Birmingham Friends of the Earth Newsletter February 2002/March 2002

Boycott Esso

Day of Action a Huge Success
More than 25 protesters turned out to support the national day of action against Esso on 1st December.
The boycott was a tremendous success, and we were particularly encouraged by the general response from the public. Motorists were sounding their horns in support, taking leaflets and either turning away from the garage or driving through the forecourt and out the other end. Similar support was reported at more than 300 Esso petrol stations around the country.
The particularly prominent location at the corner of Sutton Road and Chester Road (The Yenton), meant that whilst the lights changed to red we could dodge amongst the cars to give out leaflets, thereby publicising the message of the campaign to as many people as possible in the local area. ITN turned up to cover the event and as well as coverage on Central news the item also made a small piece in the national Channel 4 news that evening. Local radio stations and papers also picked up on the action thanks to the national support and networking of the campaigners.
The boycott of Esso has been hailed as the biggest protest in this country against global warming. A coalition of groups including Greenpeace, the Green Party and People & Planet joined FOE to really put the heat on Esso to spend some of its $7.7 billion on investing in renewable energy forms. Esso is doing more than any other company to sabotage international action on global warming. They have used their wealth and power to run a ten year campaign of dirty tricks to sabotage the Kyoto global warming Treaty, the only international agreement to stop global warming.
'In the UK we've just experienced the warmest October on record. But Esso, like the tobacco companies who denied cigarettes cause cancer, still deny fossil fuels cause global warming. Even now Esso's henchmen are pushing this line to Governments in Morocco.'
- Cindy Baxter, StopEsso co-ordinator
"...It is clear that the weather is always changing. For example, 500 years ago, the Northern Hemisphere entered into an ice age"
- from Esso's website
In the same week the collapse of Enron, another mighty fossil fuel bully, acted as a good reminder to investors that socially bad companies often go to the bad financially, too. Campaigners believe that if Esso can be made to take notice, other oil companies will also take fright.
But the boycott has not yet succeeded. Keep boycotting Esso until the pressure forces them into the 21st century! Thanks again to all those who took part in the action.
Jo Allen

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