MASINLOC

My team and I went to Masinloc, Zambales to join a protest action by the group Greenpeace International. They recently made news when their ship ran aground Tubattaha Reef off Palawan Island, although they have already apologized for that and paid a hefty fine for it.

Masinloc Coal-Fired Power Plant
This Napocor power plant was the center of action for Greenpeace International’s “No More Coal” project. While on our way to cover the activity, I remembered the Hollywood film “The Day After Tomorrow.” A Greenpeace activist I’ve talked with said the movie may be a bit exaggerated. The entire New York City turning into a virtual North Pole may be highly improbable. But climate change resulting to extreme weather conditions is not impossible. Hurricane Katrina recently struck the United States, and experts say, if we do not act now, things may get worse.

Kiwi and German
The group was bold enough to storm the premises of the power plant. They climbed onto the facility and tried to unfurl banners denouncing coal use. Five Greenpeace members were badly hurt in the incident when Napocor employees tried to stop them. The woman is Deb Collins. She’s 51 years old, a grandmother, and yet she volunteered to do such a strenuous act. The man is Jens Loewe, who for a few minutes was immobile since he was allegedly hit by a Napocor employee using a crowbar. The rest of the thirteen activists said they were stoned and a Filipina was hit on her chest. They may have forcibly entered the power plant, but was it right for Napocor people to hurt them? And at one point, we even heard a warning shot.

Coal Causes Global Warming
At the time of the protest the plant was even emitting black smoke. Simply put, Greenpeace says too much carbon dioxide produced by coal causes global warming which in turn results to extreme weather conditions.