Despite Protests, a German Coal Mine Expands

Images of demonstrations in the village of Luetzerath, beside a gigantic coal-mine pit

The small village of Luetzerath, in western Germany, will soon disappear as the nearby Garzweiler open-pit coal mine expands. Climate activists have occupied parts of the village for nearly two years, staging protests against the expansion of the enormous mine and increased fossil-fuel use. A court recently rejected a last-ditch legal effort to halt the destruction of Luetzerath, and this week, police officers were authorized to move in and begin evicting demonstrators. Today, several hundred protesters climbed onto roofs and into treetops, staging a sit-in protest, as police began removing them from the village.