It\’s Getting Hot In Here

In the weeks since the Supreme Court’s horrible, democracy-eroding ruling giving corporations unbridled spending on political contributions and advertisements under the guise of “free speech,” many of us have asked what impact this will have on climate legislation and contested 2010 races.

After getting unintentionally embroiled in a corporate free speech campaign involving a scrappy little enviro group called Rainforest Action Network, The Washington Post, and one of the largest oil corporations on the planet (Chevron), it’s got me thinking of the political ad campaign implications of the ruling. And what it means for the public’s access to real information in our withering media landscape.

First, the Corporate Speech v the People’s Speech story.

Continue reading ‘Chevron’s Corporate “Free Speech”’

As campaign escalates so do the legal battles

The nine day Coal River Mountain tree-sit that ended on Friday has entered a new phase. Mining giant Massey Energy has filed for a temporary restraining order (TRO) in federal court and sued five activists that were part of the action for $75,000 in damages. Ken Ward from the WV Gazette posted the opinion here.

For the past year, Climate Ground Zero and Mountain Justice activists have utilized direct action tactics on Massey and other mining company property to stop the destruction of Appalachia’s mountains. Massey has frequently responded to actions in court seeking financial damages and with restraining orders. Continue reading ‘Massey Sues Coal River Mountain Tree-Sitters in Federal Court’

Today, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Sit-Ins that kicked off the Civil Rights Movement, 20 citizen-activists from across Massachusetts woke up early to make their way to the Boston Municipal Court, to face trespassing charges for their participation in the Sleep-outs on the Boston Common last fall.

Over the next two weeks, close to 200 residents of Massachusetts – joined by renowned climate scientist Dr. James Hansen and journalist/activist Bill McKibben – will face the courts for demonstrating their disagreement with their dirty-electricity-powered homes.

Because the citizen-activists’ numbers have overwhelmed the court system, the trials are spread out over the course of two weeks, with 20-30 people appearing before the courts each day.  Yet the district attorney and court magistrate were not unsympathetic, allowing students studying abroad to appear in court in May or September (with approximately two-dozen people appearing between these two later court dates). Continue reading ’200 MA Citizen-Activists Start Facing Court; March to State House’