Blog Holiday

After some reluctance I have decided to stop this blog until 1st September - blogging can become addictive - it will be a chance to catch up on work, "spend time with the family" and hopefully also relax a bit more this summer. I hope the nearly 3,000 readers this last month will all return again when I pick up the mouse and set to work here again - have a good summer folks! All the best - Philip

Photo: View from Randwick earlier in year

PS I have removed the 'Comments' facility just for this period - it will be restored!

PPS Don't forget the exciting "Open Homes for a sustainable future" - 13th and 14th September 2008 - a chance to visit homes around Stroud and see renewable energy in action, discuss energy efficiency and get advice on eco-renovations. Download our leaflet and see details here:
www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk/

Response to letter in national magazine re Peak OIl

This weeks issue of First, the magazine that goes to all councillors had a letter calling for Councils to have their fuel costs subsidised by the Government...

Photo: advert from Green London Mayor campaign

...apart from the issue of whether that is fair when the NHS, charities and many others are also facing the same problem is another matter - clearly action will be needed as oil prices are already impacting on services - I did get a commitment from the Cabinet member for the Environment at SDC to consider looking at emergency measures re oil price rises. I am not sure it came to anything....if not I will be pressing again as I consider we are sleepwalking into serious problems...action now could help considerably...anyhow here is the letter:

Cllr John Garner requests that local authorities and the haulage industry are allowed to purchase the cheaper red diesel (first letters issue 390). It is true that many of us are being hit hard by rising fuel prices, but that is not the solution. The days of cheap oil are over: cutting fuel prices and increasing fuel consumption can only deepen the looming crisis.

Greens have been calling for action for years, yet many local authorities have hardly begun their Green Travel Plans let alone other measures. Only a handful of authorities are following Portland, Oregon's lead in considering Peak Oil and declining world oil production.

Stroud District for example now has an LSP Think Tank looking at how oil prices will impact on our services, businesses and communities. Much more is needed. We need to plan for at least a $200- barrel world: planning for anything less is criminally negligent.

Let us scrap the Road Tax and move the responsibility onto fuel duty to ensure the biggest polluters pay most. Then a windfall tax on excess oil company profits to seriously revolutionise our public transport network and build better cycle and walk routes. Plus support for local food schemes, Kirklees-style universal free insulation and more. We have many of the answers, we now need the leadership to bring them about.

Cllr. Philip Booth (Green), Stroud District Council

Call to abolish road tax and keep fuel duty

Various local papers have had letters and articles calling for the fuel duty to be reconsidered - below is the response I sent off yesterday...

You report some saying that our current fuel duty should be reduced. Indeed times are hard. Large rural areas like Gloucestershire, with uneven and costly public transport, have been hit particularly hard. However the days of cheap oil are well and truly over. Therefore cutting fuel prices and increasing fuel consumption can only deepen the looming crisis.

In the last year petrol and diesel consumption in the UK has already dropped by one fifth (i) and two thirds of motorists have cut their car journeys (ii).

Green campaigners have been calling for action for years, but it seems our Governments have chosen to listen to the oil lobby and their calls for more road building and more traffic. The inevitable result is that oil prices - and oil profits - rise. And the lobbyists demand that the rest of us pay for it through our taxes, or in cuts to services.

Let's face it, there is nothing on the horizon that is going to keep 30 million cars on the road. If we converted them all to battery power, we'd need to build 64 nuclear power stations to power them!

In the short-term a real 'Green' approach would scrap Road Tax, which would move the responsibility onto fuel duty and ensure the biggest polluters pay most. Then a windfall tax on excess oil company profits would seriously revolutionise our public transport network and build better cycle and walk routes. Indeed without an affordable and reliable public transport system more of us are going to find travelling increasingly difficult.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.

Notes:
(i) According to the International Energy Agency (Observer, 29.6.08)
(ii) Steve Hawkes Surging petrol cost sparks big drop in car journeys The Times, 25th June 2008.

EU Directive on overseas health means further erosion of NHS

I had been meaning to write something on this Directive for a while - I finally got around to it this evening - here is my letter to The Citizen:

Photo: Greens at recent demo

The EU recently published its proposed controversial Directive on Health Services which would enable citizens of one EU country to go abroad to another member state to seek treatment (i).

This move is not as positive as it might seem at first sight. The way it is put together makes it a charter to allow unfair queue-jumping by the well-off and if passed will mark the end of the way we run healthcare in this country. Only the wealthy can use these new so-called rights and it will also impose unnecessary burdens of cost and bureaucracy, overrule clinical priorities and worsen health inequalities.

We are already seeing our NHS systematically dismantled and sold off to large healthcare providers to run on a profit-making business model. This move further encourages competition between health providers and over-rides the consideration of cost versus medical need.

The only Gloucestershire MP to sign a motion against the current form of the Directive is David Drew. However the Green party remain the only party to support the national "Keep our NHS public" campaign which is linking nurses, doctors and other health care workers to patients and others to stop further closures and privatisation. We must put a stop to this erosion of our NHS.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.

Notes:
(i) See party group statements here and Open Europe's briefing on the EU Health Directive here.
(ii) EDM 526

Trident: Labour misled parliament

While we are on nukes - see last blog - I have to mention my anger at news that Ministry of Defence documents obtained by CND reveal the Government plans to replace Britain's nuclear warheads, despite Ministers repeatedly telling MPs that no decision would be taken until after the next election.

The shocking revelation came to light in a private speech to arms industry executives by a senior defence official. Whilst the Commons voted last year to replace the submarines that carry the UK's nuclear warheads on Trident missiles, the revelation that officials have been secretly telling the arms industry that the warheads will be replaced suggests that Parliament has been misled.

Words almost fail me - what does this Labour Government take us for? Where has democracy gone? While I have huge respect for David Drew who has opposed Trident's renewal I find it very hard to understand how he can remain a supporter of this Government? The Ministry of Defence has since denied it has agreed to spend £3bn on new nuclear warheads yet the documents clearly reveal a senior official told the arms industry a decision had already been made. And £3bn!!!! Think of what could be done to tackle climate change and fuel poverty with that....

Kate Hudson, Chair of CND, said: "Staffing at the Atomic Weapons Establishment has grown by a third in the last five years, with billions spent on new facilities, yet throughout this the Government has been telling MPs and the public that it would be years before any decision was needed. It is a disgrace that the MoD is secretly telling the defence industry one thing, whilst Ministers are saying quite the opposite to Parliament."

Anyhow talking of nukes - regular blog readers will know I have had contact from hunger strikers protesting in Prague at support for the US defence shield...see more here and here below is an update from CND:

On a recent visit to Prague, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed a treaty agreeing a US Missile Defence radar base in the Czech Republic. However the Treaty will be subject to ratification in the Czech Parliament after the Summer, with the government only able to rely on 100 of the 200 seats. However of those 100, six are members of the Green Party who want to wait until the US elects a new President.

Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has recently met with US under-secretary of State, Daniel Fried in Warsaw for more talks on the US Missile Defence system.

Recently a transcript of a heated discussion between the President Kaczynski and Foreign Minister Sikorski appeared in a Polish newspaper, where Kaczynski accused the government of holding secret talks with Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama. Kaczynski believes that the tough stand the government is taking over the shield is a delaying tactic until after George Bush steps down as president. Negotiations have yet to be concluded as, according to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, his government is not convinced that the terms of the deal will make Poland more secure. Among other requests, Warsaw is demanding the permanent stationing of Patriot missiles in Poland. Despite recent speculation it has been denied by a spokesperson of Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus that Lithuania had agreed to have elements of the U.S. missile defence system deployed on its territory after talks stalled between Washington and Warsaw last month.

Four Nuke leaks as French company buy British Energy

Too many French nuclear workers are being contaminated with low doses of radiation - that is the claim of an independent research group on atomic safety on Thursday, a day after the latest incident in southern France ...

The Independent Commission on Research and Information on Radioactivity (CRIIRAD) also said a growing number of French nuclear workers were complaining about worsening working conditions and their likely impact on safety: "In less than 15 days, the CRIIRAD has been informed of four malfunctions in four nuclear plants, leading to the accidental contamination of 126 workers. This is the first time I have seen so many people being contaminated in such a short period of time."

There are fears of ground-water being contaminated as well as the workers - indeed the Government have ordered investigations at all 58 nuclear reactors in France. Meanwhile we learn that French government owned EdF are set to buy British Energy who are based in Gloucester and own Hinkley Point B and seven other UK nuclear power stations. Here is the comment from Stop Hinkley:

The news was reported today that EdF look set to increase their bid in partnership with British Gas owners, Centrica from £10 billion two months ago to £12 billion. Stop Hinkley campaigners are concerned about poor maintenance at nuclear plants operated by EdF's sister company Areva (2) which this week led to one hundred nuclear workers becoming contaminated at a reactor near Avignon. The same reactor four weeks ago leaked uranium from an underground pipe forcing water usage bans in the area. Two other safety events have occurred in other Areva owned French plants in the last month.

Hinkley B is plagued with internal corrosion problems which could be exarcerbated with similar maintenance short-cuts. Hinkley's reactor core weight loss is over 25% according to safety inspectors, nearby boiler tubes were found to have extensive weld faults, the reactor support struts were found to be suffering from too much radiation and the reactor's last shut-down system is missing.

EdF was recently the target of anti-nuclear demonstrations at its partly built new reactor at Flamanville in northern France. Protestors, appalled at safety regulator's reports of badly mixed concrete in the reactor's foundations blockaded local quarries preventing sand deliveries to the plant for 30 hours.

The EdF move will bring Hinkley Point C and possibly Hinkley D a step nearer. EdF recently bought up land adjoining the Hinkley site. Acquiring the additional British Energy land would probably give EdF room to build two European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs). The land acquisition controversially included several fields earmarked for a nine turbine wind-farm plus some more from a neighbouring land-owner. The land is currently being tested by EdF for suitability for nuclear new build.

The likely £4 billion profit the UK government will make as a 35% shareholder in British Energy will probably go to the Nuclear Liabilities Fund and held temporarily in government bonds (see Rebert Peston's log, link below). The NLF will require many tens of billions to decommission the ageing British Energy reactors. This fund is separate from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority who are cleaning up Sellafield and the older Magnox stations (like Hinkley A) at a cost of £83 billion.

The Government took the third share of British Energy in 2003 as part of a rescue deal when the company almost became bankrupt, just seven years after privatisation. British Energy had bought eight nuclear power stations for the price of one in the Thatcher-driven sell off in 1996.

Jim Duffy Coordinator of Stop Hinkley said: "This worries me for many reasons. Hinkley B's age related problems mean it should shut down now but the new owners are likely to keep milking it with an ever increasing risk of an accident. EdF's recent accident record gives me no confidence. If their errors are repeated, the local shorelines could become more radioactive affecting populations from Minehead to Burnham-on-Sea.

"Reports of their substandard new construction work which might apply to Hinkley C or D if they get the go-ahead are also extremely concerning. Nuclear is not a safe option, leaving us with a toxic legacy and will not help solve climate change. The government should press ahead with its promises for clean renewable energy, giving us three times the electricity we now get from nuclear."

Petition to stop threat of losing thousands of unrecorded rights of way

In 2000 the Countryside and Rights of Way Act imposed a deadline of 2026 for the recording of all historic rights of way onto the definitive maps (which are the legal record of all public rights of way) including those which can be used by horse riders.

Photo: Orchid from a few weeks ago

The Government funded a project to assist with the research of this historic routes (The Discovering Lost Ways Project). This project has now been stopped and has not added one single new route onto the map despite still acknowledging that there are an estimated 20,000 lost ways - yet the deadline of 2026 remains. The Government are now talking about establishing "an independently chaired Stakeholder Working Group of key national stakeholders to develop an agreed package of measures that will achieve real and lasting progress in recording rights of way."

However at the moment it would seem to be that organisations such as The British Horse Society, Ramblers etc and their associated volunteers only have 18 years to find all of the routes which have historically been used by walkers and horse riders. Once this deadline has passed, these routes, which may have existed for hundreds of years but have not been legally recorded, will be lost to us for ever.

18 years sounds like an awfully long time but it's not. Glos County Council as noted in an earlier blog will now look into the claim of a local footpath from Callowell Farm to Stratford Road - see my blog here - but it wont be quick - there are some 129 claims outstanding already in Glos. I am seeking info obn how they prioritise - as this footpath would open up a very useful safer route from Ruscombe/Whiteshill to Stratford Road and Stratford Park. Currently some 78% of Stratford Park Leisure Centre users come by car or motorbike. It would also be another route for people travelling into Stroud.

Discovering lost rights of way is a time consuming and lengthy process and now that there is no Government funding or personnel behind the wider project many are concerned for the long term future expansion of the rights of way network. To this end can you consider adding your signature to the Petition which has been set up by the Ramblers' Association calling for the Government to remove the deadline of 2026. See petition here: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/repeal2026/

More orchard celebrations: Cherry Aid and Edwina Bridgeman

Thanks to a comment today on my recent post about hopes to set up a local community orchard (see here) I was alerted to Cherry Aid - apparently 19th July was 'Celebrate British Cherry day' - I missed that but celebrated cherries this year with a punnet full of cherries from a small cherry tree I have in a dustbin near the front door - and v yummy they were - and the birds only had a few....anyhow I welcome such moves as I had no idea that in 50 years we’ve lost 90% of our Cherry orchards and now import around 95% of the Cherries we eat.
CherryAid aims to...
- Get everyone to bite into at least one British-grown Cherry this year
- Save our remaining traditional Cherry orchards
- Encourage the planting of new Cherry orchards
- Encourage producers to use British-grown Cherries
- Encourage chefs, restaurateurs and home-cooks to use British-grown Cherries

Another way of getting across the wonders of orchards was an exhibition earlier this year at the New Brewery Arts in Cirencester – this really was an amazing exhibition - Artist Edwina Bridgeman’s touring exhibition, The Orchard, covered all aspects of orchards from apple picking to cider making - the central installation was a gated orchard, with three trees, a ladder, an apple box and a grazing animal as well as a host of other hidden wildlife, combined to create a space that visitors can enter to enjoy the thought-provoking surroundings. The trees are made from workaday materials, often thrown away, containing objects and painted narratives about the history and folklore of orchards and apple-growing.

As well as Bridgeman’s re-creation of her experience of being in the contemplative surroundings of an orchard, the stories and experiences of others are also included to make 25 additional pieces of mixed material work. She also invited visitors to make their own statements.

If you can catch that exhibition do so - I first saw the figures this artist made some years ago - totally inspiring - indeed can remember the exhibition and conversations and even cafe afterwards - this Orchard exhibition is equally great.

Incinerator faces direct action

Glos Greens have supported the campaign against the Newhaven incinerator in Sussex (see here and use search engine on Glos Green party site for more) - construction on the highly controversial incinerator plant has now begun.

However I hear this week that Stop Incineration Now!' activists have taken over the site of the proposed new incinerator plant in Newhaven (see photo). They apparently entered the premises under the cover of darkness in an organised attempt at non-violent direct action, after resistance through democratic means failed them. Several protestors formed a barricade by superglue-ing themselves to the road in an attempt to prevent vehicle access, whilst on the site itself, other members of the group 'locked-on' to machinery in order to halt further activity. They claim to be exercising their democratic right to protest non-violently in a last-ditch attempt to promote their concerns about the consequences of incinerators on public health and safety.

Let us hope that Glos County Council don't make the same mistakes by going for a monster incinerator to deal with our waste.

Background: Amidst a storm of controversy and fierce opposition from local residents concerned about pollution and health risks, construction of the incinerator by Veolia (Onyx) began early in June this year despite the fact that planning permission had not been officially approved and a judicial review of the process was still incomplete. Angry at what they saw as a direct attack on the health of the public and a lack of transparency throughout the planning process, local Newhaven campaign group Dove2000 fought to keep the issue in the public eye and generated 15,000 written objections to the scheme. By last year alone the cost of the project had soared to £145.7 million, with Brighton and Hove City Council and East Sussex County Council having collectively invested at least £2 million in legal fees to bring the project beyond the planning stage. There are a further 100-168 incinerators planned for use in the UK, though it appears that the Stop Incineration Now! network of protestors are determined to assert their belief that this money could be more advantageously spent on recycling initiatives to combat waste management problems more sustainably without creating further environmental problems for present and future generations. The activists from Stop Incineration Now! who made a 65foot high protest from a crane came down on Wednesday night.

Greens at Tolpuddle

Various friends joined the Tolpuddle Martyr's annual festival - see here - and see more re history and museum here. On February 24th, 1834, six farm labourers from the Dorset village of Tolpuddle were arrested on a charge of taking part in an 'illegal oath' ceremony.

Photo: Derek Wall, Green party Principal Speaker with Ricky leading this part of the march - and below Derek delivering a speech to the festival

The real offence was that they had dared to form a trade union to defend their livelihood. For this they were sentenced to seven years' transportation to the penal colonies of Australia. The sentences provoked an immense outcry, leading to the first great mass trade union protest. The campaign won free pardons and the Martyrs' return to England. A historic episode in the struggle for trade unionists' rights in Great Britain. To commemorate the bravery of the martyrs' struggle against poverty and authority, this annual festival features music, speakers and family entertainment. Here's Ricky's letter:

Dear Sir,

It is a sad fact that there are now more families living in poverty in the UK than during the divisive days of Thatcher. The minimum wage, achieved after prolonged impasse, is just that – a bare minimum. As the cost of essentials, energy, food, utilities, rocket, as house-prices collapse yet the cost of a mortgage doesn’t, this bare minimum is leading to real hardship.

Despite this part of England being a tourist haven, a wonderful place to retire to and a magnet for potential second-home owners, there would appear to be very little “trickle-down” of the wealth brought into the area; rural wages remain very low, the cost of living is spiralling and many families are having to struggle just to get by.

Last week, many of us would have passed colleagues, friends, neighbours standing on the picket-line, stoically representing their demand for a fair wage. They cannot vote for their own increase like MP’s, they cannot bring the country to its knees because of complete reliance on the delivery of petrol, they cannot book an appointment with the boss. They have to rely on their Trade Union.

Anyone who has ever been forced to take strike action, and this includes the police, nurses, teachers, firemen, knows that once you go on strike, the level of public support for your cause plummets. Who’s going to protect us from crime, look after the infirm, teach the kids, put out the fire? It is never an easy choice to go on strike, not just because of the loss of pay, not just because it sets worker against worker sometimes – but because workers do not like NOT doing the work they are employed to do.

These points and others were well made by Tony Benn in his key-note speech at Tolpuddle last weekend. Members of the South West Green Party proudly made their way to Dorset for this extraordinary annual commemorative event, this year more popular than ever, to join fellow Trade Unionists and work place activists from all over the world. The Green Party Principal Male Speaker, Dr Derek Wall, was one of the guest speakers on the Sunday.

It was for daring to ask for more, that the six Tolpuddle Martyrs were put on trial, imprisoned and then deported to Australia as convicts. It was their subsequent pardon that led to the growth of our Trade Union movement, which has been campaigning ever since for workers' rights, a fair wage and improved conditions. Tolpuddle was a fitting place to be after the two days of action undertaken nationally by members of the public service Unions. Improved pay and conditions will never be offered – they have to fought for, continually.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Ricky Knight - Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for North Devon
South West Green Party Lead Candidate for 2009 European Elections

Randwick Parish meeting, Elfins, Safe Water and Telephone boxes

Time has caught up again - I had wanted to share various bits but just don't have the time this week so here are a few bits....

Randwick Parish meeting last week - I was able to raise a few issues - including my frustration at being unable to get any real action relating to several Highways issues just outside the ward - eg the collapsing wall in Westrip Lane (see here) - it has been assessed several times but why no action? The Parish had another meeting last week to look at it again. I know I am not a County Councillor but if I was a member of the public I would expect at least a response to my emails? Indeed similar could be said about my complaint twice now re the footpath near Wheelers Walk - it now seems to smell of sewage (see here). At least with this I had an acknowledgement of my email but still no response from County in over a month. Is this a lack of funding or what? Anyhow more action planned on those ones and the Randwick Runner will no doubt have a summary of the meeting...

Willow Elfins - another meeting last week was in Stratford Park playground with parents and children of the Elfin Woodcraft group - we organised a very draft plan for next term - there are spaces for children and we could do with more leaders - see more by clicking on label below.

Safe Water Campaign - last week I went to the Stroud meeting to consider the latest re our campaign against water fluoridation. Several exciting ideas have been put forward - and much needed as Hampshire seem to be pushing ahead with their plans and ignoring local opposition - indeed they have put together a quite extraordinary biased case - see press item I added to the blog here. I also managed to add a video of the chorus of the protest song here.

Telephone boxes - regular blog readers will know that Westrip Lane and Ludlow Green boxes are proposed to be removed - Stroud District Council has now completed the First consultation on the proposed removal of all the 51 public payphones. They apparently had a good response from the public - although I've not had any contact over this issue. They have substantial evidence for retention of at least 45 of the public payphones. The remaining 6, have been objected to their removal in principle. In a cover letter to the State Secretary and BT it was emphasised that many of the phones (in the past year) had been changed from coin to card; cards are often not available; and whilst mobile phone ownership is reported as high, this may not be the case in semi-rural areas. The Final consultation runs from 23rd July - 22nd August 2008. Do visit the website to make comments: www.stroud.gov.uk/payphone or obtain a form through the Hotline number 01453 754092. Details of objections:
1. 01453 764946 Ludlow Green, Ruscombe, Stroud GL6 6DG Object: Historic significance
2. 01453 763370 At Westrip Farm, Westrip, Stroud GL6 6HA Object: Close proximity to social housing – highly unlikely to afford phones, 200m from Cotswold Way – assists walkers, Historic significance.

A local community orchard or farm?

News on British farming is rarely cheery - on top of ever worsening news of a world food crisis this news item below is deeply shocking:

UK farming could soon be a thing of the past unless training is overhauled to attract new recruits. Lantra, the sector skills council for environmental and land-based trades, put forward this doomsday scenario, pointing out that 15,900 farming jobs are being lost every year and that 38% of the agricultural workforce is expected to retire within the next 10 years.

Photo: Humphreys End Orchard and below my onions flowering - What causes bulb onions to send up flower stalks? Apparently several things but usually the most prevalent is temperature fluctuation - something we have seen too much of - however while I only got a few onions I did at least get a wonderful display of the flowers!

What will happen in the future? Just as we are really going to need all those skills and knowledge? Our Government has had a deliberate written policy that seeks to import our food - this skills shortage is a direct result of that policy - there are now at last signs that food security is being discussed - still no action yet - but let us hope that leads to a serious look at supporting British farming. Peak oil and climate change are set to increase transport costs and risks to food supplies - we know GM is not the answer as discussed previously on this blog (see here).

Local food solutions?

Regular blog readers will know that I am a fan of projects like Community Supported Agriculture - these will be part of the answer to rebuilding local economies and food supplies - we are fortunate to have a couple of projects locally - see here - however both could benefit from more support - and one is looking for another farmer (see more here).

Allotments are another part of the answer to providing local food - indeed we now have 6 residents in Whiteshill and Ruscombe who have formally requested the Parish to look at the options - I don't hold out much hope immediately but I am confident the pressures will grow - land could be found. See more here from a previous blog re allotments generally. I've also sought to pressure on the Cashes Green Hospital site to ensure many allotments are reinstated there - again we'll see.

Another part of the answer is to grow more food at home - here again we need to question current policies that constantly allow gardens to be built over - sometimes squeezing in several homes - and how do we re-skill people - I met one person yesterday who ended up looking after a neighbours tomato plants last year and when she realised how easy it was and how much fun she went out and got herself a greenhouse.

Anyhow last night I met with a local farmer to discuss options locally - this is an issue I have raised before - see here - Several ideas were muted along CSA lines but also like the urban food projects of WEN (Women's Environmental Network), city farms and community gardens or perhaps a coop. More research is needed but it is possible that we will be able to put together a proposal to start some form of Community Fruit project.

We are lucky to already have a local community orchard - a Parish Council initiative that is literally starting to bear fruit! See more here. However this project could be about linking a set of householders who may or may not pay something and participate in looking after the orchard/fruit in return for a share of the fruit? We are at very early days but do get in touch if you are interested in exploring further. Hopefully in October we will have more info about the next step.

Anyway to finish for now see a great 25 minute video here about permaculture garden.

Bee Colony Collapse; has HAARP a role?

Regular blog readers will know I have covered lots in this blog re the disturbing Bee Colony Collapse Disorder (Click on 'bees' label below). There is much speculation about the causes of this - and indeed I have covered some of those - this blog takes a brief look at another possible cause?

HAARP transmissions accidently jamming the bees homing ability - "HAARP??" I hear some cry. "Whats that?"

Well see more on the Wiki here - but basically it stands for the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program and is an investigation project to "understand, simulate and control ionospheric processes that might alter the performance of communication and surveillance systems."

Now I heard last year from a local bee expert who was convinced it had a role to play - this evening an email just came in from another bee guy who sent the link to this article below - now I don't know if it does have a role but it could well be playing a part.

Here we show that a U.S. military radio transmitter (ionospheric heater) array, the most powerful in the world, transitioned to full power in 2006 and reception of signals transmitted cover the same region as the Colony Collapse Disorder. The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Project is an antenna array located in Alaska. It a congressionally initiated program jointly managed by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. The Array has been used to conduct numerous ionospheric and radio wave propagation research studies over the past decade. One project study conducted in 1997 showed the radio transmission range was only received in North America and Europe. This Array transitioned to full power and military use just prior to the summer of 2006 with an increase in output from 9.6 kilowatts to 3.6 megawatts. The corresponding timing and range with the Colony Collapse Disorder suggests recent transmissions from the array could be the most likely cause of the bee problem. See article full here.

Nuke costs rise and still 369 UK restricted farms

As nuke waste costs rise by another £10 billion the local Green party ask if David Drew will abandon his support for this dangerous and uneconomic industry - see Martin Whiteside's letter today here - and see here for the call last week to end plans to build more nukes.

Photo: Another from 'local scribbler Russ' - like this one!

It was only three weeks ago we had three reports on the monitoring of sheep at farms remaining under post-Chernobyl restrictions. As a result of the surveys:

* two farms in Scotland have been de-restricted - leaving five under restriction
* no farms were recommended for de-restriction in Cumbria - with nine farms remaining under restriction

It was impossible to conduct any surveys in North Wales last year, due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. For thsoe who don't rememember what this is about - in 1986, an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the former USSR (now Ukraine) released large quantities of radioactivity into the atmosphere. Some of this was deposited on certain upland areas of the UK where sheep are farmed. In order to protect the health of consumers, restrictions were placed on the movement and sale of sheep from areas of the UK where contamination levels in sheep meat were over 1,000 Becquerels (a measure of radioactivity) per kilogramme - the safety limit set in 1986. Then in 1986, almost 9000 farms were under these restrictions in the UK. Since then, the levels of radioactivity have fallen in some of the affected areas. The number of farms still under restriction in Cumbria, Scotland and Wales is now 369.

Mention of Chernobyl is important as there are some indepnedent scientists who think Oldbury and other nukes still going carry serious risks - last October we had John Large at a public meeting saying: "Potentially an accident at Oldbury would have the same outcome as Chernobyl." See more here. Let us hope the Government wakes up to the economic realities of nuclear - although the signs are not good - indeed they already look set to be going back on their promise not to subsidise it....

Total Politics and which is your best blog?

It is blog voting time again for political blogs - and the national competition is being organised by Iain Dale - see details here. The votes for that can only be from the Total Politics listing - I see they have 80 Green blogs and curiously got mine twice - anyhow there is much good stuff amongst them - see here: www.totalpolitics.com/politicalblogs/ Meanwhile Jim Jepps is compiling the top 20 Green blogs - see here.

Photo: next door neighbours kittens - nothing to do with this post but dead cute

But I wanted to mention Total Politics in this blog entry. This is a new magazine out aimed at anyone interested in politics - as a councillor I got a complementary issue - ahhhh the perks of councillor life! Anyhow I have to confess to being grossly underwhelmed by the first issue - indeed it actually put me off the whole lot of it - with stories like cars politicians drive and how Tories should dress to impress - it also seemed to be full of the techniques to win elections...with a story from Boris Johnsons campaign man on how to win, managing your reputation online, how to use the internet, facebook etc - and worst of all the headline "Why negative campaigning works."

The latter had no analysis on the damage that negative campaigning does - yes of course politicians have to define and publicise how a they are different, what contrasts them etc but where are the issues? Where is the debate about developing a real and meaningful democracy?

The second issue of Total Politics arrived today - another complimentary issue - one article says a large segment of the population don't feel the three main parties understand their concerns - is this any surprise with the likes of negative campaigning and nonsense we get from the main political parties and the media - however even more worrying is the fact that when asked what are the big issues, 17% chose economy/inflation while only 7% chose the environment. This is surely an indication of the level of failure of the three main parties to put climate change - which they acknowledge is the greatest threat we face - at the heart of everything they do - yet instead we get debate about whether we should build a runway at Heathrow. There is no debate we must reduce flying not increase it....

Anyhow I warmed a little to the second issue of Total Politics with it's comment piece on tackling sleaze and I will read more this evening as no meeting tonight - wonderful!! However I fear this magazine could just reflect the nonsense of our political system rather than take a lead...if they want me to shell out my own dosh they will have to do better!

Victory on basketball ring

See most recent blog on basketball here for background. On that blog entry I was concerned to learn that Stratford Park might loose it's basketball rings - I sought info from the District Council Officers and indeed it appears it was threatened certainly for the summer. However in addition to the letter I wrote several letters were received by the Council from users of the basketball there including at leats one from a Ruscombe resident.

Photo: sent by a friend but no name of photographer - apols for that lack of credit - do feel sorry for that little chick being sat on!

I have since met with one of the Officers and it seems we have a victory - this is what I got yesterday: "Just to let you know that one of the Basketball rings is being installed between the new ‘Skateboard Park’ (which is now due to be completed in mid August) and the bottom tennis courts by this Wednesday. The plan is then to put down some basket ball markings on the grass surface in the next week or so, whilst a scheme is being drawn up to put down a hard surface of roughly half court size. This will probably take place in September when the students have returned to School or College."

Well done to those who wrote in and well done to the Council for listening.

Response at last to questions re Emergency Procedures

In January I attended an Emergency procedures workshop and afterwards submitted a series of key questions - I have asked three or four times for a response and finally last week I got a reply - hardly the answers I wanted but the answers I expected - see the original questions here - but then the County only have certain responsibilities.

Photos: walk yesterday up to Randwick

To me this secrecy over Emergency Planning around nuclear is very worrying - I have been unable to obtain info about whether they even have stocks of potassium iodate tablets held locally - let alone if they could be distributed in the time required....anyhow here are the answers given...I will respond but don't hold out much hope for any answers...

1. Increasing Awareness of Emergency Procedures
EMS has developed a Community Response Plan template and in partnership with the District Councils has held a number of workshops for Parish Councils/Community Groups to promote community resilience and encourage them to develop their own community plans. A workshop was held for the Stroud Parish Councils on 11 February.

2. Hexafluorosilic acid on our Roads
Gloucestershire County Council responded to the Safe Water Campaign letter in June 2005. The emergency services are aware of the dangers of this acid and would deal with the incident. The local authority would arrange for the disposal of the contaminated waste and the transportation and disposal of the waste would be agreed with the Environment Agency at the time.

3. Nuclear Incident
The County Council Berkeley Nuclear Power Station off-site plan provides the basis for dealing with radiation emergencies that are not reasonably foreseeable through the concept of extendibility.

3.1 Terrorism
The police have responsibility for planning for terrorist attacks so I am unable to provide the information you requested.

3.2 Protective Suits
I am unable to provide information on the police protective suits. The local authority do not have any NBC suits and they would not be allowed entry to an area with a radiation hazard.

3.3 Toxicity Exposure levels
This is not an issue as local authority staff will not be allowed entry to an area with a radiation hazard.

3.4 Attendance at Nuclear Incidents
Same answer as in 3.3 above.

3.5 Potassium Iodate Tablets
Not issued as only 6 residents within PIZ for Berkeley. Public Health would supply if required and also in the event of an incident from outside the County where extendibility arrangements came into being.

3.6 Emergency Plan
Off-Site plan for Berkeley Nuclear Power Station prepared in 2002 following consultation with all relevant stakeholders as recommended in Regulation 9(12). The plan is reviewed annually and tested every 3 years as required by REPIR regulations. There is no requirement to make the plan publicly available. Public within PIZ are consulted by way of an Annual Calendar giving emergency safety advice and the plan contains information advice that would be released to all members of the public in the event of a radiation emergency.

4. Flood Crisis Management
Stronger measures regarding public movement could only be made at national government level. I believe that existing procedures for providing public health information is sound.

Gloucestershire LRF has developed a Water Distribution Plan and all local authorities have been consulted and agreed where bowsers will be sited for any future disruptions.

Reopen footpath Callowell Farm to Stratford Road

Since covering the story of the hopes to reopen a local footpath from Callowell Farm to Stratford Road I have been looking more into the matter - see my original blog here.

Photo: terrible reproduction of Chas Townleys maps - see link below to see various old maps showing route

Town councillor Chas Townley has submitted the claim as a Bridleway - on the basis that it can then be used by cyclists - the evidence to support the bridleway or higher status seems good but is less robust than the evidence for a footpath which as far as I can see is 100% for part of the route - the 1821 diversion - and close to a 100% for the remainder.

The County apparently originally responded that they had no intention of taking any action to remove the obstuctions until they had dealt with the modification order on the basis that no highway existed until they made a modification order. Some mistake must have occurred somewhere as that can't be so as it would be illegal. Indeed I understand that they have now moved to a position that on the basis of the evidence available to them at this point is that it is not a highway and as a consequence they will not take any action until the modification order is processed.

Stroud Town Council have supported the Modification Order application and asked for the obstructions to be removed. They also agreed to write to the District and the farmer.

Chas has provided some excellent info to back his case with maps etc - see below and the link to download much more. In the meantime I have asked Ruscombe and Whiteshill Parish Council to consider the matter and will be writing myself to District and County councils.

Right of Way Callowell Farm to Stratford Road - An investigation statement by Chas Townley My attention to the possiblity of the existence of a public right of way between Callowell Farm and Stratford Road has arisen from the fact that a path or track is shown Victorian ordnance survey mapping and this statement sets out information to assist the County in deciding whether a modification order should be made. The evidence that a “footroad” between Callowell Farm and what is now Stratford Road was diverted by the Quarter Sessions in 1821 is so firm that unless a further legal event has taken place the County Council is bound to make a modification order for a Footpath, however, the question for the County Council in deciding to make a modification order is whether a highway of a different class is “reasonably alleged to exist” and on that basis the County Council has to consider whether the there are grounds for adding this highway at a higher status. My view is that on the balance of probabilities there are grounds for the County Council to consider recording it as a Restricted Byway.

See Chas Townley's excellent case here:
www.stroud-history.org.uk/downloads.php?cat_id=4

UKs shameful vote on Ivory trade?

The UK's vote last week in Geneva to allow China to become an official buyer of stockpiled African elephant ivory has been described by some Greens as representing 'a hideous stain on the UK's wildlife conservation record' (see here). China is already the world's largest destination for illegal ivory and this licensing decision will only serve to increase the market for this brutal trade.

Photo: Ivory pic from Traffic website

Wildlife groups like the highly respected International Fund for Animal Welfare have shown that poachers go into action when there is talk of approved legal sales, which they can use as a 'smokescreen'. They argue that our Government and the other world leaders failure to act, will mean we can expect the illegal slaughter of endangered elephants across Africa to continue.

The WWF and Traffic have cautiously supported the Government's move - certainly this is a complex issue of balancing least bad options. I personally don't know if the move is good or bad - I would need to study it much more deeply - certainly this move does seem to fail to reduce the trading opportunities for illegal hunters despite assurances - and I wonder if this is about political cowardice and a preoccupation with putting economic interests with China above all other considerations? Certainly this blog has discussed similar trades in diamonds and gold - and the record is not good (see here).

I would like to see a lot more being done to raise awareness around this issue - meanwhile I have a small inherited carved ivory object - what to do with it? It has beauty but at the same time this is probably the result of one of these beautiful beasts being killed. I certainly won't sell and add to the trade nor can I throw it away - thoughts on this dilemma welcomed.

Glos waste discussed

I had all sorts of plans about writing up a very comprehensive summary of the Waste Advisory Panel meeting at the District Council last week - I was one of the two Greens represented on the all-party panel to look at what will happen to our waste - however time is catching up on me so here will only be the highlights - minutes will probably be available - and I am more than happy to discuss if anyone has specific queries.

Photo: above the waste from a family who are trying to go zero - this pic was taken from their Zero Waste website - see more at end of this blog about that site

One of the key purposes of the meeting was to set the scene and to participate in a consultation process by consultants of Glos County Council looking at approaches to waste. There was much useful discussion but I have to say that there were several areas of deep concern;

1. Parishes missed from consultation: the Parishes who had expressed an interest in waste - interestingly the 5 closest to the proposed Javelin Park site - had submitted papers but for some reason were not invited to a consultation - this seems very strange indeed - I have asked for more info making the point that if there was not a good reason such a move would be shocking and add to the doubt in many people's minds that the decision has already in effect been made and that the consultation process is not real.
2. Categories within the consultation: part of the process was to rate aspects like cost and flexibility but the seemingly arbitrary ways that categories were lumped together made assessment very difficult - hence the process starts to loose any real meaning.
3. Meaning of categories: worse still you could look at an issue like cost and assume it means all costs - but no wait - it is much more complex - stuff like transporting all the waste to one site in Glos rather than several local sites is not included!! This means rising oil prices in this case are just not taken into account. There were other similar examples.
4. Climate change: most shameful of all was the lack of a specific category considering climate change - how is this possible? I made the strongest point possible on this and was somewhat reassured that other consultations so far had also had this issue raised.

Anyhow while I came out unhappy with the way the consultation was organised - I do accept it is an enormously difficult thing to do - and at least the County is trying - and I still want to believe that this is a genuine consultation - and I do at least have confidence in those doing the consultation to take back the concerns that we raised. I've discussed this issue of waste lots previously on this blog - see here for a look at some of the key issues or click on labels below.

At the moment a third of households in Stroud District do not recycle - it is clear that unless things improve then all taxpayers will have to foot the ever-increasing bill - as I said at the meeting it is very disappointing that the County did not have some urgency on this issue some years ago - we then would not be in such a mess. It is going to take some brave moves if we are to do the right thing for ourselves and future generations and not go for one large incinerator at Javelin Park - to do that really would be the wrong decision.

Kamikatsu - 34 categories

One example of good practice that got a mention was Kamikatsu, a small community in the hills of eastern Japan, which is leading on "Zero Waste". Residents there now have to compost all their food waste and sort other rubbish into 34 different categories! See Kamikatsu covered by the BBC here - infact there are no waste collections from households at all. Kitchen waste has to be composted. Non-food waste is processed either in local shops which accept goods for recycling or in Kamikatsu's Zero Waste Centre. There, people have to sort their unwanted items into 34 different boxes for recycling. The scheme was adopted when councillors realised it was much cheaper than incineration - even if the incinerator was used to generate power.

Infact zero waste is now the aim of quite a number of companies and indeed countries like New Zealand - why not for Glos? And they are not using 34 categories! There are many different ways to work towards zero waste. I recently came across this blog of a family doing their bit - well worth a look - indeed inspiring and ordinary stuff -= just what we need:
http://myzerowaste.com/

Open Homes for a sustainable future: childrens poster competition

Here are details of a local summer poster competition which is part of publicising the Open Homes project - see more here: www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk/

Photo: First turbine on residential property in Stroud - see it as part of Open Homes

I seem to have been spending alot of time on this project over recent weeks - but have now got loads of info, leaflets, posters etc out to local press, organisations and websites - even today got the visitors feedback forms and signs to the homes printed - need to deliver them this week - anyhow interest seems strong in this project so I hope folk will get involved and it will encourage more to take energy efficiency and renewable measures.....below is the poster competition which a fellow Transition Stroud member is running....

Dear Teachers/Parents On Saturday 13th September an exhibition will be held at Randwick Village Hall as part of the Stroud Open Homes for a Sustainable Future (Download a leaflet and see more here) and we would like to invite children to take part. The purpose of this day is to encourage people to visit various homes in the Stroud local area which already have energy saving, energy generation or are heated by renewable energy. We will also have advice on grants and money off at Randwick Village Hall on 13th September.

We would like to invite children to help us to make this a truly family event by contributing posters or other art works that depict methods of saving or creating energy or other resources at home. There are many ways this is being done already; Low energy or energy saving devices, Natural light designs, Solar heat house design, Super insulation, Wind turbines etc.

We hope that children will want to contribute their creativity and in exchange the Green Shop will display the best entries at Randwick Village Hall on Saturday 13th September 2008, and award prizes to the best entries. Please note name, address and age on poster and either bring to hall on 13th September between 10.30 and 11am or send to Open Homes, 2 The Laurels, Bread Street, Ruscombe, Stroud. Maximum 2 entries per child either A3 or A4 size. Thank you. Transition Stroud - Open Homes www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk/ For further info call Greg Dance on 01453 752068

MPs Peak Oil report out - and the Peak Oil grief cycle

Before I get into these T-shirts and food miles, some good news - the House of Commons All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil (APPGOPO) has published its first report. The report, 'The Impact of Peak Oil on International Development', urges policy makers to look on post-disaster relief operations as opportunities to build truly sustainable low-carbon communities. It demonstrates how non-fossil fuel dependent energy generation, construction and farming methods will be essential if communities are to become resilient to energy price rises. Read the report here.

It quotes a recent UNESCO statement: "The status quo is no longer an option. We must develop agriculture that is less dependent on fossil fuels, favours the use of locally available resources and explores the use of natural processes such as crop rotation and use of organic fertilisers" and agrees that ".... The food crisis is set to deepen if modern agriculture remains reliant on fossil fuels..."

The page 16 section on Resilient food production advocates "independence from external suppliers of seeds, fertiliser, pesticides and water, .... builds resilience and stronger local economies, health and wellbeing." Interestingly it appears to concur with the view that
‘External Input’ agricultural models of Green Revolution and genetic engineering technologies fare poorly compared with ‘Internal Input’ ecological agriculture, where productivity is based upon biodiversity and full and efficient utilisation of biological resources.."

The report is a timely acknowledgement that after the end of cheap oil and gas, business as usual is not an option. Nor can GM technology ever replace time honoured ways of working with nature (as discussed previously on this blog).

Kubler-Ross grief cycle

I was sent the link to the T-shirts above re Kubler-Ross applied to the death of the Petroleum Age. This made me smile but also concerned - the truth is that most people seem to still be in the denial stage when it comes to Peak oil. See this link: www.cafepress.com/crashdummy/4002007

Plus check out Matt Simmons on an American TV show - the reality is beginning to dawn:
http://transitionculture.org/2008/07/15/matt-simmons-and-the-five-psychological-stage-of-grief/

Safety and Food Miles

Meanwhile I was pleased to see reports that Caroline Lucas, Green MEP called for end to the ‘great food swap’ and urged food sovereignty at a conference in London hosted by the Royal Society of Medicine and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. In a talk entitled 'Safety and Food Miles', she called for an end to the inefficient, oil-dependent system of intensive global food production which stifles local economies, threatens human and animal health, and harms the environment. Here is some of what she said: “As little as 18 months ago, when I carried out research on food security in an era of Peak Oil, the subject was regarded as a marginal issue. Yet today, food security is at the top of the political agenda, driven by high oil prices, poor harvests, the impacts of biofuel cultivation, and higher demand from countries like China and India. Many countries are vulnerable to food shortages because of a dependence on imports. The UK, for example, currently relies on imports to provide almost one third of food consumed, giving us one of the lowest self-sufficiency rates in the EU. Our global food system is staggeringly inefficient and heavily dependent upon oil, at a time when the production of energy from fossil fuels is on the decline. So not only is the dependence on imports damaging for national food security and harmful to the environment, it is simply unsustainable.”

Dr Lucas also warned that intensive, industrialised agriculture could be playing a role in spreading disease. Recent avian flu outbreaks, for example, have shown the extent to which the export-oriented corporate model of poultry production may be responsible for the spreading of strains such as H5N1. She concluded: “A re-localisation of our food systems would allow us take back control of our food from industrialists and financiers, and to feed a growing population in a way that is equitable and sustainable, while safeguarding human health, as well as the welfare of animals and the environment. The Green vision is one of healthier citizens, where everyone has access to a good diet, of thriving local farmers, reinvigorated rural economies and communities, and a cleaner, safer environment."

Call for water conservation and drainage strategy

Below is my letter in response to the article in Stroud Life re the vote on rainwater harvesting - Labour sadness that Greens and Tories voted against - why I hear many cry? Well I would have loved to have supported it but the wording was not good - see more previously on my blog on this here. Indeed if we are to lead as a Council we must do it right - and that means being clear that water conservation is the number one priority.

Picture: From Water 21 by Dilly Eeles showing what is needed

Anyhow I have to applaud Stroud Life for their excellent look at the need for an holistic approach - something we have been pushing for with the Ruscombe Brook Action Group (RBAG) for nearly 3 years - it is great this issue is getting the coverage it deserves and I think is having an impact now that we have more community groups also speaking up - we need to start understanding the interdependence of upstream and downstream communities along a river catchment - as Julian Jones of Water 21 has said:

• The upstreamers extract too much water leaving little for all the downstreamers
• They pollute and poison the water upstream which hurts all those downstream
• They divert all their own floodwater downstream which deluges the downstreamers, etc.

That means that the water in our valley hear in Ruscombe and Randwick contributes to downstream problems like at Bridgend - and while I think it is important to be aware of climate change and it's impacts in all of this (particularly in the future) we must not underplay some of the main causes of the problems we face in terms of flooding and drought are related to the effects of 50 years of 'modern' farming and other drainage plus the effects of 4% pa increases in paved urbanisation and other civil engineering (much of it in flood plains).... anyhow here is my letter to Stroud Life:

Dear Editor,

Stroud Life reports Labour 'sadness' at those councillors who did not vote for rainwater harvesting to be introduced at Ebley Mill (9/07/08). Indeed the time to take water seriously has never been greater. This is echoed in the recent Pitt Review, reports that summer rainfall could decrease by 30 to 40% (i) and the Environment Agency this month strongly criticising companies on over abstraction of water from rivers and aquifers (ii).

The Labour motion to the Council was welcomed as it raised the issue of water conservation: a priority area that the Council admits it has failed to address properly. However the motion mistakenly focused only on rainwater harvesting. There is much water conservation needed first like cistern dams, leak detectors and tap regulators, then the next step is simple rain water harvesting like water butts, then the advanced rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling. Not to tackle conservation first is like putting solar panels on your home before insulating it.

Stroud can, and needs to do, much more on water conservation. Some Councils have saved big money by using less water. Rainwater Harvesting should be part of that: an exemplar project by the District which included maximising conservation, would be a positive way of leading by example.

However as Stroud Life showed in their excellent coverage of last years floods (16/07/08) we need a wider sustainable drainage strategy in the District that seeks to store and infiltrate water and protect us from floods and drought. As those flooded in Bridgend know, that means an holistic strategy that includes changes to our planning, farming, house building and more. In short an end to those of us upstream dumping on those downstream.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.

PS During the 'Open Homes for a Sustainable Future' weekend on 13th and 14th September two rainwater harvesting schemes and a groundbreaking Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDs) will be on show to the public. See more at:
www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk/

Notes:
(i) See SUDs Planning application guidance at:
http://www.woking.gov.uk/
(ii) http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/12/water.wildlife

Blackcurrant syrup recipe

I love blackcurrants but all that topping and tailing takes it's time - this is a great recipe I came across...although I am told you can get better flavours from the cold method...

Ingredients:
1kg blackcurrants and no need to "top and tail"
600ml water
375 gms granulated sugar per 600ml of juice

Method: Bring water to the boil with the blackcurrants. Boil for 1 minute then crush berries. Put all into 'jelly bag' (see photo of my bag tied up) and allow to drain for 24 hours into a large container. After that time squeeze the last remaining juice - hey I've read several different recipes - some claim squeezing makes for cloudy syrup.

Measure the quantity of juice obtained and add 375gms to every 600ml of juice. Stir mixture without heating. Then strain again in a clean jelly bag. Then put into clean bottles - fill to within an inch and cork - then sterilise bottles by heating them. Put newspaper in bottom of pan, fill pan to cover contents of bottles, separate with more pads of paper in the water between the bottles, slowly heat to 77 degrees and keep there for 30 minutes.

Remove and seal bottles tight as they can loosen then keep until cool - store in cool dark place - dilute with water, add to ice cream or whatever - love that intense berry flavour - and full of vitamins....

Hopes for local footpath reopening

An historic track has been uncovered in Stroud that could be opened to residents after an application by Stroud town councillor, Chas Townley. He claims the 800 metre route from Callowell Farm to Stratford Park is a right of way and has found proof on a Georgian map.

Photo: Chas in SNJ this week

He is quoted in the SNJ telling the town council's consultations committee: "The evidence that it's a footpath is beyond question. We're not trying to create a new right of way - we're just making sure it's open to the public. It does provide the opportunity for a short circular walk out of Stratford Park and back. It also provides a more direct link between Stratford Park and Whiteshill."

Cllr Townley told the meeting on Monday June, 30 that he was walking around the park about eight years ago when he saw a padlocked gate blocking a track. He said: "I was intrigued as to why there was a gate there and why it was locked." Then in March he discovered a map of the park while searching for unrelated documents in the county records office. Cllr Townley said the plan from 1821 showed how part of a footpath, which appears to run towards the disputed track, was diverted by the Quarter Sessions. He added that the track was the shortest route to Callowell in the Georgian period.

He went onto be quoted saying: "That's still a legal diversion and no one has done anything about closing the path. Therefore that gate is illegally locked and should be opened up."

But he said the farmer's lawyer had disputed the track was a right of way and had threatened to prosecute him for trespass. The lawyer refused to comment to the SNJ.

Cllr Townley applied to the county council in April for the track to be recorded as an official highway on a definitive map. However the way the County works means he may not know the result for 10 to 15 years. Good on Chas for this - I have emailed him to support his actions. Meanwhile if anybody has further info about this path do please get in touch.

Cheaper walk-on rail fares please

More of yesterdays' waste meeting in this blog soon - had various other meetings and stuff this evening so haven't had a chance but did wanted to highlight this campaign...Walk-on rail fares are up to seven times more expensive than advance fares. The problem is, we don't always know weeks in advance exactly when and where we'll need to travel. Walk-on fares must be reduced to make rail a viable alternative to driving for unplanned journeys.

High fares are the result of Government policy. The Government has announced that it wants to reduce its investment in the railways and make passengers pay even more. Ask your MP to write to the Transport Secretary, calling for affordable walk-on rail fares. Go to website to email your MP here.

The Campaign for Better Transport have also exposed that whilst scheming to cut its investment in the railways, the Government has been sneakily approving massive cost increases for roadbuilding. They've been fighting for almost a year to get the Department for Transport to publish the latest costs of its local road schemes, and last week it finally caved. It turns out that the schemes will cost a staggering 56% more than originally expected – that's hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money. There is no question that roadbuilding money would be better spent on improving alternatives to driving, and not least on bringing rail fares down.

Politician joke

I was just sent this and it made me smile after having spent nearly 3 and a half hours this evening at a Waste meeting at the District Council plus several other meetings over yesterday and today...

Photo: Randwick woods last week

Trevor, the farmer, was in the fertilised egg business. He had several hundred young layers (hens), called 'pullets' and eight or ten roosters, whose job it was to fertilise the eggs.

The farmer kept records and any rooster that didn't perform went into the stock pot and was replaced. That took an awful lot of his time so he bought a set of tiny bells and attached them to his roosters.. Each bell had a different tone so Trevor could tell from a distance, which rooster was performing. Now he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report simply by listening to the bells.

The farmer's favourite rooster was old Gordon, and a very fine specimen he was too, but on this particular morning Trevor noticed old Gordon's bell hadn't rung at all! Trevor went to investigate. The other roosters were chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing. The pullets, hearing the roosters coming, would run for cover but to farmer Trevor's amazement, Gordon had his bell in his beak, so it couldn't ring.

He'd sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one. Trevor was so proud of Gordon, he entered him into the West Berkshire County Fair and Gordon became an overnight sensation among the judges.

The Result - the judges not only awarded Gordon the No Bell Piece Prize but they also awarded him the Pulletsurprise.

Clearly Gordon was a politician in the making: who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most highly coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the populace and screwing them when they weren't paying attention?

Do you know a Pulletician called Gordon?

Caroline Jackson: another SW Tory MEP that needs to go?

It is only weeks since we heard about Giles Chichester, Tory MEP for the SW tarnishing EU politics - now we hear that one of the other SW Tory MEP's, Caroline Jackson, is in the spotlight. She is apparently getting paid £6,000 a year for advising disposal and recycling company Shanks on how to comply with EU legislation. Meanwhile Jackson has been one of the MEPs charged with drawing up a new EU directive on waste disposal.

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

While she denies receiving advice from Shanks, the EU rules are quite clear and require MEPs to declare such engagements before taking part in draft proposals - something Jackson failed to do. The Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance GAIA said: "Jackson is accepting money from Shanks plc, a waste company with a terrible record of pollution and financial interests in landfills and incinerators. The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, (GAIA) is calling on the president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, to reject MEP Jackson's text for the WFD and launch an inquiry into her conflict of interest with the waste industry."

The Alliance claims that Ms Jackson is biased towards the waste industry's position in the Waste Framework Directive (WFD). It said: "The WFD is a directive which will clearly benefit the waste industry and not the communities which will have incinerator companies like Shanks as their neighbours. "Because of its pro-industry, anti-environment content, and the flawed process through which it was created, GAIA is calling for the EU Parliament to reject the WFD proposal."

David Cameron's attempts to clean up the Tory sleaze cannot come soon enough...Let us also not forget it was The Telegraph last month that learnt that 15 out of 28 Tory MEPs have failed to disclose full details of how they spend staff and office allowances worth over £200,000 every year. Four MEPs have completely failed to publish any details identifying companies that handle their allowances or have refused to reveal the number of assistants, or relatives, they employ with public money. A further 11 have not fully complied with the requirements – mostly by failing to disclose the names of the companies handling their expenses. This has become a crucial issue after several MEPs admitted their money was paid to companies owned by themselves or families. While the two SW Tory MEPs Neil Parish and Caroline Jackson along with Robert Sturdy, employ at least seven assistants between them, have also failed to publish details of how they spend allowances.

However it is clear that Cameron wont have an easy ride with his reform plans - it is reported that Conservative MEPs are in open revolt over the announcement to reform auditing their MEPs expenses. A secret Conservative memo referred to his proposals as, amongst other things, "half-baked" and "a PR disaster that would "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory". The memo was apparently found on a photocopier in Strasbourg!

Slow Sunday: make bread on 27th to save planet

I love this initiative from Resurgence Magazine - some of us here in Bread Street, Ruscombe will definitely be participating in this day....Years ago I was very upset by Sunday trading arriving and even sadder I find myself on occasion shopping on Sundays - the idea of Slow Sundays is very appealing! Indeed I've talked before on this blog about Sundays - see also the campaign page from Keep Sunday Special where you can sign their petition - Read on...

Photo: Some of the breads at the recent Bread Making competition at the Bread Street street party.

Bake Bread – save the planet

On July 27th the first Resurgence Slow Sunday will be launched. Every two months they will nominate one Sunday where they will ask people to take part in simple actions that symbolise a rejection of commercialism, a passion for the planet, a desire for change and a move towards a more sustainable future. There will be a different action each time. Here is what they write:

The idea of a Slow Sunday is to focus on the choices we, as consumers and individuals, make every day of our lives, that can make a difference to the current ecological climate. In our own recent past, Sunday was a day of rest, a day of reflection. Let’s also make it a day where we consume less, reduce our food miles and our carbon footprint. Let’s also make it a day when we engage with our local community. This is where small, simple actions can make a significant difference to our immediate environment and actively address global warming.

So on July 27th 2008, we are asking people to engage in the simple action of baking bread for themselves, their friends and their neighbours. But what’s baking bread got to do with saving the planet?

The Resurgence Slow Sunday is inspired by two of two of the most profound philosophies of our time – Schumacher’s ‘Small is beautiful’ and Gandhi’s ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’. We believe that big change is possible though small, meaningful actions at a local level. It is only by changing our immediate environment that we can pave the way for change on a larger scale. In other words, we can make the world a better place, but it will only happen when large numbers of people join together and practice what they believe in. And, in the same way that Gandhi made spinning an act of defiance against oppressive colonialism, for the first Resurgence Slow Sunday we are asking consumers to make good, healthy home-baked bread a symbol of environmentalism.

Three reasons why baking bread is a seemingly small step, with potentially enormous environmental consequences:

· Only 4% of bread is baked in small, neighbourhood bakeries. And almost 90% of bread is mass-produced in factory conditions. Thirteen big manufacturers control bread market in theUKwhich accounts for £3 billion a year. Nearly ten million loaves of bread are sold in theUKevery day; their daily delivery clocking up an enormous carbon footprint. This is bread is full of enzyme-based ‘processing aids’ that by law don’t have to appear on the label.

· Bread diversity is a symbol of biocultural diversity. Regional varieties represented grain diversity as well as diversity of style. At one time, this bread was available on your doorstep from your local baker.

· Baking bread is an act of meditation. Through this simple action we are able to slow down, pay attention and reconnect with tradition. It is something to share and to celebrate.

We also have the support of Andrew Whitley, founder of The Village Bakery and author of the book Bread Matters – the state of modern bread and a definitive guide to making your own. He has provided some background information for our campaign and a really simple, but delicious recipe for Resurgence Slow Sunday Baps. Go to www.resurgence.org

Naomi Klein, disaster capitalism and GM

Naomi Klein is the author of the book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, in which she argues that today's preferred method of reshaping the world in the interests of multinational corporations is to systematically exploit the state of fear and disorientation that accompanies moments of great shock and crisis.

The book came out some 10 months ago and in an excellent article for Rabble, Naomi Klein updates with comments on the move by the US to use the food crisis. As discussed on this blog already this was caused in large measure by the boom in agrofuels blurring the line between food and fuel and encouraging rampant speculation, as an excuse to force other countries to open their markets to its GM crops - in the case of poor countries with the added threat that they'll otherwise risk having their aid cut off. Klein calls the move a "stickup". She adds that despite the attempts to paint GM crops as a solution to the food crisis, there is no evidence that they increase yields, and some evidence they decrease them.

Klein also notes that as the US administration is pushing to open up the Arctic wildlife refuge for oil drilling and "amid all the talk of exciting new genetic and drilling technologies, the Bush Administration announced a moratorium of up to two years on new solar energy projects on federal lands - due, apparently, to environmental concerns. This is the final frontier for disaster capitalism. It does seem extraordinary but our leaders are failing to invest in technology that will actually prevent a future of climate chaos, choosing instead to work hand in hand with those plotting innovative schemes to profit from the mayhem. Privatizing Iraq's oil, ensuring global dominance for genetically modified crops, lowering the last of the trade barriers and opening the last of the wildlife refuges... Not so long ago, those goals were pursued through polite trade agreements, under the benign pseudonym 'globalization.' Now this discredited agenda is forced to ride on the backs of serial crises, selling itself as lifesaving medicine for a world in pain."

Not cheery stuff for a Monday morning but insightful - see the link here to local Green party letter re GM food and how our Government is using the oil price rises and food crisis to sell GM.

Gifford Circus: not to be missed

Yesterday I went to Gifford Circus in Cirencester - the rain - wow - no wonder Fairford Tattoo was cancelled - and like the first time I saw Gifford two years ago I was wooed and entertained in wonderful ways - see their Tour website here. They come to Stroud later in August but family reasons mean I am unlikely to be able to go then so had to make the extra trip to Cirencester....it really is a 'don't miss' show.

I love the lack of corporate commercialism - like the totally wonderful Ragged Hedge Fair (that I will also miss this year) which is on 29th to 31st August (don't miss that either! See photos from last year here).

Anyhow the afternoon was magic - Tweedy, the clown, was as great as ever - had me in stitches as well as the children - and at one point made comments about my bright shirt (see photo of Tweedy with his dod/iron) as he tried to sell folk twigs for 50p each - or you could have a nibble on his carrot for 20p....there was also a trapeze artist that played Scarborough Fair on the violin - loved it - and jugglers galore - two particularly good ones described as '100 year old Ethiopian twins who were untouched by age' (indeed it was true - they barely looked in their 20s!)...

...and dancing and Shakespeare and I especially loved the energy of the band - a 10-piece Balkan brass band fresh from the streets of Paris, who played raucous gypsy sounds. There was also an eight-man hand-to-hand vaulting act from Russia.....I'm exhausted just remembering...all in a great tent surrounded by caravans.

No photographs allowed but I had taken the one of Tweedy before the show started - hope they don't mind me putting it here.

Economic benefits of airports unproven: think again on Staverton

News that South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) withdraws support for airport expansion because economic benefits unproven is another blow for Staverton expansion plans - and for that matter other airports we've campaigned to stop expanding like Bristol.

The regional development agency has concluded that there is not enough proof of the economic benefits from airport expansion and will not be putting any further funding into expanding the region’s airports.

The news of this decision has been broken yesterday by campaigners opposing airport expansion in the South West after we obtained the information from the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Gloucestershire Airport Action Group of which I am apart, is part of the AirportWatch South West coalition (AWSW), the umbrella for groups opposing expansion at six airports in the South West. We have strongly welcomed SWRDA’s verdict ruling out any further support by the development agency for expansion at the South West’s airports. SWRDA’s report on sustainable aviation policy, prepared by economic and social development consultants EKOS questioned 'whether any RDA investment in airports can be reconciled with ‘economic growth’ within environmental limits” and went on to admit that “air travel may not necessarily be a pre-requisite for economic growth,” and “the relationship between high growth sectors in the region and air travel appears to be weak.'"

The report includes measures of economic importance such as direct and indirect employment. It shows that in the longer term, employment at airports will actually fall between 2015 and 2030, as efficiency improvements such as automatic check-ins will “reduce employment densities.” It concludes: “We estimate that employment growth will not be linear to passenger growth.” Based on this report, SWRDA’s Board agreed not to “make any further investments in airports for the purpose of increasing passenger capacity.” They also agreed to actively support measures for “greening” airport operations such as improved surface access, particularly by public transport, and said they would lobby specifically for improved rail connections from the South West to London Heathrow.

Another blow for Staverton expansion plans

Here are some of the quotes below from the press release I sent out (see press release here):

Spokesperson Neil Marshall, from campaign Concerned residents Against Staverton Expansion (CASE) says: “Staverton airport’s plans are not about safety, the agenda is expansion. Their own business plan talks about introducing more and bigger planes allowing for passenger services. Our local Airport even took to calling themselves ‘Gloucestershire International Airport’ for a while. The services the airport seek to introduce are contrary to this welcome news from the SWRDA.”

Neil Marshall went on to say, “We have always been told that the economic benefits of airport expansion outweigh the considerable environmental impacts of noise, traffic and climate changing emissions. This report makes it clear that not even the local development agency now believes this and have stopped putting money into airport expansion. However, it’s a pity they have not told anyone but the airports about this in the six months since they made the decision.

Kevin Lister, of Plain Stupid and one of the key organisers of last years "Camp Hope" protest against Staverton's expansion plans, said: “This vindicates the position that we have been taking all along. We have previously pointed out that on the basis of the Staverton Airports Business Plan, it will take over 20 years for the investment to be paid off, during which time, the council tax payers of Gloucestershire will be liable for any default on the loans.”

Philip Booth, a Stroud District councillor (Green) added: “The SWRDA still needs to recognise that airports can never be genuinely “green” while they continue to increase the amount of climate damaging emissions they produce. Our local airport’s plans for a ‘Green Policy’ are similarly suspect. We are calling on the SWRDA to actively fund greener alternatives to air travel and to work to oppose further expansion at the region’s airports.”

Richard Conibere, coordinator of Cheltenham Friends of the Earth (FoE) says: “The regional government’s plans to impose thousands of new homes on our town are already causing consternation. Though this housing madness continues it’s good to see that the SWRDA are at least beginning to see the light on aviation. Though geared up for take off, it’s time for Staverton’s expansion plans to power down and return to the hangar”

It is great that this SWRDA's report shows clearly that the high growth industries that airports
say they want to bring in are not the economic drivers everyone thought - not a surprise to us campaigners - it also shows that the airport's themselves may make some money but the environment - local and global - pays huge sacrifices. They also may be putting money into "greening" airports - but there's no such thing as an environmentally friendly airport.

Don't fall for land sale in Ruscombe Valley, Stroud?

It was interesting to see that land in the Ruscombe Valley (see fields left and further down valley below) is still being sold for outrageous prices - I suspect they are getting desperate as all political parties have said no to development here - it's AONB - and there is such a strong action group (click 'Label' below for more on the Ruscombe Valley Action Group) - indeed at the first meeting with no notice over 100 local residents turned out. I really can't see this land being developed - it can't even be fenced as an Article 4 was put on it so there is little that it could be used for...

See the advert here. They want offers in excess of £17,500 and describe it as: "This piece of land is designated as agricultural and therefore is being sold with no planning permission. However, the vendor is of the opinion that it will command a high price in the event of a successful planning application. The plot is 0.25 acres. It would be large enough for a detached dwelling with gardens with the relevant and successful planning permission." And is this another advert here?

Is anyone still falling for that? Of course it would be a high price if it had planning - in my view this is a scam - not on the same level as I have reported on this blog re other companies who are landbanking - but nevertheless a scam - indeed on a website called Property Scam you can still read about the Ruscombe valley - see here for lots of reasons why not to buy.

Green protest at mail opening

Mail to councillors at Stroud District Council is opened by staff. Apparently the argument since 9/11 was that they were following Government advice about protecting our safety from terrorism.

Several Greens have repeatedly raised this since it was introduced saying for example that they "would not want one of our staff to open a letter with Anthrax" - indeed why should staff suffer rather than councillors? Also as one Green said: "why would anyone want to target a Green - we were not their target".

Anyhow last week one of the councillors threatened further action if they didn't desist from this system and they agreed not to open the letters. Since then the Leader of the Green group has written or is writing to say all Greens want to open their own mail. Perhaps we could be issued with the equipment in the photograph?

Street party gets press coverage

The local press has shown lots of interest on the recent street party in Bread Street - see write up previously on this blog here. The SNJ used that blog entry almost in it's entirety - I am almost a journalist? Well except I didn't get paid - and my writing still needs some work on - anyhow Stroud Life took a different approach and sought 350 words on street parties. I enclose those below.

Photos: Tree planting and below thw inning 'Sheep' entry to the Bread Making competition plus some other entries

Margaret Thatcher once declared "There's no such thing as society." We have certainly seen an on-going and continued assault on our local communities: post offices, pubs and village shops close and membership of community groups has declined. Some of us lead such busy lives that we don't really know our neighbours while others rarely see a soul from one week to the next.

But this is not the whole story. Many communities have tried to defend against these changes and the floods last year brought out the best in neighbourhoods who had to face flooding and a prolonged loss of services. There seems to be a silent yearning for something more: a reconnection with our communities.

Earlier this year a few residents in the street where I live, talked about not knowing other neighbours. This rapidly developed into an idea of a street party, not to celebrate anything, but rather just a chance to get to know each other. After some initial caution, the enthusiasm amongst residents for the idea was palpable.

Last week we had the party, and what a great day! The road was officially closed, bunting hung out, two local bands got us dancing after eating food prepared by virtually every one of the 34 houses in the road. We planted a tree on the green, judged the bread making competition, had a treasure trail, made chalk pavement drawings and more. Everyone from the oldest resident to Cas, born in one of the homes in the street 4 days previously, played their part in making it a success.

It was wonderful to see the street alive with children cycling and running about: some children, although living in the same street, were playing together for the first time. One child, eyes all lit up with glee, shouted to me: 'I'm cycling in the road!'

Street parties are not the answer to all the problems we face, but they certainly go a long way in bringing together communities. Apart from being fun they apparently can also help reduce crime and fear of crime, increase house prices and some have led to actions like tackling traffic speeds. Why not see if your neighbours are up for it?

Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish meeting

Well I was tired Thursday night - wanted to go and hear Paul Mobbs talking on Peak Oil - apparently packed out and great - then there was also a Cabinet meeting with several key items to be discussed - two or three other Greens were going to that and took my issues with them to raise so it was to the Parish meeting I went...I am not a Parish councillor but do get to meetings when they don't clash with District Council meetings...

Photos: recent hay making in Ruscombe valley - done by tractors - although The Telegraph report one Cornish farmer has, after fuel prices have risen 700%, replaced his tractor with oxen - see here.

Parish minutes will be out soon and on their website. No real further news on grit bins, ward name change, basketball, a Parish logo competition, mast at Ash Lane or Watercourse wardens job description. But here are a few of the issues discussed in their very full agenda that lasted until 10.00pm:


Well I wont go into stuff here in depth as the20 is Plenty: I fed back with Peter Hood, the Parish Councillor, progress at our recent meeting on this - see here.

Village Shop toilet: the Ruscombe and Whiteshill Village Shop (run by volunteers) had it's loo burnt down by vandals a while back (see previous blog). This loo is also available for daytime users of the Playing Field and other members of the public and not just the Community Shop and cafe. There has been a funding shortfall despite considerable efforts by the local Community and grants from the Parish, Help the Aged and others including some from insurers. It was good to hear that they now have the money - I had supported their queries to the District Council for funds but it was not possible in this financial year. Anyhow it will be great to have that rebuilt - well done to all who worked so hard.

Allotments in the Parish: 6 residents have now applied so the Parish has a legal duty to investigate whether they can provide them. If more in the Parish are interested in allotments please email the clerk: clerk@whiteshillandruscombe.org.uk

Verges: a brief discussion on how these can be maintained better in future - advice is due out soon from experts.

Phone box closures: as noted on this blog we are to loose the one at Ludlow Green - apparently only 32 calls last year and at Westrip - 53 calls last year. They are two of the 51 boxes proposed for removal. Most of the phone boxes take phone cards only and those phone cards are not always sold locally but they do reverse charge calls - although I've not tried and some say it is difficult to do? Certainly during emergencies, the mobile phone network can be come inundated - and a significant number of people in the community cannot afford to use their pay as you go phones to queue on hold to get key information for services - plus batteries of mobiles get flat etc. However so far I have not been approached by a single person re saving these boxes and no comments or emails left on this blog. However I still have a sad feeling that these proposed closures are another small loss to our communities. One Parish Councillor spoke out against the closures. For more information: www.stroud.gov.uk/payphone including an interactive map, and feedback form. There is also a hotline where people can ring and an information pack will then be sent (01453 754092). The first Consultation closes 14th July 2008. Final consultation commences 23rd July 2008 and closes 22nd August 2008. Final Notice published 3rd September. The process must be completed by 6th September or else we are advised the process is void.

Bra Banks come to Stroud

Collection banks for unwanted bras have now been placed at Ebley Mill, Dursley Pool and the Museum in the Park. Any proceeds will be given to the Cheltenham Hospital Cobalt Unit Appeal. But don't forget Whiteshill School also collects bras - see here - and I came across this great photo.

Ruscombe Brook AGM

Last night around 35 of us met in Randwick Village Hall for the Ruscombe Brook Action Group's AGM. We had 4 speakers and I thought I'd managed to avoid any speaking but did end up with a minor part fielding the couple of questions at the end....anyhow I am possibly too tired to write this now but here goes......

Photo: One of the first slides reminding us of the problems we faced - and while things like the sewage incidents are much reduced we still have many of these problems to tackle

The evening was chaired by the groups Chair Zarin Hainsworth and kicked off with Helen Patrick (pictured), Vice-Chair of the group doing a summary of why we started and some of the achievements over the years plus some of the challenges. It was good to be reminded of some of the stuff as the group was fairly unique - Severn Trent said we were the only such group in their region and we've not come across others set up in the same way - although the local Slad Brook Action Group have to some extent modeled themselves on us. See here an article from a year ago summarising some of the stuff.

We then had Julian Jones from Water 21 with the main talk of the evening. Some of the stories from previous talks were there like the work on sewage and how dangerous it could be, the fact that many sustainable schemes using SUDs are much cheaper - in the case of this slide of a 2km square 'reedbed' approach to dealing with industrial waste water in Sudan - the costs were 90% cheaper than conventional means and produced drinking water at the end and reforested arid areas.

Anyhow the main target of Julian's talk were the water companies and to some extent other bureaucracies like local councils who are failing to lead on this issue - often resorting to old out-dated concrete engineered solutions when what was needed was Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems.

That was followed by Illaria Pretto (pictured), the MSc student from Trento University in Italy who is working on both Slad and Ruscombe Brooks who gave an interesting brief talk about how she is working from the Environment Agency's offices to study and measure the Slad brook first.

I found it very interesting to see how she measured the maximum water that could occur and is now looking at how attenuation ponds further up the valley could hold all that water. The picture shows one of her slides where the amount of water was calculated

She was followed by UCL student Adam Broadhead (pictured) who is working primarily with Ryeford and Bridgend flood groups. He looked at how attenuation further upstream - including on the Ruscombe Brook could help reduce water flows and the flooding further downstream (see picture).

Plus how in the second part of the story the meadows along the valley like at Ebley are invaluable areas for water to soak away and again reduce the flooding - see last photo.

After the talks we enjoyed much chat and many local cheeses - some great ones from the Godsells.

It has been quite a journey with this group over the last 3 years - indeed 3 years ago I hardly knew anything about water but meeting people like Julian Jones and many others has led to much learning. It is sort of frightening how we can become so disconnected from water and understanding how it all works - I was told a story yesterday morning about someone using pesticides near the head of the spring and talking to a developer last week I was shocked that they had so very little understanding of best practice re water management - we all have a lot to learn or should that be re-learn?

Fairford Tattoo: don't go!

The Fairford Tattoo is again on us and the Green party is, not surprisingly, not able to support this event which uses such vast amounts of CO2 and glorifies these weapons while Iraqis and others are dying. See excellent letter here covering the issues.

Photo: Fairford sign

Meanwhile Nailsworth Climate change activist and Plane Stupid member is going further and planning to highlight the damages on our climate from the Fairford Tattoo - see here his website and Indymedia here - see what he writes below to the Fairford organisers and local press - it is certainly an indication of how frustrated many campaigners are feeling by the political process which is failing us. On the one hand we get messages about how dangerous climate change is - a greater threat than terrorism - then on the otherhand you see airport expansions still going ahead and air shows like this one.

Here's what he writes: Within the past month, James Hanson (NASA's chief climate change scientist) has warned that "unless we can cut our CO2 emissions in the atmosphere to 350 ppm within the next couple of years we are toast." To put it in context, we are currently at 450 ppm CO2 equivalent. Within the last month it has been reported there is a 50% chance of being able to sail to the North Pole this summer. If this happens we will hit one of our key climatic tipping points. Within the past month an amendment has been tabled to increase the CO2 cut from 60% to 80% in the climate change bill. If passed, it will result in an unprecedented change to our society. The United Nations Human Development report has said ignoring climate change is a crime against humanity, and on a par with the atrocities of the Second World War. The CIA has said climate change is our biggest threat. So, our reaction to this is to stamp the largest possible carbon foot print on the ground by having an airshow which will fly planes in from all over the world to make the business of dropping bombs appear more family friendly than the business of climate change. We offer a challenge. We will paint out as many of your signs as we can before the weekend to raise awareness of the environmental damage you will be causing. You try and stop us.

Why the Greens are standing in Haltemprice and Howden

Well to me the issue was clear from the start and I applaud education and environment activist Shan Oakes for contesting the election. Shan has lived in East Riding since 1975, where she was an English teacher for many years and is one of the founders of Voice International, an organisation working to promote sustainability through education and is Chair of the Trustees of the Development Education Centre.

Leading Greens have been joining Shan on the campaign trial although as usual the national press seem reluctant to pick up on the real issue of human rights...heres what Principal Green party speaker Dr. Derek Wall said: "This by-election was supposed to be about civil liberties. But it's been called by a man - David Davis - who thinks it's okay for the government to lock you up for four weeks without even telling you what you're supposed to have done. David Davis also believes that you should have no right to criticise the government within a mile of Parliament. He believes that if a child is being bullied for being gay, his school should not have a policy to protect him. And he believes that a judge should be allowed to kill you if he thinks you've committed a serious crime. So the Green Party had to stand. Someone had to stand up for civil liberties."

Here is another Green view on the election from Aled Dilwyn Fisher - see here - he reminds us that Davis was also very much for the Iraq war - anyhow good luck to Shan - the real civil liberties candidate.

Another alternative to the Severn Barrage

I am still very concerned that alternatives to the barrage are not being fully considered (see Green party response here and some of previous blog entries here). As noted it was good that the District Council have taken this on board for their formal response to consultations.

Photo: River Severn

One low cost alternative to the Barrage has been developed by a research and development company Aqua Scientific - they have received £250,000 worth of grants from the Government, and various technical innovation awards, including the prestigious Royal Society - and are due to trial their third prototype in the Exe Estuary by the end of the year.

Most tidal devices are designed for deep open water, and there are very few people developing shallow water estuary devices. All existing ideas for shallow water devices use inefficient collection devices and expensive permanent infrastructure that cannot allow for changes to flow path and the general changing nature of Estuaries. This device seems to address both of these points entirely.

The prototypes are currently being researched and developed by the fluid dynamics and marine engineering department at Exeter University. They have worked very closely with Marine Biologists and a Natural England consultant from the start to make sure the proposals are as environmentally sound as possible. Clearly it must be very difficult for them to compete with the Severn Tidal Group PR machine. More worryingly is the rumour that the Barrage was 100% certain. I don't believe it is and all the evidence so far indicates it would be a mistake.

While Aqua Scientific is still young, if you set this against the 13 year deployment timeline set out by the Severn Barrage then they and many other in the marine turbine industry are sure that a viable alternative will be developed well within this time. Indeed Tidal Lagoons already offer a promising way forward as noted previously on this blog. And let us not forget the technology and impacts of a Severn Barrage are still poorly understood....anyhow time for a cup of tea for me I have been looking at this computer too much today...

Rogue textile banks and cardboard recycling

Over the past few months, as the value of textiles has risen, the Council has been made aware that there has been an increase in the number of non-SDC textile collection banks located throughout the District. Apparently they do not have a true feeling for the number that have been installed by others in pub carparks, outside shops etc so they are now seeking feedback as to the locations of these other banks. Let me know!

Photo: above textile bank and left recycling in Salcombe

Meanwhile after a question from a resident I asked the Council re cardboard recycling - they are still looking at a potential scheme that will allow them to expand its cardboard bank service. At present, they are experiencing problems with our existing cardboard banks; residents flytipping around them - not bothering to fill them up; traders using them at will illegally etc. These issues create operational problems that necessitate significant resources being diverted from normal duties such as cleaning streets, to deal with the problem. One of their ways forward is to work with local residents (volunteers) who are happy to help monitor the banks and undertake to clear excess cardboard from the ground (from users not bothering to post the card into the banks). Several Parish Council's have been approached to see if they can engage in a trial. Hopefully more info soon as this District is slipping way behind in terms of cardboard recycling.

Update on Purton Hulks

Paul Barnett is astonishing! He has just left a comment on a recent entry re the Purton Hulks near Berkeley- see his comment at the end of the entry here, how he is working to protect these old wrecks and mobilizing support from all corners to get protection for the Purton Hulks. His comment gives the low down on recent successes - the plaques they are putting out, signatures collected, the media coverage and the great recent project of the People's Archaeological Academy.

He also mentions The Friends of Purton - they were formed in 1999 and exists to protect and promote the amenities of the Purton Hulks, Gloucestershire - the largest Ships Graveyard in Mainland Briton. They write: "We aim to ensure that the site provides both an attractive open space which can be accessed and enjoyed without being spoilt. We aim to support the application for governmental protection as a listed monument and therefore prevent further destruction and loss of the nations maritime heritage". Membership fees are £20 per year - More details from: The Friends of Purton, 22 Gurney Avenue, Tuffley, Gloucester GL4 OYL Or: barnadillo@aol.com

Anyhow I have now received another reply last week on my queries to Andy Burnham MP (Department of Culture, Media & Sport) on this topic: Thank you for your email of 20 May to Andy Burnham concerning the Purton Hulks and the case for their protection. I have been asked to reply. Of the current designation regimes, only one – the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 – could potentially encompass sites such as this. In making decisions about the designation (‘scheduling’) of ancient monuments, the Secretary of State’s interpretation of national importance is guided by criteria set out in PPG16: Archaeology and Planning and advice provided by English Heritage. I understand that English Heritage has recently indicated to Paul Barnett that it does not consider the case for the national importance of the Purton Hulks to be proven. There are several important issues here. One is that designation would not prevent the greatest threat to the hulks, which is coastal erosion. English Heritage has been a leading player in discussions about the impact of climate change and coastal erosion on the historic environment and has commissioned a programme of Rapid Coastal Zone Assessments to help us address the issues. It is also speaking to maritime museums and others to consider whether there are other options for the preservation of the most significant wrecks in English inter-tidal waters, such as lifting and preservation in museums of the rarest examples. This brings us to the second issue, establishing how important the Purton Hulks are in comparison to the many hundreds of wrecked boats surviving in the English inter-tidal waters. These boats have not had the benefit of the systematic recording which Mr Barnett has done at Purton, but English Heritage must assess all of them before it can establish a national picture against which the claims put forward by Mr Barnett for the significance of the boats can be assessed. In preparation for the reforms to designation procedures proposed in our draft Heritage Protection Bill, English Heritage is currently preparing a strategic designation programme which will focus in the first years on those parts of the historic environment that have been under-represented in past: a consideration of the issues raised by the Purton Hulks will be a key part of this. To this end, it hopes to complete its research and be able to assess the Purton Hulks properly in two years’ time. In the meantime their inclusion in the Gloucestershire Historic Environment Record (HER) should ensure that their archaeological potential is considered during any works which require Planning Permission under the best practice guidelines established in PPG16.

Flat Screen TVs and climate change

As a blogger I get propositioned by various companies - recently one wrote: "...I am reaching out to you because the environment means a lot to you and your blog and I am hoping that this news might be of interest to you and your readers, primarily because my mysterious client, the sponsor of the below-mentioned contest, has a photovoltaic solar panel factory that is 80% carbon neutral right now with the ultimate goal of becoming 100% carbon neutral in the next few years through the use of solar and other energy-capturing technologies."

Photo: Local tree

All well and good - I even took a look at their game: http://apps.facebook.com/lifechangingbox

However things started to go wrong for me when they talked of the 20 prizes, including sporting events, trips, flat screen TVs, home theater systems, and more. I wrote back to them saying I was a little surprised that the client should be encouraging consumerism by rewarding high energy using TVs and home theatre systems. If we are to tackle climate change then we surely need to be challenging such consumerism?

They replied but the answer didn't really tackle why such prizes were needed - why not a free veg box for the year? Or rail tickets to somewhere? The evidence around flat screen TVs being damaging to the environment is growing. Apparently a chemical used in making flat-screen televisions has been found to be a potent greenhouse gas, 17,000 times stronger than carbon dioxide.

In a study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, atmospheric chemist Michael Prather called nitrogen trifluoride, or NF3, "the missing greenhouse gas," and warned that the climate could suffer as the chemical is produced in ever greater amounts to meet soaring demand for LCD displays. If all of the NF3 produced in 2008 were released into the atmosphere, it would have as much warming effect as 67 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, the study found - about the same as the annual CO2 emissions of Austria. NF3 isn't covered by the Kyoto Protocol because it was only being produced in tiny amounts in 1997 when the treaty was negotiated. Ironically, NF3 was developed as an alternative to perfluorocarbons, greenhouse gases that are governed by Kyoto. See more here.

Bike Week success

Last Thursday I went along to the Open Meeting of Transition Stroud to update on projects like the Open Homes and Library that I have been involved in - it was also a great chance to hear about some of the other projects going on - and one that is very inspiring indeed comes from the Transport Group...

During Bike Week 81 pupils cycled during the week and around 60 attended the breakfast for Marling School alone. The pupils were cycling from as far away as France Lynch and Dursley, Eastington and Forest Green. Around half of the pupils are still cycling to school.

See loads more inspiring stuff with photos at the brand new page:
www.transitionstroud.org/changinggear

At the school level a travel plan is being looked at and considering stuff like storage where cycles will be secure and dry and meeting with County officers. The group are thinking widely - one of the reasons, for example, that pupils give for not cycling to school is the need to carry their cricket bags because of the quality of the kit available at school. One proposal maybe that if the PTA could purchase some better kit (especially pads which are bulky), then the pupils need only bring their bat, helmet and box which can be carried on a bike. Then they would need somewhere to store their kit safely at school.

Meanwhile talking of Transition - Rob Hopkin's blog has just today put a film up of the conference earlier this year - see here.

The End of Suburbia online

A fascinating award-winning 52 minute documentary on the rise and fall of suburbia: The End of Surburbia is now available online. I saw it a while back when a friend lent me the DVD - it is worth a look as it covers, how in order for a successfully transition through the global food crisis, climate change and peak oil, the new suburbia must reinvent a sustainable "mom and pop" localized economy. See it on YouTube here.

SUDS: Message still not getting through

Last week I attended a Policy Panel at Ebley Mill that looked at what we would keep from our Local Plan while we develop the LDF. Various issues were raised - one I have a particular interest in is SUDs (see Label below for some of the previous discussions).

Photo: me crossing Ruscombe Brook - one of the sites we would like to see some SUDs measures applied

I have since that meeting been following up on this particular issue as there is a proposed deletion of Policy NE15 of the Local Plan which covers SUDs. For interest of SUDs fans and I know there are several regular readers of this blog I will cover the issue in some detail...

The Council notes that the issue is covered in both PPS23 and PPS25. In the case of PPS23 this states in appendix A that ‘the need to make suitable provision for the drainage of surface water’ is a planning consideration. It further states in paragraph 1.31 of Annex 1 Developers should be encouraged where appropriate to incorporate into their proposals SUDS that are able to absorb at source, the run-off from various types of development, including car parks, buildings, paved areas and roads, or to store water for non drinking water use or enabling it to be released more slowly. This will help to reduce the impact of diffuse pollution from that run-off and flooding, as well as providing a contribution to local amenity and biodiversity. All SUDS must comply with the requirements of the Groundwater Directive. In PPS25 the matter is mentioned in more detail and Annex F relates specifically to Managing Surface Water and paragraphs F3 to F14 issue guidance on the provision of SUDS. Paragraph F8 is very similar to Policy NE15 of the Local Plan in that it states ‘Local Authorities should promote the use of SUDS for the management of run-off’.

This would seem to me that we are moving from our Local Plan that says we should incorporate SUDs to a situation in PPS23 where developers should be encouraged to provide SUDs where appropriate. PPS25 is perhaps a little stronger saying we should promote SUDs, but this still doesn't seem to be as strong as the requirement in our Local Plan policy? I am told the difference is negligible but I will still be working to see this area is tightened up when it comes to the LDF.

I am, for example, still hearing about Planning Applications in this District being approved where SUDs has not even been considered. The Council does seem interested to see more SUDs and I know this is not always a straight forward area. There are several large developments where SUDS has been a leading consideration like Hunts Grove, Union Street Dursley, Grange Farm Leonard Stanley and Stroud College. As part of SUDS philosophy the Council is also requiring the provision of water butts with every new house.

I am also keen to see Stroud follow Woking Borough's example in terms of pre-planning application guidance - in Woking this covers SUDs, renewables and a couple of other key areas. They have produced a good leaflet which has some great simple advice that seems to be helping to educate developers and more - and indeed leading to greater use of renewables, SUDs etc. We'll see! I will be emailing examples of the Woking leaflets to Officers and councillors.

Kemble-Swindon line needs doubling: write now!

Many will know that like others I have repeatedly called for the reinstating of the double rail track between Kemble and Swindon (see previous blog entry here).

That redoubling would allow for more frequent train services, encourage more freight to travel by rail and avoid chaos whenever the Severn rail tunnel is closed for repair.
This project was a priority for funding - but is now in danger of being dropped. See Martin Whitesides' letter to local press today here.

Gloucestershire County Council, Stroud District Council and our MP are all backing this campaign. However we do also need hundreds of ordinary people to write in to Bill Emery, ORR, 1 Kemble St, London WC2B 4AN, Ruth Kelly, Transport Secretary, House of Commons, London WC1 and Network Rail, 1 Gloucester St, Swindon.

It seems that Cameron's appeal for funds for another rail project are putting this one in jeopardy. But the problems are deeper as the great rail journalist Christian Wolmar writes:

"There are, of course, a whole host of difficulties ahead. No costing is available so far and the work may prove to be more difficult than expected. When the track was singled, it was moved to the middle because of concerns about weak embankments, and both moving the track and shoring up the embankments will add to the costs. When Chiltern and Railtrack redoubled just nine miles of plain line track between Bicester and Aynho junctions three years ago, the bill was a staggering £60m.Therefore, it would not take much for a relatively modest scheme like Swindon to Kemble to reach three figures quite easily."

"Then there is the issue of compensation, the craziest aspect of the current fragmented structure of the railways. NR has to pay compensation for disruption to operators when it is carrying out work to make their services run more efficiently. How mad is that? Yet, by then, First Great Western is likely to be struggling with its onerous franchise, making the company desperate to wrest any revenue it can from NR."

"And even when the line does get redoubled, Great Western is likely to want to see a reduction in its premium payments for running any extra trains that would be allowed by this enhanced capacity as they may not pay for themselves."

Christian Wolmar has also criticised privatisation - see here his comments - he also points out that the Tories don't have policies on rail since the departure of Chris Grayling (see here) - but perhaps most shocking of all was to read the Guardian last week and see the comment from a Labour Minister that "if the Tories hadn't privatised the railways, New Labour would have sold them off when it came to power in 1997."!!

Every opinion poll says the public are in favour of renationalising our expensive and fragmented railway - it is only the Green party who are serious about such a policy. We should be following New Zealand - but as Gerry Doherty, General secretary of TSSA wrote in a letter to The Guardian noted "we know that the prime minister will not do the sensible thing and adopt a politically popular policy which would start to undo the damage of privatisation. This is why we are proposing a step-by-step process to bring railway franchises back into public ownership. The government always argues that it is too expensive to buy out the rail companies and quotes the ludicrous figure of £20bn to do so. We would simply allow the franchises to expire and then ask Network Rail to take over the running of them. This would cost the taxpayer nothing and rapidly bring about a publicly owned, joined-up railway. Gordon would not have to mention renationalisation and we could have an affordable railway that could start to compete with state-owned networks in the rest of Europe."

Oh so simple....I strongly recommend the article by Seumas Milne in The Guardian on New Zealand - see here - in that he talks of NEw Zealands pioneering role in the welfare state then embracing a free-market programme of wholesale privatisation, liberalisation and deregulation. This finally imploded amidst a litany of social and economic failures: stagnation, unemployment, bankruptcies, crime and rampant inequality. Two decades on, another New Zealand government, this time a more progressive Labour coalition headed by Helen Clark, is again at the forefront of political change - leading the revival of public ownership.

On the first of this month Clark's government renationalised the country's railways and ferry services, privatised in the early 90s and subsequently run down and asset-stripped by the Australian owners.

The article has much good info - and includes mention of the Campaign for Better Transport's report last week that walk-on fares are on average nearly five times those booked in advance - and all ticket prices are set to spiral in the next few years. Shame on this Government for getting to this appalling point where most experiences of public transport are so very poor and expensive.

Photos, cream teas, insects, rafts, old buses and Woodchester Mansion

Just had a couple of meetings in Stroud and on the way back caught the exhibition at The Space - '24 Photographers' - only open until Friday so don't miss - includes photos by Bread Street resident Mike Gallagher.

Photos incl: exhibition, cream tea, coach, Green Man in Masnion and view of Mansion from outside

Indeed it has been a busy last week - meetings every night except the weekend - but also managed to do some other fun things that I've not mentioned on this blog...like the Open gardens in Whiteshill last Sunday - seriously yummy cream teas with real clotted cream...and lots of money raised for charities....well done and thanks to all who made it possible...

.... plus there was that wonderful celebration of old buses in Stroud - see more on their website here for a brilliant report of the day with photos - indeed a very wonderful celebration of these old beasts that used to work the roads as long ago as the 1950s.

This weekend I'd wanted to get to Saul Festival but in the end plumped for the much quieter Woodchester Mansion - it must be 7 or 8 years since I last visited it - at the moment the District Council has an offer on for staff (not councillors!!) for getting one ticket free when you buy one ticket. It really is the most extraordinary building - and it was lovely to see the progress made in protecting it - well worth a visit.

Next open day is 13th July - for those who don't know this '19th Century Victorian Gothic masterpiece' was mysteriously abandoned mid-construction in 1873 and never completed. It will never be completed but is now a wonderful chance to gain unique insights into building techniques of that time.

One other great fun time was Woodcraft Folk - this week we made rafts and then tried to sail them on Chalford brook. I ended up thigh deep in icy cold water pushing these contraptions along the brook - but wonderful good old fashioned fun that the adults enjoyed as much as the children! Indeed it looks like there will be spaces for 7 to 9 year olds next term. Let me know if interested - we also need help running some of the sessions!! I also this last week came across an interesting website with the history of Woodcraft - see: http://heritage.woodcraft.org.uk/

Anyhow to finish this ramble I wanted to mention next Tuesday 15th Stroud Valleys Project are doing an insect survey of Hamwell Leaze 1pm to 3pm - you can learn to identify the wee beasties and hopefully get a better picture of the wildlife of this site along teh Ruscombe Brook. Call Ivi on 753358 for details of this free event.

Good news: Library consultation called off

I was relieved to read that plans to cut library opening hours in Gloucestershire have been scrapped. The county council consultation on changes to library opening hours has apparently been called off. See also more here.

The money-saving ideas from the council's Libraries and Information Service - which included 'closing libraries at the times they were not being used to their full potential' - were due to be launched from September after public consultation. Libraries locally under the spotlight included Stonehouse, Minchinhampton and Stroud. Now the council's ruling Tory administration has made a U-turn: apparently this is the first time Council leader Coun Barry Dare has used his prerogative as leader to overrule the previous plan and cancel the consultation.

Indeed it was nonsense to suggest reducing library hours - perhaps instead they will consider (like the Lib Dems have called for) extending library hours still further particularly on Sundays. Regular blog readers will have seen my many previous pieces on the wonders of libraries and also support to stop Painswick Library from closing (see for example here but also click on Library label below). For latest on the Painswick Library project probably the best place is to go to The Beacon here (no more news at mo). For more information about Glos libraries visit www.gloucestershire. gov.uk/libraries

However it sounds like the reference library in Gloucester has not been saved. One letter writer to The Citizen said: "This superb reference library, along with Cheltenham Library, were the best between Birmingham and Bristol. I now learn that someone mans a telephone and gets back with the answers. Not everyone has access to a computer. I just hope it's not all about saving money."

German Green Leader in Stroud

I was fortunate to be able to meet Maria Gerl-Plein, Leader of the Green party group (Die Grünen) in Gottingen a city in mid Germany - Stroud District is twinned with them since 1951! No doubt quite radical in those days following the war - anyhow they have 8 Greens out of 60 plus District councillors (see here) - although across the area many more.

Photo: Maria with other Green councillors, John and Gwen at Star Anise on Saturday morning

Maria was part of an official visit here - her fifth or sixth and she'd been a Green councillor some 24 years - 2 years longer than John Marjoram who was one of the first two Green councillors elected in the UK. It was great to learn about some of the changes they faced in Germany - the challenges of trying to raise issues like climate change - it is strangely wonderful knowing that there are Greens across the world working towards the same goals - see for example the Global Greens website here.

Transition library launched

A project I've been involved in for a while finally came to fruition on Saturday. I joined several Transition Stroud supporters to launch a new section of Stroud Library. We have created a display of books relating to climate change and Peak Oil that can be borrowed in the same way as other library books.

Photo: Helen Royall cuts the red ribbon

This is a way (we hope) to reach out to a wider group of people than just those who already are interested in issues like climate change. I have been collecting bags of books for many weeks - indeed the front entrance of my house has been getting more and more difficult to negotiate. Now they are in the library - I made a short speech to announce the opening and then Helen Royall, Coordinator of Transition Stroud, cut the red ribbon. Already several books were requested, but both Helen and I managed to be first and second to take out DVDs from this new section....then more coffee at Star Anise....

I'm hoping other Transition groups might also take up this idea - and the TS books could poss also go on tour in Glos to other areas where their are Transition Towns getting established - indeed a point I made to Head of Libraries in the County is that they should be supporting Glos County Council policies like raising awareness about how to tackle climate change.

See press release and more details and photos here.

Glos Pride 2008: 9th August

Gloucestershire Pride will be 9th August this year - see their website here for more details and see their great MySpace site here (I did even see a couple of photos of myself on the 2006 march - see also label below for previous blogs on this). Hopefully we will once again see the Rainbow Flag fly at Ebley Mill and the Sub-Rooms (see here). I sadly can't make Pride this year - but it is well worth supporting with a great line up of stuff - meanwhile this Saturday is London Pride 2008 - the largest Pride event in the UK with 500,000 expected participants.

This week the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new law which will provide protection from discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, as well as age, disability and religion or belief, beyond the workplace. The new legislation will bring anti-discrimination legislation on sexual orientation into line with existing laws on race, ethnic origin and gender.

At last! And while it is great to see these events that celebrate the freedom of the LGBT community in this country, we must not be complacent about fighting for equal rights for all. As this blog has highlighted in many countries across Europe people still face discrimination and abuse as a result of their sexual orientation. Indeed while the European Union has in this case acted on the demands of European citizens, it still remains to be seen whether all member states will support the new proposals."

Eurobarometer surveys show that a large majority of Europeans support such legislation. 77 per cent back measures to protect people from discrimination in education and 68 per cent in access to goods and services.

Local basketball under threat?

It seems basketball at Stratford Park maybe threatened - but let me come to that in a moment, first more on basketball locally....

Photo: Simple hoop at Chalford

One of the proposals I have put to the Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish was to establish a basketball net and consider a pitch or area for practice. However the idea has not been met by overwhelming enthusiasm - yes there are issues of cost and particularly issues of where to site it - but I don't think those are insurmountable. We tried again this year (see blog here) and Ciaran, a Ruscombe lad spoke, with some of the Parish about the hopes to have something locally.

At this point there is still no action. I think the Parish are waiting for some figures before considering further. I will try and raise the issue again this month...here were some of the reasons I gave at the time:

- Children from primary levels up to sixth form and college levels benefit from regular sporting activities to enhance physical, mental and social development.
- Not much for older children in this area and Parish spending tends to focus on younger children or older members of community.
- Basketball promotes co-ordination, control, teamwork and leadership skills as well as good health, and is accessible to all.
- Schools can be good for facilities but they're not available at weekends and they're not always the right focal point.

Stratford Park

At the Scrutiny committee I sit on we have considered Stratford Park (particularly looking at the problems there and how things can be improved) - and I have also attended the consultations on gaining additional funding for the Play area there and across the District (see here). Indeed it is great that the skate park at Stratford Park is being revamped with £56,000 through SDC Capital funding and a further £14,000 through Big Lottery Fund. It is still hoped that the project will be completed by the commencement of the school holidays.

However it was with great concern I heard that in the process of doing up the play area at Stratford Park the basketball facilities could be lost. I wrote and asked if they would be re-installing them and when.

Apparently on completion of the Skateboard project it will be looked to see whether the basketball posts can be reinstated to near their original area. If not, then a number of other options will be considered and the subject will be brought up at next weeks Stratford Park Management Group. I am hoping this means that basketball will be restored - and facilities not downgraded.

I have written again to note my concerns that basketball will not be ready for school holidays and that basketball is already not so well served in this area. I also noted that I had been approached by several children who are keen to see it restored and that the basketball was well used. I have not had a response to my question about whether there is anyway the process can be speeded up to ensure basketball can happen this summer. I'll let this blog know when I hear more...

In the meantime here are comments that were sent to me from local lads and copied to the Council:

If this facility is not reinstated it will mean that I and my friends have nowhere in the Stroud district to meet and socialise and have fun together playing basketball. As you probably know basketball is a very sociable sport and can be enjoyed by players of all abilities and ages and both genders. My friends and I often text each other and arrange to meet up in the Stratford park court for anything from a ‘one-on-one’ to a game with full teams. I can even go to the court on my own and enjoy practicing moves and shooting baskets – on these occasions I have met and made new friends. Without the basketball court this summer we will be a loose end and our parents are worried that we could get into trouble through boredom and become ‘square eyed’ playing on our computers all day long.

See also call for Free Running sessions at Stratford Park here.

Colombian Green presidential candidate released

Greens have followed the many possible releases of Ingrid Betancourt - see here my previous blog - but they never seemed to come to anything - now it seems at last Colombian Green presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt has been rescued by security forces after more than six years' captivity as a hostage of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Great news indeed.

Interestingly the press reports just coming out this evening all fail to mention she was a Green candidate - anyhow Green Party Principal Speaker Caroline Lucas MEP has already expressed the party's joy at the liberation of our colleague.

She is quoted saying: "We are all relieved and delighted at the news that Ingrid Betancourt, and
the 14 other hostages, are safe at last and on their way home. Ingrid has endured an unimaginable six-year ordeal in FARC captivity, and years of death threats before that. A French national, she could have chosen an easy life in Europe or elsewhere but put herself in the line of fire to fight for democracy and peace in Colombia. Her personal bravery, moral courage and total commitment to the people of her country set her amongst the most inspirational women of our generation. Her safe return is a cause for celebration not just for Greens, but for all democrats."

Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped on February 23rd 2002, while campaigning in the Colombian presidential election. The founder of the Oxygen Green Party, she served as a member of the country's Chamber of Representatives and as a Senator before launching her presidential bid.

Stroud Open Homes for a sustainable future website launched

Here is a date for the diary - as part of Transition Stroud I've been working on this project a fair few hours each week - applying for funding, contacting home owners, meetings with various folk and plenty more - and now a Transition Colleague has set up the website and I have been adding info and getting it into a reasonable state - yes I know we need to do more but the basic info is there...

Photos: Transition Stroud Energy Group meeting to discuss solar at one of the homes that will be opne in September

Open Homes for a sustainable future Saturday 13th and 14th September 2008

This will be your opportunity to visit homes around Stroud, see renewable energy in action, discuss energy efficiency and get advice on eco-renovations…

On the Saturday 13th September we have an exhibition of the energy efficiency and renewable energy measures that people can take plus grant information, in what hopes to be the opening of the country's first carbon neutral village hall in Randwick. Plus over that weekend we have ten homes open to the public to show Solar Thermal, Wood Pellet boilers, rainwater harvesting, solid wall insulation and much more. There will also be tours of Tranquility House that has been dubbed by the Building Contracts Journal as ‘the most energy efficient house in the world’.

There are also two guided walks of the homes which are part of the Stroud's Walking Festival and a cycle route is also being developed by Bicycology Stroud. The District Council has supported us in helping fund 3,000 leaflets which I hope will be ready next week - it took me hours to condense the info to A4 size - anyhow that will have info on grants and the open homes.

So now visit our website which has times and details of the homes. Thoughts welcomed! As noted it is in the process of being developed further to provide more information about the homes:
www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk

Call to change ward name

The District Council ward we live in is called 'Over Stroud': made up of Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish and a good chunk of Randwick Parish.

Photo: Cartoon from Local Scribbler Russ

However whenever I've used the description no one knows what it represents: indeed it is meaningless to the vast majority of people. When I proposed we change the name there has, so far, been no one keen to retain 'Over Stroud'.

I have spoken with all the three local Parishes and they have now raised it at their meetings and made formal decisions. Both Randwick Parish and Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish are keen to see a change to a more useful name like “Randwick, Whiteshill and Ruscombe Ward”. Cainscross Parish are also supportive of a change. We now await the District Council's approval.

20 is plenty and Shared Spaces update

Moves to calm traffic across the ward have had a bumpy ride as regular blog readers will know. Last night in an effort to help create new impetus I organised a meeting of representatives of the two local Parish Councils to look at ways they could perhaps cut costs and share some of the work in terms of getting a 20 is plenty scheme implemented as a first step.

Photo: County money wasted on implementing a 20 mph scheme on a road off Folly Lane where no one can drive more than 15 mph tops

It was a useful meeting that identified the next steps towards achieving a 20 limit - still a way off. Both Parishes have already done lots of work to make it happen including speed checks. I particularly liked Randwick Council's idea to put large 20 stickers on the recycling boxes, to make a fortnightly advertising blitz, to maintain awareness. Also Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parishes proposal to look at pace car window/bumper stickers with the 20 speed symbol.

In the meeting we also discussed some of the 'Shared Space' approaches to traffic calming - Whiteshill and Ruscombe have already consulted on this approach. See also this great website, 'Roadwitch', looking at traffic calming here. I know I have plugged this before but it is worth a look - like the rope across the road!

And talking of Shared Spaces I heard again from Acocks Green Focus Group. They wrote: "Remember us? We are the group who endorsed your excellent "Better Streets for Stroud" report."

I did indeed remember them - they contacted me soon after I'd written the 'Better Streets' report - and now have a good website to push their message - however unlike here there is some resistance to a Shared Space approach - despite the evidence of reduced casualties etc. One of the things that group was after, was to visit a scheme in place - sadly things are also moving very slow here and we still have no scheme in place locally - we have supportive Parish, Town and District Councils and even the County has shifted following a workshop/seminar on the topic. However last summer the floods in Glos have meant ££££m extra in costs for Highways so virtually every scheme and proposal is on hold while they repair etc.

However Stroud have now produced a public realm consultation - with proposals - it is a positive step in right direction (could go further) - a possible (much hoped for and needed) transport interchange and the possible canal regeneration project which will impact on town - these factors have to work together. It seems we have to wait more.

Meanwhile 5 miles down the road in Stonehouse they have another more formulated Shared Spaces proposal with model - excellent stuff for a busy high street - congrats to all of them for a great piece of work - indeed I made that point a week or so ago when I was at a County Council meeting looking at community safety issues - however it is also on hold as no funding at present.

So no visit from Acocks group - I suggested Shrewsbury would be a better bet for a visit and of course Kensington.

Bread Street street party success

Concern for the moral welfare of the inhabitants of Ruscombe, who "exhibited a very low type and a very degraded state of social and moral life", led to Christian groups setting up a church in Ruscombe in 1802 and Bread Street in 1810 (i). However no such behaviour was evident on Saturday 28th June at the residents first street party.

Photos: All the good photos here are from Bread Street photographer Mike Gallagher with a few others from me!

The road was officially closed, much bunting and flags hung out and all apart from a handful of the residents in the 34 houses were able to join the party along with some ex-residents and a few interlopers from as far afield as less than half a mile down the road in Randwick. Also amongst the party was the youngest resident, Cas (see photo of Cas with mother Sarah Watson), who had been born 4 days previously in one of the homes in the street.

The afternoon kicked off with planting a laburnam tree on the green at Laburnam Crescent by the longest residing Bread Street resident, John Scrivens (see photo), then a photo of all the residents on the green (see earlier blog) and then the judging of the Bread Street Funny Shaped Bread competition by ex-resident Beryl Tagg. Entries included a spider, a snake, a bread Bread Street with bunting, a cat with whiskers, five bunnies and the winning entry of two sheep.

Glastonbury Festival may have a wider range of bands playing the same Saturday, but the Bread Street street party still saw two local bands play the main Gazebo: Dr Foster and the Imposters (top photo) and the well-known Smoothie (middle photo) with old classics, stripped down and occasionally funked up so that residents were dancing the evening away. One 70 plus year old commented that she didn't imagine dancing to such music let alone doing it in the street, while one of the children commented that they didn't know their Mum could dance.

All the residents made food and brought it along to cover several tables. There were also games including Quoits, boules and a treasure hunt which had children racing up and down the road. Many residents also joined in with the chalk pavement drawing.

Anyhow I never quite know what to say to press in these situations, but here is some of it....

Philip Booth, the local District councillor and one of the organisers of the party, said: "We don't have a local shop on this road and many of us leave such busy lives that there are few chances to really meet our neighbours. There is something special about having an event right outside your house: the street came alive with children cycling and running about - some children, although living in the same street, were playing together for the first time. One child, eyes all lit up with glee, shouted to me: 'I'm cycling in the road!' It reminded me of my childhood when we still could play in the road without fear of being run over."

Philip Booth added: "It was a brilliant party. I've had emails and cards saying how much it was enjoyed and how we must do it again. Three guests also said they wanted to do something similar in their streets. Certainly street parties are great for bringing together communities, they apparently also can help cut crime and reduce fear of crime and can even lead to rises in property prices, but best of all it was lots of fun."

Philip Booth said: "Everyone contributed to make the party a success. We deliberately kept it to just Bread Street residents as we thought that would make it easier to get to know each other A few residents met several times in the pub to plan a little. Some visited each house to sort out food contributions, some sorted bunting or bands while others sorted the road closure. One resident even wrote a short history of Bread Street which was made available to all residents and is also now on the Parish website. We would be happy to share our experiences more about how to close roads and more, if people want to organise their own events."

Note:

(i) See "A view of the history of Bread Street" soon to be available on the Parish Council website and made available to all Bread Street residents by Bread Street resident Guy Ellis: www.whiteshillandruscombe.org.uk/Latest_news.htm

Bread Street residents photo

Well coming soon to this blog is news and photos of the great Bread Street street party which was on Saturday - but in the meantime Bread Street photographer Mike Gallagher has put one of the photos on the Parish noticeboard in the street (see photos here).

Mike will do a copy at cost-price £3 - call him on 764319. Not everyone in the photo as we had a few latecomers and a couple of households were away - but great to see. He also has some other excellent shots - again I hope to put some on this blog.

Paul Mobbs: Less is a four letter word

As oil prices today hit their highest ever at $143 a barrel Transition Stroud presents this timely talk by Paul Mobbs, author of Energy Beyond Oil. That was the first book I read on the subject of Peak Oil - he is touring the UK speaking about his views on the fast approaching energy crisis and why he believes LESS is the only response that can work.

Paul Mobbs - LESS IS A FOUR LETTER WORD at the British School, Painswick Inn, Stroud. Thursday 10th July, Doors open 7pm for a 7.30pm start.On junction of Gloucester Rd and Slad Road - for directions google GL5 1QG Admission FREE - donations to Transition Stroud and for Paul's travel expenses.

More background to the talk: www.fraw.org.uk/ebo/index_less.shtml
A little about Paul Mobbs: www.fraw.org.uk/mobbsey

Yesterday I got my email of The Great Turning Times from Chris Johnstone which also covered oil prices and I include the bulk of it below as it is well worth a read - but it is also well worth subscribing free to it.....

At the end of last year, oil prices were creeping up towards $100 a barrel, having started the year at about $60 a barrel. A BBC website article in November 2007 discussed this in the context of past oil price fluctuations, and concluded: "The lesson of history, is that when oil prices soar up to record levels, they usually then fall back down". This is the 'business as usual' story of conventional economics, where oil prices go up and down in a world with plentiful supplies.

Basing its policies on this view, the UK Government, in its 2007 Energy White Paper, estimated that world oil prices will be $57 a barrel by 2010, and $53 a barrel by 2020. But what we're seeing is very different to this and much closer to the scenario predicted by an understanding of Peak Oil. Oil is more difficult and expensive to extract from an oil field once it is past its peak production point and the same is true of the world's oil supplies as a whole. Discussing Peak Oil in the June 2005 edition of the Great Turning Times, I wrote: "Once this point is reached, oil will become progressively more expensive."

When we pass the world peak of oil production, supply won't be able to keep up with rising demand, pushing prices up even more. Is this what we're beginning to see? By June this year, oil prices had climbed to $139 a barrel, nearly seven times the $20 a barrel they were in 2002. If we are reaching Peak Oil then we can expect the price of oil to continue to rise. Each big rise in oil prices over the last 35 years has been followed by a recession, and it looks reasonably likely we'll be facing this too, but on a larger scale.

What will this mean for us? David Korten, in his book The Great Turning, uses the term The Great Unravelling to describe the falling apart of an unsustainable society as it pushes past its limits. He saw increasing oil prices as one of the indicators of this unravelling process. He writes: "Increasing oil prices are but one indicator of the unravelling of an economy based on the depletion of non-renewable natural resources." Korten also comments on other aspects of this Great Unravelling, like extreme weather events linked to climate change and terrorist attacks in a divided world. You may have witnessed aspects of this wider unravelling process. It can be frightening to observe.

The story of the Great Turning is about finding our positive response to this and participating in a collective deep-level transition towards a sustainable and life-affirming society. This is an inspiring story, and it is much helped by the publication of Rob Hopkins' new book - The Transition Handbook, which I'd like to tell you about. The starting point for the Transition approach is a recognition that life with dramatically lower energy consumption is inevitable and that it's better to plan for it now than be taken by surprise later. If we want to avoid a societal collapse as the oil age ends, we need to wean ourselves off our collective oil dependence. But the transition approach is about much more than just 'giving up oil'. It is also about developing a positive vision of what a post-petroleum society could be like and then taking active steps towards this.. A central assumption is: "That by unleashing the collective genius of those around us to creatively and proactively design our energy descent, we can build ways of living that are more connected, more enriching and that recognise the biological limits of our planet."

The Transition Handbook is an invitation into this process (see my previous blog entry on this here). It describes how to be part of a positive, inspiring response to the twin challenges of peak oil and climate change. I own up to a bias here, in that I contributed to one of the chapters (Chapter Seven, on the psychology of change). But I rate this book as one of the single most important contributions to the Great Turning in recent years. If I were to award a "Great Turning Book Prize", I'd give it to Rob Hopkins.

The central concept of the Transition approach is 'resilience', which Hopkins defines as "the ability of a system, from individual people to whole economies, to hold together and maintain their ability to function in the face of change and shocks from the outside." Resilience is also a key theme of Positive Psychology, the new science of happiness, which I teach in Bristol. Each May, I organise a big public talk called The Bristol Happiness Lectures, and the theme this year was Happiness and Sustainability. Sustainability isn't often thought of as a happy word, a negative association I countered by giving my talk the title "How facing world problems can make you happier!"

I'll explain how. In my talk, I made the distinction between a happy picture and a happy sequence. In a happy picture, you see the things you associate with happiness. Typically this involves smiling faces, cuddly pets, flowers and things going well. A trillion dollar advertising industry is based around linking consumer products to such pictures of happiness. But basing our mood on the scene we inhabit can make us less resilient, as it increases our vulnerability to falling apart when the required "happy" ingredients aren't there. With this way of thinking, sustainability issues are often viewed as threats to happiness, as they risk spoiling the picture with bad news or guilt. This can lead to a resistance to disturbing information and a blanking out of global issues. If we're to engage enthusiasm for, and participation in, the Great Turning, we need to approach happiness differently. I think of a happy sequence as more like a cartoon strip or story-board with a number of different frames. While the initial picture may not be happy, the response to difficulty can be what makes for good mood. When someone responds to a challenge by rising to it, they give their life three important contributors to good mood: purpose, engagement and the warm afterglow of feeling happy about what you've done. No wonder research links environmental activism with higher levels of happiness.

I come back to the rising price of oil. In the business as usual story, this is a temporary blip, and prices will come down again soon. The more this doesn't happen, the more obvious it will be that the age of cheap oil is over and end of the oil age isn't so far away. Dramatically lower energy consumption is coming our way and it's better to plan for it now than be taken by surprise later. If we view this in terms of a happy sequence, might high oil prices be a wake up call to our collective oil dependence? Might future generations look back on this as a significant trigger event in the Great Turning? That's the version of history-being-made this newsletter aims to support. If you're reading this, it is likely you're part of this story too.

Another positive approach to managing the changes ahead I found in a blog called 'Resilience' - see it here.

Talking of oil I was sent a link to the NY Times - see here - "Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power. Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat."

Clearly for the US government, increasing output in Iraq, as elsewhere, is daily becoming more urgent - particularly with worsening situation re Iran. This can only add weight to the now overwhelming evidence that this war was about oil and regional control and nothing to do with human rights.