From Earth First! Newswire
Last month we posted several stories about plans for a Seminole-led walk 68 miles from the Big Cypress Reservation to the Hendry County Courthouse next weekend, where their lawsuit against the re-zoning of land for an FPL power plant was to be heard. It has since been announced that the court date is changed to July 14 and the walk is postponed.
Photo from EF! blockade at FPL offices, Feb 2014
In an effort to continue building momentum against the proposed plant, a joint call-out has come from members of the Independent Traditional Seminole Nation and Everglades Earth First! to rally on April 21 and 22. The following text is from the call:
Celebrate Earth Day this year by joining one of the largest environmental battles taking place in Florida today.
Monday April 21
Press Conference and Rally, 4am – 6pm
A contingent from the Seminole Tribe and Earth First! at the February 25, 2014 Hendry County Commission meeting. (Photo: Patty Brant/Caloosa Belle)
Tuesday April 22
Rally for International Earth Day, 4pm – 6pm At the Hendry County Courthouse, 25 E Hickpoochee, LaBelle, FL(at 5pm the County Commission will meet here)
On the Corner of SR 80 and SR 29.
All are invited! Bring signs, banners, bull horns, drums, etc…Why we must fight
FPL calls their plan the “Hendry County Clean Energy Center.” This is a greenwashing lie. To give some examples, the plant will:
- Use 22 million gallons of water a day
- Release millions of tons of pollution in into the air and water
- Harm the health of neighboring Seminole communities
- Destroy habitat of the Florida panther
In February, the Seminole Tribe of Florida announced a 68 mile march from the Big Cypress Reservation to the Hendry County Courthouse in response to the County’s rezoning of land on the border of Big Cypress. The march was being planned to coincide with an April 21 court date, but the court date has now been changed to July 14 and the march postponed.
A coalition of groups including the Seminole Tribe, the Independent Seminole Nation, Sierra Club, Everglades Earth First!, Save Our Creeks, and others have joined together to support the Tribe’s lawsuit against rezoning the land and to build a groundswell of grassroots opposition to this power plant.
Simultaneously, there is a movement growing to oppose the new FPL gas pipeline which would cross Florida from north to south and is needed to fuel such a massive plant.
About the Hendry County FPL zoning issue
More on the Sabal Trail pipeline
Here’s a bit about the re-framing of Earth Day, and also some interesting background with right-wing slant from Fox News.
We hope you will join this movement to bring down FPL’s energy empire!
For more info: evergladesearthfirst.netComing up Next Month:
FPL and NEXTERA ENERGY, INC. Annual Meeting of Stockholders
MEETING DATE: May 22, 2014
For those who can’t make it down to the swamps to join the fight, take note that FPL/NextEra Energy, Inc. is one of the largest electric power companies in North America, with approximately 42,500 MW of generating capacity in 26 states in the U.S. and 4 provinces in Canada as of December 31, 2013.