Read here first: research showing only qualified support for new nukes

Here is an news item embargoed until one minute past twelve today - Cardiff University led a study that reveals communities close to existing nuclear power stations show only qualified support for nuclear new build. A colleague, Jim Duffy from Stop Hinkley, will be going to the Royal Society to hear the results tomorrow but Ruscombe Green is ahead of the game and can bring you a synopses below - and it is to be welcomed. See my news release and comment tonight here.

Cartoon: One of the more wacky cartoons coming from local scribbler Russ!

The five-year study focused on people living near nuclear stations at Bradwell (Essex), Oldbury
(16 miles from Stroud)) and Hinkley Point (Somerset), exploring their attitudes towards and concerns about nuclear power.

A key factor in siting new nuclear stations will be public acceptance amongst local communities at the existing sites. Professor Nick Pidgeon of the School of Psychology at Cardiff University, who led the research team, explained: "It is clear that the proponents of nuclear power have made the assumption that it will be far easier to develop new stations at the existing sites, because, among other factors, they believe that local communities will be very supportive. However, we know very little about what members of such communities in Britain really think and feel about nuclear power today. This new research, which combined extensive interviewing with a major survey, helps us to understand more about this critical aspect of the current nuclear energy debate."

The study was carried out by researchers from the School of Psychology and the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, and from the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia. Key findings include:

On Experiences of Living with Nuclear Power Interviews with residents living close to Bradwell and Oldbury revealed that:
On a day-to-day basis residents view their local nuclear station as familiar and unremarkable.
This sense of ordinariness, combined with a belief that local operators can be trusted to keep the plants safe, underpins local confidence in nuclear power. However, the reassuring narrative of familiarity is disrupted at specific moments when residents are reminded by external events such as terrorist activity that there might be risks associated with their local plant. In such moments people can, and do, experience anxiety about living with nuclear power.

On Support for Local New Build
The survey showed that 50% at Oldbury and 61% at Hinkley Point supported new nuclear build at their local site. Opposition to local new build was significantly greater at Oldbury (31%) than at Hinkley Point (23%).

The Need for Local Consultation
Regardless of their opinion on nuclear power, the vast majority of people surveyed (84%) wanted the industry and Government to fully involve local people in plans for siting new nuclear power stations locally.

On Differences within Communities
Although attitudes towards nuclear power were generally positive, the researchers found important differences in attitudes which showed that local residents are not simply pro- or anti- nuclear power. At all three locations they identified four distinctive points of view, which were confirmed by the survey conducted around Hinkley Point and Oldbury. These points of view were as follows:
1. Beneficial and Safe. This group (34% of the survey respondents) believe that nuclear power brings local benefits and invest high trust in local operators to keep the plants safe.
2. Threat and Distrust. This group (16%) believe the risks of nuclear power far outweigh any benefits, want to see renewable energy developed in response to climate change, and are highly distrustful of both the nuclear industry and government.
3. Reluctant Acceptance. This group (38%) are ambivalent about nuclear power. They view it as risky but are prepared to accept it locally because it may be needed for addressing climate change and energy security. The ambivalence voiced by this significant segment of the local populations surveyed suggests that, for many, their support is highly provisional and potentially subject to change.
4. There is No Point Worrying. This group (12%) although barely noticing the power station, and expressing few concerns about it, are highly critical of those in authority and unsympathetic to critics of nuclear power who they see as exaggerating the issue.

Professor Pidgeon added: "The findings suggest that failing to consult in a proper manner, or in a way that does not fully recognise and respond to local people'€™s concerns, would almost certainly undermine the local confidence and trust in local plant operators which has been painstakingly built up in all of the locations that we studied over a considerable period of time. Despite the apparent level of support for nuclear power that exists in these communities, our research also demonstrates that many remain ambivalent towards nuclear power, and strong mistrust of both the industry and Government is voiced by a further significant minority of residents. Accordingly, any such erosion of local confidence could have adverse consequences for relations between the nuclear industry and local communities, and for the nuclear new build programme as a whole. This clearly argues against complacency about the future."€�

Just as I finish writing this here comes a comment from Jim Duffy who seems to also be working late! He says: "I think the industry might have hoped for better results than this. There seems to be a big chunk of nominally supportive local people who have mixed feelings and, when reminded of the risks, tend to shy from nuclear. Professor Pidgeon reveals that over the five year study, local people have demanded 'consultation in a proper manner' but the Government has already failed on this point with its rigged 2006 Energy Review which buried the low figures for nuclear's usefulness towards climate change at the back of its bogus consultation. We're still waiting for the results of Greenpeace's complaint to the ombudsman."

"The definition of local might also be important here. Burnham-on-Sea is a long distance by road but only five miles downwind from Hinkley. Our own, less scientific, poll in the town showed 72% against Hinkley C in 2002. This could be due to fewer nuclear jobs held by Burnham residents than in West Somerset while health effects seem to be remarkably common there according to our commissioned studies. The county town of Taunton gave a 99% verdict against Hinkley C in the same year. Thornbury residents also gave the thumbs down for new build at Oldbury in 2002, together with Bristolians, people in Stroud and Cheltenham with a combined 73% against new nuclear."

CSNY tour and Iraq

It is a long story but last month I saw Neil Young in concert - now of course I'm nearly too young to remember him - OK I do really but look he was never my music, but I did enjoy the outdoor concert....anyhow this is a roundabout way to draw attention to his film that came out in July...the documentary film ‘Déjà Vu’, which follows Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young on their reunion tour and the reaction across America to their anti-war message. See trailer here and here and see their website here.

Meanwhile you may have missed in the news that a US-Iraq agreement was leaked. It is claimed that the US are seeking a “contractual and long-term occupation” that will bypass the full democratic functioning of the Iraqi parliament and the US Congress. This would give the US authorities in Iraq unprecedented rights and immunities, whilst legalising the long-term troop bases in Iraq. This goes way beyond the normal arrangements in such circumstances, as for example it specifically permits US troops the right to keep fighting and that all US personnel will have immunity from Iraqi law “except for intentional crimes and major mistakes”.

The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has said that all US troops will be out of the country by the end of 2011, but this draft agreement would appear to leave that decision out of the hands of any present or future elected officials in either the US or Iraq. Here is what 'Our World Our Say' say: "The agreement will also almost inevitably cause rifts between the rival Iraqi parliamentary factions, splitting apart the raft arrangements and agreements that have been holding the fragile political functioning of Iraq together – and the attempts to forge a peace which is so desperately needed after the years of war that have torn the country apart. The sectarianism in Iraq has been exacerbated by the US invasion, and it is feared that it will only lead to the fragmentation of its internal structure or to total collapse – further destabilising the region, and causing even more torment to the long-suffering Iraqi people. Political expediency and the greed of others have put the Iraqi people at risk again, denying them the right – the basic democratic right – of deciding their own future."

Meanwhile there is mounting scientific evidence that the depleted uranium weapons used in Iraq cause cancer - see New Scientist here.

It is perhaps worth remembering that the Nuremberg tribunal characterised a war of aggression as "the supreme international crime". Our government has not only launched and continued an unprovoked war, but it also sabotaged a peaceful resolution. In April 2002 it helped the Bush administration to remove José Bustani, the head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, in order to prevent him settling the dispute over Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction. Two offers were made before the invasion by Saddam Hussein who agreed to meet the terms that the US and Britain were demanding. But these offers were slapped him down and concealed from the electorate until much later.

It is great that the CSNY tour bravely crossed the US calling for impeachment of the US President - and for that matter Blair and Brown have never faced the music for their illegal, dangerous decision - and the on-going nightmare that is Iraq today.

Should we save our telephone kiosks?

Back in June we heard 51 telephone kiosks were under threat of closure in Stroud District (see my blog here). In our area two boxes face the axe - see more here - Stroud District have formally objected to all closures - now we see BT have come up with a scheme that proposes that Council's can adopt or sponsor boxes - but at what cost?

Cartoon: from local scribbler Russ specially for this blogsite and photo below of Ludlow Green box - sometimes hard to see when all the trees nearby grow around it!

The celebrated K6 red telephone boxes were designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (who designed Battersea and Bankside power stations in London) to mark George V's silver jubilee. A later version was designed to celebrate the Queen's coronation in 1953. The difference between the two is the crown above the door- George V's is the flat-ish Tudor crown, the Coronation version has the more upright crown that the Queen wears. The red boxes first appeared in 1936 and within a few years there were some 70,000 boxes.

Privatisation, the establishment of BT in 1984 and the invention of mobile phones has seen that figure cut to 12,747 and now 4,619 of those are under threat.

We have not heard yet what the Secretary of State thinks about Stroud's objections - and indeed don't know when the SoS will be making a decision on this matter which is likely not to be imminent and possibly after the deadline for applications for adoption/sponsorship.

Stroud's reasons for objection in principal to the removal of the public phones is mainly because:

· In the district BT introduced ‘card only’ phones in many areas thereby restricting their use
· Cards cannot generally be purchased in these areas
· Mobile phone ownership is lower in rural areas
· Mobile phone coverage is not absolute

For each of the sites identified evidence has been provided to substantiate an objection. As noted before the details of objections for our two phones are:
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.

It now seems there are two options:

1. The adoption scheme where the local authority (it can be any LA in the area) pays £1 and takes ownership of the box and is responsible for future upkeep and maintenance. The telephone equipment is removed so the box is essentially a heritage feature in the local community.
2. A sponsorship scheme where the LA pays £500 annually BT as a contribution to the running costs to retain the service. It also appears that the LA will need to pick up the electricity cost of about £17 pa.

BT has now posted details of the scheme on their web site and there is a section on Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s). Apparently the two programmes that have been introduced by BT are not intended to undermine the current consultation process but to give local authorities the option to consider alternative options if, for instance, they are aware that a particular red call box is not used but they would like to keep it for heritage reasons (adopt a kiosk) or where another call box may be used little, but the local authority are keen to keep it and would like to contribute to the up keep of it (sponsor a kiosk).

Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish are already discussing the adopt a telephone box scheme in the event of a closure threat. The current usage of the Ludlow Green box is well under a hundred calls a year, so there will need to be serious discussions about how much money could be used to support such a resource. I have still only had one representation calling for boxes to be saved but it is often after we loose a community resource we miss it - we are all the poorer.

Staverton Airport: latest revelation is that they are 'plain bonkers'

Some will remember that over a year ago Staverton released a secret report to local MPs and some councillors entitled 'Common Misconceptions' (they preferred to call it a 'controlled document'). In this extraordinary document that was leaked to campaigners, the airport denied the science of climate change. See my news release at the time here.

Photos: The Airport report and below The Ecologist magazine who also covered our story.

Now in an extraordinary twist the Cheltenham Friends of the Earth Coordinator Richard Conibere has uncovered that the authors of this 'controlled report' appear to have used a George Monbiot article and then twisted it completely to mean the opposite. Judge for yourself below noticing the sections Richard has highlighted in bold. As one commentator said: "This is just plain bonkers!"

George Monbiot – Channel 4’s Problem with Science. Guardian, 13th March 2007. Passage from article debunking the ‘Great Global Warming Swindle’ (see article here):

The film’s main contention is that the current increase in global temperatures is caused not by rising greenhouse gases, but by changes in the activity of the Sun. It is built around the discovery in 1991 by the Danish atmospheric physicist Dr Eigil Friis-Christensen that recent temperature variations on earth are in “strikingly good agreement” with the length of the cycle of sunspots - the shorter they are, the higher the temperature(2).

Unfortunately, he found nothing of the kind. A paper published in the journal Eos in 2004 reveals that the “agreement” was the result of “incorrect handling of the physical data”. The real data for recent years show the opposite: that temperatures have continued to rise as the length of the sunspot cycle has increased. When this error was exposed, Friis-Christensen and his co-author published a new paper, purporting to produce similar results. But this too turned out to be an artefact of mistakes they had made - in this case in their arithmetic.

GloucestershireAirport– ‘Common Misconceptions’ document. June 2007 (passage asserting that man-made climate change is not real):

It is a well documented fact that the climate or weather has never been stable during the entire history of the earth and it is foolhardy to presume it will become or can be made stable in the future. Claims that it is down to human interaction have already been proven wrong due to the incorrect handling of physical data. When this error was exposed the scientists produced a new paper, purporting to produce similar results. But this too turned out to be an artefact of mistakes they had made in this case, in their arithmetic!

Airport: expansion not safety: how many times do we have to correct the media?

Here is my letter to the Echo after their article last week when they kindly covered my press release re the Sustainable Development Commission's call to halt decisions on major airport expansion until there has been a full independent review of the Government's 2003 Air Transport White Paper. In response the airport again said they were not expanding and their project was about safety.....

Dear Madam/Sir, It seems that Gloucestershire Airport's PR policy is to repeat the line that the 'project is about safety, not expansion' (Echo 18th Sept) (i). Sadly some people have been taken in by this.

Even the pro-airport Joint Airport Scrutiny Working Group, along with the Airport's previous Business Plans, clearly showed that there is planned growth in flights and particularly more of the largest aircrafts currently using Staverton. Indeed in a job advert for the airport last month they write: "Significant operational developments are also planned, including removing obstacles from the runway ends and installing ILS, further enhancing commercial capabilities (ii)."

Are they kidding us or their planned new staff member?

The Airport want more commercial traffic so let's stop this nonsense about their plans being only about safety. Then perhaps we can get onto the debate about their flawed economic case based on out-of-date oil prices or failures to accept that we must reduce CO2 emissions by 80% at least if we are to tackle climate change. Indeed we have no alternative. Even, as the Echo has reported, the Government’s own environmental watchdog, the Sustainable Development Commission's report have said that airport growth is not compatible with tackling climate change.

Gloucestershire has a proud aviation heritage, let us now take a lead in common sense.

Cllr Philip Booth, Stroud District councillor (Green), Gloucestershire Airport Action Group.

Notes:
(i) Thursday 18th September The Echo reported: "Darren Lewington, head of operations at Gloucestershire Airport, said: "We are not aware of any change in the government policy and our runway safety project isn't affected and isn't about airport expansion. The runway safety project will remove some obstacles from either end of the runway, allowing the airport to operate more business aircraft but less flying training." Mr Lewington said although some people have interpreted the project as being an expansion plan, it's not. "There are no expansion plans as such," he added." (ii) See advert: http://www.gloucestershireairport.co.uk/Job_ATCO.pdf

Last hours to make your vote count

Last night I got an email saying that today, Friday 26th, is the final day for getting in our responses to the Government's weekend voting consultation. Given the lack of anything new announced on the Governance of Britain agenda - excluding bringing the Act of Succession into the modern era - during the Labour Party Conference, it is even more important that we make the most of the opportunities available to us.

The campaign Make Your Vote Count set a target last week of doubling the 200 responses they had already received. This has been done telling the Ministry of Justice (that name sounds so Orwellian??) that the First-Past-the-Post system is a barrier to voting. But they want to go further. It only takes a couple of minutes to fill out the special online form - I did it this morning: www.makevotescount.org.uk/email.php

There are even some helpful suggestions as to what barriers exist to voting - see here.

Digesting the Open eco-homes success

Last night we had a Transition Energy group meeting at one of the homes that was opened in the recent Open Homes event - see here about how hugely successful the event was - the home was the solar thermal and PV in Stonehouse.

Photo: Love this cartoon from Russ - below clipping from Citizen with a photo of mine of the wood pellet bioler in the Bowbridge home

Ten of us met, including some who helped organise the event - it was a great chance to debrief - the press release I wrote after the event was covered by The Citizen but sadly missed so far by the SNJ - I've written to them again as we need the support of local papers to get the messages out there about energy efficiency and renewables. Plus with hundreds of people visiting - and over 1,150 visits it should get a mention!

This week I've also been talking to the other Open Homes projects around the country - there are basically only 3 others that we know about - and all those have paid coordinators and big budgets - we managed on £750 for leaflets and the website - Brighton for example had a 3mth full time worker and £20,000 - they got 2,500 visits to 14 properties. It was also great to hear about how they ran their events - and get ideas for next time - I especially liked Brighton's idea of an eco pledge....

Photos: Below I've included (as a result of a request from a local resident) the info sheets from the home in Townsend that opened to show off it's garden watering system - hope you can read them!

Anyhow I am now collating this info to put a report together to look at what might be poss next year.....more info on that soon - certainly the Open Homes event is not sustainable in the current format - coordinating this project was hard work and many days - we hope next time we can get funding for a post to organise it...anyone interested in helping plan next years???

The meeting also fed back lots of positive info - including that we were invited to submit an application to the SW Green Energy Awards - I rather threw that application together as it would be great to see other towns in the SW adopt their own projects like this one. Another positive move has been by the Civic Society who want to have an evening with some of the eco-homes householders to talk green stuff - plus I've had various emails from folk who either thanked us or wanted another event.

We also talked about next steps for the website:
www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk/

We will be looking for help with updating and adding further info - plus there is talk of some small events between now and the next Open Homes - a sort of peak at a few homes - an eco-peak evening perhaps? Anyway too tired to write more now but a big big thank you again to the homes taking part.

Facebook alternative for Greens

Well I started a Facebook ages ago to be able to look at someones photos and connect with a green campaign - it has grown huge since then but I have to confess that I never seem to get around to doing anything very much with my account - now comes a new network - I perhaps wont do very much with this one either but it is only just beginning - the Green Change Network - and it has a different feel - and comes from a green and Green party perspective - I am literally one of only a handful of UK members - so why not join up and see what we can make it?
See: http://network.greenchange.org

One reason to think about Christmas now

Yuck Christmas is already in the shops - I love the celebrations around that time of year but why can't we keep it to December?

Photo: Not sure if this Dali inspired Simpsons is about melting ice-caps or too much pizza but I love it - another from local artist Petalspice

Mind, if you have family or friends abroad, as pointed out by a Transition Stroud member, and want your cards / gifts to travel on a boat rather than burning up precious air miles, you need to plan ahead. Some examples of last posting dates by surface are:
for Jamaica 1/10/08
for USA & Canada 20/10/08
for most of Europe 24/11/08
to find other destinations, go to: www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400126&mediaId=17800253

Dichloromethane vote: UK still 'The Dirty Man of Europe'

I have just read that the UK Government was lobbying in favour of the illegal use of dangerous substances in the European Parliament - thankfully sanity prevailed but it does make you wonder what planet they are on?? Both Tory and Labour seem intent on giving corporations a free rein...

Photo: What a great year for apples - no connection with subject of this post!

Brown's Government has claimed that it is too expensive to use alternatives to dichloromethane, a hazardous solvent used in paint-strippers, yet the calculations made in its impact assessment appear to be based on the illegal use of the substance. Here is what Caroline Lucas MEP said after the vote: “The Government's shockingly complacent approach is putting people's lives at risk, and undermining strong protection legislation from the EU. Exposure to DCM released from paint strippers is of concern for human health. According to the Commission, between 1989 and 2007, 18 fatalities and 56 non-fatal injuries have been registered in the EU. I'm therefore delighted that the majority of the Environment Committee has ignored the position of both Conservative and Labour MEPs, and voted to support the Green Party's recommendation for a complete ban on DCM for consumer and professional use."

A briefing sheet from the Health and Safety Executive makes clear that personal protective equipment should always be provided for anyone working with DCM, including "impermeable overalls, apron, footwear, long gloves and gauntlets and chemically resistant goggles or visor", as well as "respiratory protective equipment" if a maximum exposure limit is exceeded - which studies have shown is regularly the case. Such equipment is likely to cost in the region of £2000-2400, yet this cost factor is completely absent from the UK's impact assessment. In other words, DCM is only competitive because it is being systematically used in violation of worker safety legislation. A comprehensive impact assessment from 2007 from the leading impact assessors in the EU, RPA, based in the UK and commissioned by DG Enterprise, recommends a complete ban on DCM for both consumer and professional use.

Dr Lucas continued: "Any proper cost comparison of DCM versus alternatives would have to include the cost of personal protective equipment when using DCM. Such a comparison, as done in the impact assessment by the European Commission, clearly shows that DCM is not competitive against the much safer alternatives, which are widely available. The Government should be putting consumer safety ahead of corporate profit, and I call on Ministers to revisit their position, and to free the way for a European-wide ban"

Is it any wonder Britains' reputation as the "dirty man of Europe" has not shifted one bit under Labour?

Emotional responses to Peak Oil

I have found the psychology of tackling climate change and peak oil of much interest - it is surely a part of the key to getting folk motivated in a positive way?

Photo: Old tall sweet jar converted into home for caterpillars that were eating my broccoli - it allowed 7 year old granddaughter to watch them turn into chrysalis - isn't that just amazing - and then a butterfly! No coincidence I chose it for this blog item about change.

In an article, "The 8 Emotional responses to Peak Oil", adapted for the web here from 'The Transition Handbook', Rob Hopkins outlines the emotional stages people may go through when they begin to really understand the full ramifications and implications of declining resources.

He writes: "Having been around the subject of peak oil for a while, I have observed many people go through the process of becoming aware of peak oil, having what I sometimes call their 'End of Suburbia moment', and have seen how that awareness affects them. For some it is a traumatic shock, for others an affirmation of what they have always suspected. For many though, it is not so clear-cut either way. I have noticed, over the years, certain symptoms of what I have come to call 'post-petroleum stress disorder.'"

Some of the symptoms Hopkins has observed include bewilderment, anxiety, a sense of unreality, an irrational grasping at unfeasible solutions, nihilism, survivalism, denial, exuberant optimism and even the 'I told you so' syndrome!

Getting sidetracked into these symptoms, Hopkins believes, could prevent us from really analyzing "the strengths and weaknesses of our proposed solutions in the context of diminishing net energy. We need to really think through the implications – in a low-energy context – of our proposals, and not remain too attached to our long-cherished beliefs and ideas. We may find instead that by letting go of them we actually come up with something better and more appropriate to a culture in transition."

Identifying, naming and understanding responses is very important - but I do agree we need to move rapidly to solutions - but often just the process of understanding can allow release. There is indeed too much focus on the negative everywhere - the papers are full of it, the blogs and web is full of it, TV and radio is full of it - indeed I just had an email from a blog called Ecological Problems - there is loads of great info on the site - but how much more I would have liked to look at it if it had been called Ecological Solutions!

Positive approaches motivate and empower while the negative can disempower...I am sure the positivity of the Transition movement is part of it's success. Yes of course images of starving children make money - but I remember reading that to develop longterm relationships with donors, positive images were more successful - of course I don't always manage that myself!! Yes we have a Safe Water Campaign rather than an Anti-Fluoridation campaign but how to tackle nuclear power - by the time you give all the reasons for going down that crazy route it is hard to show all the evidence from so many that the alternatives which incl renewables are so much better - indeed Greens in the past were seen as campaigning against everything from GM to nukes. See previous discussion re some of this on my blog here.

Anyhow some will be aware there is a whole movement looking at how we cope with dealing with such enormities as climate change - see for example the International Association for Ecotherapy at: http://thoughtoffering.blogs.com/ecotherapy

Moving in that direction towards ecotherapy there are also Social Workers and many other mental health workers - see for example the Global Alliance for a Deep Ecological Social Work: www.ecosocialwork.org And check out this useful website, which offers a wealth of resources re teaching psychology: www.teachgreenpsych.com

Join push for Supermarket watchdog with teeth

As West Glos Greens continue their fight this month against a town-destroying Tesco in Cinderford - see their letter here - we are still waiting to hear news of the Competition Commission's recommendations for a new supermarket watchdog and new supermarket code of practice. Where is it? Apols but this is another appeal to folk to take action....

Photo: Till receipt from local artist Petalspice

At the end of April 2008 the Competition Commission (CC) completed its 2 year investigation into the grocery market - the local Green party made several submissions to the Commission. The Commission found the supermarkets guilty of transferring excessive cost and risks onto their suppliers and recommended the establishment of an independent supermarket watchdog and new Grocery Supply Code of Practice.

The Green party, the Tescopoly alliance, along with other trade associations and farming unions, had been pushing for the establishment of a watchdog and a stronger Code for a number of years. While many were delighted by the recommendations I personally feel they go nowhere near far enough but they are a start - of course it is now vital that the Commission imposes a strong code of practice - and that it is tough enough to stop the unfair treatment of suppliers for good.

Some will remember that supermarkets were found guilty of unfair practices in 2000 - then they used their influence to create a weak code - they must not be allowed to do the same again.
Government must make the new watchdog independent - and give it real teeth. It needs the power to carry out its own investigations and take firm action if and when the supermarkets breach the code.

However despite the CC's recommendations, the indications from Government have not been very encouraging so it is vital we continue to put pressure on MPs and Government to take action.

Tescopoly have produced new campaign postcards to target MPs to put pressure on Government to establish a supermarket watchdog. Postcards are free but contributions towards postage costs are always welcome. Please email info@tescopoly.org

I know many folk have already done this - indeed I am getting sick of repeating what is plainly obvious to all - but please one more time tell the Government it must support town centres and local shops - and implement the Competition Commission's recommendations.

In July 2008 the Government revealed new plans for town centre planning policy. Unchallenged they could remove one of the key measures protecting local shops. It has launched a consultation that runs until the 3rd October. You can submit comments here.

Alternatively Tescopoly have a new on-line petition to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Hazel Blears MP - ask her to introduce a stronger policy for town centres that retains the need test and includes a presumption against out of town development and a tougher test for diversity to ensure that policy delivers a real choice of where to shop. Follow this link to send the email petition now:
www.tescopoly.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=128

Sign petition to stop water fluoridation

The public consultation in Hampshire on whether to fluoridate our water supplies is a complete sham - as noted a couple of weeks ago here on this blog, we have seen an extraordinary bias in the way the health authority are carrying the consultation out and the BBC are sadly reporting in a very one-sided manner - now there are more adverts like this one plus cards and more giving only one view of water fluoridation.

This is all worrying - if fluoridation happens there it will make it easier to happen here. I would strongly recommend folk taking part in the consultation with the link below and sign the petition just launched but not publicised yet. Sign here: www.thepetitionsite.com/1/no-fluoridation-for-southampton

Please also make your views known at the South Central SHA's Fluoridation Consultation homepage: www.southcentral.nhs.uk/fluoridation/

See article by David Cameron's advisor Zac Goldsmith here. He writes in The Independent: "Is fluoride safe? It's been linked to cot death, eczema and cancer - but now the Government
wants to put it in our tap water. This mass medication can't be right...Fluoride is thought to work best by applying it directly. Drinking it to stop cavities is like eating bandages to cure a broken arm."

Recession needs New Green Deal

OK so it seems pretty clear that a recession is on it's way soon. The collapse of the fourth biggest investment bank Lehman Brothers in the US and the forced sale of Merrill Lynch - plus of course Northern Rock, Bear Stearns, HBOS and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) threatens a wider recession (see here and a piece on the end of American capitalism here).

Last time things were rough in the 1980s, high unemployment, poverty and increased crime made life tough in many parts of Gloucestershire. So what can be done to lessen this?

Well in fact lots. Back in the depression of the early 1930s, it was President Roosevelt's New Deal that got people back to work with a massive investment in infrastructure. Today we face a triple crisis – credit-fuelled financial meltdown, accelerating climate change, and soaring energy prices.

Greens have called for a Green New Deal in response.

Recently released is the "Green New Deal" report, co-authored with a panel including Green party Leader and MEP Dr Caroline Lucas, SolarCentury boss Jeremy Leggett, Guardian Economic Editor Larry Elliot, and former Friends of the Earth chief Tony Juniper. They call for public investment in green-collar jobs in areas including renewable energy - a 21st century project to make the nation's buildings truly energy efficient, with local authority bonds being issued to raise the necessary funds for a major investment in insulation, efficiency and renewables, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process. Plus a windfall tax on energy profits that would kick start the New Green Deal.

Let us not forget that just three companies – BP, Centrica, and Shell – together made £1000 profit every second over the first 6 months of this year. As our Glos Green party news release today says (here), 'these corporations are robbing from the poor to give to the rich and they know it.' This has got to change. You can see more about this report on the New Economics Foundation website: www.neweconomics.org/gen/greennewdealneededforuk210708.aspx

This is all inspiring stuff - and is well thought out - many of the national papers have covered it but will the grey politicians listen?

Sign petition

Avaaz has set up a petition that has already reached 91,000 calling for the fundamental causes of this crisis to be addressed - like tough rules to stop the financiers’ folly, and a new framework that better serves the public interest. See more and sign here:
www.avaaz.org/en/global_finance_action

Great letter

It is also worth copying below a letter from Stroud resident Martin Large that appeared in The Guardian - spot on!

Capitalism is imploding with the credit crunch, just as Communism fell with the Berlin Wall in 1989, with both systems morally bankrupt. Successive British governments have sold off public assets and utilities at knock down prices, leaving us defenceless against massive energy price increases. Politicians have engineered a disastrous housing boom and bust, with Parliament allowing Blair/Brown and Bush their murderous $5 trillion Iraq war. And now corporate socialism is being extended by P.M. Brown at vast taxpayer expense to the predatory city bankers whose only value is that 'greed is good' , even whilst the same bankers are destroying HBOS through speculative short selling. This is a defining historic moment with the collapse of light touch, laissez faire turbo capitalism.

So how can we the people reassert democratic power over our elitist Parliamentary shamocracy? Reclaim a people's banking sector that serves society? And will your newspaper give space to inspiring and practical solutions that will help revision our democracy, economy and way of life?

Martin Large
Chair, Stroud Common Wealth

Turn a parking space into a park

In 2005, artists in San Francisco reclaimed an ordinary car parking space and turned it into a miniture park for the day. Since then a growing movement has adopted a Park(ing) Day where cities around the world appropriate parking spaces for public use.

This year it was on 19th September and apparently Leeds was going to join - it is certainly most appropriate for cities but Stroud centre has long needed more green and more trees - what about next year? See the website for inspiration: www.parkingday.org/

Solar panels to be installed on Grade II Listed Building

Many will remember the house in Bisley where the District Council planners said they must remove the solar panels - see full story here on my blog with comments. I have been meaning to update for ages as the Inspector's Decision on the Appeal has allowed the panels to go-ahead on this very fine Grade II Listed Building located centrally in our Conservation Area. This could be useful to others.

Photo: Copy of view of the panels from SNJ from last year

The whole village rallied around the appellant, signed petitions etc, and the Parish Council even convened meetings with the District Council to try and get them to change their initial refusal notice. To no avail.

The Inspector dry - but highly unusual - comment about 'local public opinion' notes that it is not usually taking that into consideration. Indeed the campaigners were told the whole way along the line by the District council that the Community was irrelevant in a heritage decision. This was not helped by problems like the District withholding key documents from public files due to computer changes in the Planning Department and what has been described by some as 'bungling badly their relationship with English Heritage'. I have to say I was surprised to learn that the EH based their opinion on photographs sent to them by the District rather than taking an independent view from a site visit.

Throughout the whole process the District Council apparently claimed that they base their decision entirely on EH's opinion. The Parish Council based theres on what I understand to be the correct view that EH provides an 'expert opinion' and guidelines - EH is not the planning authority.

The Inspector's comment that solar panels are part of a heritage building's 'organic history' seems to be quite important and will hopefully be useful to others seeking similar organic changes. See also here stuff re double-glazing and listed buildings.

Vitamin intensive jam from the hedgerow

This comes from Dorte, a Whiteshill resident, who kindly also gave me a pot to taste - and you can just feel the vitamins! Dorte was planning to have this recipe in the WaRbler magazine but the next issue is not out in time so hope I am fortunate to be able to have it here as an exclusive!!

500gms Elderberries
300gms Rowan berries
100gms Rosehips
100gms Banana
Half a lemon (juice of)
1teaspoon ground cinnamon
Half teaspoon ground cloves
125ml water (approx)
500gms preserving sugar
A little vanilla sugar

Wash the wild fruit and remove stalks. Pips need not be removed!! Place fruit in saucepan with water and all ingredients except banana and sugar. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Put the mixture through a sieve to remove stones, add bananas and sugars, then let bubble gently for approx 5 minutes. Stir so as not to burn. Put in glass jars previously heated in a low oven and seal with jam pot lids or jam pot covers.

All wild fruit has a large amount of Vit C - the Rowanberry more than any other, but it is more bitter. The banana is added to avoid the mixture getting too tart but berry proportions can be varied. Another recipe coming from Dorte soon - huge thanks to her.

World Peace Flag ceremony today

Today is the International Day of Peace as designated by the United Nations and campaigned for by Peace One Day - and wow was it a moving ceremony in Stroud see short video clip below.


I joined many others - including our local Elfin Woodcraft group in their newly tied-dyed T-shirts - for a World Peace Flag Ceremony in front of the Sub Rooms at 3pm - every flag of every country - 197 flags - all handmade by Japanese women praying as they make them - it takes the group a year to make a set - the flags were presented individually by us all and those watching all joined in wishing peace in that country.

David Cooper (pictured with John Marjoram) who was one of the key organisers of the event made a moving speech and John Marjoram also spoke powerfully about his role in Mayors for Peace - a copy of his words are here on the Glos Green party website.

In addition to the flags from all the countries it was lovely to have a special moment to fly the West Papua flag (pictured left) - if you fly that there you are liable for 10 to 15 years in jail. There was also at the end the Earth flag (pictured below) to represent all those without countries and more - another Earth flag flew over the Sub Rooms - possibly the first time ever on a Council building in this country.







The photos here are from the day with a short video I took at the end when all the flags were waved. The intention of the UN resolution is to have the entire world observe a day of peace and nonviolence - with all peoples and organizations commemorating the day in the ways they see fit.

Full Council meeting round-up of issues discussed

Thursday was a Full Council meeting that started off with party meetings at 6pm...but I'll apologise in advance these notes will be a bit shabby as it is a little late now!!

Photos: Council Chamber and below the RSS document with Stroud Greens listed as one of those participating in the consultation

We moved to the Council Chamber at 7pm and started by singing the praises of an extraordinary man - Clive Hammond, the District Council's Treasurer - he was retiring after 34 years with the Council and amongst staff and all political parties he has reputation for being fair and as described by various councillors on Thursday as a 'gentleman'. He will be sorely missed - not least because he could make a training session for councillors on budgets and finances sound interesting and make us laugh!

Councils caves in on Fromehall Park - Anyhow the evening kicked off with public question time - there were several questions re Fromehall Park - Householders living near the Stroud Rugby Club base at Fromehall Park were left to fight the scheme on their own at the public inquiry when Stroud District Council agreed at the 11th hour that applicants' Sportoptima could overcome the council's objections. Protesters are rightly angry at the way the situation was handled - local councillors were not even aware of the pull-out - see Green comments here.

Climate Change Panel Report - After that came feedback from the Climate Change Panel Report - this was only noted as the Council has to consider what elements it would like to accept - one councillor suggested Tories would be reluctant to put turbines up across the AONB while others claimed the panel was biased towards renewables with no one pro-nuclear on it!! I get exasperated with all that - the evidence against nuclear is so overwheming - even the GOvernments own advisors the Sustainable Development Commission advised against nuclear - Brown would rather listen to his brother in the nuclear industry than his own advisors?

Infact a report released in August from independent energy experts, Poyry, commissioned by Greenpeace UK and WWF UK, shows how that if the UK meets its existing renewable energy and efficiency targets, there would be no “energy gap.” See report here. This blows a massive hole in E.ON’s arguments for new coal-fired stations here as their main claim is that it Kingsnorth is a necessity to keep the lights on - and no new nukes. See also report in the Financial Times here.

Response to the outrageous Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) - The Government of the South West have so far ignored key evidence from bodies like Stroud District Council and Friends of the Earth who assert that airport growth is not compatible with tackling climate change. The latest draft of the RSS infact weakens stuff on climate change that had been accepted so far - already it was weak now it is criminal - many will remember from this blog that we have poured through huge thick documents to make submissions - well I am disgusted by the latest report - at Council several other councillors incl Green Cllr Fi MacMillan expressed deep disappointment even anger at the report - anyhow all credit to the comments being made by Stroud District Council so far..

...apart from going for airport growth here are two other examples of the nonsense:
- remember Hunts Grove and all the consultation and re-consultation and public inquiry to agree that was a suitable site - well this report says build at Whaddon - no consultation, no evidence and a far less well served site - is it any wonder people loose faith in politics???
- the RSS fails to address climate change and now weakens policies like those on Sustainable Construction which the SW had originally been praised as exemplary

Waste disaster narrowly avoided - this was a surprise to many of us - Veolia who collect our recycling informed the Council they will vacate their Eastington depot though they have an extended tenancy saying the Council must find an appropriate site!!! Is this the misuse of power by a large corporation? Or has the Council made mistakes? To cut a long story short the Council have now gone to Smiths who will sort the stuff at Moreton Valence with effect immediately! There is much to still discover about all this - why did it happen like this? Why were contracts not tighter? Some of the papers were available only to councillors and not for public consumption but the webcast remained on as councillors did not refer to the details in those papers specifically when asking questions.

Other Council stuff - there was also procurement planning for housing repairs, a statement of accounts, a civil contingencies update, an asset management plan, Thrupp Parish changing its name to Brimscombe and Thrupp plus lots of other bits that saw us there until after 10.00pm.

Understanding Climate Change "tipping points'

Someone said to me earlier today that they wanted a 'brief something' on tipping points of climate change - coincidently I was able to point them to this short film - a little grim but very real and positive stuff too:
wakeupfreakout.org/film/tipping.html
I also found recently Dr Lawson's 500 words on the evidence that Global warming is actually happening now:
www.greenhealth.org.uk/AGWEvidence.htm
Also see the recent article re climate change in The Guardian:
www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/01/climatechange.carbonemissions

Join Greens in call for action to help RNLI

New charging proposals from the communications regulator Ofcom could cost the lifeboat service thousands or even millions of pounds in fees, the Green Party has found. Principal Speaker Caroline Lucas MEP has called on the regulator to grant a 100% discount on any new radar or VHF radio fees to the RNLI, and to other life-saving charities. You can join her and others like me in making a submission to Ofcom before 30th October.

Photo: view across to Wheelers Walk and Rodborough Fort

The charging plans are included in a new Ofcom consultation, "Applying spectrum pricing to the Maritime and Aeronautical sectors". The fees could be in place as early as next year for station-based VHF radio licenses, and larger radar fees are expected to follow from 2010.

Dr Lucas, whose South-East Euro constituency includes 23 RNLI stations, said: "It's almost unbelievable that a vital emergency service like the RNLI receives no government funding at all. We should be doing all we can to support the lifeboat crews, and taking this new expense off their shoulders is a small gesture that could be a great help. I've asked Green supporters around the country to back their local lifeboat station by responding to the regulator and asking for a 100% discount from new radio and radar fees for the RNLI, and for all the other charities we rely on to save lives."

Individuals can respond to the Ofcom consultation online (question 6 only if you don't have time for the rest: www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/aip/howtorespond/form

Greens add weight to call for alternatives to barrage

There is a new campaign group launched this week - 'Stop the Barrage NOW' - over the last weeks I have talked with them about endorsing their project - not always easy when you don't know a new group - however after much discussion and asking many questions, at a recent Green party meeting, we decided to send the statement below - and today I issued a press release - see here.

Photo: River Severn

Some following this issue will have seen that the National Trust, RSPB and WWF, in a 10 strong coalition with other groups, have recently come out strongly against the Severn Barrage, which they claim would be ‘economically dubious and ecologically disastrous’. A report they commissioned from consultants Frontier Economics, says that ‘the cycle of the tides in the Severn means that a barrage would not necessarily provide electricity at peak times’. The group says that 5m tonnes of CO2 will be emitted during construction and 5m tonnes from transport of the materials, and the barrage would destroy nearly 86,486 acres of highly protected wetlands across the estuary. And the real cost could be much higher than the widely quoted £15bn. ‘This does not take into account costs of land acquisition in Cardiff and Weston or the creation of new wildlife habitats to compensate for the lost land.’

Report author Matthew Bell says: '...even using the most conservative estimates of costs, the barrage is one of the most expensive options for clean energy generation there is’. They see tidal current turbines as a longer term option. The Frontier Economics report is various places on the web - go to RSPB link here. I hope it gets the coverage and attention it deserves.

Minister rattled by RSPB

Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks has been letting off steam about opposition to the Severn Barrage by groups like the RSPB - he said: ‘It is the duty of a sensible NGO supported by the public that occasionally they say yes to projects and (are) not always seeking the comfort zone of saying no to a barrage, no to a windfarm, no to this, no to that’. He said the RSPB was ‘clearly not understanding that unless we are prepared to take some courageous action on climate change the devastation of species will be truly enormous’.

The RSPB responded ‘Mr Wicks is ignoring the difficult issue facing the government over the cost of the Severn Barrage- the energy it produces can be produced at half the cost by other renewable technologies. Why should we spend £15bn, at least, on a barrage when the same amount of renewable energy could be produced at half the cost? Does Mr Wicks think that wasting £7.5bn is good government policy?’

Green party statement

The Green party recognised long before other political parties the very serious threat posed by climate change. Alongside that Greens have pointed to the increasingly urgent need to ensure energy security. We have been pushing in Europe and here in Britain for a massive programme of energy conservation, alongside a whole range of renewable energy options.

In March 2007 the Green party voted, at their Spring Conference in Swansea, in favour of developing renewable energies in the Severn Estuary, but rejected a barrage. It was strongly argued that there already exists cheaper, more practical, flexible and environmentally less damaging options. It is heartening to see this policy is also endorsed by many other groups like the National Trust, RSPB, Friends of the Earth, WWF-UK and the Salmon & Trout Association.

There are also now reports from the Government's Sustainable Development Commission and Frontier Economics, which have shown that this massively expensive and hugely damaging proposal cannot be justified on economic grounds - there are simply too many cheaper options for clean energy generation.

We need urgent action now to tackle climate change; the barrage is a dangerous red herring. Let us instead see immediate and massive investment in energy conservation measures and a whole range of other renewable energies. We support the 'Stop the Barrage NOW' campaign in ensuring that alternatives to the barrage are properly considered and more economic and environmentally sustainable options are developed as a matter or great urgency.

Beauty exhibition is not to be missed

Last chance to see Beauty - in the Eye of the Beholder at Stratford Park Museum - this wonderful exhibition finishes on 28th September - lots of beautiful objects - should be a touring exhibition - mind some objects are not so pleasant....

Photos: Stratford Park today after my visit to the exhibition and one of the statements in the exhibition.

Next Sunday 2pm to 5pm the suggestion is to close the exhibition with all visitors wearing something beautiful - old, new, tiny or an entire outfit - whatever you feel like....huge thanks to the museum for this exhibition.

Three short videos: Green Deputy, Liquid Gold and the Carrotmob

Here's a round up of several video links sent recently to me - all worth a look:

BBC on Norwich councillor Adrian Ramsay who is the newly elected and first ever Deputy Leader for the Green party - see him here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7600544.stm

Meanwhile BBC Video Nation film up about using urine as a compost activator! Ebley resident Helen Pitel (above) whose home was open last weekend as part of the Open Homes project has made this great short video about liquid gold used in compost - Go to BBC Video Nation and click on Gloucestershire or here is the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/content/articles/2008/09/19/liquid_gold_video_nation_feature.shtml

Great idea for action to persuade local businesses to go green:
http://www.vimeo.com/925729

Local news: brook, sewage, footpaths, Alec Alder and more

Here's some bits of local stuff from this week:

Ruscombe Schoolboy walks for charity - another SNJ feature was about Luka Chadwick, aged 10, who goes to Whiteshill Primary and walked the whole of the 21-mile Five Valleys Walk to raise funds for the Meningitis Trust. In 2001 he became ill on the day of the Five Valleys Walk and arrived in hospital unconscious - it was diagnosed as having viral meningitis - he came home after 2 weeks where he made a full recovery. See photo with his mum Anneke De Winter.

Alec Alder featured - was featured in the SNJ this week - aged 90 - he lives in Westrip, owned a coal merchants and A and A taxis - and used to be the minister for the old Pentecostal church in Ruscombe for 40 years - he talks to the SNJ this week about how he has cheated death 14 times - one of those cycling to Paganhill from Randwick down a lane where a car hit him anyone travelling down Puckshole today will know it is possibly even more dangerous - which leads me onto the next item as a tributary of the brook is flooding that road...

Ruscombe Brook Action Group meets - we met for the first time since our AGM in July - 15 of us in a home in Ruscombe on Tuesday night - there was much to catch up on - we started with an update from Adam on Ilaria's report and its implications for Ruscombe Brook (see more here). This is very exciting as Illaria's report instead of recommending one pond and dam to stop water flooding the Slad Road (it would need to be a one kilometre long pond!!) recommends a series of small ponds all the way up the valley - just like the old days - if this can take place it will be ground-breaking - the only scheme in the country. So to allay fears a smaller scheme is being considered first in Stonehouse - if these work then we will be looking at Ruscombe - the reality is that in those other two areas the priority is greater as homes are flooded - having said that we will also be looking at measures in Ruscombe with the landowners. We then had a presentation from Alastair and Erfan on their ecological
survey of biodiversity in Ruscombe Brook. this was fascinating and I hope to put it on the planned new website we are seeking funds for at the moment. Much else was covered and much apple cake eater - also looking at a direct action group to clear out the ditch at Puckshole - RBAG members are in touch with the landowner - more of that soon - in fact have had lots of phone calls so will do a separate blog on that v soon.

Update on local sewage works - Just to recap slightly, the flow survey was completed a while ago and the hydraulic model has also now been verified. This indicated that there is a
capacity issue within the main Ruscombe Brook sewer. Further survey work has been undertaken by Severn Trent within some of the subcatchments which feed into the main Ruscombe Brook sewer to help us all identify possible solutions. These subcatchments contain significant areas of private drainage systems for which there were no records available. This has meant tracing sewer routes and undertaking manhole surveys where necessary. Severn Trent are also in the process of undertaking some initial impermeable area surveys to identify which areas drain to the foul system and what drains to surface water sewers. Once they have undertaken these surveys they are hoping then to be able to start formulating outline solutions. This is all good news - and a very different picture from 3 years ago when we started the brook group and the water company was saying there wasn't a problem - now they are working with us on this.

Sewage incident - sewage incidents used to be many and often - however we now get them rarely - there was the first one for a while reported to us about 2 weeks ago - a manhole cover opened with the heavy rains near homes before Hamwell Leaze. Hopefully once problems are identified these incidents will be further reduced.

Conmen in Whiteshill - Police have checked on homes in Whiteshill after conmen stole from a home there - however it appears they seemed to have targeted one home specifically.

Wheelers Walk footpath update - Some will remember I have complained about the state of this path that was impassable at points this summer - see here - I wrote several times as got no answer - yesterday I did - here it is: The Public Rights of Way Team carried out a condition survey of all paths in the County last year. This path was inspected on 21 December 2007. There was no evidence of a drainage problem although it was muddy. The path was again inspected yesterday. I again found no evidence of a drainage problem. I consider this path to be in a condition I would expect at this location and at this time of year, especially taking into account recent weather conditions. The path follows a hill with a steep gradient. The amount of rain over the last few weeks which has poured down the hill has caused the ground to become muddy at the point where the access from Wheelers Walk meets the field. Apart from walkers exercising their dogs, this is obviously, due to the amount of graffiti and litter, an area where kids congregate. I have now inspected this path in the middle of winter and after a period of sustained rain. I do not consider that a bridge or boardwalk is necessary at this location. I will arrange to inspect the path again however after a period of relatively dry weather to ascertain whether the surface has indeed improved. It does seem the path has improved - the litter (eg polystyrene, cardboard etc) was mostly put down so that folk could cross the site - and the sewage smell is currently not present but I am not confident the problem has gone away.

Buy or Barter Brunch - and event from Transition Stroud - Sunday 21st September 11.00 – 1.00 - Mills Café, High Street, Stroud - £2 entry - a challenging and fun way to get good local food and think about trading and a local currency Please bring (locally sourced if possible) food to share. On arrival your £2 will be exchanged for a local currency which you can then use to buy, sell, trade or barter the various wares on offer to make a tasty brunch. Arrival and coffee 11.00, then 11.30 buy or barter begins. Don't forget Sunday is also the day for flags outside Sub Rooms at 3pm - see more here.

Bus stop at Stratford Road - many will know we have been campaigning for years for this - we heard earlier in the year Tesco were set to build one but it is still not there - a resident has contacted me this week to see why not - in my emails to the County and Tesco I have learnt that approval from Tesco to release funds will be made this week. Hopefully that means it wont be too long.....especially with autumn coming - although I reckon we could have done with it this summer!!

Dangerous footpath made more dangerous - a footpath we have highlighted many times since a meeting with Highways - see here - has finally seen some action - exactly the action we said we didn't want = the Wardens path has been addressed with the installation of a low metal barrier across a short section at the top of the bank. However, as we had predicted the children/youths/adults treat it as a challenge and leap over it and as a result go down the bank even faster and with even less control than before. It more than annoys me that public money has been wasted on a totally ineffective scheme and that once again neither the Parish Council nor myself were consulted or even given the opportunity to comment - baaaaaaaaaaaaah! I will be writing to the County!

Basketball hoop for Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish - the Parish Council have accepted the free hoop that I have managed to obtain from Stratford Park - more of that coming soon.

Enough airport nonsense from Labour

In the last post I covered Staverton Airport's expansion plans - but it is perhaps no wonder that folk think they can expand Airport's? After all we have a Government claiming to tackle climate change yet plans to expand airports.

Photo: Ad in The Independent today

Another attempt to make them see sense arrived in my email box this morning - they want folk to write to Ruth Kelly to stop her climate-wrecking airport plans. For more info go to: www.enoughsenough.org/e/confused.html

Indeed I also just came across a report by the BBC telling of the wonders of expanding Staverton airport (see here). I understand one campaigner has complained at that - it is like these journalists just don't get it - no mention of the CO2 emissions that this new service will produce, just what a great new service this is going to be! Can we assume the BBC supports the expansion?

Staverton plans: expansion not safety

I get an increasingly full email box and I do seek to answer all queries - two this week have been around Staverton this week after the Echo covered quotes from my press release earlier this week. Again the airport is quoted saying it is about safety not expansion - what utter nonsense. I thought I would include one of the emails here anonymously with my response:

Photoshop: by Russ - could be read several ways!

Dear Councillor, I was surprised to read that you are against the planned extension of Gloucester airport. I would have expected you to be in favour of safety. The 11(eleven)meters of extension and the removal of obstacles in the area are both being proposed to increase the safety of aircraft landing at this delightful airfield. They will not enable any additional aircraft to use the airfield but they will make it safer for those who already do. I would suspect that someone has been telling you some untruths and suggesting that this massive (!) extension will mean that Jumbo Jets are going to use the airfield. Not a chance - thank goodness. As a light aircraft pilot myself I would be delighted to see the airfield made safer. It would be awful if we had to wait for an accident before getting these minor changes made.

Thanks for your response. I would urge you to see the CASE response to the Council's report re Staverton Airport:
http://tinyurl.com/2ythce

You will see from that report that the measures taken are about increasing the number of planes and growing the business. The evidence is, to me, beyond doubt. Indeed when Gloucester City councillors talked about capping flight numbers the airport are trying to reject even a 100,000 flight cap. If it is not about more planes then why not accept current flight numbers of around 80,000?

Sadly the business case fails badly and is based on oil prices at half the cost of today. The way to increase safety is surely to reduce the size of planes using the airport - not continue to expand services like Manx etc?

Three years ago the Tyndall Centre calculated that if Britain were to meet its target of cutting greenhouse gases by 60 per cent by 2050, and emissions from aviation were not reduced, all other emissions – from households, businesses, energy generation and cars – would have to go to zero. Flying would take up everything that was available.

If we can't stop a small airport like Staverton from expanding then what hope do we have of tackling climate change? We now have less than 100 months to act - see this website especially The Guardian article linked to that site:
http://www.onehundredmonths.org/

Cllr. Philip Booth

Talk like a pirate and get wise re tuna

Arrrrh Mateys! This is apparently the day to unleash your inner buccaneer - yes I am reliably informed that it is Talk Like a Pirate Day today. That is of course talk like a pirate not act like one - sadly there are still to many real pirates out there on the seas - estimates put losses to pirates at $13 to $16bn per year - no joke indeed but this leads me seemlessly on to tinned tuna and how the pirates of the industry are putting it in trouble...

Photo: Taken by Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish councillor Rob Walker when working on the rigs

The UK is the second biggest consumer in the world of tuna after the USA and globally tuna exports are worth more than any other fish species, at around $2.7 billion per year. Greenpeace recently launched a report - Tinned Tuna's Hidden Catch - it explains how sea turtles, sharks and other fish species are all being wiped out in their thousands - caught in the nets and on the long-lines of the global tuna industry. In 2005 this 'accidental bycatch' amounted to some 100,000 tonnes worldwide and you would have thought by now with all the press coverage at that time that things would be sorted....?

Photo: Greenpeace website

Infact some of Britain's top selling brands, like John West and Princes, are among the worst at ensuring the fish they sell are caught using sustainable methods. Greenpeace have produced a league table ranking these large tuna retailers according to various sustainablility criteria, and John West, the nation's biggest tuna brand, is languishing right at the bottom. Until things change, John West are officially John Worst. See here. Greenpeace are calling on us to write to John Worst - see more here.

It is amazing that despite rampant over-fishing and depletion of world fish populations, globally, we are now feeding 14 million tons of edible wild-caught fish to factory farm animals, like pigs and chickens, each year!! That amounts to over six times the amount of fish the entire U.S. population eats annually. Apparently wild fish fed to animals on a massive scale include perfectly edible anchovies, sardines, mackerel, and herring, which are ground into a cheap fishmeal and sold for animal feed. In other words a protein source is being fed to animals on corporate farms with a 90% energy loss. Given the global food crisis and the over-harvesting of many of the ocean's commercial fish varieties, careful analysis of resource use by the global industrial food complex is becoming a life or death imperative.

So me hearty's get thee writin' and er campaign'in - OK I know I can't do this pirate talk thing...

More support to stop Glos Airport expansion plans

Last night I met a Gloucestershire Friends of theEarth Coordinator in Cheltenham - and one of the topics was Staverton Airport. Things have been quiet on this but look set to warm up again as folk return from holidays and all. Below I've copied my press release today after the Sustainable Development Commission have called for a halt to Airport expansions.

Photo: Sent this evening on a Transition Stroud email list

In reading my post from while I was away I note that our Glos Constabulary are providing extra coverage for the new Manx2 flights out of Staverton. I wonder what cost this is to the taxpayer - another subsidy to aviation - and how much will the planned additional flights cost? Will this impact on Glos policing?

Campaigners welcome watchdog calls for airport expansion to be put on hold

Gloucestershire Airport Action Group (GAAG) has strongly welcomed a repeated call today for decisions on major airport expansion to be put on hold until there has been a full independent review of the Government's 2003 Air Transport White Paper.

GAAG spokesperson Philip Booth, commented: “The Government is becoming ever more isolated in clinging to the airport expansion plans set down in the 2003 Air Transport White Paper. Locally we see that both Gloucestershire and Bristol airports have expansion plans and have both failed to recognise the new realities required to move to a low carbon economy. Climate change is a global issue that urgently requires local, regional and national as well as global solutions.”

Philip Booth, who is also a Stroud District councillor: "The Government’s own environmental watchdog, the Sustainable Development Commission's report should also mean a reassessment of the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) - the most influential planning document for the South West. The Government of the South West have so far ignored key evidence from bodies like Stroud District Council and Friends of the Earth who assert that airport growth is not compatible with tackling climate change. Indeed on Thursday night Stroud District Council will be voting on a response to the latest draft of the RSS and we look set to again to express concern about the negative impacts of airport growth."

The recommendation to put airport decisions on hold has been made the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) in a study entitled "Contested Evidence: The case for an independent review of aviation policy.” This follows up on its May 2008 Report "Breaking the Holding Pattern" and puts the Government under increased pressure to review its plans for airport expansion around the country. It concludes: "The context itself has changed markedly since the 2003 Air Transport White Paper was produced. Climate change science has advanced significantly, and the Stern Review has framed the debate on the economic case for early action...The Climate Change Act will set carbon budgets... If the 2050 target is increased to a reduction of 80% compared to 1990 levels then, on the basis of those projections, aviation would account for over 70% of UK emissions...The economic downturn and soaring fuel prices have hit the number of business and leisure flights, and public attitudes to flying are more ambivalent..."

The report’s authors believe that the risks of decisions in favour of expansion outweigh the possible benefits as long as the outcomes of political decisions on climate change remain uncertain and while there is controversy between different stakeholder groups.

Now 99 months to avoid disaster: free market is not the answer

While I was away a new project was launched: 'one hundred months' - that's the time we have to stop the climate system 'tipping'...

Photo: Randwick woods

"From today, Friday 1 August 2008, We may only have one hundred months before the earth's climate system could 'tip'...One hundred months to deliver committed action. Make every month count."

I would strongly urge reading The Guardian article that launched this project - it covers the reasons why and some of the ways we need to act - most worryingly they have been very cautious in their calculations - some consider we have less time - I hope this will spur folk on to act: www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/01/climatechange.carbonemissions

I also came across the Earth Clock - let us hope it also acts as motivator to remind us all of the limited time we have to make positive change. Watch population growth, CO2 emissions, oil depletion, desertification and more all on one screen and all in real time: www.poodwaddle.com/clocks3.htm

Locally Gloucestershire is alive with actions that are about tackling climate change - the interest in the Open Homes event at the weekend was overwhelming - I've also just been sent a link to Cathy Green in Cheltenham who has put this video up from the Earth Day in May:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig-8V0qE5Ww

Free market is not the answer

I was talking about all the positive steps that were taking place but that there was still a need for much more urgency with a guy I met yesterday - however like many people - and indeed politicians from the three main parties - he still seem to believe that the free market will somehow protect people from ecological disaster and solve the energy crisis. In a recent plenary chaired by campaigner and journalist Mark Lynas at the Campaign Against Climate Change International Climate Forum, Green MEP Dr Lucas said that political leaders can no longer commit to endless free market economic growth, then wring their hands about climate change.

Here is some of what she says that I copy here because this factor still seems to be missing from many folks analysis of the situation and at least starts to illustrate why the free market is not going to solve the situation: “Climate change is only one factor in a whole series of challenges we are facing, along with approaching fossil fuel shortages and rising food prices – all of which highlight the fact that the way we live is simply unsustainable. And there is a real limit to what the markets can do, especially where they rely on ‘green’ initiatives by big companies with inconsistent environmental track records. The booming free market, which has played a huge part in the rapid generation of damaging climate emissions, cannot stop climate change on its own.

“Shell, for example, likes to boast of its environmental credentials, yet it invests on average just 1% of its total capital investment in renewable energy each year, compared with around 70% looking for yet more dwindling oil and gas. It recently withdrew from the London Array wind energy project, one of the most ambitious renewable projects in Europe because the market, without sufficient government regulation or incentives, simply didn't make it sufficiently attractive.

“Leaving everything to the free market is too slow, and too unpredictable - not least because the true environmental and social costs of production aren't factored into prices. We need urgent political action, and a political will that has so far been conspicuous by its absence across the world, if we are to reduce the chances of having to suffer the worst impacts of climate change.

“Sadly, at the moment we need it most, government action is unpopular and out of fashion, and there is very little sign that any government anywhere in the world has grasped the scale or the urgency of the task we face. Under this Labour government, despite all its climate rhetoric, greenhouse gas emissions have risen. Any government which, on the one hand, recommends a massive growth in airport capacity and gives the go-ahead to Heathrow expansion, while also committing to more coal fired power stations, then on the other, aims for a massive reduction in carbon emissions by Central Government has an absolutely key role to play in establishing a mandatory policy framework - based on a combination of regulatory and fiscal policy in line with the principles of contraction and convergence, and with equal per capita emission rights - to enable everyone to make the urgent and ambitious changes necessary."

Vintage clothes

Just a quick plug for Angel Vintage clothing who have been occupying a shop opposite Iceland and/or at the top of the High Street for this month only. Call Joy on 07980 839946.

Photo: Randwick woods

Joy, formerly of that wonderful Stroud cafe The Angel, has been sharing the space with Lizzi and 'Jewellery for the Soul' - there is of course everything green about reusing cloths - indeed we need to do more to help people make that connection - this morning I saw someone throing out loads of good clothes that could have gone to a Charity Shop or textile bank at the very least...anyhow coincidently last night I bumped into a woman called Alice who comes occasionally to the Stroud Vintage fairs - she reminded me that the next one is in the Sub Rooms on Saturday 4th October. So why not go along!

What is truth about Sharpness composting facility?

I have received a number of complaints regarding the smells and pests at the new in-vessel composting plant in Sharpness, Gloucestershire, which has been open since May - this is capable of processing 48,000 tonnes of organic waste each year. But what is the truth of this?

Photo: Randwick woods

Herefordshire-based organic waste processing firm Bioganix plc acquired an existing building to house the £4.3 million facility that processes municipal kitchen and garden waste as well as commercial food waste. They have been running since 2001, with their first plant in Wharton, Herefordshire, which has become part of Defra's New Technologies Demonstrator Programme. The second Bioganix facility opened in Parnham, Suffolk, in May 2006 with a 35,000 tonne capacity. Another, in Buckinghamshire, is apparently in the offing.

The company has developed its own “in vessel” composting process, which basically takes all the key elements of making compost in your own back garden and just accelerates them. The waste is pumped into two huge cylinders and carefully controlled, treated with bacterial cultures and passed through various stages until it emerges 100 hours later as usable – saleable – compost.

The problem in the past for such ventures has been keeping the smell inside the building rather than letting it drift off across the countryside. Indeed, it’s critical because planning approval for new facilities around the country often hinges on this factor. However Bioganix use “air scrubbers” connected through various pipe work, tubing and machinery which essentially clean up the air before letting it escape. The entire facility is kept under negative air pressure, which means when a door is opened the air is sucked in rather than sucked out. Even the regular delivery trucks are quickly ushered into air-locked delivery bays, away from sensitive noses.

Bioganix has attracted some criticisms at other plants - these criticisms have apparently waned. In Sharpness the criticisms have been loud and vocal in past months. The smells and flies have been unacceptable.

I have telephoned Environmental Health and found that Stroud District Council is visiting the site daily and monitoring smell and pests - the officers attended a meeting which was held a couple of weeks ago to try and address some of the problems with local businesses and residents. The Council Officers tell me that the Council don't have powers to act on this one - but are more acting to help understand the problem - it is the Environment Agency who have the powers - they can serve a notice or even withdraw the licence. In my conversation today with the EA Officer coordinating the case I got a much better picture of the issues and was reassured that residents complaints were being taken very seriously.

It is clear since that meeting things are better in terms of the smells - but by no means right. I telephoned the Operational Manager earlier today and had a long conversation with him - he admits things have not been good at times but is very optimistic that organic filters which take time to start working are now starting to work in the way they were intended. We will see - it would be a pity if such a useful process ended up with much bad publicity. We need to reduce landfill urgently.

Having said all that it has been interesting having a conversation with another resident of Sharpness who blames the smells not on this plant (although he did say it was not without blame), but on local sewage problems. He also mentioned that ships off-loading at the port also had all sorts of products that smelt - fertilisers being one product.

Clearly this one needs watching - I would also welcome others views on this as it is hard to get a true picture.

Hundreds visit eco-homes over weekend

Open Homes for a more Sustainable Future

At the weekend over 750 visits were made to 12 homes in the Stroud area to see renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in action and in addition well over 400 people visited Randwick Village Hall to see the eco-exhibitions and the official opening of the hall (i). Below is the press release that I sent out - I have to say while it was a great weekend I am kinda of glad it is over now as lots to catch up with!!

See also the childrens poster competition here, my blog re the opening of the Village Hall plus photos here and lastly more re the Village Hall here.

Photos Tranquilty House and Bowbridge Lane Wood Pellet boiler.

Philip Booth, the Coordinator of the Transition Stroud project who organised the opening of the 12 homes and exhibitions in Randwick Village Hall said: "We've been blown away by the response. Interest in energy efficiency and renewable energy is huge. The homeowners have had constant flows of visitors all weekend and most could not have coped with larger numbers. Enormous thanks must go to these pioneers for opening their homes to help others and give advice - indeed the whole project has been put together by volunteers and thanks must also go to them all (ii)."

WI nearly run out of cakes!

Randwick Village Hall had over 150 attend the Hall Opening with speeches by the Village Hall Committee members Alan Tomlinson and Val Flack, the District councillor for the ward, Cllr Philip Booth and Wap Mayor Stan Giles who cut the official ribbon. Flowers were presented to Krista Harris of Stroud District Council for her help with gaining the grants and to Alan Tomlinson's wife, Sue for her support. In total on the Saturday well over 400 people visited the hall, which is claimed to be the countries first carbon neutral village hall and has various insulation measures, PV and a Ground Source Heat pump which were all on show to the public along with exhibitions on energy advice, grants and various technologies.

Photos: details of external insulation at one home, the cycle group off to visit another home and in another home learning about lime plaster.

Philip Booth commenting on the Village Halls' eco-makeover said: "The Village Hall committee, Alan Tomlinson, Val and Harden Flack and Mort Watkins have been absolutely amazing with this: it is lots of hard work to pull in the grants and get a project like this together. We are very fortunate to have such a great team which has been supported by so many in the village. It was amazing to have over 400 people visit the hall and see the exhibitions. At one point I got worried the WI would run out of cakes - but I should have remembered that has never occurred in their history and somehow other cakes were rustled up for the teas there. Indeed the money raised from the teas will be going towards the next project; improvements to the hall's toilet facilities."

Tranquility had over 250 visitors

Most of the homes were having over 50 visitors to see measures including wood pellet boilers, lime plasters, solar thermal, green roofs, co-housing, rainwater harvesting, external insulation and more (see website with details: www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk).

However Tranquility House that has been dubbed by the Building Contracts Journal as ‘the most energy efficient house in the world’ had over 250 visitors over the weekend.

Philip Booth said: "Tranquility House takes a very different approach to some of the other homeowners. Those who joined the tours there were given much thought-provoking information. I had the chance to talk with some of the people going around the various homes and they were grateful for the chance to discuss the possible measures and get views about the best way forward for their homes. I was also surprised to find that folk had travelled from Worcester, Bristol and a whole host of other places to see the homes. Apparently there are only two or three similar Open Homes schemes around the country - Stroud leading the way again!"

Walks and Cycle

A cycle and walk tour went around the homes over the weekend and one further walk is going ahead on Sunday 21st September as part of the Walking Festival The four mile walk will be 10am- 4.30pm (approximately) and go around Rodborough including Tranquility House.

Philip Booth added: "Many people expressed concern about rising energy prices and the challenges climate change presents. Houses account for a quarter of UK CO2 emissions. New builds only account for less than 1% of homes and so even if we do them more sustainably we still have to sort out our older homes. Retrofitting older buildings is preferable to demolition as it avoids waste and saves the embodied energy within them rather than using more energy to make new buildings - quarrying, transporting and processing raw materials as well as construction all take lots of energy. It has been great to see the enthusiasm from the community for this Open Homes project from people in all walks of life. Let us hope it translates into eco-renovations across the whole District!"

Notes

(i) Transition Stroud will be compiling a brief report on the day: not all feedback forms from the homes have been collected yet, but the figures are based on numbers counted or estimated by the homeowners.

(ii) In addition to thanks to the homeowners thanks must also go also to Stroud District Council for funding the leaflet, Debbie Hewitt for organising the walks, the Greenshop for funding our website and Transition Stroud members who helped organise especially Paul and Claire Sheriden, Greg Dance, Dave Crane, Dave Cockcroft, James Beecher, Imogen Shaw and John Albar

Free BBQ for Finn's Way volunteers

The Community Land Trust site at Humphrey's Close are after a volunteer coordinator to help organise volunteers to manage this site - plus volunteers wanted on Sunday 28th September 10am to 1pm - help with grass cutting and raking up to help reduce soil fertility so that the wildflowers will thrive - after that ravenous volunteers will be invited to a free barbeue with free food and soft drinks from the Community Land Trust. Families welcomed - children can help take part in a quiz or make a boat out of natural materials - book your place so they know how many bangers to buy! Call Ivi on 753358 or on the morning of teh workshop only 07876050878.

Wonders of Medieval Fayre

Today Victory Park (Cainscross) was alive with stalls and folk dressed in costumes - everything from Morris Dancing to singing and dragon dung - I took time out from the Open Homes (more of that later) to wander around the Fayre.

One of the events was about who could first recognise the dastardly sheriff - the costume I was given - see photo - was apparently designed for the Sheriff originally - and I was accosted by more than a handful of children who reckoned I had a likeness to the drawing - it wasn't me - thankfully - you'll see in the photos below what happened to the Sheriff - loads of wet sponges and the stocks....

Anyhow a huge thank you to all who helped put on the festival - especially Cainscross Parish councillor Helen Royall - she's the one leading the community choir below in green.

Join a local wildlife hunt

7.30 Thurs 18th Sept join a group learning more about our local wildlife with conservationist John Rhodes. Call Helen Pitel on 762957 for more info.

Water fluoridation consultation sham

The news is not good from Southampton re the plans to fluoridate the water. Regular blog readers will know that I am a founding member of the Safe Water Campaign for Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire which meets monthly usually in Stroud - see a leaflet I put together some years ago that outlines answers to key questions here. If you don't know the story then I would urge you to read.

Graphic: Paul Bickmore an artist at the Art House gallery in Southampton designed this excellent graphic

Anyhow the news is that the South Central Strategic Health Authority are making a mockery of consultation - it is shameful that public money can be used in this way to influence the debate. Hampshire Against Fluoridation (HAF) campaigners have described their proposal to add fluoride to Southampton's drinking water as the "peddling of quack medicine".

Worse still the BBC seem to have fallen for the nonsense and are reporting in a very one-sided manner - meanwhile the pro-fluoride lobby backed by the Government and very well resourced are now taking adverts out in the local papers and giving cards out at dentists - complaints have already gone to the Advertising Standards folk. The campaign groups in Hampshire are working wonders to try and redress the bias and get their views heard but have only tiny resources

HAF Chairman, John Spottiswoode, says, "Health Authorities want to put industrial grade hexafluorosilicic acid into our drinking water supply. This chemical has never been approved for medicinal purposes despite it fulfilling the definition of a medicinal product. Indeed, it would fail the approval process for a product licence because it is ineffective and unsafe."

The Public Consultation materials which ignore recent research showing adverse health effects from fluoride has also been described as a "sham" by campaigners. Indeed the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Fluoridation has already raised concerns (see here) about the Health Minister's support for fluoridation and the consultations (see here).

John Spottiswoode said, "The material produced by the health authority is a disgrace. It is so one-sided and biased that it gives a completely false picture to local people. South Central says that fluoride is 'natural', when in fact the hexafluorosilicic acid proposed to be used is an industrial by-product and is contaminated with nasty things like arsenic and radionuclides (particles that generate dangerous radioactivity). Drinking this devilish brew is far from natural and has enormous dangers for the health of all of us, especially babies. It is unethical to force everyone to drink this pollutant. Contrary to claims by proponents, fluoride is not a nutrient. No essential function for fluoride has been proven in humans. Health Authorities spin their biased message with words such as 'topping up' or 'adjusting the level' of 'fluoride'. Why on earth would anyone want to add to drinking water a chemical with a toxicity which approaches that of arsenic?”

Spottiswoode continued, "The behaviour of the Health Authorities is shameful. The Health Authorities push fluoride like old fashioned quacks, making unjustifiable and exaggerated claims about how good it is whilst ignoring the massive health dangers. There is no high quality evidence of a net benefit, even for teeth. The scientific case against water fluoridation is overwhelming, yet they continue to push for it. The whole episode proves to me how incompetent our health authorities have become over key scientific issues. The Boards of Southampton PCT and South Central SHA should stop wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds on a sham consultation exercise by withdrawing the water fluoridation proposal forthwith."

Here is a list of things that one person sent to me re their concerns regarding the literature:

• They use the worst figures around for Southampton 5 year old teeth (1.76 dmft) rather than the 1.23 that the ‘One in a million’ booklet had. Then claim that this means we must do something like this.
• They use ‘spin’ such as ‘adjusting the level of fluoride’. Apparently the level is ‘not sufficient to help prevent tooth decay’
• They claim fluoride is found naturally in all water. They have taken to saying this, but trace amounts are by no means the same as 1ppm, and anyway the only reason we get more than trace amounts of fluoride at the moment is because we take water from underground, where fluorine had been locked up safely for millennia. One hundred years ago our natural diet did not have fluoride to any significant level at all except in a few unfortunate places.
• They emphasise all the other places that have it, implication with no problems, and not the vast majority of the world who have rejected fluoride.
• They go into the benefits for teeth
• They discuss dental fluorosis ‘small increase’ and put in photos ONLY of very mild and mild fluorosis to show that it is no problem at all.
• They deny a link to cancer, pointing to carefully selected studies
• They deny a link to bone fractures, even implying that it could be good for bones
• They dismiss any other harmful effects
• They discuss personal choice, with a nice smiling child with an apple (all very upbeat). They refer to the Irish Supreme Court (is this relevant to us?) saying that it is a misuse of words to refer to this as mass medication
• They refer to the European Commission on Human Rights saying that fluoridation did not violate the right to privacy (did we ever say that it did?)
• They refer to all the illustrious bodies that support fluoridation

Take part in the consultation - make your views known now

Our Safe Water blogsite has details of how you can respond to the Southampton consultation - see here - it closes 19th December so there is still time - I would urge all folk to take part as I am deeply concerned that if this goes ahead here it will make it easier to fluoridate elsewhere. We are not threatened at the moment here in Gloucestershire but if this gioes through then it is clear the fluoridistas as they are known will be pushing even harder.

A46 stop HGV petition - public meeting

The meeting will take place in Painswick Town Hall on Thursday the 25th September at 7.30 pm and chaired by Terry Parker, Chairman of Painswick Parish Council - David Drew hopes to attend along with two County Councillors and Highways Officers.

Photo: Painswick

See my blog on the original petition here - a petition that was supported by many here in the Parish - plus also see my blog here about whether it will shift lorries elsewhere.

The good news is that the County have moved further on their Cotswold Freight Management Strategy - see here and here. It is estimated that with measures like signage that this will lead to a 30 to 40% drop in HGV through Painswick and Edge and a drop of 30% on the A4173 from Pitchcombe to Gloucester. See the first link re the Strategy for more info and attend the meeting for the latest info - I have another meeting that night so am disappointed not to be able to attend. For further info re the consultation contact Jeremy Callard at Aztec Transport Planning and Management, 260 Aztec West, Almondsbury, Bristol BS32 4SY.

30 to 40% reduction is indeed a good start and it is to be welcomed that the County are looking at this seriously - here are several issues that I hope will be covered by the meeting - I have sent them into the organisers:

1. I am very disappointed that the County strategy appears to make no mention of encouraging/supporting moving more freight onto the railways. I am aware of cross-party support and the County's vocal support for doubling the line but why no wider look at the issues of freight in this strategy?

2. While it looks clear from the Strategy that HGVs will not end up on smaller local roads I would welcome assurances that any HGVs diverted away from the A46 and A4173 will not impact on surrounding communities.

3. I would also welcome more details about how freight restrictions can be enforced better?

4. Lastly I am aware the County is looking at reducing unnecessary road signs - I hope therefore that care will be taken over siting of any additional signage to ensure the beauty and rural nature of the area is not spoiled by large warning signs?

Update 14/09/08 10.30pm

Cllr Stan Waddington has already emailed a reply - here is the jist of what he says:

1 This scheme is focussed on addressing the concerns of residents regarding lorries using inappropriate rural roads. Transferring freight from road to rail (and water) is a national issue, over which the County has limited influence. I believe it is estimated that the rail system could only cope with about 5% of HGV freight at most....2 It is an area ban which means that lorries making through journeys use one of the identified HGV routes. Experience in Leicestershire is that the displacement has in any event no discernable impact on the posted routes - because the HGV density is already high. 3 There have been many discussions with the Police on this and they have agreed to a scheme of enforcement which should considerably improve on current practice. 4 We were very conscious of the risk of this and have designed to minimise signing impact. Obviously there will be signs however!

I've got a figure of 12% for surface transport for rail - but still too low - however it would still be good if the County requested Government to take more action? Clearly if there was also more local procurement across the country that would also reduce freight - allegedly Tesco are embarrassed by the number of their lorries on the road so only about one in three have their logo?

Reverend Denise Cole: sad loss

I was very sad to hear last week about the death of the Reverend Denise Cole - she was until very recently assistant the priest at Whiteshill, Randwick and Paganhill - and covering lots of the work as Father Brian was completely laid up with a bad back - she joined many of the local Parish events and always had time for everyone. Below is the obituary from todays Citizen. She will be sorely missed. Condolences to the family and friends - the funeral will be Tuesday.

Reverend Denise Cole obituary: Saturday 13 September

HUMBLE servant of God and simply "the best" mum, the Reverend Denise Cole is to be mourned by clergy and laity at her funeral in Stroud. A wife and mother whose miraculous healing led to her becoming a priest, Mrs Cole, 66, will be remembered at a service at Whiteshill Parish Church on Tuesday afternoon. Mrs Cole, who only retired in the summer, died suddenly at her home in Whiteshill on September 7. Ordained in 2000, after she was earlier cured of multiple sclerosis in Jerusalem, Mrs Cole is survived by her husband of 44 years John, three children and eight grandchildren. "She was the best mum anybody could have," said Rev Cole's daughter Sharron. "We shared a lovely time the day before she died." Mrs Cole was until recently assistant priest at Whiteshill, Randwick and Paganhill. In an interview with Stroud Life three months ago she explained her healing in the Holy Land when she struggled on sticks to finish a walk along the path Christ is though to have taken to his death. When she reached the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus was buried and rose again, her degenerative illness vanished. "That was my conversion," said Mrs Cole, who confounded doctors by her recovery. The Rev Ian Gobey, who worked at Whiteshill with Mrs Cole, said she would be hugely missed: "She was fantastically strong in her faith, humble and quiet but totally centred on her ministry of people," he added. "I have always quoted her as an example that healing does happen." The Rt Rev John Went, Bishop of Tewkesbury, said: "My memory of her would be somebody with an immensely deep faith that shone out of everything she was and did.

Cashes Green Hospital site consultation

Today was also the Cashes Green Hospital site consultation and they had a good crowd of folks at Cashes Green School. I joined them to find out more about progress from consultants there - as regular readers of this blog will know movement on this project has been far too slow.

Photos; some of the very draft plans and photos from LDA Design to give a feel of what the site could be like

I wont go into the twists and turns of why the delays have occured - nor all the politics (lots of disappointments along the way - see for example here) - although I am disappointed that the Land Trust look set to only have 30 to 50% of the site for their project - see my blog entry here for more re the proposals re a land trust.

Gloucestershire Land for People is a community land trust CLT which had originally hoped to own the site in perpetuity on behalf of the community and lease it out for affordable housing, land for growing, and/or workspace. They were also hoping to pioneer Mutual Home Ownership - a new form of tenure that seeks to increase the supply of affordable intermediate market housing without requiring a major increase in capital investment from Government. Unlike other forms of low cost home ownership, it is designed to remain permanently affordable and not move out into the open market.

Anyhow it looks like there are to be 70 to 80 homes on the site with an area for 25 allotments - although it sounds like some of that might be community gardens - they are thinking seriously to design crime out of the picture - that means care re where footpaths etc are put - it is also to be a high specification re energy efficiency and have a Sustainable Urban Drainage System on the site.

They are suggesting a square at one point and opening up the brook - it all looked very exciting - and outline planning will go in this January!! I would write more but that DVD is calling - and a glass of wine!

First carbon neutral village hall

The Randwick Village Hall Committee have researched other village halls and it seems Randwick is the first carbon neutral in this country!

Photos: Randwick Village Hall - solar panels on roof - and in one photo area where the heat pump has been buried outside - plus a photo of some of the photos in the exhibit of works to the hall and one of people looking at the heat pump earlier today.

The previous blogs have covered the opening of the hall this morning and the results of the poster competition - there will be more on the Open Homes (more homes with renewable energy open tomorrow) but this blog has some basic info of the the measures taken on the hall...see stuff re the insulation, heat pump and solar PV here.

Alan Tomlinson has also produced an excellent hand out re the hall - hopefully that will also go on the website soon.

Well all the work was completed a little over two weeks ago - although there are still more plans like an extension at the front for toilets - there is also a possibility of more PV panels?

One feature I like is the meters outside the front entrance that not only give info re the PV cells and heat pump but also the amount of carbon saved.

It was great to see that over 400 people turned up to see the hall and the exhibitions inside - it was good to be able to talk to a whole collection of experts and find out what grants etc might be available.

Randwick Hall opens: WI cakes nearly run out!!

The Village Hall Committee have done wonders - the first carbon neutral village hall...

...our local heros Alan (also pictured below by meter), Val (pictured below speaking), Harden and Mort - see photo of them with Stan Giles - have managed to pull in the grants and raise the money for the insulation measures, PV and Heat Pump that are now running - more in next blog about the hall itself - this blog is about the opening and the 400 plus visitors today!!

Of course thanks must also go to many others - the previous committee members who got the ball rolling and alerted the District Council to the need for work to take place, Krista Harris in the Regeneration Department at the District Council for all her support with the project, the Parish Council for yearly donating £3,000 in the hope of it being put to good use, the WI and indeed many others....

I hope both Alan Tomlinson's speech and Wap Mayor Stan Giles' speech will be put on the Parish website - as they not only cover the fascinating history but also thank all the people that need to be thanked - if they do get put on the web then I'll link it to this blog - did you know that Randwick, New South Wales, Australia gave over £40 to help buy the Playing Fields - one of their representatives came over to attend the opening many years ago...

Anyhow after the speeches to a crowd of nearly 150 people we all trooped inside - well I was offered a 2 minute advert for the Open Homes event which I took to encourage more people to take part - anyhow earlier in the hall the Committee, WI members and many others of us had set up the stalls and info - this was mainly about showing off the hall and also being a base for the Open Homes for a sustainable future weekend - the info included a great history of the new works - photos of the heat pump being installed, a stall with Transition Stroud stuff, exhibitions of the Heat Pump, Solarsense, the Greenshop Solar and Greenshop Rainharvesting plus SWEA with grant info and more.

It was almost too busy at times - the hall was open 11 to 4 and the beginning it was most busy but another wave came in the afternoon - I was there most of the morning, then went off to see some of the homes and the Cashes Green Hospital site consultation before coming back at the end to help clear up .

Feedback was very positive from all those with stalls - no one had expected so many people and interest from such a wide cross-section of folk - I would love to have had more exhibitors there but the District Council's funding for the leaflet made that too difficult this time - a shame as I was approached by several other companies who wanted to participate - maybe next year if we do it again!!?

Cake nearly runs out!

Anyhow 12.30ish I got worried - it was my first chance to grab a cake and tea - to my horror the vast selection of cakes had dwindled to only a few slices - now anybody knows it is a WI motto that "The cake and tea shall not runneth out ever" - and indeed true to form cakes started appearing from the village as if by magic. I also have to say there were a couple of exceptionally tasty cakes that I enjoyed - well done to all the WI - all the profits are going to the toilet block that is the next stage in the village hall makeover - it went to Planning this week.

Anyway I am pretty tired now but delighted by the response - the Open Homes have also been having lots of visitors - a blog coming very soon on that - but now time to put feet up a little - Fringe tonight - then again I think I'm only fit for a DVD?

Open Homes poster competition winners!

Well more about Randwick Village Hall opening on a blog here very soon - it was a huge success with well over 400 people calling in during the day!!! But more of that later - first the results of the poster competition - see background to competition here...

Photos: Two general photos then the 4 winners at the bottom.

Greg Dance, a Transition Stroud member and Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish councillor had set the competition up as part of the exhibition today in the Village hall - Randwick School children had made many very wonderful posters about being energy efficient - from using your pets to power the lights to tapping into the powers of volcanoes - the richness and wonders of their imagination was great.....

It was only when I got there that I learnt that I was to be judging the posters - uuuggggh - a difficult task - anyhow the four winners are below.

I'll pop into the school early next week with the small prizes donated by the Greenshop. I am afraid I don't know the names yet as there are only numbers on the pictures!!!

The ones I judged - and I have to say I sought advice from some of the hall committee - included super mice in the tyres to help the car go, the great message which is after all the cheapest - 'Put a Jumper On' - plus a great hydro one and a windmill...

Anyhow a big thank you to all who took part - they added great colour to the hall.

McKinnon extradition: our citizens, their law

US authorities have demanded the extradition of Gary McKinnon due to multiple hacking of computer systems in 2001 and 2002. McKinnon has been threatened by US prosecutors with decades in jail and even to “fry”.

Hull and East Riding Green Party Martin Deane asks: "But what did Gary McKinnon do? He entered remote computers using backdoors and left some messages. We have a popular UFO society in Hull! Many cities do. It’s precisely the unexplained, the secret, the unknown, that makes investigation - and science itself - so attractive. He was following an intriguing hobby researching NASA information kept from the public."

I am still struggling to get my head around this - surely some folk have egg on their faces but they also know where the system is weak? Indeed the only part of rthe defence system to suffer is surely it's ego? How does that lead to threats of locking him up for 70 years? One lawyer is even demanding he should fry! In this atmosphere, if we hand him over, it’s likely to be a lynch-mob not a trial.

Martin Deane has been in touch with with Gary’s mum, Janis, and she told him: ‘Gary is a vegetarian; he is a gentle pacifist but his extradition has been relentlessly pursued by both the U.K and the American governments as though he is a terrorist. She says the European Court on Human Rights has turned down Gary's appeal but that it accepted Abu Hamza's and allowed him a stay, even though the Human Rights Points presented to the ECHR for Gary were virtually identical in both cases’!

Where’s the justice in this?? The British government has a responsibility to protect Gary McKinnon. Yet because of Labour’s iniquitous Extradition Law, every court has failed to protect him so far. Now he is to be put at the mercy of the US justice system. It is time for our Home Secretary to show compassion, and an understanding of the serious disregard for the implications of Asperger’s Syndrome which the courts have taken, by refusing the extradition.

Gary McKinnon has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome by foremost authorities, a condition which could explain the persistent nature of his so-called “crime”. He is described as “distraught” at what is happening.

Clearly it is time to re-think summary extradition when US prosecutors threaten to 'fry' a non-violent computer hacker

James Welch, Liberty

I hope more will join with his lawyers and campaign groups such as Liberty, the Disabled People’s Action Network, and the Mental Health Action Group, to call:
1. for the UK government to intervene and not to extradite McKinnon to America,
2. for the one-way extradition agreement with America to be halted pending a full review.
3. for, at the very least, Gary McKinnon to be returned to Britain after trial.

The UK government has increasingly been accused of failure to punch its weight on the international stage. This is an opportunity for Jacqui Smith to argue McKinnon's case to stand trial here?

Save the Planet: check out these homes

This weekend there is loads of stuff going on in Stroud (see here) - but one last appeal for those interested in renewable energy - Open Homes for a sustainable future is this weekend: 13th and 14th September 2008.

Photos: Stroud Life help promote the Open Homes event - with photos of some of the homeowners including David Rudd in Townsend, Randwick whose garden is open to look at water conservation measures (see below) - and Sarah Lunnon outside the Co-Housing, Paul Sheriden in Stonehouse and Helen Pitel in Ebley Road.

This project has taken rather too much of my time over the last months, but with Transition Stroud we have organised 12 homes around Stroud to open to the public so that they can see renewable energy in action, discuss energy efficiency and get advice and money off on eco-renovations.

On Saturday 13th September the main centre for information will be Randwick Village Hall and at 11am there will be the official opening with Wap Mayor Stan Giles. See you there. The hall has installed measures like a ground source heat pump and Solar PV and the companies will be on hand to give advice. There will also be exhibitions from 11am to 4pm of some of the measures that people can take, plus grant information and a very generous money off solar and rainwater harvesting installations from the Greenshop.

Over the weekend in addition to a whole range of measures on different homes there will also be a chance to see the largest PV generation in the country on private housing, see how co-housing works and 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.

Houses account for a quarter of UK CO2 emissions. New builds only account for less than 1% of homes and so even if we do them more sustainably we still have to sort out our older homes. Retrofitting older buildings is preferable to demolition as it avoids waste and saves the embodied energy within them rather than using more energy to make new buildings - quarrying, transporting and processing raw materials as well as construction all take lots of energy.

See our website which has times and details of the homes plus links to many eco-renovation projects: www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk/

A couple of months of Green news

I threw the latest edition of GNN together before going to work this morning - a summary of some of Gloucestershire Green party's news for the last couple of months - see it here: www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/content/view/2150/2/

Plus I've been asked to plug Gloucestershire's Friends of the Earth groups event - they are jointly organising a Network Day to learn about and discuss the possibilities for a healthier, happier low carbon future - on Saturday 27th September at St Andrews Church, Cheltenham from 10:30am – 4pm. More info at: www.glosfoe.org.uk/

Join us for World Peace Day in Stroud

Sunday 21st September is the International Day of Peace as designated by the United Nations and campaigned for by Peace One Day. The intention of the UN resolution is to have the entire world observe a day of peace and nonviolence - with all peoples and organizations commemorating the day in the ways they see fit.

Here in Stroud we will be marking the day with a World Peace Flag Ceremony in front of the Sub Rooms at 3pm - every flag of every country and more needs a flag bearer - 197 flags in total - all handmade by Japanese women praying as they make them - it takes the group a year to make a set - the flags will be presented and we will send our thoughts and sincere wishes for peace to prevail in all nations. Could you be a flag bearer? Call David Cooper on 756569.

I'm going with a group of children from the Elfin Woodcraft group - and last night we met for the first time since the summer holidays - I was leader this week - we rotate as we can't find a parent willing to organise every week - infact it works great - anyhow after the welcome back, welcoming new members and some cooperative games we then spent part of the evening tying string around T-shirts that will then be tie-dyed - hopefully some of the 15 children will wear them at the ceremony on 21st. Do join us if you are a group or individual - it is apparently a very moving experience.

Chai Tea recipe

I've made Chai tea before with all the spices and it has come out wonderful - sadly I lost the recipe when I moved home and haven't been able to repeat the taste. Now at last I have a recipe - largely taken from Linda Cockburn's book (review here) that matches the flavour...

5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
5 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cloves
3 teaspoons ground cardamom
5 allspice (pimento) berries, ground
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
10 bay leaves
10 tablespoons black tea (I like Ridgeways Organic)

Mix ingredients together. To make enough tea for 4 place a heaped teaspoon of the mix in a litre of water and bring to boil in a pot. Let it sit for 5 minutes before straining into cups. Add milk and sugar to taste. For a milkier version boil Chai mix with milk - yum indeed.

Report warns of EU strategy to harness the 'digital tsunami'

ID cards, fingerprinting and all the push for that stuff concerns me greatly - a report released on Wednesday only adds to those concerns.

Photo: View across to Stroud

Statewatch released the 60-page report, seven years on from 11 September 2001 and entitled 'The Shape of Things to Come' by Tony Bunyan - it looks at the EU's new five year strategy for justice and home affairs and details how European governments and EU policy-makers are pursuing unfettered powers to access and gather masses of personal data on the everyday life of everyone - on the grounds that we can all be safe and secure from perceived 'threats'.

The proposals set out by the shadowy "Future Group" set up by the Council of the European Union include new technologies of surveillance, enhanced cooperation with the United States and harnessing the "digital tsunami". A rather insensitive concept to say the least - anyhow in the words of the EU Council presidency: "Every object the individual uses, every transaction they make and almost everywhere they go will create a detailed digital record. This will generate a wealth of information for public security organisations, and create huge opportunities for more effective and productive public security efforts."

I can only agree with the Statewatch report call for a “meaningful and wide-ranging debate” before it is “too late” for privacy and civil liberties.

Eight page Conclusions: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2008/sep/the-shape-of-things-to-come-conclusions.pdf
Copy of full report (pdf): http://www.statewatch.org/analyses/the-shape-of-things-to-come.pdf

It is not as if the technology is working - yet all air passengers will have to give their fingerprints - a NO2ID supporter writes: "A frequent traveller who visits the US regularly and is enrolled on their fingerprint database for foreign nationals was refused entry on arrival from New Zealand. When she eventually proved who she was and was admitted, the immigration officer stated 'This quite often happens with long-haul passengers, the aircraft pressurisation alters the fingertip geometry beyond the tolerance of the biometric measurements'."

The Daily Mail asked if this was for security or simply to raise profits for the duty-free shops? The measures, which will apply to both domestic and international passengers, are being introduced despite opposition from the Information Commissioner, Britain's privacy watchdog.

Meanwhile I did not have to look far to find these stories in the national press in the last weeks:
- German firms are illegally trading millions of sets of personal data drawn from the official registration system.
- a computer hack allowed researchers to clone identity cards that are used by million of people to access buildings and travel on public transport
- a consignment of 3,000 "useless" blank biometric passports has been stolen on its way to British embassies throughout the world - or at least, the Identity & Passport Service says they're useless. Commentators suggest this claim is based on the standard, highly optimistic party line that, as the passports contain a chip, they can't be used to produce fake passports.

A great book about 'living the good life'

OK here is another of my summer reads: "Living the Good Life" by Linda Cockburn - it is the record of six months spent by an Australian family - Linda, her partner, Trevor and their 6 year-old son Caleb decided to explore a better way to live in Queensland.....

Well we have our own pioneers in terms of Zero Waste in Gloucestershire (see more here) but this book is about taking it several steps further - an experiment to try to reduce their impact on the environment and their money spending to a minimum. Before the experiment, Linda and Trev were working long hours, travelling lots and leaving Caleb in full-time childcare. The long hours of work don't seem to change, but more of their time is at home and clearly more quality time...

The book is about how they did it, their successes, their relapses, loads of practical info, news items, statistics and even recipes all in a diary style that is very readable. Linda writes about the challenges and lots on their everyday experiences of harvesting rainwater, using a dry, composting toilet, using solar energy and giving up alcohol, packaged consumer goods, chocolate and buying books.

Clearly some of the info is not so useful for those of us here in the UK in terms of crops etc, but I nevertheless enjoyed the read muchly - it is no wonder that Linda reports on her blog that more folk over here in the Northern hemisphere are starting to read the book - as I've noted before, rising prices and the growing credit crunch mean more folk are looking to be more sustainable - books like this are needed more than ever!

Anyhow you can see her website: www.lintrezza.com/ and her blog site: http://lintrezza.blogspot.com/ The latest is her adventure in Tasmania where they are doing it all again. You can see a short video of the family at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOq8S46Xzjg

Order the book ISBN-10: 1905005296 from Stroud Bookshop online here.

Black holes and global annihilation: who decides the risk is worth it?

Folk would be hard pressed to miss news of the experiment taking place under the French-Swiss border that scientists suggest could annihilate the planet - well there is an estimated one to 50 million chance of annihilation.

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which has built this vast 17 mile tunnel, 100 metres underground (see pic), hopes that we will learn more about the start of the universe. But many of us are asking who decides what level of technological risk is acceptable? It is of course to some extent in CERN's interest to suggest the risk is less than it might be - but basically the rest of us have no say at all....

Should there be a global referendum? Do any of us without doctorates in physics really understand the technology? And what of the massive 120MW plus of power it gobbles up every time it is used? Aren't we meant to be making savage energy cuts if we are to tackle climate change? And what of the $10 billion of public funds it has cost? As others have reported that amount could deliver universal primary education.

Blow to shameful coal policy

Yesterday six Greenpeace volunteers (5 pictured above) were acquitted of criminal damage by a Crown Court jury in a case that centred on the contribution made to climate change by burning coal. Well done indeed to them, Greenpeace and all the others who took part - and indeed all those who joined the Climate Camp this summer that was also all about stopping Kingsnorth.

The six had attempted to shut down the Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent last year by scaling the chimney and painting the Prime Minister’s name down the side. They pleaded ‘not guilty’ and relied in court on the defence of ‘lawful excuse’ – claiming they shut the power station in order to defend property of a greater value from the global impact of climate change.

The acquittal is a serious challenge to the Government’s plans for new coal-fired power stations from jurors representing ordinary people in Britain who, after hearing the evidence, supported the right to take direct action in order to protect the climate. Over five days of evidence Maidstone Crown Court heard testimony from the world’s leading climate scientist, an Inuit leader from Greenland and even David Cameron’s environment adviser. The jury was told that Kingsnorth emits 20,000 tonnes of CO2 every day - the same amount as the 30 least polluting countries in the world combined – and that the Government has advanced plans to build a new coal-fired power station next to the existing site on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent.

The ‘not guilty’ verdict means the jury believed that shutting down the coal plant was justified in the context of the damage to property caused around the world by CO2 emissions from Kingsnorth. See more here.

Kent Green Party spokesperson Steve Dawe was jubilant with the result - he said: "If EoN can invest in the London Array Wind Farm in the Thames Estuary - which it is - then it can invest in other renewable energy technologies rather than in new coal-fired power stations. Coal fired power stations are amongst the very worst sources of Carbon Dioxide emissions in Europe. Since it is proposed a new Kingsnorth power station would be built regardless of the presence of Carbon Capture and Storage, then its construction is in direct conflict with the need to cut UK greenhouse gas emissions. The main UK energy need is efficiency. The cheapest option for households, businesses and the public sector is to use energy efficiency measures to cut energy wastage. A 20% cut could be achieved quite easily and a 50% cut in UK energy use is conceivable. This is far better for households than a new coal fired power station given that 5.4 million households are now in fuel poverty, with more than 10% of their income going on fuel bills. The new European emissions requirements and renewable energy targets are mandatory and that means there is no place in the future for coal in power generation."

Greenpeace have issued a press release with all the details - they quote two of the Kingsnorth 6, Emily Hall, after her acquittal - she said: “This is a huge blow for the Government’s plans to build new coal-fired power stations. It’s coal that should have been on trial, not us. After this verdict, the only people left in Britain who think new coal is a good idea are business secretary John Hutton and the energy minister Malcolm Wicks. It’s time the Prime Minister stepped in, showed some leadership, and embraced a clean energy future for Britain.”

Another of the defendants, Ben Stewart, added: “This verdict marks a tipping point for the climate change movement. If jurors from the heart of Middle England say it’s legitimate for a direct action group to shut down a coal-fired power station because of the harm it does to our planet, then where does that leave government energy policy? We have the clean technologies at hand to power our economy, it’s time we turned to them instead of coal.”

The news release goes onto say: The defence called as a witness Professor James Hansen, a NASA director who advises Al Gore and is known as the world’s leading climate scientist. Hansen told the court that more than a million species would be made extinct because of climate change and calculated that Kingsnorth would proportionally be responsible for 400 of these. “We are in grave peril,” he told the jury. He said he agreed with Al Gore's statement that more people should be chaining themselves to coal-powered stations. “Somebody needs to step forward and say there has to be a moratorium, draw a line in the sand and say no more coal-fired power stations.”

Asked by Michael Wolkind QC, for the defence, if carbon dioxide damages property, Hansen replied, “Yes, it does.” Asked if stopping emissions of any amount of it therefore protects property, he replied, “Yes it does, in proportion to the amount.” He added that he thought there was an immediate need to protect property at risk from climate change.

Tory green adviser Zac Goldsmith also gave evidence for the defence. He told the court: “By building a coal-power plant in this country, it makes it very much harder in exerting pressure on countries like China and India. I think that's something that is felt in Government circles.” He later told the jury: “Legalities aside, I suppose if a crime is intended to prevent much larger crimes, I think then a lot of people would consider that as justified and a good thing.”

Some of the property the court was told was in immediate need of protection included parts of Kent at risk from rising sea levels, the Pacific island state of Tuvalu and areas of Greenland. The defendants also cited the Arctic ice sheet, China’s Yellow River region, the Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica, coastal areas of Bangladesh and the city of New Orleans. The acquittal is the first case where preventing property damage from climate change has been used as part of a ‘lawful excuse’ defence in court. The defence has previously been successfully deployed by defendants accused of damaging a military jet bound for Indonesia to be used in the war against East Timor before independence.

The defendants had intended to paint ‘GORDON BIN IT’ down the side of the chimney but were served a High Court injunction by police helicopter, meaning they only got as far as painting the Prime Minister’s first name. Last month a new report by Poyry - Europe’s leading energy consultants - concluded that Britain could meet its energy demands without new coal. If the UK hit its existing efficiency and renewables targets it would negate the case for a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth and at least seven other proposed sites. An earlier Poyry report, published in June, found at least 16 gigawatts of untapped potential from ‘Combined Heat and Power’ plants – super-efficient power stations that are popular in Scandinavia but little used in the UK.

Greenpeace ‘case against coal’ can be found at:
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/media/reports/the-case-against-coal-fired-power-generation

Climate Camp at Kingsnorth

Many will have seen the news reports on the Climate camp this year at Kingsnorth to highlight the absurdity of the Government's position. It was while I was away but it has been good to hear the various stories about the camp from Green party and Transition Stroud folk who attended - although not so good to hear about the way the Police seem to have handled the event - see Reuters here. I am not going to cover that here but instead here are a couple of accounts from folk on the camp:

- We travelled on bike with the Climate Caravan the 60 miles to Kingsnorth - with a 4-wheeled-bike/pirate ship/ark, a larger than life polar bear outfit for two, a beautiful and enormous banner, a variety of beautiful flags, our own guitarist/singer and spoken-word artist, a multiplicity of trailers and load-carrying bikes carrying tea, coffee, water, fruit and the all important cake, and with sorrow in our minds, outrage-usually-held -beneath-the-surface- but-occasionally-bubbling-out, and joy in our hearts. It was a fantastic journey. We stopped off for events each evening - personal faves being the Putney Climate Debates, speakers from Andrew Simms of New Economics Foundation on 100 months, someone from WDM, Permaculture Association, Green Party, debating how we sort ourselves out...Ah, the Camp. Yet again an amazingly invigorating, inspirational and - despite police provocation, disruption and intimidation - a downright joyful experience. When the Caravan arrived it was tipping it down,
and the police took an hour to search the 50 of us. But we were greeted by a huge crowd of cheering clapping campers. And a huge rainbow appeared from horizon to horizon. Climate Campaigning never felt that good before! The workshops were great. Reuteurs interviewed me about my Pedal- Generator/Soundsytem (they even asked if such things would "catch on"!). We had 40 plus people huddled in our marquee every night for pedal and solar-powered films. We had over a hundred watching our pedalpowered spoken word poet as lightning sparked in the distance!

- I understand that policing of demonstrations and protests is always necessary to ensure public safety. However the overall response driven by the Kent police to this year's Climate Camp was wholly disproportionate to the perceived threat posed by those attending the camp. It was ludicrous for the police to confiscate items such as children's crayons and protest banners as ‘offensive weapons.’ I found a number of the tactics employed by the police deeply unsettling and disturbing. These included helicopters flying very low over the campsite during the early hours of the morning (disrupting people's sleep and causing anxiety), police floodlights erected each evening, shining directly onto the campsite and again disrupting people's sleep, and constant surveillance performed by the police FIT [Forward Intelligence Team]”.

See Caroline Lucas comments here - she spoke at the camp. Also see many viedos from the camp at: www.envirospeak.tv which includes a Transition Stroud member talking about pedal-generators.

More must read local news

So much has been going on locally - here is a round-up of some..

Mast proposal - for near Ash Lane, Randwick - this was refused planning on Tuesday by the Development Control Committee as the company had not sufficiently considered alternative sites. Well done to all who have campaigned on this. However we will need to remain vigilant. I fear that a new application will not be long coming and they may well do their home work better this time. See more blogs on this here.

Basketball good news - after being contacted by younger Ruscombe residents keen to play basketball I have sought to get a hoop locally - especially as that part of this area has very little for that age group - previous blogs carry many of the twists and turns of this story but we are getting closer - local residents wrote along with me to save the hoops at Stratford Park - the hoop has been re-sited and there are now hopes for a half court to be built there - but I have managed to get the spare hoop for the Parish (see photo of hoop) - at a meeting this morning on Whiteshill playing field Parish councillors looked at possible sites - they still have to take findings back to their next meeting but things are looking v positive - I've emailed several folk tonight in the hope that we can also get it put up fairly soon - we'll see....

CuckooRow farewell concert - Stroud band CuckooRow (see previous blogs here) whose guitarist Freddie Whitacker lives in Farmhill are splitting up as the two girls go to University and Freedie moves to Cheltenham for work - catch them for the last time at the Fringe this weekend at the Prince Al;bert Inn, Rodborough on Friday from 8pm. Contact Lotte for details 755600.

The Healthy House - based in Ruscombe and set up in 1991 by Ruscombe residents Maxima and Don Skelton have developed a wonderful family business with everything for the healthy house incl electrical sensitivity, allegies and much more - see their website here with their new catalogue just out a couple of weeks ago: www.healthy-house.co.uk

Whiteshill Sunflower reaches 9ft 3in - Whiteshill resident and school child 7 year old Tabitha Copp planted the seed and nurtured it to it's current height - see photo in the SNJ with her Dad - owner of that great Stroud clothing shop Eclipse. Sid came to Stroud from Suffolk, and believes that fairtrade is the way to go. Eclipse was born in October 2002, and he sells with his partner Alicia to customers from 16 to 90 years old. The world's tallest sunflower was 25.5ft.

Whiteshill film-maker's success - Luke Wasylkiw, 19 first came to notice as a film-maker with his film The Ball in 2005 - set in Stroud it was a visual journey about a group of teens chasing a ball around a forest - he won with his brothers Damien, 31 and Johnny 26, the best-editing award at the Cotswold Film International Film Festival - since then he has composed the music for the behind the scenes film about the making of the Danny Boyle's 2007 Sci-Fi thriller Sunshine. Lots more has come since then - see some of his work here - plus he has even worked on a District Council video looking at the Minchinhampton intergenerational allotment project which is encouraging youths to grow veg. He is now looking for any local businesses who feel they could benefit from his work - email him on:
dj (at) wasylkiw.co.uk

Drew Wedding - Amy Elizabeth Drew, daughter of our MP, married Martyn David Pearce son of David and Lynda Pearce in Randwick (see photo). The SNJ report the couple spent their honeymoon in California and Hawaii before returning home to Dudbridge.

Cashes Green Hospital site photos wanted - don't forget the consultation on Saturday - see here for details and other events this weekend including Coffee Morning, Open Homes and Randwick Village Hall's opening. Jenny Bailey has appealed for photos of the early years of the hospital - apparently some photos have gone missing - if you have any info call her on 765705.

Coco Chic Beauty and Nail Salon opens - lastly good luck to a new local business near the Tesco Express at 143 Stratford Road in Paganhill. It is great to see this place in use - good luck to Leanne Townsend.

Tuesday: a typical day as a councillor?

Here's a little about my day today - actually I don't think any day is typical but well here's a flavour of one day...starting in reverse as that is freshest in my mind!!

Photos: Stroud FM, cake from this afternoon and coffee earlier

Home just after 9pm to a few phone calls, 75 emails and this blog - before that I joined the Policy Panel for councillors on homelessness...there is some excellent work being done by the District Council - although clearly much more is needed from central government so that we can tackle those on the housing waiting lists - barely a couple of people are sleeping rough in the District and policies usually allow for those to be housed - however one of the challenges for coming months is the likely increase in repossessions as the credit crunch bites - interestingly the recent Green party conference supported a "right to rent" policy so that homeowners unable to meet mortgage payments and under threat of repossession could transfer ownership of the home, at less than market value, to the council, and then remain in the home as council tenants. Apparently some private companies are already doing this but several very dodgy ones have come to light...

Anyhow before that evening policy panel I joined Stroud FM and Patrick on Drivetime for 40- mins or so for chat and music about the Open Homes project this weekend - don't miss it!! Patrick was great at putting me at easy although I still have much to learn re radio...I did once have a chart show, aged 17 on "Wycombe Hospital Radio - broadcasting live on channel one, that's lots of fun" - but that was long ago....and I think I barely had a 100 or so listeners - it is great to see Stroud FM starting to make it's presence really felt in the community - there is loads of great stuff there...

I was nearly late at Stroud FM as I'd spent the afternoon at The Exchange in Stroud with researchers from BRASS at Cardiff University who are working on a project focusing on the role of skills for sustainable communities - it is a one year project jointly funded by the economic and social research council and the academy for sustainable communities.

The aim of the research is to develop guidance for communities to identify their skill gaps with regards to sustainability and use this information to address those gaps. They are focusing on Stroud because of its range of innovative approaches to being sustainable - I was interviewed earlier in the year on a number of issues but this afternoon's session was one of two focus groups looking more closely at the question of skills - it was a healthy discussion around a table with 8 of us and some great cakes (see photo!) - I hope they will be able to reflect in their final paper.

Various issues came up from the focus being too much on skills whereas many learn by doing with others - many of the obstacles were identified - not least that Government is working in the opposite direction, the lack of democracy, the fact that all those in the room were acting on projects in their own time and unpaid for their work.

See the literature review they did on sustainable communities before doing fieldwork - that is a useful starting point: www.brass.cf.ac.uk/WP45sustainablecommunitiesJN.pdf

Before that I had called into learn how to use the photocopier at Ebley Mill and a quick meeting there to follow up on a couple of queries raised by folk in the ward - the photocopier lesson took about 2 mins but involved 15 mins of getting a swipe card registered so that I can be charged for use....

The morning - well I was planning a lie in after a late night - but well just before 8am I had a call from someone re the Open Homes project and so got up to plough through correspondence, emails and more - I am still not through the non-urgent stuff from when I was away - also lots of phone calls on everything from planning applications, to news that I have managed to get a basketball hoop for the ward - free except for fixing it - Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish now need to decide if they can site it...a long story - I then had to call into work before a quick lunch then to Ebley Mill as above - sadly it meant I was not in time to hear the Randwick mast discussed - but the mast was refused as expected and I had already made my thoughts well known in a letter - not sure how interesting any of this is for the regular blog readers or indeed anyone - perhaps it was time for bed a wee while ago for me??

Reading about how to live off-grid

Holiday reading - I've had a couple of emails asking what I was reading while on holiday - well here is one of the books....'How to Live Off-Grid' by Nick Rosen - it investigates the possibilities and challenges of living an off-grid lifestyle - ie no mains water and no mains power).

Photos: VW van and the book cover

The book has lots of useful information and tells the stories of real people living an off-grid life - their motivations, their struggles, their problems, and their solutions. How they cope with council planners, neighbours, and more - it is a very useful starting point and I've already recommended it to several folk - and locally it provided some info to those of us seeking a Low Carbon Impact Building policy in Stroud District - if we can get that change then it will make it easier to have more low impact building....is there anyone out there in Stroud who would like to help on this - we need a bit more support if this is going to happen???

Of course it is not all log cabins or strawbale homes, living off-grid can also includes vans, caravans and all other mobile homes - the book looks at that - the author in his search dismissed anything Volkswagen as they command an absurdly high price, guzzle petrol, are noisy, uncomfortable and there is no room for standing up - however I still love them - saw the one above while in Norway.

Rosen writes that Off-gridding maybe looking more attractive with increased flexi-working, wireless 3G technology, renewable energy looking more attractive, house prices that are still high and a population that is putting pressure on housing space. Indeed Gordon Brown says he wants 3 million more homes by 2020, and all new build to be zero carbon from 2016 on - yet at the moment planning law makes it hugely difficult for anyone interested in going Off-Grid....let us hope that some flexibility can return...

The book unfortunately got my goat early on by what seemed to be very prejudice statements when referring to gypsies - he says for example when writing of the 130,ooo plus camper vans: "....and that does not include the most feared of van dwellers, the gypsies...To be frank I disapprove of them. I would not take issue with their refusal to join the society within which they live, nor their frequent use of the dole. That is up to them, and I am glad to live in a country that can sustain them. I just don't like the way gypsies so often despoil the sites they use......" I wont go into that now - indeed regular blog readers will know I have talked some in the past about such prejudices towards gypsies - however even the suggestion they might be refusing to join society is offensive - they existed long before we created our current 'society' - possibly more justification than some of the off-gridders the author writes about....anyhow I did recover from this and enjoyed the book - although I am not in a position to look at off-gridding anytime soon....

Order from Stroud Bookshop online here. See Nick Rosen's useful website with lots more info and discussion - although I do get totally annoyed by the adverts cutting across what you want to read - and ads for us to consume more - slightly at odds to say the least with many folks reasons for wanting to go off-grid -[ anyhow here it is: www.off-grid.net/

Greens return from London conference

I missed the Green party's London Autumn Conference completely - work and another commitment meant I didn't join the 500 plus Green party members this last weekend - Natalie Bennett, the Green Party Internal Communications Coordinator, has however sent a very useful summary which I will add to from other emails I've received - see also Glos Green news release here re the call for a Green New Deal.

First up after all the postal votes were counted in the election for the first ever Green Party leader, Caroline Lucas (pictured) was overwhelmingly elected with Adrian Ramsay being elected as deputy leader. Caroline delivered the leader's speech on Saturday - I've seen it on the BBC website where they have a video (see here and interview with Peter Sissons here) - great stuff and very worth a watch - she called for a windfall tax on energy profits to kickstart a "Green New Deal" to help people deal with the credit crunch and rising fuel prices - if you follow the link to the Green New Deal you'll also see the new-look Green party website unveiled at conference.

Yesterday Adrian also had a large audience for his inaugural speech, which launched an attack on privatisation and patient charging in the health service. He challenged Charles Clarke, his opponent in the seat of Norwich South, who is vocally pro-privatisation, to fight the election on public services - Greens are now the official opposition in Norwich and growing support - Adrian's speech will be on the national website soon.

Some other media coverage:
Independent: http://tinyurl.com/5awcgm
Press Association: http://tinyurl.com/6x4wrp
Norwich Evening News: http://tinyurl.com/5r8egr

And what of policy?
Conference considered 21 policy motions with apparently much lively debate - among those passed were:
* Support for the right of trade unions to establish workplace environmental representatives (a cause being supported by the TUC and many unions).
* A call for an immediate end to the British opt-out of the European Working Time Directive, and for the national minimum wage to be increased to be in line with the Council of Europe Decency Threshold (60% of net national earnings). This would currently mean a minimum of £8.17 per hour.
* A "right to rent" policy so that homeowners unable to meet mortgage payments and under threat of repossession could transfer ownership of the home, at less than market value, to the council, and then remain in the home as council tenants.
* Policy was clarified to make it clear that the party is in favour of the universal provision of a free lunch in all state schools in England and Wales on every school day.
* A call for a plan to licence and purchase the Afghan opium crop, to be processed into morphine and heroin for free or low-cost distribution in developing countries for the use of pain relief in palliative care and for other medically approved purposes.
* A call for building regulations to be tightened, and additional training of architects and builders arranged, so that new buildings, extensions or conversions meet tougher standards than those now applicable, and so that all new dwellings are zero-carbon by 2012.
* A call for a new contract between service personnel and the state promising decent living standards to those injured, and to the dependants of those killed, while asking them to sign a pledge to follow international law, and to disobey any order requiring them to fire on unarmed civilians.
* A new culture policy was also adopted.

Plus there were Emergency Motions:
* A call for Gurkhas and their families to be given fast track eligibility for either the right to remain or citizenship in the UK, given their exceptional service..
* A call for Westminster MPs, who have control over the issue, to grant the same access to abortion in Northern Ireland (where it is now almost totally banned) as is available to women in England, Scotland and Wales.
* A call for a full enquiry into the problems with policing the Climate Camp at Kingsnorth.
* A call for extensive highly protected marine reserves around the coast of Britain to cover 30% of UK waters to 200 nautical miles by 2015.
* Condemning plans by the Home Office to launch a central database of all so-called "communications data" as a violation of civil liberties.

And blogs?
Well there is now a new Green Home group blog which was formally launched at conference. You can find the combined efforts of 68 Green Party bloggers at:
http://greenpartyblogs.org.uk
You'll also find many lively reports from conference at the Red Pepper-hosted Green Despatches:
http://greendespatches.blogspot.com

Events and festivals galore next weekend

Next weekend looks set to be a busy one. Here's some of the local stuff that might interest...

Photo: Alan Tomlinson in the SNJ - one of the movers and shakers that made the Randwick Hall renovations happen

Open Homes for a more Sustainable Future: as regular blog readers will know I am coordinating this project for Transition Stroud - we have organised 12 homes around Stroud to open to the public so that they can see renewable energy in action, discuss energy efficiency and get advice on eco-renovations. Today I was in the High Street handing out more leaflets - over next weekend in addition to a whole range of measures on different homes there will also be a chance to see the largest PV generation in the country on private housing, see how co-housing works and 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’. Plus two guided walks of the homes which are part of the Stroud's Walking Festival (also on over the weekend) and a cycle route. More info at: http://www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk/

Randwick Village Hall opening: On Saturday 13th September the main centre for information for the Open Homes will be Randwick Village Hall and at 11am there will be the official opening with Wap Mayor Stan Giles. The hall hopes to be the country's first carbon neutral village hall - and has installed measures like a ground source heat pump and Solar PV and the companies will be on hand to give advice. There will also be exhibitions from 11am to 4pm of some of the measures that people can take, plus grant information and a generous money off solar and rainwater harvesting installations from the Greenshop. More info at: http://www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk/

Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish Coffee Morning: Whiteshill Village Hall will be the venue to meet the Parish councillors and talk to them about local issues. 10 to 12 noon.

Cashes Green Hospital site redevelopment: the public consultation will be at Cashes Green Primary School on Sat 13th: dropin sessions from 2pm to 4pm or book for morning session by phoning Jo Davis on 01179885224.

Medieval Fayre: Victory Park, Cainscross will come alive from 12 to 5pm on Sun 14th. Free admission.

Mini-Fringe Festival: The full programme was cancelled but there is still much music and entertainment to enjoy over the weekend - see more here.

Stroud Food Festival: It was launched at the Farmers Market today - loads of people there and a programme with some 100 events planned!! It is great that we are celebrating the wonders of our local produce - let's hope this becoms a regular celebration. See more here.

5th place in Best Green Blogs 2008

Jim Jay who held the third Top Green bloggers listing writes that "The Green Blogosphere is definitely picking up, both in the numbers of green blogs and their quality." This year I have been delighted to be voted in at number 5 - see top 20 list below - these are not only Green party blogs but anyone writing from a green perspective - and clearly the vote is just a little bit of fun that also helps highlight interesting blogs. I estimate there are now well over 200 green blogs - more than double the number 2 years ago...

It was good to see that Molly Scott Cato's "Gaian Economics" - a Green look at economics - also made the top 20 at number 12 - last year she won the Peoples Vote for best Green Blogger - it is an excellent read indeed - and amazing to have two Stroud bloggers in the top 20. Meanwhile newer green blogs like Rayyan Mirza and Aled Fisher, who are great reads, haven't quite been going long enough to get onto this year's list.

Like last year there was also a people's choice award which went to the blog of Greenpeace UK. Congratulations - a good choice that isn't just a list of press releases but has much more - the other two getting a mention in the People's Choice were Ecostreet and Transition Culture who came second and third respectively in the poll - two excellent blogs.

Meanwhile Iain Dale has published the overlord of lists with the top 100 of UK political blogs. Only one green makes the list this year - Jim Jay at the 83rd spot. Iain, a Conservative candidate in the last election and political commentator also compiled the top 20 Green blogs - in that listing I make 16th place in public votes - pity I wasn't hear to encourage folk to vote - hey that was vanity talking - anyhow see the Green party press release here.

1	Two Doctors
2	Bean Sprouts
3	Green Girls Global
4	Kitchen Witch
5	Ruscombe Green
6	Peter Tatchell
7	Barkingside 21
8	Earthpal
9	Greenpeace UK
10	Stuart's Big Green Spot
11	Flesh is grass
12	Gaian Economics
13	Johnny Void
14	Coventry Green Party
15	Jenny Jones
16	Philobiblon
17	Ecostreet
18	Hippy Shopper
19	Transition Culture
20	Alice in Blogland

Average UK water consumption per person is 58 baths each day!

And while we are on water (see last blog entry) an important report, UK Water Footprint, was launched by WWF at this year’s World Water Week, held last month in Stockholm. It says the impact of the UK’s food and fibre consumption on global water resources tells the story of the water we use and where it comes from - it highlights the impact of the UK’s consumption patterns on global water resources.... a topic we've covered before on this blog (eg see here)..

The report found that the total water footprint of the UK is 102 Gm3 (billion cubic metres) per year. That works out as roughly 4, 645 litres per person per day!!

While on average a single person in the UK goes through 150 litres of water a day by drinking, flushing and washing, around 30 times that amount is consumed by ‘virtual’ water – the water embedded in the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the numerous other items we consume. This is equivalent to someone having 58 baths or washing their clothes 75 times in a single day.

Virtual water refers to the volume of water required to produce a product. For example it takes 2,900 litres to ‘grow’ a cotton shirt. As WWF say: "A water footprint is the total virtual water content of products consumed by an individual, town or country. A water footprint consists of two parts: the use of local water and the use of global water resources. The water used can be divided into blue water (water taken from ground or surface water resources), green water (water evaporated from soil moisture supplemented by rainfall) and grey water (defined in the WWF report as the amount of water rendered unusable by agricultural inputs, e.g. fertilisers). Concluding that the UK is the sixth largest importer of water in the world, the report brings into sharp focus the dependency of UK lifestyles upon water imported from other nations."

This means that only 38 per cent of the UK’s total water use comes from our own rivers, lakes and groundwater reserves. The rest is taken from water bodies from across the globe to irrigate and process food and fibre crops that people in Britain subsequently consume. This is worrying in that huge amounts of these products are grown in drier areas of the world where water resources are either already stressed or very likely to become so in the near future.

It is great to see WWF highlighting this issue as too little has been done to see what impact climate change, population growth and increased energy costs will have on all this - we are long overdue a time when governments, businesses and individuals should be considering their water footprints and improve currently managed water systems, especially in places where water is scarce. See my recent letter to press here - and that doesn't even begin to consider virtual water.

Meanwhile Lester R. Brown o the Earth Policy Institute, also writes last month on the need to raise water productivity (see here). He notes that worldwide, average irrigation water productivity is now roughly 1 kilogram of grain per ton of water used - it is not surprising that 70 percent of world water use is devoted to irrigation and therefore the need to raise irrigation efficiency is key to raising water productivity overall. As he notes: "Raising irrigation water efficiency typically means shifting from the less efficient flood or furrow system to overhead sprinklers or drip irrigation, the gold standard of irrigation efficiency. Switching from flood or furrow to low-pressure sprinkler systems reduces water use by an estimated 30 percent, while switching to drip irrigation typically cuts water use in half...."

He goes onto conclude: "What is needed now is a new mindset, a new way of thinking about water use. For example, shifting to more water-efficient crops wherever possible boosts water productivity. Rice production is being phased out around Beijing because rice is such a thirsty crop. Egypt also restricts rice production....For people consuming unhealthy amounts of livestock products, moving down the food chain reduces water use."

He writes about eating less meat and the impact that could have on water use and goes on to mention other measures. However more could be said about the consumption of all goods and the size of their water footprint. It is time we became aware that more than three fifths of the water we use is imported and started to take more actions

Check your water footprint

Lastly a good article looking at last years floods and how water came to the Cotswolds - see London Review of Books: www.lrb.co.uk/v30/n15/meek01_.html

Wet and floods but Randwick woods are glorious

Wet wet wet. I have just returned from Norway's west coast - renowned for it's rain, but this summer saw much less than usual - well it is clear if I had wanted rain I could have stayed at home - I hear our weather experts say that in the last few days the county had had more than the expected rainfall for all of September.

Photos: Randwick woods yesterday

Indeed very heavy rain has been forecast for a number of days. Water levels on the River Severn are expected to peak on Sunday. At the moment, it appears that some of the worst predictions are unlikely to materialise but rightly our local councils have been geared up and ready for action with a substantial sandbag supply. They are also monitoring water levels at critical points across the District, although flash flooding is often difficult to predict. Apparently two properties in Berkeley have been flooded., Lydney has faced flash flooding andthree Glos schools were closed.

Having said all that it was wonderful to go to Randwick woods yesterday in the rain - having been away a while it was great to be back in them.

Meanwhile we hear that the summer sea-ice melt in the Arctic is the second-meltiest since satellite records began, and by the end of the melt season in mid-September, this year could surpass the all-time record low set last year, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Furthermore for the second time ever - the first being last year - the Northwest Passage shipping route is open and ice-free this year. What's more, Arctic sea ice appears (as reported before on this blog), to have reached "a tipping point" from which it may not recover; the Arctic is now expected to be entirely ice-free in summer by 2030. Some say it could be much earlier than that. Arctic sea-ice melt typically begins to slow in August as temperatures get cooler, but this year, just when it was expected to slow down, the melting sped up. But regardless of whether this year is officially a record-breaker or not, it's clear to researchers that the Arctic is unwell. Mark Serreze of the NSIDC said: "No matter where we stand at the end of the melt season it's just reinforcing this notion that Arctic ice is in its death spiral." Not so cheery and all the more reason we need to be acting to tackle climate change - we know what is needed we now need to build the political will to make it happen.

Challenge Italian discrimination of Roma/Gypsies

A while back I was shocked top hear that Italy's interior minister Roberto Maroni had proposed a policy of police fingerprinting of all members of the Italian Roma/Gypsy Community.

Photo: Ruscombe tree

I am now even more shocked to learn that according to the Guardian newspaper, fingerprinting of Roma children has already begun. Moreover, Italy's highest appeal court has, in effect, ruled that it is acceptable to discriminate against Roma on the grounds that "all Gypsies were thieves".

As part of my postgraduate Social Work course I spent some time talking and working with travellers and gypsies in the Southampton area - there are many issues re this - see some in my previous blog here where I remember talking to a Police Officer there saying: "I have to say we don't like these travellers coming here - not because of what they do, but every thief from miles around descends on the area to target homes in the area as they know the travellers will get the blame."

It was only in May 2008 there were rumours of an abduction of a baby girl by a Gypsy woman in Naples that led to an outbreak of racist violence against Roma camps. The response by Minister Maroni to this was "that is what happens when gypsies steal babies". Of course Italy, like many countries in Europe, is concerned about immigration, crime and so on, but it is also clear that treating the Roma as second class citizens is not an answer. Gypsies suffered greatly in the Holocaust and I have been surprised there is not more out-cry towards the actions of the Italian Government. A lack of action can only give comfort to those with far right sympathies and give more confidence for them to undertake more extreme actions. As history shows, if people and nations remain silent bystanders then fascism can take root and I think that a hard stand is required.

Please sign this petition which will be sent to a summit on the future of the Roma at the European Parliament on 16th September. Please sign and spread word to everyone you know about it: www.gopetition.com/online/21275.html

See earlier blogs for my opposition to ID cards and fingerprinting in this country by using the search engine. Meanwhile on a much less serious note did you know my great-grandparents on my mothers side were Italian - that makes me a sixteenth Italian? Caio.

Randwick phone mast likely to be rejected

Previous blogs have carried info on the proposed mast near Ash Lane (click on label below and scroll down for info) - officers at the District Council have recommended refusing planning permission - great news indeed.

Photo: view of mast site

The main reason SDC are rejecting are the lack of consideration of other suitable sites fails to demonstrate that this is the least visually intrusive. However along with my objection, both Randwick Parish and Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish objections there were also 11 members of the public objecting, a Highways objection, the Public Rights Of Way Officer objecting, the Cotswold Conservation Board objecting and the National Trust objecting. Well done indeed to all who have helped get us this far. We now await the verdict of the Development Control Committee on Tuesday - let us hope they take the officers advice - I personally cannot see how they could do anything other than that....

Details of Development Control Committee meeting on 9th September here. See Planning application details of Stroud District Council website here.

Are our mobile phones really dangerous?

The World Health Organization (WHO) still maintain that cell phones pose no threat and have been compiling data on the health risks of electromagnetic fields emitted by cell/mobile phones - however the release of the report has been delayed for over two years. Why? The possible risks is an issue I have covered before on this blog - and I have tried to curb use of mobiles in Glos schools - see letter here.

While we wait for the WHO guidance many nations have sought to protect their citizens by issuing their own recommendations for cell phone use, including an announcement in Canada last month. While in the U.S., the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute recently posted a useful list of tips to limit harmful health impacts of cell phones:

1. Do not allow children to use a cell phone, except for emergencies.
2. Use hands-free ear pieces or speakerphone.
3. Make sure the back of the phone is pointing away from your body so that the transmitted electromagnetic fields move away from you rather than through you.
4. Switch sides regularly while communicating on your cell phone to spread out your exposure.
5. Don't sleep near your phone unless it is off, particularly if you are pregnant.

See full list of tips here: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_14065.cfm

I am still open to whether or not their are serious dangers attached to mobile phone use - however it is clear we should not be dismissing the risks - it is frustrating there is so little independent work done on this - one of the more worrying reports was in my email box awaiting my return from holidays...it is worth quoting from at length below - but those interested should see the whole article by Julie A. Evans in Best Life here. Here is some of what she writes:

When Vini Khurana, PhD, an Australian (and Mayo Clinic–trained) neurosurgeon, announced that the link between cell-phone use and cancer was irrefutable - the result of his analysis of more than 100 studies--it set off alarm bells around the world. Use a cell phone, he said, and you increase your risk of developing a malignant brain tumor by two to four times. Until recently, the majority of research indicated little or no link between cell phones and cancer, but several new long-term studies have cast doubt about their safety.

Do cell phones cause cancer?

Maybe…with extended use. Mobile-phone users are twice as likely to develop malignant, difficult-to-treat brain tumors called gilomas, according to a first-of-its-kind study that analyzed the effects of cell-phone use over 10 years or more and was published last year in the journal Occupational Environmental Medicine. The Bioinitiative Working Group, an international coalition of scientists and public-health experts, recently published a hefty report detailing the link between the nonionizing radiation caused by a cell phone's electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and cancer, DNA damage, Alzheimer's, and other diseases. "The cells in the body react to EMFs in cell phones just like they do to other environmental toxins, including heavy metals and chemicals," says Martin Blank, PhD, a professor in bioelectromagnetics at Columbia University and one of the report's authors. The study found that risk from cell-phone use starts at 260 lifetime hours.

Do cell phones emit radiation only when you are talking?

No. "Cell phones give off radiation any time they're turned on so that they can communicate with base stations," says Lou Bloomfield, PhD, professor of physics at the University of Virginia and author of How Everything Works: Making Physics Out of the Ordinary. "The radiation emitted, however, is stronger and more frequent when you're talking or messaging." Also, the greater distance you are from a base station, the more radiation your phone must emit in order to get a signal, which is why your phone feels hot when you have low reception. That heat you feel is radiation. The Bioinitiative study found that adverse effects to DNA can also occur before the phone heats up. To reduce your exposure, make calls only when you have strong reception, hang up before your phone heats up, and store your phone away from your body when it's not in use.

What is a phone's SAR value and why does it matter?

SAR stands for specific absorption rate, and it refers to the rate of radiation exposure from radio frequency and microwaves measured in watts per kilogram of tissue, says Bloomfield. The FCC limit on any cell phone sold in this country is 1.6 watts per kilogram. To find the SAR value for your phone, go to fcc.gov/cgb/sar/. At press time, the phone with the lowest radiation was the LG KG800, at 0.135 w/kg. The highest: Motorola V195s, at 1.6 w/kg. The Apple iPhone is in the middle, at 0.974 w/kg. (See the article for best and worst buys)

What is the range of the radiation?

Exposure to radiation from your cell phone drops off slowly for the first three to four inches from your body, and then it falls dramatically, says Bloomfield. To reduce your exposure, invest in a hands-free headset and limit the amount of time you spend talking on the phone. Khurana recommends using the speaker mode and holding the phone about eight inches away from you. Also, limit your use of Bluetooth devices. While it's true that they emit the least amount of radiation (one study found they can operate as low as 0.001 watts per kilogram), even that can add up fast.

Is it risky to carry a cell phone in your pants pocket?

Maybe. One 2006 study found no link to testicular cancer, but other researchers suspect a link to male infertility. Ashok Agarwal, PhD, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, recently completed a study in which cell phones were set down for one hour in talk mode, next to sperm samples in test tubes. He found that the sperm's motility and viability were significantly reduced, and levels of harmful free radicals increased after exposure. Agarwal suggests storing the phone in your jacket pocket to reduce exposure to cell-phone radiation. Pregnant women need to take precautions too, because a recent study found that cell-phone use while pregnant is linked to behavioral problems in children.

Are kids more at risk?

"Yes, since children's nervous systems are still developing, and they have thinner scalps and skulls than adults, they should use cell phones only in emergencies," says Gene Barnett, MD, professor and director of the Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center at the Cleveland Clinic. The association between childhood leukemia and exposure to EMFs like those from cell phones has led the International Agency for Research on Cancer to classify them as a "possible human carcinogen." The medical establishments in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom all recommend severe restrictions on children's cell-phone use, with some experts going so far as to say that children under 16 shouldn't use cell phones at all. Make sure your kids opt for landlines when they're at home, and if you must buy them a cell phone for emergencies, get one with a low SAR number.

What about texting?

It's actually a safer way to communicate, says David O. Carpenter, MD, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany. Since kids hold phones away from their bodies when texting, they're exposed to less radiation than when they have the phones to their ears. "We are very concerned about teen cell-phone use, fearing that we face an epidemic of brain tumors 10 to 20 years from now, and there are so few who are raising warning flags," says Dr. Carpenter. Make sure your teen keeps his cell phone turned off and stored in his backpack when it isn't in use, which will dramatically reduce exposure.

Lastly we should also not forget mobiles have an impact on the developing world - see my letter that was in The Ecologist magazine (Nov 2001) here. Also local Green party attempts to stop the marketing of phones to 4 year olds and under - see here. Meanwhile the latest on the Randwick mast coming soon to this blog!

Cover-up over Colony Collapse Disorder?

As reported on this blog over the past two years, beekeepers have reported an alarming and potentially catastrophic loss of bees from their hives ranging anywhere from 30-90 percent. This "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD) isn't just a problem for beekeepers and farmers, but for consumers as well, since bee pollination is essential for crop production; the USDA claims that one out of every three mouthfuls of food is dependant on bee pollination. Experts have been researching CCD and have linked the die-off to a number of likely culprits (click on 'bees' label below for further discussions and the impact on Glos Beekeepers).

Photo: From Guardian article on Germany banning the chemical - see here.

It seems likely that one of the killers could be a new pesticide, clothianidin, approved by the EPA in 2003. Germany and France have banned this type of pesticide to protect their bee population. In the U.S., clothianidin was approved after Bayer CropScience, the chemical's maker, submitted required studies to the EPA regarding the chemical's impact on bees and the environment. Now the EPA is suspiciously and illegally refusing to release these public documents. To expose this cover-up and hopefully to save the bees, last week the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit against the agency. Learn more here. We await with interest.

Georgia, Russia and Afghanistan

On holiday I was completely away from the internet, TV and newspapers - however one bit of news that managed to filter through was the shocking war in the Caucasus. It was very hard to get to any sort of truth about what was happening...indeed there seems to have been some serious bias in the news....

Photo: Stop the War demonstration on 20th September

CNN, the BBC and other western media have apparently aired misleading footage of the war between Georgia and Russia, skewing public opinion in favour of the Georgians. For example a Russian cameraman has said that CNN had used his footage of Georgian forces attacking Russian civilians in Tskhinvali, the provincial capital of South Ossetia, but then claimed it showed Russians attacking Georgians in the Georgian town of Gori.

The claim is that the Georgian assault on Tskhinvali, described as an act of genocide and a war crime by Russian officials and other eyewitnesses, led to the slaughter of at least 2,000 civilians. Furthermore that the fact that Georgia, backed by the U.S. and Israel, were responsible for the provocation that led to the Russian response, has been buried by the majority of western corporate media.

Another example of media bias in shielding Georgia from responsibility for the carnage is the fact that news outlets like the BBC continued to report that "thousands of civilians were killed in Georgia", with the obvious inference being that these are victims of the Russian onslaught. But these victims were not killed in Georgia, they were killed in Ossetia - by Georgian forces. While the Ossetians claimed over 1000 dead the BBC neither reported this or any newsreel coming out of Ossetia showing the destruction caused by the Georgian shelling of the breakaway republic.

Were we getting one-sided reports of the destruction being caused by the Russians? I don't know - certainly seven years after the start of the war on terror, occupation continues to bring misery to Iraq and Afghanistan - but it is clear that the consequences of the war are spreading. US policy of expanding NATO eastwards has been an important feature of the conflict between Russia and Georgia, as has the West's desire to control the oil and other natural resources of the region.

Why war?

The Georgians and Ossetians both accuse each other of initiating the conflict: what is clear that rapid escalation took place, and that civilians died and were displaced in significant numbers. See Paul Rogers good analysis here and an interesting analysis of why Georgia is at war here - the latter basically arguing that Georgia was misled into thinking that the US would come to their aid. But perhaps more useful than asking "Who started it?" we should consider some of the factors involved:

1. Breakup of the Soviet Union, which kept the lid on ethnic divisions. Under the Soviets, there was no point in South Ossetia seeking independence, nor union with North Ossetia. Both were provinces of the Soviet empire. The fall of the USSR led quickly to the 1991-2 war that gave S. Ossetia and Abkhazia their de facto independence. So - Separatist ambitions is a factor. Separatist aspiration lies behind one in three of the present conflicts happening in the world in 2008.
2. Oil pipeline: the BTC pipeline goes right through Georgia. Its biggest customer is BP.
3. NATO trying to encircle Russia. Russia trying not to be encircled.
4. As one commentator put it could it be: "Bush sh*tting in the earphones of his successor?" (cf Somalia problem left by Bush sr for Clinton.).

Georgia came into being after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia gained /de facto /independence after the 1991-2 war, although their independence is not formally recognised in the UN. The majority of South Ossetians are ethnically distinct from Georgians and identify with the people of North Ossetia. A referendum in 2006 (turnout 95%) is reported as resulting in 99% endorsement for /de facto/ independence. More than half of South Ossetians are reported to have chosen a Russian passport. Abkhazia is ethnically mixed, with only 28% Georgians.

Tony Benn is right when he said: "The British government continues its uncritical support for George Bush, with foreign minister David Miliband echoing Bush's claim that invading other people's countries is not acceptable in the 21st century. Their hypocrisy is staggering. The war on terror has been a failure and the majority of people in Britain want the British troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Their view is matched by the majority of citizens in Iraq and Afghanistan, where high levels of violence, death, refugees and lack of basic facilities are all part of everyday life for millions. Despite all this, the US is stepping up its threats against Iran. When he came to office, Gordon Brown promised to plan troop withdrawal from Iraq. He has reneged on that promise.”

Clearly once again there is the presence of an oil interest in an area of conflict, which underlines the urgent necessity of breaking our economies from dependence on oil. It is clear that the expansionist policies of NATO are also one of the contributing factors. We should abandon NATO in favour of the OSCE as the key security organisation in Europe. To move forward we also need to reaffirm that the will of the people is the basis of democracy, and if it is clearly the will of the people that they should be independent from their present state, or transfer to a different state, this will should be allowed to be developed in a peaceful and orderly way. The UN should be in the position to address the problem of separatism from a systemic point of view and to draw up a legal and political framework that will enable secessions to be negotiated peacefully.

Afghanistan: the 'war' cannot be won

I also heard about the deaths of ten French soldiers in one battle in Afghanistan - as Stop the War report, despite Geoff Hoon's recent claims that progress is being made all the evidence points to the fact that resistance to the occupation is becoming bolder and more effective. The French soldiers lost their lives in a 36 hour gun battle just 30 miles from the capital Kabul. Most of the south and east of the country - which we were told a few years ago had been 'pacified' - is now officially recognised as being under rebel control.

NATO air strikes are causing so much bitterness at the number of innocent civilians being killed that even Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai - who was installed to be the stooge of the US government - has publicly demanded that the bombing stops. Since then the United Nations has announced that a minimum of 90 people were killed in Friday’s US airstrike in Herat Province. This number includes 60 children, and stands as one of the largest incidents of US-inflicted slaughter of civilians since the 2001 invasion.

The violence created by occupation is making an already dire situation desperate for the Afghan people. Malnutrition is widespread and child mortality rates and life expectancy are lower now than they were before the so called 'liberation' of the country in 2001. Security has deteriorated so badly that aid agencies and NGOs are having to cancel sorely needed relief programmes.

According to Gordon Brown, "We are winning the battle in Afghanistan". In truth, as the Guardian's Seamus Milne wrote: "The war in Afghanistan, which claimed more than 6,500 lives last year, cannot be won. It has brought neither peace, development nor freedom, and has no prospect of doing so… The only real chance for peace in Afghanistan is the withdrawal of foreign forces."

Stop the War are organising a demonstration at the Labour Party conference in Manchester on Saturday 20 September. Meanwhile while we are on the horrors of war a new book by American journalist Ron Suskind has demolished any remaining shred of credibility for the attack on Iraq in 2003. His book proves that both M16 and the CIA knew there were no weapons of mass destruction before the invasion and that both agencies made this clear to the Bush administration. The media in Britain has largely ignored the story, but you can see Suskind discussing his book on the US Daily Show, available online here:
http://tinyurl.com/553g2n

Call to raise mileage rate for volunteer drivers

Many elderly and vulnerable people rely on volunteer drivers with local charities and organizations to take them to hospital appointments. Rising fuel prices are hitting them hard and putting at risk vital services.

At the moment, charities and organizations are limited by Inland Revenue tax laws in the maximum amount they are permitted to reimburse volunteers. Please sign our petition that has been lodged on behalf of volunteer drivers UK wide to request a change in the Inland Revenue rules increasing the maximum tax exempt volunteer driver’s mileage rate from 40p to 50p per mile.
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/charitydrivers/

A sum that is intended to cover fuel, insurance, road tax, maintenance and depreciation and has not been amended since 2002. However let's be clear this is only a small part of what is needed - see more in a letter I wrote before going away here.

Congrats to organisers of Gloucestershire Pride 08

One event I missed whilst away was Gloucestershire Pride 08 on Saturday 9th August. Having supported this in the past it was a shame to miss - but I heard from other Green party members that attended that hundreds of people took part -
starting at 1pm outside the Shire Hall in Gloucester with a short rally then march to Llanthony Secunda Priory for music and more. Huge congrats to the organisers. See video here - and see petition below re asylum rights.

Photo: Rainbow Day 2006

Last year’s torrential July rain and subsequent flooding led to the cancellation of Pride events last year - a great pity after the success of the first celebration in Gloucestershire the previous year.

Gloucestershire Pride is the only Gay Pride on the ‘M5 corridor’ between Birmingham and Plymouth. Also 2008 is the 30^th anniversary of the now internationally-recognised “Rainbow Flag”. This was designed by Gilbert Baker and first seen at what is now San Francisco Gay Pride in June 1978. See more re getting Rainbow flags flying on Council buildings here to celebrate the day.

Gloucestershire Pride 2009 is due to be held in Cheltenham on Saturday August 8, with Gloucester hosting again in 2010. See details here:
www.gloucestershirepride.org.uk

Plus see a Green party sponsored petition on the Government to review the way LGBT asylum seekers are treated:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/lgbtasylum/

Last day to sign petition to redouble rail track

The petition to redouble rail track between Swindon and Kemble closes tomorrow: 2nd September - please sign petition here:
www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/railpetition

Photo: Rail freight

The local press last week have covered David Drew leafleting rail travelers to gain support for the redoubling - regular blog readers will know this is an issue I have also campaigned on - see my most recent blog with more background info here including addresses to write to, the wider picture and stuff from rail journalist Christian Wolmar. If you have time to write please do tonight! Consultation ends 4th September.

The second line was closed in the 1960s creating a bottleneck which has hampered good rail connections in the area ever since. The Office of Rail Regulation is expected to make a final decision in October.

More background stuff (taken from Glos County Council and Transition Stroud Transport Group)

The Stroud Valley Line is the railway route connecting Gloucestershire with London and the South-East. It branches from the Birmingham – Bristol main line south of Gloucester, and joins the Great Western Railway route from South Wales to London at Swindon. Around two-thirds of the line is double track, but between Kemble and Swindon it is single track. This length of single track restricts the capacity of this route, and therefore constrains the level of rail service that can be provided on this critical connection for Gloucestershire. There is therefore, presently, very little opportunity to expand rail services between Gloucestershire and Swindon /London.

For a number of years, the Gloucestershire community has campaigned for improvements to be made to this line, notably the reinstatement of double track on the Kemble-Swindon section of the route. Network Rail has undertaken design work on a scheme to do this and has identified the construction cost to be approximately £38 million. This includes minor associated signalling works.

Network Rail identified the business case for this scheme to be a good one, with the Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) being calculated as at least 9:1. This far exceeds the threshold identified by the Department for Transport (DfT) for a robust business case, which is a BCR of 2:1. It also compares favourably with accepted schemes such as Crossrail, for which the BCR is 1.9:1. On this basis, Network Rail included the Kemble – Swindon re-doubling in its provisional business plan for 2009-14.

The Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) has recently published its Draft Determination on the Network Rail business plan for 2009-14. This includes the investment over this period on the rail network that the ORR considers to be acceptable, and identifies a £7.1 billion programme of works across England and Wales. This programme does not include the re-doubling of the Kemble-Swindon line. The ORR report has been issued for consultation, with comments to be submitted by 4th September 2008.

The ORR’s Final Determination will be published in late October. If the ORR is not convinced by the consultation feedback that the Kemble-Swindon scheme should be included in Network Rail’s business plan, there will be little prospect of the improvement being programmed until 2014-19 at the earliest. The main criteria that were used by the ORR in reaching their recommendations are listed below:-

1. The need to nationally improve performance (Public Performance Measure - PPM) to 93%
2. Accommodate a passenger demand growth of 22.5%, and freight demand growth of 30%
3. The need to ensure that the “railway is open for as much as the time as possible”

The issues that do not appear to have been considered in this assessment include:-

- The need to ensure that the “the railway is open for as much time as possible” by providing a diversionary route for freight and passenger trains. For passenger services this would reduce the need to rely on bus replacement services, especially on Sunday afternoons which on certain routes can be one of the busiest periods of the week.
- More specifically provide a robust diversionary route between South Wales and London that can operate over long periods without the need to disrupt local services. At present only a limited service can be operated between South Wales and London and local services will be affected by the need to accommodate diverted services. The diversion of South Wales – London services via the Stroud Valley would add 20 minutes to journey times. This is preferable to bus replacement.
- Consideration of the major investment programme planned for the Severn Tunnel Route which will mean that the Stroud Valley route will be required for diversionary purposes. This is part of a £400m investment programme for South Wales.
- The implications of travel demand generated by the additional housing proposed by the draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the South-West. 56,400 dwellings are proposed for Gloucestershire between 2006 and 2026, and 53,900 in Swindon, North Wiltshire and Kennet (34,200 of these are in Swindon).
- The implications on future inward investment into Gloucestershire if connectivity with London and South East is not enhanced. Inward investment needs to keep pace with anticipated housing and population growth. Good connectivity with London and South East is seen as being important to attracting inward investment, and retaining existing industries.
- The need to facilitate modal shift on the Cheltenham/Gloucester/Stroud/Swindon Corridor to reduce congestion on the A417 trunk road between Gloucester and Swindon. An enhanced rail service could help facilitate this by encouraging modal shift. Re-doubling is required before such service improvements could take place. The dualling of the A417 trunk road between Cowley and Brockworth, would cost around £250 million to build and no obvious source of funding currently exists. (The Eddington Report acknowledged congestion on the A417).
- The North Swindon station proposal by Swindon Borough Council.

There was an Adjournment Debate on the Kemble – Swindon Line on 30th June. In the debate, the Minister for Transport (Tom Harris) confirmed his awareness of the underlying issues and invited the rail industry to re-submit its business case to the ORR. He also offered the assistance of his officials at DfT for the re-submission of this case. Network Rail would have the lead role in this re-submission. The £7.1 billion programme does include an allowance of £50 million for future development work, and another £220 million for general investment programmes on smaller schemes. Of this £160m is understood to be allocated to ensuring the “railway is open for as much time as possible”. So there are opportunities to bring this scheme into the programme without significantly impacting upon those major schemes already included. In addition, this scheme will open up new opportunities to manage the direct and indirect consequences of government policies (e.g. Regional Spatial Strategy), and provides a strong case for assigning extra funding to the overall programme.

The benefits of Redoubling the Gloucester to Swindon Railway Line between Kemble and Swindon (Stroud Valley Line): Adapted from GCC paper

1. Strategic route linking Gloucestershire with London. Good connectivity with London and the South East and on to the West Midlands will benefit the Gloucestershire, regional and national economy.
2. Strategic route linking Wiltshire and Swindon with Gloucestershire and the West Midlands. Assists potential provision for a new station to the north of Swindon.
3. The line is a key diversionary route for the London – South Wales main line. The route via Gloucester and the Stroud Valley Line acts as a diversionary route when the Severn Tunnel is closed for maintenance and for freight traffic that is unable to use the tunnel. The Stroud Valley line also offers an alternative route for trains travelling between Bristol Parkway and Swindon.
The line could have a crucial role to play in ensuring the achievement of a “7 day railway open for business all the time”.
4. The line provides an alternative route for services connecting the West Midlands with the South Coast and the South East.
5. Opportunities for growth of both passenger and freight traffic in line with the objective set by the ORR
6. In line with the objectives set by the ORR, help Network Rail reduce engineering costs and improve efficiency through longer possessions and-or blockades
7. Encourages more sustainable travel via modal shift and helps satisfy travel demand generated by the additional housing proposed by the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West. Reduces congestion on the A417 trunk road between Gloucester and Swindon.

Ruscombe Green blog returns

I am adjusting to life back here in Stroud after being away seeing family in Norway. I've been back a day and managed a drink at the Ruscombe and Whiteshill Village Shop (new toilet coming soon there!) - the drink was to break up a day of sitting opening 2,457 emails - still many more to read and work to go back to so please bear with me if you are waiting for a response.

There is so much I could write about that I've missed while being away - here are a few stories for starters that have caught my eye initially:

Randwick TV fame - great to hear the village was featured in a 15minute programme - some 50 people turned out to help the camera crew incl our Wap Mayor Stan Giles. Brian Stanley in the Runner reports that those participating gave a positive balanced view of our village with weavers and laggers, the pool, the Cotswold Way, dog-walking and cheese-rolling etc.

Dead Swan and fish in canal at Stroudwater - see background here - the Environment Agency have responded noting water quality can deteriorate for many reasons and that the cause of the deaths have not been established but the incident was likely to have been caused by a carcass in the watercourse. This has been removed. I am still not v happy about arrangements re the canal and British Waterways - there would appear to be ill-defined areas of responsibilities which I will be chasing.

Stroud Brewery wins Campaign for Real Ale's Gloucestershire champion beer - for the second time with their Budding Pale Ale. Budding won the best bitters sectionand the brewery's Stroud Organic Ale won gold in the bitter's class. Well done to Greg Pilley and all the others at the brewery.

Stroud Ape expert and the yeti - Stroud-based ape expert Ian Redmond, who I met recently could be close to identifying the identity of a 'yeti-like' beast in the Indian jungle. He is DNA testing hairs - See Citizen news report here. Mr Redmond is involved with ape conservation in Rwanda and is looking for volunteers to help him with the administration of the project. Anyone interested should email info@4apes.com

Ragged Hedge Fair - this weekend just gone - just outside Cirencester and one of the best events around - this year I missed due to being away but hear from several different people how much fun it was - see more at their website: www.raggedhedgefair.co.uk

Street balls - Children have played football in the road since time immemorial and yet people complain about it more than anything else, when most of them used to do it themselves. Here is a bit from the Council news re the efforts of Stroud's Colin Peake - Anti-social Behaviour Co-ordinator - after talking with children he learned that often the issue got out of hand when the very young ones were joined by their older siblings. The older boys using their superior strength would emulate the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, without realising the likely consequences of being older and stronger. Colin soon established that the real substance of complaints was not the actual playing of football (which after all is our national sport) but the likely damage to houses, cars and gardens. Reducing the possibility of such fears by using a foam ball reduces tensions in the street. Using his personal knowledge of the game, Colin recognised that youngsters did not like the normal foam-style ball which although cheap and readily available does not react like a normal ball. He therefore contacted the Cheshire based company ‘Urofoam’ and has now purchased 500 specially coated balls bearing the ‘Respect’ logo. He is now handing out these ‘Street Balls’ to Stroud District Council’s Neighbourhood Wardens and to Police Community Support Officers in an attempt to find a happy medium and allow neighbourhoods to live in harmony. The kids and even professional footballers, who have used them in training sessions around the Stroud District, are pleased with how they feel and react in real football terms. Branded ‘Street Ball’ they can be purchased in any colour and trials undertaken in the Stroud area showed green and yellow ones were preferred.

Stroud Pasty launched - Slad Farm - who leased 5 acres to one of two community supported agriculture schemes operating in Stroud - have launched the Stroud pasty - with a secret ingredient, has been cooked up for the town's new food festival. The slow roast organic beef and vegetable pasty, with a traditional twisted top was privately previewed last week and will be launched on the opening day of the festival next month. Pasty chef Joe Eckersley made the first couple of dozen of the baked golden pasties that were hungrily sampled by guests at the JRool Bistro in Stroud said in The Citizen: "They have potatoes, onions and turnips inside, plus a mystery ingredient, and the beef, which is from Stroud, is slow cooked in fruit wine."