Fun with words

I have just been sent the winners of this year's Washington Post's Mensa Invitational which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. I have to say some had me chuckling and although I've not shared any of those 'amusing' emails before I did think this one was worth passing on...

Photo: view across from Sandpits Lane, Randwick

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2. Ignoranus: A person who is both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high

8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido: All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor (n.): The colour you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.
Words with alternative meanings

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. And the winners are:

1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.

6. Negligent, adj.. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence, n.. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle n. A humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

Arne Naess dies

On Jan 12, 2009 Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess died at the age of 96. The International Herald Tribune noted that his "ideas about promoting an intimate and all-embracing relationship between the earth and the human species inspired environmentalists and Green political activists around the world."

He did indeed - his ideas inspired many of us with his theory he called deep ecology. Its central tenet is the belief that all living beings have their own value and therefore, as Naess once put it, "need protection against the destruction of billions of humans."

Deep ecology, which called for population reduction, soft technology and non-interference in the natural world, was eagerly taken up by environmentalists impatient with "shallow ecology" (another of Naess's coinages) which did not confront technology and economic growth. See more: http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/15/europe/15naess.php

New dodgy constitution for NHS and say no to 0845 at health centres

So the NHS has a new constitution - well I will add my voice to those concerned that it is too weak to protect the core ideas behind the NHS against the impact of commercialisation.

Paul Evans, director of the NHS Support Federation says: “Government lawyers will have been working long and hard to ensure that the NHS constitution cannot be used to stop its commercialisation programme, but it is this precisely which is the greatest threat to the values and principles of the health service."

The Federation believes that the terms of the constitution are at odds with the impact of government policy. The NHS constitution states that "The NHS is an integrated system of organisations and services bound together by the principles and values now reflected in the Constitution". In reality the NHS is becoming more fragmented as more commercial providers are contracted to run NHS services.

Surely as the current economic crisis shows we cannot rely on commercial companies to act in ways which protect the public interest. Yet the government seems set on placing commercial values at the heart of the NHS. I can't see this constitution being any match for the large corporate interests currently looking to run NHS services.

Meanwhile here's a petition worth signing:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Healthtelephone/

Local health centres and NHS medical practices should be banned from using 08 numbers or offer a local 01 or 02 number alternative for booking appointments. I am not aware of any in the Stroud area (??) - but where operating these expensive charges impact unfairly on those with low income - indeed sometimes you can wait a long time on the phone just to make an appointment. Take for example an 0870 number - it costs 10 pence per minute.

Stroud District Council's IT department

I read that an IT infrastructure planning analyst from Staffordshire county set up a programme that scans all the council's 7,500 computers and automatically switches them off if any have been left on after the user has gone home. The saving is £40,000 a year - I have passed it onto a councillor who has raised it with our IT department.

Let us hope that will help make some savings...meanwhile I thought it was worth a mention that Sitemorse look at all local authority websites on a monthly basis, awarding marks out of 10 for 4 major categories, namely function (broken links), accessibility , code quality and performance (speed of response, etc.). Stroud is typically in the top 50 but last month have been ranked as number 17 out of 460 authorities, scoring 8.72 out of 10. This apparently would have been higher still had it not been for a PDF document containing broken links. Congrats to the team there - go see it here.

SNP arrogance over Scottish Budget?

So the Budget was defeated in Scotland - the press are crediting Greens for that but it is not quite as simple - See what Green Member of Scottish Parliament Mr Harvie (pictured) has to say here.

The Scotsman newspaper writes (and I am not sure they have the whole picture): "Right at the end of the debate, Mr Swinney said £33 million would be provided for the scheme, insulating 100,000 houses, as Mr Harvie wanted. Although Mr Swinney guaranteed that this money would be spent, he could not give an assurance that all of it would come from the Scottish Government. Mr Harvie was worried that some of the money might come out of budgets already earmarked for fuel poverty when he wanted it all to be new money. And it was at that point that he decided the Greens should oppose the SNP's Budget."

Here is what SW Green MEP candidate Dr Richard Lawson notes: "My impression is that the SNP treated the Greens with political disdain, failing to negotiate clearly and communicate their views in good time. In the end, any money spent on saving energy has to be a good investment, and the SNP has paid the price for their political arrogance and economic ignorance."

Let us not forget the original scheme proposed by Greens would cost just £100m a year and would have made a massive contribution to cutting fuel poverty and climate change emissions, to reducing household bills and to boosting employment. It is a relative drop in the overall budgetary ocean - a third of one percent of the coming year's spending. Indeed it makes sense any way you look at it.

Is it time to end the Veolia contract?

Corporate Watch have produced a briefing on companies involved in Israel - see here. One of them they mention is the BBC - yesterday I wrote a letter to local press re their refusal to air the appeal - see here (thanks for the thank yous re that letter).

Photo: from Indymedia

Another of the companies is Veolia Environment - a French multinational that trades in water and waste management, energy and transport services and with who Stroud District has a contract.

Veolia Transport is apparently a subsidiary of Veolia Environment and a leading partner in the CityPass consortium, contracted to build a light rail tramway system linking west Jerusalem to illegal Jewish settlements such as Pisgat Ze'ev, French Hill, Neve Ya'akov and Gilo in occupied East Jerusalem. Once built (due to be completed in 2020), the rail system will help to cement Israel's hold on occupied East Jerusalem and tie the settlements even more firmly into the State of Israel. There is more you can read about their 'business' in Israel and it is no wonder that John Marjoram has raised concerns about this.

Veolia infact lost a €3.5m contract in Sweden over its involvement with the Jerusalem light rail project (see here). In 2006, Dutch bank ASN also broke off financial relations with Veolia for the same reason, as did the Irish tram drivers union broke. Is it time to end the Veolia contract?

LGBT Greens go West!

LGBT Greens have chosen February, LGBT History Month to launch in the South West region a new group for Green members of the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered community. See my press release today here and see more re Gay Pride Gloucestershire at http://www.gloucestershirepride.org.uk/

It is still Zero Waste Week

I had planned to cover Zero Waste Week and participate - it is this week until 1st February. However it is black bag day today and we have failed dismally here in Ruscombe - indeed for the first time in many months we've managed to nearly fill a black bag - usually we can barely find enough to fill a third of the bag but a clear out last weekend and some guests all mean we have a full bag - embarrassing to put out? Maybe one day it really will be for all....

Photo: Gavin from the My Zero Waste website and their visit to the flagship programme in Bisley - an amazing collection of events

However I can report good news from the rest of the family where one of them participating in the challenge has, so far, only a few bits of plastic and a v small amount of food waste - not enough to even half fill a carrier bag. For another successful project where a family are seriously reducing their waste and have lots of ideas and discussion see over in the Forest of Dean:
http://myzerowaste.com/

Anyhow the Gloucestershire's Zero Waste Challenge aims to help us reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill sites by challenging households to produce not a single item of waste during the week. More details here. It is a great initiative to highlight our waste and I am disappointed that I have not joined in this year - so can I also say that I am disappointed not to see others in the area doing the same - on my way to Stroud today there were still piles and piles of black bags...

Aston Down: appeal date at last

A long time ago I wrote a report about development at Aston Down near Minch - see it here - it looked at the site to see if it was a sustainable development opportunity or an unsuitable site for development in 55 hectares (136 acres) of an Area Of Natural Beauty(AONB) - it was an eye-opener for me - and I learnt a lot about how Council's work - well that was 4 years ago - the issue has now come to a planning appeal.

Up to 40 firms employing more than 300 people are based without planning permission on the old Aston Down airfield site near Minchinhampton. Why do they do that?? Some good companies up there but why not seek sites with planning permission? Is it cheaper to have a site without planning?

Anyhow the hearing begins on March 3rd - the appeal is by the airfield's owners Leda Properties and is expected to last 10 days. It is against Stroud and Cotswold district councils' refusal to allow the continuation of the light industrial and warehousing use of the huge old aircraft hangars and other buildings. The local residents action group will be able to speak at the meeting.

Leda, who bought Aston Down in 2002, is also challenging enforcement actions both councils took to try to stop what they say is unauthorised commercial development in the countryside. The appeal does not involve Cotswold Gliding Club's part of the site.

I have to note that after reviewing the site all that time ago it is clear that the extra traffic and heavy lorries to and from the site were unacceptable on the minor roads serving Aston Down - especially as it is in the official Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Indeed since then I have seen many more photos and witnessed heavy lorries using the site inappropriately.

The hearing will start at Ebley Mill in Stroud and move during the second week to a venue to be announced in Cirencester.

However to finish this blog entry I would like to note that while it seems clear the current industry is excessive there is surely a possible use for some of the perfectly good buildings - extreme care will be needed to see what might be possible that does not generate the traffic and fits with local planning laws.

Painswick Gateway project nears fruition

After more than two years of negotiations, trustees of the Painswick Gateway project are close to deciding whether it will go-ahead - see previous blogs here and here - I have had little to do with the project recently but was involved in highlighting the plight of the library - indeed my blog was picked up by a trade International magazine whose editor came and interviewed us in Painswick - see here - I digress...

Photo: inside Painswick library

Trustees plan to buy the village library in Stroud Road from Gloucestershire County Council for £90,000 – which they would then run on behalf on the community. There are also plans to reconnect the church rooms with the library. Under the scheme a new safe access-way to Painswick would be created for residents and visitors. This is all exciting stuff to create a real community resource.

More than £73,000 has been pledged to the project by nearly 200 residents, plus a £20,000 grant from Stroud District Council and another from a local trust, for the purchase of the library. The original prospectus of the project, approved last January, can be viewed at www.painswickgateway.org.uk along with contact details. Observations or further pledges of support are being sought. A final decision will be made next Wednesday.

Contact me re Wessex Water issues in Stroud District

As some will know I was appointed to the Wessex Water panel for SDC - see here details of my first meeting - well firstly below is a press release I sent out last week and haven't managed to put on this blog yet then below are the questions I asked at Wessex last time.

Photo: top of Ash Lane

Here is the press release:

COUNCIL REP CALLS FOR WESSEX WATER ISSUES

Act now on payment difficulties

Cllr Philip Booth, who was recently appointed as Stroud District Council's representative on the Customer Liaison Panel for Wessex Water, is asking members of the public and businesses if there are any issues they would like him to raise at the panel’s next meeting on 26th February. He is also urging customers with payment difficulties to contact the company immediately.

Philip Booth, who has a particular interest in water issues and promoting more sustainable use of water, has helped found both the Safe Water Campaign for Gloucestershire and a local brook action group. He said: "Wessex Water are leaders in their field. Last year they celebrated being the first water company to gain the hugely coveted and prestigious Queen's Awards for Enterprise for Sustainable Development (see more here). Nevertheless there are always going to be issues to raise and Wessex seem to be genuinely striving for improvements. If there are issues I am happy to take them to the next Customer Liaison Panel. Do please contact me here or on 755451."

Payment difficulties?

Philip Booth who is District councillor for Randwick, Ruscombe and Whiteshill near Stroud said: "Wessex Water has a good approach in the way they manage customers who are genuinely struggling to afford to pay their water bills. There is no question that with the Credit Crunch more people are and will have difficulties. The earlier people contact Wessex Water the easier it is to set up the best tariff and payment option."

Wessex Water covers 10,000 square kilometres of south west England including Dorset, Somerset, Bristol and Bath, most of Wiltshire and parts of Gloucestershire and Hampshire. They serve 1.3 million drinking water consumers and provide sewage services for 2.6 million.

Questions to the panel last time

Already I have several issues for next meeting in February - the answers given at the last meeting were comprehensive - below the answers here are just notes...

1. Ofwat would like to see all newly built homes having their own water meter. However I have read about concerns in the Thames Water area that in for example newly developed apartment blocks and redeveloped flats in Victorian homes, the developer can agree with the water company to fit only one meter. There are clearly incentives for the landlord and developer to have a single meter as landlords can charge an admin fee and installation is cheaper. I understand in some cases this has led to very unfair bills for users in the apartment blocks and clearly also does little to help customers conserve water. Please can you assure me that Wessex Water will be insisting on water meters for every home?

A. The Water Act requires meters.

2. I would like clarification re your policies re pumping water from boreholes to top up rivers. I understand from some organisations that this approach is not the most sustainable?

A. Stream support is water from aquifers used to provide additional flow to watercourses at times of low flow. It is only installed when agreed with Natural England that ecology is considered.

3. The Pitt Review recommends more SUDs. I understand in many countries the approach is mandatory, but while there is alot of support to move towards more SUDs this doesn't seem to be happening with enough urgency. What are the issues that prevent Wessx Water from insisting on more SUDs?

A. WW supports SUDs. The more storm water out of sewers the better but this is difficult as many are combined flow. Ownership following installation also needs considering.

Bathing Water standards

Defra has announced England 's bathing water quality standards for May to September 2008. The results show that of the 414 bathing waters in England, 398 met the mandatory standards.

In the South West 10 beaches failed the mandatory water quality standard, but none of these were in the Wessex Water area. In our region 100% of bathing waters met the mandatory quality standard for the fifth consecutive year. There was an above average 76.6% compliance rate with the more stringent guideline standard.

Some bathing waters failed to meet the tougher standards during the summer months, however WW are confident that their sewerage infrastructure performed well during times of intense rainfall. Other factors, such as agricultural run off, may have affected the quality of bathing waters in the region following the heavy rainfall experienced during the summer of 2007.

New nuke at Oldbury

It has been a while since I covered local nuke news - there was the recent Oldbury Stakeholders meeting which I missed but have now had feedback from folk attending - one issue raised by campaigners was around cancer - indeed several in the audience got quite animated and expressed their fears that cancer levels seemed to be rising down wind of Oldbury, although they couldn't prove it.

Photo: Randwick sheep last month

In the end, the big boss of the outfit announced that at the April meeting there would be a proper debate. He would bring in lots of doctors, health officials (all clearly pro-nuclear!) while the audience was cordially invited to bring along their "opinions". That will be interesting as there is growing evidence of health risks - studies from 2001 showed an eleven-fold increase in leukaemia in nearby Chepstow, fifty percent extra breast cancers downstream of Oldbury and 37.5 percent extra prostate cancers downwind of the plant - but more of that in another blog....

New nuke at Oldbury

More worrying is the news that three reactors could be built in the West in a new wave of nuclear power stations with Oldbury to be nominated for a plant. The South Gloucestershire site which is 16 miles from Stroud would join Hinkley in Somerset, where two reactors are being planned.

Furthermore the Government is easing the way forward for the nuclear industry while dismissing major public concern on this expensive polluting project. There are hints that it will cut access to local footpaths and beaches and discourage public events where people can raise their voices. The ongoing problem of nuclear waste has been skimmed over. Plus it looks like no public meetings to discuss the matter. See more here.
Sedgemoor's dirty deal?

I have to say I was a little horrified at news that Sedgemoor District Council secretly asked nuclear energy firms for a £750,000 handout as they prepare to submit plans for a controversial new power plant in Somerset. The council says it was trying to avoid burdening local taxpayers yet this has exposed the council to allegations of unethical practice. Independent planning consultant Hugh Richards said: "It clearly conflicts with the ethical and professional standards of the Royal Town Planning Institute. There is a procedure for legitimately levying a fee on planning applicants, and it is this procedure that should be followed."

Worse still councillors appeared to know nothing - West Somerset councillor Jon Freeman said: "None of us knew anything about this, we were all shocked and horrified. It is West Somerset District Council which is the planning authority covering Hinkley, not Sedgemoor."

Meanwhile Stop Hinkley spokesman Jim Duffy said: "It's easy to imagine nuclear companies expecting a smoother passage for Hinkley C had they paid this premium. Sedgemoor made a bad mistake here, not least in doing this behind the backs of its own and West Somerset councillors."

Sedgemoor says the Government has since agreed to put up the cash as it will be Westminster that decides on any future planning application, not the district. See more from Stop Hinkley here.

Floods, Core Strategy and nonsense new planning rights

Last night was a Policy Panel at Stroud District Council - a sort of training come consultation thing that gets councillors up to speed on a number of issues - last night there were three and I have to say the last raised many concerns for me...

Photo: Love this shot of windows along the Whiteshill Main Road

First up was a presentation on the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment - lots of interesting stuff - the papers are on the District's website here - what surprised me is when I asked about the 1 in 20 year or 1 in 100 year flood predictions and I learnt that these do not include Climate Change - a separate set of maps is produced for them - also on the website - I need to look at this more - clearly new planning applications now need to take account of all factors so there is an improvement - but despite flood and drought being two sides of the same coin the Government has not considered drought at all in this assessment - when are they going to wake up to understanding even basic issues of sustainability - it is scary and shameful!!! I could write lots more but that'll do for now.

Next up came the Core Strategy which we will all hear lots more about as this in March as this plan is the one we need to put in place for the future - it covers many aspects from environmental policy to housing - including the absurd Government targets of increasing housing in the District by 4,500 or whatever each year!! Anyhow I will return to that - you can see the Green councillors opening statement from last year on this here. This is a real opportunity to make Stroud more sustainable so it will need many of us to contribute.

And lastly the new planning permitted development rights - download these at:
www.stroud.gov.uk/info/householder_permitted_development_rights.pdf

Words almost fail me with the nonsense of these rulings - they are so unclear that District Councils are going to struggle to interpret - they also give absurd permitted development rights - indeed at times it was laughable - how can these folk even devise such rules without talking to folk who do the job??????

You couldn't make this up: Greenvision contest!

Yes remember Terry Wogan, nil point, Boom Bang a Bang and all that - I got so excited as a child watching Eurovision - well now comes the Greenvision song contest 2009.

The European Green party is launching a campaign song competition for the 2009 European Parliamentary campaign. This campaign song competition is open to everyone and anyone (individual singer-songwriters or bands) who feel they have enough talent and inspiration to compose a campaign song for the European greens for the coming election campaign.

More information: http://europeangreens.eu/greenvision/

Visit to the Methodist Church, Stonehouse

Thursday night last week I was invited as the speaker to the Methodist Church in Stonehouse (see photos) - and asked to fill the 90 minute session with Climate Change and local solutions. It always feels like a privilege to speak to a group - for people to give up their time to listen - it was only the second time I've spoken about climate change in a church (see last time here).

I gave some of the flavour of the last talk but a little more about climate change and lots more about the things that are going on locally - and while there was plenty to scare and make fearful it was the facts as far as the science knows and also I tried to focus on the hope - so much has changed in the last few years - indeed over the weekend I helped send out a letter about Obama from Martin Whiteside as he wasn't able to use his internet connection - see it here. I like the last line which is adapted a little from a Caroline Lucas quote: "In politics, 'hope' is a powerful driving force. This is a new start for US and global politics, and Barack Obama is to be congratulated on a breathtaking journey which is far from over."

At the end I finished with a quote from John Wesley that I've always liked: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

Then questions - David Drew arrived in time for those - and then it was a much-needed cup of tea and some interesting discussions - one of those with several of the audience about being about whether nuclear power is the answer - of course it is clear cut to me - nukes wont be ready before 2017 and we need to act now - spending money on them means less available dosh to invest in the efficiency and renewable measures needed - of course there are many other reasons - some of which Gerald Hartley covers in his letter in response to one in the SNJ - see here - Gerald has been selected to fight the County seat in this area this May - he has already been helping me deliver some leaflets - I hope we will see more of him.

Eco-renovation Open Homes for 2009?

Just finished another 90 minute telephone conference re the national situation re Open Homes projects - see first conference call here - lots of good ideas and actions about the way forward and a larger group this time.

It was good to hear re plans to twin with projects in Australia and Germany, links with Heritage Open Days, improving feedback forms to get the info needed to improve the events and see how more help can be offered to those wanting to take action on their homes, more case studies on the web, more help to others thinking about running Open Homes in their area, more website sharing, Greener Living Fund and other resources and the possibility of meeting up at Earl's Court's Eco Build conference. A whole host of actions came out of the meeting and plans to talk again in 2 months as to where we are...

....also trying to find a name that we can use more readily across the country as each area has different ideas. I never liked Stroud's 'Open Homes for a Sustainable Future' - eco-homes doesn't work for some homes as they don't see themselves as an eco-home but on the road to becoming one - my favorite is the 'Eco-renovation Open Homes' - but still a bit of a mouthful. Some projects like in Brighton have a strict criteria about the homes included in terms of the carbon cut - therefore eco-home would be great however others like here in Stroud have included all sorts of measures being taken. For me the crucial thing is to have the debate about the measures. We certainly don't want folk thinking they've done their bit if all they do is one solar thermal panel and haven't even insulated properly - equally opening homes that have measures like lime plastering or a solar thermal panel can play an important role in raising the issues.

....also we talked of those attending the telephone conference founding NERO - a National Eco-Renovation Organisation - or something similar to promote the idea more.....someone suggesting HERO might be a better name - Home Eco-Renovation Organisation then again something with ZERO would be good - any thoughts welcomed!

Gaza: an act of state sadism? Petition BBC over their appeal

There are few who could have avoided the fact that the BBC is refusing to show a charitable appeal for humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza - their suffering is too "politically contentious" apparently.

Photo: Ruscombe valley trees

The violence of Israel's 22-day attack on Gaza killing over 1,300 people and wounding 4,200 has appeared to many to be 'an act of state sadism'. Israeli forces repeatedly bombed schools (including UN schools), medical centres, hospitals, ambulances, UN buildings, power plants, sewage plants, roads, bridges and civilian homes. The recent vigils in Stroud have seen 200 plus people protesting (see photos of first vigil here) and across the country many thousands more have also protested.

It is also now confirmed that the Israeli army used white phosphorus incendiary weapons (see earlier blog here) - designed to burst over a wide area and burn to the bone - against civilian targets, including hospitals and UN buildings. The use of these weapons against civilians is a war crime.

It is surely not taking sides to give food, shelter and medicine to the civilian victims of conflict? Indeed 13 of the world's most respected charities including the Red Cross, Save the Children and the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) have an exceptional record of helping such victims impartially. Avaaz have launched a petition to the BBC and while I had to change the wording on my email I still sent it off:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/bbc_charitable_appeal

One of my gripes with the wording is that I don't believe the BBC and indeed other press has been impartial - for example the Israeli ambassador in the UK has received 2,000% more press coverage than his Palestinian counterpart - see full story here.

Green Party leader Caroline Lucas MEP has called the BBC's decision 'disgraceful' and written calling for an inquiry. "It is not for the BBC to tell these professional aid agencies how to do their jobs," she said. "Everyone knows the situation in Gaza is dangerous and that the cease-fire is extremely fragile."

As noted before the crisis in Gaza has again highlighted the UK's complicity in arming Israel. Some weaponry is supplied directly - military equipment valued at £24 million in the first two quarters of 2008 was licensed for export from the UK. However, UK arms are also supplied via the US as components and subsystems of weaponry such as F-16 aircraft and Apache helicopters. More information about UK arms sales to Israel is available on the CAAT website:
http://www.caat.org.uk/emailbulletin/jan09/homepage.php

From there, you can link through to the Stop Arming Israel site, which is a collaboration between several organisations including CAAT, War on Want and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The CAAT website also links to a petition on the No10 website calling on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to impose an arms embargo.

Trailers at the Household Recycling Centres

I had a phone call last week from a Randwick resident who rang up re his double axelled trailer and booked a slot to take his domestic waste to Horsley. He went successfully a couple of weeks ago and tried to book again to take part of an old kitchen but was told his trailer was too large and would not be accepted.

Photo: recycling at Sharpness?

I've since spoken to District and County Council and both are looking to improve the situation with the contractors. It is clearly confusing to customers - and worse still this guy was given no advice as to where to take his waste. This seems a missed opportunity and could well lead to an increase in flytipping?

There is a meeting coming up in a couple of weeks and it looks like a way forward might be to ask folk about the size of their trailer then book the bigger domestic trailers in at off-peak times. Clearly having a large trailer in the centre at peak times could cause chaos as there is little enough room to move there.

It is also essential good advice is given if they cannot accept the waste - ie mainly that would be business waste - I have asked if the Councils can advertise more prominently the excellent website the Waste Directory on their websites as this gives good info re disposal - see: www.wastedirectory.org.uk/

See more re what can be recycled at the Household Recycling centres here - plus info re booking your trailer in for a visit there.

The case for a Green New Deal

Here is an article of mine based on stuff by Caroline Lucas setting out more re a Green New Deal. I'm hoping a local magazine re sustainability will run it as this is really the way we must be going...

We now face not just an ecological crisis but recession. A dark time indeed. However as an eminent Kyoto professor said in the Japan Times, “The darkest hour is just before green.” It may sound better in Japanese, but the sentiment is entirely apt in any language.

The answer to both crisis is to go green. Proposals so far go no where near far enough. We need a full-blown green industrial revolution.

We are far behind Germany in solar power and we trail many countries in green waste management – which sustain more per jobs per megawatt and tonne respectively than their less green alternatives. We have ten times Denmark's population yet we have only just passed Denmark in off-shore wind power. Plus our current transport policy still emphasises more roads, whereas light and heavy rail systems would create more jobs per billion pounds of investment as well as being less polluting, healthier and more socially inclusive.

Worse, current proposals mean the continuing promotion of globalisation. This means exporting jobs, making the UK economy even less well-balanced, and shipping goods over longer distances, with the resulting bigger carbon footprint.

What we need is a major shift in our understanding. We need to forget the false arguments about environment vs economics, because ultimately the only viable forms of economics will be those that don't compromise our ecological sustainability. We need a Green New Deal (GND).

Although in reality what a GND proposes isn't really new at all. Greens have been advocating these policies for a long time, but economists and industrialists are increasingly coming around to our way of thinking. We are seeing many schemes now in practice from Germany's massive solar investments which were devised by Green Party ministers, to the insulation schemes led by the Greens on Kirklees borough council in Yorkshire and now being discussed as a potential £1 billion project by the Scottish Parliament.

In November in the Sub Rooms in Stroud a GND was launched by Colin Hines, co director of Finance for the Future and a former head of Greenpeace Economics Unit. He co-authored a report with a panel including Dr Caroline Lucas, Green party Leader and MEP, Richard Murphy, Co-Director of Finance for the Future and Director, Jeremy Leggett, SolarCentury boss, Larry Elliot, Guardian Economic Editor, Andrew Simms, New Economics Foundation Director, Ann Pettifor, former head of the Jubilee 2000 debt relief campaign and Charles Secrett and Tony Juniper, former Friends of the Earth chiefs.

In contrast to the Government's plans this GND would fundamentally re-engineer the economy: £30bn would create half a million jobs over the next year in public transport and environmental works. There are 22 million homes in the UK that need improved energy efficiency if we are to tackle climate change and peak oil.

The GND also proposes a windfall tax on fossil fuel companies and creating new national investment products, such as local government bonds, to fund this work and provide a safe haven for pensions and savings. Funds would also come from closing offshore tax havens to stabilise the financial sector and discourage tax avoidance.

Indeed the GND policies aim to rekindle a crucial sense of purpose, restore public trust and refocus the use of capital on public priorities and sustainability. It will also deliver a low-energy future. The absence of any such plan at present leaves our country very vulnerable.

We have had enough green vocabulary it is time for a green agenda.

Philip Booth, a Stroud District councillor for the Green party

Download a copy of GND here.

Tory U-turn on voluntary grant cut

This afternoon I went to a meeting to discuss Member Development and training - a small committee which looks at how best to develop members knowledge etc - anyhow I have to confess I nearly forgot it and had made plans to catch up on emails etc - I remembered in time - but emails will have to be done tomorrow now - but I wanted to quickly note more re Full Council last Wednesday as promised - see also previously re budget and ethical investment here and here re insulation.

One item that caused a stir and led to a U-turn by the administration was the 'Rural and Community Grants Scheme.(£39,000).' Here is what Independent Councillor Janet Wood had to say: "The quiet dropping of the above scheme voted through by us at last year’s budget meeting is nothing less than scandalous. The scheme which has been supported cross-party since its inception in the middle nineties supports small voluntary organisations without employees and acts as parish pump style funding for sports clubs, play-grounds,village halls, youth clubs etc. It was recognised that rural areas get very little for their council tax and the scheme helps sustain village life.(clearly supporting environmental and social inclusion aims).

"On page one of our Residents Survey it states ‘there has been a downturn in positive satisfaction for many services with the exception of concessionary fares, energy advice and grants to voluntary groups.’ Thirty groups attended the application training session in the Spring and thirty one applications were made from some 20 bodies some for several different projects. Projects bad for the fund by the end of June deadline. On being asked what the outcomes were I discovered the Scheme had quietly been cut. When a Council agrees to do something it must be seen to keep its word. This is about the whole ethos of public service."

Janet proposed a motion to restore the overall sum for this year only - it was passed overwhelmingly after much debate - well done to Janet - a shame such cuts are still planned in future but we should not forget that SDC gives more to voluntary groups than many other Councils. Nevertheless an economic downturn means more vulnerable and disatvantaged needing support - we have to be clear that funding of voluntary groups will continue in this area. Apols I was also going to write more re grants but I'll point you to SDCs website where you can see it all on the webcast - must go as tea is ready.....

Gully cleaning could be better

As regular blog readers will know Gully cleaning has featured lots on this blog but I've not mentioned for a while. So here is a wee update as I am still seeking improvements to Highways over the issue of SUDs.

There has been a desperate need to update the County's Design Guidance re SUDs and more. The current Guidance dates to 1999, with a review in 2001, and there are areas that do not reflect national policy or best practice (such as Manual for Streets for example). The County is working to ensure that they make progress with a review and may well have developed a policy as the target was to have an adopted Transportation Design Guide for publication by the end of 2008. However despite having made many comments I have not heard news so this week have been chasing up.

Meanwhile here is an email below to Highways re their recent gully cleaning programme which saw our area have all the gullies tackled.

Photos: Gullies with sludge piled up beside them in Humphreys End

Just a note to give a huge welcome to your gully cleaning programme but I am disappointed that the sludge is still being piled up next to the gullies - see two photos below - in one place the sludge is now as high as the Cotswold stone wall it is leaning against - this is clearly not good for the wall.

Furthermore as noted previously in these critical sites like at Humphreys End and Ash Lane in Randwick piling the sludge up there means with the next heavy rain it gets washed straight back down into the gully (see photos). I understood from a previous conversation with you that you would alert the teams to this issue and certainly at least in key sites this practice would be discontinued.

I would welcome your views as I am concerned we are not getting the best out of this programme. Can we please get teams to take the sludge completely away from the gullies?

Cllr. Philip Booth

More bits and bobs of local news

Bits and bobs of local news:

Photo: Tarot reader Cate Montgomery in local paper - see below

Art Classes in Randwick: at John Wesley Room and Village Hall: 8weeks from 2 to 4pm for 8weeks from 28th Jan - £64 - welcome to free taster before signing up - call Judith Newman, Village Agent on 07776 245791

Randwick Runner Editor needed: call Sheila Bliss on 752478

Revellers Pantomime: 6th and 7th Fe - tickets from the Vine Tree

Monthly Coffee Morning: Sat 7th Feb with bring and buy and raffle at Randwick Church

Runnickers on Hadrians Wall talk: 7.30pm 26th Feb - Allan Smith of Randwick Historical Association - more details from 764289 0r 763485.

Spaces available at local Woodcraft group: Elfins aged 6 to 9 have spaces at the moment - more details here. The photo is from last Thursday when we went to Glos Climbing centre.

Gardening Assistance Scheme: up to 12 sesssions free for ex-service personnel otherwise £4 per hour for those who qualify - call Care and Repair on 767154 or ring Village Agent Judith Newman on 07776 245791

Tarot readings in Randwick: Local resident Cate Montgomery is offering people the chance to dip into the future. The former property lawyer-turned is launching a series of tarot card reading sessions later this month. She also has a workshop on January 31 at the Coffee Mill in Upper Mills Trading Estate, Stonehouse, between 9.30am and 4.30pm. Tickets cost £49 and people should take their own Rider Waite tarot deck. For details, ring Cate on 07970 550076.

Rob Hopkins in Minchinhampton: founder of the worldwide Transition Towns movement is coming to start Transition Minch on 11th Feb at 7.30 in Holy Trinity Church, Minch. Tickets (£5, or £4 concessions) are available from outlets in the town, including M&B Stores, The Crown, and Taylors butchers, or from 01453 885707 or transitionminch@btinternet.com

84 towns already in this country including Stroud and movement spreading to US.

Hard to Treat Insulation grant cut?

Snatching a moment to add another item to this blog raised Wednesday night by Green Group leader Sarah Lunnon at Full Council - have another issue to also raise here re Council but that will have to wait as my Mum in hospital so I'll be seeing her today - and sadly missing the Gaza vigil today at 11.30 in Stroud.

Photo: Insulation products on show at Randwick Village Hall during the Open Homes event

Anyway the WISE (Well Insulated Saving Energy) Homes Project, 'Hard to Treat Insulation' is for the ‘Able to Pay’ Sector. Hard to treat insulation means those houses with solid walls and/or rooms in the attic - about 30% of houses in Stroud District are thought to be in this category! SDC has been giving grants since 2002 to private householders (see more below). Some expertise among Council staff and builders has been built-up. The total has only been about £30,000 per year. However this has now 'come to an end and not been renewed' in the 2009/10 budget.

There is continued funding for heat pumps for hard to treat houses (off mains gas) but not to insulate - this doesn't seem the right way to go as we need to target energy efficiency first - but then the heat pumps were linked to other sources of funding. The 'logic' for cutting these grants is that the SDC has hardly enough to meet its statutory obligations of private houses of people on low incomes not meeting the decent homes standard. They are therefore prioritising these.

This is understandable to some extent if funds are limited - targeting homes of people on low income is sensible, but encouraging insulation by the less poor saves carbon too - particularly when this is such an important area - the money is peanuts in the overall budget yet was starting to make a difference and raising awareness that will lead to more action by householders in the paying category - Greens will be looking at ways to ensure this innovative project continues - the answers given at Full Council still seemed to leave the door open for opportunities so we'll keep fingers crossed and push this one a little more.

What we need is a free insulation scheme for all householders like the Green group achieved in Kirklees - indeed Scotland are now considering the idea - see more here and here. Indeed as regular blog readers will know I hope we can also do this in Stroud but there seems to have been some resistance to taking forward the idea - however I sense things are again moving in the right direction - but must dash now....

Background

There was a feasibility study in 2003 - the WISE Homes project received funding from the Energy Saving Trust to cover coordination and marketing activity over a two-year period from 2004-06. The scheme targeted “hard to treat” homes; those which have a lot to gain from energy efficiency improvements but have features which make this difficult to achieve (rooms in the roof, solid walls, no mains gas). It was a joint project with Cotswold District Council each authority agreeing to provide £40,000 each year for the two years of the project. This funding was for capital works to be allocated through the WISE Homes grant scheme. Those occupying ‘hard to treat’ properties were offered information and advice and a home visit. During the visit householders had the chance to discuss in detail the relative merits of some of the less well-known measures, such as installations of solar water heating panels, sloping ceiling insulation, a clean wood pellet-fuelled heating systems, interior solid wall insulation and high efficiency oil and gas boilers. Following the visit which involved a full NHER energy assessment the client received a home energy action plan with recommendations for their individual property. The WISE grant scheme was designed to complement the recommendations. At the end of the project in March 2006 across the two districts 180 home energy action plans had been issued and 49 measures were installed through the WISE grant scheme and a further 52 through referral to other grant schemes. Cotswold District Council decided it did not have funding to continue the project. Stroud District Council has over the last 3 years continued to allocate funding of £40,000 each year for capital works and staffing resources to continue advice, home visits and the home energy action plans.

The WISE Homes grant scheme includes a range of eligible works;
· Sloping ceiling /flat roof insulation
· Solid wall insulation
· Underfloor insulation
· Heating installations or upgrade (only available to those on low incomes)
· Micro renewable installations

The individual grant funding available per applicant depends upon whether they are on low income or in fuel poverty or within the ‘able to pay’ category. In order to stimulate the market and raise awareness of the benefits of solid wall and ceiling insulation a 40% grant up to a limit of £1000 is available regardless of income (able to pay category) and/or £500 towards a micro renewable installation. At the time the project was launched very little was being done regarding Hard to Treat properties and this was a very innovative project from which a lot of information has been gained as well as installations achieved. Since 2006 however, there have been some very positive legislative changes elsewhere in the domestic housing market which have a bearing on the hard to treat problem.

1. The Fitness Standard against which all private sector properties were measured was replaced in 2006 with the Housing Health & Safety Rating System. For the first time this assessment placed an emphasis on the health effect of the property on the occupants rather than the physical condition. The HHSRS includes a specific assessment of the property with regard to cold and damp. The LA has a statutory duty to take action where a category 1 hazard has been identified.
2. The Decent Homes standard was extended to include the private sector with a PSA7 target introduced for local authorities to ensure that 70% of vulnerable people occupy decent housing by 2010.
3. Building Regulations requirements now require significant improvement in insulation and heating standards to the whole property when works are carried out.

Current Situation

The budget available for the implementation of the Private Sector Housing Renewal policy in 2008/9 is £652,000, the budget for 2009/10 is reducing to £502,000. The Private Sector Housing budget is not alone in receiving reduced future funding as the funding available to the Council is under pressure in all areas. The availability of all grants under the policy have always been subject to there being budget available at the time an application is made.

The WISE Homes scheme is about more than just grant aid and will continue in 2009/10 although the current grant regime cannot continue as there is currently no SDC funding identified for insulation works. Staff within Environmental Health have built up a strong knowledge base and staffing resources will still be available to provide advice, information and encouragement to those wishing to improve the energy efficiency and energy consumption of their hard to treat homes. The WISE homes project has in the last 18 months made good progress in stimulating the market for hard to treat insulation with an Installers Network being established.

Whilst there is no doubt that the continued availability of grant aid to the ‘able to pay’ sector would further enhance this local installers base, progress is likely to continue without grant funding, albeit at a slower pace. Specified capital grant allocation is received for bringing homes occupied by vulnerable persons up to the decent homes standard and additional allocation has been awarded for 2009/10 following a successful project bid. Those who are vulnerable or in fuel poverty and their homes are identified as having a category 1 health hazard due to cold and damp will be eligible to apply for funding towards hard to treat insulation works to reduce the hazard through the proposed Home Repair Loan funded by the private sector renewal allocation. The ‘able to pay’ sector are not eligible for this externally sourced funding.

In 2008/9, the WISE homes Renewable grant has been the main mechanism for delivery against the LAA target in relation to the installation of renewable energy. SDC have been successful in drawing in significant additional funding from the County Council towards these works. Funding of £10,000 is available in 2009/10 for the £1,000 WISE homes Renewable Grants. This funding is from a £10,000 capital growth item linked to the S2S heat pump project and again will be used to draw in additional County Council funds.

When making recommendations for the targeting of the capital funds available, Officers have considered the eligibility of projects for the available funding and the Council’s statutory obligations to the most vulnerable. It is not considered appropriate to allocate discretionary funding to the able to pay sector especially where in some circumstances they now have a legal obligation to carry out the works when the Council is facing a significant deficit in the DFG budget. The Council is still making significant funds available for other climate change projects where there is a wider community benefit to be achieved such as the continuation of the Target 2050 project and the approval of significant capital growth for the S2S heat pumps project.

Council Budget and Ethical Investment

It was Full Council Thursday night and the Budget was up for discussion and debate - various votes - some of which had my support, opposition or abstention - wont go into all that here - do see the webcast for details - basically it was a business-as-usual budget in many ways that does not restructure to take account of the urgency re climate change and Peak Oil - however it does make some important moves - like support for businesses to cut carbon - an excellent scheme - but nothing like enough.

Photos: more of those sheep up near Ash Lane from a couple of weeks ago - looking down to Ebley and the Mill where we had the Full Council meeting

One issue that again was raised was ethical investment - an issue raised a fair few times here - it was again unsatisfactory but again a sign of hope as the Cabinet member suggested Scrutiny look at the issue.

I fully accept that it is difficult for the Council to invest ethically - and that we urgently need leadership on this from our Government. Even the United Nations in 2006 issued it's Principles for Responsible Investment and several Council pension funds are signed up to it. Sadly the UK has trailed behind other European countries in this - however, some local Council's have achieved ethical investment policies and therefore the report we were issued in Appendix B of the Council papers was disappointing...

...it was not even 2 sides of text and has not researched those Councils or other organisations that have successfully invested more ethically. Some have been committed to public health and refused to invest in tobacco industries that lead to some 100,000 deaths a year. In Norwich councillors have expressed concerns regarding pension funds investments in arms companies: fund managers will now have to explain exactly where they are proposing to invest money so informed decisions can be made.

Camden Borough seeks to ensure it's pension fund considers climate change amongst other ethical issues. Surely Stroud District should also ensure tax-payers money is used to enhance our policies to tackle climate change? Are we really happy to see funds invested in places that potentially are working against our policies?

Indeed there is evidence to show that a company that pays inadequate attention to environmental and other ethical issues may carry higher risks and reflect how the business is managed as a whole. Also if we want the best possible financial return in the long-term then we need to be arguing that we must not be increasing our CO2 emissions which forecasts indicate are likely to impact catastrophically on our economy.

The Oxford Council on Good Governance in their recent paper to Oxford University about ethical investment write: "The performance of ethical investment funds in each major world economy has been – at worst – indistinguishable from that of their conventional rivals. The evidence shows that there are no longer financial costs to ethical investment behaviour. In the absence of any trade-off then, those who would oppose Socially Responsible Investment strategies should recognise that they are defending for its own sake an ethical position which explicitly refuses to draw any lines at all."

Clearly ethical investment opens the door to untold ethical dilemmas but these cannot be solved by taking this extreme position. We need to find a better way forward. I am hoping the issue can now be discussed in more depth at our next scrutiny meeting....time for bed for me as been a busy day - more of that in a blog another day plus more re Full Council meeting if I get around to it!

Join Baron Booth of Bread Street and become a virtual peer

Some will remember a while back I purchased a peerage - see here and here - and more on reform here - this was to highlight the absurd situation re the 'cash for peerages' row: 17 out of the 22 individuals who have donated more than £100,000 to the Labour Party have received an honour; all but one of the individuals who have donated more than £1m have received a peerage. This is totally unacceptable in a modern democracy.

Photo: Press coverage of Baron Booth of Bread Street

Well you may have seen in the news last week that Gordon Brown has now appointed the Banker Mervyn Davies to be a Business Minister. The Prime Minister of the day can do this, without any scrutiny, on a whim. What's more, if the person he wants to appoint is not an MP, "convention" dictates that he must make that individual a member of the House of Lords.

Mervyn Davies replaces Digby Jones in government. Jones was only a minister for just a year, yet gets to keep his peerage for life. We think this system is a nonsense.

Elect the Lords was formed in 2004 to lobby the House of Commons to support a predominantly or wholly elected second chamber. This is now official government policy but progress on this issue remains frustratingly slow. For me only a wholly elected chamber would suffice. Anyhow Unlock Democracy is keeping up the pressure, and need your help.

Since the "Loans for Lordships" scandal erupted a couple of years ago they have been quietly selling "Virtual Peerages" to raise money for campaigns and to allow people to show their support for reform in a novel way. They are now stepping up that campaign.

A virtual peerage won’t get you a seat in the House of Lords, but your donation will help them in their campaign for an elected second chamber. You will be sent a “certificate of inauthenticity” and - with your permission - your name will be added to their Virtual House of Lords. So if interested go to the Unlock Democracy website.

Transition takes off in the US

It is great to hear from the Transition Network News that Transition has been welcomed with open arms in the United States (what is Transition Towns? See here). It really is taking off around the world - going viral as they say...

People in all areas of the US are now presenting Transition talks to their local groups with their own local flavors. Several groups have re-aligned themselves with the Transition model without yet seeking official Transition Initiative status. The Transition US Initiating Group (TUSIG) has now been formed, headed by Pamela Gray (Transition Network trustee) and Jennifer Gray, who established Transition Penwith in Cornwall, the second Transition Initiative - and is now living in the US. They have already had training sessions - in San Francisco there were more than 100 people on the waiting list–and that was after we had expanded the training size to include 45 participants rather than the usual 22! Similar large trainings were held in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Portland, Oregon; and Los Angeles.

These trainings galvanized community organizers and we now see many more Transition Initiatives springing up. Currently there are eight official Transition Initiatives in the US, three awaiting official approval, and several more lining up behind them.

Carolyne Stayton writes re the US: "There is a tremendous enthusiasm for Transition in this country. With the shift in the Presidency, anything seems possible. We are off to a good start that feels a lot like a “new beginning.” With luck, commitment and the sheer enjoyment of reigniting community, we anticipate success in this great, unfolding adventure of Transition."

See more:
http://www.transitionus.org/
Transition US Networking Site
http://transitionus.ning.com/
Transition Stroud:
http://www.transitionstroud.org/

Keep MPs expenses transparent

On the 16th of May 2008 the High Court ruled that MPs' expenses must be published under the Freedom of Information Act. This Thursday, MPs are voting to change the law to keep their expenses secret after all.

Your MP may not even know about this proposal (it was sneaked out under the Heathrow runway announcement). Please take a few minutes to alert them to this attack on Parliamentary transparency and ask them to vote against the measure. Here is my email to David Drew MP who has always been open about his expenses: "You are probably aware that on Thursday in the House of Commons the intention is to exempt the expenses of MPs and Lords from the Freedom of Information Act and thereby close them to public scrutiny. This is to be passed almost a year to the day after the Derek Conway scandal erupted, when it emerged that the MP had been paying his sons as research staff while they were at university, despite not being able to demonstrate that they had actually done any work for him. We need proper scrutiny otherwise scandals such as this wont come to light. Gordon Brown when he became Prime Minister published the Governance of Britain Green Paper which asserted that “It is right that Parliament should be covered by the [Freedom of Information] Act.” Please can you ensure Parliamentary transparency remains. Could you also please sign Early Day Motion 492 re this matter."

Here is a comment from Unlock Democracy: "It is completely outrageous that the Government should seek to do this at all, let alone in such an underhand manner. The Government is planning to put us all on a national identity database, force us to carry identity cards, keep the DNA of millions of innocent people on a database and to read all our emails, phone and internet records regardless of whether we are supposed to have done anything wrong. Their argument is always “if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.” Why, then, is it one rule for us and another rule for politicians?"

Go to the Unlock Democracy website to read more.

Energy Roadshow in Dursley on Valentines Day

This morning I had a good meeting with folk from Vale Vision and Uley Go Zero - we were looking at how we could work together more re promoting energy efficiency and renewables. Following the Open Homes event last September that I coordinated - see report and details here - we were looking at how to work more together so as not to reinvent the wheel.

The Open Homes was hugely successful - over 1,100 visits to the exhibition and 12 homes - and over the last weeks I've been having meetings and phone calls to see how best to take it forward for next year. More of that soon but here let me publicise the Energy Roadshow in Dursley on 14th Feb - see more re their exhibition and talks at: www.uleygozero.com

It looks set to be a great day - already Nailsworth had a small event put on by Green councillor Fi MacMillan and Sustainable Stonehouse are planning one very soon as well. In our meeting we looked at possible ways of working more together and also shared some great ideas about ways forward.

Stratford Park: cleaner but a way to go

Once again I am getting behind with reports re meetings - last Thursday was the Performance and Audit Overview and Scrutiny Committee and many exciting items like General Revenue Fund Estimates, Capital Programme, Budget proposals, Housing Revenue Account, Corporate Delivery Plan and much more - you can see all that on the webcast and in Council papers....

Photo: I went swimming Saturday for first time in ages and was pleased to see it clean although I reported one shower not working - apparently the parts are on order to repair.

One other item was Stratford Park Leisure Centre - an issue several people have contacted me about - we monitor performance every 6 months. Numerous issues came up - I, a long time ago, raised the need for a pool cover and a Green Travel Plan - I got confirmation the pool cover would come in April - the Travel Plan is moving ahead but a little slow - there are hopes for working closer with Stagecoach but cycle facilities have still not happened. More needs to be done on that.

In terms of customer service and cleanliness. One councillor considered the reception of Stratford Park to not be a welcoming entrance - saying "it's not something that excites me. The first impression you get in any business is when you walk in the door. Your priority should be that every person gets a greeting and a smile."

Kieran Sinton, who returned to the centre as manager to improve standards, seemed to accept the comments and also noted the improvements. He said: "We are undertaking additional staff training to ensure customers do get a positive and warm welcome. We are undertaking mystery visits by our users forum to highlight different issues that maybe we don't see."

Parkwood Leisure manages the centre for the district council and its contract beyond 2011 is due for consideration soon. Members on the Performance and audit overview and scrutiny committee members acknowledged Mr Sinton had made many improvements to the centre but more work needed to be done.

Photo: Citizen before Christmas highlighting the survey

The most recent survey of 198 Stratford Park Leisure Centre users, showed 79% were "fairly" or "very" satisfied with cleanliness of changing rooms. However, nine per cent were "very" dissatisfied and another nine per cent "fairly" dissatisfied.

At the meeting we heard that the past 18 months has seen a dramatic improvement in cleanliness. Indeed a deep clean was carried out last year. Some councillors seemed to be blaming customers for bringing the dirt in - but as Cllr Sarah Lunnon (Green), said it's not good enough. "Can we blame the public for making a place dirty that is open to the public? Kieran Sinton promised a massive improvement in cleaning, and there was. But it does not seem to have been kept up. The wet changing rooms are a running sore on the people of Stroud. People don't want to go there because of the yuk factor. There is still a way to go before we pat each other on the back."

The meeting confirmed April will see the free swim sessions starting for over 60s and over a 100 people have now had GP referrals to Stratford Park - this seems to be a good scheme. All in all we are very fortunate to have such a great centre in Stroud. See webcast for more details here.

Slad Brook gets £500,000

Flood risk management projects that have been granted a share of the £3,075,000, and will start work in the coming year, include Lydney, Slad Brook in Stroud and Daniels Brook in Gloucester.

Slad Brook will get a £500,000 storage scheme upstream of New Mills Trading Estate after an internal bid in the Environment Agency. This will hopefully protect up to 20 properties - 60 to 70% of those at risk from flooding. More work will be needed to protect the remaining properties. I have been wanting to publicise this great news for a wee while but it was only made public last week.

Some of the success of this bid is due to the work of Green party group leader on the District Council, Sarah Lunnon who helped set up the Slad Brook Action Group (modeled on the Ruscombe Brook Action Group) and has pushed for action at the District and County level plus more.

The success can also be attributed to the vision of Water 21 who have pushed for more sustainable ways of managing our water for many years - and the work of Water 21's students last year that have contributed to this - Illaria (pictured) who was originally working on the Ruscombe Brook had a desk at the EA and ended up working more on Slad as the data was there and the properties had faced so much damage - the Ruscombe Brook problems by comparison are insignificant! See here a bit re Ilaria at our AGM and re Adam giving background to their work here. See also Adam's Bridgend summary report here.

These projects showed that attenuation ponds are a way of managing floods - this scheme will be groundbreaking and hopefully show it working in practice. Congrats to the EA for funding this - good luck to all in making it work - we can then hopefully start looking at similar schemes across the whole District to manage our water more sustainably.

See also photos from clearing out the culvert of Slad Brook here.

Public ejected from Council chamber

I've been meaning to update on last week - on Thursday there was news of Heathrow's third runway approval - later in the day all members of the public were ejected from a meeting of Gloucester City Council during a debate into an extension of Gloucestershire Airport's runway. Gloucester City Council have now approved the proposals for expansion.

Photo: this cartoon from Molly's blog seems appropriate - as we've said repeatedly on this blog before there are no economic or environmental arguments that support this expansion - indeed this is yet another example of profit before people and gross environmental exploitation. How can anyone seriously support airport expansion if they really have heard what scientists are telling us??

Public question time at the beginning of the meeting saw vocal exchanges as the debate over the plans went on. Kevin Lister, who was among the public gallery said: "This is not democracy, it's farce."

He also noted that the public had not been given their full 15 minutes of question time and that committee members had not answered questions sufficiently. At least Councillor Jonathan Whittaker (Hucclecote), voted against the proposals saying: "This isn't a safety project, this is the airport pushing forward a business proposal that increases its growth."

However the Airport have by no means got the full go-ahead - there is much they still need to do and much we can do to stop them. For example Councillors on Tewkesbury planning committee will be seeing the application and we can hope that they will see more sense than those last week in Gloucester.

Heathrow runway undermines tougher advocacy of action on climate

Obama has only four years to save the world. That is the stark assessment of Nasa scientist and leading climate expert Jim Hansen who says that only urgent action by the new president can halt devastating climate change (see Observer article here). Depressing stuff - especially this last week when our Government has agreed to a third runway at Heathrow.

This Government's decision to press ahead with a third runway at Heathrow drives the final nail into the coffin of its climate change policies. Britain's international advocacy of tougher climate change emission targets will be totally undermined, as no country will take seriously a government with plans to devote our entire oil usage to flying in the years beyond 2020. The runway might be what the BAA wants but it will generate millions of tonnes of additional carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases every year. The Government seems to think that this does not matter, so long as other sectors reduce their emissions or if the aviation industry can trade carbon to somehow get itself off the hook and meet its already inadequate targets.

In short it is a complete disaster - the talk of 'green slots' and environmental restrictions is basically meaningless when you look at the details. The fact is that BAA/airlines ignore and seem to break all such promises. For example at the time of the T5 enquiry they promised no more runways would be needed.

Here is what Caroline Lucas said: "Business Secretary Peter Mandelson's claim that there's a "classic dilemma" between fulfilling the UK's climate change ambitions without losing economic competitiveness only demonstrates how little he understands about either. Our competitiveness will come from creating a sustainable economy in the future, not relying dirty, dinosaur-like industries which are subsidised to the tune of £10bn in the UK alone. Labour has taken the cynical step of playing this decision on Heathrow as a way of creating jobs at a time of rising unemployment, yet many commentators now agree that only a Green New Deal can create hundreds of thousands of high quality jobs that are truly sustainable into the future, through a massive investment in efficiency and renewables.

She continued: “The Government’s claim that including aviation in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme will help make it ‘sustainable’ belongs in cloud cuckoo land. The Commission’s own figures show that the result of the ETS will be that by 2020, instead of growing by 142%, the European aviation industry would still grow by around 135%! Essentially, the weak emissions trading rules will allow aviation to buy the right to emit from other sectors - but aviation itself will continue to grow massively. Furthermore, arguments that Heathrow must expand in order to keep up with other EU airports are misguided at best – or else deliberately dishonest. Research from HACAN shows that in 2007, a combined total of 139 million passengers used London’s airports - Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and City. That compares with 88 million who used all Paris airports, London’s closest European rival. Heathrow remains the busiest airport in Europe, and the busiest international airport in the world."

It seems clear expansion that Heathrow will clearly breach EU air quality standards, and could cost Britain millions of Euros in fines if the Commission won't agree to a derogation. It also clear that the notion that a third runway at Heathrow is a good way out of the recession is hugely deceptive - building work won't even start for years to come and to approve expansion at a time when UK airports are reporting a significant drop in passenger numbers seems incredibly foolish.

It has been wonderful to see so many folk protesting - I also just read that Mark Ereira-Guyer, long standing St Edmundsbury councillor and current leader of the Labour group, has resigned from the Labour Party in dismay at the Government decision to give the go-ahead to another runway at Heathrow, and has applied to join the Green Party. He said: "...with a heavy heart and great sadness and after 27 years of Labour Party membership, I have been compelled to hand in my Party membership. I believe that the Party has completely lost its connection with its membership and simply refuses to listen to those it should do."

Indeed the protests look set to continue and there are some who think that the runway will still not happen. Indeed if we are to be serious about climate change it cannot and in the reality of the climate change emergency whoever is in Government will veto aviation expansion as the most polluting and least essential form of travel.

Here is a comment from Cllr Ricky Knight, the South West Green Party Lead Candidate for 2009 European Elections: "Under Labour, UK CO2 emissions have barely changed since 1997 and that’s not counting the contributions from international shipping and aviation. Yet Brown and his ministers strut around the world, mouthing their spurious eco-credentials and claiming to be leading the way in tackling climate change. As the level of CO2 in the atmosphere continues to rise relentlessly year on year, we face a dangerous and uncertain future. Yet whilst scientists urge us with increasing stridency to cut emissions, Governments and big business spin and weave in order to avoid their commitments. To cram even more jets into the crowded skies over England, Gordon Brown thinks it’s fine to allow homes to be bulldozed, to subject hundreds of thousands of people to more noise, to allow ground level air pollution to rise and for millions more tonnes of carbon emissions to be pumped into the atmosphere. And in case we forget - he wants to do it all over again with a second runway at Stansted. Where the Home Counties lead, the South West, follows: Bristol, Staverton, Exeter, Plymouth, Newquay." See more comments re Heathrow on BBC website here.

Stop the runway

To stop the runway lots of exciting protests are being developed - see Airplot here. Along with actress Emma Thompson, comedian Alistair McGowan and prospective Tory parliamentary candidate Zac Goldsmith many are becoming proud owners of a small piece of land within the site of the proposed third runway at Heathrow. You can be a part of it as well - join over 10,000 other Airplot owners to become a part of the opposition that's going to stop the runway. The response has been phenomenal to Airplot - indeed at one point they could not cope with all the email queries. Meanwhile last Monday saw 500 turn out to Heathrow in Edwardian dress - referencing the suffragette movement - to protest about the third runway and have a picnic, with a string quartet, performance artists, art installations and a giant conga line around the departure lounge. They were met by equal numbers in another type of costume, but the protesters managed to keep it up for several hours, and there were no arrests!
Stop geo-engineering experiment

On a different but related topic I was shocked to read that a 'rogue' science ship is poised to carry out risky experimental fertilization of the Southern Ocean. This is likely the first of many coming attempts to begin "geo-engineering" the biosphere as a solution to climate change. RV Polarstern, a German research ship, is to dump twenty tons of iron sulphate over 300 square kilometres of the Scotia Sea, off Chile's coast, near the Antarctic Peninsula. The chemical cargo - normally used to treat lawns and sewage - is likely to provoke a massive algal bloom big enough to be seen from outer space. German and Indian scientists are hoping the experiment will show that such manmade algae blooms can provide a quick fix to climate change by absorbing carbon into the sea. Please write to the German government demanding that the RV Polarstern turn around and return to port. Insist that Germany agree to a permanent ban on large-scale geo-engineering experiments and implementation, until all other options are exhausted, and until global geo-engineering protocols are in place.

Here is one comment: "Is humanity so resistant to change that we will seek to construct a "Frankensphere", with dramatic unknown consequences, rather than reducing emissions, consumption and population?" Take action here.

Basketball hoop site meeting

This morning I had a meeting with Parish Councillor Rebecca Charley and a local basketball playing resident on the Playing Field. We were there to finalise the siting of the basketball hoop - the Parish Council had already chosen some possible sites - now it was ensuring those were suitable with the planned users of the hoop - this has been going on for some time - see here - but hopefully now things can move ahead.

Photos: on site this morning roughly where the basketball area would be - below also a view as I walked over top the site from Bread Street

The proposal is to remove the 'netball pig' which is never used (see photograph) - and then extend and resurface part of the existing boules area to make a hard service - then the basketball hoop would be sited there.

All exciting stuff - funding will still be needed for the surface but it is looking good. We also talked about an opening event - a basketball and boule competition....all good stuff and all part of the on-going improvements to the Playing Field area.

Gaza: this must stop

I got up too early this morning to go through some planning stuff and have several other things that have cropped up so not sure if I'll make vigil this morning - do hope I can - we want to make it bigger than ever - 11.30 to 12.30 in Stroud High Street.

Photo: from SNJ re last week's Vigil - can you make me out - the hat was a Christmas present and v much needed that day.

I have to say I have been shocked by the news reports like the Israeli attack on the headquarters of the UN's relief agency in Gaza City- this shows a complete disregard for international peace efforts – and for Palestinian human rights. Caroline Lucas, Green MEP said of the attack: “In attacking the building of a UN agency providing desperately needed aid to the beleaguered civilians of Gaza, Israel has shown yet again that its brutal shelling of Gaza is relentless, indiscriminate and indifferent to international condemnation... Since launching its offensive on the Gaza Strip, Israel has hampered access for aid agencies and international journalists, thus severely hindering humanitarian efforts and preventing the media from witnessing events on the ground. This attack on the UNRWA building proves that no one is safe from the determined bombardment by Israeli forces. The United States must urgently take heed of international protest against the continued violence meted out by the Israeli government, and call on Israel to halt their attacks and lift the blockade on Gaza, while Hamas must also end the rocket attacks on Israel immediately. Only then can a sustainable peace process begin. As Nelson Mandela stated, ‘Only free men can negotiate’.”

For the first 18 days the Israeli Government has justified to the world that their decision to unleash a massive military campaign against the people of Gaza was as a direct result of Hamas’ breach of the ceasefire brokered by the Egyptian Government. Hamas has always stated that between June 2008 and November 2008 they did not fire a single rocket into Israel. In a recent interview given to Channel 4 News, the Israeli Government’s official spokesman Mark Ragev finally admitted that Hamas did not break the ceasefire. So by their own admission the Israeli Government broke the terms of the ceasefire first and in doing so have killed 1100 people (350 of them children) and injured over 5500. Plus, as Stop the War note, 13 of their own people have also died (four of whom were civilians and four of whom were Israeli soldiers killed by their own army).

Here are some links sent to me over the last week - Chomsky is always worth a listen:
- An excellent piece - a one hour recording - download and hear Noam Chomsky on the present crisis in Gaza:
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/31145
- Why Hamas is not the issue by Elaine C. Hagopian:
http://tinyurl.com/6uqron
- Seeing through the lies by Norman Finkelstein:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/79ergv

The United Nations, the Red Cross, Amnesty International and numerous human rights organisations have all indicated that Israel's actions in Gaza may constitute international war
crimes. There is a widespread call among legal authorities in this country and abroad for the case to be tried in an international court. UN representative Richard Falk says, "The tactics being used by Israel are serious violations of the UN charter, the Geneva conventions, international law and international humanitarian law." A group of prominent lawyers in this country have published a letter which says, "The blockade of humanitarian relief, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and preventing access to basic necessities such as food and fuel are prima facie war crimes."

In Parliament Gerald Kaufman asked foreign secretary David Miliband in the House of Commons this week, "Is it not an incontrovertible fact that Olmert, Livni and Barak are mass-murderers and war criminals", Miliband replied that "Israel is rightly seen as a beacon of democracy throughout the world."

Stop the War comment: "If any other country in the world, "democracy"or not, had unleashed an onslaught of such devastating ferocity against 1.5 million defenceless people caged in the most densely populated area on earth, the British government, along with governments across the world, would be expelling its ambassador (as Venezuela has done), stopping arms sales to that country (as Greece has done) and making plans for a wider embargo if the carnage did not stop."

On the diplomatic front, the latest is that the US with Obama's agreement and Israel signed an agreement that in the event of a 'ceasefire', the US will ensure that Hamas (the elected governing party of the victims) is completely disarmed. Meanwhile the US will keep the aggressor fully equipped with fighter planes, vessels of war, tanks and no doubt parts for its nuclear weapons. This does seem odd indeed!!

I read that Chris Coverdale from Lawyers Against War, and former MI5 officer and whistleblower, Annie Machon, are touring as part of the Make War History tour with events in 12 UK cities including Bristol before widening the tour across Europe. I heard that Chris Coverdale spoke at one of these events already about the illegality of all wars in the modern era - including Iraq and Gaza. He argued that since 1928 and the Kellogg-Briand Pact making war-making has been completely illegal. He explained what war law is and what the different crimes are: genocide, crimes against humanity, etc. And also by looking at how we are - by practically supporting our government through taxes etc - are therefore also complicit by aiding and abetting how war crimes being committed. He argues we have a duty to stop any payment of taxes, fees, fines, etc, until they are shown (in court) to be of no help to government in making war. He has paid no taxes for ten years. He aims to build a campaign of complete "civil obedience" to the law, perhaps the most important laws in world history. Locally Roger Franklin is the best known witholder of war taxes - see here.

Anyway I want to write much more but have to dash - Stop the War have a petition available online for downloading. War on Want have an email letter calling on the Foreign Secretary for sanctions - see here. And click here for all posts re Gaza which include other petitions.

Spaces available at local Woodcraft Folk group

Last week we had an Elfin leaders meeting to discuss the drop in children in our local group and then Monday night it was the Stroud District Woodcraft AGM where we got together with all the the other groups across the District to plan 2009, elect Officers etc. I've just sent this off to the Randwick Runner - this version below also has links to previous events:

A while back a Woodcraft Folk group used to meet in Randwick Village Hall, but for various reasons they moved to Uplands. The Willow Elfins (aged 6 to 9) is now one of the Woodcraft group's that meet in Uplands Hall. However due to children moving up to the older group and two families moving away from Stroud we now have vacancies.

Photo; raft making last summer, Chalford

So what is Woodcraft Folk? Well it was established in 1925 and as our website describes we are "a unique progressive educational movement for children and young people designed to develop self-confidence and activity in society, with the aim of building a world based on equality, peace, social justice and co-operation....through its activities, Woodcraft Folk tries to give its members an understanding of important issues such as the environment, world debt and global conflict, with a key focus in recent years being sustainable development."

What do we do?

There are a number of Stroud District Woodcraft Folk groups who meet weekly or fortnightly with varied programmes including games, projects, crafts, singing and educational stuff. In the last year our Willow Elfin group has also helped with a radio show on Stroud FM, joined the Stroud Goodwill Evening Carnival procession, been to the Gloucester climbing centre, made rafts (see photo above) and tried to float them down the Chalford brook (with some success!), had various nature walks, done litter pick-ups, made dens in Standish Woods (see photo below), presented nearly 200 flags at the World Peace Flag ceremony in Stroud on the International Day of Peace and more. We like to be outside as much as possible.

There are also various regular activities through the year where we have come together with other Woodcraft groups like the bonfire night, Conker walk, Levellers Day, Sausage Sizzle on Selsey Common and the hugely popular annual camp full. All great fun indeed.

However we don't have regular leaders who run the group but rather all parents participate and help. The very minimum requirement is for parents to help two sessions a term, but because of our current situation any new children joining would ideally have support from an adult much more often. All adult members are CRB checked. We meet on Thursday evenings and take children from this area including Cashes Green - if you are interested in finding out more then call the official number for Stroud Woodies membership enquiries: 07504 349199 (please only use my number now as this phone was stolen!) or give me a ring. There is more info at: www.woodcraft.org.uk

Carbon cost of googling Ruscombe Green?

The Times carried an article (see here) at the weekend saying a researcher claims that performing two Google searches from a desktop computer can generate about the same amount of carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle for a cup of tea.

Photos: Sheep at top of Ash Lane last week with crow on its head

The article says Google is secretive about its carbon footprint but with more than 200m internet searches estimated globally daily, the electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions caused by computers and the internet is provoking concern. Apparently when you type in a Google search for, say, “energy saving tips”, your request doesn’t go to just one server. It goes to several competing against each other. It may even be sent to servers thousands of miles apart. The system minimises delays but raises energy consumption.

Amazingly in another calculation, maintaining a character (known as an avatar) in the Second Life virtual reality game, requires 1,752 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. That is almost as much used by the average Brazilian!

It is great to have this info so that we can be aware of are carbon usage and seek ways to cut - but sometimes it all seems too much looking at every aspect of our lives and seeking ways to cut carbon - oh for innocence and not knowing!

Gaza: petitions to sign and another Stroud vigil

At the end of the Stroud Vigil on Saturday for Gaza it was agreed, assuming the violence is still continuing, to hold another vigil 11.30-12.30 on Saturday. It would be great if this one was even bigger - so tell all your friends. Bring a candle in a jam jar and any banners or placards.

Photo: Standish woods

The blog entry re the Vigil has led to a fair few extra emails to me this last few days - I wanted to highlight first three petitions folk can sign:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Arms-embargo/
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Israel-Sanctions/
http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

Plus a friend of a woman in Stroud is in Gaza right now and is still doing a blog when possible: http://talestotell.wordpress.com/ She apparently travelled there with the Free Gaza Movement and is now volunteering with the Red Cross and Red Crescent. It is not easy reading, but gives an insight to how it really is there, right now. There is also a report with more eye witnesses and comment from SchNEWS here.

Challenge to councillors re Staverton Airport's expansion

Below is our latest news release from campaigners re the Airport ahead of Gloucester City Council's meeting on Thursday. Huge thanks especially to Neil and Kevin for putting this together as it is an excellent summary of where we are.

Meanwhile before that I've heard various reports that some campaigners against the Airport have taken to greeting passengers coming off the flights - see here. Plus I was sent a photo of the sign that appears to have had 'CO2' added by tape or perhaps very good photoshop? Anyhow while on Airports do please also sign the new petition against the third runway here.

Plus I've now seen Staverton Airport's supposed 'Green policy' - while I welcome their attempts it is interesting to see that they appear to be using inflated figures and still have not grasped the enormity of the challenge we all face. Clearly the policy needs a closer look but 'greenwash' comes to mind after a quick look at it. Meanwhile while the Airport still deny expansion plans (see more below) we have now numerous examples of where they admit to plans to expand from job adverts, Business Plans and now Nathaniel, Lichfield & Partners, past planning consultants to the airport who note: "Gloucestershire Airport: advised on entitlement to permitted development rights, and promoted expansion of aviation related development at the Local Plan Inquiry."

The flawed case for Gloucestershire Airport – a challenge to councillors

Proposals to develop Gloucestershire airport (owned by Cheltenham and Gloucester Council's) are one of the biggest threats yet to Gloucestershire’s environment and to the wellbeing of people in Gloucester and Cheltenham. Local groups Concerned residents Against Staverton Expansion (CASE) and Gloucestershire Airport Action Group (GAAG) are calling on Gloucester City Councillors to reject the airport’s development proposals at their 15th January meeting.

These groups have issued a checklist to councillors on why the airport plans should not proceed, set out below. The checklist shows why the airport’s case for the developments is without any foundation. The developments are about equipping the airport for intensifying its operations. The campaigners have also issued three challenges to councillors, covering the non-existent housing threat to the airport, the councils’ failure to consider the airport’s environmental and social impacts, and that lack of independent scrutiny of the airport’s business case.

Addressing aviation growth is one of the most crucial environmental issues of our times – it is not something which councillors should shrug off and go through the motions on. Councillors must act responsibly to halt the airport developments, for the sake of local people, Gloucestershire’s environment and the drive to combat climate change.

“We urge councillors to face the real impacts of aviation growth. This will mean more jets and helicopters in particular, with all their impacts. They will be like buzzing insects permanently in your face – only you can’t swat these ones away. If the lid comes off Gloucestershire airport we will all pay a heavy price” said Neil Marshall, of CASE.

“The airport has not indicated how it will manage in the face of the 80% CO2 cut legislated by the climate change bill” said Kevin Lister, of GAAG

Finally, in the words of the Government’s own Sustainable Development Commission, Chaired by Sir Jonathan Porritt, the supposed benefits of airports are played up by aviation proponents: “With so much evidence in dispute, we believe that those who are in favour of increasing the use of flying have not yet sufficiently demonstrated the case”.

THE CHECKLIST

Expansion now:

The proposals amount to expansion and intensification of the airport’s current operations. The airport is pushing for a cap that is 22,000 flights per year greater than current levels. The airport has refused to rule out extending opening hours, and have proposed that hours should be 6am until 10.30pm.

Expansion in future:

The developments would equip the airport to take opportunities to expand in future. An airport will seek opportunities to grow and expand. In particular, Gloucestershire Airport will have to grow to pay for the investment needed to implement these plans.

No CAA requirement for the airport’s proposals: Contrary to the airport’s insistence that its plans are needed to comply with CAA requirements, it has now been confirmed that the Civil Aviation Authority is content that the existing runway and infrastructure complies with the airport’s current activities.

No proper scrutiny: The supposed scrutiny of the airport’s case by Cheltenham and Gloucester councils has been superficial and partial. It has amounted to aviation consultants and business consultants asking for the views and clarifications of the airport and airport related businesses. This does not amount to a rounded view on the economic costs and benefits of the airport and it has ignored any consideration of the environmental and social costs.

Sending the wrong signals on fighting climate change: Combating climate change is a political priority. A return flight from Gloucestershire airport amounts to half on a person’s annual carbon balance under the Climate Change Bill. At a time when people are travel planning, car sharing, using public transport, and teleconferencing, our councils must show some responsibility and curb the amount of flying, not permit ever more of it.

No threat of housing: There is no planning context for housing at the airport and the area’s housing allocation is already set. The housing issue is a scare story advanced by the airport. Scaremongering about housing should not be used as a smokescreen for permitting airport developments.

No jobs are at risk: Less that 10% of the jobs based around the airport site are directly related to aviation, corresponding to 0.16% of the Glos economy. There is no evidence that any of these jobs would be threatened if the airport developments are not implemented.

THE CHALLENGES

CHALLENGE ONE: Specify the housing threat

Some councillors have stated that houses would be built on the airport if its developments did not go ahead. This is a scare story from the airport lobby with no foundation. It should not influence crucial decisions on whether airport developments go ahead. We challenge the councillors making these claims, who include Jeremy Hilton and Bill Whelan, to substantiate these claims or to retract them.

CHALLENGE TWO: Address the airport’s environmental and social impacts

There has been no review of the airport’s negative impacts on the environment and on people’s wellbeing. The airport’s planning applications are bitterly contested by individuals, Parish Councils and local organisations, but Cheltenham Borough and Gloucester City have taken no action to study the negative effects of the airport. The Green Policy is a toothless set of guidelines which the airport has already asked to be diluted, and which a private owner of the airport would not be bound by. We challenge councillors to point to an assessment of the environmental and social impacts of the airport. In the absence of this, it would be wholly irresponsible to proceed with the developments.

CHALLENGE THREE: Undertake an independent review of the airport’s business case

An assessment of the airport’s business case was presented by CASE to Gloucester City Councillors in December. It was met with stony silence because councillors are not informed about this matter. They have only heard the airport’s special pleading. We challenge the two councils to undertake an independent review of the business case, to proceed without one, and to ignore the worrying evidence on the business plan presented in the CASE presentation, would not be responsible governance.

Notes For Editor: [1] On Thursday 15th January 2009 at 7:30pm Gloucester City Council will meet and appear minded to approve the expansion of Gloucestershire Airport. Protesters from CASE, GAAG and Plane Stupid will be attending the meeting to ask public questions about the development. [2] The Concerned residents Against Staverton Expansion have a website giving an excellent account of their objections to the Airport’s plans. See www.case-online.org.uk

Great local bird photography

I was in a friends house the other day and her son was looking at the website called The Gloster Birder put together by Mike King - I loved the photos - see here:
http://www.birder.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

Indeed some quite amazing photos worthy of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year which will be coming again to Twigworth's Nature in Art - I love this show - and it is one of the first out-of-London showings of the latest exhibition of the world’s largest and most prestigious wildlife photography competition - jointly owned by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife magazine. They have selected the top 85 stunning photographs from entries from 82 countries - starts Jan 27th to Mar 8th. And thankfully this year not sponsored by Shell - see my previous comments on that here.

Anyhow the photos on the Gloster Birder site are astonishing - the ones here I've pinched for this blog entry come from this page here - I think they are by Martin Dyer and Gary Cox - but the site doesn't credit pics well - take a look and see more incredible pics taken in the last week.

The Tale of a Non-existent Bus Shelter in Stratford Road

Here is an article a little too long perhaps to update folk re the Tesco bus shelter - with thanks to Judith Newman, our Village Agent for additional information - it is quite extraordinary how long this is taking - a real eye-opener into the workings of Tesco, GCC and more - and still years on people are without a bus stop....

Photos: the original photos I took to make the case about numbers waiting in the rain

In Summer 2006 a comment was left on my 'Ruscombe Green' blog about the lack of a bus shelter at the big Tesco in Stratford Park Road. A number of villagers from Randwick, Ruscombe, Cashes Green, Whiteshill and Paganhill all use buses to get to and from Tesco in Stratford Road.

I wrote to Tesco about them putting up a shelter outside their store but got no reply. I contacted Stroud Town Council who also wrote. They had been pushing for this previously but had also had no joy. I wrote again, so did others. I phoned and spoke to the store manager who was supportive of the idea and said they would look at it when their refurbishment plans went forward.

We all waited, then December 2007 we heard that Tesco had approved funding for the shelter - at last plans to give some degree of comfort for the shoppers waiting for the 93, 37 and 230 services plus the Tesco shoppers buses. Since then I must have written well over 50 emails and made many phone calls including many to the contractor employed by Tesco. The design and location details for the shelter were all negotiated, but further delays occurred as improvements to the road junction were being made

In the Autumn I heard that building was likely to start on the shelter imminently. Then all went quiet and just before Christmas the news is that Tesco have postponed plans for a shelter until March. Many of us are deeply disappointed by this move.

The weather is now wet and cold. Many people wait at that stop with their heavy shopping. It is my view that a shelter should have been a condition of building the store in the first place. Indeed this is normally the case when large stores are built. However it wasn't made a condition and so no shelter.

Let us hope that Tesco will give the go-ahead this March for a shelter to improve conditions for their customers using public transport. It surely cannot be lack of profits of Tesco?

Judith Newman, our Village Agent has been collecting information about the shelter. Please tell her how this decision affects you or your family and friends and those more vulnerable people in your community who rely on public transport. She would like to report back to Tesco’s representative the strength of feeling over this decision. Please call Judith on 07776 245791.

Guantanamo Bay: no more anniversaries please

Today Sunday protesters will mark the seventh anniversary of the opening of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility at a demonstration to be held outside the US Embassy. My thoughts will be with them - and indeed I applaud their actions to highlight this gross injustice.

Photos: more of Ruscombe valley from earlier last week when we had that smattering of snow

Here is the comment from Green Party MEP for London, Jean Lambert, who was previously named MEP of the Year for her work on Justice and Human Rights: "It remains to be seen whether President Elect Obama will stick to his word and close down Guantanamo, but I sincerely hope that this is the last time that we have to mark this sad anniversary. This facility symbolizes nothing more than injustice, torture and illegal detention. By denying an effective and open legal process to detainees at Guantanamo, and other secret prisons around the world, the current US administration has consistently made a mockery of human rights. What is certain is that the new President will need the backing of governments around the world if the US is to succeed in finding safe countries in which to repatriate the many victims of this debacle. I call on the UK Government to provide its support and encourage EU Member States to do the same to bring this dreadful chapter to an end."

It is extraordinary that this facility is still operating - let us not forget that after six and a half years of illegal imprisonment and being subjected to appalling torture, Binyam Mohammed, a former London resident, is still held in Guantanamo. The only evidence against him was extracted through torture and yet he is has been refused a civilian trial. Such treatment is outrageous. Sadly he is not alone and our Government has failed to criticise or condemn the US for this appalling breach of human rights - see my letter of nearly 2 years ago on this here.

It is high time that the remaining detainees be given a fair trial or released to safe countries. This abuse of human rights has gone on for far too long and must not be allowed to continue. We must not still be protesting about Guantanamo Bay next year. For more information go to: www.guantanamo.org.uk/

Stroud Vigil for Gaza

Stroud High Street saw close to a 100 people join the vigil earlier today to end the Israel-Gaza conflict. The rest of the country saw many similar protests including a march in Gloucester and in London an estimated 100,000 people turned out (see here).

Photos: Pics of the demo this morning

In Stroud the vigil was for an hour finishing in a circle with a few minutes of silence. For me such protests are crucial to highlight the failings of the EU and our Government to use their political leverage to try and stop the war - nearly 800 people killed and thousands more injured.

It was great to see so many people attend the protest and feel their strength of feeling. We must have an immediate and complete ceasefire in Gaza. There is no way to justify this continued devastating assault and granting only three hours of respite a day is simply shameful.

Martin Whiteside, the Green party's Parliamentary candidate for Stroud, who helped organise the vigil said in a news release soon to go out: "We should not forget our own government is implicated in the slaughter, since it continues to export arms to Israel-arms. Indeed last year saw a major increase in the number of arms exports it licensed. There should be an immediate end to all arms exports from the EU, but if that cannot be secured, then the Prime Minister must act alone. The UK urgently needs a truly ethical foreign policy. We all need to lobby, lobby, lobby and take any other action we can think of to end this crisis."

Martin Whiteside added: "The Green Party is also calling on the UK Government to revoke its support for any new agreements with Israel, calling on the European Parliament to refuse to endorse any extension of existing agreements and seeking that the EU uses its influence to prevent any upgrades of EU benefits to Israel until it abides by its international legal and humanitarian obligations."

I have to note my shock at the United States vetoing a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire - this surely gives a green light to Israel to keep up the bombing on civilians, keep depriving the majority of civilians of electricity, fuel and clean water, keep denying the Red Cross access to the injured and keep up the blockade to deprive the country of food and essential medicines.

The protests are a great sign of hope that such barbarism must stop - it was great to read that Norwegian Locomotive Drivers Union have shown what trade unions in Britain should be doing now: on Thursday all trains in the whole of Norway, and all trams and subways in Oslo, stood still for two minutes in protest against the Israeli invasion. The union issued the following information for passengers: "Because of the situation in the Gaza Strip, the Locomotive Drivers Union in Norway has decided to demonstrate our solidarity with the Palestinian people. This will be organised by adding two more minutes of stoppage at the station. The same action applies to all passenger trains in Norway simultaneously. We demand the immediate withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the Palestinian territory. Thank you for your understanding."

More shockingly on Friday Al Jazeera English was reporting that it believed white phosphorus is being used by the Israelis forces in Gaza. This forms clouds which can spread over large areas and cause third degree burns. Its use at Fallujah in Iraq was widely condemned and it has been used in Afghanistan. Despite its indiscriminate character, it is not illegal in international law. I hope sincerely that it has not been used.

I also read here re how the conflict in Gaza can be seen in the context of a decade of war that has forged an even closer military alliance between Washington and Tel Aviv. See here Martin Whiteside's comment piece that was in todays Citizen - there will hopefully be another news release soon but I'm having problems with my emails...indeed I've not received any for over 24 hours.

Call for amendment to Marine Bill

The proposed Marine Bill is being spun as the salvation of our seas, yet it is clear from many authoritative sources that we are facing the imminent collapse of the marine ecosystem.

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

We urgently need to:
* To establish extensive highly protected marine reserves around the coast of Britain
* For these to be ecologically coherent and planned to protect the whole marine ecosystem
* For these to cover 30% of UK waters to 200 nautical miles by 2015

I would urge blog readers to write to their MP seeking their support for an amendment to the Bill, which will be proposed at the Second Reading or Committee stage.

For more info you could point them to the MP briefing at:
http://www.marinereserves.org.uk/mpbriefing/

Birdsong and goddesses in Stroud

After the Gaza vigil today - a blog post coming soon on that - I went to Mills for an espresso and saw the pictures by Sam Makumba - very much liked his pics of goddesses...see photo.

Sam has had a mention before on this blog when he was making the bread oven in Nailsworth (see here). He is a Ugandan Artist living locally - in his blurb he says he is inspired by the natural phenomena and our relationship to the natural world. He has also now opened up and art and science school in Uganda to support those who cannot afford to go to school - infact people are invited to come to the school from any walk of life and share their skills or experiences. See more: www.deweschoolofart.com/

After the coffee I came out into the Shambles to the sounds of birdsong - one of the market stalls was selling cds of song recorded over the last two years locally in places like the Slad Valley. Great stuff and only £7.50 for a cd - check it out next time you are there on a Saturday.

'Along came Polly' to Cainscross

Hey folks have you tried the new shop called 'Along Came Polly' (formerly Olveston House) in Cainscross next to the Post Office?

The shop is open under the ownership of Sue Gardiner and has had a re-fit and facelift. It now sells dress making fabrics, knitting wools and bracelets and also gifts - Sue is wonderfully helpful and this afternoon my partner came away with some wool - am sure this cold weather is helping her business.

Sue is also running some new Knit and Knatter Groups, both daytime and evening. If you would be interested in joining one of these groups, call Sue on 01453 764887.

I highly recommend a visit - support our local shops.

Staverton expansion and saying no to high speed rail travel?

Just back from work early today and ended up making hasty comments re news that Staverton Airport has increased passenger numbers. See my comment here.

In campaigning against Airport's I have seen some argue for high speed rail as an alternative to air travel. Indeed, it is still partly Green party policy, although there are some clear steers as to how and when - see here.

There are clearly potential benefits from a modal shift from air travel to high speed rail but there are downsides too:
- the huge carbon footprint of the construction of such lines - destruction of the countryside - inefficiency of high speed rail compared to conventional rail - there would also be a large modal shift from conventional rail routes to high speed rail routes.

There is talk for example of a link between Birmingham International (read the NEC and Birmingham Airport) and Heathrow. Yet right now, a Virgin journey between the two cities can take as little as 1 hour 10 minutes at a frequency of every 20 minutes (and then there are two other cheaper services to take!). This is a good service in many ways, even though it has displaced local trains that can't fit in the timetable for big business commuters want of their long distance journeys. Network Rail prioritises long distance over short distance journeys.

Apparently a Green party colleague notes that the talk in Birmingham now is that the high speed rail would be great if Heathrow did not get its third runway as little Birmingham (10 million passengers at the moment, to rise to 27m by 2030 with its runway extension and expansion plans) could be the 'third runway'. As he notes London Birmingham might not have a ring to it like London Gatwick does but the Airport can serve London very well if it wanted. Indeed, a fast rail link between the two Airports would mean transfer times of 35 minutes to
Birmingham, which could be quicker than the Piccadilly line from Heathrow into central London. See here.

Indeed in the event that the 3rd runway does go ahead, high speed rail could still encourage more air travel from Heathrow, and only assist Heathrow Airport and perhaps work against regional airports. But then chances are, we'll not see high speed rail for a very long time anyway, if at all.....

I am increasingly strongly of the view that high-speed rail is a mistake, and the Green party should oppose it more clearly. Our key aim must be to reduce the need and demand, then to reduce the energy consumption of what remains. High speed rail is very energy hungry - and just as with road building and air travel, a reduced journey time makes previously impossible patterns of travel possible - and thus increases demand. This is a proven and familiar vicious circle with road building, but rarely mentioned for rail, where it is surely equally true?

As another Green noted there is a better case for new rail based on increasing the loading gauge (the width and height under bridges). British railways are very restricted compared with the continental standard and as a result carry both passengers and goods less efficiently, and have difficulty coping with intermodal freight transhipment. Another issue is our high population density that makes the land take for any new mainline railway a much more serious problem than in France, Germany and Spain - the main builders of high speed rail on the continent. There are some closed lines that could relatively easily be recontructed, but we should look dimly on wholesale destruction of countryside for entirely new lines.

Elfins, Greens and a Parish Council meeting

Evening meetings have started up again properly as life gets back to 'normal' after Christmas....although not so easy for many locally as Randwick School has been closed since Wednesday this week - water mains burst then gas leak - some of the children are clearly loving that but it has played havoc with many parents trying to go back to work...anyhow....

Photos: another of Standish Woods earlier this week, Wheelers Walk parking area and views looking out across from the lone Ash

...this week so far a crisis meeting for the Woodcraft Elfin groups - a couple of the local groups are short of leaders and the group I am a leader for will be short of children (6 to 9 year olds) come the middle of Feb when some of our group moves up - 15 parents turned up and much useful stuff was discussed about ways forward - Monday night next week there will be a Stroud District Woodcraft meeting that will hopefully make some decisions about best ways forward - but if you are interested in joining a woodies group do contact us...

The Stroud District Green party's monthly meeting was Wednesday night at Star Anise cafe - some 20 plus people and discussions re elections in May - this ward is not up for election for another year.

Anyhow in terms of public events we have a ceilidh coming up on 17th Jan and this Saturday a vigil for Gaza - see more and our recent letters and news releases here.

Last night it was Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish meeting at the new later time of 8pm - the minutes will be out soon on the website so I wont cover them here - items included proposals to promote insulation and other energy saving measures more locally and news that there would be another meeting re the basketball hoop siting on the Playing Field.

One other item was a follow up re a business operating from The Close in Ruscombe. See application here. This was not a Planning matter but rather a Certificate Existing Lawful use/development - so it is basically a legal decision.

Locally there was - and indeed still is - strong opposition to the parking of machinery and repairs to vehicles there - some have complained about the noise levels - I've had many conversations on this but permission has now been granted. I have to say I am disappointed that permission has been given but it would appear from the evidence given there was not any other route the Council could take. Furthermore I understand conditions have been set about what can and cannot take place there - I'm hoping to find out more re this....but must be off to work now....

Guest Blog: call for re-appraisal of economic growth

Dr Gary Robertshaw of The Green Providers Directory - a resource for finding eco-friendly, organic and fair trade products and services - has written the following piece which he has offered to this blog - many thanks to him. Here it is:

Photos: more of Standish Woods winter wonderland from earlier this week

The debate surrounding the extent to which the burning of fossil fuels leads to climate change misses a more fundamental point. That is, fossil fuels are an inherently finite resource. This resource is dwindling at an accelerating rate as economies such as those of China and India expand rapidly. Fossil fuels will run out. Maybe not in the next 10, 20 or 30 years but they will run out. As the scarcity of fossil fuels grows there will be increasing conflict between nations to secure their supplies in an effort to maintain their carbon-dependent economies. At the same time, there is an inexorably growing human population, destruction of rainforests, depletion of natural resources and plummeting biodiversity. Clearly, this situation cannot be sustained in the longer-term.

Yet our capitalist system is based on the principle of economic growth - growth that is heavily dependent on fossil fuels and unsustainable practices. Just look at recent events; governments are terrified by anything that threatens economic growth – pouring billions of public money into failing financial systems. In addition, many economists see growth not only as desirable but as essential. They claim it lifts the poor out of poverty, feeding the world’s growing population, supporting the costs of rising public spending and stimulating investment and technological development.

The dilemma is how can we square Earth’s finite resources with the fact that as the economy grows, the amount of natural resources needed to sustain that activity must grow too. I am clear in my conviction that economic growth in its current form is unsustainable. We need a new paradigm that limits (or reduces) the global population, a meaningful shift away from fossil fuels to renewable energy, increasing energy efficiency and the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles. This will require courageous, co-ordinated and global government policies that ensure we don’t use up resources faster than the world can replace them.

Many will dismiss this as a utopian ideology. But isn’t it a utopian ideology to carry on blithely down a path that will ultimately lead to catastrophe? Yes, it will require a new world-view and radical changes but I think we have several grounds for optimism. Firstly, sustainable economies are more stable – whilst growth may be lower than in traditional economies it will be more durable in the longer-term and less volatile. Secondly, the shift towards a sustainable economy would create new opportunities, jobs and greater stability. Thirdly, the potential for conflict between nations is reduced as our dependency on fossil fuels reduces over time. Finally, there is a growing recognition (albeit begrudgingly) amongst governments that the current situation is unsustainable and the mood seems to be shifting from one of cynicism and self-interest to one of genuine commitment to tackling the problem.

The prospect of a truly sustainable global economy, fuelled by renewable energy sources coupled with a stabilised human population and harmonised with biodiversity is an ambitious yet achievable goal. But it’s a goal that requires a re-appraisal of the current meaning of economic growth.

Gaza: Join us at vigil in Stroud

Like many I have been horrified by the situation in Gaza. I have just been sending out a news release regarding a large peace vigil planned for Stroud High Street 11.30-12.30 this Saturday 10th January. Infact read the press release as I am shocked that the EU seems to be planning to reward Israel rather than sanction the actions.

Photos: I unexpectedly had a half day off work and rather than sit in front of the computer here I went for a wonderful walk in the winter wonderland of Standish Woods this afternoon

At the weekend some 50,000 protesters were in London and numerous others around the country - I heard from Green party colleagues re demos in places like Hull - 300 people and even 60 in Tunbridge Wells!

Astonishingly Israel makes claims for being the healthiest democracy in the Middle East - yet it now joins North Korea, Zimbabwe and Burma in denying media access to large parts of this story. As journalists have commented Israel has transformed the entire Gaza Strip into a closed military zone. And that (in case anyone needs reminding) is when the Gaza Strip is not even part of Israel, and Israeli forces have no right to do anything on the Strip's territory at all, or to besiege it as they were doing before the latest aggression.

I am sure that in years to come there will be the realisation among some Israelis that there is no alternative to a negotiated and fair settlement with the Palestinians, both in the West Bank and Gaza. The horrors of this disaster must surely hasten that realisation?

James Christian: make maths easy and don't fluoridate!

As regular blog readers will know I have occasionally picked on local folk and highlighted them. Today is the turn of James Christian who lives in Ruscombe and apart from being a home tutor also teaches maths - he has a new website that is under construction here - in fact all it has at the moment, is his telephone number, but I am assured more is coming soon.

James is also Chair of the Safe Water Campaign for Gloucestershire - see here. It looks like this year could be busy in the fight against water fluoridation as just down the road in Bristol, Dr Hugh Annett, the Director of Public Health there, is proposing a scheme.

At the moment we are all waiting the results of a so-called consultation in Hampshire about whether to fluoridate there - there was a massive rejection by the public - see more here and their campaign blog here. Your questions re fluoride answered here. Gloucestershire Safe Water Campaign members even made a visit down there to support the campaign as there are real concerns that if Hampshire are successful then it will make it easier in other areas.

A ramble of hope for 2009

For me perhaps some of the most worrying news recently has been that scientists have now found the first unequivocal evidence that the Arctic region is warming at a faster rate than the rest of the world at least a decade before it was predicted to happen.

Photo: Last of the leeks in the garden

Climate-change researchers have found that air temperatures in the region are higher than would be normally expected during the autumn because the increased melting of the summer Arctic sea ice is accumulating heat in the ocean. The phenomenon, known as Arctic amplification, was not expected to be seen for at least another 10 or 15 years and the findings will further raise concerns that the Arctic has already passed the climatic tipping-point towards ice-free summers, beyond which it may not recover (see The Independent 16th Dec 2008 - and see cartoon re tipping points here).

Our politicians are failing to understand the implications of climate change......It was refreshing to hear Lib Dems talking about a New Green Deal but sadly looking at the detail it does not add up on paper to what is really needed - see local Green party letter here. In the EU matters were worse with them basically proposing a neocolonial approach to climate policy, which would allow rich European countries to continue their own unsustainable development model at the expense of developing countries - see another local Green party letter here.

You can read what George Monbiot said of the recent Government proposals here. If we are serious we need such radical proposals as he suggests like closing key streets to traffic, imposing 'stonking taxes on the extraction of all fossil fuels' and more.

At least news re Peak Oil is better - well better as it is now being properly recognised - last year we had the first industry report re Peak Oil (see here) - now the IEA report which has studied 800 major oil fields around the world has come up the a decline rate of 6.7% (up from 3.6% guestimate in their previous 2007 report). This is highly significant since UK government (and other peak deniers) base their official position on what the IEA says and they're now clearly saying "We are on an unsustainable energy path and need to shift fast!" - they're saying 2020 peak and Hirsch says we need at least 10 years preparations to avoid mega problems...
See Monbiot video here and article here.

Shockingly already 20% of Stroud District is in fuel poverty - now I read that only one in eight households in fuel poverty receives discounted gas and electricity bills, despite a multimillion-pound commitment by the main energy companies to help vulnerable people to endure the winter. This really is an area that needs the Government to wake up.

All this can lead one to feel a little like it is all futile - we are stuffed - but I really don't believe that is the case - there is lots to make us hopeful that we can rise to the challenges - here is a piece from Chris Johnson who writes The Great Turning Times:

I had a conversation with a friend not long ago when I told her the story of the Great Turning. I described how future generations might look back on our times as a crucial turning point in their history. Just when humanity seemed headed for disaster, we somehow found the courage, determination and inspired creativity to bring about a remarkable shift, a change of course, an epic transformation. As I told the tale, I felt my eyes sparkle; the energy of possibility sent tingles down my spine. But my friend wasn't so moved. "I can't see that happening", she said.

The process where a positive vision first grows, but then meets disbelief, may be familiar to you. It can happen within ourselves. It can happen within groups of friends. The process also gets played out within organisations, communities and our wider society. Over the last few decades, the hopeful visionary tendency has taken quite a bashing; on a societal level, disbelief has become the default mode. Yet recent events have powerfully shaken this up. If, two years ago, someone had proposed that the UK government would soon be nationalising banks or that Barack Obama would become the next president of the United States, they might well have met the "I can't see that happening" response.

In May 2006, in an article sympathetic to Obama, Time magazine commented: "The argument against an Obama candidacy is obvious: he is as green as Kermit the Frog. He is a mere 44 years old and has been a member of the U.S. Senate for less than two years. He sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but he has zero military and national-security experience. He's a very smart guy, a quick learner, but no one is that quick. If he runs and makes a fool of himself, a very promising political career could be suffocated in the crib."

A year later, a column in the Boston Globe implied Obama was a no-hoper, saying: "the people who've ponied up $4,600 for Obama in this election cycle might as well have piled the money on the kitchen table and set fire to it."

In April this year, a column from the UK Times expressed that same certainty, with a sub-headline proclaiming: "The Democrats must admit it: Obama would lose to McCain"

The point here is the "I can't see that happening" view can be wrong. Remembering that helps when we doubt our vision. As does reminding ourselves of times we've succeeded in doing things that previously we'd thought were impossible (can you can think of any for yourself?). These memories help anchor in us the deep knowledge that something seeming unlikely at one point in time can happen quite naturally at another. Rather than giving up if the odds don't seem promising, positive changes are brought about when we identify what we'd like to happen, and then become part of the story of making that so.

Chris Johnson helpfully points to the Work That Reconnects developed by Joanna Macy and colleagues. This was developed as a workshop methodology to cultivate empowered responses to global issues, the principles and insights of this approach can be applied in a wide range of settings, not just workshops. The central plot-line of this work follows a spiral of four elements: gratitude, honouring pain for the world, seeing with new eyes, and going forth. See more at:
http://www.turntowardlife.tv/joanna_macy_workshop_video/about.htm

Read Obama on climate change here. However while the US maybe coming around, Chris Johnson also quotes a BBC World Service Poll of 22,000 people in 21 countries that showed only 79% saw human activity as a significant cause of climate change, and only 65% believed it necessary to take major steps starting very soon. Astonishingly, a third of Tory MP's who replied to a survey in the UK questioned the existence of climate change and its link to human activity!! In a more recent poll in the UK 42% thought the problem might not be as bad as people say, and only 35% saw tackling climate change and reducing their carbon footprint as a normal thing for people to do in their area. There's clearly still a long way to go.

Chris Johnson suggests we need to help people join the dots between weather disturbances and climate change then perhaps they will be more likely to want to want to take action. Unfortunately, these links are often not made. For example, he carried out a Google news search for articles about Hurricane Ike on 13th September 2008. It showed 79,971 references in a week. When he added the words "climate change" to the search, the tally went down to just 72 (less than 0.1%).

In the US, after hurricane Katrina in 2005, a poll showed a majority (54%) saw the hurricane season that year as just one of those things that happens from time to time, vs 39% who viewed it as related to climate change. One of the issues here is about how we view cause and effect. One type of cause and effect is direct causation, where A causes B. But another, much more common, type of cause and effect is an indirect one, where A adds to a context that makes B more likely.

Scientists would find it difficult to say "Hurricane Katrina was caused by Climate Change". Yet there is strong research evidence that climate change adds to context that makes intense hurricanes more likely. So as Chris Johnson suggests it is about getting the message across that more extreme weather events will be likely - ask people if they think climate change is a factor if the weather is extreme or different from usual. Listen and if appropriate share your concerns. Voicing our concerns is a way we talk ourselves into addressing them. Visibly tackling climate change and reducing our carbon footprint strengthens the context that supports others to do this too - in a way that can feed a positive feedback loop of change. Go for it!

See Earth Spirit Action - a film about Deep Ecology here.

8 year old comments on grit bin vandalism

"Not a good siet . Look After things . This grit shood be in the grit bin. Somboddy has tiped it over.Somboddy has allso painted the sien . I don,t want to see this again." Lisa

See more re grit bins here - both Parishes are now exploring which bins they will consider upgrading. Certainly this one photographed is repeatedly knocked over and the salt ends up being washed into the brook where it must play havoc with the biodiversity.

NuClear news launched

Here is a quick ad for NuClear News - a new, free monthly newsletter designed to keep climate campaigners informed about nuclear developments in the UK, and anti-nuclear campaigners about climate issues.

As many of us know building more reactors will make the climate change problem worse, so we need good quality reports on how to counter the nuclear myths - the first edition of NuClear News was out last month - you can sign up to receive NuClear News by email here:
http://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/maillist/

Issue No.1 is available here: http://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/nuclearnews/index.php

It includes a link to New Scientist on cancer clusters here by Ian Fairlie who was in Stroud over a year ago talking about concerns re Oldbury.

Most popular blog searches on Ruscombe Green

I've just been looking at the google analytics for this site and not surprisingly unique visitor numbers have dropped away over Christmas - down to 2,500 from 3,000 - however what was interesting was to see what people were interested in when they visited...below is a top 15 of items looked at over the last week - not scientifically put together in any order.

I am intrigued by some of the older posts chosen which seem slightly random? Maybe they have recently been linked from somewhere else? Anyhow Happy New Year! My flu is getting better - the pics are from a very short walk I managed yesterday...

Carnival of Green - a round up of last week's green blogosphere.

Humphrey's End Orchard apple juicing - report and video of day with link to plans for a local community orchard.

Call to end piped music - letter to local press.

The top 20 Philip Booth's googled.

The extraordinary artist Monom Wu Keng-Yen in Gloucester.

Direct action to improve Ruscombe brook at Acres Place.

Vitamin Intensive hedgerow jam recipe.

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

Bread Street street party summer 2008 - a great day.

Report on the Open Homes event where over 750 people visited homes with renewable energy and 400 joined the opening of Randwick Village Hall in September 2008.

The Portbury Yew - an amazing tree!

Iranian artist carving feet by river in Stroud and making fish out of berries - loved this!

Blood Diamond, blood coltan and blood gold - just saw the Blood Diamond film again and it really brings the horror home - there is a good documentary with the video that is well worth a look as it shows smuggling is still big business despite the Kimberley Process.

Ragged Hedge Fair 2007 - a great event.

Self-Management courses for people with chronic illness - they are still running locally but now coordinated by the health service.