Global Conflicts Over Energy
The monumental increase in the use of energy is provoking conflicts across the Earth. The Green Party of St. Louis expresses it solidarity with those struggling against extraction, including these examples.
A. Standing Rock, North Dakota
Greens stand in solidarity with the on-going Native American protests at Standing Rock in North Dakota protesting environmentally irresponsible and culturally damaging pipelines that transport crude oil extracted from tar sand, destroying their ancestral lands. So-called “clean” and “renewable” energies depend on the climate killer oil for their production.
https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2017/04/28/resource-extraction-and-a...
B. Ogoni People vs. Shell
Greens stand in solidarity with the Movement for Survival of Ogoni People against Shell. The Niger-Delta was devastated and traditional culture weakened by soil, surface and groundwater contamination that makes farming and fishing impossible. Local communities still seek to receive denied compensation, clean-up, a share of the profits and a say in decision-making.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&u....
C. Coal extraction in India,
Greens stand in solidarity with the Centre for Policy Research in India as it opposes efforts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to to open 41 new coal mines because burning coal is a major factor in climate change, leads to asthma, premature births, and spreads toxins (including mercury) by air, water and land.
https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/coal
https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/06/19/india-eyes-private-investme...
D. Fracking in Pennsylvania,
Greens stand in solidarity with the Green Party of Pennsylvania which has opposed fracking since 2008 when it realized that use of volatile chemicals could harm local communities and waterways and contribute to climate instability. Local residents have become ill and major waterways and delicate ecosystems have been damaged.
https://www.gp.org/pa_greens_push_for_an_end_to_fracking;
https://www.gp.org/municipal_efforts_against_fracking_are_grassroots_dem...
E. Nuclear power and Olympic Games,
Greens stand in solidarity with the No Nukes Action Committee of the Bay Area who are demonstrating against the Olympic Games slated for Tokyo in order to raise awareness of the ongoing disaster of Fukushima nuclear power since nuclear power is deadly and intimately connected with the potential for nuclear war. https://nonukesaction.wordpress.com/
https://mronline.org/2018/08/24/is-nuclear-power-a-solution-to-the-clima...
F. Uranium Mining in Africa,
Greens stand in solidarity with “Solidarity Action for the 21 Villages” in Faléa, Mali against the French multinational COGEMA/Orano. After years of struggle, this NGO defeated a uranium mine through community mobilizing, aware of the detrimental effects on health, environment, agricultural land, water sources and cultural heritage, still fighting to undo already done infrastructural damage. https://www.wise-uranium.org/upafr.html
https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2020/03/16/out-from-under-the-ura...
G. Solar arrays in Washington State,
Greens stand in solidarity with rural Klickitat County, WA residents who are being invaded by industrial solar facilities which would exceed 12,000 acres and undermine wildlife/habitat, ecosystems, ground/water, and food production because solar panels and lithium ion batteries contain carcinogens with no method of disposal or re-cycling and could contribute to wildfires from electrical shortages. https://cease2020.org/
H. Wind turbines in Broome County NY,
Greens stand in solidarity with the Broome Tioga Green Party’s fight against industrial wind turbine projects that would increase drilling and mining, dynamite 26 pristine mountain tops, and destroy 120,000 trees while requiring precious minerals and lithium for batteries and being dependent on fossil fuels for their manufacture, maintenance and operation. www.OurWeb.tech/letter-21/
https://www.electronicsilentspring.com/primers/wildlife/manville-paper/
I. Hydro-power in Honduras,
Greens stand in solidarity with the indigenous Lenca people opposing the Agua Zarca dam on the Gualcarque River in Honduras whose leader Berta Cáceres was murdered for uniting different movements to expose how dams destroy farmland, leave forests bare, disturb ancestral burial sites, and deprive communities of water for crops and livestock.
http://www.greensocialthought.org/content/murder-berta-caceres-dam-disas...
J. Lithium mining in Thacker Pass,
Greens stand in solidarity with activists aiming to stop Lithium Americas’ Thacker Pass open-pit mine (Nevada). Essential for electronic devices including electric cars, the mine would destroy rare old-growth big sagebrush, harm wildlife including many endangered species and lower the water table. Its operation would require massive fossil fuel use and toxic waste ponds. https://www.protectthackerpass.org/
K. Cobalt Extraction in DR Congo,
Greens stand in solidarity with the child laborers slaving and dying in Democratic Republic of Congo cobalt mines. Cobalt is an essential ingredient for some of the world’s fastest-growing industries—electric cars and electronic devices. It co-occurs with copper mining, used in construction, machinery, transportation and war technology worldwide.
https://enoughproject.org/wp-content/uploads/PoweringDownCorruption_Enou...
L. Most of all, Greens stand in solidarity with thousands upon thousands of communities across the Earth opposing every form of extraction or transmission for energy which seeks to cover up human health and environmental dangers.
