What a day! UK actions by the numbers: 35 actions 20 cities 44 arrests Check out the Fossil Fools Day page for all the amazing actions in other countries, including the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Australia; as well as media coverage from around the world. And read on for the scoop on all the UK actions. Email us with any action reports or photos that we've missed out. A massive congratulations to everyone who took part in foolery large and small... and don't stop now, build on contacts you've made with these actions, get involved wherever you live, plan for May 1st (False Capitalist Solutions), June 3rd (Food and Climate Change), the Camp for Climate Action and beyond... see you next time! International video round-upIndymedia round-upSchnews round-up
Aberthaw, Wales: Coal-fired power station blockaded Activists, including people from Bristol Rising Tide and Oxford, chained themselves together and blockaded both roads into Aberthaw power station - the biggest polluter in Wales. The action stopped normal operations, and the staff were sent home for the day. The power station, also condemned by workers for its poor safety record, last year pumped out more than 7.4million tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide), the major contributor to climate change. It also emitted 28,000 tonnes of nitrogen dioxide and 31,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide – two chemicals that contribute to acid rain. This action comes after the successful closure by activists of Ffos-y-Fran open cast mine in Merthyr Tydfil, on Tuesday 1st April. Ffos-y-Fran is the biggest mine in Europe and has been forced upon the people of Merthyr Tydfil in-order to fuel the dirtiest of all power stations and big business's greed for profit. IndymediaBBC
Bacton, Norfolk: Major gas terminal blockaded Earth First! UK activists today blockaded the UK's largest off shore gas terminal at Bacton in Norfolk. The Bacton complex handles 40% of the UK's gas supply. Activists blockaded the main access road to the site for four hours, preventing workers from going on shift and construction materials from arriving. At either end of the access road, teams of three people locked on across the road, and unfurled banners reading ‘Shrink or Sink’ and ‘Keep Fossil Fuels in the Ground’. 19 people were arrested, including most of the support teams. IndymediaBBC TVITVBBC onlineEastern Daily PressEvening NewsEvening Star
Cambridge: RBS banner hang and roof occupation The Royal Bank of Scotland is one of the main financiers of climate crime, in the form of oil and gas exploration. After targeting the Trinity Street branch last year, this time protesters paid a visit to the Hills Road Branch to mark the occasion of Fossil Fools Day. Protesters climbed onto the canopy of the building and unfurled a banner reading “RBS – The Oil and Gas Bank: Climate Criminal”. Indymedia
Edinburgh34 4x4s and sports cars disarmed Loads of gas guzzling 4x4's and around 10 swanky sports cars were disarmed last night as part of the 'Fossil Fools' day of action. We targeted one of Edinburghs' more affluent areas for our April fools action. We chose only rich peoples vehicles to symbolise how the wealthy and powerful are mainly responsible for the destruction of our planet. We did the mung bean trick. It was very easy. Indymedia
Clowns take on Food Mile Freaks The Edinburgh battalion of the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA) marched into Sainsbury’s and Tesco to point out the absurdity of squandering limited fossil fuel resources on flying strawberries to Scotland so we can eat them in the middle of winter. In Sainsbury’s, the red-nosed army acted out the carbon intensive process of transporting food from farmer to plate. The clowns then dispersed throughout the store in search of an elusive ‘Scottish banana’, encouraging fellow shoppers to find (if they could) any produce in the store which was actually from Scotland. Indymedia
GlasgowGlasgow Fossil Fools present awards to local Climate Criminals *After some deliberation as to who was more worthy of the prize, they have decided to present three awards to… *The Flight Centre - aviation is the fastest growing source of fossil fueled carbon emissions. *The Royal Bank of Scotland - who through investments in oil currently boasts a yearly output of emissions equal to that of the whole of Scotland. *Shell Oil - emblem of our fossil fuel thirsty Indymedia
Climate change doesn’t exist. (APRIL FOOLS YOU FOSSIL FOOL!)” “Banner hung on Charing Cross motorway intersection in central Glasgow with the following note attached… “Dear Car-Driving Commuters. Who stack yourselves up one by one. Grid-locking our city Glasgow in high carbon, low health, grrr- noise / eurgh-air and catastrophic climate chaos. GET OUT OF YOUR CARS YOU FOSSIL FOOLS! From Cyclists, Pedestrians, Health Workers, City-Dwellers, Low-Carbon Lifestylers Wanting Radical Change Now, Grounded Non-flyers Who Want to Grow Vegetables on Your Land.” Indymedia
Fossil Foolery on the streets of Glasgow A bunch of Fossil Fools took to the Streets of Glasgow today, trying to persuade people to up their carbon emissions by putting more petrol in their cars, applauding SUV’s and urging pedestrians to Stop Walking - Start Driving! Next they applauded more 4×4s at traffic lights, before inadvertently stumbling into a branch of Starbucks to play – and Starbucks are a well known model employer and sell Green Coffee! The Fools, having realised their mistake, then took to the Street again, and lit upon a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland, where they unfurled their large Award banner, applauding the RBS’s contribution to climate change. The Fools then socked toward, then into, a Flight Centre. Here they enquired about getting a holiday with the biggest, guaranteed CO2 emission, and learned that many BIG SUVs were to be seen at a local private school, so they scrambled up there to drool over all those beoooootiful gas guzzlers. Hastings: Jesters vs. Ronald McDonald The Jesters of Hastings challenged Ronald McDonald in a Showdown! Jesters v's Ronald McDonald outside Hastings Mcdonalds in Wellington Square. Custard pies vs your big macs! 
Hull: Climate Crisis Prevention Unit Dressed in high visability jackets reading “Climate Crisis Prevention”, hard hats and boiler suits, we hung a banner in the town centre, below the large TV screen, reading: MONEY WELL SPENT? 2007 = 17,000 HOMES FLOODED CLIMATE CHANGE = MORE FLOODS We then proceeded to hand out flyers to local residents, of whom the VAST majority were very supportive. Our experience of successfully making the transition for ‘talking’ to ‘doing’ was very positive for everybody involved, and having now completed our first ever action, we’re looking forward to planning the next on the 1st May. Indymedia
Leamington Spa: 50-strong anti-shopping demo At Leamington Spa today we had a demonstration against the proposed Clarendon Shopping Arcade which if built will be huge and will have a large new parking area attached. There were 50 adults and children, many dressed up. There were fairy outfits, a polar bear, 3 jesters, 2 people dressed as death with oil drips, and more face painting. We had 4 banners, several placards and we handed out 4 different kinds of leaflets. There were two musicians playing a fossil fool's song written specially for the event. There were 4 people on bikes, and one bike and trailer with kids in. There were decorated umbrellas, and helium balloons with Fossil Fool's day written on. Nothing like this ever happens in Leamington. We passed a flower stall and the owner was so supportive he gave us 5 or 6 free bunches of flowers. 
Lancaster banner hang Building up to Fossil Fools Day, some people hung a banner at the side of Lancaster’s busiest roundabout for the “rush” hour gridlocked car drivers to enjoy. The banner read: “Worried about Climate Change? Stuck in Traffic? Get a Bike!” On the same day, members of Lancaster Climate Action handed out penalty notices for dangerous driving causing climate change to car drivers. The penalty notices were stuck on the wind screens in city centre car parks. IndymediaLiverpool: Free public transport? You're having a laugh! A banner reading “FREE TRANSPORT FOR ALL – DON’T BE A FOSSIL FOOL” was hung from scaffolding above the station, and fake tickets marked “Free Travel” were given out, accompanied by a leaflet entitled “Only Joking”, which called on people to take the decisions on improving public transport into the hands of those who run and use the service, not the companies who profit from it. “Prices are going up massively,” says the leaflet, “at a time when the government says they want people out of their cars so they can cut down on the use of fossil fuels! Instead, the government are cutting price subsidies and letting companies charge what they like!” It questions the 3.8% price hike implemented by Merseyrail last year, pointing out the lack of a corresponding improvement to the service or to the pay and working conditions of Merseyrail’s employees. IndymediaLondon
Fossil Fools Day “kicks off early" in London Fossil Fools Day 2008 got an early start with London Rising Tide “kicking” things off. In front of the Football Association headquarters in London, Rising Tide protesters issued the FA a Red Card for accepting sponsorship from E.ON - a utility company proposing to build new coal-fired power plants in the UK. At closing time, LRT played a spoof game of football outside the FA with a coal ball, scoring own-goals and with the slogans 'Climate FU Cup' and 'E-ON: No new coal' emblazoned on their football shirts. On the backs of their shirts were the names of the proposed new coal-fired power stations. Indymedia
Polar bears take on Porsche Protesting polar bears and Londoners delivered an apology on behalf of Porsche outside its London HQ for: * Going against the will of 85% of Londoners by trying to overturn the planned extension of the congestion charge * Lobbying to stop the introduction of European initiatives to cap harmful vehicle emissions * Continuing to produce true gas guzzlers, with 44 of its 46 models falling into the most polluting category of car (band G)The apology was delivered by an activist pretending to be from the company. Indymedia
Land Rover Ad Agency occupied by London Rising Tide Activists from climate justice direct action group London Rising Tide (LRT) occupied the offices of Y&R, the ad agency behind the current Land Rover campaign, and a new campaign for arms giant BAe Systems. The LRT activists were posing as executives from a newly-privatised wing of the MoD called HarrionProjects, a spoof company whose centrepiece is the Harrion®, a civilian version of the Harrier Jump-Jet. LRT also issued a spoof press release saying that Y&R has agreed to launch the Harrion® marketing campaign, and also that ClimateCare, the CO2 offsets company which is working to ‘offset’ Land Rover emissions, has agreed to do the same for the Harrion®, even though the Harrion® only manages 0.3mpg. The two occupiers were arrested. IndymediaPrecision Marketing
New Coal Fool found at the Department for Business Westminster awoke to cries of “Roll up! Roll up! Come see the Fossil Fool” at 8am this morning as 15 jesters and 30 protestors arrived at the department for business and regulatory reform to laugh at John Hutton, the minister responsible for the government’s push to build a string of new coal-fired power stations in the UK. Carrying banners which read: “New Coal? You must be choking!” the campaigners were juggling coal and planet Earths and wearing John Hutton ‘jester’ masks and hats. They called on Gordon Brown to take charge of John Hutton’s rogue coal plans and launch a coal power strategy review to consider the climate impact of going back to dirty coal. Stop Kingsnorth
EV-EON Carbon Capture launched on Southbank! EV-EON Unnaturally Carbonated Water was launched today on the streets of London. Using all new climate-saving technology we can save the day and keep burning coal for ever more. Well done Carbon Capture and Storage! This innovative new technology will be used at E.ON’s Kingsnorth Power Station and used to capture the carbon dioxide given off by the burning of coal.The carbon di-oxide is then bubbled through fresh spring water from nearby Kingsnorth Hills to create carbonated drinking water which is bottled and sold in Italian restaurants. Every time you drink a bottle of EV-EON you are helping to store all that climate changing gas - the more you drink, the more you store the more coal we can burn. Although consumers are reminded to drink responsibly and refrain from burping or breathing other wise they may be responsible for climate change. Spoof websiteIndymedia
Parliament Square protest against Kingsnorth Around a hundred students with People and Planet came to Westminster to protest about the plans to build a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent, the first of eight such major carbon-emitters being planned. Students brought with them three large white cooling towers, each with a large message 'NO NEW COAL' and one with rather nice grime dripping from its upper lip, and erected them on Parliament Square in front of the Houses of Parliament. Many of the students also held cutouts of Gordon Brown's face as they shouted advice to him that this programme makes a nonsense of the government's policy on carbon emissions, and several held posters showing the Draft Climate Change Bill, one of which, held by a jester, was set alight with the help of some lighter fuel. Indymedia
Evening Standard Promotes Fossil Fools Day The Evening Standard's recent run-in with the press complaints commission which regarded last years Climate Action Camp near Heathrow Airport, seems to have resulted in a remarkable volte-face with regards to climate activism. These photographs where taken of billboards around London on Fossil Fools day. Indymedia
Ffos-y-Fran operators Argent PLC targeted Argent form half of Miller-Argent who run the UK's largest opencast coal mine, Ffos-y-Fran in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. Around a dozen demonstrators from Campaign Against Climate Change turned up at 4pm in in Albany Courtyard, a private street off Piccadilly where Argent have their London office and set up behind barriers watched by rather more police from three vans and a police car, with a police photographer taking extensive video and photographs. A manager from the Albany came and talked to the demonstrators, taking a document about the mine and promising to deliver it to his tenants at Argent Group PLC. Indymedia
Total-itarian Fossil Fools Day 5 protesters demonstrated against the French oil company's fossil foolishness causing climate change and pollution as well as the usual protest against Total's support of the brutal Burma junta. Total funds the evil junta with 500 million dollars a year and its gas pipeline in Burma was built with slave labour. Indymedia
Manchester Fossil Fools Parade Some clowns got stuck in the revolving doors at RBS and a human pipeline was escorted from the city centre building by security. Some members of the parade got confused and chalked messages on the pavements, and people trying to escape the beating of drums ran to hide in the flight centre while the samba band, who really had no idea, blocked the entrance! Some policemen came along looking for Spartacus but couldn't find him anywhere. On a positive note banners reading 'OIL,GAS and COAL the jokes on US! Happy Fossil Fools Day! were hung on the walls of RBS, out of respect for their hard work contributing to climate chaos. Placards saying 'Mr.T says "I pity the fuel" were waved. The parade ended triumphantly outside Manchester Town Hall to recognise the vital role Manchester City Council play in the area, damaging the climate every day. Indymedia
Merthyr Tydfil, Wales: Ffos-y-fran open cast coal mine shut down Activists shut down operations at one of the biggest open cast coal mines in Europe to highlight a ‘black hole’ in Britain’s climate change policy. This includes a team that has climbed a rig in the mine and have hung a banner while another team is blockading the mine gates, locking themselves down with with bicycle d-locks. IndymediaVideoBBCIC WalesThe Coal HoleNewcastle: Hummer dealership run-in Activists in Newcastle blocked the gates of a Hummer dealership with a 'Car Culture Kills the Climate' banner. When workers tried to get through, they were allowed to pass, but then one worker rammed the paople stood across the gates and 2 people ended up on the bonnet of the car after being hit. The police turned up and arrested protesters for criminal damage 'to the car' and took all their cameras & video as 'evidence' of 'their crime'. The police then proceeded to raid both the houses for the arrestees and take computers and rip up floorboards. Norwich: Norwich Union unexpectedly withdraws its 6.1 billion investment in fossil fuels Communications Director Sarah Jones (who looked suspiciously like a Rising Tider) gave a beautiful speech explaining the change in Norwich Union investment policy: “The company has realised that investing £6.1 billion worth of insurance premiums in BP, Shell and other major oil, coal and car companies is unsustainable in the current climate. I’m sure our shareholders will agree with me that protecting our common future is certainly more important than protecting our bottom line.” The speech thoroughly confused the press, and activists then helped Sarah distribute 50 Norwich Union ‘Apology Sandbags’ as tokens of the company’s regret over its past investment decisions. Indymedia
Nottingham: E.ON Office Blockade 30 people blockaded the entrances to E-on's offices on Mount St, Nottingham City Centre. People covered in green paint to represent E-on's greenwash, locked onto the front entrance to E-on's office and stood in front of other entrances preventing E-on workers from getting to work. At E-on's offices today, Bob Castle said “We are here today because despite E-on publicly claiming green credentials, it is trying to build a new generation of coal fired power stations. It is trying to build the first new coal fired power station in the UK in 50 years, at Kingsnorth in Kent, and wishes to continue its expansion with a new power staion at High Marnham in Nottinghamshire. Two activists were arrested and have now been released on bail. IndymediaAudioBBCThis is NottinghamThis is Nottingham
Plymouth: Esso garage occupied Climate activists, a proud penguin, king rat, yellow clowns and critical massers joined forces to shut down the Esso petrol station on Exeter Street, Plymouth. The climbing clowns scaled the roof while others blocked access to the forecourt. The atmosphere was celebratory in a doomed planet kinda way! - music and dancing, lots of leaflets given out and a surprising number of positive hoots from passing cars. There were seven arrests, both the roof team and those blocking the forecourt. The demonstrators, from Rising Tide, were calling for ExxonMobil to acknowledge the urgency of climate change, to cease funding think-tanks and lobbyists that are committed to blocking internationally agreed policies on global warming, and to start investing in renewable energy. IndymediaBBCThis is Plymouth
Sheffield: Bike ballet at petrol stations Motorists in Sheffield were reminded of an alternative to their fuel-consuming, carbon producing transport. Petrol stations belonging to Waitrose and Shell were targeted with drivers being offered leaflets and bike route maps while being entertained by a cycle ballet performance. Indymedia
Southampton: Shell petrol station occupied A group of eight activists have taken over the forecourt and three activists have scaled and occupied the roof with a banner to highlight the damage and destruction the oil giant is causing to our planet. “We are here because we feel we have a duty to ourselves, others and generations to come, to not let multi national companies like Shell rape and destroy the earth. As companies and governments across the world are slow in taking direct and effective action to prevent the total destruction of the plant we feel it is up to us as individuals to take DIRECT ACTION and not let corporate giants destroy our futures.” 
Swindon: NPower head office occupied After successfully blockading Aberthaw power station in South Wales, a team of Oxford activists paid a visit to npower HQ. Activists moved from their successful blockade of the back entrance to Aberthaw power station, owned by npower, which was part of a joint action with Bristol, Bath & Cardiff activists. Once workers had been instructed by management to take the day off, the activists moved to their next target. They occupied npower's head office in Swindon, asking to talk to the CEO and unfurling their banner reading "Climate Change Starts Here" in solidarity with the activists remaining at Aberthaw. The campaigners left peacefully and there were no arrests Indymedia
Worthing: Fossil Foolery at RBS, Natwest and Thomson travel agents Five activists including one refugee polar bear descended on the streets of Worthing town centre to tell the public about the climate crimes of RBS, Natwest and Thomson travel agents. Percy the polar bear told of his ecosystem's plight, and specified how the targetted corporations were contributing to climate change. 300 leaflets were handed out to members of the public, telling them about Fossil Fools Day and explaining how local corporations are damaging the planet. Later on, Percy went into the Natwest branch and closed down his account in protest, and encouraged others to do the same and write to their bank manager concerning Natwest's bankrolling of oil corporations. Indymedia
Wrexham: Banner hung on on Plas Coch roundaboutIndymedia
