Chinese New Year of the Snake 2013

Press Release     Feb.12, 2013

On Sunday, February 10th, 2013 a group of Comox Valley, BC residents opposed to the proposed underground Raven Coal mine in Fanny Bay attended a banner drop to commemorate the Chinese New Year of the Water Snake.



The 40 foot banner reading "Solidarity- No Coal!" was hung across the railway bridge over the Buckley Bay connector, by the adhoc Water Snake Alliance.



"This small scale, spur of the moment action was timed to coincide with the 2013 Chinese New Year to commemorate a much larger rally held in the same location on the 2012 Chinese New Year ", said Denman Island resident Mike Nestor, who attended the event dressed as a raven opposed to coal.

Last January the Year of the Dragon was ushered in with hundreds of BC residents gathered together in Buckley Bay to both protest Compliance Energy's plans to mine for coal on Vancouver Island and to stand in solidarity with the thousands of demonstrators who had been recently marching in the streets of Haimen, China against the expansion of coal-fired plants in that country, explains a press release from the Water Snake Alliance.



“Over the past year we have seen environmental protection gutted by the Federal Government”, says Fireweed, a spokesperson for the group. “Our need to protect land, air and water for present and future generations and to respond to climate change internationally has inspired allegiance building here in the Comox Valley. This year our solidarity also extends to the Idle No More movement."




On hand for the banner unfurling on Sunday in Buckley Bay were activists united through the newly launched Raven Mine Action initiative - Delores Broten of Comox Valley Water Watch, John Snyder of CoalWatch Comox Valley, Mike Bell of the Sierra Club Comox Valley, along with members of the Comox Valley chapter of the Council of Canadians, Denman Opposes Coal (DOC) and other concerned members of the regional community who showed up spontaneously to lend support.
                                                                   
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For background information please checkout the preceding press releases on this page. For indepth information about opposing the mine in general, please visit the following sites: Raven Mine Action initiative, Comox Valley Coalwatch , Denman Opposes Coal . 

Scroll down to other links of interest on the right hand side of this page, and speak out!

    all photos courtesy of The Water Snake Alliance

Solidarity - No Coal! Chinese New Year of the Water Snake, Feb. 10th, 2013

A 40 foot banner reading “Solidarity- No Coal!” will once again stretch across the railway bridge over the Buckley Bay connector on Sunday, February 10th, according to the Water Snake Alliance.

The action is timed to coincide with the 2013 Chinese New Year of the Snake, says Fireweed, a spokesperson for the adhoc group. "We will be commemorating a rally held in the same location on the 2012 Chinese New Year", she added.

Last January the Year of the Dragon was ushered in with hundreds of BC residents gathered together in Buckley Bay to both protest the proposed underground Raven Coal Mine in nearby Fanny Bay and to stand in solidarity with the thousands of demonstrators marching in the streets of Haimen, China against the expansion of coal-fired plants in that country.

“Our need to protect land, air and water for present and future generations and to respond pro-actively to global climate change has inspired allegiance building here in the Comox Valley", says Mike Nestor, another member of the Water Snake Alliance. “Today our solidarity also extends to the Idle No More movement.”

“Over the past year we have seen environmental protection gutted by the Federal Government”, adds the Denman Island resident, who plans to attend the banner drop dressed in a 'ravens against coal' costume.

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper has even paved the way for a massive natural resource buyout and for foreign corporations to sue the Canadian government in secret tribunals", explains Nestor. The Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPPA) between Canada and China, will restrict Canadians from making democratic decisions about our economy, environment and energy- further compromising human rights.”

On hand for the short banner unfurling on Sunday in Buckley Bay will also be activists united through the newly launched Raven Mine Action initiative (RMA)- Delores Broten of Comox Valley Water Watch, John Snyder of CoalWatch Comox Valley, and Mike Bell of the Sierra Club Comox Valley. Members of Denman Opposes Coal (DOC) will also attend for a small group photo documenting the occasion.

The Water Snake Alliance supports the RMA initiative to highlight (and encourage public participation where applicable) the following events taking place consecutively in 2013. These three milestones will influence whether the Raven project will get the go-ahead from government, or not.
1) the 50 day public comment period in the Environmental Assessment of the proposed mine, expected in early 2013;
2) the BC Provincial Election, scheduled for Tuesday, May 14th; and
3) the Ministerial Review stage of the Environmental Assessment, anticipated in the summer, 2013.

Allies of the Raven Mine Action initiative and Idle No More are welcome to attend the unfurling of the banner “Solidarity- No Coal!” on Sunday, at 2:00 in Buckley Bay. For further information, please contact the Water Snake Alliance at 335-1209.

January 21st, 2012- Buckley Bay, BC, Canada

Hundreds Attend Solidarity Rally Opposed to Coal

Over 400 people showed up in Buckley Bay on Saturday, in support of a festive outdoor anti-coal rally called, "Solidarity -Not Compliance!"

An entourage of almost 100 islanders accompanied a twenty foot-long Chinese New Year's dragon off the Denman ferry at 1:00 pm. Cheered on by folks attending from as far away as Vancouver, Victoria, Port Alberni and Campbell River, the dragon was greeted at the nearby rally site by musicians, and a giant raven bearing a placard that read, "Ravens opposed to Coal!"

The event took place on the cusp of the Chinese lunar new year, celebrated in 2012 as the year of the water dragon. Rally organizers, the Water Dragon Alliance, recognized the dragon as representing boldness, perseverance, and the overcoming of obstacles in Chinese mythology. They introduced the dragon from Denman as a symbol of solidarity with the thousands of protestors demonstrating against the expansion of coal-fired plants in China, as well as with communities throughout the Vancouver Island region united in opposition to Compliance Energy Corporation's proposed underground Raven Coal Mine in nearby Fanny Bay.

Nature was on side with blue skies and a little sunshine, providing a welcome break in a week of otherwise stormy winter weather.

Baynes Sound oyster grower Bunny Shannon, addressed the crowd: "It's a no brainer. The impact of the proposed mine on the hundreds of sustainable jobs in our regional shellfish industry will be too great.

"People may say we have always mined coal here. But we used to have slaves, we used to beat our wives," said Shannon.

Des Kennedy, Denman resident, author, and environmental activist, noted that the name of the proposed Raven underground coal mine in Fanny Bay might be appropriate after all: "The word 'raven' is both a noun and a verb. As the latter, it also means to plunder, take by force, and to hunt for prey," Kennedy explained.

Tria Donaldson, Pacific Coast Campaigner for the Wilderness Committee said: "The great turnout shows how much resistance this mine has all the way from Campbell River down to Victoria. There is no place for a dirty coal mine on a climate-friendly Vancouver Island!"

Donaldson posed a question for Comox Valley MLA Don McRae, also the Minister of Agriculture, with aquaculture and the Baynes Sound shellfishery in his portfolio. "How many thousands of people in your riding will have to say NO to Raven Coal before you will stand up and join them?"

Linda Safford, from Comox Valley Water Watch, spoke about the risks to drinking water in the Comox Valley and introduced a petition to oppose the proposed Raven mine.

Ken Wu, Executive Director of Majority for a Sustainable Society (MASS) talked about coal as a global issue. "Climate change trumps all other environmental concerns," says Wu. "Wild salmon, old growth trees, everything will be lost if we don't solve climate change. It's the number-one threat facing our planet."

The demo concluded with a photo shoot of hundreds of people assembled on the adjacent highway overpass above a forty foot banner reading, "Solidarity -No Coal!"

Saturday, Jan. 21st, Buckley Bay

Press Release January 16th, 2011

Speakers to Convene with Dragon at Solidarity Demo

Islanders opposed to Compliance Energy Corporation's proposed underground Raven Coal mine on Vancouver Island will unite in a festive outdoor rally on Saturday, January 21st in Buckley Bay. "Solidarity -Not Compliance!" will feature a variety of speakers drawing attention to the connection between local and international concerns surrounding coal.

The event gets underway at 1:00 pm with the arrival of a Chinese New Year's Dragon, representing solidarity with the tens of thousands of Chinese who recently protested in the streets of Haimen against the expansion of coal-powered plants there.

Ken Wu, Executive Director of BC's Ancient Forest Alliance, and Majority for a Sustainable Society (MASS) will speak in Buckley Bay about coal as a global issue. "Climate change trumps all other environmental issues," says Wu. "Wild salmon, old growth trees, everything will be lost if we don't solve climate change. It's the number-one issue facing our planet."

Tria Donaldson, Pacific Coast Campaigner for the Wilderness Committee and a former youth delegate to the UN climate talks, will also address the rally. "It's no wonder that communities all over Vancouver Island are standing up to a proposed coal mine right in their backyards. On top of the health impacts, it is also the worst fossil fuel in terms of carbon emissions. Coal mining is a dirty industry that has no place in a climate friendly Vancouver Island."

On behalf of Comox Valley Water Watch, Linda Safford will share information about risks to drinking water quality, and a petition to oppose the proposed Raven Coal mine in Baynes Sound. Oyster-grower Elizabeth (Bunny) Shannon, will speak to the fact that the economic livelihoods of more than five hundred residents involved in the region's aquaculture industry depend on an uncontaminated environment.

Denman Islander Des Kennedy has been active for many years in environmental and social justice issues, including co-organizing the civil disobedience campaign in Strathcona Provincial Park in 1988 and getting arrested at Clayoquot Sound in 1993. The award-winning author and journalist will lend his own unique support to the No Coal! demo on Saturday.

The event will take place on the west side of the highway, across the road from the Buckley Bay ferry terminal and kitty corner to the Petrocan Station. Parking is along the highway. For further information, visit www.solidaritynotcompliance.blogspot.com

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Press Release, January 4th, 2012

From the Pacific Northwest and throughout the US, to Asia and beyond, a global uprising is underway. From town to town, folks are reaching out to one another in solidarity through shared resistance to the mining, transport, and burning of coal.

Thousands of Vancouver Island residents and others have expressed their concerns about the threat to water, air, and economic livelihood from the proposed Raven and Bear coal mines above Fanny Bay and Cumberland, owned by Compliance Coal Corporation.

Massive demonstrations against the expansion of coal-powered plants in China have recently taken place, in the face of violent repression.

Regardless of where coal mined in BC ends up being burned, global warming, water contamination and other risks to human and environmental health know no borders", says Denman Islander Michael Nestor, a member of the Water Dragon Alliance. As one protestor in Haimen, China explained the situation there, "We are fighting for our right to breathe", Nestor adds. "Vancouver Islanders and others know we are all in this together."

Compliance Energy Corp, together with Itochu Corp of Japan and LG International Corp of Korea, own 31,000 hectares of underground coal rights from Fanny Bay to Campbell River, says Dawn Christian on behalf of the Water Dragon Alliance. These rights are owned fee simple, meaning the company will not be paying any mineral taxes to the province on the extracted coal, Christian adds.

"Solidarity -Not Compliance!", is intended to provide a peaceful opportunity for declaring our shared concerns with those protesting coal in China (and elsewhere) as well as opposition to coal mines in the Comox Valley, says Denman Island activist, Fireweed, for the Water Dragon Alliance.

"As we embark on a brand new year of resistance to the threat of coal pollution", adds Fireweed, "our January 21st event begins with the arrival of a festive Chinese dragon! 2012 is the year of the Water Dragon which, according to Chinese mythology, symbolizes boldness, perseverance, and the overcoming of obstacles".

Guest speakers include Ken Wu from MASS (Majority for a Sustainable Society), Tria Donaldson of the Wilderness Committee, local oyster grower Elizabeth (Bunny) Shannon, a speaker for Comox Valley Water Watch, and award-winning journalist and author, Des Kennedy.

The demo concludes with a special photo op assembly, so participants are encouraged to dress for the weather, but to be creative and colourful with costumes, signs and banners.

Buckley Bay is best known as the departure point for BC ferries to Denman and Hornby Islands, and the rally will take place nearby at 1:00 pm on Saturday, January 21st. For further information, contact the Water Dragon Alliance at 250-335-1209.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 'COMPLIANCE'!

- Compliance Energy Corporation's proposed underground Raven Coal mine covers 7657 acres. Compliance actually has mineral tenures over 71,000 acres from Fanny Bay to Campbell River. The Raven Mine would be just the beginning of the nightmare for Vancouver Island

· These rights are owned fee simple meaning no mineral taxes will be collected by the Provincial Gov’t which means no taxes to support health care, hospitals, education, infrastructure costs to our highways etc

· 3 Super Trucks would leave the Raven mine 24/7 every hour carrying 42 tons of coal travelling through Cathedral Grove and along the windy treacherous highway to Port Alberni. Same # of trucks coming back empty 24/7

·1,000,000 tonnes of rejects would be left on the ground with the potential (probability?) of serious acid mine drainage into productive salmon streams, ancient aquifers and into Baynes Sound, one of the most productive shellfish aquaculture areas in the world.

· The proposed Raven Mine is only the tip of the ice berg with the next projects planned to be open pit coal mines above Cumberland, close to Comox Lake, the water supply for the majority of the Comox Valley.

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COAL POLLUTION IS AN INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM:

Thirty Thousand Chinese "Occupy" Highway to Protest Polluting Coal Plants

Wednesday 21 December 2011

by: Stephen Lacey, ThinkProgress | Report

Tens of thousands of residents in China’s southern Guandong Province gathered in the streets yesterday, occupying a highway to demonstrate against the development of a new coal plant near Shantou city. The residents say existing coal plants in the area are fouling local air and water, and are making people sick.

Each year, protests spring up to counter the construction of dirty coal plants. But this appears to be the biggest yet. Officials now say they will abandon plans to build a new coal plant in the area. Two people were reportedly killed in clashes with police, but the government is denying those reports.

China’s coal use has exploded over the last few decades. Since 1980, coal consumption in China has grown 500%, and now represents three quarters of consumption in Asia. That has coincided with a five-fold increase of lung cancer since 1970, now the leading cause of death in China. (Of course, an increase in smoking is also a huge contributor.)

Watch the protesters gather in the streets throughout Guandong Province protesting coal plants and local land rights:

The video clip above concerns demonstrations taking place in China in December, 2011.

Coal mined in the US and Canada is exported overseas to a variety of destinations, uniting concerned citizens across the waters.

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Bring a sign to the rally in Buckley Bay...find a few slogan ideas folks have been sharing so far, in the right hand column on this page- please add your own!

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The Water Dragon Alliance is a grassroots adhoc group of concerned Comox Valley residents united for "Solidarity - Not Compliance"!