BBC provide free advertising of Airport expansion plans?

The Telegraph recently had an article about the terror possibility posed by 'small airports' and their seemingly lax security. Some might argue that is yet another argument for closing Staverton airport rather than expanding - especially because of the proximity of GCHQ. Anyhow I don't want to go there as there are enough reasons why this Airport should not expand....in this blog entry I want to cover the BBCs recent apparent bias but first the recent questions to Cheltenham Borough....

Representatives of FoE and Cheltenham Green party have continued to ask public questions in Cheltenham on the Airport issue. It is good to have confirmed by them that the price of aviation fuels is now around 40% higher than the figures used by Mott for their financial modeling. This at the very least should be grounds for a relook, especially when coupled with all the news about big carriers losing passengers and shutting down routes because high prices have reduced demand. They also asked about the so-called Green policy of the Airport. Some progress seems to have been made but the details are still not there.

BBC Glos on the airport

BBC Glos Radio have run a series of interviews with Gloucestershire Airport each day of the week - yet strangely didn't seek a voice from the many people who are opposed to the airport's expansion plans. Is the BBC providing free advertising for the airport?

When asked about this they say they report on all aspects of the stories regarding Gloucestershire Airport including the political splits regarding the airport's plans and that they covered anti airport expansion protests / viewpoints. They asked for views for future coverage - a little late after a week of how good the Airport will be for the community....below is one campaigner's response to try and get equal airtime....

Though I have not caught all the reports that you did last week, it certainly does seem that you have been used by the airport to push their message "that they are only concerned about safety and not about expansion," with very little challenge from those opposed. As you are probably aware, the airport is having a major publicity push at the moment to convince as wide an audience as possible of their position, and the reports that you have done have undoubtedly formed part of this push. At the Guildhall meeting last week the airport management gave a polished presentation, but which demonstrated their willingness to distort the truth whenever necessary to make their point. Typical claims that they made where:- They claimed again the expansion is all about safety. This is clearly nonsense. The expansion will cost £3million. The airport's annual turnover is £3million. The only way that they can recover the costs is if they massively increase the number of flights. These will have to be increased far higher then they claimed in the initial business case submitted to Tewkesbury Council. An analysis of their business case suggests that with a 7% cost of capital, it will take 25 years to break even. This is such a weak business case that it would be negligence on the council's behalf to give it financial support. They claimed that independent consultants supported the proposals. This is rubbish. Cheltenham's consultants supported the proposals, because they are airport consultants and their remit was basically to develop the business case. Gloucester consultants rejected the proposals out right because they were asked to look at the robustness of the business case. Furthermore, one of the reasons why Gloucester Scrutiny committee also rejected the proposals was because no proper consideration was made of the climate change impact. This is an historic decision and a brave decision by Gloucester Council. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that an airport proposal has been explicitly rejected on these grounds. Not surprisingly the airport management did not mention this point either in their presentation. They claimed that the private jets using the airport are business critical. Again, total rubbish. Many of the flights are leisure flights for the super rich. Further more, most companies are aiming to reduce the amount of flying that they do as they become more and more concerned by global warming and the cost of flying. They claimed that increasing oil prices would not impact their business. Again total rubbish. If this is true they would be the only airport in the world not be hit. This is totally improbable.

Cardboard bike for £15?

I thought this a joke until I saw the article - 21 year old, Phil Bridge of Stockport has designed this bike - the frame is made out of cardboard normally used in industrial packaging and could be produced for as little as £3. Once the wheels and chain have been added the total price might rise to about £15. See The Daily Telegraph article here - the photo also comes from that article. I can't see them really catching on - what we really need are bikes to last made from steel and all the others stuff - recycled steel yes....anyhow talking ofbikes I had a wee go on an electric bike the other day - now thety really have developed since I tried one years ago - see more here.

Stroud: UK capital of social innovation?

This is the title of an exciting event planned for August - bookings close on July 6th so get yourself a place on this very soon. You've read about it; you've listened to the Archers going on about it.....now here's an opportunity to see for yourself what's going on in this rather unusual Cotswold town, to check out the new ideas being tried out here, moving vision into action. This is the stuff from their blurb...

Photo: Pic from Stroud Commonwealth who are supporting this initiative

Stroud Communiversity is set up to help you. For five days in August we'll be showcasing many of the brilliant projects here, including Community Supported Agriculture, Co-housing, the Exchange, Stroud Valleys Artspace and more. You'll be able to visit these ground-breaking initiatives, to touch and smell them (that'll be the organic pigs) and talk to those who had the ideas and the determination to see them into reality.

But this is not a one-way process: we want to hear about what you are doing in your community, and what you plan to do. Stroud Communiversity provides ample opportunity for debate and dissemination, exchanging ideas, visions and experiences that we all can learn from. And it will be fun! The activity-packed programme will include music from local bands, creative activities with local artists (we've got hundreds!), and a chance to savour Stroud's fantastic, award-winning Farmers Market and the wide range of restaurants we're rather proud of.

That's how it all started really: we are proud of what we are doing here, proud of our ability to persevere against suspicion and inertia, proud of the collaborative way so many great schemes have come about, proud of the way Civil Society can care for its community. And we recognise that there is amazing stuff going on elsewhere too. Particularly when we're tired of always going that extra mile, we need the inspiration that others bring. So please join us. It'll be a blast! We'd love to see you and hear what you're up to.

Stroud Communiversity runs from the late afternoon of August 1st to lunchtime on August 6th. There are limited numbers of places, so if you intend to come, secure a place now to avoid disappointment – details below. There are places for organisations, individuals, concessions and a few bursaries. We look forward to seeing you in Stroud. To download brochure and booking form please go to www.stroudcommonwealth.org.uk and click on Stroud Communiversity. For any further information and booking enquiries please contact Odiliavitalsqueeze@gmail..com

I've got competition from Savannah Miller's husband

Savannah Miller has been doing up her home in Whiteshill according to an article I have just been sent - see The Times article re Savannah's work to her home here (photo above taken from that article). See also my previous blog entry here.

I was deeply disappointed to read that her husband, Nick, is also checking out the local skips for treasures - virtually my whole garden shed and a large part of my small deck has been made with bits from skips. Do please note I have knocked on the doors to ask owners if I can remove stuff from their skips!

Randwick head gets top accolade

I have to say I was horrified to see a picture of the headteacher of Randwick Village School under the headline about the hunt for a pigeon killer. It took me a moment to see that headline didn't go with the pic in The Citizen....

Infact it was the results of the Regional Final of the National Teaching Awards 2008. As reported here Randwick's Mrs Fiona Montacute was a finalist - the results announced this last week have her named as "Runner-Up with a Distinction. Congrats indeed.

Mrs M has been Head for 11 years and it has been good to see the school gain a second gold Art Mark, a recent Active Mark and an International award...I was disappointed to miss (due to Council meeting) the production this last week which included Country Dancing Bollywood and more!

Anyhow it was not long ago that Sally Cushnan, who used to work at the school and still lives locally, was a national finalist as a Teaching Assistant. We are very lucky to have such good schools locally - Whiteshill Primary has also seen a whole collection of awards.

Randwick Ducklings walk for Breast Cancer

Ruscombe women were among those who participated in the 10 mile night walk starting and finishing in Cirencester Park - all in aid of the Cotswold Care Hospice. Next weekend four women from Randwick, Westrip and Ruscombe are preparing to walk a half marathon in aid of the breast cancer charity Walk The Walk.

Photo: Crisp found in packet at The Vine Tree, Randwick

Emma Cunningham, a Randwick Parish councillor, her sister Kerry, Joanne Preece and Yvonne Cobb, are calling themselves the Randwick Ducklings - they will join the 2000 other walkers expected to take part in this year's 13-mile Sun Walk event at Ashton Court, Bristol on Sunday, July 6. Decorated bras and duckling outfits are apparently the order of the day. If you would like to sponsor the Randwick Ducklings, email Yvonne at info@bslcollege.co.uk or call Emma on 757 411.

Recently the European Parliament passed a resolution on combating cancer, with an overwhelming majority of Euro-MPs agreeing to amendments proposed by a Green MEP to highlight the environmental causes behind the disease. This is an issue I've covered before on this blog - and indeed written about a number of times to the local press(see for example here and here and here).

Drawing on scientific evidence showing that cancers can be caused by environmental factors including toxic chemicals found in household goods, pesticides and poor air quality, South East MEP Caroline Lucas proposed significant changes to a Parliament resolution seeking to establish an EU Cancer Task Force to fight the disease more effectively.

Caroline is quoted saying: “This landmark decision by the European Parliament means that MEPs now officially recognise that environmental causes like pollution and chemical contamination must be considered in any strategy to combat cancer. In 2006 there were nearly 2.3 million new cancer cases and over 1 million cancer deaths within the EU; most deaths were in people with lung cancer, colorectal cancer and breast cancer. And according to Greenpeace, even when you strip away causes like smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, and hereditary factors, environmental factors still appear to be the biggest cause of the increase in cancers seen over the past few decades."

She continued: “While cancer is caused by many factors in multiple stages, a link is increasingly being made between toxic chemicals – especially so-called gender-bending hormone-disruptors – and cancers like that of the breast, which kills more than 10,000 people each year in the UK alone. Moreover, according to a recent study by the trade unions, at least 8% of annual cancer deaths are directly caused by exposure to carcinogens at the workplace. Substituting carcinogens with less harmful substances could prevent this exposure, and a tightening of legislation would ensure that employers fully protect their workers. Links are also being found between pesticide use and cancers. Yet pesticide technologies are all growing apace, and so the EU must ensure that those which carry serious health risks are swiftly taken off the market, and accelerate moves towards chemical free agriculture – putting human health above the profits of the companies that manufacture them.”

Caroline has now called on the Commission and Council to commit to the proposed EU Cancer Task Force, and subsequently support initiatives to prevent the importing of items containing carcinogenic chemicals, and for measures to strengthen food monitoring for chemicals, including pesticides. I have to note that in the past I have been critical of many of the cancer charities to fund any research into environmental factors - that is starting to change but much more is needed.

Waste Strategy Advisory Panel to be established

The two previous blogs cover items from this evenings Full Council meeting - I'm running out of energy to write but wanted to also mention that Cllr Sarah Lunnon, Leader of the Green group on the District Council seconded a motion with Lib Dem Leader Cllr Dennis Andrewartha to set up a Waste Strategy Advisory Panel. This panel will assist the Administration in devising, formulating and implementing an extensive and robust waste policy.

It is great that this proposal has gained the support of the Administration. This panel, which will be made up of a representative of each party, is our best hope at developing a coherent cross-party approach to tackling our waste in the District. I am likely to be one of two Green councillors involved with this on behalf of the Greens. It is certainly true that unless we get to grips with this issue we are in danger of facing huge and rising costs from continuing to landfill our waste. Worse still we could face a monster incinerator being built locally, when there are much more sustainable choices which are less damaging and costly in the long term.

Green move to cut councillors carbon

At the Full council meeting this evening (see previous blog on Rainwater Harvesting) Greens sought to cut car allowances to councillors in a bid to save money and CO2 emissions. We also sought an amendment to remove the cap on Dependants Carers Allowance available to councillors who need to employ help so that they can attend meetings.

Photo: Council Chamber before meeting

It was very disappointing that despite considerable support for the two Green party amendments, both were defeated by the administration. However there is still some hope - the Tories did not rule them out completely and the Council voted to let the Independent Remuneration Panel consider these moves later in the year.

In putting forward these two measures Greens sought to save the Council money and CO2 emissions and not rewarded councillors who have larger sized cars as the current system does. This measure would have also more than paid for removing the cap on Dependants Carers Allowance. Indeed it seems extraordinary there is a cap on supporting dependents so that councillors can attend meetings, yet no cap on the mileage councillors can claim. If we are interested in seeking wider representation in our communities this is a measure we need to take.

Greens have repeatedly over the years sought to tackle these allowances - see here a news release dating back to 2003 on the same topic. Since then things have changed and I have to say I am optimistic that we will eventually win on this!! Certainly there was no serious opposition expressed to the principles.

Rainwater Harvesting not for Ebley Mill

Hey before talking Council stuff here is a quick ad for the Vine Tree's Mexican Night in Randwick - was in the pub for a drink last night after a meeting got cancelled - very nice too - anyhow this evening saw four and a half hours of Council meetings...

Well I can't cover all here but will pick on one issue for this particular blog entry...a Labour motion to bring rainwater harvesting to Ebley Mill. Something I longed to support - indeed as a Green this is just the sort of thing surely we should be calling for....well yes and no....here is the jist of what I tried to say - although jeered by various councillors when I tried to quote Woking Boroughs figures on decreased rainfall....

I welcome the subject of water conservation being brought to this Chamber. Only a few weeks ago I was reading a Woking Borough Council report that says summer rainfall is expected to decrease by 30 to 40% and we will see more extreme weather conditions and demand for water rising evermore. The Pitt Review this week has also focused our attention again on the actions we need to be taking. Indeed it calls for more Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems and mentions Rainwater harvesting as one aspect.

However rainwater harvesting should not be the first choice for an existing building - I understand that both York and Congleton Councils mentioned in the briefing sent to councillors have introduced Rain water harvesting as part of new build projects rather than installing on existing buildings. Indeed sustainability experts say that in terms of the first measures for investment we should consider water conservation, then simple rain water harvesting like water butts, then advanced rainwater harvesting then greywater recycling.

It is the water conservation measures I would like to see first: cistern dams, smart meters and leak detectors, tap regulators like spray taps that cut 80% of water use, flow controls, water less urinals - in one college they saved £7000 on the water bill. Indeed Leicester for example saved £121,000 in ten years and cut water consumption by 43% over 10 years by a whole host of measures.

So rather than leap to recommending rainwater harvesting for Ebley Mill, I would like to see the Councils' water conservation strategy developed to look at all aspects of water conservation and recycling. Let it include rainwater harvesting - I certainly agree with the motion that the Council should be leading on this issue and a Council project would encourage this - but let us make sure energy conservation measures are considered first and when we come to rainwater harvesting we find the sites offering most advantage.

I would also welcome that strategy looking wider at how we can take on the challenge of conserving our water. West Sussex Council for example have held a summit for water companies challenging them about their role. They've also put on a Water Festival that led to a massive increase in water butt requests. Meanwhile other Councils like Woking provide quality information about Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, greywater recycling and rainwater harvesting to people making making planning applications. This would be a positive way to help people save energy, water and money and promote this issue in the District.

To conclude I welcome this motion highlighting this issue, particularly as a re-allocation of resources has seen targets on water conservation slip. However I do not think the specific calls made in this motion for rainwater harvesting at Ebley Mill are the best way forward and therefore wont be supporting the motion.

Before making that decision I did consult with those selling rainwater harvesting and two other local water experts - both agreed water conservation measures should be the first priority - as a council we need to lead not lead people astray - having said that a Rainwater Harvesting project would be great to see to show off the potential....and more is needed in water conservation...yes they do subsidised water butts and hippos but more please!

I could write lots more on this: indeed in terms of water conservation as I've mentioned on this blog before, if we are really wanting to play our part we also need to be looking at the food we eat. For example it takes 500 litres of freshwater to produce a single kilo of potatoes, 11,000 for the beef in a quarterpound hamburger and 20,000 for a kilo of coffee. But it is too late now for more on that....

Ruscombe photographer's exhibition

I've featured in this blog many local artists from Randwick, Whiteshill and Ruscombe - well I spied today in Stroud Life Kieran Chadwick, a 12 years old Ruscombe resident - he has just opened an exhibition in that excellent organic cafe Woodruff's in Stroud. I will hopefully get there tomorrow to see for myself.

Climate change: 'Rebound Effects' and education

I only recently came across the UK Energy Research Centre's newish report on how 'Rebound Effects' can result in energy savings falling short of expectations, thereby threatening the success of UK climate policy.

In the press release re the report they give examples of a rebound effect like the driver who replaces a car with a fuel-efficient model, only to take advantage of its cheaper running costs to drive further and more often. Or a family that insulates their loft and puts the money saved on their heating bill towards an overseas holiday. Indeed only last week someone I was talking to said we saved so much by growing our own food last year that we're taking the car across to France this summer.....

Of course the effect might be less significant if the threatened 40% rise in energy costs occurs towards the end of the year..... It is also why we need to spend money on energy efficiency, renewable energy generation AND education / lifestyle-change programmes.

Indeed reading Sunday's Observer was enough to make many campaigners weep - a Ipsos MORI poll showed that the majority of the British public is still not convinced that climate change is caused by humans - and many others believe scientists are exaggerating the problem. Many of us had hoped that doubts would have been silenced by a report last year by more than 2,500 scientists for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which found a 90 per cent chance that humans were the main cause of climate change and warned that drastic action was needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions. See the article here. However with tabloids still failing us so badly it is perhaps no wonder so many still doubt climate change (see previous blog here on tabloids).

Anyhow all that is just more evidence that we need to do more on education re climate change....

Anger at Government pushing GM

I have to say I continue to be outraged by our Government pushing GM in Europe - here's Nailsworth-based councillor Fi Macmillan's letter to local press today:
www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/content/view/2123/2/

Indeed as SW Euro-lead Green candidate Cllr Ricky Knight (pictured) said: “Existing conflict over GMOs in the EU can only be solved if both the European Council and the European Commission put the precautionary principle at the heart of their decision making. The current system, whereby in the absence of a qualified majority in the Council, the Commission simply gives the green light to GMOs, is undemocratic and utterly unacceptable." All the more reason to get Greens into the EU next year!

Take action to email your MP here and stop them for falling for the GM hype:
www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/real_food/press_for_change/mp_gm_hype_11309.html

And talking of Europe and GMOs there was the recent meeting in Rome to tackle the current and worsening global food crisis at the Food and Agriculture Organization Summit. The state and government elites that met were not able to reach agreement on how to give the practical help desperately needed by the 850m of the World's Citizens estimated to be currently facing hunger and starvation - much less on how to take preventive measures so that rising food prices do not effect millions more people in every continent. Where were the meaningful increases in emergency aid? Or plans to fulfil the financial promises that they have repeatedly made to reach Millennium Development Goal 8 (0.51% GDP for development cooperation by 2010, 0.7% by 2015)? Where were the urgent measures to deal with the threat to food security and human health posed by Agrofuels and GMOs?

Fox in Ruscombe valley

I am deeply frustrated by email problems since last week - a problem with my router and with Virgin - I have spent several hours on Friday and today trying to sort the problem - apols if your email has bounced - I have over 500 emails that I have already received during the last week have all arrived again - now the tedious process of deleting - I also have the frustration that a further 200 from this weekend have now arrived at my webmail but wont get to my Mac - but I wont bore you here....one of the emails contained this great photo, taken in the Ruscombe valley, that I share here with permission - from local photographer Mike Gallagher - also see blog a couple of days ago with photos of the balloon that looks like it hit tree tops in Whiteshill - and his website is here:
www.mikegallagherphotography.co.uk

Local news bits

I am just back from a 4 hour scrutiny meeting and then enjoying a glass of wine before catching up on emails - the papers this week seem to have been full of local stuff - several articles about the success of Alan Tomlinson and others in getting funding and more for Randwick Village Hall - now heading to be the first carbon neutral village hall in the country (see earlier blog entries on this)...anyhow here's a quick round up of some of the other stories plus a few other bits and pieces...

Laburnam Crescent - we have finally got approval for a new tree to replace the dead one - the plan is to plant it at the street party. This week I went down the road with my fork and spade and dug up the old dead tree (see photo).

Open Gardens in Whiteshill - on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th - 6 gardens 2pm to 5pm with teas, plants and more in aid of the village shop, Dogs Trust and British Heart Foundation.

"Miracle vicar bids farewell" - Stroud Life report on our famous vicar who is retiring from the Parish. The Rev Denise Cole, 65, has been the assistant priest at Whiteshill, Randwick and Paganhill. She is quoted saying: “It will give me a chance to say no if my own needs have to come first on some occasions. A priest is always a priest. It is not work. I believe it is a way of life. It isn’t a collar." She will be a great loss as she has been wonderful for this community - a huge support to many - here is some more background stuff from Stroud Life: "Ordained local minister in 2000, Rev Cole was brought up by atheist parents in Kent. Her nurse training took her to Bath where she met her husband of 44 years, John, to whom she is grateful for supporting her role as a non-stipendiary member of the clergy. With hindsight, Rev Cole said she saw many stepping stones along the way to her conversion to the Christian faith. But it was on a healing visit to the Holy Land, when she was aged only 39 and suffering badly from Multiple Sclerosis, that Rev Cole was miraculously cured. She had struggled to finished the Way of the Cross, a walk along the path Christ is thought to have taken to his death. Hobbling on sticks because of her MS, Rev Cole reached the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus was crucified, buried and rose again, and her degenerative illness vanished. “That was my conversion,” said Rev Cole, who confounded her doctors by her recovery. She later appeared on television’s “Highway” religious programme with the late Sir Harry Seacombe to give her testimony and has travelled widely around the UK to talk about her experience. Mrs Cole has also helped drug addicts, been involved with the Mothers Union, the Beresford women’s refuge in Stroud and is deeply concerned with conflict in the Middle East which she has visited many times.

Repairs at last to Doublespout - see two photos - the road has had a river running across it at this section for many weeks - it is at last being put right.

Alpacas savaged by a dog and sheep shot dead by rifleman - this was another story - and shocking - in the first attack, farmer Matt Jeynes had 10 of his sheep shot dead on farmland in Corse Lawn by a mystery rifleman. While in a separate incident, two alpacas in Whiteshill were mauled to death by a dog. Police have appealed for information to track down the dog's owner after the attack in Whiteshill, between 1pm and 3pm on Monday, June 16. A public footpath in the field has been fenced off to protect the alpacas. The path is often used by dog walkers between Haresfield Beacon and Randwick Woods. A woman had been seen calling away a small black dog, possibly a Labrador, from an Alpaca shortly before the discovery was made. The Citizen report PC Sian Garland saying: “This was a very frenzied attack on timid and gentle livestock who have a strong sense of family.” It is believed that the dog responsible would have been left heavily blood stained as a result of the attack. Police are calling for the dog owner, or dog walkers who use the route who may have information or witnessed the incident, to come forward. If you have any information about the shootings call police on 08457 444 888, quoting either 489S/160608 or 763S/160608. If it's about the Alpaca attacks contact police on 0845 090 1234 quoting incident 329 of June 16.

Whiteshill Chicane - see photo left - still awaiting repairs and despite residents, Parish and myself writing we have not even had a response. The cycle part through remains blocked - how many months? And why no reply?

400 cyclists - on Sunday 400 folk cycled along the Golden Valley from Stroud to Chalford to highlight the need for a cycle path. I know several Whiteshill folk amongst them - sadly I was away so missed the event but good on them all - it is sad that at the moment the canal regeneration project seems to be going for only a metre wide multi-user trail on that section - not much good for commuting if you have pedestrians on the route - we are missing something serious if we don't see a proper route developed. Meanwhile there have been various activities this week promoting cycling to school and Green Travel week (see photo of poster with suppport from Transition Stroud).

Walking the Land exhibition

Earlier today I managed to visit the Space in Stroud and the Walking the Land exhibition. See their website - especially photos from the amazing 'River'exhibition - all sorts capturing the River Severn - Britain's longest river. Indeed there is lots on their website to explore:
www.walkingtheland.org.uk

One of the exhibits that touched me at the exhibition today was a few photos from people with treasured local trees - the exhibition asks people to email their trees - now I could mention quite a few like locally the 'Lone Ash' - but one that touched me lots was a beautiful cherry tree that was cut down to make way for an off-road parking space.

The homeowners did nothing legally wrong but there was no consultation and to me this shows a shocking disregard for our urban trees by our Highways Department - indeed see the previous blog which I wrote more about urban trees here. The second photo is how it is now.

Talk on Ruscombe Brook and managing our local water courses

The Ruscombe Brook Action Group will meet in Randwick Village Hall (by the Playing Fields) on Tuesday 8th July at 7.30pm for their AGM to share progress of improvements to the brook, an report by a Italian Masters degree student working on plans for the brook and hopes for future work. Drinks and nibbles. All welcomed. Further details from Philip Booth on 01453 755451.

Meanwhile last night was a Brook Action Group meeting - so much to talk about that we didn't escape until 10.40pm.....plans for AGM (see above), a pack for householders to show how they get money back if they put their water into soakaways, an offer from a local bank to send 15 to 20 people for a day to help clear a few key sections of the brook, a funding bit to update our website (much needed), a closer look at Problems in Puckshole and more. Indeed come and hear about it all at the AGM.

We've also been following up on the recent incident of sewage leaking (see previous blog entries) - here is one of the comments from the person who first found the problem: "On 1st June I found a manhole cover adjacent to the brook was displaced and raw sewage was running into the pond and brook. On the following morning I called Severn Trent who quickly attended and found that the sewer section between the manhole on my farm and the next manhole on the near-by farm was blocked. The blockage could not be cleared by rodding. They then arranged for high pressure water clearance from the next manhole down. This cleared the blockage but the raw sewage had to be pumped from the pond down the sewer line. Not all the sewage could be pumped and a large quantity passed down the brook. The following day a camera was passed through that section of sewer and a half brick was discovered, this may have caused the original problem."

Ireland: people power wins

Ireland Votes No to Lisbon Treaty. The Green Party is welcoming the clear No vote in the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. 862,415 voted No, compared to 752,451 who voted Yes.

Under EU laws, if one of its member states rejects a treaty, the EU is mandated to scrap the bill. But Gordon Brown and the European Union seem to be showing contempt for direct democracy and trying to ignore the Irish referendum. Brown saying ratification will continue in Britain.

The Lisbon Treaty is merely a crude repackaging of the 2005 EU Constitution that was mothballed after being rejected by France and Holland in 2005 (whose citizens were barred from voting this time around) See previous blogs here and here.

Tell Gordon to respect the verdict of the Irish people - and drop the Treaty: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Abandon-Lisbon/

Cllr. Rupert Read, Lead Green Party candidate for the 2009 European Elections in Eastern Region put it well: "The remote political establishment of Brussels has had their dream of ever greater centralisation of political power utterly shattered today. People power has won. The voters of Ireland saw though the pretence that the Treaty was a harmless exercise and recognised it for what it is - a further draining away of democracy from member states. The UK Government would not dare put this Treaty to a vote here as the majority No vote would be overwhelming. Irish voters have sent a clear message on behalf of all the ordinary people of Europe - that the Euro elite have now got to stop their grand plans to rule the continent without consent.

"A new democratic settlement is needed for Europe that retains co-operation between states but allows them the ability to make their own decisions on matters that affect their own people without being micromanaged from Brussels. The Green Party opposes the Lisbon Treaty because it would have led to the further militarisation of the EU, as well as measures to promote increased economic liberalisation - which is an agenda for big business, at the expense of local communities. The Green Party favours localisation, instead. Lisbon squandered a unique opportunity to put sustainability and climate security genuinely at the heart of the Union, and failed to bring the EU institutions closer to European citizens. It is a great thing that the Irish people have enabled us to see the back of such a failed Treaty."

42 days: shameful

The Governments vote to extend the detention without charge time to 42 days is totally shameful. Even our current legislation allows suspects to be detained for up to 28 days - the longest time in Europe (see my previous blog here).

Above pic: Liberty's campaign - see more here

Worse still by focussing only on the 42 days we are in danger of overlooking other measures in the bill which are equally problematic, especially given the excessively broad definition of terrorism contained in the 2000 Terrorism Act.

"Anti-terror" powers are increasingly being used to incriminate innocent people and this bill will further exacerbate this. The Bill also proposes forms of punishment that may be imposed after conviction, without further due legal process and even on the basis of secret evidence withheld from defendants. In addition, the measures to allow no-jury inquests in the name of "national security" would seriously undermine police accountability.

Counter-terror powers are already more than sufficient and the counter-terrorism bill as it stands does more to endanger than to enhance public safety.

See a great Green blog entry on David Davis here - despite Davis' honourable views on 42 days there is much that we Greens find very hard to swallow....for example he voted:

• For the death penalty;
• Very strongly for the Iraq War;
• Against equal rights for LGBT people;
• Against the ban on hunting.

As the blog author, Aled Dilwyn Fisher writes: "Let’s be clear – Davis’s resignation has brought up a lot of issues, including the wider government agenda. But let’s not confuse the bringing up of issues with this being a move we should applaud."

Badger and TB: is the answer obvious?

The locally based group, Stop the War on Badgers has lost their website for a while so I've been asked to enclose the key information of their position below as it looks like a decision on culling is imminent from the Government. See also previous blog entries on this topic by using the search engine.

Copyright photo: Badger by Tony Evans Nature Picture Library reproduced with permission from Stop War on Badgers

The main thrust of the groups' current message is along the lines of what the Badger Trust are doing. This points out the differences in TB policy and results in different parts of the British Isles.

Republic of Ireland: killing loads of badgers - no effect on bTB levels.
Wales: now devolved - have taken the progressive step of allowing policy to be dictated by a powerful union (The Farmers' Union of Wales). Remains to be seen what the results will be, but Badger Trust has mounted legal challenge to this.
Northern Ireland: Quietly got to grips with backlog of bTB tests after Foot & Mouth, and have introduced sophisticated cattle controls. No badger culling. bTB dramatically down.
England: NFU want us to follow example of Rep of Ireland (duh). Will the govt cave in?

This message is really simple (for most of us), and people can be left to draw their own conclusions. Here are some further comments from a Stop the War member:

The Badger Trust is also highlighting lack of controls when moving cattle to shows. Recent outbreaks in allegedly 'closed herds' have been (on closer inspection) in cases where cattle have been sent to shows to socialise with loads of other (untested) animals.

But any alternatives to the badger theory are literally unthinkable for the NFU and their allies (including in the veterinary profession) because of the possible implications - that it could be these very people who have caused the problem, by their forgetting of the importance of cattle controls, specifically after the 2001 FMD outbreak, which is when bTB really exploded.

Their threats not to cooperate with (necessary) cattle controls unless they are also allowed to kill badgers (unnecessary) amounts to a last-ditch attempt to manufacture evidence. (bTB will eventually go down, thanks to renewed cattle controls, but they will say it was because they killed badgers. But the Northern Ireland example should show this up for the con that it is, which is why what's happening there should be brought to the attention of as many people as possible.)

And here is stuff from their website: Bovine TB biosecurity explained (November 2007)

Most of the confusion in the bovine TB debate arises from not understanding the nature of the disease, and how it was controlled in the past.

Just as with human tuberculosis, bovine TB is a lung ‘consumption’. It has two main stages:

1) an advanced/infectious stage, where there are visible lesions (VL) in the lungs, which will release bacteria into the sputum. This stage is detectable either by X-ray or by examining the dead animal after slaughter – but it tends not to be picked up by the bTB skin test.

2) a latent/incubating stage, which is hard to detect in a slaughtered animal, as there are no visible lesions. At a very early stage, it may also be missed when examining a tissue sample under a microscope, as there will only be very small numbers of Myobacterium bovis bacteria present.

The way to contain and eventually eliminate the disease is to identify cases at the latent stage and remove them (by slaughter or chemotherapy) before they progress to the advanced stage, when they can pass the disease on.

But the tools for identifying this latent stage are imperfect. The bTB skin test only works in the middle range of the disease (see below). Also, if an infected cow has recently calved it can temporarily give a false negative.

The way round this limitation is to repeat the skin test at intervals of ONE YEAR or less. This will catch most cases before they reach the advanced/infectious stage.

This is exactly what happened in the 1960s. The infectious reservoir of VL cases (hard to detect in living animals) dwindled over time, as these animals were sent to slaughter (believed bTB free until examined at abattoir). Meanwhile annual testing stopped the reservoir being topped up.

By the early 1970s this strategy had cleared the disease from most of Britain, and cut cases to a tiny fraction of their former levels (see below). (The remaining bTB ‘hotspots’ were limited to the South West, an area of particularly high cattle density and intensification, where biosecurity measures should also include attention to such things as the safe disposal of potentially infectious slurry.)

But if the test interval is extended beyond one year, the disease will start to get out of control, as more animals reach the advanced/infectious stage.

This is exactly what happened from 2001. During the Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) epidemic, all bTB tests were stopped, and the backlog was not properly addressed until 4 years later – after untested cattle had been moved around the country to restock depleted areas. The results of this disastrous ‘experiment’ speak for themselves.

However, after 36 years of repetition (from 1971), the received wisdom among certain influential groups remains the same: that badgers are the main source of bTB. This belief is why basic cattle biosecurity was abandoned after FMD, and why there is continuing resistance to concentrating on the necessary measures now.

Government planning airport expansions on $60 a barrel

I'm just back from a Glos Airport Action Group meeting in Cheltenham - a very pleasant drink in a pub as well...lots to talk about in terms of next steps...although you have to wonder that the house of cards has started to fall...

One example is the BBC report: Airline cuts route over fuel cost. A low-cost airline has suspended one of its domestic routes because of the high price of aviation fuel. Exeter-based airline Flybe is halting its flights from Newquay in Cornwall to Glasgow. The service, introduced earlier this year as one of several new routes aimed at business travellers, will cease from the beginning of August. The company said flights to Glasgow would resume when the price of fuel goes down.

The 'when' is a little optimistic - see previous post today on Peak Oil. Staverton Airport of course claim they are insulated from this as they deal mainly with corporate flights. Anyhow today WWF released a news release saying...

Government spin oils the wheels of airport expansion

The impact of soaring oil prices on the UK economy will significantly reduce future air passenger numbers, bringing into question the need for airport expansion, according to new independent research released by WWF today. The case for airport expansion, including the third runway at Heathrow, is based on the premise that there will be more air passengers in future than the UK’s airports can currently handle. The research reworked the Government’s air passenger forecasts for 2030, examining the impacts of a more realistic price of oil, the knock-on effect this could have on UK GDP, and the potential introduction of policies encouraging a switch towards alternatives.

Combined, these factors produce an estimated figure of 350 million air passengers in 2030 - nearly 150 million less than the Government assumes will be taking to the skies and well within the current UK airport capacity of around 425 million passengers per year. The Government’s air passenger forecast assumes that oil prices today are only US$60 a barrel and will fall to $53 by 2012 and remain at that level indefinitely. At present, oil costs $136 a barrel, with some analysts forecasting prices as high as $200 in the near future. By doubling the Government’s estimate to a conservative assumption of $106 a barrel in 2030, the impact of the increased oil price on air fares alone would cause an estimated 15% reduction in the growth of air passengers.

“The Government’s current projections for passenger numbers are pie in the sky, based on estimated oil prices which border on the fantastical,” says Peter Lockley, Head of Transport Policy at WWF. “What’s more, the Government hasn’t even examined a scenario where it makes an effort to promote alternatives to flying such as videoconferencing.”

The research also examines the economic modelling used by the Government specifically to justify the third runway at Heathrow. By applying a few simple and reasonable adjustments to the Government’s model - raising the projected price of carbon, only counting the
benefits to UK passengers rather than non-UK ones and not counting taxes as a benefit - the £5 billion benefit claimed by the government swiftly becomes a £5 billion loss.

“Expanding the UK’s airports means locking the UK into a carbon-intensive future that is incompatible with the Government’s climate change targets,” says Peter Lockley. “If passengers start turning away from planes thanks to high oil prices and better alternatives, or we look a little more closely at the Government’s calculations behind projected profits, then the economic case for putting added pressure on the climate begins to look extremely shaky.”

WWF calculates that greater use of videoconferencing and alternative methods of travel combined could serve to reduce passenger growth by up to 13%. These figures are backed up by their recent report, Travelling Light, which discovered that 89% of major businesses expect to cut their flights in the future and that a similar number believe videoconferencing is the key way to achieve this. WWF is currently asking businesses to take the One in Five Challenge, and reduce their flights by 20% within five years, as part of its One Planet Future campaign and strongly urges Government agencies and departments to sign up to the campaign and commit to cutting their flights.

Staverton latest

There is a rumour that Gloucester City are planning a U turn, switching to supporting the airport's plans. They would do this based on a loop hole - someone has found a rule the gist of which is that a council can not take a decision that would lead to a business it owns going bankrupt. The airport will of course insist that their future depends on implementing the 'safety measures' thus obliging the council to support them.

We have certainly heard that the airport decision is likely to return to scrutiny before then heading for cabinet again. It should be a simple enough argument to anyone with a basic understanding of economics, the Airport is more likely to go bust by incurring a large investment that needs to be paid off in difficult economic circumstances. Indeed there are so many additional reasons why we should not be supporting this expansion....

Anyway on another matter some months we found details of the Belgian 'Abrahams' case that interpreted EU directives and seemed to set a precedent requiring that Staverton should conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for its development because the runway is more than 1200m long. The meeting reported that lawyers we are talking to, discovered that, in interpreting the EU directives, different countries have set different thresholds above which an EIA is compulsory - in the UK this is 2500m whereas in Belgium it is 1200m. Hence we can't rely on the Abrahams case findings on runway length to force an EIA. Although to me there is still a moral argument for one! However the Airport's 'scoping document' argues that no EIA is required. We need to do more work on this....

We tried to get the Airport's Scoping document and failed - however it is now being made available after FoE sought it through Freedom Of Information legislation - we also are seeking their noise report which indicates all the extra planes make no sound at all and the Air Quality report that says all smells of rosebuds - well not exactly but we are keen to see what they say - why are the Airport reluctant to release them - they say they show no problems - then again they did deny climate change was man-made....anyway lots more to report but I've run out of energy...

NHS plan to waste money on fluoridation

Hampshire Against Fluoridation have carried out an in depth review of South Central Strategic Health Authority's financial analysis of fluoridation. This is of particular interest to me as a founder member of the Safe Water Campaign (see photo of one of our stalls in Stroud a couple of months ago) - see our blog here:
http://safewatercampaign.blogspot.com/

Our group has been seeing what can be done to help Southampton fight this latest move by their Strategic Health Authority. Below is some of what they found reviewing the financial implications - startling indeed....

The Isle of Mann have at least this last week rejected plans to fluoridate - although on the basis of a survey of 1,000 people! This is not consultation. See here.

Anyhow this is what Green party and Hampshire Against Fluoridation have found:

· Using the government's own York Review statistics and the South Central SHA's financial analysis, then the direct extra costs of fluoridation are expected to be £604,406. If the costs already committed to date are included fluoridation will cost at least £1 million pounds more to the NHS than if they do not fluoridate. This can be seen from just from the report and combining it with with the York Review that stated that the best estimate of dental improvement in five year olds is 15%.

· The analysis has a mistake in their use of statistics which means that the supposed benefits are much less. This mistake would cost the NHS another £1 million on top of the above, meaning that fluoridation, even using the SHA financial assumptions would cost at least £2 million pounds more than not fluoridating. The reduction of 15% in five year olds is not matched by a similar reduction across the population as fluoride only delays caries formation due to its effect of delaying the eruption of teeth by around one year (a serious indication of systemic fluorosis).

· The Health Authorities have excluded any consideration of the costs of treating dental fluorosis from their calculations. This is because they would force private individuals to pay for treatment. Dental fluorosis causes brown and pitted teeth which can be extremely unsightly, or worse. Assuming that only those with moderate or severe dental fluorosis would choose treatment, and taking the York Review's own figure that this would affect one in eight people in fluoridated areas, the cost of this treatment would be around £20 million pounds over twenty years. Those who are too poor to pay over £100 per treatment would have the clearly visible stigma of brown or pitted teeth, causing social scorn, loss of confidence and worse job prospects. This would be a clear stigma of poverty, the dental marks of shame. Hampshire Against Fluoridation say that these cost to put right the bad effects of fluoride must be paid for by the Health Authorities. If they continue to refuse to promise this then concerned citizens should get together and take them to court to force them to face up to the true consequences of their actions.

· There is also a complete exclusion of any side effects from fluoridation. Even the government admits that "dental fluorosis is a manifestation of systemic toxicity" (i.e. the whole body is getting gradually poisoned by fluoride). Our Health Authorities are guilty of a major misuse of science. It either means that the authors of their report have a very limited reading list or that they are wrongly excluding a mass of compelling evidence that long term ingestion of fluoride at levels of 1 ppm in water has major medical side effects. If the costs of these serious side effects are taken into consideration, even assuming some are not as bad as feared, then the extra costs to the NHS would soon come to more than £100 million, and that does not include the suffering caused to people and their loss of earnings.

John Spottiswoode, Chairperson of Hampshire Against Fluoridation and Coordinator of SW Hampshire Green Party, said: "It is clear that water fluoridation would be extremely costly to the NHS, adding millions of pounds to their costs with little, if any, medical benefit even for teeth. This is not only a waste of the NHS's scarce resources but also an absurd taking away of this money from the many health areas that so badly needed the money. It is now clear why the areas that already fluoridate their water not only have just as high costs of dentistry, but they are also pushing a lot of the costs from fluoridation onto private people to pay for. With cost figures such as these it would be clinically and financially mad to proceed with water fluoridation."

Interestingly one of the main reasons offered by 'health chiefs' in the UK for fluoridation is that it reduces health inequalities - however the conclusions of an international study are worth serious attention...In the Irish Times Health News of 10th June 2008 there was an interesting reference to an international study on health inequalities. The study which was funded by the US National Institute of Health, the Czech government, the Welsh R&D Office and a Norwegian health foundation and performed in 17 countries at 27 different sites.

Its results were published in 2004, title is "International comparisons in health inequalities in childhood dental caries." Countries looked at were: England, Scotland, Wales, N.Ireland, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark,Italy, Germany, Norway, Czech Republic, (UK members counted as one country, ie 8 countries). US & Mexico, S.Africa, Madagascar & Tanzania, China, Singapore, Thailand and Pakistan. For those who need to access it directly, here is the link;
http://www.who.int/oral_health/media/en/orh_cdh_0304_10_international.pdf

The key point for the Hampshire 'debate' is that the PCT must be pressed on this study's conclusions, which many Hampshire people have already articulated in their replies to this debate. The conclusions were : "Parental beliefs and attitudes play a key role in moderating oral health-related behaviour in young children and in determining whether they develop dental caries."

Plus: "The most significant variable for the whole study population predicting whether children would be caries-free was not the children's oral halth related behaviour but a parents' attitude to their perceived ability to deliver the behavious (in this case regular and effective toothbrushing)"(page 125) This is reinforced on page 129 by: "The results of these studies provide important new data in showing how parents' attitudes and beliefsabout oral health-related behaviour are associated with the likelihood of their children developing dental caries." As for the relevance of socio-economic factors, it went on to say: "This study also found clear variations in parental beliefs and behaviours for different ethnic and socio-economic groups that separately impact on their childrens' oral health related behaviour."

Another interesting point about this international study is that the researchers, (including long-time promoter of fluoridation in Ireland, Dr Helen Whelton from University College Cork) did not allow for the confounding factor of water fluoridation. While this omission would undermine the research validity, nevertheless the fact that fluoridation proponents downplayed its role and concentrated instead on the influence of parents getting their children to brush their teeth, is surely not insignificant.

At last peak oil is being discussed

The papers have at last with rising oil prices woken up to Peak Oil - well a little - I have thrown together some thoughts and links on this topic - to start read an interview with the International Energy Agency's Chief Economist Fatih Birol:
http://transitionculture.org/2008/06/12/fatih-birol-offers-the-world-an-oil-health-check/

A quick advert for Paul Mobbs talking in Stroud - his book from 2005, "Energy Beyond Oil” was the first book I read on the subject - he will be talking on Thursday 10th July at 7.30 in the British School.

Richard Pike, a former oil industry man who is now chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry counters these claims and has said there is nothing to worry about. He says estimates suggest there are 1,200 billion barrels of proven global reserves, but the industry's internal figures suggest this amounts to less than half of what actually exists. However Jeremy Leggett, author of Half Gone, a book on peak oil, says. "The flow rates from the existing projects are the key. Capacity coming on stream falls fast beyond 2011. On top of that, if the big old fields begin collapsing, the descent in supply will hit the world very hard."

It is worth remembering that reserves are pretty irrelevent really - it's how fast they can be extracted that matters. World reserves jumped in the last couple of years as Canada included tar sands and Venezuala heavy tar oil. However neither of these resources can be exploited rapidly... they don't flow like the light crude from the big fields that produce most of the worlds 85million barrels a day and are all entering decline...

Also in contrast to Pike the chief executive of the world's largest energy company, Alexey Miller, the head of the Kremlin-owned gas giant Gazprom, has issued the most dire warning yet about the soaring the price of oil, predicting that it will hit $250 per barrel "in the foreseeable future".

Photo: Petrol pump I came across on Saturday

This means £2-per-litre petrol is not far off - and this will send shockwaves through the economy. Last week the price hit $139.12 per barrel and we have seen our Government urging motorists not to panic-buy petrol during the strike by lorry drivers who deliver petrol to forecourts for Royal Dutch Shell. In Spain, Catalonia enacted an emergency action plan to bring in fresh food and fuel supplies after nearly half of its forecourts ran dry and supermarkets shelves were left bare. The situation was the result of the second day of an "indefinite" nationwide strike staged by lorry drivers in Spain seeking their government's help to contain the effects of expensive petrol. Meanwhile there have also been protests by drivers and fisherman in France and Portugal.

As Greens have been warning for a long time the price of everything from food to energy is set to rise significantly. It is just a pity the Government have not been listening! Much could have been done to ease the transition away from fossil fuel dependence but we are now set to see sharp shocks to many of us. The blame can certainly also be put on financial speculators for oil's price rise – it has more than doubled in the past year – and of course the primary reason is simple supply and demand, driven by the rapidly expanding countries of the developing world, principally China and India (driven in part by our insatiable thirst for consumer goods).

Another place to put the blame is on the Iraq War - reports last month suggest that oil costs are three times more than they should be as a result of that war. Our lives are going to change as we struggle to cope with the $200 barrel later this year as predicted by Goldman Sachs. See The Independent article in full here.

Picnic with Transition Stroud

One exciting response to Peak Oil is the Transition Town network - a hopeful, positive and indeed the most inspirational green movement in Britain today. It is exciting because it's a fast-growing, direct, bottom-up response to an oil crisis which is already affecting us all. Check out Transition Stroud and other items mentioned on this blog - here are meaningful solutions to three of the greatest challenges we face today - peak oil, food shortages and climate change. It doesn't wait for government, politicians or corporations to act; it's about people in their communities taking action now, and joining together to create an alternative vision of how society could be. To find out more go to one of the websites or join folk at a Transition Picnic on Rodborough Common (near Fort) on Saturday 21st June at 11:30. Bring some summer food to share. Followed by Rodborough fete (Butterow Lane) at 2.00pm where there will be a Transition Stroud stall.

See also Post Carbon Cities here and an excellent discussion on oil prices from Rob Hopkins here.

Professor Heinberg who spoke in Stroud last year, will be known to readers of this blog as a Peak Oil guru and author of "The Party's Over" and "Powerdown". Below a Green colleague has put together a series of links as a handout on the issue. If this is all new to you I strongly urge you to listen to the following short films.

Richard Heinberg's Peak Everything - Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybRz91eimTg&feature=related

• It takes energy to get energy. There has to be a profit: Net energy.
• Language provides a huge advantage in organisation and progress.
• Tools leverage energy and have become more sophisticated.
• Industrial revolution = "Fossil Fuel Revolution"
• "We won the energy lottery..."
• Machines could carry their own energy supply...
• Energy Per Capita use has skyrocketed (since the Paleolithic).
• World population - a perilous success
• Our entire existence is based on extraction of exhaustible resources.

Richard Heinberg's Peak Everything - Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3_mYowxlEg&feature=related

• Limits to Growth, 1972, debunked? No.
• Periodic updates to this show it truer than ever.
• US WAS world's foremost oil exporter but US oil production peaked in 1970.
• In 33 of the largest 48 oil producing countries, production is declining.
• Global production PEAK FOR OIL WAS May 2005.
• High oil prices are a huge incentive to bring any readily available oil to market.
• But the May 2005 record has not been beaten.
• US gas supply forecasts have been hugely overestimated.
• British coal: "used virtually all of that fossil fuel energy"
• Reserve to production ratios always lie!
• Most recent reserve estimates are the most pessimistic.

Richard Heinberg's Peak Everything - Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNbVVT2B5iw&feature=related

• Global coal could PEAK in 15-20 years.
• First in China because of huge coal consumption
• Peak in ALL fossil fuels around 2010.
• Climate change also an enormous problem...
• But scarcity is likely impact sociaty before major climate impacts.
• Global Uranium supplies will peak well before 2050
• Major nuclear development will speed this up.
• Rare elements also heading for exhaystion from 5-20 years
• Eg, indium and gallium for solar panels...
• World water use record consumprion
• Arable land declining...
• Topsoil in tons per person, trend plummeting.
• World grain production has peaked!
• Biodiversity loss, downward slide.
• Technical breakthroughs per capita... !!
• Total CO2 emissions has NOT peaked.
• Arctic ice record low (2005), huge experiment with Earth atmosphere.
• We baby boomers alone have consumed about half the non-renewable resources.

Richard Heinberg's Peak Everything - Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyO0WS79Xec&feature=related

• Perhaps the Limits to Growth collapse already begun?
• Roman Empire collapse, cures failed (like today's)
• Can we contract and become sustainable for coming generations
• We cannot replace fossil fuels adequately.
• Replace machine labour with human labour
• System for massive relocation of people necessary.
• Water, energy shortages, grocery stores stocks
• Closer to local resource base
• Massive replacement of infrastructure
• Scenario 1: Feudal Fascism
• Possible futures, fuedalism, total surveillance
• Scenario 2: The eco-deal
• FDR, "ecological Keynesianism", reorganise
• Scenario 3: Bottoms-up
• local governments, civic society
• US, China, Russia: authoritarian solutions are already the default

Richard Heinberg's Peak Everything - Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5EcK-CdLNA&feature=related

• What do we do NOW!?
• "We are borrowing from future generations in a way that can never be repaid."
• Work needs to be done at all levels.
• Personal, family: We should be gardening! Rooftop gardens for cities.
• Local and regional:"We need electric trolley lines!"
• "The personal automobile just happens to be the least efficient means of transport ever devised."
• Food crops into fuel for cars: millions might starve so a few can drive!
• Government: Public electrified transport
• Policies: Oil Depletion Protocol, mandate reductions in consumption.
• Fossil fuels are at the centre of this, exacted an enormous cost.
• We are facing in essence a great Energy Transition.
• Climate change necessary for survival.
• This transition is NOT OPTIONAL.
• Relocalization not Globalization. Especially food.
• We average 10 calories of fossil fuel energy to produce one calorie of food.

Richard Heinberg's Peak Everything - Part 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJpUswRKwIw&feature=related

• HOPE? "There is no hope for business as usual..."
• Reality consists of living within the limits of the natural world.
• Living within limits is going to take some WORK! Sacrifice.
• Call upon the highest and best of human nature and character
• Living up to our potential and promise as human beings...
• All we have to do is change our consciousness, our expectations and our behaviour!
• And we CAN DO THAT extraordinarily rapidly!
• We need to reshape society over the coming decades.
• What has NOT peaked: Community, Personal Autonomy, Work Satisfaction, Family, IngenuityCooperation, contribution, , artistry
• See the Transition Town movement in Britain
• See the Relocalization Network in the US: Oil Independent Oakland Task Force, by 2020, See Portland, Oregon.
• The range of efforts necessary is itself enormous. It's up to you!

22nd June International Day of Hunger Strike against “Star Wars”

Jan Tamas and Jan Bednar, after 21 days, suspended their hunger strike on the 2nd June but it continues in relay form in the Czech Republic with the participation of politicians, scientists and artists, etc. See previous blogs on this topic and message from Jan Tamas to readers of Ruscombe Green. Here is the latest video message by Jan Tamas.

To give even more force to this great nonviolent protest, a Worldwide 1-Day Hunger Strike on June 22nd is proposed for everyone able to participate - a simple but significant gesture - as one campaigner said: “Stop feeding the war machine and start feeding the people!”

It’s scandalous that one thousand million dollars are destined to military spending, when with different choices this money could solve the problems of hunger, lack of education and the environment. See the site:
http://nenasili.cz/en/1494_worldwide-hunger-strike-22th-june-2008

Meanwhile Peter Pollard is now camping on the grass verge of the Kettlesing layby (A59) opposite the Black Bull pub. On Saturday he started a week long fast in support of Jan Tamas and Jan Bednar, other hunger strikers and the 70% of the people in the Czech Republic who oppose the siting of the radar facilities for the American Missile Defense system in their country. Pete also aims to focus on the role of Menwith Hill and Fylingdales with Missile Defense.

Elsewhere there are other strikers - for example in Italy, Giorgio Schultze started a hunger strike on the 1st of June and suspended it on the 13th of June in Brussels where, together with Jan Tamas, he met with Luisa Morgantini – Vice-President of the European Parliament and many other MEPs (members of the European Parliament). On the 9th of July, there will be a meeting and press conference in Strasbourg with MEPs opposed to the Star Wars project, he will present the signatures gathered by the on-line petition. A great opportunity to redouble efforts and reach 200,000 signatures!

Serious mud makes footpath almost impassable

At the end of Wheelers Walk, Paganhill, where the footpath goes into the Ruscombe fields the footpath has got increasingly impossible to pass without getting very muddy. It would appear a new spring has appeared or perhaps a water main leak?

The photos here hide much of the mud - what looks like rocks is infact polystyrene put down by folk to try and cross. Metal, material, cardboard and many other things are also being put down by local to try and pass without getting wet.

I have written to the County to see if there is anything they could do to improve this situation? A bridge perhaps?

Hope for climate action: petition Japan now

Two weeks of global climate negotiations have just wrapped up with no real progress. The rich nations are clearly the culprits, refusing to take the lead and commit to emissions cuts that will bring the rest of the world on board. Campaigners now think the best hope is the G8 summit chaired by Japan in a couple of weeks time. If Japan's Prime Minister offers bold leadership, the G8 summit could be a breakthrough. But, so far, he is pushing in the wrong direction.

Photos: Beech trees in Standish woods at the weekend - already in SE England and East Anglia beech trees are suffering from the changes weather conditions. Ecologists are suggesting we could loose most or all beech trees from the SE in coming years as a result of climate change - see here.

Next Wednesday, June 18, international campaign group Avaaz will hand-deliver their new climate petition to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. They want 250,000 voices in a few short days. Sign the petition:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/g8_climate_wakeup/13.php?cl=97523659

We've already shown that a global public outcry on climate change can move Fukuda's policy. Asahi Shimbun, Japan's second-largest newspaper, told the story in a lengthy article this January. At a critical, high-level meeting on global warming after the UN negotiations in Bali, the Environment Minister reportedly held up Avaaz's "Titanic" newspaper ad - showing Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda, with Bush, steering towards climate disaster... along with a call for tough 2020 emissions targets, signed by 90,000 Avaaz members. The minister reportedly said: "The world sees Japan as a force resisting change! Are we okay with this?"

The Chief Cabinet Minister suggested setting a target. Days later, after having steadfastly resisted the idea at Bali, Prime Minister Fukuda announced his decision: Japan would, indeed set a 2020 emissions target. Now, five months on, Fukuda has indeed laid out a target - but it falls far short of what scientists say is necessary to avert a climate catastrophe. This year's G8 summit will begin on the same day as the Tanabata festival, when citizens write their wishes on pieces of paper and hang them from bamboo trees. This Wednesday, Avaaz are calling us to send the biggest-ever Tanabata wish: for a climate change treaty strong enough to save the planet.

Report warns of dangers

It is only a few weeks ago that a decisive report showed the extent to which climate change is already disrupting global ecosystems and the planet's wildlife. The report was compiled by eminent independent climateologists and scientists from around the world and published in the science journal 'Nature'. It offers conclusive evidence that 90% of environmental damage and disruption around the world can be explained by rising temperatures, most likely driven by human activity.

This report not only appears to confirm what we already know, but demands urgent policy frameworks to prevent the most damaging consequences of climate change - a global temperature rise of above 2oC. Here was Green MEP Caroline Lucas' comment: "Unlike the three grey political parties, the Green Party has the policies and ideas that propose serious solutions to climate change. Such policies would mean ensure that cutting emissions would bring immediate benefits in the shape of increased employment, decreased fuel poverty, and stronger communities - as well as demonstrating good faith with developing nations by adopting the 'Contraction and Convergence' model which places the greatest onus for reducing emissions on the developed nations which are most responsible for producing them."

Call for Feed-in tariffs

Another petition you might consider signing is for feed in tariffs - in Germany, electricity generated by householders and industry, using new renewable technologies such as solar power, attract a favourable price set by the Government and fixed for a number of years. There is an obligation for the energy companies to buy that electricity at the set tariff. Once the new technology has been established and become economically viable, as for example with wind power, the tariff is reduced to the regular market rate. In the U.K., solar and geothermal power on a small and large scale, and the budding but underfunded wave and tidal power industries, would benefit greatly from such a tariff. The U.K. could be self sufficient in renewable energy, and a world leader in wave generation technology, but only if Government help is forthcoming. The Government recently gave the impression they had ruled this option out but now seem to be warming to the idea again.

If you agree to the UK having the same chances of renewable energy security that the Germans already have, why not sign the petition:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Feed-In-Tarrifs/

One way to campaign - but not mine!!

Watch a short film of French man Alain Robert's climb of the NY Times Building here.

A grand jury has just rejected all criminal charges against the guy. He faced charges of Trespassing, Graffiti, Reckless Endangerment and Disorderly Conduct, which could have resulted in up to one year in jail. But the grand jurors listened, about the time taken to assure the climb would be safe to onlookers and the climber. Two counts of disorderly conduct remain, but these are not criminal charges - more like a parking ticket under New York law. Alain said afterwards: "As long as greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb, so will I.
But we need as many people as possible with us."

Bread Street- partial road closure 28th June

The road will be closed under the Town Police Clauses Act of 1947 from 1pm to 11pm on Saturday 28th June due to our residents street party. I have put up signs at each end of the road in several places and on noticeboards. All residents of the road will also get a letter. We hope very much it does not cause too much inconvenience.

It does seem strange that the road closure is left to residents to organise - yes we had to apply for permission but we have to do the closure itself and put up notices - infact I rather like the idea that communities still can do stuff for themselves and not expect the Council to come along and do it for us.

6 week closure??

One piece of news also re Bread Street is that a major water leek has been identified where the road is slipping - see background here - this could mean a 6 week road closure to sort it out - the sooner the better for the householders involved - but a little ironic if the closure comes when the party is on and we've had to go to such measures to get the closure!!

Anyhow we had a meeting last week to put the final touches on our plans for the street party - we are keeping it just to residents so that we can get to know each other better - many of us have not met before and if we invited more folk from the rest of the area then it would get too big. Indeed I would love to encourage others to also put on their own parties - it is a great way to get to know your neighbours!

51 local phoneboxes to go

BT have commenced its programme of proposed public payphone removals across Great Britain. Each local authority in the Country are in various stages of the consultation process.

People living in rural areas argue that many kiosks earmarked for disposal are potential life-savers, especially in areas where mobile signals are unobtainable, or where elderly residents may not have mobiles. However under privatisation rules BT is not allowed to subsidise its payphone business... despite this the company has pledged its commitment to the service, particularly for those people who depend on payphones. Yet another example of both Tory and Labour not seeing public phones as a public service.

BT have advised Stroud District Council that there are two components to the programme locally:
(i) Under new Ofcom guidance there are a number of public payphones which are within 400m of another. BT are not required to consult Council or the public in relation to those to be removed under this scheme. Council will be advised of those to be removed in the coming months.
(ii) BT have identified 51 additional public payphones to be removed in the Stroud District. These were identified by BT as they have “little use”. These include locally Chapel Lane, Ebley, Ludlow Green, Ruscombe and Westrip Farm, Westrip. See list here. I know Randwick Parish are looking at this issue.

The Randwick village telephone box has been used in the local press in photos talking about the closure - however it does not seem to be listed despite a threat only a little while ago when BT tried to close it before. I hope the case that was made then, ensured it is not under threat?

Part of Ofcom’s review in 2005 states that it is the responsibility of the local authority to initiate its own consultation process to canvas view of the local community on proposed closures. Further that notification of Council’s final decision should include all justifications as BT may wish to challenge any unreasonable objections within its appeal process. This consultation must be completed by 6th September 2008.

Officers in the Regeneration Service have already sent information out to the Town and Parish Council’s and the community, place information on the web site in order to gather intelligence on the phone boxes. If readers of this blog have information then please contact the District Council before 20th July so that info can be collated - they will be looking at mobile phone coverage in the area, the number of calls in past year, proximity to a population who may not have access to a personal land line or mobile, proximity to an economically deprive community, heritage listing, proximity to a traffic blackspot and usage of the phone for emergency purposes. Clearly there maybe good arguments for some closures but it is a sad day to see yet more erosion to our local services.

See Ofcom website:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/uso/uso_statement/

Ruscombe valley balloon drama

Here are a selection of snaps from the near disaster in our valley a week or more ago now. Mike Gallagher took these pics as the drama unfolded (reprinted here with permission) - that is not the Mike Gallagher of Sonic Hedgehog fame but rather our very own Bread Street photographer - in fact see his excellent website is here:
www.mikegallagherphotography.co.uk

Lots of great local photos on the website - particularly liked his wet street scene in Stroud and some beautiful ones of the Ruscombe valley - anyhow I'm getting off topic - this balloon seemed to get into trouble several times coming very low over the valley indeed then lifting again only to seemingly hit trees before rising over the houses along The Plain at Whiteshill.

Does anyone know the full story?

Severn Barrage: not the way to go

A new report released last week by Frontier Economics has found that the Severn Barrage is “expensive compared to other renewables and that the government could use cheaper green technologies in its attempt to meet its renewables targets.” All this adds to the growing evidence that a barrage is not the way to go.

Photos: two different concepts for the Severn, a century and a half apart. Thomas Fulljames' idea (top) and one of several of the more recent I have seen (bottom).As noted here I have been delighted so far by our District Council, who have raised concerns about this project - like the impact it would have on Slimbridge and concerns that alternatives to the barrage like tidal lagoons get properly considered. I have also raised the issue re the way the study is being dne for the Shoots barrage (see here).

Tidal Power More Expensive Than Other Renewables
Anyhow this study released last week, was commissioned by the Royal Society for 10 environmental groups including the Protection of Birds, the National Trust and WWF-UK. It found that the £15 billion project would be far better spent on more proven technologies such as wind, hydro or solar. Matthew Bell, the report's author is quoted saying: “Even using the most conservative estimates of costs, the barrage is one of the most expensive options for clean energy there is.”

What’s more, the report came to its conclusions without even considering the environmental impact on the sensitive local ecology. According to David Mussbaum of WWF-UK “Financial support for an expensive, inflexible and highly damaging technology like the proposed Severn barrage would not be a good use of taxpayer’s money.”

Let us now hope that options like Tidal Lagoons will get their fair share of attention: they seem to offer a less ecologically damaging way forward.

Plans to Harness the Severn Have Long History
Proposals for harnessing the power of the Severn estuary go back a long way - in 1849 Thomas Fulljames suggested damming the river to build a shipping harbor and for flood control! Since then at least a dozen proposals or studies have looked into the feasibility of generating electricity from the Severn. The most recent is the 10-mile long barrage from Cardiff to Weston-super-Mare which would generate 8.6 GW of 'clean' power and meet around 5% of Britain’s power needs. Although some 5m tonnes of CO2 will be emitted during construction and another 5m tonnes emitted during transport of the materials.

Elderflower cordial time

Below by request from several folk is the recipe for Elderflower Cordial - no doubt very similar to many others - but you'll need to get on as I can see the flowers are over on some of the trees...

This week has raced by with a whole collection of meetings which I won't bore you with here - in fact just back from a civil ceremony - very nice indeed and great food but now need to relax with DVD and something stronger than the cordial...

20 umbrels of elderflower ie the umbrella like clusters or heads - best picked in full bloom in bright sunshine
1.8kg granulated sugar, or caster sugar
1.2 litres water
75g citric acid
2 unwaxed lemon

Put the sugar into a pan with the water and bring up to the boil, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved. Then shake elderflowers to loosen lingering insects, and stir them (the umbrels rather than the insects) into the pan with the zest of the lemons, the remains of the lemons sliced and the citric acid. Cover with a cloth and then leave at room temperature for 24 hours.

Next day, strain the cordial through a sieve lined with muslin (see photo above of my straining), and pour into thoroughly cleaned glass or plastic bottles (old milk plastic bottles are ideal. To serve the cordial dilute to taste with water, fizzy water, gin, vodka or whatever - I tried an ice-cream float on a hot evening this week.....anyhow it lasts about 6 months but I tried freezing a small milk carton of cordial last year and had a taste of June in the depths of a cold wintery February...

Good news on land banking

A landbanking company that took £69 million from 4,500 investors without meeting promises of development is to be shut by the High Court, the Financial Services Authority says.

Photo: Ruscombe fields now owned by up to 180 different owners

UKLI had sold plots of land to investors claiming that it could get planning permission for the land, which they could then sell on to developers for a huge profit. But none of the properties ever achieved planning approval. The FSA charged that UKLI operated an illegal collective investment scheme and denied its investors protection for their money. See report here - and here the Guardian's comment.

This is great news to see the clamp down on land banking companies. However the story is different for Ruscombe - here the company Gladwish have divided the three fields in Ruscombe into 180 or so plots and sold them - development will never go-ahead on those fields - well extreemly unlikely especially with our Ruscombe Valley Action Group. It seems though at the moment there is not any evidence that Gladwish have said these fields are for development ie no promises. It is clear what we still need is action to also end practices like Gladwish dividing up our fields in such a way....See background re campaign in Ruscombe here and by clicking on label below there is lots more plus CPRE's view here.

Greens talk regeneration

County Green party members met yesterday evening at St Marks Hall, Cheltenham to hear a presentation on a Green approach to Regeneration from Stroud-based green economist Molly Scott-Cato. See news release here.

Photos: Gloucester developments

The presentation was followed by a discussion on projects like Cheltenham's Civic Pride, Stroud's canal project and Gloucester's 'Magnificent Seven', the name given to seven key development sites.

In the light of the Full Council re the canal last week this was a very useful discussion - what will benefits be and are they the ones we should be focusing on? More on regeneration approaches coming soon as I have been working on thoughts with others and this evening have a hundred and one emails to answer - indeed will miss Transition Drinks at the Albert tonight...

Uplands PO open today!

Below is taken from the Town Council website - good on them - they were meant to be closed this morning - this is probably the first case of it's kind in the country of a Post Office reprieved through the courts. I heard yesterday evening from a jubilant John Marjoram. Apparently Andy Reed, David his son, Ben Falconer, reporter from Stroud Life and John Marjoram celebrated this partial victory with David Drew who treated them all to a meal at the "Portcullis"- MP's restaurant this evening. Well done indeed to all concerned.

Campaigners yesterday won a last-minute stay of execution in the battle to save historic Uplands Post Office. Just 35 minutes before Postmaster Robin Craig was due to shut his shop for the final time, solicitors in London’s High Court confirmed that a deal had finally been done with Postal chiefs.

It follows an 11th hour legal challenge on behalf of a 73-year disabled lady from Uplands. She is seeking a judicial review of the decision to close the popular Post Office.

Yesterday, Monday (June 9th), her solicitors sought an injunction to block the closure until a full hearing can take place later this year. Stroud’s Mayor, John Marjoram and his deputy, Andy Read, also spent the final day in the capital, lobbying Post Office bosses and the Prime Minister to accept the council’s £75,000 rescue plan, as well as supporting the legal action.

The break-through came at 4.55pm when Postal chiefs finally accepted the town council’s offer of funding, and Mr Craig was able to tell customers that it will be ‘business as usual‘ on Tuesday. The dramatic legal challenge is being seen as a test case. It is believed to be the first Post Office in the country to win such a reprieve through the courts. The move could offer a lifeline to other offices facing the axe under the government’s controversial Network Change programme.

The Post Office has served the hilly community of Uplands for more than 150 years. With an annual turnover of £2.6 million, it remains a popular and profitable business.

Cllr Andy Read explained: ‘As with all legal cases the future remains unclear. What we do know, is that in the face of an injunction, Postal chiefs backed down and finally accepted our offer to help fund Uplands. Postal workers were due to strip the shop of all it’s fixtures on Tuesday. Instead it has opened for business as usual. That alone is a major breakthrough.’
‘We have had this offer on the table since February. It’s a shame that someone had to go to the High Court to get them to listen. Hopefully we can now have proper discussions to find a way to keep Uplands in business on a sustainable basis.’

Stroud Mayor John Marjoram said that campaigners had been planning to lay a wreath at the door of Post Office Headquarters in London at 5.30pm if the legal challenge had failed. ‘Instead our MP David Drew invited us for tea in Parliament to celebrate!’ he said. ‘I am absolutely delighted. We were told we were wasting our time going to London on the final day. But we pledged to do everything possible to keep Uplands open. Sometimes you just have to try everything to get a result.’

Notes

The Town Council is not taking the action itself but has provided evidence in support of the claim. The solicitor acting for the Uplands resident is the same person who has been given the go-ahead to seek a judicial review of the decision to close a Post Office in Hastings, east Sussex on behalf of disabled pensioner Judy Brown. They key difference with Hastings is that that Post Office has already closed (the postmaster wished to leave!). In Stroud, the town council has said its funding is available to keep Uplands open, at no cost to PO Ltd, and Robin Craig, the postmaster, wants to keep it open. The solicitor believed that this was be a key factor in persuading the court that nothing can be lost in granting an injunction. Her case is currently scheduled for 3-days in October/November. It is hoped that the Uplands case can be heard at the same time.

Aussie researcher in Stroud with answer to Varroa mite?

On Saturday I had a meeting in Stroud with Bob Usher, a bee researcher from Australia. Regular blog readers will know that as many as one in three of our bees disappeared in the last year - see more here and here for more background and a petition to sign. It is vital this issue receives more attention.

Photo: Bob and Pat Usher

Bob has been looking at the causes of the problems and has come up with a possible solution/treatment to what has been described by some as the AIDS for the bee industry - indeed Bob's experiments in New Zealand seem to suggest he could have an answer to the Varroa mite. He first contacted me after I covered Bee Colony Collapse Disorder on this blog and we have had conversations and emails since then. Bob announced less than a month ago that he was coming to the UK and since then I have tried to supply him with contacts around the country so that he could do his experiments to see if he can replicate the NZ results. He seems to have sorted out a whistlestop tour of many of the key people in this country.

Photo: part of the equipment

Anyhow I met Bob and his wife, Pat, in Tinto's in Stroud for a coffee Saturday morning along with Bernard Jarman from the Biodynamic Association. Bob gave us the talk about this 'gadget', a 'Light Tower', which somehow purifies the circulatory system of bees with oxygen, enhancing their immune systems - and eradicating mites. Now I don't know if I have this right - indeed it all seems like magic, but the case studies and experiments are persuasive. Bob has also come at his own expense to share this story and is only wanting to experiment to show the results. What have we got to loose?

Bob also showed other effects of the gadget - the photo left has wheat seeds and two avocado plants in a pot - the larger ones in both cases have been treated with the 'Light Tower'. Similar remarkable effects occurred on animals that were treated.

Of course I would like to see the causes of the problems eradicated like GM crops, radiation, pesticides etc - indeed we are desperate for more research into all of this. In fact another theory I heard this week is that HAARP maybe to blame - the US military's High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program is an investigation project to "understand, simulate and control ionospheric processes that might alter the performance of communication and surveillance systems." I have no idea whether this has any truth but it was apparently switched on and soon after colonies started collapsing.

Photo: Bob's logo

It was interesting to hear Bob's story - and that he had worked years running a fuel efficiency business and some 30 years ago had a logo of a bee - yet it is only in very recent years that he has had an interest in bees.


Anyhow before I left Tinto's I gave Bob and Pat the contact of my old neighbour, the beekeeper at Ruskin Mill (see pic left) - he showed them around there and they had plenty more bee talk.

If anyone is interested in learning more do feel free to email Bob direct: rp.usher@westnet.com.au

The real cause of cattle TB

Badger culling is still on the agenda - a decision looks likely in coming weeks - maybe even this week. I've discussed this issue at some length with farmers who are for and against a cull and with a vet who is convinced it is the only way forward. However from all the evidence I have seen there is still not evidence that badgers cause TB in cattle - indeed if anything there is more evidence of the other way around. The letter below is in today's Citizen today from Martin Hancox who I have also spoken to today and previously. He makes a useful contribution to the debate. Certainly urgent attention must be given to this issue as farmers are being left in impossible situations - indeed it is an outrage this has gone on so long.

Copyright photo: Badger by Tony Evans Nature Picture Library reproduced with permission from Stop War on Badgers

According to a leaked source, Environment and Rural Affairs Secretary Hillary Benn told colleagues that he "was not persuaded by the science behind badger culling", hence his delay in responding to the EFRA Committee report and any decision on a cull. Quite right too. While farmers are very certain that a cull is necessary, many herds have been under TB restriction for years - and these cases are proof that it is not Old Brock after all.

Up to 30% of cows go temporarily non-reactor after giving birth, and some of these go on to become totally "angergis" or non-reactor, while still actively spreading within the heard. So, in many big dairy herds, the repeat tests skim off new cases but fail to remove the culprit.

There are two very simple things which could be tried:

1. Since the blood IFN test is being used on such herds, it would be very easy to use a sub-sample with the Brock stat pak test which targets such late TB anti-body levels.

2. Cows can be shedding 38 million bacilli in 30lbs of faeces per day, and PCR (DNA) tests on faecal swabs give results within hours, costing £6-10.

M. HANCOX, Nouncells Cross, Stroud

For previous blogs and campaigns on this topic use the search facility and see The Badger Trust.

Campaign To Liberate The Song "Jessica"

I get a lot of emails from many different sources - some resulting from this blog, many from council stuff or other local campaigns - averaging over a 100 a day - some days many more - I do try and respond where I can - however while this one below may not be the most important campaign it did make me smile....

Photo: Clarkson pied back in 2005 when receiving a doctorate see more photos here.

Dear Sir The theme tune to the BBC TV Programme Top Gear , "Jessica", was written by Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers Band) as a tribute to Django Reinhardt. Django was a highly respected jazz guitarist of the "Hot Club of France". He was a disabled Belgian Sinto Gypsy who lived through the Nazi regime unlike many of his compatriots. Traditional gypsy culture is about nature not the air-poisoning gases from cars !! I'm trying to ask various organisations to make a request to Jeremy Clarkson and his "petrol-head" supporters to have some respect and courtesy and give this piece of music back to the spirit of life from which it came and not the excesses of self-importance and selfishness that his programme represents. Can you mention it to your group ?

I have no love for Clarkson but I have no time to be campaigning on this one! Certainly Clarkson's rants have done harm to many campaigns but the use of this song is perhaps amongst the least of his 'crimes' - however good luck to them reclaiming it! And perhaps in the process it will highlight the absurdity of using this music for this programme - so full of life in contrast to the message Clarkson is really selling. Mind I did love the story earlier this year when he had to eat his words over ID cards (see here).

I do have a disregard for the environment. I think the world can look after itself and we should enjoy it as best as we can."
Jeremy Clarkson

Clarkson, a lover of the SUV, sprung to mind when I read another of my emails received this weekend - a link to Saturday's The Guardian article on SUVs and the Hummer - read it here - now I'm not sure of the truth in this - indeed I am not sure how helpful any of this is...but well...here is a brief quote from the article...

Critics of the SUV tend to assume that those who drive them would be constitutionally incapable of such selflessness, which would be an annoyingly smug point of view if it weren't for the fact that market research conducted for the automakers themselves backs it up....The average SUV owner, according to studies cited in Bradsher's book, is "apt to be self-centred and self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbours or communities."In addition, they are "insecure and vain. They are frequently nervous about their marriages and uncomfortable about parenthood. They often lack confidence in their driving skills ... they tend to like fine restaurants a lot more than off-road driving, seldom go to church, and have limited interest in doing volunteer work to help others....In the case of the Hummer, the researchers reached another telling conclusion. Hummers, the GM researchers found, "tended to appeal to people who never performed military service, but wished they had."

More Open Studios: Ruth Davey, Nikki Simpson and Yvonne Wood

Yesterday I also managed a couple more local Open Studios - I particularly enjoyed Westward Road where Ruth Davey and Nikki Simpson had a collection of stunning photos - yes I know I can be enthusiastic about stuff but these really are worth a look.

Photos: Produce Stroud project, Fountain (taken in Bristol), Cambodian Monk, Loch Voil and lastly another pic in the exhibition of a water lily.

Ruth Davey is currently working on a project called ‘ProduceStroud’, which is documenting individuals and initiatives (such as Transition Stroud and Stroud Community Agriculture) who have changed their habits and practices in order to live more sustainable lifestyles. In fact I'm hoping she will be able to cover some of the projects I'm involved with like the Open Homes for a Sustainable Future (more of that coming soon). See Ruth's website with some of her photos:
www.ruth-davey.co.uk

Nikki Simpson also had some wonderful photos - especially of movement - the Cambodian monk's foot one here is actually at the Sub Rooms taster exhibition - at this exhibition there were some great ones of dancing.

One of my favorites was this one of the water ripple on Loch Voil, Scotland - infact I bought the card of this one! See Nikki's website with links to some great films she has made set to great music here:
www.lightcreations.co.uk

I finished off with a look at Yvonne Woods willow sculptures in Foxmoor Lane - these also combined other materials like slate and shells. More here about the Open Studios, addresses etc - all are open again next Sat and Sun - don't miss - over 100 artists opening their homes.

Call to all Mountain Bikers in Randwick Woods

Just a note to say that the National Trust are now consulting bikers and boarders about their use of our local woods. Notices (see photo) have gone up in the woods urging folk to take part in the consultation - call them on 01452 810051.

Photo: Standish woods a wee while back - great to watch them!

This is an issue I've covered on this blog many times see for example here and for more on history in the woods here.

Randwick artist opens doors

I've already mentioned on this blog the wonders of the Open Studios this month - well yesterday afternoon I took a walk across the fields to the nearest open studio - Roger R Jones at Somerdale, Townsend (almost opposite the convent) - the first time since I've been living here he has opened his home to show off a large collection of seascapes, landscapes and waterways.

After enjoying the pics it was tea on the terrace and some very enjoyable talk about Roger's journey from BBC Producer for the Natural History Unit to painting - now apart from his own painting he runs courses in this country and abroad - and he was kind enough to give a couple of important tips on oil painting. He will be open Sat and Sun next weekend as well. Well worth a visit. You can read more here on his website:
www.roger-jones.co.uk/

Karin Jarman's amazing pilgrimage

Last night I was at Karin Jarmans' book launch at Ruskin Mill. "Touching the Horizon" is Karin's book of her 6 month walk - a 2,000km journey from Stroud to a castle near Prague.

After entertaining many doubts, Karin (see photo below) set out at 49, after her children were grown, on a pilgrimage to the 14th century Gothic castle of Karlstein (Karlstejn), built by Charles IV near Prague in the Czech republic. She made the entire journey on foot, gratefully accepting the hospitality of strangers.

Here's more from the description of Karin's book: "Her aim was not to match the feats of endurance and sporting prowess that some undertake; rather, she strove to create the mood of a true pilgrimage - to encounter the sacred through outer journeying and inner transformation. Her eventful travels covered over 1,200 miles and took some 22 weeks, during which time she stayed with over 100 different hosts. Having confronted many issues arising out of her biography, she returned a changed person with new resolves and initiatives. Touching the Horizon is Karin Jarman's remarkable story, from her first inklings that such a journey might be possible, to the arrival at the beautiful fairy tale castle of Karlstein. She also describes the aftermath of her pilgrimage and its effects on her and her family. This is a rare and gripping narrative of possibility, realization and metamorphosis."

Anyhow the evening started with storytelling and music (see photo), then Karin talking a little about her book before Hildegard von Bingen beautifully sung. Some 70 or so people squeezed into the room - the food was great - a good evening indeed and wonderful to walk back through Ruskin Mill - such a beautiful valley.

Giles Chichester MEP: another example of the need for reform

The case of Giles Chichester is deeply disappointing as it further tarnishes politics - it is an outrage it happened but even more so that the big parties seem to be preventing action to stop it happening in future - here is my letter to the Western Daily Press late last night - or was it early this morning?

Update: Giles Chichester was cleared of corruption charges. See here.

The Western Daily reports that our SW MEP and the Leader of Conservative MEPs, Giles Chichester, who was in charge of Cameron's team to look into MEP's irregularities, is to quit after breaking European Parliament rules on political expenses (6/06/08). Outrageously he channelled almost £500,000 in staff allowances into a family business of which he is a paid director.

Surely if this is serious enough to resign the leadership over, it is serious enough to warrant resigning as an MEP. What is worse, is that senior MEPs are blocking transparency reforms in secret EU meetings while most MEPs, despite the recent scandals, are still unwilling to give details on their arrangements for handling their expenses.

In March a survey by Open Europe of all UK MEPs found only 45% responded to the survey. Only the Green party scored 100% in transparency while UKIP got 50%, Conservatives 36%, Lib Dems 27% and Labour 11% (i). Indeed Green MEP Caroline Lucas was elected The Observers' Ethical Politician of the Year. It seems there was not much competition! Apparently when MEPs, who hadn't responded to the survey, were questioned they showed a strong sense of entitlement, but almost no sense of accountability for how they spend taxpayers' money.

It is no wonder with scandals like this that the EUs reputation for wastefulness and extravagance grows. Greens have repeatedly called for an end to the travel expenses 'gravy train', improved MEPs' accountability through a stronger code of conduct and an end to wasted taxpayers money. Next years Euro elections cannot come too soon.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.

Notes:
(i) Results in full:
Green 2 out of 2 (100%)
UKIP 5 out of 10 (50%)
Conservatives 10 out of 28 (36%)
Lib Dems 3 out of 11 (27%)
Labour 2 out of 19 (11%)
More here:
http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/eptransparency4.xls

Katharina Heinrich and Patsy Gamble

Feeling laid back this Friday evening.....a long while ago I remember a special evening listening to Katharina Heinrich (pictured) - she can still be found playing locally - today I was sent this link to her Youtube video here. Worth a listen...."Often compared to songstress queens Joni Mitchell and Rickie Lee Jones, Katharina has gained the reputation as a highly accomplished and versatile singer/songwriter & composer. A human concoction between sophisticated jazz diva, quirky Pippi Longstocking and wittily wordy intellectual, she never fails to move, amuse, shock and charm her audiences wherever she performs. Her understated style betrays her powerful and passionate talent and surprises at second sight & sound, not at first."

Meanwhile another local Patsy Gamble (pictured)is just back from a tour of Poland - she is playing a fund-raising gig for the Green party in Stroud on 28th June - I've just sent out some advertising and thought ought to mention here as well - see full details here - don't miss this special sound - love that sax - great stuff indeed!

SW Climate Plan

The South West Regional Assembly has been working with the Environment Agency, Government Office South West and the South West Regional Development Agency on the development of the South West Climate Change Action Plan.

Photo: Ruscombe fields

The Plan’s principal purpose is to prioritise the actions we must take now, coordinate regional activity to achieve these and identify actions where initial enabling work has to be achieved to unlock future activity. See the draft Plan here.

Unfortunately I was not aware of this consultation until last week and therefore my comments are much briefer than I would have hoped. There is indeed much to welcome in this report like the recognition that groups like Transition Towns can play and the priorities listed in the report. However I don't think it is anything like up to the task of delivery. Here below are three key points I made:

1. Economic Forecasts and Peak Oil: Like the RSS this report is flawed by being based upon a model and prediction of economic growth which has not assessed significant likely changes in factors during the next 20 years. Its perspective needs to be rethought, and additional plans developed that take account of different economic forecasts. One example is the failure to take on board the implications of oil price rises and forecast rises resulting from Peak Oil (ie the point at which oil production rises to its highest point before declining). Expert opinion agrees that it is fast approaching or has been reached yet there is no mention in the report of Peak Oil. The significance of Peak Oil can hardly be over-stated. Oil is the fundamental underpinning of our civilization. When the oil runs out the economic and social dislocation will be unprecedented. We are very concerned that long-term global policymaking on this aspect, perhaps the biggest decision this century, is virtually non-existent. The Swedish government is an exception in that it has already launched a programme to end Sweden's oil dependence by 2020.

2. Aviation emissions: no report looking at CO2 emissions can be taken seriously unless it explicitly calls for an end to Airport expansions. It is extraordinary that this has not been addressed. For the UK, international aviation is responsible for more than 13% of the total climate change impact. To not address this contribution makes no sense. Three years ago the Tyndall Centre calculated that if Britain were to meet its target of cutting greenhouse gases by 60 per cent by 2050, and emissions from aviation were not reduced, all other emissions – from households, businesses, energy generation and cars – would have to go to zero. Flying would take up everything that was available. There should be a target for the reduction in the need to travel, and separate targets for the modal split of each mode. For example work noted in raising awareness of climate change with business must include reducing the need to travel especially by air, with an encouragement to use video conferencing and other technologies to replace face-to-face meetings. Use of trains for domestic travel should be facilitated. See also the recent damning report from the Sustainable Development Commission, published with the Institute for Public Policy Research that highlights airports drain on local economies:
http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/aviation.html

3. Lack of Urgency: while we welcome the ambitions of the SW to 'punch above it's weight' there are still very clear indications that the necessary urgency has not been grasped. While the Government has spoken lots about the need to take action there is very little evidence of actions necessary being taken (eg against the advice of their own advisors they are planning more nuclear power and airport expansions). Similarly this report lacks the urgency needed. We would welcome an Emergency Plan of immediate actions needed. SWRA needs to take a key role in showing not only the target for emissions (at least 80% by 2050 is required) but also in developing and explaining the path to achieve that target.

Canal vote: millstone or flagship?

Last night was the fullest public gallery I have seen in Stroud District Council's chamber - 70 or 80 members of the public turned out to the 'Extraordinary Full Council Meeting' looking at the canal. The motion to support the next step of the canal was voted through with 3 abstentions and 3 no's. I was one of the abstentions and I would like to say a little more about that here.....excuse the hurried notes but have been at work and am rushing out now...

Firstly Thrupp Councillor Martin Whiteside, summarised the Green group's views ahead of the meeting - he said: "Canal regeneration could bring great benefits to the District, but it depends on the detail; when Councillors vote to spend Council Taxpayers money on canal regeneration we must be told what we will be getting for the money - will some of the housing be affordable? Will jobs will be lost or gained? Will the housing numbers in Brimscombe Port be excessive? Will it cause more traffic? How much water will be put back into the Port? How will it benefit the traders in Stroud Town Centre? These are not details to be worked out later - they are vital factors in our decision making."

Sarah Lunnon, Leader of the Green party District Council also noted: "This canal project remains an exciting opportunity for Stroud District, but Greens have concerns about the growing risks and the benefits it will bring. We have a number of key issues where we have so far been unable to get guarantees or even an understanding of the hoped for benefits. Rising oil prices and falling house prices will, for example, impact on this project's costing yet we have not seen the analysis. We will be seeking reassurances at Thursday's meeting to the series of questions we have raised."

Last week the Green group met to discuss the canal. It was a lengthy discussion and led to scribblings on Sunday and then to the production of the paper enclosed below which went to all councillors at the beginning of this week. These points are in addition to those raised by the Council's paper - that covers additional concerns about legal and financial considerations.

This is not the first time we have made such comments and over the last months I have had a growing frustration that we have not had answers - of course answers cannot come to all the points raised but I fail to see how we can vote on a project without such information. The Green group made many of these comments during the evening and more. Of course I welcome the fact that no decision to support the project can be made without returning the decision to Full Council. Indeed in many ways we have to wonder about this vote's importance - it is about saying we will go forward and agree to take over the bid money that was going to go to British Waterways - clearly those folk want to see united support but it is not the final decision.

Greens at the Council were by no means alone in their concerns - councillors of all colours raised concerns - the majority wanted to see the project go forward but some sounded a little carried away with the 'glory' or 'ego' of the project...I hope (and am sure) the handful of abstentions, nos and comments raised by all, mean that the questions raised will be taken seriously - indeed if we do not have answers to questions when it returns to Council then I will not be able to vote for it.

This is a potentially an exciting flagship project - there is no question about that! It is important to be prepared to take risks in order to deliver real benefits, but as I've said already I do not consider that councillors have had the information needed to make a decision on this project. It could turn into a seriously heavy millstone if we are not careful. Which other projects for example will suffer if funding is targeted at the canal? Will we see further delays on improvements to waste collection? Can we afford to be diverted from focusing on tackling climate change, peak oil and it's impacts like fuel poverty? There are still no satisfactory answers about who is responsible for the costly maintenance of such a project? Or what impact rising fuel prices will have on construction?

The Environment Agency report of 10 March 2008 said ‘It should also be noted that there is no guarantee that full restoration to Lechlade is sustainable, desirable or possible.’ Are the expected benefits still likely if we end up with a 6 mile landlocked waterway - or pond as some have said? The Environment Agency also apparently say that along the canal corridor SDC plans for minimizing flooding, and for improving water quality for aquatic wildlife, and improving the environment generally other wildlife – as well as people – falls well below expectations. Is this right? Why? Etc etc.

Apols this is a bit of a ramble - and many more questions - anyhow here is that briefing - I would also welcome others thoughts on this...

Canal Regeneration Realism
- a brief report by the Green Group of District councillors

Introduction

The canal regeneration provides a tremendous opportunity for bringing social, environmental and economic benefits to Stroud District. Council officers and the administration deserve credit for keeping this project alive in the face of severe set-backs. It is also important to be prepared to take risks in order to deliver real benefits, and so the Green Group supports the principle of ‘canal regeneration’.

The benefits accruing from canal regeneration will depend on whether key outcomes are achieved, such as high quality development, provision of affordable housing, a suitable balance of housing and employment land allocation, connectivity to Stroud and Stonehouse town centres, biodiversity enhancement, a high quality multi-user trail etc. Depending on these issues, regeneration could deliver significant benefits, minimal benefit or indeed a detrimental impact overall given the financial risk and ongoing maintenance liabilities.

Clearly difficult decisions will have to be made, and these have been made more difficult by the funding shortfall for Phase 1B, the downturn in the property market and the inflationary effect of global oil prices on the construction industry.

Tameside have provided an independent verification on the cost side of the project. However there has not been a similar verification of the benefit side of the equation – particularly in relation to a regenerated canal that is either landlocked or a spur of the national network. Tameside (6.3.2) notes that “Some of the anticipated outputs/outcomes seem very specific and very ambitious”

Moreover the financial calculations include figures for ‘Development Land Receipts’. We presume that these estimates have been made in relation to some assumptions in relation to the final use of the land, however it is not clear what these assumptions are[1].

Greens believe that Councillors and the public should ‘know what they are getting’ before committing Council Taxpayers money to this project. Although a lot of work has been undertaken on this project by SDC there is little information readily available in the members room, for example GCC proposals for the A46 roundabout or the results of any consultation already undertaken (Capel Mill). This should include transparency over the assumptions made in the calculations for the development receipts.

Key questions

1. What mooring facilities at Wallbridge and connectivity to Stroud and Stonehouse Town Centre have been included in the cost estimate.

2. What standard of multi-user trail has been included?

3. Given that SDC has disagreed with BW’s cost estimates, has it done an independent check on BW’s benefit estimates[2]? Does it know what allowances have been made for a landlocked or a spur canal in the estimation of benefits[3]?

4. It is noted that the project construction costs were calculated in 2005 at £13,900,000, with £4,500,000 allowed for inflation. Have these inflation calculations been revisited since the beginning of 2008 to take into account the new volatility of global oil prices, and the current economic climate?

5. What if it takes 10 years to reach Saul Junction, will SDC be liable for maintenance of the restored 6 mile stretch (Brimscombe to Ocean). Flooding at the Brecon and Monmouthshire canal has left BWB with a £15M repair bill.

In relation to assumptions made in estimating the £7.567 million Development Land Receipts budgeted for Brimscombe Port[4]:

1. What area of land currently allocated for employment has been assumed to be converted to housing? How many housing units is this likely to represent?

2. What area of land within the Brimscombe AAP has been assumed to remain as employment? How many jobs is this likely to represent? How does this compare with the existing number on jobs on these sites? Is this balance in accordance with the Regional Spatial Strategy?

3. What percentage of affordable housing was included in the land value assumptions?

4. Were any additional[5] energy efficiency standards included in the land value assumptions?

5. What % of the original water area in Brimscombe Port was this value calculated on?

6. What allowance has been made for the recent downturn in property values in the receipt estimates?

Green Party District Councillors 3.6.2008

Notes:

[1] We note however that Tameside expressed concern over whether the ‘higher value’ uses (mainly residential) may currently fall below the required £1.170 million per acre (Tameside Report para 8.4.2)
[2] According to the Partnership website by 2014 the restoration of the Stroudwater Navigation between Stonehouse and Brimscombe Port will:
· Attract 215,000 extra visitors to the area each year (that is 580 per day).
· Create 21 new permanent jobs in tourism
· Generate £531,000 of additional income from visitors in the local economy each year
· Create 13,800m2 of new work space
· Attract £83 million in private sector investment
· Create 600 new permanent jobs in the private sector
· Conserve 30 historic structures, including bridges and locks
· Help protect rare species including bats, water vole and native crayfish
· Create a 10 mile multi-user trail, enabling all members of the community to benefit from this project
[3] The source material for many of these estimates seem to be from fully connected canals.
[4] Council Papers for 5 June Meeting , Appendix 2, p13.
[5] Additional to the current legal minimum and perhaps in line with the aspirations of the District’s Environmental Strategy.

Petition against the US missile shield plans

The U.S. government, with Poland and the Czech Republic, is very close to sealing a deal for a "defensive missile shield." As noted on this blog before Jan Tamas and Jan Bednar (pictured in Prague), have been on a hunger strike for over three weeks. Their actions have highlighted the truth of what is going on around this missile shield to a much wider audience. I hope others will feel able to at the least sign the petition below.

Jan Tamas, kindly sent a message to this blog - and I now hear that Bednar has been hospitalized once and diagnosed with liver failure.

A recent poll shows two-thirds of Czechs against U.S. missile shield plans. Greenpeace have set up a tent city, "Spot Height 718" on the site and we have news that the missile defense systems "tests have failed roughly half the time."

Read more re "the militarization of space is already a fact of life... -the weaponization of space has not happened" [Yet]:
www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/17839

Here is a petition that deserves serious consideration for support of nonviolent action against US bases in the Czech Republic (already 112,000 signed): http://petice.nenasili.cz/?lang=en

Here Giorgio Schultze's comment: "In a moment of global economic crisis where the cost of food is growing incredibly and education and health-care are being dangerously privatized, it is madness to spend millions of Euros on war and the production of new weapon systems. In such a difficult moment of global history, Europe must not support any policy that pushes the planet towards catastrophe: the lives of millions of people are at stake. We cannot allow our politicians to support the absurd intentions of the United States to transform Europe into the theatre of a possible nuclear war". Read the rest here:
http://nenasili.cz/en/990_europe-says-no-to-the-star-wars-project

The protest is spreading all over Europe. In many cities there are permanent demonstrations and other activities of support. The Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign, of which Stroud is one of the 2,277 cities signed up, sends its solidarity and support to the two young Czechs, Jan Tamas and Jan Bednar. See Noam Chomsky's words of support here and good 10 minute video here.

Village Hall sustains energy project

Just got this from Alan Tomlinson who kindly let me put it on this blog ahead of it's publication in the Runner - well done indeed to the team.....

The Low Carbon Building Program awarded £24,000 to Randwick village hall this week. At the same time the Villagers and village organisations pledged over £6,000 in personal loans securing the future of the improvement project (see more here).

This last funding block has been anxiously awaited for weeks and follows two other donations totaling £45,000. The village hall committee are now committed to spending £81,000 on the improvement project, of which £69,000 has been funded through energy efficiency grants. £71,000 will be spent on micro generation energy schemes, the balance of £10,000 will be spent redecorating the buildings inside and out, upgrading the electrical systems including new low energy led lighting and a refit of the back room so it can be maintained in a clean and servicable condition. The project will be completed by September this year leaving £24,000 in the coffers to refurbish the toilet block next year.

Project Leader, Alan Tomlinson told the Runner (and this blog!): "This is fantastic news. We are delighted with the response to our cash loan appeal which demonstrates how much the community values this facility. The £24,000 from LCBP is the icing on the cake, and to top it all 50% of this latest funding is available up front so, unless we have a major overspend, we won't need to borrow any money. "

The scheme involves two micro generation technologies, a ground source heat pump powering a new state of the art high efficiency heating and hot water system and a photo voltaic cell array on the roof. The scheme takes advantage of the south facing elevation. It is in a prime position to gain maximum benefit from converting sunlight into electricity and exporting electricity the the national grid. The adjacent playing field will cover a 600m long, 1.2m deep pipe network used to absorb energy from below the ground and pump it into the heating system.

The scheme will see Randwick as the first carbon neutral village hall in the UK. The technologies are maintenance free and will be unnoticable to the uninformed users of the building. Moreover the technologies will be truly sustainable as they will generate income through exporting of energy to the grid, making the hall not only insular from spiraling energy costs but also financially independant.

As an additional point they are looking at a whole host of other issues like recycling in the hall, making cost of village hall hire for whole village events free and more.

Last chance for BMA petition

The BMA petition urges the Government to continue to support our existing NHS GP surgeries and to improve services to patients by further investment in GP surgeries. It also calls for a halt to plans to promote the use of commercial companies in general practice - an issue I've covered before in this blog. The plans are UK wide and could allow health authorities to put general practice services out to tender resulting in them being taken over by transnational corporations like Virgin and United Health as is already rapidly happening in several parts oEngland. Sign the BMA petition online at http://www.supportyoursurgery.org.uk/ by Friday 6 June.

Photo: Brian Haw joins Green party demo in health last year

Hunts Grove to go-ahead

Yesterday I learnt via a journalist with the WDP that Hunts Grove developments are to go-ahead. They quoted me here - see here and here for more of what I said previously.

Newspaper: the old headline which could have been a reality if this development had not been accepted

Basically the independent planning inspector has reported in favour of the planned 1750-home development at Hardwicke. This is an endorsement of the Council's planning process. As the Inspector herself said, “it is clear that the Hunts Grove development would accord with all relevant national, regional and local planning policies and it would provide a high quality, sustainable environment for its residents and workers.”

The development will also provide 525 much needed affordable new homes and one of the greenest developments in terms of the housing.

The development became controversial after action by two MPs resulted in the planning application being ‘called in’ and submitted to an inquiry costing SDC taxpayers approximately £100,000. I have been critical of this move by the MPs as the proposals had been voted on and accepted unanimously by councillors on SDC. However as I've noted before I have some sympathy with David Drews argument but they don't stack up in reality (see here some comments) - what is really needed is a look at the whole imbalance of housing in the country - it is crazy to pull down homes up north yet SE and SW are under so much pressure - but that is an argument for another day.

The report does at least lift the threat of large scale development on many sites in the Five Valleys and the Vale for the foreseeable future. Though the development can now theoretically go ahead, it may be subject to phasing as a result of regeneration of the ‘railway triangle’ in Gloucester. A final decision from the Secretary of State is expected in early July.

Cash crisis threatens village hall project

The future of Randwick Village Hall's exciting improvement project hangs in the balance. There is a £10,000 cash shortfall which needs to be found within the next month for the scheme to start.

It would be an enormous pity if this innovative energy efficiency scheme can't go-ahead but there is a way to help....we only need 20 people each lending £500 in order to pull this off - or 200 people lending £50....the problem is that the £71,000 grant while covering 100% of this part of the project, is only paid 6 weeks after completing the project ie late August...so money back November.

The money is urgently needed to provide deposits to contractors so that the scheme can start - contact Alan Tomlinson, who has done a marvellous job with his team to get this far - call him on 764704. Please help!

Petitions against water fluoridation

Petition the Prime Minister to not add extra fluoride to water supplies (and another below re Southampton):
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/NoFluoride/#detail

Blog readers will know of my opposition to fluoridating our water supplies - indeed was a founder member of the Safe Water Campaign. We still meet monthly and at the present all eyes are on Southampton (see earlier blogs by clicking on label below) - they are looking to fluoridate.

"No physician in his right senses would prescribe for a person he has never met, whose medical history he does not know, a substance which is intended to create bodily change, with the advice: 'Take as much as you like,to but you will take it for the rest of your life because some children suffer from tooth decay.' It is a preposterous notion." Dr Peter Mansfield, a physician and an advisory board member of the government review of fluoridation

Green party members there have sought to get their technical report released using Freedom of Information legislation - it has taken several attempts but the Strategic Health Authority have now released the Fluoridation Technical Report (see link below). They have blocked out some pages as a security threat. Why they could not have done this months ago is one question. Also, very interestingly, they have released their cost calculations, which show that if they assume NO side effects and NO cost from dental fluorosis (despite all the evidence to the contrary) then it still costs them more than now unless they can stop more than about 20% of cavities.

This means that the costs do not add up (as we knew before, but now we have proof). We also knew the costs did not add up because the dental costs in already fluoridated areas are no lower than elsewhere, and probably much higher due to the costs forced to be paid privately to sort out the 12.5% who get severe dental fluorosis and due to the costs of fluoridation itself not always being counted in the dental health costs.

All good news ahead of the meeting - I think this week when they are looking to make a decision....we'll see - the Southampton press have covered the story lots and I would urge interested parties to join their debate leaving a comment - and possibly vote if that is still running here. or as per my previous email.

Apparently the figures are creeping from 91% opposed on Saturday to 70% today, now 68%!! I am watching for the fixing that has been done in previous similar votes where a sudden rush of votes tips a 80% against to an 80% in favour, which is someone somewhere with the resources and expertise to do it fixing the on line result the way they want it to go. Indeed these online polls become such a nonsense especially when there is so much false info around - let us not forget what the chair of the Government's York Review said:

In my capacity of chair of the Advisory Group for the systematic review on the effects of water fluoridation recently conducted by the NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination the University of York and as it founding director, I am concerned that the results of the review have been widely misrepresented. The review was exceptional in this field in that it was conducted by an independent group to the highest international scientific standards and a summary has been published in the British Medical Journal. It is particularly worrying then that statements which mislead the public about the review's findings have been made in press releases and briefings by the British Dental Association, British Medical Association, the National Alliance for Equity in Dental Health and the British Fluoridation Society. I should like to correct some of these errors. 1 Whilst there is evidence that water fluoridation is effective at reducing caries, the quality of the studies was generally moderate and the size of the estimated benefit, only of the order of 15%, is far from "massive". 2 The review found water fluoridation to be significantly associated with high levels of dental fluorosis which was not characterised as "just a cosmetic issue". 3 The review did not show water fluoridation to be safe. The quality of the research was too poor to establish with confidence whether or not there are potentially important adverse effects in addition to the high levels of fluorosis. The report recommended that more research was needed. 4 There was little evidence to show that water fluoridation has reduced social inequalities in dental health. 5 The review could come to no conclusion as to the cost-effectiveness of water fluoridation or whether there are different effects between natural or artificial fluoridation. 6 Probably because of the rigour with which this review was conducted, these findings are more cautious and less conclusive than in most previous reviews. 7 The review team was surprised that in spite of the large number of studies carried out over several decades there is a dearth of reliable evidence with which to inform policy. Until high quality studies are undertaken providing more definite evidence, there will continue to be legitimate scientific controversy over the likely effects and costs of water fluoridation. (Signed) T.A. Sheldon, Professor Trevor Sheldon, MSc, MSc, DSc, FMedSci.

The technical report just released is here. Questions answered re fluoride:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/content/view/868/72/

Wonders of LIDAR of Randwick, Ruscombe and Whiteshill

This is exciting stuff - I have always loved maps and this is like a 3d map - local Tony Wilton has made available the Randwick LIDAR scan. See more re LIDAR on this blog here and here - LIDAR - Light Detection And Ranging - measures the height of the ground surface and other features in large areas of landscape with a resolution and accuracy hitherto unavailable, except through labour-intensive field survey or photogrammetry.

Photos: Google map showing LIDAR in our area and below the terrain map

This is worth a look indeed - it is not the actual height data, which is copyrighted, but an image Tony has processed from the data and converted to a geo-referenced overlay which can be displayed in both Google Maps and Google Earth. This is with the kind permission of both PTS, the copyright holders, and the Randwick Historical Society.

Some have already had quite a detailed look at the scans and noticed un-documented 'Hill fort' earthworks and possibly some new Roman evidence. Further analysis is necessary, but it is a great teaching resource. The LIDAR features are becoming addictive to some as folk ago out to find them on the ground - Tony for example has found the 'Bird in Hand Cross Dyke' - so obvious on the ground that it seems surprising it doesn't appear on the OS map. Perhaps it should rather be Wilton's Dyke after Tony if transpires to be a dyke....

There was a good article in The Runner about LIDAR saying lots more -0 and also giving the details below so that folk could try it out - I was one of the guinea pigs looking at it before the article went in - Google Maps seem to work fine for me but Google Earth less well...anyhow enjoy exploring our terrain!

Instructions:

Google Earth
1. Open Google Earth
2. Goto the Places box/ (Right click) on the My Places folder
3. Select Add/Network Link = dialogue box
4. Enter the ‘Name’ You want to call it (in the top field)
5. Enter the ‘Link’ (internet address) of the KML/KMZ file (in the bottom ‘Browse’ field)
http://www.tonywilton.co.uk/terrain/randwicklidar.kmz
6. Click ‘OK’
7. The lidar placemark should be added to the ‘temporary places’ folder
8. Open it and explore

Google Maps
1. Open Google Maps, from a web browser
2. Go to the ‘Search the map’ box
3. Enter the ‘Link’ (internet address) of the KML/KMZ file
http://www.tonywilton.co.uk/terrain/randwicklidar.kmz
4. Click ‘Search Maps’ button
5. The LIDAR tiles and write up should load to the map.

Staverton Airport update

Staverton - well here are a few bits and pieces of news:

- Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood has failed to respond to my letter of several weeks ago asking his views on the airport expansion - indeed all the evidence suggests he is still pretending the expansion is really a safety measure despite all the evidence top the contrary.

- my most recent letter to local press made it into The Citizen about Staverton - since then even BA are saying the party is over - no more cheap flights. Indeed oil prices hitting $135 a barrel yet our Government are still doing calculations predicting that by 2010, oil will have risen to $60 barrel!!! See here MPs question to Government.

- Glos airport campaigners have at last got hold of the report that consultants Mott Macdonald prepared for the Joint Airport Scrutiny Working Group (JASWG) last year. This report formed the basis of the report that Steve Jordan prepared for the two Scrutiny Committees. The report needs attention - but at first glance it seems that the airport intends to move the touchdown point (the 'threshold') of runway 27 East by about 40m. This means that aircraft will be flying lower over Bamfurlong as they approach the airport - contrary to the airport's denials (eg "In terms of height, I can categorically state that aircraft will not flyer lower than they presently do." - Common Misconceptions, June 2007, Glos Airport document). One campaigner has calculated calculate that the height reduction will be 2.5m approx. Another point is that the treatment of fuel pricing is very weak - for example the airport's acknowledgment that they see sale of fuel as cyclical shows them to be blissfully unaware of the economic realities of peak oil and the reality of ever increasing prices. The report can now be viewed and download from here:
http://tinyurl.com/67qohk

- see the mass rally at Heathrow here - great to see that even The Sun and Sunday Times have come out against a third runway.

- an aviation spy infiltrated the campaign group Plane Stupid - wonder if Staverton are using the same techniques?

37 bus cuts: subsidy system needs overhaul

Here is my letter today to local press re the 37 bus:

Cartoon: Bush has run out of corners to hide and last week admitted climate change was largely man-made - it is time he now admitted Peak Oil.

The reduced 37 bus service resulting from the dispute over subsidies between the District Council and Stagecoach is worrying. The Council's positive approach to 'bus pass' passengers, like not having time restrictions like other authorities, seems to be leading Stagecoach to claim too many passengers are using their buses.

The District Council are spending just under £1m on bus passes/tokens and have issued over 13,000 bus passes. This is way up on last year and the Council are now subsidising fares in excess of central government funding.

Bus subsides in England now amount to around £2.5 billion pa and that the bus operators are making super-profits out of subsidies and concessionary fares. Indeed they are making far more money compared to their capital investments than in any other sector including water, electricity and gas. The whole bus subsidy system is a dog’s dinner. Privatisation was a mistake. We are the laughing stock of Europe: wasting huge amounts of money and getting very little back by way of quality services. Things have to change.

In Denmark the system is based on strict quality control and bus operators get rewarded if they provide things like new vehicles, punctuality, reliability, high quality interchange, ticketing offers, cleanliness and security. If they fail they get fined. We must link subsidy to outcomes so that operators get it if they do good and not otherwise.

The Government are consulting at the moment on this issue: there has never been a more urgent time with rising fuel prices and climate change to get our public transport system sorted.

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

Colyton: the wonder of tractors

A week or so ago I visited my parents in Devon and it was the famous Colyton Tractor Fair (see photos) - a record-breaking 85 tractors took part in the Colyton Tractor Run on Bank Holiday Monday. I was able to wander around them as the group assembled for the start at the Colyton Playing Fields. Some had driven in every run since it began in the millennium year while some were new comers.

It was Harry Ferguson, a brilliant, manic-depressive, who developed the system of hydraulic lift and weight transfer (still used today virtually unchanged throughout the world) that made possible mechanised farming. Formerly 5 acres of grazing for every horse and 5 million horses. His tractor design was a major factor in the world being able to feed itself, although with peak oil it is now under threat....what will the future of farming look like??

Anyhow I recently read Marina Lewycka's book and coincidently was also sent this review by local Transition Stroud supporter John Meadley. I enclose with his permission as a flavour of the book...

Marina Lewycka: A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian(ISBN 0-141-02052-0) It might seem difficult to find a link between climate change and Marina Lewycka’s “mad and hilarious”, bitter sweet, comic and award-winning novel A SHORT HISTORY OF TRACTORS IN UKRANIAN – in which her 82-year old Ukrainian father living near Nottingham marries the gold-digging, busty blond 32 year-old Ukrainian immigrant Valentina. Not so! Her father was a famed mechanical engineer who designed and built tractors during the communist era and keeps himself sane by writing a history of tractors – including the John Deeres and the Fergusons – in Ukrainian.

As he comes to the end of his history he writes: “Every technology which is of benefit to the human race must be used appropriately and with respect. In no instance is this more true than in the case of the tractor. For the tractor, despite its early promise to free mankind from grinding toil, has also brought us to the brink of ruin – through carelessness and over-use. This has happened throughout its history, but the most striking example is in America in the 1920s. I have said that it was the tractor that opened up the great prairies of the West. But those who followed the early pioneers were not satisfied with this. They believed that if use of tractors made the land productive then greater use of tractors would make the land more productive. Tragically it was not so.

The tractor must always be used as an aid to nature, not as a driver of nature. The tractor must work in harmony with the climate and the fertility of the land and the humble spirit of the farmers. Otherwise it will bring disaster, and this is what happened in the Mid West. The new farmers in the West, they did not study the climate. True, they complained of lack of rain, and the strong winds, but they did not heed the warning. They ploughed and they ploughed, for more ploughing, they believed, would bring more profit. Then winds came and blew away all the earth that had been ploughed. The Dust Bowl of the 1920s and the extreme hardship which stemmed from it, led ultimately to the economic chaos which culminated in the collapse of the American Stock Exchange in 1929. But it could be added, further, that the instability and the impoverishment which spear throughout the world were also factors behind the rise of Fascism in Germany and Communism in Russia, the clash of which almost brought the human race to its doom.

And so I leave you with this thought, dear reader. Use the technology which the engineer has developed, but use it with a humbling and questioning spirit. Never allow technology to be your master, and never use it to gain mastery over others. I don’t think that a Permaculturalist could have put it better, particularly at a time when the cloud of Peak Oil hangs so darkly over the future of farming and the production of food and other raw materials.

Sewage in Randwick tributary again

Randwick tributary was again awash with raw sewage from an overflowing sewage manhole. Severn Trent responded very quickly and also had a bowser at the ready in case it was needed if water effected in fields with cattle.

Photo: The Lawns art - at the end of the Ruscombe brook there is a proposal to hang clear panels of art as part of a project linking with the canal regeneration.

Today Severn Trent were still taking action to try and unblock - the two large ponds are both contaminated - as the owner said to me this morning "if there were fish there they are not now".

Severn Trent's rapid response is most welcomed and hopefully this second incident in maybe 6 months will prompt further long-term remedies to the problems - certainly it will be discussed at the next RBAG meeting on 17th June.

Meanwhile I read in the news today that Severn Trent - which supplies 8 million customers and has already been fined £36m for lies over performance - has now pleaded guilty to two charges of making false returns to Ofwat earlier this year in a case brought by the Serious Fraud Office. It looks like they will be set for a massive fine - let us hope it is shareholders and not taxpayers that pick up the tab. See latest on Severn Trent here.

Petition for more allotments

See petition here:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/moreallotments/

Some of us, as noted on this blog, are approaching Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish re provision of allotments locally - if you know anyone interested please let me know. We already have several people interested. See also previous blog re Ruscombe and Whiteshill allotment hopes here.

Flood art

One of the exhibitions I saw on Sunday at the opening of the site 08 festival and open studios was Richard Dean's 'Flood'. this is an "Exhibition of maps of the new world when the world has warmed and sea levels have risen to an extent not seen for 5o million years."

Here are three examples of his work - UK, France and Stroud - reproduced here by permission - indeed Richard was offering to have one for the walls of the national Green party office.

Certainly these maps are a wonderful way of encouraging people to talk and think about the implications of global warming....

....it was interesting watching people's reactions and hearing about some of them from from Richard....one person I heard said: "Oh my God our home in France is underwater, do you think we should sell?" While others were disbelieving or saying this was exaggerated - others acknowledging this was one scenario....anyhow go and see!

Annual Parish meeting: celebration of Ruscombe and Whiteshill

It is 10 days or so since the 22nd April meeting now and I was hoping to include lots here about the meeting as it is such a good celebration of the Parish - but I'm going to cheat and direct you to the minutes which should appear soon here.

Photos: Council nibbles afterwards and pic of Whiteshill School Walking from The Citizen

Just to say briefly that there were about 10 of us including the Parish Council chair asked to speak on various topics - I did a race through of what I'd been up to as a District councillor over the last year - amazing how much has happened when you start to look back - plus I did a bit updating the latest on Ruscombe Brook Action Group.

Others speakers included one on an appeal for people interested in allotments - an appeal I have supported - do please come forward if you are local and interested in an allotment as we are really keen to see this happen. There was also a presentation on The Warbler (newsletter) and the editor kindly made a special thanks to me re support over the A46 - the Parish also did lots re the A46 and I mentioned them specifically in my talk - also re pushing forward a 20 is Plenty scheme - infact the last few days I have been trying to set up another meeting on that for the two local Parishes to meet. Infact the A46 and 20mph are both Highways/County issues...the County councillor for the area wasn't in attendance for his slot.

Talking of the A46, during the Year Whiteshill School invited me to talk at the school as they had a project on the A46 going (see more here). One of the speakers at this Parish meeting was Whiteshill School Headmaster Robert Kempner - we are very fortunate to have such a dedicated team locally - after last years report on the school I wondered what he could say this year - but again the school has excelled - awards in healthy living, the setting up of the wonderful and by all accounts hugely popular Forest School (and more here from my blog) which is working wonderfully, a gold award in arts and their samba through the village and Stroud town was one of the highlights last year....plus walk to school programmes - indeed many is the time we have seen the school in The Citizen and SNJ - see the photo above of headmaster in the papers.

Anyway this is a flavour of the meeting - I think next year we need to advertise the event more as it is a great chance to talk about our local area - after the talk bits there was informal talk, nibbles, wine and more.

site08: a glorious celebration of Stroud's creativity

Sunday saw the launch of site 08 Festival and Open Studios - all this month there will be celebrations of art from exhibitions to billboards, talks to artists opening their homes.

I love it - and strongly recommend it to others to explore all this huge creative outflowing in the Stroud Valleys - a glorious celebration of creativity!

Anyhow the photos here are from Sunday night's preview evening - at the Stroud Valleys Artspace we were treated to a roof top angel dancing, a cafe stacked with cakes and more plus loads of great art, textiles and more....

In the Artspace favories include Liz Lippiatt's glorious textiles (see pic) and Maggie Smith's abstract paintings. It was also good to meet Anna Usbourne of Chalford Donkey's fame and see her works looking at how objects relate to architecture.

In the Sub Rooms there was also the opening preview evening - too busy with people there to really appreciate some of the wonders - but must mention two favorites...

This photo of Middle Street garage is a total delight - a surreal wonder - and I am kicking myself for not getting the artists details - I lived for a year in this road just up from the garage and love this piece - see it! UPDATE: It was Henri Kyriacou and you can see more of her great work here:
http://henrikyriacou.com/

The other big fav this year is this piece by Charlotte McLaughlin - haven't liked some of her other pieces but this one (left) is great - love the movement.

Anthony Hodges pics are also great - and like the one used for the programme this year - but also Julia Christies' silver birches and autumn leaves (the one being looked at in the photo left) - wonderful....hey I could write lots more but will cover one more artist in a separate blog in a wee while...for now I will just urge folk to go and see - a huge huge thank you to the organisers - I am looking forward to seeing lots more over coming month.

Other artists to watch for include Angela Finlay, Isla Pearson, and more - See more re the Festival and the programme here:
www.sitefestival.org.uk/

Severn Barrage Feasibility Study compromised?

Here's a letter sent to District Council Chief Exec and administration following the presentation to Full Council last week.

Photos: River Severn

I've had assurances from David Drew re his opposition to the barrage but no answers yet re Parsons Brinckerhoff raised below - West Glos Greens are also raising concerns about that with Government Ministers....

Thanks for the presentation on the Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study at Full Council last week. The Green party group wanted to note their support to those calling for a Stroud District Council submission regarding the Environmental Impact. We would welcome seeing any final draft of the report, but do recognise there is not much time for this report to be compiled.

As one further point I have raised in several places a concern relating to the fact that Parsons Brinckerhoff are getting £3m for the study but then they are also claiming intellectual property rights to the Shoots Barrage. This would seem like a conflict of interest? I have not had any joy yet from my questions and would welcome any information about this you may have.

We are hoping for an assessment of value, looking at all the options, not just one for the benefit of Parsons Brinckerhoff?

Cllr. Philip Booth on behalf of Stroud District Council Green party group,
Stroud District councillor for the Randwick, Ruscombe and Whiteshill ward,