UK Protesters Cleared of Charges

The environmental protesters that painted Gordon (i.e. Prime minister) on the coal fired power plant smokestack in England were cleared of charges of damage to the power plant. The ruling declares that the protesters were "legally justified because they were trying to prevent climate change causing greater damage to property around the world." This is the first time where preventing property damage caused by climate change was used as a defense in court. The judge told the jury that accepting this defense proved that the action was due to an immediate need to protect property belonging to others. (See also the news note below.)