Reminder: July 15th Climate Change Actions

Infoshop news has ongoing updates on the Inernational Day of Direct Action against Climate Change, a call to action for people all over the world. Of special note is one relating to mountaintop removal.

Maracaibo, Venezuela: July 10 – 15, 2006 — No al Carbon! (No to Coal) A coalition of indigenous, community and student activists are planning five days of events for July 10-15, at every university, and other cultural centers around town. Details beyond that are slim and we are awaiting the grand announcement / manifesto of the events and campaign so it may be translated it and the two versions posted on http://www.rtc.revolt.org. Background: Over half of Venezuela’s indigenous people belong to the Wayúu ethnic group, and ens of thousands of Wayúu also live to the north and northwest of Maracaibo. Coal-mining in northwestern Venezuela near the border with Colombia “has brought deforestation, polluted the rivers and air, and caused sickness among many of our brothers and sisters. The mining companies must leave,” says Wayúu activist Ángela González. For each ton of coal removed, between four and seven tons of earth, gravel and sediment must be stripped away – devastation that not only threatens the habitat of indigenous people in the northwest but also the sources of the rivers that carry water to Maracaibo, the country’s second-largest city. Learn more about the indigenous fight against mountain-top removal coal-mining in Venezuela