16th July 2017 - Investor removal

Investor removal

There has been some interesting press this week [1] about the influence of public protest on toxic industry - companies have admitted that if social licence (public acceptance, i.e. our permission) isn't granted for the fracking industry, it will get increasingly difficult for drilling companies to find investors.

With Javelin Park, we know that the press from local to regional (and trade press from construction to recycling to insurance) is aware of problems and has been dubbing the Gloucestershire incinerator "controversial" for some time. The controversy is not going away, and neither are we. So it's empowering to think of taking direct action as being "investor removal" - after all that's what it does.

Clarifying the situation: a video to share

We observed in Gloucester last week, as did the Taxpayers' Alliance on the stall beside us, that there are still locals who don't know about Javelin Park at all, and many more who are understandably confused, or have resigned themselves to what, from the cranes at Junction 12, looks like the inevitable. So I've recorded a short YouTube video to explain that all is not as it seems [2] - if you can share widely, especially among friends who might not realise what's been going on, it could be very helpful.

Visibility

Now available! Window stickers with the eye-catching Cancel the CONtract logo to put in your back windscreen or the front window of your house. To purchase please go here (every £2 donated gets you a sticker) or for a DIY version, just colour print this PDF onto an A4 sheet and cut it out! Never underestimate the power of logo recognition... [3]

Summer actions

Not all of us disappear over the summer, and most of us are around for at least part of the holiday season. So keep an eye out for more actions soon - and come along when you can, because your presence makes a difference.

We all have a choice. We can shrug in cynical despair, of course, and I have moments when I feel like doing just that - moments when I can't quite believe that people are paid enormous salaries to do hugely harmful things, while working to stop them usually doesn't earn a bean and doesn't keep to office hours either.

Or we can simply refuse to allow this polluting, unnecessary monster to be built. I grew up here, and I'd like my children to grow up here too. My son is asthmatic, as are so many children in our already over-polluted air. He doesn't deserve this and neither does anyone else.

A few businessmen have stitched up this contract, the Council's Cabinet has bought it, and if it goes ahead our children and communities will pay for it, in many ways and for many years. That is not acceptable. We do not give permission for it. No social licence.

NOTES

[1] The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/fracking-firms-uk-bank-investing-raise-money-protests-environment-a7841636.html

[2] Javelin Park - what's all the fuss about? https://youtu.be/6ixmw4qXzrw