Direct action at the climate camp
Megawatt Valley
In the 1960’s the nationalised UK power industry created Megawatt Valley… At dawn of the 21st Century people from across the UK are coming together in Megawatt Valley to start to bring that era of unsustainable energy provision to an end.
Megawatt Valley is a 10 mile stretch of the Humber, Ouse and Aire floodplains, containing Drax, Eggborough and Ferrybridge coal-fired power stations. About 15 miles east of Leeds, it is one of the most industrialised areas of the UK with much heavy industry and transport.
Power Stations
Drax Power Limited: http://www.draxpower.com/
Drax is one of three coal power stations in Megawatt Valley. On its own, it is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide in the UK, emitting 20.8m tonnes a year. This is more than a quarter of the total CO2 emitted by all Britain's motorists.
It is the biggest coal-fired power station in Europe, more than twice as big as any other power station in the UK. Drax provides 7% of the UK energy needs, burning nearly 10 million tonnes of coal a year.
Read more about Drax power station
Read more about the coal industry
As well as Drax, Ferrybridge and Eggborough Coal-fired Power Stations are nearby. ***More info to come***
Thorne and Hatfield Moors
A nationally and internationally important area for wildlife, containing 5% of the lowland raised mire in Britain; one of this country’s rarest and most threatened habitats. They are the two largest lowland raised mires in Britain. The Moors are notified as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs) under the European Birds Directive, Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under European Habitats Directive and qualify as Wetlands of International Importance under the terms of the Ramsar Convention). The two Moors can be considered the only true Continental raised Mires in Britain with stronger affinities with the Baltic lowlands.
Peat Mining
Unfortunately English Nature, the publicly-funded body who are supposed to be responsible for preserving natural heritage in England – sold licenses to American corporation Scott’s to strip the peat from Thorne and Hatfield moors and sell it in gro-bags. The company was working under planning permissions given in the days when peat was cut by hand, a slow process that allowed the bogs to stay wet enough to survive. But in recent decades they have been stripped by giant harvesting machinery which required the moors to be drained and all trees and plants eradicated in order to supply the vast quantity of peat - two and a half million cubic metres bought annually – for the UK market.
Peat Mining & Climate Change
To make the peat harvestable, Scott’s have to dry out the land. They dig huge systems of drainage ditches across the moors. Not only does this kill off much of the peat’s ability to support its rare wildlife that depends on the wet habitat, but it actively adds to global warming. Peat stores a huge amount of carbon, because it is made of undecayed plants - drying it out and digging it up releases the carbon, adding enormously to the greenhouse effect. Living bogs on the other hand take up carbon as they grow and lock it away.
Strong & Successful Local Campaign
There was a been a strong local campaign against the mining involving organisations like Earth First!, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, regional Friends of The Earth groups, and Peat Alert!
In March 2002, the government bowed to European Union pressure and grant Special Area of Conservation (SAC) status to several UK peat moors. This carried strong legal powers of preservation. The Department of Environment will pay Scott’s nearly £18m to leave Thorne Moor and Hatfield Moor.
All over?
Scotts has found a loophole in the law and is mining once again. The Scott’s plant at Hatfield Moor also processes peat from across Europe, brought in via Howdendyke Docks, in the Megawatt valley.
Coal Importing
Immingham Dock,is a large port and industrial complex. The port partnership of Grimsby & Immingham is the largest port in the UK in terms of tonnage. It is one of the main points for import of coal in the country.
Oil Refineries
Killingholm Oil Refinery: Oil is refined at the Lindsey (Killingholme) Oil Refinery by Total FinaElf (GB) Ltd and at the Humber Refinery by Conoco Phillips (based in Warwick). They both own the Associated Petroleum Terminals. 70% of the refined oil from the Humber Refinery goes to the UK, the rest is for Europe.
Steelworks
Huge Steelworks at Scunthorpe owned by Corus, one of companies with top five CO2 emissions in UK. steel industry is by far the biggest energy user in the UK .
M62 Corridor
The M62 corridor is a major freight distribution corridor for the country. There are huge freight distribution depots such as car dealerships and Asda.