Welcome to Peace News, the newspaper for the UK grassroots peace and justice movement. We seek to oppose all forms of violence, and to create positive change based on cooperation and responsibility. See more
"Peace News has compiled an exemplary record... its tasks have never been more critically important than they are today." Noam Chomsky
Update from Mainshill Wood
Related Writings
Also in this Issue
Since Climate Action Scotland (see PN 2513), the camp at Mainshill Wood, site of a proposed opencast mine in Lanarkshire, has continued into its third month with the support of the local Community Council.
At the camp, Beth told me how the local community is particularly concerned about the cost of opencast coal mining to public health, in an area that already has three mines. There is evidence of strong linkage between opencast mining and asthma, as well as increased cancer rates, but this is an under-researched area.
Dr Dick Van Steenis, an expert in the field, spoke to a community meeting on 23 September. A new study, yet to be peer reviewed, compares public health in villages near to mines to those in clean areas. It will be made available on the Mainshill Wood camp website. Back at the camp, the cutting down of plantation forest to allow access to the site of the new mine commenced on 15 September.