lwsimmons.org

Friday, August 7, 2009

Five activists have installed themselves on the rooftop of Vestas Wind System‘s Venture Quays factory in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, in support of the Vestas employees.

The five — four of whom are members of the Climate Camp which has set up in the Isle of Wight — scaled the Cowes plant, which is located about five miles (8 kilometres) north of Vestas’s main Isle of Wight plant in Newport, on August 4 and have been camping on the rooftop ever since.

Martin Shaw, a self-described “environmental anarcho-syndicalist” on the roof of Vestas Venture Quays, spoke with Wikinews. He reports that while none of the five rooftop occupiers are Vestas employees, but instead consist of one RMT member and four Climate Camp members, factory employees “instigated this action” and had intended to occupy the roof themselves, but Shaw and the other four, as experienced climbers, had the technical ability and experience to accomplish the task.

While on the roof, the five are living in tents and washing in rainwater heated by the sun in black plastic bags. Food is sent up on ropes from members of the local community; unlike at Vestas Newport, the police and security are not restricting the bringing in of food and drink.

While Shaw notes that the stand of the anarcho-syndicalists on the best fate of Vestas does not exactly match that of the workers, who have called for nationalisation of the plant, “whatever their demands are are our demands”.

The central message of the rooftop protest, Shaw related, is opposition to NIMBYism. “I personally have got some sympathy with Vestas”, Shaw noted, accusing the Isle of Wight’s MP, Andrew Turner, of on the one hand saying he supported the Vestas workers but on the other hand campaigning against wind farms being built on the island. “Local opposition is stopping wind turbines being built in this country”, stated Shaw. The occupiers plan to unveil a banner tonight on the roof of the Vestas plant reading: “Save the environment, scuttle a NIMBY”.

The problem, he went on to say, is Europe-wide. The upcoming Copenhagen Climate Summit, Shaw accuses, will be a “business summit rather than an environmental summit”.

The Vestas Cowes occupiers plan to stay on the factory roof “until the workers want us to come down”. If the police come to remove them, as happened earlier today at Vestas’s Newport plant, the five occupiers say they will resist “determinedly and creatively” but offered no details. Shaw says that while they won’t use violence to resist the police, “we will defend ourselves”.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

After gaining strength in the western Caribbean last night, Hurricane Dean made landfall as a Category 5 storm on Mexico’s Yucatán coast at about 4:30 a.m. this morning (EDT).

The storm struck just north of Chetumal, the capital of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. However, hurricane-force winds were felt over 60 miles (~100 km) away from the center of the storm, and tropical storm conditions impacted areas 175 miles (280 km) away.

The Mexican government ordered the deployment of over 4,000 troops, and declared a state of emergency in the state of Campeche. Some areas braced for up to 20 inches (510 mm) of rain.

Dean made landfall as a category 5 storm, before being downgraded hours later to a category 3 storm. Later Tuesday afternoon, Dean was downgraded to a category 2 storm. Currently, the storm maintains category 1 status, with top sustained winds at 85 mph (137 km/h).

The hurricane moved towards modern oil installations of the Yucatan Peninsula, prompting evacuations of offshore oil rigs that produce most of Mexico’s oil and gas.

Forecasters warn the storm could pick up strength as it crosses the Bay of Campeche and turn into an even more destructive hurricane before making a second landfall on Wednesday.

A hurricane warning remains in effect along the Gulf Coast of Mexico from south of Progreso to Tampico.

Forecasters do not believe it presents a threat to the United States.

Dean is being blamed for 13 deaths already.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

After gaining strength in the western Caribbean last night, Hurricane Dean made landfall as a Category 5 storm on Mexico’s Yucatán coast at about 4:30 a.m. this morning (EDT).

The storm struck just north of Chetumal, the capital of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. However, hurricane-force winds were felt over 60 miles (~100 km) away from the center of the storm, and tropical storm conditions impacted areas 175 miles (280 km) away.

The Mexican government ordered the deployment of over 4,000 troops, and declared a state of emergency in the state of Campeche. Some areas braced for up to 20 inches (510 mm) of rain.

Dean made landfall as a category 5 storm, before being downgraded hours later to a category 3 storm. Later Tuesday afternoon, Dean was downgraded to a category 2 storm. Currently, the storm maintains category 1 status, with top sustained winds at 85 mph (137 km/h).

The hurricane moved towards modern oil installations of the Yucatan Peninsula, prompting evacuations of offshore oil rigs that produce most of Mexico’s oil and gas.

Forecasters warn the storm could pick up strength as it crosses the Bay of Campeche and turn into an even more destructive hurricane before making a second landfall on Wednesday.

A hurricane warning remains in effect along the Gulf Coast of Mexico from south of Progreso to Tampico.

Forecasters do not believe it presents a threat to the United States.

Dean is being blamed for 13 deaths already.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Rico Daniels is a British TV presenter living in France who is known for his two television series — The Salvager — whilst he still lived in the UK and then Le Salvager after he moved to France. Rico has been in a variety of jobs but his passion is now his profession – he turns unwanted ‘junk’ into unusual pieces of furniture. Rico’s creations and the methods used to fabricate them are the subject of the Salvager shows.

Rico spoke to Wikinews in January about his inspiration and early life, future plans, other hobbies and more. Read on for the full exclusive interview, published for the first time:

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Morale is “fine” inside the Vestas plant in Newport, Isle of Wight, England, as an industrial occupation of the wind turbine factory finished entered its fourth night, says one of the occupiers.

“Mark,” who prefers not to give his last name for fear of management reprisals, spoke to Wikinews and gave an update on the situation inside the plant, where 30 of the 525 workers whose jobs are slated to be lost at the end of July occupied management offices on Monday evening and issued a call for the British government to nationalise the plant.

A double fence now rings the plant, surrounded by police in riot gear. Five people have been arrested for attempting to enter the plant grounds. According to Mark, while police are now letting food onto the plant grounds, Vestas’ private security have been halting it at the gate; food for the occupiers is now being provided by Vestas management after the occupiers accused Vestas in the press of violating the Human Rights Act; commenting on the quality of the food, Mark said “it’s not been that good”. According to the BBC, the content has been mostly sausage rolls, pasties and crisps.

The occupiers were informed yesterday that if they did not leave the plant by 10:30 p.m. on July 22, they would be fired. They have since been served with papers charging them with aggravated trespass and are seeking legal representation; the court papers give them until July 29 to vacate, but according to Mark, the occupiers have no plans to leave: “we’re going to be in here for a while”.

Vestas has given no comment to the press about the occupation.

Political parties in Britain have begun responding to the Vestas situation, with the Green Party adding its support to the occupation following the early declarations of support, previously reported here, by the Socialist Party and Socialist Workers Party. Green Party Leader Dr Caroline Lucas MEP gave her “full support”, and said in an online statement, “We should be seizing the opportunity to create a renewable energy revolution through a favourable policy environment and massive investment in the new technologies that can see us through a transition towards a more environmentally and economically stable economy. The Government can make a genuine start along this road by pledging financial aid to help keep the Isle of Wight’s Vestas plant open for business”. The Greens held a demonstration in London supporting the Vestas workers on July 22. Environmentalist protesters have established a climate camp with dozens of people outside the perimeter of the fence and a mass demonstration is planned for Friday evening in Newport’s St Thomas’s Square.

In parliament, meanwhile, five MPs of the ruling Labour Party have signed a motion protesting the Vestas plant’s closure and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg stated, “This closure exposes the hollow truth of Labour’s climate change strategy”. Labour Party left-wing veteran Tony Benn is expected to appear with RMT general secretary Bob Crow and address a rally at the factory Thursday night. Opposition leader David Cameron of the Conservative Party has not yet commented on the Vestas situation, but Conservative MP Andrew Turner, who represents the Isle of Wight, held a confidential meeting with Vestas management, after which he said that nationalisation was “not on the table”. Earlier in parliament, Turner said that he found Vestas’s lack of negotiations with its employees “totally unacceptable”.

Late on Thursday, Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Minister, published an editorial in The Guardian, writing:

Milliband went on to promise £120 million in government investment in offshore wind power production and £60 million in marine manufacturing.

Vestas attributes its pullout from the UK to difficulty in obtaining planning permission for wind farms. The Independent quotes a senior company executive as saying, “We needed a stable long-term market and that was not there in the UK. We have made clear to the Government that we need a market. We do not need money.” Vestas’s income is up 59% in the last quarter, although its stock has dropped 4.4% on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange since the occupation began.

Meanwhile in the United States, Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick cut the ribbon at the opening of a 300-turbine, 800-megawatt capacity wind farm built by Vestas in Holden, Massachusetts. Vestas is a finalist in a multi-million dollar government contract to build a new offshore wind farm to be constructed in Nantucket Sound by 2012.