Hoot of the Day

The Greens forced a shutdown of nuclear power under Angela Merkel. Now they are both for and against coal, the dirtiest of all electrical power sources. 

Police Start Clearing German Village Condemned for Coal Mine

The Associated Press reports Police Start Clearing German Village Condemned for Coal Mine

Police in riot gear began evicting climate activists Wednesday from a condemned village in western Germany that is due to be demolished for the expansion of a coal mine.

Some stones and fireworks were thrown as officers entered the tiny hamlet of Luetzerath, which has become a flashpoint of debate over the country's climate efforts, on Wednesday morning. 

Police spokesman Andreas Mueller said the attacks on officers were "not nice" but noted that most of the protest so far had been peaceful.

By Wednesday afternoon dozens of activists remained camped out in Luetzerath, some in elaborate tree houses, as police slowly moved through the village clearing barricades and a communal soup kitchen.

Environmentalists say bulldozing the village to expand the nearby Garzweiler coal mine would result in huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. The government and utility company RWE argue the coal is needed to ensure Germany's energy security.

Some activists expressed particular anger at the environmentalist Green party, which is part of both the regional and national governments that reached a deal with RWE last year allowing it to destroy the village in return for ending coal use by 2030, rather than 2038.

Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, a Green who is Germany's economy and climate minister, defended the agreement as "a good decision for climate protection" that fulfills many of the environmentalists' demands and saves five other villages from demolition.