Dr. Jim Hansen gets ready to deliver his message at the Washington DC power plant protest on March 2nd 2009. On February 22nd, WUWT covered Hansen’s announcement that he was endorsing civil disobedience. Now one has to wonder; what hath Jim wrought? (h/t to timbrom)
From the Telegraph UK: More than 100 campaigners arrested over ‘power station plot’
More than 100 people are in custody after police smashed a major plot to sabotage one of Britain’s biggest power-stations.
Officers swooped on environmental protesters as they prepared a mass raid that could have disrupted supplies to tens of thousands of homes.
The demonstrators are thought to have gathered at night in readiness to move on Ratcliffe-on-Soar power-station, Nottinghamshire.
They were rounded up shortly after midnight on Sunday at the Bakersfield Community Centre in Sneinton, Notts, by scores of officers.
Detectives later revealed they recovered specialist equipment that suggested the group represented a “serious threat” to the station’s safety.
Supt Mike Manley, of the Nottinghamshire force, said 114 men and women from across the UK were detained during the dramatic swoop.
They were being questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass and criminal damage at Ratcliffe-on-Soar.
Supt Manley said: “In view of specialist equipment recovered by police, those arrested posed a serious threat to the safe running of the site.
“This was a significant operation, with large-scale arrests. There were no injuries during the arrests, and the police investigation is ongoing.”
Witnesses told how officers in more than 20 police vans descended on the plotters’ apparent rendezvous point in the early hours.
Tess Rearden, who lives near the scene, said: “We were woken up by the sound of doors slamming and saw all these police vans and riot vans.
“My son came out of his bedroom and said: ‘Have you seen what’s going on?’ They were all up and down the roads. It was bedlam – real bedlam.”
Another resident added: “I was leaving my house when I saw a line of traffic approaching me, which seemed strange for the time of night.
“It was only when the vehicles got closer and started to pass me that I noticed every single one was either a police car or a police van.
“I counted 20-plus vans, all one after the other, with police cars at the rear. Then they blocked off all the roads around the community centre.”
One resident told how the protesters did not fight with officers during the swoop but signalled their defiance as they were being led away.
She said: “The police jumped out of their vans and ran behind the community centre. The people they brought out were singing: ‘We’ll be back again.'”
It is thought detectives had prior knowledge of the plot but chose to wait till the demonstrators were together in one place before moving in.
Local city councillor David Mellen added: “I understand there was some kind of gathering of people here in connection with the power-station.
“If the police had information that there was a danger to the power supply in the East Midlands then obviously they had to take action.”
The Derbyshire and Leicestershire forces helped in the operation and later provided additional custody facilities for some of those arrested.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar has been the target of a number of protests in the past, including one two years ago in which protesters tried to shut down the plant.
Environmentalists who stormed the site on that occasion later failed in a landmark legal bid to prove they were acting in the interests of humanity.
Climate-change campaigners admitted they attempted to force the site’s closure by chaining themselves to conveyor belts and filtration systems.
But they argued that, because they were saving the planet from global warming, their actions were legal under the so-called “defence of necessity”.
Had they won their case they would have paved the way for campaigners around the country to stage similar protests without fear of prosecution.
At the time Eastside Climate Action, the group involved, said the break-in reflected “the threat climate change poses to the human population”.
A spokesman said: “We argue that the threat to human life is so serious that it is a proportionate and reasonable response to take direct action.”
Giving evidence at the court hearing, station manager Raymond Smith told how production at the site was threatened during the incident.
He said: “People chained themselves to the conveyor system and the filtration system. They were non-violent, but none had permission to be on the site.
“If the protest had continued to the extent that the power station ran out of coal we would have had to shut it down. But we called the police.”
Eastside denied any involvement in yesterday’s events – thought to be linked to plans for a new coal-fired power-station in Kingsthorpe, Kent.
E.on, the power giant behind Kingsthorpe, owns Ratcliffe-on-Soar – allegedly Britain’s second-largest producer of carbon-dioxide emissions.
An E.on spokesman said: “While we understand everyone has a right to protest peacefully and lawfully, this was clearly neither of those things.
“We will be assisting police in their investigations into what could have been a very dangerous attempt to disrupt an operational power-plant.”
[snip – not for us to decide here]
A seriously dedicated scientist should know better than that. He has been around movements long enough to know what happens when you stand up on a soapbox in front of activists and start telling them to be civilly disobedient.
Even in the best of crowds, there are always a few who are more than willing to rip it up, just add vitriol and stir.
Compromise a power plant and you just might have more than simple property damage. It could turn deadly.
Most regrettable consequences might ensue.
It is unfortunate (and I saw my snipped comments above…LOL….me and my temper!) Sorry about that…I was just echoing an earlier post from Bateman that WAS published Robert Bateman (16:56:09) that said “Issue a Warrant” 🙂
But I hear ya….I get a little irascible….but my irasciblitiy does not suppress the truth.
It is unfortunate that a public official [whose paycheck is gleaned from the taxpayer] can participate in such events without consequence.
It really is a bizarre twist in science [and where science melts down into political slag] to see these phenomena occuring today.
May the truth win out! Thanks for your efforts here on WUWT.
Chris
Norfolk, VA, USA
Power cuts here in BC caused by serious activist led disruption to the power grid would result in the deaths of many who receive at home nursing and rely on a reliable electricity supply to keep their ventilation aids (Nebulisers etc) functioning, despite serious battery backup.
I understand that such home installed life sustaining equipment is not quite so common in the UK, but to my certain knowledge it is still fairly widespread. Should the power to some homes fail for too long as a result of Hansen advocated ‘activism’, there would inevitably be fatalities because not enough of those receiving such home care could be admitted to a hospital with functioning electricity in time. I truly hope the ‘activists’ appreciate this, but perhaps they don’t really care about anything but their own narrow minded agenda.
It’s time to start dropping the “Dr.” title from Mr. Hansen.
[snip]
Chris
Freezing in Chicago on 4/13/09
Ref Codetech…
Am surprised you say that, as its quite common knowledge on the political blogs that there is the ‘unholy alliance’ on this issue. Suggest you read the views of some of your more upfront US citizens regarding the USA oil dependance.
Am just pointing it out. As a liberal, I don’t agree with the policy, but its a POV that exists, whether you think its a ‘nutjob conspiracy’ or not. Instapundit for example has run several articles by peeps with that view.
I was worried about these escalations to violence coming because a lot of these nutcases are the same people who were rioting over globalization. It doesn’t take much to incite them to violence: They don’t need a coherent argument, just the flimsiest of excuses. The last thing we needed was for a prominent scientist to start encouraging them.
Actually, Mexican drug cartels AND pirates cause Global Warming. The drugs for Europe pass through Africa on their way from Central/South America.
If you took all the illicit drugs away from these eco terrorist types, away from all university students worldwide, their rational thinking capacity wouldn’t be so easily damaged.
Yup, lock em all up in cold dark cells and feed them raw chickpeas and kale with dirty river water. After they sober up from lack of drugs, maybe they can be reeducated. Have them serve meals on wheels to some of the oxygen dependent old folks, babies at home on breathing monitors and nebulizers, afflicted bedridden people of all kinds.
I almost wish they had succeeded to force the media and the public to experience the actual consequences. Let’s hope this threat will be enough.
My guess is that Hansen is still just a Boulder druggie, eternal teenager.
mikef:
Um… whatever, dude.
Now, if only you revolting colonials didn’t break away from Britain back in 1776 ;-))
Let’s do a deal, we don’t want JH over here, you don’t want him over there, so why not set him adrift mid-Atlantic! Fair deal? I have an old bath tub in the shed I could bung up the overflow & fit a plug so at least it would float.
I say it again, I fear that we in the UK are one step away from some body being killed, most likely an innocent bystander sadly. As long as it isn’t one of their number so they end up a Climate Change martyr. Perhaps this may just be the defining moment & a real debate could be started up as a counter to all the AGW hype & nonsense. Some hope!
The struggle for carbon emission reducing legislation takes place at two levels.
At street level by confused ill informed greenies and at a political level where our industry is offered a choice between two bad options.
Both are based on nothing more but plain extortion.
This is mafia politics.
http://heliogenic.blogspot.com/2009/04/markey-threatens-industry-do-you-feel.html
These young folk are to blame for threatening violent disruption; but far more blameworthy are surely those who knowingly peddle the junk information on which their actions are based; or those who fail to check the lies. Do you want to arraign the junkies or the traders and seducers? I think the media and the scientific establishments are also guilty, the media of amoral incitement and academia of not speaking out over vital information, namely the harmless usefulness of CO2. You’d have thought that even the priesthood should remember their school science.
Pass on the word, read my Primer (under my name) – the other side of the UK! Every day I wake up thinking about this – raising respect for Truth through real research… Ah, I’m going to try once again to get Scientists for Global Responsibility onto the case.
In the U.S., the key to arresting people such as were arrested in the U.K. is whether they are likely to engage in imminent lawless action. This is similar to when police can arrest would-be criminals before they commit a crime such as burglary. An attempted burglary is also a crime and police may make the arrest before the burglary itself is committed. From the news reports, the British police found implements of destruction, and thus were justified in making the arrests.
As to arresting Hansen or others who advocate damaging power plants, the key again is balancing free speech rights against the likelihood of imminent lawless action. If the speaker is merely speaking, and there is no likelihood of anyone grabbing implements of destruction and running to vandalize a power plant, then the speaker is exercising his right to free speech.
From the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brandenburg v Ohio, “the constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press do not permit a State to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force or of law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.”
The Brandenburg case is pretty interesting, given the similarities to today’s AGW activities. It may be found here:
http://supreme.justia.com/us/395/444/case.html
Occasionally I am almost ashamed to be British. This is one of those occasions.
What’s to be (almost) ashamed of? Every nation has unlawful crazies. How a nation deals with said crazies is what reflects. Nothing whatever to be ashamed of, here.
Codetech..
heh..heh…theres nothing funnier than someone trying to patronise from a pov of such obvious ill informed opinion.
You don’t find it bizarre that some monies that support AGW views sometimes comes from right wing think tanks, not just the usual left of centre sources? Everyone has an agenda in this debate. In fact McCain made a speech about this very thing. Do some Googling and start reading a bit, I’ll accept your apology later in good humour! Heh.
I work at the Ratcliffe power station and I wish the planned protest went ahead. The disruption caused by one old coal power station coming offline would pave the way to allow new build across the country.
By 2015 Britons will be able to read (by candlelight) about how the remaining power plants are unable to match the demand.
Also, the planned coal station is at Kingsnorth, not Kingsthorpe as reported.