Huck Reports: Saying No To Coal

Here and No Further — In the latest Huck film, we head to Proschim in Germany where thousands of climate activists have gathered from across Europe and beyond, to try and shut down one of Europe's biggest and dirtiest coal mines. After last year's protest ended with mass arrests and violent clashes with the police, Huck joins them on the frontline of the fight against global warming.

Paris played host to the largest climate summit in history last year, with world leaders from 195 nations coming together to try and halt global warming. Despite the rhetoric and the headlines, Cop 21 has been condemned as an abject failure: the agreement isn’t legally binding, the goals have been labelled insufficient, and the proposals don’t come into effect until 2020. Unsurprisingly campaigners are worried, as we all should be. 

With governments and corporations failing to take a stand, people are taking matters into their own hands, taking the fight against climate change global.

In May 2016 thousands of activists from across Europe and beyond descended on the small German village of Proschim for Ende Gelände (Here and No Further), a climate camp now in its second year.

Last year 1,500 people tried to shut down Europe’s largest mine, and this year they headed back to Germany in bigger numbers for another go.

“As global temperatures continue to rise, so are the people”, says Payal Parekh, a Programme Director at 350.org, an NGO involved in organising the action. “Across continents people are challenging the status quo by pushing the boundaries of conventional protest to demand fossil fuels are kept in the ground.”

Coal fired power plants are the biggest source of man made CO2 emissions on the planet, accounting for a third of the dangerous gas being pumped out into the atmosphere. It makes coal the single greatest threat facing our climate.

“Ordinary people are joining the fight for our collective survival as communities worldwide are experiencing first hand the consequences of climate change and the damage inflicted by the fossil fuel industry,” Parekh continues.

Huck’s Michael Segalov headed down to the Ende Gelände camp in Lusaita, to meet the activists putting their bodies on the line to take the fight against climate change to its very heart.

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.


Latest on Huck

Smiling person in black wetsuit riding surfboard on calm ocean with rocky hills in background.
Sport

Maryam El Gardoum is breaking new shores for Morocco’s indigenous surfers

The Amazigh Atlantic — Through her groundbreaking career and popular surf school, the five-time Moroccan champion is helping women find their places in the waves.

Written by: Sam Haddad

Dimly lit underground carpark, long winding corridor with concrete walls, floor, and pipes above.
Activism

Youth violence’s rise is deeply concerning, but mass hysteria doesn’t help

Safe — On Knife Crime Awareness Week, writer, podcaster and youth worker Ciaran Thapar reflects on the presence of violent content online, growing awareness about the need for action, and the two decades since Saul Dibb’s Bullet Boy.

Written by: Ciaran Thapar

Colourful embroidered jackets worn by two people, with skateboarder visible in background. Bright colours and graphic designs on the clothing.
Sport

Volcom teams up with Bob Mollema for the latest in its Featured Artist Series

True to This — The boardsports lifestyle brand will host an art show in Biarritz to celebrate the Dutch illustrators’ second capsule collection.

Written by: Huck

Black and white image showing a group of shirtless men socialising, some laughing.
Culture

A visual trip through 100 years of New York’s LGBTQ+ spaces

Queer Happened Here — A new book from historian and writer Marc Zinaman maps scores of Manhattan’s queer venues and informal meeting places, documenting the city’s long LGBTQ+ history in the process.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Four persons - three women and one man - posing outdoors. The women are wearing elaborate clothing and jewellery.
Culture

Nostalgic photos of everyday life in ’70s San Francisco

A Fearless Eye — Having moved to the Bay Area in 1969, Barbara Ramos spent days wandering its streets, photographing its landscape and characters. In the process she captured a city in flux, as its burgeoning countercultural youth movement crossed with longtime residents.

Written by: Miss Rosen

A person wearing a black cap and holding a sign that says "What made me"
Music

Tony Njoku: ‘I wanted to see Black artists living my dream’

What Made Me — In this series, we ask artists and rebels about the forces and experiences that shaped who they are. Today, it’s avant-garde electronic and classical music hybridist Tony Njoku.

Written by: Tony Njoku

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.