Sign petition to save student

Just had a coffee and a break from reading the mass of emails that came in yesterday while I was at work....

Photo: Keiths Coffee in Cirencester - one of the best places for coffee in Gloucestershire - I even bumped into Princess Anne a long while back getting her coffee in there.

....and returned to computer to find this message below from a Green party colleague:

If you didn't see the Independent today, or know about this case already, then please take a moment to read and consider signing the petition - sometimes these petitions about a specific human rights case can make all the difference. A young man, a student of journalism, is sentenced to death by an Islamic court for downloading a report on women's rights from the internet. The sentence is then upheld by the country's rulers. This is Afghanistan – not in Taliban times but six years after "liberation" and under the democratic rule of the West's ally Hamid Karzai. The fate of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh has led to domestic and international protests, and deepening concern about erosion of civil liberties in Afghanistan. Background stories: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/775972.html http://iwpr.net/?p=arr&s=f&o=342282&apc_state=henh

Petition is here: http://www.independent.co.uk/petition

Eco-bulbs: what are the choices?

Eco-bulbs: what are the choices? That was the question put to me earlier today - rather than repeat what others have already done on this I point readers to The Ecologist article looking at why it’s not just our light bulbs we need to change but also the way we light - see it here.

And don't forget there is now a dimmable eco bulb - see here. See also Greenpeace's cheeky ad - beware bare bottoms in this video. See Ban the Bulb here. And here is one local supplier.

Early last year Greens launched a bid to ban old-fashioned light bulbs from sale across the EU which included setting up a Written Declaration. Replacing incandescent bulbs with energy-saving alternatives would save householders about £7 per bulb per year in the UK - and cut greenhouse gas emissions by between 60 and 70 per cent, totalling some 2.3 million tonnes of CO2 in the UK alone.

Lighting accounts for 19 per cent of total global electricity production. Banning those old-fashioned lightbulbs across the whole of the EU would cut carbon emissions by about 20 million tonnes a year - and save between 5 and 8 billion euros a year in domestic fuel bills. Old fashioned bulbs might be cheaper to buy in the first place - but on average they need to be replaced some 15 times before an energy-saving alternative reaches the end of its life.

Here is what Caroline Lucas MEP said at the time: "Banning them would create a huge market for energy-saving designs, bringing the initial cost down enabling the least-well off to benefit from regular substantial savings in their energy bills. It really is a win-win proposal: banning old-fashioned lightbulbs would be a step towards tackling both fuel poverty and climate change."

Cuba, Venezuela, Ireland, California, Australia, Ontario and others have all banned the bulb by 2010. Even China has a plan to phase them out by 2017.

In the UK we will see the most energy-guzzling light bulbs start disappearing from shop shelves as part of a voluntary initiative, which is being led by major retailers and energy suppliers. Gordon Brown has said he wants to see the UK to be one of the first countries to phase out inefficient light bulbs - by the end of 2011, just ahead of possible actions by the EU to ban these products altogether.

It is a pity he did not take the stronger step and just ban the bulb - voluntary measures have been shown to be poor at producing the required results in many areas - let us hope this initiative is different - some commentators have warned they think the voluntary measures will not be enough - certainly it is good to see the main retailers taking part. Mind after the publicity created by the recent successes of the Greenpeace campaign to tackle Woolworths other retailers I am sure are keen not to be targeted.

I wonder if China will in the end end the sale of bulbs before the UK?

A-levels in Managing Burger restaurants and privatised GP clinics

OK I blogged too much yesterday but just wanted to cover this - yesterday morning I dashed off a news comment re Government plans for Mc-GCSEs - see here.

Photo: Randwick tree

The Government has given the go-ahead for McDonalds, FlyBe and Network Rail to have branded educational qualifications - this is not healthy as unions and others have pointed out - and risks channelling students into very specific work placements, which could then lock them irreversibly into a trade that may not suit them. Instead we should be seeing investment in a rich and varied vocational training programmes which provide young people with the intellectual stimulation necessary for personal growth, and to increase their job options for the future - not limit them.

However worse still are plans for the health service - already vast junks have been privatised under Labour now Virgin Healthcare, part of Sir Richard Branson's sprawling business empire, has announced that it will be opening the first of six new health centres later this year. The company is encouraging GPs to join the new branded clinics, while retaining their existing contracts. Virgin would manage GP funds for staff and rental costs, and would offer additional, private, services to patients like dentistry and possibly complementary therapies.

Unison commented: "We are absolutely opposed to the move by Virgin Group into GP surgeries .... It is deeply alarming that a private company such as Virgin Group will be marketing its additional services to potentially vulnerable patients when they are in need of medical care as if they were visiting a gym .... [We should not] allow health centres to be run by gym managers."

The union has also made the point that some GPs have failed to meet their patients' needs in areas such as out-of-hours care because they have been acting as private companies and pursuing their own requirements rather than those of their patients.

Don't forget Iraq and Afghanistan

Iraq as noted in a previous post seems to have been forgotten by many papers yet the situation is still dire - although Bush recently declared: "Iraq is now a different place. Levels of violence are significantly reduced. Hope is returning to Baghdad."

Photo: Trees near Haresfield Beacon last weekend

Read more closely and it is a very different story - this blog is put together largely from Stop the War Coalition emails - the residents of the southern outskirts of Baghdad, whose homes were flattened on January 10 will not agree with Bush - US bombers unleashed 40,000 pounds of explosives on them in the biggest aerial attack since March 2003, killing or injuring dozens of civilians, many of them women, children and the elderly. Infact US bombing raids in 2007 have quadrupled compared to 2006, rising from four attacks a week to four attacks a day.

The latest assessment on Iraq finds that 151,000 (between 104,000 and 220,000) people died from violence between March 2003 and June 2006. See the full article re casualty numbers here and why this prestigious new report is the most accurate assessment so far.

In Afghanistan, the situation is also bad - the Washington Post reported recently the number of air strikes doubled in 2007 to a staggering 3,572 - an average of close to 10 per day. In 2005, by comparison, there were around 200 air strikes.

These increasing levels of carnage come from the man who accuses Iran and Syria of "fomenting violence" in the region and whose main purpose in his visit to the Middle East seems to have been to set up arms deals with a number of countries, which will get weapons of mass violence at an estimated cost of 20 billion dollars. Indeed Israel had a $100m arms package confirmed for the latest 'smart' missiles at the very time that its siege of Gaza was facing worldwide condemnation for what UN representatives called "illegal measures and practices against the Palestinian civilian population". See comment in Guardian here re "Iraqis understand that only the departure of the occupiers can let them live in peace."

Stop the War Coalition of which the Green party is part has now joined with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the British Muslim Initiative in calling for a national demonstration
in London on Saturday 15 March - a worldwide day of protest against George Bush's wars on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion. Meanwhile Gordon Brown would like us to forget that British troops are still in Iraq. They are holed up in Basra airport until George Bush lets them leave. Iraquis do not think we are making the situation safer - see this survey here - 86% of respondents believed the British troops have, overall, had a negative effect on the Basra province since March 2003.

Meanwhile more actions and vigils are planned before the March demo - indeed every Saturday in Stroud High Street there is a vigil for peace - and indeed I met a woman a couple on months ago who stands every day in Bristol at a Peace vigil - one important event coming up will be the Hands Off Iraqi Oil national day of action on Saturday 23 February 2008 - although as yet none planned in Gloucestershire on that day. A year ago the Iraqi cabinet approved an oil law which, if passed into law, would allow the likes of Shell, BP and Exxon to take over control of most of Iraq's oil reserves, depriving ordinary Iraqis of scores of billions of dollars. Shell and BP, with the help of the UK Government have been actively pushing for this law and these contracts since 2003. One year on, despite five US administration - and IMF - imposed deadlines, the law is still being contested at every level of Iraqi society.

Stratford Park has legionella

Last night I went swimming with my partner's seven year old daughter at Stratford Park Leisure Centre - the showers weren't working and I had two calls from local residents who were angered that they had not had a discount for their use of the centre and wanting to know when the shower reopens.

Photo: Near Ash Lane

It was only later that I discovered the showers had been closed temporarily following the discovery of traces of the bacteria which causes Legionnaires' disease. Apparently routine samples of water taken on Wednesday, January 16, showed five out of 12 tested positive for the legionella bacteria. Parkwood Leisure who run the centre are disinfecting the water and the system is being upgraded to remove' sections of the pipes where water flow is minimal.

Dave Marshall, speaking for Stroud District Council, which owns the centre, said the decision not to shut was wholly in accordance with the Health and Safety Executive code of practice.

Apparently legionella can only infect people if contaminated water droplets are inhaled. Therefore it was not necessary to close any other outlets such as taps or toilets. Further samples have been taken and the results are being awaited. It is hoped that the showers will re-open Wednesday. I have written an email expressing concerns and also asking about refunds when services are not fully available.

A46: weight limit rejected by County

Last week I had great pleasure in talking to a class at Whiteshill Primary School re the A46 - they were interviewing various local people in a project looking at the impact of the road closure - see my blog from last week - anyhow they also sent the beautiful card pictured to thank me.

Photos; card from Whiteshill School

Just after my meeting news came through that calls by our local Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish and three other Parishes (Painswick, Pitchcombe, and Stroud Town) for a weight limit on the A46 had been rejected. The Parishes said the road's unstable foundations cannot cope with heavy vehicles during storms and believe a reduced weight limit would help avoid future closures - making an exception of access-only and emergency vehicles.

However Gloucestershire County Council doesn't agree. I think they are wrong - not just because of the damage to roads. kerbs and more - at times these lorries are scary and certainly discourage cycling and walking - there is no reason why these huge lorries cannot be diverted around onto motorways and other major roads.

Stroud mayor John Marjoram is quoted in the SNJ saying: "These lorry routes need to be reviewed where they disrupt small communities, damage road foundations and interfere with local traffic."

The A46 is still due to re-open on February 15.

Government fails on plans for electoral reform

The Government's review of electoral systems has at last been published. It arrived last Friday as a mere written ministerial statement - and a shameful response at that - indeed another example of the Government trying to stifle debate and close down opportunities for the public to have their say.

Photo: Big beech trees near Haresfield Beacon - saved as they lie in an area where to cut them down and retrieve the wood would have been difficult

Voting matters and so do the systems used. The Government's press release laughably states
that the "current voting system for UK general elections works well". Maybe for them but not for voters. Where is their willingness to debate the issues?

At least the review has plenty of positives about PR systems and officially at any rate, everything still remains on the table although there were no recommendations in the review and Harriet Harman refuses to commit any Government time for a debate - and there was no process mentioned or offered to continue the debate or keep the process open.

Polly Toynbee wrote in The Guardian: "Alas, in the same week Labour kicked away one great chance to restore some connection between people and politics. Dust was blown off the long-avoided review of electoral systems, which was slid into the House of Commons library on Hain resignation day with no recommendations and only a terse statement: 'The government has no plans to change the voting system for elections to the House of Commons.' So just 8,000 swing voters in key marginals decided this June 2010 election. Too late for Labour to rue the day its miserable tribalism threw away the chance to reshape politics and allow more parties into parliament, wrecking a chance to ally with the Lib Dems. If turnout was dismal in this election, it was hard to detect the difference between parties ya-booing the louder the more they pretended to be the same."

Gordon Brown’s talk of “new politics” was already sounding hollow - this does nothing to convince us he wants change.

Glos biofuel protests at Tesco

On Saturday in Cheltenham campaigners were asking Tesco to stop investing in Greenergy, to come clean about the origin of their biofuels and to stop selling fuels linked to environmental harm and human rights abuses (see photo).

At Stroud Tescos there will be a protest this coming weekend with at least one gorilla suited campaigner. While tomorrow night you can learn more seeing a film at 7:30pm, "Lost in Palm
Oil" showing the effect that EU demand for biofuels is having on the rainforest in Indonesia , followed by a presentation by Biofuelwatch. At the Cheltenham Centre for Change, 30 St Georges Place , Cheltenham GL50 3JZ . Contact Vision 21 on 01242 224321.

Using recycled oils - chip fat and the like is great stuff - even some locally produced sustainable biofuels are OK but internationally biofuels are rapidly threatening our food supply. George
Bush’s rush to fuel cars with ethanol from corn raised the price of the crop as we've noted already on this blog. Corn is a staple food for Mexicans - think tortillas - yum - and price rises can mean that the poor go hungry. George’s decision has already led to 70,000 Mexicans taking to the streets to protest rising prices. This is the cost of using land for feeding cars instead of feeding people. In the UK recent price rises of fundamentals like bread may also be partially attributed to food crops being used for fuel - see article here on this issue from Lester Brown.

Rainforests are being burnt down to make way for vast oil palm plantations. The indigenous former residents of the forest report gross human rights abuses as they are displaced from their land. Biofuels have been marketed as a way of cutting CO2 emissions from transport. However a study by Nobel Prize winning chemist Paul Crutzen has shown that growing and manufacturing rapeseed biodiesel produces emissions up to 70% higher than its oil based counterpart. Palm oil grown on Indonesian peatland rainforest can cause a staggering 36 times more emissions than its fossil fuel equivalent.

The mad burghers of Brussels (the EU) have gifted us the European Biofuels Directive - despite Green MEP's opposition - this has led the UK to introduce the 'Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation' (RTFO) - ie the inclusion of a proportion of biofuel in diesel and petrol compulsory. So, short of selling their vehicles and avoiding all public transport people will have no choice but to use this unsustainable product.

Tesco have been particularly keen to embrace biofuels above and beyond the requirements of the RTFO. Tesco has sold biofuel since 2003 and were the first major retailer to bring biodiesel to drivers around the UK with a national roll-out in April 2004. Since May 2005, Tesco have been selling a 5% bioethanol blend in unleaded petrol at 185 petrol stations. The supermarket giant sources its biofuels from Greenergy BioFuels Lts and holds a 25% steak in the company. Greenergy is buisily building a new refinery and they openly state that they use sugar cane and soya, crops typically grown in Brazil . They also purchase palm oil, probably sourced from countries such as Indonesia and Colombia . Tescos website says: “We are already the UK market leader in biofuels and during 2007 we aim to double the proportion we sell.”

Hardly a boast to be proud of.

Anyway some good news from the EU is that they are waking up to what Green MEPs have been trying to tell them - Caroline Lucas, Green MEP for the South East, has urged the EU’s
Environment Commissioner to make radical changes to the EU’s policy on biofuel
after he admitted that he had largely underestimated the potentially damaging consequences of its production.

In a dramatic change of heart, Commissioner Stavros Dimas backtracked on his previous commitment to the target set by an EU directive which aims to ensure that 10% of road fuels in Europe come from biofuel energy by 2020. However, while Commissioner Dimas stated that it would be better to miss the biofuels target than risk causing irreparable damage to the environment and to affected communities, he refused to lower the target.

Dr Lucas said: “Commissioner Dimas’ contradictory statement clearly demonstrates the EU’s mishandling of biofuel policy. It not only fails to address the gravity of the problems surrounding biofuel production – it also makes a mockery of the EU’s legislative processes by dismissing its own targets as irrelevant. While I welcome the admission that large scale monoculture biofuel is absolutely not the transport industry’s golden ticket in the battle against climate change, it comes too late in the day to prevent the industry from jumping on the biofuels bandwagon. EU policy on biofuel up till now has been misguided at best, and only now does Commisioner Dimas appear to comprehend the stark reality of a mass plant-based energy drive. I wrote to the Commission more than a year ago to raise concerns over the direction of EU policy, urging it to further consider the environmental and social consequences of biofuel production in the developing world. Large-scale generation of biofuels fails to deliver the environmental guarantees we need at home and risks degrading the land in the South which many rely upon for food.”

While testimonies continue to flood in from the parts of the developing world negatively affected by the biofuels industry, a Royal Society report, ‘Sustainable Biofuels’, published last week further hammers home the Green message calling for government regulations to prevent biofuels from harming the natural world and its people. Dr Lucas commenting on the report said: “The Royal Society report gives more weight to increasingly hard-hitting evidence showing that mass biofuels do not provide a sustainable green alternative to fossil fuels, and can in many cases have a severely detrimental effect on local eco-systems. A letter to the European Commission from several Latin American NGOs last year warned that the EU’s rush to develop large scale monoculture biofuel plantations was leading to massive exploitation of entire populations, as well as a plundering of their natural resources. It also effectively gives the green light to biofuel developers to encroach on land which would otherwise be used by local people to grow food. Across Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia, monoculture soybean plantations have been the principal cause of large swathes of the rainforest. The widespread production of sugar cane, ethanol and palm oil in the South has also caused outrage amongst local people. Furthermore, agro toxic chemicals used in these plantations are seriously harming the health of affected populations. I call on Commissioner Dimas to urgently rethink the EU’s commitment to its current biofuel policy and not to pass into law the targets which he now admits cannot be achieved sustainably. The EU should actively seek to replace it with a less harmful, more sustainable and more environmentally beneficial alternative.”

All this comes as there is news that the Papua New Guinea Government have decided to shelve plans that would have seen huge areas of rainforest on Woodlark Island logged for oil palm development.

Dr. Derek Wall. one of the Green party's Principal Speakers said: "Agrofuels are a Trojan Horse in the battle against climate change. Some types of biodiesel can actually produce up to 36 times the carbon emissions of ordinary fossil diesel. On top of the destruction of rain forests and ecosystems, agrofuels are precipitating a human rights problem of epic proportions as agrofuel speculators are seizing arable land as well as evicting indigenous peoples from their forest homes - an anticipated 60 million people. This is often a matter of life and death for the world's poorest people, and corporate large scale biofuel investment is causing it."

Shell predicts Peak Oil in 7 years

Regular blog readers will have heard me banging on about Peak Oil - and how while the Government still fails to recognise it at least more folk are accepting it - some experts say we reached Peak Oil last year - but here comes an announcement from Royal Dutch Shell that the World demand for oil and gas will outstrip supply within seven years.

Photo: Haresfield beech

The oil multinational is predicting that conventional supplies will not keep pace with soaring population growth and the rapid pace of economic development. Jeroen van der Veer, the boss of the world’s second-largest oil company, said in an e-mail to the company’s staff this week that output of conventional oil and gas was close to peaking. He wrote: “Shell estimates that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand.”

See The Times 25th Jan 2008 and see also more info here. Here in Stroud see the Transition Stroud blog for actions we are taking locally to prepare for Peak Oil.

Heathrow consultation: act now

As any regular reader of this blog will have heard me saying it is clear that aviation growth is set to destroy our chance of tackling global warming. It is completely unsustainable and takes us in the opposite direction of the urgently needed low-carbon-economy. Most of my blogs are on the expansion plans of our local airport, Staverton, but this one is on Heathrow - the consultation is still running so I would urge to participate.

Photo: Woods on Saturday near Haresfield Beacon

The campaign group Enough is enough have a new ad running in The Independent and Evening Standard - 'Flightmare on Drowning Street' here. This ad was also meant to run in The Times, but apparently their editor pulled it at the last moment, saying Gordon Brown's salute was too 'Hitler-esque' - this is odd, as The Times printed their Christmas ad featuring the same image of Gordon - see here.

Anyhow the group have kindly put together 20 questions to submit to the Secretary of State - Ruth Kelly, at: heathrowconsultation@dft.gsi.gov.uk

I've enclosed the 20 questions with an extra one that I have submitted - meanwhile Greenpeace have several Saturdays planned in Stroud to leaflet folk re the Heathrow runway. Here's what I submitted:

I write to oppose the unsustainable growth of aviation in the UK, especially the proposed third runway at Heathrow. Below are a series of 20 questions that have been produced by campaigners: they seem to summarise many of the key issues that do not appear to have been fully addressed. I would however like to add the following question:

Some commentators suggest we may have reached 'Peak Oil' this year while others estimate we will reach it in coming years. This will have a significant impact on all economic activity using oil. What account has been taken in the economic calculations relating to Heathrow Airport and future air travel?

Cllr. Philip Booth,
Stroud District councillor for the Randwick, Ruscombe and Whiteshill ward

Twenty key questions:

Have you assessed the climate change impact of the extra three million tonnes per annum of CO2 admissions produced by the third runway alone?

Can you explain why the aviation industry, uniquely, can expect other industries to make its emissions reductions for it?

How do you reconcile the Government's stated objectives for achieving emissions reductions with its advocacy of massive expansion at Heathrow?

The latest noise attitudes survey (ANASE) showed that the same proportion of people previously annoyed by aircraft noise at 57 decibels were now affected at 50 or 51 decibels. Why was this calculation not included in the noise impact assessment and why is the old 57 decibel contour still being used to draw the boundaries of the areas which, you say, are affected by aircraft noise?

While you say that ANASE is flawed, is it not more robust than a study carried out 22 years ago (ANIS) which was never subjected to external review?

How can people sensibly comment on how the proposals will affect them when you are not telling them clearly where new or altered flight paths would go?

Why does your economic assessment not take into account the effective £10billion subsidy the aviation industry receives from not paying tax on fuel and being zero rated for VAT, and the £18billion tourism deficit where UK travellers overseas spend more than visitors to this country?

If the extra 222,000 flights weren't provided at Heathrow can you calculate the impact on the economy if these 'displaced' passengers a) made their overseas journey by rail, b) flew from another London airport or c) stayed in the UK?

Have you assessed the extra capacity that could be provided by high speed rail including the new link from St Pancras?

What benefit to the UK economy is provided by the 35 per cent of passengers at Heathrow who are simply changing planes?

Will you now commission an independent study of the economic impact of Heathrow?

According to your projections, the numbers of people taking public transport to the airport will double to around 38 million by 2030. Numbers travelling by road will also double to 53 million. What new transport schemes will be in place by 2030 and what will be average traffic speeds on the roads?

What new aircraft other than the A380 and 787 will be flying once the third runway opens?

Why was data on aircraft fleet mixes kept secret from local authorities while you were assessing the environmental impacts - yet freely shared with the owners of Heathrow (BAA) who stand to gain most from its expansion?

Has the data provided by BAA including types of aircraft, their noise and air pollution characteristics - and assumptions on airlines' purchasing intentions - been independently vetted?

Can you guarantee that once the third runway is operating the two existing runways will return to segregated mode and restore the relief offered by runway alternation?

Will you guarantee that the third runway - which is already longer than proposed in the Air Transport White Paper - will not be extended again in the future to accommodate larger aircraft?

Will you introduce a requirement to cut back on the number of flights if it becomes clear that air quality and noise limits are being exceeded?

Have you measured the increased risk of air accidents from so many extra flights over London?

Can you explain why you announced your support for the 'Adding capacity at Heathrow' report to the Evening Standard six days before the consultation started?

I look forward to your reply. Thank you.

Nice recommends planning changes

I was delighted to read in The Guardian last week that town planners and architects were told to give pedestrians and cyclists priority over cars in towns, and to design staircases that make people want to use them. Indeed so delighted I forwarded the article direct to the Planning Department that are no doubt aware of it....

At last there are the beginnings of some joined-up thinking - the Green party has for years seen health linked to all other policies like nuclear power, pesticides and transport - here is a glimmer of hope that others are waking up.....The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has departed from its usual remit of advising on NHS treatments to produce guidance on the built environment with regard to health.

The organisation is urging local authorities to crack down on vehicle use, by such means as charging and traffic calming. The guidance was commissioned by the Department of Health, motivated by the obesity, cancers and heart disease that can accompany the sedentary lifestyle.

The Guardian quotes Mike Kelly, director of Nice's centre for public health excellence, saying that inactivity was estimated to cost roughly £8.2bn a year. Sadly Nice guidance is not binding on town planners, but apparently talks have begun with groups that can encourage implementation, and studies have shown there would be considerable savings to the NHS if people were encouraged to walk and cycle. They recommend for example that new offices be linked to walking and cycling networks - something Greens have called for for years.

Phillip Insall, director of Sustrans' Active Travel programme, is a member of the guidance committee. He is also quoted in The Guardian saying that while in Basel, Switzerland, only a quarter of trips in the city were by car “ in a UK city of the same size it is probably two-thirds”.

Conflict of interest over Dursley supermarket plans?

The BBC Radio 4 'You and Yours' programme on Friday led with the concerns of Stroud District Green party councillors over a potential conflict of interest regarding the previous proposals for a Tesco in Dursley......

Photo: View across to near the Beacon, Haresfield

....basically Stroud District Council paid GVA Grimley to market the Dursley site for a supermarket and negotiate with Tesco over that site, yet Tesco is also one of GVA Grimley's clients. No one is saying anything illegal has happened, but it is surely poor practice that property agencies have commercial relationships with both sides when there is a planning application?

Over the weekend and most of this morning I've had a fair few conversations with campaigners and emailed various folk over this issue - plus put a news release together. Read the story here and see why we need more transparency on this issue.

The Citizen's 'Supermarket Sweep' is a mistake

Here is letter below that I sent today - earlier in the week Cllr John Marjoram was quoted in local press expressing dismay at the recent surveys showing that Stroud scored 50.8 in a survey of 55 shops. This puts Stroud in the 'border towns' group, just a few shops away from being registered officially as a 'clone town'.

Photo: Leeks in Farmers Market last weekend

I picked up on that point in the letter and expressed my disappointment that The Citizen was running a weekly article promoting supermarkets - they have been good recently promoting local food so it is worrying to see them change tact. Anyhow here is the letter....

The Citizen continues to lead on promoting local food, however the latest series of weekly articles, "Supermarket Sweep", contradicts that positive move. Why help these environmentally-damaging stores kill-off our local traders? There should be no justification for selling chickens at £1.50 or bottled still mineral water at 37p (21/01/08).

These stores run such 'loss-leaders' to entice the shopper. A recent survey found Tesco Express having a 7.5% higher-priced shopping basket than local shops. Meanwhile the big stores profits go through the roof as they squeeze farmers and producers and encourage ever more pesticide use, to produce those tasteless, blemish-free fruit and veg.

Last week the Citizen ran a story about Greens and traders who fear that Stroud nearly meets the criteria to be registered a 'clone town' (22/01/08). Indeed, in the UK, some 50 specialist shops like butchers and bakers close every week. An increase in chain shops and supermarket shopping risks the unique character of many of our towns and their local economies.

Tesco and the like are surely good enough at advertising their wares without The Citizens help? Indeed they now also have the support from the Government's Competition Commission for still weaker planning rules. This is disgraceful. Those concerned by this threat to our local economies please consider the actions at: <www.tescopoly.org>.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.

Stroud District budget

Thursday night was Budget night - see key issues raised by Greens here - basically a good well-balanced budget better than many other Councils - but like most it fails to give any sense of urgency about the challenges that face us. It is vital we take more serious steps towards developing community resilience and tackling climate change.

Photos: Green group at Pre-Council meeting - sandwiches provided as most come straight from work for the 6pm start - although it did finish 9.30ish - earlier than most Council meetings.

Other issues raised in the budget are the usual Tory question about how much money goes to central government each year from Council rents - basically about £5m - this seems to be a set piece for the press - even Labour don't defend the ruling but called on the Tories to say they would discontinue - sadly the Tories did not state they would. Anyhow it is important issue but oh so tedious.

John Marjoram raised the point that the budget sheets are now so complex that few can understand - even the Cabinet member agreed - it makes it v difficult to scrutinise - there was also the £64,000 question of whether to stop webcasting - as noted in previous blogs I do support it.....but enough of all this it is now a beautiful sunny day and I still have too many emails to reply to......

Ruscombe Brook and L.A. musician Devon Gundry

Tuesday evening saw me doing more leafletting in the wards - hard work in the dark to find some of the letterboxes - anyhow didn't manage to complete the Main Road before joining the Ruscombe Brook Action Group meeting earlier than planned as after we were to be treated to some music.....

Photos: Leafletting at night and below Devon's cd

Anyhow the purpose of the RBAG meeting was to share the outcome of the meeting on 22 December when we created something of an action plan (see earlier blog for details of that) - we talked some around that plus much discussions about other issues like drains and Puckshole which have been raised in this blog over the last week. So I wont dwell on all that....by 9pm it was time for music

Devon Gundry, a musician who lives in LA has been staying in Ruscombe for a few days and the Brook group were joined by him and others after the meeting. He shared some of his own songs and talked about how being a Baha'i inspired him and his music. Devon was wonderfully passionate and energetic with every song he played - some were set to beautiful spiritual words, others he had written himself - we finished with food and talk and even a free cd for some.

See his You Tube videos which include some of his songs and a link to his Myspace site - see here. He is heading back to the States now but says he may return in the future to Stroud as he had such a good welcome here.

What a waste of waste

The more I hear the more I am concerned the County Council are going to make a very bad decision regarding our waste.

Photos: Green District councillors meeting on Monday in Star Anise and below the 'waste cone'

Anyhow on Monday the five Green District councillors met for their regular slot to look at a whole load of issues - waste being one of them - indeed as regular blog readers will know I've been helping put together a policy document - the summary of which I posted on the Glos Green website yesterday.

It is very worrying that all the indications are that the County is moving ever forward towards a monster incinerator at Stonehouse to cope with all the County's waste - there is even the likelihood that they will set ridiculously low targets for recycling like only 50% - other places are already at 70% and more - if we have a low target then we will have to burn for many years stuff we should be recycling - worse still if we don't keep providing the waste the contracts mean we are fined. Anyhow the issue comes to SDC Cabinet on 31st and the good news is that at least in Stroud some sense is prevailing - although not sure how we can stand up to other 5 Districts and County? We will see but Greens will be working hard to ensure no monster incinerator!

See summary of our local Green party policy here and don't forget the Coffee House Discussion tomorrow on waste - see here.

What else was on the agenda at the District councillors meeting?

Lots of stuff - but to give a flavour here were some of the agenda items: the vision thing, Kirklees, SDCs independent Climate Change Panels recommendations and how they will be implemented, a possible Zero Carbon conference, the Planning Document consultations (including Housing Design, Brimscombe, Sustainable Communities Strategy), Canal consultation, SDCs Regeneration Strategy, Shared Spaces Public consultation (Sub rooms 31st Jan), SDC Contract inquiry and the budget - indeed tonight at Full Council is the Councils budget meeting.

Transition Stroud meetings

Another couple of meetings I went to last week and haven't mentioned here on the blog were the Transition Stroud Open meeting - see my full write up here with lots of photos - and a part of the Transition Transport group - I've not managed to get to so many of those meetings as they clashed with others - however they are a very dynamic group that is seriously taking on the challenge of our transport emissions.

Photo: Open meeting last week

Indeed the Transport group are covering so many key issues that it is hard to do justice here - but just to give you a flavour of the discussions....and this really was only part of the discussions...

Travel to work initiatives. It seems likely that the Sustrans initiative at Hucclecote is the same as the GCC travel smart initiative at Quedgley and Hucclecote in which travel information was sent out to households inviting those interested to have someone visit them and discuss their travel needs – an individual travel promotion plan. This was quite successful and led to a fall in car use and an increase in use of public transport. A similar initiative was used in the Worcester Sustainable Travel City initiative (which received national funding). The group are already looking to see if this could happen here.

Wiki Website on transport. The website is slowly getting additional information. The names of who owns which maps needs to be added in, so that people can get hold of them. A new website for TS is proposed, in which there would be editors for each section. More on this as it develops (see also more in my write up of the Open Meeting).

Photo: Horse near Woodchester - only added as thought horse photo might fit with all this talk of transport?

Agreeing priorities. A proposal for using a “change management” approach to agreeing on future priorities was put forward. It was agreed to pursue this.

Writing to companies. SDC is planning a Green Travel Week (16-24 June 2008 – this is almost the same as National Bike Week which is 14-22 June!) in which it will be promoting green travel with schools and companies. Green councillor Sarah Lunnon has also proposed a “district cycle to school week” at the same time. A letterhead/logo is being created so letters are on hold until next meeting.

Cycling Strategy. This is only slowly moving forward and it was felt that the Campaign/Forum will need to apply some pressure to get it moving more in the District.

Electric bikes. It was agreed to check out AtoB to see if they can recommend bikes suitable for the Stroud Valleys. There are hopes for a demo day.

Events for 2008. There are a few dates on the web. A mass cycling event which is scheduled for Sunday 23 September. On 15th June there will be a similar local event cycling from the Subscription Rooms to Chalford. Bike Film Night is on 31 January (7-10pm) at the Sub Rooms - see more details here.

Teenage cycling wear. The issue was raised - a concern about teenagers cycling to school who do not wear any hi-viz clothing because the usual products are not cool. This is particularly true for the darker uniforms. Various people had suggestions and all are asked to send any ideas, web sites etc so that it can be built into the green travel/cycle to school week in June.

Friday night on The Plain

Another item I've not had time to add is this photo from a resident on The Plain in Whiteshill - apparently about 21.30 - police attended - at least no casualties - although if there had of been we might have moved up the priority list for tackling speeds in Whiteshill....15th Feb is the latest date for opening of A46 - bring it on! Although suspect we will still get these nutters driving at speed.

Photo: Next day - thanks to the resident who emailed me with it.

Monthly safe water meeting

Last week forgot to cover on this blog a meeting of the Safe Water Campaign - see write up here - today I was sent a link to a new short You Tube video about a demo against fluoride being added to water in Queensland - it covers some of the key issues - see it here.

Photo: Meeting last week

EU Commission fails on climate change

The European Commission today presented its package of legislative proposals on climate and energy - including emissions trading, renewables and 'effort sharing'. I have to say I was deeply disappointed with the result.

Photo: View from Whiteshill down towards Painswick Valley earlier this week when I was delivering leaflets to the ward

Here is what Green MEP for the South East and Climate Committee Co-ordinator Caroline Lucas said: "It is a serious source of regret that the EU Commission has based its climate package on a mere 20% greenhouse gas reduction by 2020. Member States have committed to a 30% greenhouse gas reduction (which is in line with the reduction scientists agree is the minimum necessary) assuming an international agreement is reached. By setting the bar lower from the outset, the EU is negatively prejudging the outcome of international climate negotiations and sending the wrong signal to the rest of world. Basing the overall emissions cap under the Emissions Trading Scheme on a 20% reduction assumption is the most glaring example of this pessimism. However, it has a knock-on effect across the board, with the UK reduction target of 16% (from 2005 emissions) for non-ETS sectors falling far below what is required to tackle climate change.

"The Commission's pessimism also prevailed in the treatment of energy-intensive sectors under the next round of the Emissions Trading Scheme. There should be no unfair environmental dumping against EU energy-intensive sectors. In exempting these sectors from auctioning until 2020, the Commission is starting from the negative assumption that no other countries will introduce binding measures to reduce emissions from these sectors. This could be circumvented by the use of a climate levy. "

The proposal to include the purchasing of credits from the Kyoto Clean Development Mechanism, Joint Implementation or other external projects for meeting even this -20% is flawed and inconsistent. Until there is an international post-2012 climate agreement there is no certainty regarding these credits and there would be no legal base for them. In any event, the use of credits should be limited and industries should not be allowed to buy their way out of reductions."

On the proposed legislation for renewable energy Dr Lucas added: "While the overall thrust of the proposed legislation on how the EU should meet its 20% renewable energy target by 2020 is positive, the proposed target for renewables in the UK, at 15%, falls far short of the enormous potential we have. Instead of regarding an expansion in renewable energy as some kind of punitive means of achieving climate goals, the government should acknowledge it as a key means of reducing our dependence on foreign energy and creating jobs in Europe. Crucially, the target is based on final consumption, so energy saving and energy efficiency are central to meeting the target."

Dr Lucas also criticised the specific EU target for agro-fuels, saying: "Despite the cacophony of warnings against an expansion in the use of agro-fuels, the Commission is continuing to bury its head in the sand. Even the Commission's own experts have cautioned that a serious expansion in the use of this generation of 'biofuels' will wreak serious social and environmental damage without delivering any real emissions reductions. The only way to avoid this damage is to scrap the 10% binding target agreed last year and we strongly urge Member States to do so.

"The proposed sustainability criteria are completely inadequate, as well as being enormously difficult to enforce, and it is completely unacceptable that Member States should be prevented from introducing stricter criteria. Moreover, in the short term, the Commission is also refusing to even try to ensure that all biofuel production results in net greenhouse gas savings. Rather than playing with fire, the EU should simply scrap the mandatory 10% target for biofuels."

Is file-swapping stealing?

The Greens/European Free Alliance has a web site and video designed to counter media industry claims that piracy is theft. The "I Wouldn't Steal" campaign argues that downloading movies or music without paying is "fundamentally different from stealing" - by which the group means physical theft of things like purses and cars.

The Green group consider that sharing is fair and that "consumers are willing to pay if offered good quality at a fair price." Media companies - especially the movie studios - have failed to offer viable legal alternatives to piracy. To reform the system, the Greens want to make royalty payments regressive, so that "artists get paid less the zillionth time their song is played than the first time. Frequently played artists will still make more money, but no longer out of proportion." To collect more revenue for artists, the Greens suggest taxing advertising on TV, radio, and billboards, since advertising is a "form of mental pollution" and "corporations should pay for pollution."

That all seems a positive way forward - what do others think?

Torrentfreak, which has covered the campaign, praises the fact that the Greens "stand up for people's right to share culture," while The Pirate Bay is running a "I Wouldn't Steal" logo on its front page. The music and movie industries will no doubt be less convinced by the campaign! In Sweden, seven MPs have recently sent a letter to Expressen in which they called for the decriminalization of file-swapping.

Staverton Airport: Shameful report from Cheltenham's Scrutiny panel

Hey campaigning can be great fun - when it is done in the warmth of a pub - last night I was in Cheltenham anyway for other business so I was able to set up a meeting of a few Staverton Airport campaigners from across the County.

Photo: Dobells pub, Cheltenham last night

There was lots to discuss but the big issue was the recent Scrutiny report see below for that - but other issues discussed included:
- Gloucestershire Greenpeace's campaign in Stroud against the 3rd runway proposal for Heathrow
- the airport's planning applications - still no date - and it is possible that the Airport may complain of non-determination but in my view unlikely as they will only attract even more unwanted attention to themselves.
- how best to continue to highlight the airport's absurd plans: lots of ideas and plans suggested: more on that soon - some exciting stuff so stay tuned!!
- support for a peaceful action from other groups
- setting up a meeting with Philip Taylor, Independent cabinet member for the environment in Gloucester who had expressed opposition to the development - since disciovered that after only several weeks in the job he has resigned for personal reasons.
- the Petition will be given to councils in Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and Gloucester ideally coinciding with full council meetings. Currently Richard has gathered over 60 signatures. Others have not yet started collecting signatures. Download petition here if you are interested in collecting signatures.
- Scrutiny/Cabinet/Council meetings - Scrutiny meetings at Cheltenham and Gloucester are now concluded. The JASWG report will now be forwarded to the Cabinets of each council. We will be working on a report to counter the claims of the JASWG which will include a review of the so-called 'green policy' and flight capping proposals as well as strong arguments against the expansion plan. We also hope to present options on alternative uses of the site but will not commit to a particular option, advocating instead that a more thorough scrutiny of the proposal is necessary - see more below.

Photo: Some of us waiting for others to arrive

Cheltenham Borough's Scrutiny report on the Airport

See the Airport Working Group report here - and see here one campaigner pull it apart here. The scrutiny committee has taken an appallingly ridiculous position and their document is so poorly put together it beggars belief - last week campaigners went to their long-winded Scrutiny meeting to ask a series of questions - we reviewed some of those at our meeting.

One has to ask what are they thinking about when they say that they want the airport to operate with a 'green policy' to reduce its carbon foot print? By how much and in what ways do the council think that the airport can reduce its emissions after this investment of taxpayers monies? Every other airport in the world that has allowed development ends up with more planes operating and more carbon emissions.

If a 'green policy' is really implemented, the only way the airport will reduce its carbon foot print in any significant way is to fly less planes. Given this irrefutable logic how can the report argue that this investment represents value for money?

The Airport's report has just a paragraph on noise yet this is a huge issue - one campaigner reported pedestrians in Cheltenham recently stopping to look up when a loud noisy plane heading for Staverton went overhead. The report also fails to consider any of the negative consequences of the airport.

Ten questions were asked by the public at the Scrutiny meeting (Q&A available on request to me in a pdf). Two representative from Mott MacDonald (Chris Chalk and Graham Ruddock) were present at the meeting, sitting around the table with the Councillors. During the debate there were three dissenting voices on the committee, Cllr Andrew Wall (who was not present, but submitted a written list of objections to the report), Cllr Paul McLain and Cllr Robin McDonald (all three Conservative).

Cllr Steve Jordan (LD), the author of the report, reiterated that the project was about improving safety not expansion (nonsense!). Several point were clarified during the discussions like:

1. The Council providing a loan to the Airport is not likely to count as state aid. This is firstly because the airport is classified by the EU as a regional airport (less than 1 million passengers per year), and is not likely to affect trade between states. Secondly, the loan is being made via the Council to prevent the airport falling into the hands of the banks in the event of the business failing.
2. The airport expansion is funded by a load from the Public Works Board (PWB) via the Council, the approval will have to come from the full Council (not just the Cabinet). [For info, The last time the full Council voted on a motion to support the Airports plans, in October 2006, the motion was passed by 18 votes to 15. With more evidence to support the dissenters another vote could be tighter.]

Voting

1. Cllr McLain firstly proposed the main vote be a recorded vote. This was accepted by the Chairman. He then proposed that the report be amended to state that the EBI committee did not support the airport's business plan. This amendment was rejected.
2. Cllr John Webster (LD) proposed that a cap on the number of flights be imposed on the airport. He suggested that this be set at a level that matched the numbers given in the business plan and would show the public that the safety improvements were not a way of expanding the airport by stealth. After some debate it was decided that the report should be amended to include a flight cap in the 'Green Policy'. This amendment was passed unanimously.
3. The main vote, which was recorded, was passed with two votes against (McLain and MacDonald).

Minority Report

Cllr McLain wanted to submit a 'Minority Report' to the Cabinet to state the position of the Councillors who did not agree with the JASWG report. Legal advice was requested by the chair. The council lawyer indicated that if a minority report was to be produced it would have to present an alternative plan - it could not just state that the objectors did not agree with the report. Although Cllrs Wall & McLean will produce a report, I was not clear whether it will be an official minority report, or just an unofficial report by committee members (which would carry less weight) - it seems from talking to others now that it is not a Minority Report. Cllr Jordan did agree to incorporate the points made by Wall & McLain into the official JASWG report.

Anyhow good on the two councillors who voted against the main Scrutiny report and are planning this alternative - unlike the other official Working group they appear prepared to hear views from people opposed to the Airport growth and take those into account.

See Green party letter here from one campaigner who was at the meeting and below one campaigners letter to the Echo that sums up the situation:

Madam - You have recently published yet more special pleading by supporters of Gloucestershire Airport (January 7 and 8). They talk of "change" and "safety measures", to describe the airport's expansion, and they describe people who point out the bigger picture as anti-progress, Nimbys or dumb for living near an airport. Such lobbying from narrow interest groups is inevitable, as they cling on to what they've got, regardless of its impacts on the world around.

Councillors need to think why so many people now oppose "change" at the airport. The airport shows daily that it has little interest in people's concerns about noise, as jets, planes and helicopters repeatedly invade our lives and disrupt our work. It is inevitable that with an Instrument Landing System and longer runway, the airport will only move one way - bigger and noisier (and more carbon- intensive). People know that the stakes are high and that the brakes must now be put on the airport.

Given this picture, how can it be that the Joint Airport Scrutiny Working Group (of Gloucester and Cheltenham councillors), that has just reported on the airport's plans, seems to have only considered the airport's advice and views of consultants from the aviation world? It is these sources that are quoted.

Yes, the committee's report also suggests a "green policy" for the airport to moderate the undesirable impacts. But what can this possibly amount to? The airport will take every opportunity, year on year, to seek new opportunities, and this will amount to expansion in anyone's book. And just as it does now, the airport will only care about its own clientele.

We should not tolerate such biased and partial work from a committee, working on our behalf on something which affects so many.

Alison Parfitt, Cheltenham.

Whiteshill School interview me over A46

Yesterday I was interviewed by a class at Whiteshill Village School for 40 mins regarding the A46 closure - the children are doing a local project and have interviewed many folk including the postman, village shop, commuters and more.

Photo: Village School yesterday with mural of Ruscombe Brook

Anyhow many spoke passionately and in detail about the effects of the road closure eg: an extra 30 mins each way to school for one child, more dangerous walking and more minor accidents. I hopefully gave satisfactory answers to their numerous questions - see previous blogs re A46 by clicking on the Label below. I did note that I felt the County had responded reasonably well to the traffic problems after the first few very dire days - speed checks, removing parking, traffic lights, signage etc - however I also noted their failure to use it as an opportunity to get people out of their cars - where were the adverts for carshare and public transport - my emails were largely ignored - although First Great Western eventually responded to my emails after 4 months and issued reduced peak travel tickets on the route. Congrats to them and shame on the County.

It was also good to hear at first hand how the children felt about the traffic along the road - and convinces me all the more of the need for a 20 mph - especially when we don't even have proper footpaths - we have already been working on the 20 mph but things move so slow - see Label below for many previous blogs on this issue.

Photo: In places the footpath disappears or narrows to less than a foot wide

I am still informed that 15th Feb is the plan for reopening the A46....Anyhow while at the school I picked up a couple of other issues which I'm following up:

Damage to cars at the Village Shop - apparently at least two recent incidents of damage to cars in the Village shop carpark. One of the school staff expressed a wish for white lines. I noted that that increased the feel of urbanisation of that area and lessened the feel of it being rural. However the Parish were talking of white lines or marks being put on the fence to help cars park. I am now following up with the Parish on this.

Lighting in footpath from school to car park - it was noted it was very dark in that footpath when staff leave the school. However I noted that there was a well lit route around along the road. To me that seems satisfactory but I have raised it with the Parish as they are reviewing street-lighting at the moment.

Recession and housing - the achilles heel of financial markets?

There is now talk of the possibility that first the American, and then the global economy may move into recession and eventually depression. While this downturn will cause a welcome reduction in the global CO2 output, it carries political risks. In depressions, high unemployment causes poverty and disaffection, which can play into the hands of political extremists. We should remember that WWII followed the Depression of the 1930s.

Photo: View from Bread Street

However as well as being a threat, an economic depression also provides an opportunity to green the world economy by a form of Green Keynesianism. A depression may signal the end of the present quasi-free-market system, and out of the ruins we can create a green economy, based on energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainability. It also provides an opportunity to stimulate local economies using Local Exchange Trading Schemes, and for experiments in monetary reform.

In Transition Stroud there are moves to look at revitalising our local economy with measures like the Totnes pound - follow the link to see more about this project.
Our Government seems to have ignored the impact housing is having on our economy - perhaps because housing has become a big source of revenue for banks and house owners are delighted by the continued rises in the value of their property - indeed the seemingly inexorable rise of house prices makes bricks and mortar a safe investment.

However with the ‘sub-prime’ mortgage crisis in the USA housing has become what some are calling the achilles heel of the financial markets, creating what has been called ‘the credit crunch’.

Corporate Watch who have a series of articles on this issue write: "Morgan Stanley, the second biggest US securities firm, has lost at least $3.7 billion, and the IMF has downgraded their forecast for US economic growth, largely because of trouble in the housing market and the associated credit problems." The articles also explore the links between the US uproar and the crumbling of Northern Rock, one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the UK. The UKs prompt and collosal action in terms of billions of ££££ of support shows the extent to which the UK government sees housing loan corporations as major props of the UK economy.

A similar reaction to the credit/housing crisis was taken by the European Central Bank, which injected funds into the money markets in the form of many billions of Euros in loans. Corporate Watch comments: "Invariably the mess caused by financial institutions’ speculative bubble has been seen as some kind of natural disaster, and taxpayers’ money has been spent to prop up the system, based on unstable financial corporations. In fact, much of the money these corporations are playing with in the first place comes from ordinary people – with pension companies some of the largest public players in the crisis-hit money markets. As with so much of the current corporate-dominated system, public money is used when companies’ profits are in danger. This current crisis is not, however, a mere teething problem – it indicates very deep problems with a system where by corporate-dominated markets allocate resources as important as housing."

With Stroud and Gloucestershire hit by the latest Regional Spatial Strategy plan (blog coming soon on the latest on that) for yet more thousands of homes to be built here it may seem strange to hear that the Government is paying to pull down houses elsewhere! The Communities and Local Government Minister has confirmed before Christmas last year that one billion pounds will go on the discredited Pathfinder schemes over next three years.

These schemes are based on demolition of existing housing – often Victorian terraced streets – to allow developers to build more lucrative, higher cost, housing. Under the Pathfinder scheme in Oldham, North-West England, ninety homes have been issued with compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) while in Liverpool’s Edge Lane area the Pathfinder companies and the council are pushing on with plans for more CPOs – despite having their last attempts ruled illegal.

The recent Planning Bill has also raised fears that it will allow companies to push through the planing process even quicker, in spite of local concerns - see my comment from last year here.

Anyhow our Governments failure to manage housing has meant increasing homelessness and unaffordablity of homes (unaffordability - what sort of word is that?!) - see a good simple summary on this here.

For a look a bit at Green Economic principles trey here:
http://www.greenhealth.org.uk/GreenEconom.htm

And of course the blog by Molly Scott Cato (from Stroud) - see here:
http://gaianeconomics.blogspot.com/

The Purton Hulks

As a councillor I just heard from an enthusiast - Paul Barnett - he has embarked on a privately funded course of research in order to locate, chart and identify as many of the Purton hulks as possible. Indeed he won the 2007 Award from the Nautical Archaeology Society through its Adopt A Wreck initiative.

Apparently from the waste weir in the north to the Sharpness New Dock entrance in the south, there are some 81 vessels - steel, timber and concrete constructions - the largest collection of this type of craft any where in the U.K. Read Gazette here. He has after 9 years of study identified 76 vessels and is now correlating individual histories for each. This includes overall dimensions, cargoes, trade routes, owners and crew, personal anecdotes and the eventual date and method of abandonment on the wind swept foreshore adjacent to this sleepy hamlet in Gloucestershire.

Paul also has in excess of 600 photographs which chronicle the life and death of each vessel and are catalogued to represent individual vessels afloat/in use, during earlier stages post abandonment and pre decomposition/vandalism/arson/ trophy hunters and finally as they look today. Furthermore and with the use of several sources and modern surveying techniques, he has produced a schematic diagram, which locates each vessel by scale and heading. He hopes to keep the research at the Gloucestershire office of the Sites & Monuments Record - see Pauls' photos of wrecks here.

This is all a fascinating look at life on the Severn - Paul's efforts to document this are to be applauded. Slide show presentations and tour details from 07833 143 231

Did Oil Canals Worsen Katrina's Effects?

I have just had emails from a Green party member researching Hurricane Katrina - interestingly there are 10,000 miles of service canals dug to tap oil and natural gas dart everywhere through the black mangrove shrubs, bird rushes and golden marsh. While they feed America's thirst for energy, it now seems they have also helped to bring its biggest delta to the brink of collapse.

Photo: Copyrighted photo reprinted here with permission of Seattle-based photographer Chris Jordan. See more photos of Katrina.

Since the 1930s, a fifth of the 10,000-square-mile delta has turned into open water, decreasing the delta's economic and ecologic value by as much as $15 billion a year, according to Louisiana State University studies. The rate of land loss is among the highest in the world - it now seems clear that the oil industry played a crucial role in helping to worsen the effects of the $135 billion Katrina disaster - the nation's costliest. See an article by Cain Burdeau here with more info.

This info is very interesting - I had no idea of this factor - although it has always been clear that the devastation of Hurricane Katrina cannot be described as just an unfortunate 'natural' disaster. Scientists have long warned that climate change will create more violent storms and other weather extremes (see recent info here). President Bushs' refusal to address climate change and focus on non-oil based energy perpetuates conditions that make these situations more likely and more deadly - see here calls for action.

Clearly in addition to this info new to me the situation was compounded by Government policies that include: channelling rivers, allowing developers to destroy wetlands, increasing developments in New Orleans despite the city being below sea-level and surrounded on three sides by water, abysmal disaster planning and cutting budgets to fortify levees in order to send engineers to Iraq and cut taxes for the rich. I remember well emails from Greens frustrated by not being allowed to enter the City to help - see here.

For me it is interesting that this info shows how damaging removing the protective mangroves has been - this was also a key factor in making the 2004 Asian Tsunami much worse - see here Greens call for action on shrimp farming - it was found that the loss of the mangroves was one of the reasons for the tsunami having had such a devastating effect; the lack of these protective coastal ecosystems meant the tsunami hit the coast much harder and left very much greater devastation in it's wake. It is our appetite for shrimps that is partly responsible for the loss of over 35% of the world's mangroves in the last 20 years.

One study found shrimp farming accounted for over a third of the mangrove destruction and there are other well documented serious ecological problems associated with shrimp farming. In the light of these facts we wrote to the supermarkets to see if they have reviewed their practices since the tsunami. We have asked a series of questions about the standards used in prawn farming and about the need for Fair trade standards. I have to say the answers were wholly unsatisfactory....but maybe folk reading this blog could consider this issue when thinking about purshasing shrimps?

Randwick Parish Council: drains, lighting and more

I am just back a wee while ago from Randwick woods - all wonderful in the misty afternoon light - anyhow I thought I had better do a quick update re Randwick Parish meeting on Thursday night - I walked up to the Village Hall as usual only to remember on arrival that it was one of the months that the meeting was at the Scout Hall - ****!**!!!****

Photo: View across to Ash Lane

I managed to get there for 7.30 and various items discussed - drains being one of them - it led me to sending another email to Highways - see below (i) - plus the plans to consider turning off some street lights are moving ahead slowly - Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish have already done their consultation on this - anyhow I enclose some useful info below (ii) - also see previous blogs on this topic.

There was also an update re the moves to try and get lower speeds in the Parish - a hand speed gun has already been used with a top speed recorded of 42mph on Blenhiem Pitch - that is seriously fast for that stretch! One person speeding who was stopped by the speed gun folk said: "If I don't go up at that speed I wont get up the Pitch!" Hopefully more speed testing will go-ahead soon - volunteers still being sought! The Sustainable Communities consultation was briefly discussed (more on that v soon) plus the Parish plans to update their procedures. Anyhow minutes will be out soon from the meeting so anyone interested check them out.


(i) Re Drains/Gullies

There seem to have been on-going problems at a number of road drains over recent years in the Randwick area. The levels of rainfall during the last year would seem to indicate very strongly that at several sites the drains are insufficient to cope with the water. This could be due to the lack of regular maintenance or the need to redesign them to cope with larger flows of water/debris etc?

I have had phone calls from several residents about the unsatisfactory state of these drains, although I would like to note that they were attended to very promptly after my phone call to your drains hotline.

In the light of this I would request that the following drains are reviewed to see if they can be improved. There maybe others but these are the ones identified as needing extra work so far:

1. The dip at Humphreys End was nearly a foot deep in water - the drain has now been cleared although debris/sludge etc has been piled up too close to the drain and will no doubt be washed down when we have more rain.
2. Bottom of Redhouse Lane
3. Far Westrip - opposite telephone box
4. Ash Lane
5. Two sites near Court Farm, Randwick

(ii) Street lighting

Essex County Council whom I've mentioned on this blog before are now running 2 trials, across the districts of Maldon and Uttlesford. The sreetlights have individual timers fitted that turn the lights off at local midnight (which is around 1am in summer due to BST).

So far the trials have been successful with little or no evidence of the outbreaks of crime and disorder some had predicted. Not surprising as most crime occurs duing the day and contrary to what many authorities peddle, there is no evidence that lighting per se deters crime.

The bigger issue is safety ie how many people are likely to be about after midnight who would be affected. The advantage of the Essex system is that as lights can be individually controlled, areas where it is known there will be significant numbers of people about late ie train stations, main town centres, or where there is genuine concerns over safety ie a well know accident blackspot or road junction, they can be left on. If the trial is successful it will hopefully be rolled out across Essex. Some parish councils have objected, but many have welcomed the scheme. As Essex has around 150,000 streetlights, the potential energy and cost savings are clearly huge.

There are other counties looking at doing this - Gloucestershire has a number of trials in the pipeline - if Essex is successful it is likely to be followed elsewhere. An alternative is dimming late a night , but this requires certain types of lights to be fitted in the first place. It has been used in Lancashire and there is talk of the Highways Agency using it more widely on the trunk road network - probably using sensors to detect the level of traffic and adjust the lighting levels accordingly.

Central African Republic: a forgotten emergency

I've had a go on this blog more than a few times at our media for failing to cover stuff - still little reporting of the 3 million people who have left their homes in Iraq - well here is another refugee story...

Photo: Randwick woods near Ash Lane

A classic example of a "forgotten emergency" - rebels and Government in the Central African Republic (CAR) continue to clash despite ongoing talks of a peace agreement - nearly 300,000 people have been driven from their homes as of last month, according to a United Nations update. UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)report worse - attacks by bandits, who continue to wreak havoc across the country's northwest, burning and looting houses and kidnapping and killing civilians - some of the strife is linked to the situation in neighbouring Sudan's Darfur region and Chad, with 197,000 people displaced internally, in many cases living in the bush, and a further 98,000 fleeing to Cameroon, Chad and Sudan. In return, CAR has received thousands of refugees from Chad and Sudan. Some 20 per cent of children die before their fifth birthday. See more: http://allafrica.com/stories/200801170774.html

What happens within the first hour of drinking a cola?

10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system, which is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake. You'd normally vomit from such an intake, but the phosphoric acid cuts the flavor.

Photo: Image and text taken from Organic Consumers Association

20 minutes: Your blood sugar skyrockets. Your liver attempts to maximize insulin production in order to turn high levels of sugar into fat.

40 minutes: As your body finishes absorbing the caffeine, your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your liver pumps more sugar into the bloodstream.

45 minutes: Your body increases dopamine production, tricking you into feeling pleasure and adding to the addictiveness of the beverage.

60 minutes: The sugar crash begins.

Source: Dr. Mercola: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_9665.cfm

Puckshole, drains, gullies, sewers and street-cleaning

Is it a drain, a sewer, or a gully? The Citizen yesterday had a useful section in their paper telling us the difference between drains, gullies and sewers...I have taken the liberty of copying it below. Meanwhile still no news re the local drains that were reported blocked? See blog entry on 14th January 2008.

Although walking around this morning - delivering more of my news leaflets - I see at least one of them has been sorted. However do please report any blockages to the County Council on the numbers given in the previous blog on this topic.

Puckshole floods

Residents of Puckshole are also seeking a meeting to see if more action can be taken to prevent the serious flooding there - yet again the Lane was under water and even today the water is gushing along the side of the road still (see photos). We will set something up but as the Ruscombe Brook Action Group have found, it never seems a priority by authorities as homes are not damaged and ownership of the culvert seems to not be clear....also the problem according to experts we've spoken to seems to be largely (but not wholly) caused by the size of the culvert...here are answers from the District Council's Drainage Officer to some questions asked about the situation...

What is the main cause of the problem? I think that the restrictive culvert under the access is the main reason for flooding rather than anything to do with the land owner.

How to sort the problem? I understand that the lane serving Acre Place is private - I made some enquiries with the County Council some time ago. It follows therefore that those who live in Acre place have a shared responsibility towards it's upkeep. I'm also aware that Cooke's culverted the brook under part of their site by using old oil drums as support for the concrete pour, therefore the size of the pipe under their site should be big enough to allow most flows to pass. The best action would be if the residents would club together to get the pipe under the highway replaced with a bigger one, I would suggest a minimum of 450 mm diameter. This should allow most minor debris items to pass and therefore remove the need for the homemade grill that holds back leaves and silt. The increased pipe may sit a bit lower and therefore help silts to be carried away, probable to the Lawns.

Has the latest Archway development made situation worse? Regarding the balancing pond at Archway school, I think this has been designed to intercept all the surface water runoff from the school and the new development next to it, so the situation should actually be better than before.

A query re street cleaning.....

- Randwick/Ruscombe are have two contracted street cleans each year plus cleans are done if requested
- Last Monday 7th someone from the Parish reported to the District Council the need for street cleaning up Ruscombe Road and Far Westrip. The contractors have confirmed this was done last Thursday 10th. However a resident writes: "I went for my walk up there on Sunday 13th and if there had been street cleaning, I found it to be totally inadequate, with the old debris in the gullies etc." She phoned the District who noted the street cleaning process involves a small vehicle with brushes and the cleaning of gulleys involves hosing them out. This is clearly an issue to be raised at tonights Parish meeting.

Is it a drain, a sewer, or a gully?

What is a drain? It is an underground pipe which carries either surface or foul water from a single property and discharges into a public or private sewer.

Who is responsible for drains? The owner (or in some cases the occupier) of a house is responsible for maintaining, repairing and cleaning his/her drain until it empties into a sewer. This means that the owner or occupier is still responsible even if it passes through somebody else's land.

What do I do if a drain is blocked? Drains are the responsibility of the owner of the property concerned (irrespective of whose land they are on).

What is a sewer? It is an underground pipe, which carries surface water or foul water from more than one property. Where two or more drains meet the pipe becomes a sewer.

Who is responsible for the maintenance of a sewer? This depends on whether it is a public or private sewer. Public sewers are maintained by the Water Authority - which in this area is Severn Trent. Private sewers are the responsibility of the owner or occupier of all properties draining into the length of pipe in question.

Who should I contact if a sewer is blocked? The clearance of public sewers is carried out by Severn Trent on 0800 7834444. For private sewers, the responsibility ultimately lies with all the owners of the properties upstream of the defect or blockage.

What is a gully? Road gullies allow water to drain away from roads and pavements. They consist of a gully grating and a gully pot underneath, and are situated at the side of the road by the kerb. Removal of rainwater from the highway is key to ensuring the safety of the road and preventing deterioration from standing water.

Who is responsible for gullies? Gloucestershire Highways is responsible for highway gullies which are drainage pits covered by an open metal grating located on the road edge. Their purpose is to drain rain water from the highway into the sewerage system.

How often are gullies emptied? The Highways Authority operates a programme to ensure that all gullies are cleared of leaves, litter, silt and debris at least once a year. In known trouble spots gullies are cleared more frequently.

Who do I contact if a gully is blocked? The county council's emergency gully clearance service can be contacted through the call centre on 08000 514514.

Who is responsible for water supply pipes? Severn Trent, who can be contacted on 0800 7834444, 24 hours a day.

Who is responsible for main rivers? The Environment Agency has powers to maintain and improve main rivers. It can construct and maintain defences against flooding, issue flood warnings, and manage water levels. Defra decides which are the main rivers. To find out who to contact at your local office call 08708 506 506.

Who is in charge of ordinary watercourses? Under the Land Drainage Act 1991, the local authority is the operating authority for ordinary watercourses where there is no Internal Drainage Board.

Family centre, Directory, Greenpeace and Credit Union...

Here's a collection of random bits of local info that I've been asked about over the last week and thought might interest?

What is that blue Cashes Green Family Centre? The new £360,000 purpose-built advice centre next to the Primary School (see photo) is to also serve Randwick and Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parishes - it will have a multi-agency approach to help young families with children up to five years old.

Photo: Water pouring from a gutter inside the Nursery where the Greenpeace meeting was held on Tuesday!

How do I join Gloucestershire Greenpeace? I went along to the local meeting on Tuesday night - the group are Stroud-based and it was a good opportunity to hear about their plans for the year and feedback some of the local campaigns that I'm involved with like Staverton Airport, Oldbury nuke and more. The next day someone asked me how to join - well to join or find out more about their monthly meetings contact Rene Meek on 07763 771448 Email: rene.meek@talk21.com

Credit Union opening times? Opening times are Thursdays 2 to 3pm in the Maypole Hall, Paganhill (next to the post office) - plus just reopened in Stonehouse in the Town Hall there on Tuesdays between 9 and 10 am. See my blog on 19th September 2006 for more info re the wonders of Credit Unions - join now!

How can I get a copy of The Randwick Directory? This is an excellent resource of who to call for local stuff - should have been received by everyone in Randwick by now well before Christmas - some were still available in the back of the Church or call Brian Stanley on 750207.

What about that dead tree on the green at Laburnam Crescent, Bread Street? I've raised this several times in the past and the good news is that residents have now been leafletted and depending on results a new tree might be on it's way in a matter of weeks? We hope!

Email Japanese to release Whale activists

It was good to see Dr. Derek Wall, Green Party Principal Speaker, speak out today in support of the two Sea Shepherd activists being detained by the Japanese harpoon vessel 'Yushin Maru' in the Southern Ocean, and demanded their unconditional release.

Speaking as a possible rescue deal is being offered by the new Labour Australian Government, Dr. Wall said "I encourage every person who is as appalled by the slaughter of whales as I am to contact Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to demand the immediate release of these two activists. The Japanese are committing a serious offence, tantamount to piracy,
by holding them on board their ship. Sea Shepherd, and the many other anti-whaling groups, should be applauded for their work and energy in trying to save these magnificent and important animals from extinction. Despite the international ban on commercial whale hunting, Japanese crews are on a mission to kill about 850 minke whales and 10 fin
whales, claiming this is for scientific research. But this is simply a tactic to circumvent the regulations, and amounts to commercial whaling in all but name. Benjamin Potts and Giles Lane from Sea-Shepherd were captured while they were seeking to stop the Japanese whaling fleets’ illegal slaughter."

Join me and others in sending your email to:
Kanteihp-info@cas.go.jp

Call for Emergency procedures improvements re floods and nuclear

Last week I attended a couple of hours of a presentation by the County Council Emergency Officers. It was an important look into what we are doing to prepare for emergencies - it is clear the County have taken many important steps and also have innovative schemes like their volunteer Emergency Response Team - the only one of its kind in the country.

We heard for example that during the Foot and Mouth disaster in 2001 there were some 12,000 telephone calls and 94,000 web hits in a time when the internet was only just beginning to make its mark. We also heard about the July 2007 floods - the largest peactime emergency in the County - and how the various Command stations work...However I had many questions...but also as my last blog entry on todays floods notes we need to get serious about prevention....

Below is the email I have been putting together with particular reference to nuclear as I have been involved with previous work on this issue. There are some fascinating questions which, as yet, I have been unable to get answers - clearly the safest way to deal with nuclear risk is to remove the risk itself ie close existing nukes and don't open more. The County, of course, does not have such powers.....

Thank you very much for the very useful and important training in Emergency Procedures. I welcome the moves to improve how we respond to emergencies. In an effort to help improve the measures further I make the following comments and would appreciate responses to the questions asked.
1. Increasing awareness of Emergency Procedures

Is there a way that local communities, particularly Parish Councils can be made more aware of procedures? Many of them were at the forefront of bottled water delivery during the recent floods yet few appear to have been able to attend the training.

2. Hexafluorosilic acid on our roads

You will remember that in October 2005 the Safe Water Campaign wrote 65 letters to Council Emergency Officers, Fire and Police services to warn that a highly toxic chemical that is so strong it eats through road surfaces and solid steel is being transported across the country and possibly through Gloucestershire each day in tankers (iii). The group are still very concerned that even a relatively minor road incident could lead to widespread evacuations and possibly fatalities. They note that they were not convinced by answers they had from the authorities that they will be able to deal with such a situation safely. Indeed some Emergency Officers noted they had been unaware of the extreme risks of what is one of the most poisonous acids known.
- Are all the Emergency service personnel aware of the very considerable dangers of this acid and the need for very specialised procedures to deal with such an incident?

3. Nuclear incident

As noted in the break during the training I would welcome information about the County's plans in response to a nuclear incident particularly since a study commissioned by Greenpeace in 2002 revealed that the UK's local authorities were not equipped to deal with the aftermath of such an attack or accident on a nuclear power station (i). I have noted some key questions below which highlight very real concerns about the County's readiness to respond.

Background research: the Greenpeace study by independent nuclear consultants revealed that a plume of highly dangerous radiation from an incident at Oldbury power station involving just one tonne of used reactor fuel could put the entire district of Gloucestershire and South Wales at immediate risk. Within a matter of hours the cities of Gloucester, Bristol and Bath would be affected. Since then at a public meeting in October 2007, John Large spoke again about the concerns regarding Oldbury particularly in the light of repeated failures at the plant and the corroded graphite core and concluded: "Potentially an accident at Oldbury would have the same outcome as Chernobyl" (ii).

3.1. Terrorism: The Greenpeace study revealed that despite the UK Government identifying nuclear power stations as terrorist targets, the emergency plans did not even acknowledge the possibility of an attack. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, said that in 2006 there were 252 reported cases of radioactive materials that were stolen, missing, smuggled or in the possession of unauthorised individuals - a 385% increase since 2002. Uranium for a ‘dirty bomb’ was seized by the police in Slovakia in November last year. It is clear also that the risk of terrorism has increased.
- Do emergency plans now acknowledge the possibility of a terrorist attack for such a disaster? - Are plans now in place to deal specifically with a nuclear incident?

3.2. Protective suits: It was announced in 2006 that up to 12,000 police officers are to be given protective suits to deal with chemical or nuclear terror attacks. The NBC suits - nuclear, biological and chemical - will be stored in "strategic locations" in London, thought to be most at risk, plus at airports and in key city police stores. I was informed recently that the Assistant Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset who is in charge of Emergency operations is alleged to have said publicly that the suits they had could only be used for 20 minutes and in any case they would be unlikely to be worn as they could cause panic.
- Please can you confirm what suits are available locally?
- Are suits available for County personnel and other emergency workers?
- If not, why not?
- How much radiation monitoring equipment and protective clothing have you bought?

3.3. Police are given a lower limit of toxicity exposure than other Emergency workers and Council staff:
- Why does the Council not have the same safety limits as the police? - In the light of the different emergency services having different tolerable radiation exposure levels, have you met with the Fire Brigade, police and ambulance service to decide how you will deal with the emergency?
- Have you identified which employees will take part in the emergency response and thus which employees will be required to operate at a higher radiation dose level?
- Have they received the necessary training?

3.4. Medics attendance at nuclear incidents: in the Three Mile Island incident only 10% of medics turned up. While not wishing to question the professionalism of our medical and Emergency staff what plans are made for a similar situation arising in Gloucestershire?

3.5. Distribution of potassium iodate tablets: these protect against some forms of cancer. Eire has distributed these tablets to all residents of the country as a precautionary measure.
- How many potassium iodate tablets do you have in stock and where are they?
- Have you pre-distributed potassium iodate tablets?
- Have you considered placing stocks of potassium iodate in schools, public amenity centres, etc outside of the DEPZ?
- In the light of the shelf life of the tablets how often do you need to renew stocks?

3.6. Emergency Plan: The Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (REPPIR) came into force in September 2002. As part of the legislation the relevant local councils were given 6 months notice to draw up their emergency plans and make them publicly available. I understand REPPIR requires local authorities to prepare, revise, implement and test plans for a nuclear emergency. This involves plans to get safety information to the public, to distribute potassium iodate tablets, which protect against some forms of cancer and to evacuate areas where necessary. The Regulations require the local authority to consult with other persons, bodies and authorities and members of the local public whom it 'considers appropriate' [Reg 9(12b)] when preparing the off-site plan. Many local authorities consider it sufficient to consult with the nuclear plant Community Liaison Committee and not with local NGOs, interest groups and, importantly, members of public by public meeting, newsletter and similar.
- What consultation has there been with the public about your emergency plan?
- Have you conducted any rehearsal of your plan with members of the public?
- Is the plan available to the public?
- How much money have you put aside for enacting your emergency plan?

4. Floods Crisis management

I recently made a number of recommendations to the consultations of flooding. Various measures like better preparation are clearly being taken on board. What are your views on:
- stronger measures to stop people making unnecessary journeys, which contributes to congestion and stops the emergency services being able to reach affected areas: despite extreme weather warnings people still streamed onto 'their' roads as if on autopilot
- clearer warnings about the health risks of contaminated flood waters
- improved communication over issues like siting of bowsers

Notes: (i) Greenpeace news release on 28 November, 2002. (ii) See John Large's presentation (iii) Letter sent to all Fire, Police and Council Emergency Officers in the region:

Dear I am writing this open letter on behalf of the Safe Water Campaign for Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, which has gathered many thousands of signatures locally from those who are opposed to artificial fluoridation of our public water supplies. I, and others, in the group have undertaken an in-depth study of the literature and research papers into the properties and effects of fluoride compounds. We are very concerned about the extraordinary toxicity, reactivity and corrosiveness of hexafluorosilic acid (H2SiF6) which is the predominant agent used to artificially fluoridate 10% of Britain's public water supplies. Government's plans to extend fluoridation to further large areas of Britain will mean many more hundreds of tons of hexafluorosilic acid on our roads. In the light of this we hope you will be able to answer our concerns that are directly relevant to our Emergency services:

1. Are you aware of the following incidents? - On Gloucestershire's doorstep at Avonmouth in 2001? A portable tank of hexafluorosilic acid was damaged in transit from Bilbao in Spain. On discovery, the port authority declared a 'Port Emergency' and a 'Major Incident' which resulted in much of the port being shut down for about 30 hours. Details obtained by the National Pure Water Association (NPWA) show this incident was a hairs breadth away from being a major life-taking catastrophe. - Florida, USA, 6th September 1994 there was an accident involving a truck carrying 4,500 gallons of hexafluorosilic acid. It's entire contents were spilled out onto the public highway. 87 people including police and other Emergency workers had to be hospitalised for treatment for up to 6 weeks. 300 tons of fluoride contaminated dirt needed to be removed. The accident occurred during rain and the operation only just managed to prevent contamination of groundwater and aquifers.

2. What contact do you have with the water authorities concerning the transportation of hexafluorosilic acid? Do the water authorities fluoridating at present (e.g. Severn Trent in the Birmingham area) have any legal obligation to inform Emergency Authorities, such as yourselves, when and where trucks carrying hexafluorosilic acid are travelling on our roads? Or have the water authorities contacted you on a voluntary basis about the transportation of this class 8 chemical on our roads? Or do you have no contact?

3. Are you aware of the following well-documented facts that no doubt are of considerable concern for the Emergency Services? - Extreme risks re contact with tarmac and vegetation. Hexafluorosilic acid is a by-product of the artificial fertiliser industry. The fertiliser is produced by the chemical breakdown of phosphate-bearing rock. In the process hydrogen fluoride is given off in considerable quantities. This is generally acknowledged by scientists to be the most highly reactive and corrosive compound known to us. This gas is then passed through 'scrubber towers' (the trade name) where it is chemically combined with silica to form hexafluorosilic acid. Concentrated hexafluorosilic acid spilled onto a road reacts with the tarmac to reform the very dangerous hydrogen fluoride gas. After the accident in Florida 600 feet of motorway had to be resurfaced. There is evidence that a concentration of one billionth of hydrogen fluoride can and has devastated large areas of vegetation. - Highly poisonous. Fluoride is such a cumulative poison with 50 percent of all that is ingested being retained in the body for life. In concentrated form in a single dose can lead to death within 24 hours. The acknowledged world expert at the time, Roholm established that the cause of the first major recorded environmental disaster was hydrogen fluoride. This occurred in the Meuse Valley near Brussels in 1930 where 60 people died and 6,000 people were made severely ill. - Causes cancer. Hexafluorosilic acid used for artificial water fluoridation is a waste product of the fertiliser industry, obtained by breaking down phosphate rock which has such a high uranium content that until recently the nuclear industry in the US used it as a source for nuclear fuel! The NPWA has written confirmation from the U.S. Public Health Service (1998) regarding the presence of 'radionuclides' in hexafluorosilic acid used in the water fluoridation plants. Detailed descriptions show, quite alarmingly, that the break-down of products from the phosphate rock, when artificial fertiliser is manufactured, include a whole 'bevy' of radioactive or otherwise highly poisonous substances. Predominant among them is Radon 210. This substance has a deep and well-hidden 'biography'. After this radioactive gas is produced, it dissolves readily in the hexafluorosilic acid when it passes with all the other break down products into the scrubber towers. The Radon has a half-life of 3.86 days. This means it turns quite rapidly and seemingly innocuously into its decay product Lead 210. Lead 210. as far as is known, has no damaging radiation, but carries with it the property of combining as readily and eagerly with the human bones as calcium itself does. Scientists tell us that after 20 years lead 210 transmutes into polonium 210 which then gives off 5,000 more alpha radiation than radium. Scientists estimate that a mere 6.8 trillionth of a gram (0.0000000000068gm) can cause cancer. How unlikely is it that those people including police and other Emergency workers who were hospitalised for the full six weeks after the accident in Florida are not right now harbouring lead 210 which in 9 years time would be due to transmute into deadly polonium? (All this in the cause of supposedly helping young children have somewhat less tooth decay.)

4. What plans do you have to deal with an event involving a major spillage of hexafluorosilic acid on Gloucestershire's roads? Are all the Emergency services aware of the very considerable dangers of such an incident? Do you for example, have specific plans for dealing with potentially thousands of tons of radioactive fluoride-contaminated earth? Surely poor disposal could lead to further very considerable health risks and dangers? We would appreciate a speedy and thorough reply to these questions. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further information or would like to discuss the matter further.

Yours faithfully, James Christian, Safe Water Campaign for Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire

Slad Brook floods homes and Ebley bypass closed

Here we are again with flooding - although the rain has stopped for now, the land is heavily saturated and water levels in critical areas prone to flooding are being watched. In some areas sandbags are being issues, the A419 Ebley bypass is closedsome schools will close early. Apparently the latest Met Office reports are indicating more rain this evening, though this may pass south of Gloucestershire - take care when driving and remember to test your brakes after travelling through road water.

Photo: Slad Brook a few weeks ago

The Slad brook has flooded homes three times in seven months and it looks like they will face flooding again today. The reasons are various and as a local District councillor and Secretary of the Ruscombe Brook Action Group I was asked for a quote as to why the flooding is happening again.

Here is what I said to The Citizen: "The key reason for the floods is that debris from the culvert has still not been removed nor a grill fitted to reduce debris. This lack of maintenance is symptomatic of our failure to see watercourses as a valued resource. It is true that Climate Change is likely to play an increasing role in both flood and drought, but in addition to poor maintenance flooding events are caused by mismanagement of land. The Slad brook has been built over and there has been a proliferation of hard surfaces like drives, roads and more homes which means that less water soaks into the ground. It is good that solutions like creating ponds to hold water further up the valley are planned, but we must urgently sort these culverts out: it is unacceptable that homes are once again being flooded."

Meanwhile Cllr Sarah Lunnon has raised several issues with the District Council - on Friday evening six houses were flooded by Slad Brook when water entered their homes from the drains. Sarah and others are today watching the brook as the water level has reached the top of the entrance to the culvert on the lower end of the Slad Rd. Heavy rainfall this afternoon or evening could result in the brook yet again running into Slad Rd and then pooling outside the entrance to Park Gardens, having no way to re-enter the brook.

The Slad Brook Action Group has been in contact with the environment agency regarding removing debris from the culvest, but this has not yet proved possible due to safety issues. The EA is now considering the use of divers to clear the blockages but access remains a problem. SBAG have now called on help from SDC in requesting the EA to use its powers to installing a grating at the entrance to the Slad Rd culvert to at least halt the accumulation of debris in the culvert.

It is concerning that we do not appear to have a sustainable water management strategy - an Agenda21 requirement by 2000 for all nations and municipalities. See here.

As I noted about climate change is likely to play an increasing role in both flood and drought, however most such events are presently caused by simple mismanagement of the land.

"Too often, flood policies and programmes are based on the assumption that flood disasters result from nature's actions, not man's, whereas in actual fact the misery and damage are mostly caused by human error - especially by poor land management and myopic flood-control strategies."
Edward Goldsmith, see article here

It is fully appreciated that since the 1974 water industry reorganisation UK local authorities have suffered a progressive loss of responsibilities in these areas; this has resulted in a void in representation of our local interests. The engagement of a Drainage Officer by SDC was a very sensible step - but only valid if his recommendations in terms of planning applications and wider policy determinations are accepted by the authority.

These are interesting times - as Greens we are calling for an holistic policy of water management - the floods mean that folk are listening - and indeed some actions are very positive (see previous blogs re funding SBAG, Watercourse wardens and more) - let us hope they will also take the full range of actions that are needed.

Response to letter criticising my position on climate change

Here is my response just sent to the Stroud News and Journal:

Photo: Morning over Farmhill

Alistair Mainwaring suggests "old earth has been subject to weather patterns of hot and cold for 4,500 million years" (SNJ letters 9/01/08). This is true, but if trends continue as expected, the projected changes will be catastrophically greater than that already experienced.

The idea that climate change is not, at least partly driven by man-made activities, is now only held by cranks or perhaps those with a financial interest in denying reality. The needed level of reduction in greenhouse gases is still disputed, but few scientists call for less than a 60% reduction and all the latest indications from the Tyndall Centre and others are that at least 90% is needed.

Far from the Green party being unrealistic as Alistair Mainwaring suggests, we seem to be the only ones that appear to be listening to the scientists and developing the necessary policies. Although recent research by the Institute for Public Policy Research, RSPB and WWF calls for an 80% reduction in emissions and shows such a cut is cost-effective without damaging the economy (i).

However Alistair Mainwaring's call for lower world population to help tackle emissions is spot-on. Last year the Green party had a Coffee House discussion in Stroud on this issue as a perpetually expanding economy, with perpetual population growth is not desirable or possible. It is surely time for encouraging a "Stop at Two" children policy and for full access to family planning worldwide which would also be good for women's health and rights?

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.

Local Churches in Trouble

A letter will be going around the local area setting out the position of Christian worship in Whiteshill and Paganhill regarding St Paul's and The Church of The Holy Spirit.

Photo: St Paul's Church

They say active support must increase if they are to survive - during the last two years expenditure on running costs has exceeded income - the situation is apparently becoming dire and if it continues threatens the position of a dedicated Priest for Whiteshill and Paganhill/Randwick and indeed the continuation of the St Paul's and The Church of The Holy Spirit as centres for Christian worship.

There are two meetings at 7.30pm to learn more on Monday 21st January at St Paul's Church or Tuesday 22nd at The Church of The Holy Spirit.

Are your natural medicines really threatened?

Basically the answer is yes. If you haven't seen this, I thought you might be interested in this shocking youtube video by an American Lawyer who is fighting the Codex Alimentarius - a trade mission which is attempting to criminalize natural medicines and the production of pure food. Sadly they are making significant progress.

Photo: me walking in Randwick woods

See more regarding the impact on the UK and EU at the website of the Alliance for Natural Health here - they also have a film narrated by Dame Judi Dench which covers some of the same stuff. Lots of other good info on the website around this issue and you can also sign up for their news - I've been a member for a couple of years - not loads of emails but ways to try and make a difference.

Naughty Bristol Airport

The Stop Bristol Airport Expansion group write: "Despite promising not to submit a planning application in the school holidays, at almost the last possible moment before Christmas Bristol Airport put in a planning application to North Somerset Council under a General Permitted Development Order to construct a walkway between the terminal building and the western apron."

All sounds very innocent and indeed insignificant. However on closer investigation the development that has been applied for will allow an increase in passenger throughput and increased flight movements ie more traffic on roads, more noise and more light pollution plus of course more flights will add to the region’s CO2 emissions.

Please visit the Stop Bristol Expansion website to read more about the actions you can take - my email is already winging it's way. Let us hope it will make a difference. I have had a keen interest in this issue for some years - over two years ago I made a formal submission to the Airports Master Plan and have since made various other submissions.

The other news on airports is that Cheltenham have produced a ridiculous report supporting Staverton Airports' expansion - a blog coming soon on that and the SW Regional Spatial Strategy is also out - also disappointing in terms of CO2 although I have yet to assess the damage.....again a blog coming soon on that....at least the RSS did support the development at Hunts Grove (see previous blogs on that issue).

Let us not forget the Governments' "Future of Air Transport White Paper" from Dec 2003 calls for massive growth in aviation. It was confirmed in Dec 2006 that this approach was - wait for it - 'balanced and sustainable'....Interestingly I read in The Ecologist that 13% of 16 to 19 year olds are in favour of banning air travel for leisure purposes according to a Future Foundation survey. It seems at least some are waking up to the very real threat aviation poses to our planet. There is no way we can support expansion when all the evidence shows we must cut emissions.....

Competition Commission Inquiry into Supermarkets

The Competition Commission (CC) launched a major investigation into the grocery market in May 2006. This blog invited folk to participate in that and also noted the 'Provisional Findings' that came out at the end of October 2007 - see my letter to press then.

The Commission has acknowledged problems with the way supermarkets treat farmers and is considering strengthening the Supermarket Code of Practice and introducing a watchdog. The campaign group Tescopoly which was set up by various groups (including Friends of the Earth) have just launched a new on-line petition to the CC to support these measures - to sign the petition please click here.

The CC also found that single retailers dominate some local areas. But it also thinks we need weaker planning rules and more big supermarkets to increase choice and competition. This would be a disaster for high streets and independent shops. The Commission cannot change planning policy - but the Government will take note of their report when they propose changes to planning rules in 2008.

Urgent action is required to ensure that the Government does not take the Commission's advice. Instead they must strengthen the rules so that we have a real choice of where to shop.
Please email your MP asking them to sign Early Day Motion 550 and write to Hazel Blears MP, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. David Drew and 62 others have already signed.

I have just seen the Channel 4 Dispatches programmes from over a year ago on Supermarket Secrets - if like me you missed them they are a good reminder of the horrors of supermarkets - see them on You Tube here - they include astonishing facts like each supermarket apple is photographed 72 times.

Road Drains and Gullies flood - please report incidents

The heavy rain that fell last week led to several road drains and gullies in the ward getting blocked with rubbish, leaves and other detritus. The dip at Humphreys End was nearly a foot deep in water and Puckshole Lane was under a couple of feet of water. Other areas in Stroud faired less well - I hear today of 6 homes in Slad road that are again flooded.

Photo: Road surface damaged by heavy rains and traffic

The County Council is responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of most of the thousands of street drains and gullies in Gloucestershire. However they do not have a regular programme of maintenance in our Parishes and note that due to resources and the unpredictability of rainfall they do not plan to organise one. This means that when drains and gullies block we need to report them - and the more of us that do, I suspect, the higher up the list of jobs the problem goes.

Last week I reported five drains blocked and I know a resident and the Randwick Parish Council also reported blocked drains. We hope that we might now identify the worst drain offenders to see if the County can be persuaded to make some design improvements to them to reduce the blockages. Residents thoughts are welcomed.

How to report any problems on the highway or the roadside:

Call the 24hr automated one-call number: 08000 514 514
Or use the email form on the County website:
http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk

Paganhill Parkour star

Paganhill Parkour star 17-year old Hunter Hubbard was featured in this week's SNJ - a former Archway and Wycliffe College student who is now at Cirencester College has his own website and several You Tube films - see here - this is serious skill - free running - it evolved from the French activity parkour which is less concerned with tricks and more about moving from point to point as quickly as possible - often using branches, rails, walls etc to help along the way.

Photo pinched from Hunter Hubbard's website

The Bond film 'Casino Royale' popularised free running - but it is not something you just do - the moves require planning and much practice and knowing your limits - the freedom of it appeals lots to me - almost flying - but I'm a little creaky and unfit for even trying it! Plus of course there is an issue here about trespassing and possibly damaging property....although from all I've heard this is not a big issue as most free runners take much care to respect the properties they use....what do others think?

Scrutiny x2, snow, ward newsletter plus other bits

Apols - I haven't been keeping blog up-to-date with Council and other stuff this week - here is an attempt to do a quick roundup with some of the meetings I've been to this week plus other news bits...

Snow - some 40 cars were still left up near Edge - abandoned last night after the snow came down - I love it - well when I don't have to get anywhere - and managed to even have a go sledging - very exciting! Got the sledge from a neighbours skip when they emigrated - it is brilliant despite not loads of snow (see photo)! However it meant I was already exhaused when it came to...

Ward newsletter delivery - I started delivery in Westrip and bits of Randwick of a ward newsletter - it takes some 16 hours to deliver to the whole ward - I managed a couple of hours today - and wow was it gorgeous - beautiful winter wonderland - the other parts of the ward will have to wait a little but if you want a pdf version let me know and I can send one.

I wanted to write lots more but ended up rather throwing it together to meet printers deadline and also get it out with the Green party's newspaper - 'Green Around Stroud' - a couple of bits in there also about me but wanted to add more to explain in the section why I joined the Greens...anyhow perhaps more of that in another blog....

Floods - some 35mm of rain and trains stopped, roads flooded and reports of homes getting hit again - locally in the ward no reports of sewage in the brook after the heavy rains - shows the work Severn Trent have done is working at the moment - but Puckshole Lane was a river again - water over welly height - luckily no cars parked there....meanwhile some 700 homes in Bisley, Painswick, Amberley and more have been without power today due to weather.

....plus I've reported the large tree lying across the Pipebridge over Ruscombe brook and a fence - it needs moving before too long otherwise it could damage the pipe or fence seriously.

Grit bins - most seem to have been OK and in action locally - although one in Bread Street seems to have disappeared (see photo)? I am also looking to get improvements to these ugly plastic barrels that are so tempting to vandals to tip over.

Planning applications - this ward doesn't get so many contentious applications - other than of course the Ruscombe fields (click on landbanking label below) - I often have contact with various householders regarding applications - and not being on the Development Control Committee any longer I am able to get more involved - infact have been looking at three local applications recently - and I have to say I was very disappointed that residents objections were over-ruled last week regarding the proposed three-storey property off Upper Kitesnest Road - it is now set to go ahead.

Assault near Woodcutters Arms in Whiteshill - we are fortunate in this ward to have a low crime rate - there has recently been some damage to cars - this incident is out of the ordinary - it occurred 1.48am on New Year's Day - a 24year old was left with facial injuries - apparently there was a witness who is being urged to come forward although an arrest has already been made. Call Gloucestershire Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting incident number 167 of January 1st or ask to speak to an officer at Stroud Police Station.

Stroud Green party meeting - in Star Anise cafe on Wednesday night (I like the refit they have just done) and about 25 of us went through the monthly agenda - covering elections coming up in May - many candidates now selected and voted on - thankfully my seat is not up for another two years - anyhow we also looked at events, policies and lots more - would love to cover stuff here but a look at the Glos Green party website is a good way to see the issues we are looking at - County waste is a big issue (I'm helping draft a response at moment) and the Governments approval of nukes (see last blog entry) - mind lots of stuff coming up like Cheltenham Boroughs likely support for Staverton Airports expansion - Lib Dems are supporting it despite a national policy of no airport expansions - it makes no sense to me - see my letter already noted on this blog here. The Regional Spatial Strategy is out and needs a response - it has got lots of nonsense in it - plus on a more positive note is Stroud's Sustainable Communities consultation - here is a real chance to influence policy - again I'll be writing more in coming weeks.

Scrutiny meetings - Tuesday night three hours plus spent at Ebley Mill in the evening for a Scrutiny meeting - then nearly four hours on Thursday night for another Scrutiny - you can watch them on the Council website webcast system and minutes will soon be in the web - but to give a flavour here are some issues raised...the first meeting looked mainly at the budget - I enclose as an example a question from Cllr Martin Whiteside - the answer was mostly reassuring but for the roll-out of the Stanleys waste trial - I've covered on blog previously this trial and the need to expand it across the District - at last that looks set to happen - however it would appear that costings are still not clear! This is worrying.

The second scrutiny meeting looked at it in more details and also made a couple of important recommendations - firstly that the District should note the success of the trial blah blah - basically saying if we can reach such good recycling targets in such a short time we do not need to go for a monster incinerator which it would appear the County want - scroll down here previous blogs for more on this - especially letter on 10th December 2007. Secondly we've called on a Scrutiny committee to invite supermarket bosses to look at how they can cut packaging - an issue I have been on about for ages - previously I have been told that the cOuncil is doing that but in answer to several of my questions it became apparent that they have only spoken to the small Coop in relation to the Stanleys trial.

Another issue we looked at was Stratford Park leisure centre - customer numbers are up and I have seen an improvement in recent months - still needs work - one of the frustrations is to get them to do more re energy efficiency - because they only have a three year contract there is no incentive - Dursley pool in contrast is Council owned and now has a pool cover - why not Stroud - the most I got from my questioning was an agreement of a report to consider green measures. Anyhow I am more than happy to talk more if anyone is particularly interested or has thoughts on these issues or others....enough now - have had several other meetings with officers but more of that in future blogs - time for something to eat now!!

Green party question from Cllr Martin Whiteside: Whether the funds allocated are sufficient to meet all the 2008/09 outcomes committed to in the SDC Environmental Strategy (including pro-rata targets if the outcome commitment is beyond 2008/09)?

Here is the answer given: Sufficient resources have been set aside to deliver the ‘immediate priority actions’ set out on pages 4, 7, 9, 12 and 13 of the Strategy. Any variations in delivery timescales will be set out in the Corporate Delivery Plan 9-month update being reported to Cabinet on January 31. In terms of the Council’s performance targets (main outcomes) there are 8 set out in the Strategy. It should also be noted that there are 8 ‘Community Aspiration’ targets which are not dealt with here as they are subject to long-term monitoring. The following summarises current progress in terms of the Council’s performance targets. Sufficient resources are currently available in each case and any potential risks in terms of a requirement for significant additional resources in the future are identified.

- (Page 5) By 2010 all households in the District will have a convenient and easy-to-use collection services, enabling them to recycle and compost at least 70% of their rubbish. The exact resource needs and timescales for implementation will be dependent on the outcomes from the evaluation of the Stanley’s Waste Trial (due to take place in the summer of 08) and discussions concerning the Joint Municipal Waste Strategy. The financial implications will need to be clarified during the winter 2008/08 budget cycle. It should be noted that an initial £525k was set aside in last years budget for this purpose.

- (Page 8) To reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the council’s direct operations (electricity, heating and transport) by a minimum of 3% per annum. The Council is currently developing a carbon footprint. The estimated net carbon dioxide emissions for 2006/07 are set out below and have been calculated using current DEFRA guidance. All figures are subject to confirmation.

Nuke decision is wrong

With the Government announcement of support for a new programme of nuclear power stations, the sad thing is, that it comes as no surprise. The Green party has been putting out various news releases over last couple of days - see my comments here and here - and more local Green comment here.

Photo: Oldbury nuclear power station

The local media doesn't seem to have so much interest in this story - a tiny piece in The Citizen today - and worse still there is only partial mention in the national media of the catalogue of deceit and misinformation from the government and the nuclear industry leading up to this decision.

The High Court found that the previous Government's Review was seriously flawed - this latest one has been branded by the Nuclear Consultation Group, as relying on "contentious information" and "sleight of hand". I hope Greenpeace and others contest it again. If you read the news releases linked above you will see that the arguments about energy security and climate change do not stand up - indeed the Governments' own Sustainable Development Commission thoroughly assessed the situation and concluded there is no case for supporting nuclear power. Worryingly there is also new comments from key people that money has been withheld from renewables to help ensure the push for nuclear.

Yesterday I got hold of a paper from Greenpeace - the Government may say nuclear has to pay it's way but that is nonsense - Greenpeace have looked at the White Paper that came out yesterday and have outlined some of the more subtle ways the government has understated the real risks to the taxpayer and the lack of clarity on economics:

• The White Paper shows how nuclear companies will be able to cap their liabilities, leaving the tax payer exposed if estimates for dealing with waste change.
• It openly admits the government will have to provide extra money if cost estimates are wrong.
• It uses questionable financial estimates to build the nuclear economic case.

I also saw an extraordinary fact from Ecotricity noting - that the existing nuclear programme cost £50 billion to build and produced 20% of our power in the UK. The whole of Europe could be run on wind power for that amount!!!!

Supporters of nuclear power must surely realise that they are supporting a dishonest process and one that will not meet the needs of people, the economy or our commitments to combating climate change? As one commentator put it: "This is extortion and theft from future generations, which will be unwillingly forced to pay for the unsolved problem of radioactive toxic waste. In any sane society, this would be deemed a criminal act but is now accepted common practice amongst government and nuclear corporations."

I heard Caroline Lucas MEP on the Today programme (BBC Radio 4) and was pleased she made the point about fairness as well as the many other arguments against nuclear - after all how can it be just that a rich country like ourselves resorts to nuclear then tells others like Iran they can't. Where is the morality in that?

Anyhow this prfoundly wrong decision by the Government comes out at the same time as new German research showing that Leukaemia risk "doubled" for children who live near nuclear power stations - see Channel 4 News 10th Jan 2008. Anyhow I wont go over all the arguments again - suffice to say I am deeply disappointed in yet another U-turn from Labour.

Council shredder on tour and compost with minimum methane

If you burn your garden waste it creates a lot of greenhouse gas and other pollution. If you shred it, you create a useful garden mulch. Shredding on a big scale is relatively fuel efficient.

Photo: Ruscombe view

The Council pay for a big shredder which is on tour around Stroud (dates and locations below). You just take along your pruning and clippings, then collect the mulch later. They do the shredding. You don't have to take prunings to collect mulch.
Methane and Leachate In Home Compost?

Home compost can produce a small amount of methane in the heap, especially if it is allowed to get soggy, but it does not release methane to the atmosphere as a small heap has a much higher surface/middle ratio compared to a huge landfill site. Micro-organisms active in outer layers oxidise methane to CO2. The outside 3" on the top and sides of a home heap are close enough to the air always to be "outside" - leaving perhaps 18" deep inside in a compost heap. Those same 3" on landfill are sitting on top of perhaps 20 metres depth of airless waste, so cannot oxidise the methane, which then escapes into the atmosphere (some is captured at landfill but by no means all of it can be caught).

Research indicates that more of the organic content of waste is converted to gases in anaerobic conditions than it is in an aerobic compost heap. The aerobic processes in a home compost heap tend to stabilise the structure of the rotted ingredients into so-called humic compounds - complex organic molecules which have gel-like properties & are very valuable for soil structure. During this process CO2, rather than methane, is also given off. Technical measurements have confirmed that methane is not given off by home compost.

Home compost heaps will only produce leachate if they are not covered & are then rained on very heavily - if a heap gets really wet it won't compost well & will be very heavy to move about. This would only be a problem if the leachate then ran directly into a watercourse. Otherwise leachate is simply absorbed by the soil & used by the active plants & animals living there.

Observation suggests that when food and vegetation rots airlessly it tends to produce more of a wet slop without structure. This suggests that proportionally more leachate is produced in landfill. Even so, leachate is a problem in landfill for 2 reasons which don't apply to home compost heaps:-
1] landfill isn't sheltered from rain, nor is it resting on the soil, because it may be near the water table, & as such huge quantities of leachate are concentrated in one place, leakage of runoff can produce a major pollution problem locally.
2] there are numerous potentially toxic items in landfill (eg batteries, household chemicals, illegally dumped chemical waste etc). Leachate is mildly acidic by nature (which is why you sometimes need to lime heavily mucked soil) - and therefore tends to react with all these other substances and in many cases will make them more soluble, thereby carrying them into the wider environment where they are obviously not wanted. (Thanks to Forest Friends of the Earth newsletter for this info).
Dates for shredder

These are the dates and rough locations. Phone Mike Exley on 01285 760519 for more detail:
26th Jan: Elm Road and Cashes Green 2nd Feb: Chalford Hill 23rd Feb Stratford Road 1st March Bussage 19th April Bussage 26th April Chalford 3rd May Chalford 10th May Slad Road 17th May Dudbridge

Facebook: what are your security settings?

Last year I joined Facebook partly as the Green party set up a group - and indeed several other local campaigns also set up Facebook groups - but I still haven't got into it - what is all this nudging and sending virtual cocktails? Some I know are literally on everyday swapping videos, messages and more - it has certainly been good to see some folks photo collections - maybe you need to give it more time each week to really enjoy??

Photo: Ruscombe valley

The trouble is I've also ended up joining other schemes like MySpace. There is no end to possibilities - anyway a 'friend' - now what is one of those - it seems almost anyone is a friend now on Facebook even if you only met a couple of times? Anyway as I was saying a friend - a 'real' friend - sent an excellent article by Ari Melber from The Nation about online privacy - see it here.

Here is a flavour of it that made me think a little more carefully about the privacy settings on the likes of Facebook: "When one of America's largest electronic surveillance systems was launched in Palo Alto a year ago, it sparked an immediate national uproar. The new system tracked roughly 9 million Americans, broadcasting their photographs and personal information on the Internet; 700,000 web-savvy young people organized online protests in just days....Yet today, the activism has waned, and the surveillance continues largely unabated..."

Facebook apparently hit a snag in November after it launched Beacon, a "social advertising" program that broadcast users' profile pictures and private activities as advertising bulletins. It has now been withdrawn but sounded terrible - the article describes how it worked: "When a Facebook user bought a product on one of dozens of other websites, for example, the information was sent to Facebook and distributed across the user's network as a "personal" ad. ("Joe Johnson rented Traffic at Blockbuster," for example.) Many users had their pictures and actions morphed into advertisements without their consent, turning private commerce into public endorsements."

There are now plans to an even more open public directory style. Controversy has not slowed Facebook's huge growth: 58 million active members have posted more than 2.7 billion photos - it quadrupled its user base over the past year and is now the most popular website among Americans age 17 to 25. More than eight out of ten US college students registered. Older Americans are also flocking to the site: it draws 250,000 new members every day. Overall, it is the fifth most popular site in the country, ranking just behind YouTube.....People post a whopping 14 million personal photos every single day - then users diligently label one another in these pictures, enabling visitors to see every photo anyone has ever posted of other people, regardless of their consent or knowledge.

Think carefully before you post and have a look at those privacy settings.

'Back-to-the-Tap Movement' is starting to roll

Since I called for a ban on bottled water on this blog (scroll down to blog on 5th August 2007) the 'Back-to-the-Tap Movement' is starting to roll. I enclose a piece below from the Earth Policy Institute from just before Christmas which sets out the picture in the US and Europe. I was also interested to read of UNISON's campaign 'Water@Work' - designed to promote the benefits of drinking tap water. Their website writes:

It is a medical fact that well hydrated and nourished people are more resistant to illness and will recover more quickly if they do become ill. Just a 2% loss of body water can result in a 10% drop in physical and mental performance. By increasing water intake to eight glasses a day you can:

1. Keep energy levels up
2. Prevent headaches
3. Maintain concentration
4. Reduce stress and mood swings
5. Reduce risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease.

Isn't it time we saw more Gloucestershire companies ban bottled water and promoted tap water? Anyway here's that article re bottled water...

BOTTLED WATER BOYCOTTS by Janet Larsen

From San Francisco to New York to Paris, city governments, high-class restaurants, schools, and religious groups are ditching bottled water in favor of what comes out of the faucet. With people no longer content to pay 1,000 times as much for bottled water, a product no better than water from the tap, a backlash against bottled water is growing.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors, which represents some 1,100 American cities, discussed at its June 2007 meeting the irony of purchasing bottled water for city employees and for city functions while at the same time touting the quality of municipal water. The group passed a resolution sponsored by Mayors Gavin Newsom of San Francisco, Rocky Anderson of Salt Lake City, and R. T. Rybak of Minneapolis that called for the examination of bottled water’s environmental impact. The resolution noted that with $43 billion a year going to provide clean drinking water in cities across the country, “the United States’ municipal water systems are among the finest in the world.”

While the Mayors Conference fell short of moving to stop taxpayer money from filling the coffers of water bottlers, a growing number of cities are heading in that direction. Los Angeles, which has restricted the purchase of bottled water with city funds since 1987, now has more company. By the end of 2007, purchasing bottled water will be off-limits for San Francisco’s departments and agencies, saving a half-million dollars each year and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. St. Louis is poised to ban bottled water purchases for city employees in early 2008.

At the launch of Corporate Accountability International’s “Think Outside the Bottle” campaign in October, Mayor Anderson of Salt Lake City described the “total absurdity and irresponsibility, both economic and environmental, of purchasing and using bottled water when we have perfectly good and safe municipal sources of tap water.” He urged city government departments and restaurants to stop buying bottled water.

In November, the city council of Chicago, beleaguered by swelling landfills and a stretched budget, placed a landmark tax of 5¢ on every bottle of water sold in the city in order to discourage consumption. That same month, Illinois state agencies were banned from purchasing bottled water with government funds. With 86 percent of used water bottles in the United States ending up as garbage or litter instead of being recycled, switching from the bottle to the tap helps to alleviate the trash burden.

New York City is urging residents to drink tap water, which is naturally filtered in the protected Catskill forest region. In Kentucky, the Louisville water utility hands out free bottles for residents to fill with “Pure Tap.” Dozens of other local governments are talking up tap water and are looking into banning the bottle. (See http://www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2007/Update68_data.htm for a list and additional data.)

Tap water promotional campaigns would have seemed quaint a few decades ago, when water in bottles was a rarity. Now such endeavors are needed to counteract the pervasive marketing that has caused consumers to lose faith in the faucet. In fact, more than a quarter of bottled water is just processed tap water, including top-selling Aquafina and Coca-Cola’s Dasani. When Pepsi announced in July that it would clearly label its Aquafina water as from a “public water source,” it no doubt shocked everyone who believed that bottles with labels depicting pristine mountains or glaciers delivered a superior product.

Despite the less-frequent quality testing and sometimes commonplace origin of the product, bottled water consumption has soared. Annual consumption in the United States in 1976 was less than 2 gallons for every man, woman, and child; some 30 years later, Americans on average each now drink about 30 gallons of bottled water a year.

All this hydration costs Americans more than $15 billion a year. The price of individual bottles of water ranges up to several dollars a gallon (and more for designer brands), while tap water is delivered directly to homes and offices for less than a penny a gallon. People complaining about $3-a-gallon gasoline may start to wonder why they are paying even more per gallon for bottled water.

With sales growing by 10 percent each year, far faster than any other beverage, bottled water now appears to be the drink of choice for many Americans--they swallow more of it than milk, juice, beer, coffee, or tea. While some industry analysts are counting on bottled water to beat out carbonated soft drinks to top the charts in the near future, the burgeoning back-to-the-tap movement may reverse the trend.

In contrast to tap water, which is delivered through an energy-efficient infrastructure, bottled water is an incredibly wasteful product. It is usually packaged in single-serving plastic bottles made with fossil fuels. Just manufacturing the 29 billion plastic bottles used for water in the United States each year requires the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of crude oil.

After being filled, the bottles may travel far. Nearly one quarter of bottled water crosses national borders before reaching consumers, and part of the cachet of certain bottled water brands is their remote origin. Adding in the Pacific Institute’s estimates for the energy used for pumping and processing, transportation, and refrigeration, brings the annual fossil fuel footprint of bottled water consumption in the United States to over 50 million barrels of oil equivalent - enough to run 3 million cars for one year. If everyone drank as much bottled water as Americans do, the world would need the equivalent of more than 1 billion barrels of oil to produce close to 650 billion individual bottles.

Concerns about this high energy use and the associated contribution to climate change, along with worries about waste, are driving many groups back to tap water. The United Church of Canada is one of the religious groups abandoning bottled water for moral reasons. The Berkeley school district no longer offers bottled water. And after watching 3,000 empty bottles pile up each week, the Nashville law firm Bass, Berry, & Sims has stopped stocking bottled water.

Europeans have long led the world in per person consumption of bottled water. Italy tops the list worldwide, with Italians drinking 54 gallons per person in 2006. Italy is closely trailed in per capita consumption by the United Arab Emirates and Mexico, followed by France, Belgium, Germany, and Spain.

Yet even in Western Europe the bottle is starting to lose clout. Rome, a city of historic fountains, is promoting its tap water. Florence’s city council, schools, and other public offices offer only city water. In the United Kingdom, the Treasury and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have ceased offering bottled water at official functions. Bottled water sales in Scandinavia are projected to fall because of growing environmental concerns.

Even France, home to Evian, is seeing a sales slowdown. During a 2005 tap water promotion campaign in Paris, the water utility handed out refillable glass carafes. Now Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë serves only tap water at official events and encourages others to do the same. Total bottled water sales in France fell in 2004 and 2005, but rebounded in 2006.

Slowing sales may be the wave of the future as the bottle boycott movement picks up speed. With more than 1 billion people around the globe still lacking access to a safe and reliable source of water, the $100 billion the world spends on bottled water every year could certainly be put to better use creating and maintaining safe public water infrastructure everywhere.

Water footprints and SE to take our water?

Could water shortages have an even greater impact than Peak Oil?

This an issue that I cannot begin to do justice in this blog entry but try for starters that 16,000 litres are needed for 1kg of beef, 140 litres for one cup of coffee and 900 litres for 1kg of Maize. I will come back to our water footprint but first let's remind us where we are...

Professor Asit K. Biswas, an expert in water use and the 2006 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, wrote in a report released by the Asian Development Bank (Bangkok Post): "If the present unsatisfactory trends continue, in one or two decades Asian developing countries are likely to face a crisis on water quality management that is unprecedented in human history."

Underwater aquifers are already running dry in China - the consequence of rapid industrialisation and water pollution in China's dash for economic transformation. Aquifers are also running dry in India too. Major water diversion schemes are spoken about but are not a reality - and attempts to create more dams or desalinate water are in danger of being as destructive of ecosystems as the droughts themselves. The US state of Georgia and the southern part of California have suffered serious shortages during the past year due to unusually severe droughts and poor planning. Pollution and profligate consumption patterns point to a coming desperate situation.

Over one billion people have no clean, safe drinking water; 5,000 children die every day from water that is dirty and contaminated. At least 2.2 million people - 1.8 million of them children - are killed each year by water-borne diseases. A further 2.6 billion people have no secure, hygienic toilet facilities, which breeds disease and contaminates ground water. See Peter Tatchell talk on this here.

Yet for a tiny fraction of global military expenditure, everyone on earth could have infection-free drinking water and millions of lives could be saved. The lack of safe water supplies often impacts worst on marginal social groups, such as lower castes and ethnic minorities, who may be denied access to water sources and be forced to pay premium prices to private suppliers. And we should not forget that some tourist developments, such as big hotels and golf courses, result in private companies sinking their own bore holes to extract water from below ground - this sometimes results in the depression of the water table; causing a drying up of wells and consequent water crises in the surrounding villages.

Water shortages and a lack of affordability in developing countries have sometimes been exacerbated by privatisation, which has usually benefited urban dwellers to the neglect of their rural counterparts. With global warming and rising populations, the prospect looms of
future conflicts and wars over insufficient fresh water supplies. A foretaste of such disputes can be seen in the friction between Israel and the Palestinian territories over Tel Aviv's diversion of water from the Jordan River to meet Israeli demand, leaving the West Bank under-supplied.

Water footprint

We've heard of carbon footprints well try water footprint - The water footprint of an individual, business or nation is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual, business or nation.

A couple of blog entries back I noted the impact livestock have on Climate Change - well as my opening paragraph of this entry suggests they also impact on our water resources. We've all heard about embodied energy, but what about virtual water. See this excellent website explore this issue more:
http://www.waterfootprint.org/index.php?page=files/home

On that site you can calculate your footprint, see how much water other products take to be produced and more.

It is certainly time we started to take water seriously...in this country we will not be without serious difficulties - the South East is already stretched - and the BBC has reported that in London leaks from ageing water mains are wasting 300 Olympic swimming pools' worth of water every single day.

SE to take our water?

One suggestion regarding the canal regeneration is that it could be used to transport water to SE - it is being suggested this could save 5 reservoirs being built. This is a completely crazy approach - not least it would be a huge waste of energy pumping water up over Cotswolds.

It will also deprive us of water here in Stroud - and according to one critic, it is a key reason why the Environment Agency has stalled and delayed low head hydro in the Stroud Valleys and why attempts to restore migratory salmonids to Frome catchment are obstructed by the EA, as such a scheme would, like hydro, require our water resources be protected and not nicked in this manner.

There are numerous other ecological reasons, (chemical, microbiological & biological), why this project should never be allowed. It is up to the Thames catchment managers (EA) to properly manage the existing sufficient water resources here. Rather than wasting £110 million on a flood channel round Windsor and another £150 million for the same round Oxford to speed rainwater out to the sea - and then £1000 million on new Oxford reservoir and £200 million on Thames estuary desalination - all this is alot less than an estimated £50 million that could be spent on the type of flood/drought impoundments in the Thames catchment as are being proposed here in Stroud, for much much less - and would fix such problems ... but of course that will deprive 'Big Water' of the type of projects needed for maximum profits.

Update on Painswick Library

Regular log readers will know I've covered libraries in the past on this blog (click on label below) - even ended up with the Editor of an International magazine meeting me in Painswick to write about plans there.

Photo: Painswick Library

Anyhow I have to say the Tories have not given the same priority to libraries in the County as the Lib Dems - there have been threats to close libraries, plans for a new cultural centre in Gloucester were scrapped, plans to upgrade Cheltenhams central library were also shelved - and in the Autumn there was still a backlog of £1.3 million maintenance that needs tackling. Some work has been done like the £1m refit of Cirencester library (completion in March) and Bishops Cleeve, Longlevens and Dursley have all seen refits that have led to increased use. It is not surprising to find Gloucestershire County 24th out of 34 county library services in terms of net spending per head of population.

Anyhow to news of Painswick...

The County agreed 7 days before Christmas to sell the library at a price that Trustees of the Gateway project feel is acceptable (see previous blogs on this for background - 18th July, 30th April and 6th and 15th February 2007 plus 1st June 2006) - it includes a package for retaining County supported-library services. Apparently by Sat 11th Jan copies of the new Business Plan incorporating these details will be available from Painswick Library - it will also go on the Painswick Gateway website. The Trustees urge residents to judge the report not hearsay.

There will be a public meeting on Tuesday 22nd January at Christ Church at 7.30 to gauge support and discuss proposals - a vote will be taken at the meeting - views can be sent before but if you are not at the meeting then you cannot vote. The Trustees believe this is a once in a lifetime chance.

In line with the Trustees request I will not pass comment other than to reiterate my disappointment that the County seem to be shelving some of their responsibilities to provide a library to the people of Painswick. I hope that is not the case - I await the report.

Silent but deadly - except Kangaroos?

I was recently given the card in the photo from the Vegetarian Society - it highlighted the situation regarding emissions from animals.

As the Vegetarian Society write: "There were approximately 6.5 billion people living on earth in 2005, and as the world’s population continues to grow, our requirement for food will also increase. Worldwide food production requires 30% of the total soil available, 20% of fossil fuel energy and a major part of the fresh water flow. Raising cattle is one of the most damaging components of agriculture...Studies on world food security estimate that an affluent diet containing meat requires up to 3 times as many resources as a vegetarian diet...Global production of meat has risen dramatically from 130 million tonnes in the late 1970s to 230 million tonnes in the year 2000. Meat is now the single largest source of animal protein in all affluent nations and demand for animal flesh is expected to more than double by the year 2050. In order to meet this growing appetite, animals will no doubt be reared more intensively and cheaply with factory farming and aquaculture (fish farming) causing further pollution, water and land usage. If nothing is done, the environmental impact of meat production can only increase. Diet is an important tool in working to achieve environmental sustainability."

The link between livestock and climate change is starting to be understood more clearly by a wider group of people - Caroline Lucas MEP speaking at the Climate Change march last year used her time to spell out concerns. Several comments left on items on this blog have also raised this issue.

It is therefore good to see a draft motion going to the Green party conference in February
more specifically linking our sustainable agriculture policies to the huge climate impact of livestock farming - which according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is revealed to be responsible for about 18 percent of the global warming effect - ie more than the entire world's transport system (13.5%).

Our policies for sustainable agriculture already plan for a transition away from
the production of animal products towards production for predominantly plant-based diets. However the motion specifically notes the substantial contribution of livestock farming to greenhouse gas emissions which makes it evident that to achieve our climate objectives and emissions targets, such farming will need to be drastically and rapidly reduced. It goes onto spell out that a reduction in livestock farming will clearly have implications for land use, agriculture and human diets.

Kangaroo Farts?

The latest edition of the Forest Friends of the Earth had an item noting that flatulent farm animals produce methane that accounts for 14% of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia, 2nd only to power stations. However bacteria in kangaroos’ stomach linings mean that their farts contain no methane - a greenhouse gas far more damaging than CO2. FoE write: "So why not eat kangaroo meat? This would help cap the marsupial population, which has reached plague proportions in parts of Australia, & connoisseurs say the meat is “good, low in fat, high in protein & kangaroos are the ultimate free-range animal."

Clearly it would only help if it didn't have to be transported and was reducing other meat consumption.....but lets all cut our meat consumption - and for anyone wanting to see veggie food at it's best go to my brothers cafe in Bristol - Cafe Maitreya.

Two questions on green politics...

What is Sustainable Development?

This first question was asked by a Glos Uni student in an email last week - here was my hurried answer - what would others have written?

Sustainable Development is a grossly overused and an almost meaningless phrase. Indeed it is great to be asking 'What is sustainable development?' - particularly when the economic policies of the three main parties are all based on concepts of growth and continued depletion of resources - this cannot be sustainable. Sustainability should be about ensuring life on Earth - as someone once said - 'the endless expression of generosity on behalf of all' - ie growth without inequality, wealth without plunder, work without exploitation and a future without fear.

Is consumer power the answer?

I am putting together a newsletter for the ward and one comment was that I could have spelt out the role of consumer more in my article re climate change.....I agree I glossed over this aspect - consumers do have power - not least in giving support to politicians to make the policy changes we need to make and showing that other ways are possible. However I am also very sceptical of consumer power...here is something below I scribbled on the topic a while ago"

...we cannot sustain the current rate of consumption - unrestrained capitalism depends upon infinite growth, and infinite growth is impossible on a finite planet. As George Monbiot put it "Eventually, like yeast in a barrel, it has to consume the resources upon which it depends."

We need an economic system that seeks to achieve a steady state not ever more growth. Better consumption by itself wont achieve the necessary political change. Poorer consumers can improve the quality of their consumption and try to reduce their environmental impact, but all it takes is for one very rich person to carry on the way they are and they wipe out all of the impact that thousands of other people have attempted. Again a quote from George Monbiot fits here: "We have to be better citizens first and better consumers second. In other words we need political change which makes our buying decisions meaningful."

Indeed without government action, better consumption does not lead to any lasting result. See George Monbiot and his concerns re green consumerism:
http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007/07/24/eco-junk/

Thermal Imaging to wake homeowners up to heat loss?

My uncle recently put a proposal with others to his District Council to purchase a thermal imaging camera to demonstrate to householders where their house is losing heat and where improvements could be made. The process would then be repeated later to check on the
effectiveness of any improvements. Local schools were to be involved with lots to be made of the “wow factor” of the colourful photos plus energy advice surgeries.

Photo: Note damp (white) areas under the windows of this recently insulated home - the above set of photos came from Horton Levi and the below set from IRYSIS. I hope they don't mind!

Apparently one of the keys to making the project work is getting the training to be able to interpret the images. A few areas in the country apparently have done aerial thermal imaging - Leicester city council have used it to target street by street with a hit squad to do loft insulation and cavity wall to all the houses....yes I know I mention this every time we get on this topic but why can't Stroud do a project like Kirklees who have the funds (mainly from energy utility companies) to insulate every home in their District....see previous blogs...

“Seeing is believing”

To me this is a fresh and interesting project - I am sure the impact of seeing heat loss in full colour is very useful in encouraging people to take action. It should also be possible to maximise involvement of householders by giving them a list of possible energy saving improvements to their property with an idea of the relative costs & savings of different approaches e.g. loft v. cavity wall insulation, double glazing etc. and even curtains over doors & windows - together with hints on the use of other energy saving measures like condensing boilers to reduce their carbon footprint.

In the proposal follow-up after the initial round of contacts and thermal image making is planned to take several forms, for example:-

- Awards for houses achieving the ‘best improvement’ in household energy use.
- Interesting articles in the Press, with coloured Before and After pictures.
- “Energy Advice Surgery” meeting in the Village Hall under an experienced individual.
- Articles in Parish magazine covering energy saving matters.
- Leaflets or posters, funded where possible by local firms’ advertising.

Thermal Imaging

Thermal images can reveal problems over a huge range of industrial, mechanical and electrical systems. Used on buildings, images taken with thermographic cameras show up hidden design faults or flaws of workmanship or bad insulation that cause heat leakages, with brighter colours showing where loss is greatest. See example photos on this blog entry.

It is now possible to get portable thermal image cameras for around £5,000 instead of tens of thousands. The group have already had camera demonstrations to establish which of the most promising cameras will best suit requirements. Good outside thermal images need to be taken in the winter and without sun on the houses.

Is this something that we could do in this area? Already underway is the Neighbourhood Energy project which is similar in that it looks at householders energy use - some Parishes are pursuing this and I've covered it previously on this blog.

Proposal: Open Eco-Homes and Productive Gardens

Several members of Transition Stroud put forward this idea in Working Groups, but at present there is not a group organising it. There was not time to discuss it at the recent Transition Open Meeting so I have put the info below and circulated it to various email lists to see if there is support.

Photo: Clare Sheridan, a Green party member who has done lots to promote renewables locally - her home has featured in many magazines and newspapers

I would be happy to help this project but would like more support before taking it further forward - is there anyone who would be prepared to help get the project together? My notes below are gleaned from various conversations with TS folk and others - plus very draft ideas on what help is needed. Please email or phone me if you are interested so that we can gain a measure of interest in this project?

Background - Open Studios

Many will be aware of the huge and growing success, year on year, of the Open Studios in Stroud. Some 200 artists exhibit in many homes across the District that are open for 2 weekends in June - in addition to exhibitions in homes and other venues there are also talks, walks, poetry and performance throughout June. See more re Open Studios here:
http://www.sva.org.uk/site07info/site07press/open.studiospressrelease.html

Could this format work to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy measures?

The idea would be to give people the opportunity to travel around the District over one or two days to see PV, turbines, insulation, Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, permaculture/organics etc and be able to talk to householders who have taken these measures. Many people find it difficult to find good information or how to proceed - here is a chance to ask the owners of these systems why they chose them and how they are performing.

It has been done elsewhere?

I have been pointed to various schemes across the country that are similar to this proposal. In London for example one day in the Autumn various Eco-homes are opened up including BedZED.

Another approach was undertaken in North Devon by a small local sustainability organisation who secured funding for a "powerhouse" project, which comprised of a weekend drop-in event with various workshops, and minibus trips to visit local examples of household energy-saving, energy-generation, or green building materials etc. The 'Energy Safari' was apparently the highlight - there were various small themed tours of renewable energy and energy saving systems installed in local homes plus a 'base camp' exhibition on renewable energy and energy saving. More details from:
http://www.tag4s.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=39

What next?

I have tentatively suggested the idea to the Sustainability Officer at Stroud District Council to explore possible support and funding. The Green Shop have also been helpful in making suggestions for visits.

If we are to proceed we will need help with various aspects - should we look at Energy Safaris and Open Homes? Is there someone prepared to seek funding to pay an organiser of the event? Or could we start low key this year to test water and get funding only for leaflets etc? What is viable? Here are some first thoughts on things that may need doing:

- putting together a list of willing homes/visit sites
- signage to homes on the weekend
- putting together a leaflet/booklet of route
- funding for leaflet etc
- publicity
- Safari organiser
- Exhibition organiser

Let me know if you are at all interested in all or part of this possible project.

Bees: A way to erradicate Varroa mite?

See my latest blog re bees on 4th January 2008 - here below is the research into mites in New Zealand promised by Aussie Bob Usher - in a phone call this morning he kindly gave me permission to publicise his results on this blog and forward it to a few key organisations - it would appear the light energy he uses kills off the mite that does so much harm to the bees in this country and overseas.

Photo: From the new animated 'Bee Movie' - apparently not great but claims to help give us a new respect for bees - suggest instead the movie link about Vanishing Bees in the previous blog on bees.

Clearly more research is needed to replicate these results but it looks good - of course we should also be looking at how we can tackle the causes of the problems - like the need to de-industrialise beekeeping - as the film mentioned in the previous blog shows we are putting bees under enormous stresses - it is no wonder they succumb to mites and Bee Colony Collapse Disorder - we also need to look much more at other issues like the impact of mobile phone masts, GM crops etc.

THESE ARE SOME OF OUR RESEARCH EXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS WHICH ALERTED US TO THE POSSIBILITIES OF ERADICATING THE VARROA MITE.

Animals responded to treatment with the device. Race horse, Equestrian horse, both had Navicular disease, both are now normal. Equestrian horse with damaged spine now responds to rider with no pain. Collie dog: both cruciate ligaments badly damaged can now run and walk normally. West Highland terrier was almost deaf and losing sight, became normal again.

Plants showed increase in growth when under the influence of the device. Human immune system restored showing no sign of lymphoma returning.

As the bees immune system is similar to humans and animals, it stands to reason that any disease or virus the bees have contracted from Varroa mite and Nosema Ceranae would be overcome by the restored immune system. All we have to do is treat the bees in the hives and set up the devices. The bees would then recover naturally as the introduction of oxygen is the primary fuel for the recovery of their immune system, and the parasite cannot live in an oxygenated environment.

Parasites cause health problems: diarrhoea, fatigue, arthritis, anorexia.

Pathogenic Microbes invade our immune system namely parasites, viruses, bacteria, fungus, etc. As our immune system weakens our body permits organisms of opportunity to spread. Killing these organisms gives temporary respite giving our system time to heal.

Immune System: Weakening of the bees immune system allows micro organisms to invade the bees bodies and cause immune deficiency syndrome or cancer.

Bees:
1. Are susceptible to environmental stress (electro-magnetic fields)
2. Pollinators service truck haulage stresses bees.
3. Feral bees egg laying cells are approx. 4.9 mm wide Factory farm egg laying cells are approx.5.4 mm wide (bees bigger but not as strong as feral bees.)
4. Varroa mite parasite (blood sucker) transfers lethal viruses for bees through open wounds opened by mites bites.
5. Nosema Ceranae causes acute diarrhoea also affects the mid-gut of the bees Nosema Ceranae is an intestinal parasite, its spores are microscopic. They invade the cell wall of the bee with an explosive spring action depositing the spore contents into the host cells, causing Nosemosis, a parasite disease, which shortens the bees life span.

AIM

To kill Varroa destructor mites on Honey Bees, by applying the theory of Light Energy; using honey bees infected with live Varroa mites in a practical field test from a commercial apiary in Hamilton, New Zealand. Also test the effect of a non-chemical spray on the bees and mites.

RESULTS EXP. (1)

29/11/07 CHECK MITE FALL IN HOSPITAL HIVE

11 am 29/11/07 1 mite on sticky board

11 am 30/11/07 70 mites " "

11 am 1/12/07 59 mites " "

11 am 2/12/07 60 mites " "

11 am 3/12/07 43 mites " "

11 am 5/12/07 78 mites " "

Unable to further monitor mite fall ..

RESULTS EXP.(2)

26/11/07 CAUGHT 22 VARROA MITES

13 in Jar (A) set up for observation, with Light Device, only.

9 in Jar (B) " with non-chemical spray, only


27/11/07

11 am Jar(A) 9 dead mites 4 alive 69.2% dead
Jar(B) 7 " " 2 " 77.7% "

28/11/07

11 am Jar(A) 11 dead mites 2 alive 75% dead
Jar(B) 8 " " 1 " 88% "

6 pm Jar(A) 11 dead mites 2 alive 75% dead
Jar(B) 9 " " 0 " 100% "

29/11/07

8 am Jar(A) 13 dead mites 0 alive 100% dead
Jar(B) 9 " " 0 " 100% "

RESULTS EXP.3

30/11/07 SET UP PLASTIC JAR WITH 6 BEES SPRAYED WITH NON-CHEMICAL SPRAY

1/12/07 All 6 bees dead. (whoops)

RESULTS EXP.4

3/12/07 JAR(C) WITH LIGHT DEVICE
5 pm
JAR(D) NORMAL


7 pm Jar(C) 24 mites alive
Jar(D) 24 mites alive

4/12/07

7 pm Jar(C) 5 mites dead 19 alive 20.8% dead
Jar(D) 0 " " 24 " 0% "

5/12/07

8 am Jar(C) 8 mites dead 16 alive 33.3% dead
Jar(D) 0 " " 24 " 0% "

4 pm Jar(C) 16 mites dead 8 alive 66.7% dead
Jar(D) 0 " " 24 " 0% "

6/12/07

7 am Jar(C) 20 mites dead 4 alive 83.3% dead
Jar(D) 0 " " 24 " 0% "

9 am Jar(C) 21 mites dead 3 alive 87.5% dead
Jar(D) 0 " " 24 " 0% "

8 pm Jar(C) 22 mites dead 2 alive 91.67% dead
Jar(D) 0 " " 24 " 0% "

7/12/07

8 am Jar(C) 24 mites dead 0 alive 100% dead
Jar(D) 0 " " 24 " 0% "

10am Jar(C) 24 mites dead 0 alive 100% dead
Jar(D) 0 " " 24 " 0% "

8/12/07

11 am Jar(C) 24 mites dead 0 alive 100% dead
Jar(D) 10 " " 14 " 41.67% "

9/12/07

11 am Jar(C) 24 mites dead 0 alive 100% dead
Jar(D) 14 " " 10 " 58.3.%

10/12/07

11am Jar(C) 24 mites dead 0 alive 100% dead
Jar(D) 14 " " 10 " 58.3% "

2 pm Jar(C) 24 mites dead 0 alive 100% dead
Jar(D) 15 " " 9 " 62.5% "


:: EXPERIMENT( 4 ) COULD NOT BE CONTINUED, FLIGHT BACK TO AUSTRALIA - CHECK IN 3 pm

Results clearly show:
ALL TREATED mites dead in 3 days
37.5% UNTREATED mites still alive after 8 days

CONCLUSION:

After viewing each experiment result, the results show that the Varroa Destructor mites die off due to the introduction of oxygen attracted by the Light devices, eg. Negative Ions attract + Charged Oxygen. According to information on parasites the parasites die off in oxygen-rich environments. These experiments show that this theory has worked.

Experiment (2) showed that non-chemical spray killed the Varroa mites, however also killed the bees, as shown in experiment (3), thus proving this spray not to be a viable remedy. However the spray could be used to clean hives with the bees removed, thus killing any Varroa mite eggs.

Bee Keepers opinion states Varroa mites live 3-5 days without sustenance. We proved beyond all doubt that Varroa mites are still alive after 8 days, showing mites live much longer than expected. (- maybe some could live to 10 days). On the 8th day, as we checked for dead mites with the end of our probe stick, we noticed that each of the remaining 9 mites would jump onto the end of the probe stick thinking it was a bee, due to the movement. We were unable to test the natural mite drop as we weren't initially set up for it, however it would not be hard to do.

The reason that this experiment was not possible to do at this time was that the influence of the Light devices would have been influencing the natural mite fall within a radius of 10 km., making a true 'before-and-after' test impossible.

CONCLUSION OF EXPERIMENT 1.

We observed on Day 1, 29/11/07, only 1 mite fell on to the stick board, while all the other days there were significantly more mite falls. This seems to indicate that the Light device experiment was a success, having this influence on fully nourished Varroa mites. Then the mites succumbed to the killing power of the Light devices. Thus using Light Energy as a treatment the bee larvae can be treated in the brood cell as the photons, eg. light energy, penetrates and treats all the larvae in the closed cells. From these results there are definite possibilities to eradicate the Varroa mite.

USHER INDUSTRIES PTY LTD. Research Division.
All experiments conducted precisely.

The Great Turning Times on inspiration

Just wanted to plug the new format Great Turning Times - nearly two thousand subscribers - produced by Chris Johnson. I've always found it full of inspiration - and indeed the recent issue is about inspiration - and follows on nicely from my blog on Saturday about the series Survivors. Read Chris' editorial below - you can also find links on how to subscribe free yourself.

Photo: Christmas decorations down today

One of the purposes of this newsletter is to support empowered responses to global issues. When facing problems like climate change, peak oil, mass human starvation and the vast destruction of eco-systems, why is it that people sometimes rise to the challenge and other times look the other way? What makes the difference? A few weeks ago, I explored this topic in a talk I gave at Transition Bristol's Big Event. I introduced five principles for cultivating inspired responses to global issues and I'd like to share these with you now.

The starting point is to look at where inspiration begins. Can you remember when you first became interested in tackling an issue? Were there "motivational spark" moments that roused you to action? Such sparking events might include watching documentaries that alerted you to a problem, reading books or magazine articles that introduced a new perspective, or conversations with friends that reinforced something you'd been feeling already. Often it takes a series of these motivating moments before we feel moved to do something. But while some sparks ignite enthusiasm, others get put out quickly. A common way this happens is when someone views uncomfortable feelings as unhelpful, and so seeks to avoid them. Blocking out bad news might bring temporary peace of mind, but it can also suppress the spark. The first principle, of inspirational dissatisfaction, involves harnessing the motivational energy of distressing emotions. If you feel disturbed or uncomfortable when you encounter disturbing information, view this as a healthy and appropriate response. Allow yourself to dwell on the negative long enough to be roused by it. But if you find this too overwhelming, then the next principle may help.

Have you noticed how many great adventure stories begin from a place of gloom? Early on in these tales, things usually seem hopeless. But what makes the story is the way the central characters defy the odds and rise to the challenge. The second principle is to draw inspiration from adventure stories. Embedded in these tales are lessons that can help us when facing difficult challenges. For example, the central character may initially appear under-powered for their task. Have you ever felt this? Have you thought, "who am I to do something about this?" A recurring theme in adventure stories is of people finding strengths they didn't know they had, when they engaged in situations where these strengths were needed.

There are often crucial threshold moments in the story where the main character encounters an obstacle that seems impossible to get through. It is at times like these that the third principle is needed: What comes before How. First decide what you'd like to happen, then look for ways to make this more likely. Don't be put off if your task seems impossible; history has many examples of things that initially seemed impossible, but which later happened anyway. Have you had experiences of doing things you'd previously thought you couldn't do? Or seen other people go through this sequence? What comes before How is an important principle of creativity as it recognises that searching for a way generally comes before finding one. If you can't see how to do something, think of yourself as being in a preparation stage, where you seek out skills, information, allies and other resources that can help you move forward. I think of this as a training phase that involves both practical steps (on the outside) and psychological steps (within our hearts and minds). One type of psychological step is a shift in perspective, where looking at the same thing from a different angle can open up new possibilities. In The Work That Reconnects workshops developed by Joanna Macy and colleagues, this is often referred to as "seeing with new eyes". The next principle for cultivating inspired action is based on this.

When you look at a newsprint photograph under a magnifying glass, all you see are tiny dots. The picture only emerges when you step back and see the dots acting together as a whole. In a similar way, each of our own lives and life choices are like tiny dots in a larger picture. There's something bigger going on, and we may not see the full picture when looking only at the pieces. The fourth principle is to allow a larger story to act through us. This principle is based on the holistic science concept of emergence - that new properties and capacities emerge when parts act together as a larger whole. You can't predict these properties when looking only at the parts. For example, termite colonies regulate their internal temperature and humidity in ways you wouldn't think possible if you only studied individual termites. What new properties might emerge if more and more people started to act for the recovery of our world?

It is easy to look at individual actions and dismiss these as unlikely to lead to much. But if you look at something you do and ask "what could this be part of? What could it contribute to?" you start to look in a different way. You look upwards, at a bigger story. The self-regulation of termite colonies acts through the individual termites. Could our world have self-healing potentials far beyond what we could imagine from studying separate pieces of our planet? Could such a larger story of earth recovery act through us? This concept of emergence is important because it challenges the limiting view that says we can't do much. We can take this idea further though, bringing science and spirituality together in a way I find more deeply inspiring.

Team spirit acts through team members. If we reconnected with the sense that we are part of the larger team of life on this planet, could some vastly magnified form of team spirit act through us? Systems act through their parts. We are part of the living earth system, so it isn't far fetched to think of the earth as acting through us. In chapter 11 of my book Find Your Power, I've written about this as Power-through, which I've described as a power of larger processes emerging out of and through the actions of smaller parts. The big acts through the small; when we have a sense that we're contributing to, and receiving from, some vaster process, this opens possibilities in a way that can be inspiring. Maybe it is possible that we could wake up and succeed in bringing about the changes needed in our time. If so, future generations might look back on the early twenty-first century and talk of it as the time of The Great Turning. Ask yourself "if that is a story I am part of, what might my contribution be? How could the Great Turning act through me?"

In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell describes the process by which ideas and behaviours that are initially on the fringe can become as contagious as viruses, spreading rapidly through communities. I think something like this is already happening with the Transition movement, which has grown in just over a year from an initiative in one or two small towns to over 400 projects around the world. What makes an idea or behaviour contagious? Gladwell identifies one of the factors as 'stickiness': the degree to which something is memorable enough to stick in our minds. The fifth principle for cultivating inspiration relates to stickiness. It is this: make it enjoyable. We are more likely to stick at something if we enjoy doing it. And if people see us enjoying what we do, they're more likely to become interested too. How do we make acting for our world more enjoyable? Perhaps the question is more important than the answer, as it leads us to reflect on how we feel about what we do and consider making changes if needed. Some types of activism are associated with high burnout rates. Is it possible to design ways of being active that we want to stick at for longer? The study action groups used by Joanna Macy and others, and the community building that is integral to the Transition approach, are steps in this direction.

Of course there are many more than five principles for cultivating inspiration. If you have an approach that works well, please tell me about it and I may include that in future editions of this mailing. The core point is that inspiration can be cultivated. It is a renewable resource. And we need to become more skilled at promoting it. The purpose of this newsletter, and our website at http://www.GreatTurningTimes.org , is to bring you news of insights, events and resources that help in this direction.

With you, in this adventure of earth recovery, Chris Johnstone
Editor, The Great Turning Times - email: chris@chrisjohnstone.info
http://www.chrisjohnstone.info

A46 works proceeding

The road is still set to open in February.....I have visited the progress of works along the A46 and it is major works indeed - the huge piles being put in the ground are something to behold. Apparently 37 reinforced concrete piles have been bored 19-metres into the ground to halt the slippage of land along the.
60-metre stretch of road between Salmon Springs and Painswick which collapsed after July's severe flooding.

Some 700 tons of earth and rubble has been removed to halt the slippage. There has been lots of different layers of material moving over each other and the flooding helped lift the groundwater levels and the Painswick stream has been eroding and undermining the embankment. The task was made more difficult by water mains, underground BT cables and gas pipes, which had to be re-laid a few metres to the side.

In addition to the money spent on this there has also been a £3,000 advertising campaign involving billboards, radio and newspaper advertising to give Painswick a boost in the run-up to Christmas. Anyway here are some notes with additional info from Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish Chair John Rogers after his visit there before Christmas:

Note on Site Visit to Salmon Spring road works on 24 November

The road collapse was caused by a landslip which was triggered by scouring of the river bank and high water flows during the July storm. The old carriageway and quite a lot of subsoil has been remove to provide a sound footing for the piling rig to operate on. The piles are cast in holes that are bored through the sub soil into stable strata that is level with the river bed. The gas main had to be diverted to allow room for the rig to operate. There are major fibre optic cables that run along the side of the road and the pipes caring them needed to be carefully exposed to avoid accidental damage to them. Water from the excavations and site is pumped through a number of silt settlement chambers before being pumped into the drains. Foot and cycle access has been maintained around the edge of the site.

The piling work has started. It should take 4 weeks. Only one piling rig can fit on the site. There were only two piling contractors who were prepared to carry out the work due to the difficult nature of the site, the drop to the river, the close proximity of other services and the restricted access. One could not start until January the other one (who is doing the work) only has one team of operators so the rig is only being used on a 5 day a week basis. The operation is quite noise and could represent an unacceptable nuisance to the near neighbours if 24 hour operations were attempted.

Once piling has been completed a capping beam will be cast over the tops of the piles to retain the carriageway. It will take 28 days for this to cure to full strength. After this time the carriage way will be reinstated. The road should open in February.

Survivors series and end of the world

Impending planetary destruction? Haven't we always had such a fear lurking there since the end of WW2? No longer than that - many religions have talked of 'end times' - but certainly in my lifetime the idea that 'Man' could cause the end is something new - now on top of the nuclear threat, plagues like Bird Flu, SARs and worse, we are finally waking up to the very real and huge threats of climate change. Is the climate threat any different from others?

Photos: Survivors

Many children and young people I have spoken with, find it incomprehensible that we are not taking action on climate change, their anger, dismay and more is strong (see for example 19th Feb 2007 blog) - infact cbbc found climate change was children's top fear - the results of their survey showed 75% of 11 to 14-year-olds worry about climate change, compared to 41% who are worried about going out with someone!

I was brought up in the late 60s/early 70s under the shadow of a possible nuclear disaster or war to end all wars - that was perhaps why the Survivors TV series had a profound impact on me.....it was a 38 episode drama series that aired between 1975 and 1977 - in essence, the series concerns the aftermath of a plague which had wiped out over 99% of the world's population and the experiences of a group of individuals in England as they grappled with the post-plague world and the trials of day-to-day survival.

Indeed I have, since the series, which has never been repeated on terrestrial television, often remembered it and the unease I felt while watching - I am sure it also helped along with 'The Good Life', John Seymour and other influences of the time, to lead me towards green politics. It was therefore very interesting to get the first series of Survivors on DVD this Christmas - I enjoyed very much - it is is dated, low-budget and full of land rovers and posh accents - a newspaper review of the time noted that it seemed like it was only the posh that survived the plague!

However despite the horror and unease in this Survivors series there is still a positive spirit that comes through - maybe I was too young when I saw it and too much of the unease stuck or maybe it is about the messages our society gives us - indeed I have to wonder that we are not doing the best for our children - or adults for that matter - much of the television reporting of climate change does not always leave us feeling empowered and positive - indeed we read of children going to bed worried about the polar bears and more. I've written before on this blog about how green campaigning has left people feeling terrible - what we fail to get across is that a greener world is one with more justice, warmer homes through insulation, local food, public transport systems that work etc etc.

Interestingly one of the next Coffee House discussion group meetings in Stroud hopes to look at what we should tell our children about climate change.

See article about 'Climate Change Scenarios Scare, and Motivate, Kids' here and sign onto a virtual march for global change.

Amazing film - The Vanishing of the Bees

Last week I had a call from Bob Usher in Australia - he rang last time after seeing my blog on bees last year - click on label below to see previous posts (esp 19th June, 26th April).

Bob has now done some experiments on the Varroa destructor mites using Light energy to kill them - he had to travel to New Zealand to do the field testing as Australia hasn't got the mite infection - and claims to have achieved some very interesting results. I am hoping he will send me more info but do contact him direct if you are interested at Usher Industries Pty Ltd. Research Division email address:
rp.usher@westnet.com.au

The other bit of bee news is the great trailer link I have been sent to a film - 'The Vanishing of the Bees' - about the very same issue I raised previously on this blog regarding the vast numbers of bees that are literally disappearing all around the world. This movie analyzes why this mysterious phenomenon is taking place and how dramatically it could impact the world's food supply in the short term. As a note, the producers are also seeking donations to bring the movie to a wider audience.

The Organic Consumer Association rates it as 'one of the best trailers we've seen in a while' - and they apparently see loads - anyhow don't take my word or theirs - see it yourself here:
http://www.vanishingbees.com/

Also see the short film of Maryam Henien under her bio at the same website. Let us not forget that already more than a quarter of the honeybee colonies in the U.S. have disappeared. So far, "colony collapse disorder" has been found affecting bees in 27 states. Honeybees are the principal pollinators of hundreds of fruits, vegetables, flowers and nuts. We need more people like Maryam Henien and Bob Usher to bring this issue to the worlds attention.

Transition Stroud meet last night and energy prices up 27%

I have scribbled some notes on the Transition Blog - see here - about the meeting last night.

Photo: last nights meeting

I've missed the last couple as they are on Thursday nights - the same night as both Parish Councils, the Scrutiny committee I sit on and both Full Council and Cabinet - only if all those fall on different Thursdays can I go to this - although the sub-group, the Business and Government group meet during the day and of course other Transition meetings happen at other times...anyhow I haven't got much to add other than todays' news that energy prices look set to soar 27%.....

More than 4m households with Npower - the UK's fourth largest energy supplier - will see gas prices hiked by up to 23.8%, while electricity bills will increase by up to 27.1%. Other power companies look set to follow with similar rises. The wholesale costs for gas had increased by 66% since February 2007, while the cost of electricity had risen by 66%.

This is bad news for poor who are already struggling to make ends meet. Such price increases will push many thousands more older people into fuel poverty.

Siân Berry, the Green party's Mayoral candidate, in response has urged Londoners to vote for her plan to provide free insulation to every London home that needs it. She said: "As oil and gas get scarcer, we can expect to see more and more rises in the cost of heating....There's no excuse in a 21st century city for having widespread fuel poverty, with people having to pay huge chunks of their income just trying to keep warm. There's no excuse for winter deaths of elderly Londoners who could have been saved by something as simple as loft insulation. And there's no excuse for government failure to cut CO2 emissions, or for their willingness to blame ordinary people instead of their own inaction. Under my plan, every single home in London that needs insulation will get it, free of charge. This will slash fuel bills, making London living more affordable and healthier. We'll also put a real dent in our carbon footprint and help to ensure a future for our kids. 40% of London's CO2 emissions come from housing, and more than 1 in 20 Londoners have to spend over 10 per cent of their income trying to keep warm. Fuel poverty like that belongs in Dickens' London, not ours. That's why, as Mayor, I would provide free insulation to every London home that needs it."

Londoners on benefits qualify for free insulation under measures introduced by the Green Assembly Members as a condition of their support for the Mayor's budget. Siân's scheme will remove this means testing, as well as introducing a comprehensive outreach programme to encourage take-up. This is similar to what Greens have already achieved in Kirklees where there is now a programme and funding to insulate every home there. The Green AMs have also secured funding to pilot detailed help with paperwork for householders in Lewisham who wish to insulate their homes and generate their own power; Siân will extend this service city-wide, and make low-cost loans available to pay for small-scale renewable energy generation on homes and businesses.

I have repeatedly suggested such a move to Stroud District - we are still waiting to hear their response.

Take action on Kenya

There was only one headline on the front page of all of Kenya's big newspapers yesterday: 'Save Our Beloved Country'.

The Guardian writes "the unprecedented show of unity among media groups of differing political views indicates just how grave the situation has become. Independent television stations joined in, running Save Our Country banners across the bottom of the screen. Radio stations read out the newspaper editorials. The Daily Nation, Kenya's biggest selling newspaper, began its page one story with, "Our beloved country, the Republic of Kenya, is a burnt-out, smouldering ruin", and blamed the political leaders who were "issuing half-hearted calls for peace"."

Most blog readers will have found it hard not to be aware that last week, Kenya held a national election tainted with vote-tampering. It ended in a victory claim by the incumbent President Mwai Kibaki over the challenger Raila Odinga who had led the polls. Violence has broken out across the country, with roving gangs of machete-wielding youth terrorizing the population. Tourists are to be air-lifted out and there are fears this country could be sliding toward genocide.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has flown into Nairobi, joining the African Union in an effort to broker a power-sharing agreement and review the election results. But if talks are to succeed, foreign governments must avoid prematurely recognizing a fraudulently elected government and locking in their power. That's where we come in. Avaaz are calling on their many hundreds of thousand supporters to send a note to our foreign ministers today, asking them to withhold recognition of any Kenyan government until agreement is brokered and the election results are independently reviewed – you can do so using our simple online tool at the link below:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/kenya_free_and_fair/5.php

Safe water: Camelford cover-up plus reservoirs and dams

Safe drinking water - I have covered the topic before on this blog relating to the floods, brook and more - plus I helped establish the County's Safe Water Campaign which is attempting to stop water fluoridation - but here are a couple of issues I've not covered before.....

One of the regular email bulletins/newsletters I get, comes from the Inland Waterways Association - see www.waterways.org.uk - in the latest issue they have an item looking at reservoirs - it was an eye opener to see the authorities lack of powers over the safety of reservoirs which supply our drinking water - I enclose the item below in green text as it is worth a read and I fully support the Environment Agency's recommendation for having greater powers. However this blog is also to cover Camelford....

Camelford - the scandal

The papers in Cornwall and even the Daily Mail over the last weeks seem to have woken up to the lethal cover-up of poisoning the water of the residents of Camelford village in Cornwall in July 1988. This is nothing compared to Bhopal - see last blog entry - but still has very serious implications.

When Devon and Cornwall Police first investigated the 1988 water poisoning, it resulted in a court case. In January 1991, the then South West Water Authority, (which ran water services in the Westcountry before privatisation), denied it but was convicted, fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £25,000 towards prosecution costs. The total bill, including its defence costs of £300,000, was paid for by privatisation receipts.

At the time, campaigners felt that "the powers that be" were blocking any effort to get to the truth of what had happened and why - indeed I have spoken to Green party members who were furious about the way it was handled. It now seems that legal papers uncovered by the former North Cornwall MP Paul Tyler, now Lord Tyler, show that their suspicions may have been well-founded.

The water authority claimed it had advised consumers not to drink the water and that advice had been given in a radio broadcast at 6am on July 7 and subsequently. But the prosecution document says this claim was "wrong" and that "that was not the advice given to the public on the 6th, 7th, 8th, or indeed on the 12th." It added that the prosecution would say that the authority "misled Mr Healey (the head of the drinking water division at the Department of Environment)" and the question had to be asked if that was deliberate. The document concluded: "There is evidence that a deliberate decision was made to conceal the truth from the public."

Other evidence that the multi-billion-pound sell-off was uppermost in some people's minds has also been uncovered by the Western Morning News using the Freedom of Information Act (FoI). In a bundle of documents released to the WMN was a key briefing note to the then Environment Minister, Nicholas Ridley. It warned: "Those of the South West board with a commercial background are deeply concerned by the investigation. They see the timing of any prosecution of the authority as being totally unhelpful to privatisation, while the prosecution of a board member, in their view, could render the whole of the water industry unattractive to the City."

As it turned out, no named individuals were prosecuted and the Conservative Government succeeded in selling off the national industry for £3.59 billion. The sale of South West Water Authority raised around £300 million - elsewhere in this blog I have gone on abut the absurdity of privatising our water - indeed I don't think it will be many years before controls will be given back to local authorities.

In another FoI request by the WMN they found that a study handed to the group showed that one in four people may have experienced "exceptionally high aluminium absorption". It was told that, during a limited trial, one volunteer's blood aluminium level had risen by 3,250 per cent after drinking a dose containing 290mg of aluminium. But the Government- appointed committee of experts concluded that there was no convincing evidence that harmful accumulation of aluminium had occurred, nor that there was a greater prevalence of ill health due to the toxic effects of the contaminated water. They blamed people's continuing health problems on their "sustained anxiety", which had been fuelled by the media!!

There now looks likely to be a new police inquiry - and not before time. It is outrageous that this matter was not properly investigated.

Interestingly one of the primary architects of this lethal cover-up was psychiatrist Professor Simon Wessely - has has been notorious for his equally scandalous cover-ups of the
biomedical plight of Gulf War Veterans and ME/CFS labelled patients - the latter I had heard first hand from patients who had visited him - although to be fair I also heard from on person with ME who thought he was good.

In the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Vol 39, No 1. pp.1 9. 1995, Wessely together with his colleague Anthony David, published a paper entitled 'The Legend Of Camelford : Medical Consequences Of A Water Pollution Accident' (http://tinyurl. com/3a4fev). "There was little cause for concern," announced Wessely. He also accused Camelford residents of somatisation and the media of irresponsible reporting of this water-poisoning incident. Wessely apparently also blamed those affected of sensationalising their symptoms in order to get compensation.

Here is one recent comment from a Green party member: "It was a scandal. As in the Black Report on the Seascale leukaemias, they used the scholastic method, not the scientific method, to decide that there was no causal link between the chemicals in the water and the symptoms suffered."

Anyhow here is that stuff re reservoirs and dams...

The Environment Agency, which became the enforcement authority for managing the safety of over 2,000 reservoirs in England and Wales in October 2004, has recommended new safety legislation be introduced to take account of the impacts of climate change and ageing reservoirs. The Agency maintains a register of reservoirs and is responsible for requiring owners, operators and users to have their reservoirs regularly inspected, and repaired when necessary, to reduce the risk of dam failure. The Agency says that when it took over as the enforcement authority from local authorities, 379 reservoirs had no supervising engineer and 202 had inspection reports overdue, but that since then, failure to carry out regular safety inspections has been cut by 80%.

The average age of dams in the UK is 110 years; those providing water supplies to canals are some of the oldest, but there are some dating back to the 12th century. About 80% of dams are built of clay and earth. The current legislation governing reservoirs and dams is the 1975 Reservoirs Act. This superseded the 1930 Reservoir (Safety Provisions) Act, which was formulated following two dam failures in 1925, one in Scotland and one in Wales, when 20 people were killed. There have been no dam failures resulting in the loss of life since 1930. Whilst the majority of dams were built in open countryside, where their failure posed a risk to only rural communities, because of development and increased infrastructure over the years, the impact of a failing dam would now be that much greater.

A Channel 4 television programme in December showed the potential magnitude of the disaster to central Birmingham if British Waterways’ dam at Rotton Park, which was built in 1826 as part of Telford’s new main line and feeds the Birmingham Canal Navigations, were to fail. However, this reservoir is regularly inspected and there is no known reason for any concern about it. The Environment Agency has proposed the following changes in the law:

· Better enforcement powers for reservoir (emergency) flood plans. Currently there is no legal requirement for an engineer to sign off an emergency flood plan, and the Agency does not have the power to serve notice on a reservoir owner or operator to prepare a plan or prepare one on their behalf.
· Funded powers to act at reservoirs with no owners. Reservoirs situated on land that is disclaimed following business failures have no legal owners, unless the Crown chooses to take ownership. This does not always happen. Currently there are at least two reservoirs in England that have no legally responsible reservoir undertaker.
· Mandatory post-incident reporting. Currently it is a voluntary system and reservoir owners and operators do not always inform the Agency about emergency incidents at their reservoirs. The Agency says that it would be in the public interest for all emergency incidents to be reported for lessons to be learnt and information to be disseminated.
· Better legal definition of a reservoir that falls within the Agency’s remit. Currently the definition is volumetric, based on a minimum capacity of 25,000 cubic metres of water above ground. The Agency would like the definition of reservoirs to take into account the nature of the downstream community and possible consequences of a reservoir failure or dam breach.

The Environment Agency reports to Government at two-yearly intervals on the actions it has taken to get owners and operators to comply with the Reservoirs Act. Improving safety, protecting lives - the biennial report on reservoir safety - is available on the Environment Agency’s website here. The Environment Agency is currently leading on a new Reservoir Safety Advisory Group to help with research and development. Key roles will include advising on the first 10-year reservoir safety strategy to be developed and overseeing the production of a guide to help reservoir owners prepare emergency plans for their reservoirs.

Bhopal: shameful Dow Chemical still fails victims

News that some folk in Cirencester are planning to visit Bhopal in India is a good excuse to publicise the online petition to Dow which I signed some time ago:
www.studentsforbhopal.org/Petition/bhopal.php

For those unfamiliar with this tragic and hugely unjust case do please visit the various websites for more info like here and here. Here is a summary from the Bhopal Medical Appeal:

On the night of Dec. 2nd and 3rd, 1984, a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, began leaking 27 tons of the deadly gas methyl isocyanate. None of the six safety systems designed to contain such a leak were operational, allowing the gas to spread throughout the city of Bhopal. Half a million people were exposed to the gas and 20,000 have died to date as a result of their exposure. More than 120,000 people still suffer from ailments caused by the accident and the subsequent pollution at the plant site. These ailments include blindness, extreme difficulty in breathing, and gynecological disorders. The site has never been properly cleaned up and it continues to poison the residents of Bhopal. In 1999, local groundwater and wellwater testing near the site of the accident revealed mercury at levels between 20,000 and 6 million times those expected. Cancer and brain-damage- and birth-defect-causing chemicals were found in the water; trichloroethene, a chemical that has been shown to impair fetal development, was found at levels 50 times higher than EPA safety limits.Testing published in a 2002 report revealed poisons such as 1,3,5 trichlorobenzene, dichloromethane, chloroform, lead and mercury in the breast milk of nursing women. In 2001, Michigan-based chemical corporation Dow Chemical purchased Union Carbide, thereby acquiring its assets and liabilities. However Dow Chemical has steadfastly refused to clean up the site, provide safe drinking water, compensate the victims, or disclose the composition of the gas leak, information that doctors could use to properly treat the victims.

The good news is that a new generation is throwing Dow's plan for wholesale expansion in India into utter disarray. In the wake of its social ostracism from four out of seven Indian Institute's of Technology (IITs), Dow had its sponsorship of an international conference chucked back in its face by IIT, Delhi just before Christmas, just a day before the event was due to start. This is important as Dow's global strategy for the next few decades is being seriously challenged. Let us hope the visit from Cirencester will remind people of this on-going injustice.

"Bhopal isn't only about charred lungs, poisoned kidneys and deformed foetuses. It's also about corporate crime, multinational skullduggery, injustice, dirty deals, medical malpractice, corruption, callousness and contempt for the poor. Nothing else explains why the victims' average compensation was just $500 - for a lifetime of misery . . . Yet the victims haven't given up. Their struggle for justice and dignity is one of the most valiant anywhere. They have unbelievable energy and hope . . . the fight has not ended. It won't, so long as our collective conscience stirs."
Outlook India 7 Oct 2002

Paganhill slavery arch listing upgraded

I have just had a new year spring clean of emails - my email software was grinding to a halt and crashing periodically - in a couple of clicks I deleted 23,451 emails in my sent folder from the last 3 years!

Photo: Morning over Farmhill just up from the arch

Sadly the email 'in' folder still has a fair few awaiting attention....please bear with me - have been working on a number of projects including the Green party County waste strategy - and of course work - although it was wonderfully quiet still - are people still on holiday?

Anyhow it was good to read this evening re the slavery arch - the Stroud News and Journal reported today that the Minister, Margaret Hodge, has announced new protection for 18 historic buildings and monuments linked to the slave trade, including the anti-slavery arch in Paganhill, Stroud.

Photo: The arch under threat in 1958 - thankfully saved

The arch is Britain's oldest anti-slavery memorial. It was built by Henry Wyatt in 1834, a prosperous businessman and banker and anti-slavery campaigner, who had bought the Farmhill Estate the year before. The arch now stands near one of the entrances to Archway School, but in the nineteenth century it formed the carriage entrance to the Estate with its fine Georgian Mansion. It has been upgraded from Grade 11 to Grade 11* to reflect its historic importance .

The decision on the listings, has been taken following advice from English Heritage, the Government's expert advisors on the built environment. The 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act outlawed the slave trade throughout the British Empire and made it illegal for British ships to be involved in the trade. It followed a long fought campaign by the abolitionists, headed in parliament by William Wilberforce. See more on the special website:
www.anti-slaveryarch.com/

See also previous blog entries on slavery here - scroll down to relevant bits.