Greenpeace have closed a number of Shell petrol stations in Edinburgh as part of a day of action to highlight the company’s policy of drilling for oil in the Arctic.
Fourteen garages throughout the city have been targeted along with 86 in London.
At 6.45am, activists from Edinburgh Greenpeace visited the Shell garage in Dalry Road and disconnected the petrol supply to the pumps. Two activists climbed onto the roof and pitched a tent before unfurling two banners. One reads ‘Save the Arctic’ while the other shows various Arctic wildlife.
In response, three police cars and a van containing an inspector and eight officers, attended the scene, but so far no attempt has been made to forcibly remove the protestors.
Climate Campaigner Richard George from Greenpeace London Headquarters told The Edinburgh Reporter:- “Greenpeace has declared a day of action against Shell, targeting one hundred petrol stations in London and Edinburgh, in protest against them drilling for oil in the Arctic. This is not like drilling for oil in the North Sea. The Arctic is deeper, colder and more hazardous with the risks of an oil spill far greater and the impact more severe. There would be no way to clean up any oil spill there.
“This is part of a campaign, and we have been focussing on Shell in particular. Already this year Greenpeace have boarded drilling ships from New Zealand and Scandinavia.
“Although I am from the London office, most of the people involoved in today’s action are from Edinburgh. As well as the Dalry Road garage, we have people out and about in Edinburgh on bikes and low emission cars visiting other garages.”
Staff in the garage were unavailable for comment.
Greenpeace have a livestream video about today’s events which you can access here
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
It’s worth pointing out that Shell are one of the big wind companies in the UK (http://www.shell.com/home/content/future_energy/meeting_demand/wind/)
And that some of the main pro-global warming NGOs in Scotland have had big payouts from wind companies like Shell.
The irony, is that people like Greenspin accuse us who are pro-science (i.e. sceptical of the greenspin on global warming) of being in the pay of BIG-OIL, when BIG-OIL who are raking in the profits from paid for by us ordinary folks in Scotland get support from the NGOs to wreck our countryside and many of these NGOS are in the pay of BIG-OIL (disguised as wind companies).
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