Feature story - 3 December, 2007
Governments meet in Bali this week to agree an action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to stop climate change from inflicting severe impacts. The Rainbow Warrior is in Indonesia to add urgency to our call for climate action. Our activists have received vastly different reactions – on the one hand, they joined in a festive celebration calling for clean energy now, and on the other hand hung a banner at a coal plant as security guards fired shots in the air.
Hundreds of people stood together to spell out the words "Clean Energy Now" and the outline of a wind turbine on the site of a proposed nuclear power plant in the town of Muria, Indonesia. The Government is forging ahead with plans to build its first nuclear power plant there, in the shadow of a dormant volcano, despite mounting opposition from residents and environmental groups.
Last Friday, in Jepara, Central Java, hundreds of people
gathered together to create images of "human wind turbines" on the
site of a proposed nuclear power and demand clean renewable energy.
Calling for "Clean Energy Now", the crew of the Rainbow Warrior
were joined by community members and activists from KRATON (the
Anti-Nuclear People's Coalition) in a festive performance where
hundreds of people emulated the rotating blades of a wind farm.
Gavin Edwards, Head of the Climate & Energy campaign, was
pleasantly surprised: "We expected 600 community members to show
up. We'd asked people to dress in white, to make a nice vivid
image. At the appointed time, a sea of white appeared over the hill
- 1200 people!"
A festive spirit and pleasant surprises were nowhere to be found
the following day, however, when security personnel from PLTU
Tanjung Jati B coal power plant in Jepara, Central Java, fired five
gunshots and drew knives as activists from the Rainbow Warrior
climbed the coal plant's cooling tower and loading crane, hanging
banners reading "Coal Kills Climate."
Both of the weekend's activities - although received extremely
differently - were part of our campaign to drive home the message
that governments need to shift to clean renewable energy, and not
be distracted by the empty promise of nuclear power or fall back on
the bad habit of continuing to build and fund coal power plants,
the dirtiest of all fossil fuels. Let's hope that it's the pleasant
surprises that will win out this week!
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