Climate protests escalate worldwide.

• Author: Block, Ben
• Position: EYE ON EARTH - Brief article

Climate activists worldwide are raising the stakes, with many turning to civil disobedience. In recent months activists have chained themselves to coal conveyor belts in Australia, formed port blockades in the Netherlands, and scaled smokestacks in the United Kingdom.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The rise in activism reflects growing frustration with the continued and expanding use of coal as a source of energy. In the United States, a nationwide fight against 150 proposed new coal-fired power plants has held back several coal industry plans. Through the courts, government lobbying, and acts of civil disobedience, activists have helped cut in half the number of new coal power station.

In November, in response to a Sierra Club lawsuit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled that a proposed coal plant in Utah would need a plan for controlling its carbon dioxide emissions before being granted a federal operating permit. Meanwhile, the Rainforest Action Network has staged...