At 350.org, 2011 is all about movement building and for the next few months we're going to be doing our best to share the stories of climate victories and defeats from around the world. One of the biggest global warming myths is that nothing is happening to stop it. With the US Congress failing to take action and the UN climate negotiations in deadlock, it's easy to miss all the action that's happening on the ground. But all around the world, people are organizing, mobilizing, and finding new ways to make a difference.
Today, we wanted to share one of those stories from our friends in Borneo, who recently stopped a coal fired power plant that was proposed to be build in the rainforest there. It was a big victory and a good model of how a global movement can help a local struggle.
While the real work was done on the ground in Borneo, the organizers there also got help from bloggers around the world, professors in the US who helped come up with a clean energy plan that showed the coal plant wasn't necessary, and from the thousands of you that signed up on petitions to stop the plant. We're looking forward to finding new ways that this global movement can help out with similar local fights. Just as much as solar panels and wind turbines, the internet is an important new technology that can help us stop climate change.
Read on for a report from our friends in Borneo about the work that they've been doing and the recent party they hosted to celebrate their victory:
On the evening of April 1, 2011, Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP) hosted a Power to the People Party at First Beach, Tanjung Aru, in the state of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo to celebrate Green SURF’s* and many concerned Sabahans' successful campaign to stop construction of Sabah’s first proposed coal-fired power plant.
The event started with an urban marketplace for artists; entrepeneurs in clothing, food, renewable energy, and eco-friendly products; and environmental and community-based NGOs. There was also live wall art, frisbee, capoeira, and zumba, a self-organized bake sale which raised US $5,000 for Japanese tsunami relief efforts, locally-sourced and organic Sabahan food and drinks, a presentation commemorating the No Coal campaign, an open mic session, and DJ-provided music and dancing.
All the activities were held in an outdoor plaza and on the beach at the site of the newly proposed Borneo-Pacific Rim Hub, a sustainably redesigned space for grassroots-driven activism, expression, and collaboration across Sabah, Borneo, Southeast Asia, and the entire Pacific Rim. The party lasted from 5:30-11:30pm. It also acted as a demonstration of the Hub’s purpose and principles, as it brought together a diverse array of organizations and individuals who self-organized and decided how they best could use the space.
There were 500 confirmed guests prior to the party, and an estimated 1,000+ people participated in the event throughout the evening.
*Green SURF stands for Sabahans Unite to Repower the Future. It is a coalition of five NGOs formed in late 2009 to oppose construction of Sabah’s first proposed coal-fired power plant. Green SURF’s campaign of mobilizing Sabahans, local and international media, energy experts, and government officials resulted in an announcement by Malaysia’s Primer Minister in February 2011 cancelling construction of the coal plant. Green SURF is made up of PACOS (Partners of Community Organizations) Trust, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia, Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Sabah Branch, Sabah Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), and Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP).