
Somerset, and affect the famous
2,000-year old Roman baths in the
town of Bath, 18 km away.
No to nuke plant
Taiwan's Asian Ecological Society is
organising protests against the government's plans to build the country's
fourth nuclear power plant. Around
5,000 demonstrators have been
marching the streets of capital Taipei
over the last few months. Several are
from the proposed plant site at
Kungliao village, 40 km east of Taipei.
Tribals from the southeastern islands
of Lanyu - Taiwan's nuclear dumping
ground - have joined the protests
against the plant.
Animal passion
The NGO, Compassion in World
Farming (CIWF), has demanded a ban
on live animal exports from Australia
and New Zealand. Over 6 million
sheep are shipped annually from
these countries to the Middle East in
pitiable conditions. They are crammed
into inadequately ventilated pens,
and remain standing amidst their
excrement during the 3-4 week
journey.
Some 120,000 animals die every
year en route on this horrendous
odyssey. The CIWF has appealed
worldwide for sending protest letters
to the Australian and New Zealand
High Commissions against this
barbaric practice.