Climate change is scary: we must digest realities and see signs of hope

Here is my response to two letters that are critical of an earlier letter to The Citizen about climate change. See my original letter here and further comment here. It was a longer letter than I had meant to write but wanted to address the issues raised - when talking about climate change it is easy to raise fears that are deeply unhelpful but at the same time we need to hear the reality otherwise how can we see the urgency to act....

Photo: mist across Ruscombe valley

My recent letter regarding climate change led to two responses in The Citizen. J. Hillier (25/02/09) called my language 'extreme', suggested I feel people should fear climate change and that it is some sort of 'Green party cause'.

In fact most of what I wrote was repeating what the climate scientists are saying. Indeed I doubt many could read their latest research without finding it scary. I also said in my letter that fear, like denial, can stop us from taking actions. What we need is to find room to digest the realities and also to see that despite the horrors there are signs of hope.

Thankfully it is not just 'greens' that accept the science on climate change: every political party, many corporations and more are on board. J. Hillier notes he has talked with his brother, who has retired from the World Health Organisation, and suggests we need not worry. In fact the WHO reports that climate change impacts have led to 150,000 premature deaths in 2000, many more are forecast and they are also calling for urgent action (i).

This brings me to the anonymous letter (23/02/09) that says childhood is being spoilt by spreading gloom. I agree: our children grow up too fast. Too many are all too aware of the forecasts of climate chaos and the failures by my generation to take the necessary actions.

The letter writer says if I cannot suggest practical moves to tackle the problems then I shouldn't be writing. In fact I've argued repeatedly in these pages, on the Glos Green party website, my blog and elsewhere for what is needed locally and nationally: a Green New Deal, a universal free insulation scheme to all householders, an end to Airport expansions, no new coal plants and much more.

We can create a better future for ourselves and our children, than the one that scientists are forecasting if we don't act. We can stop irreversible climate change - but we need to act together and fast.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.

War Dance: an extraordinary film

Just seen War Dance - an extraordinary film - it was nominated at the 2008 Oscars in the Best Documentary category. Powerful, moving and had me in tears.

Civil war in Uganda has raged for over 20 years - this is a story of three children within the Patongo refugee camp of northern Uganda and the horrors of that war but also the joy that comes from discovering that their little school has qualified for the finals at the annual Kampala Music Festival.

See trailer and more about film here.

Ground-breaking Sustainable Communities Act is one step closer in Stroud

This week has been a crazy round of meetings so my blog has suffered and apols but I am not going to write up all that stuff - well a little on Thursday night's Full Council in this blog entry - and probably will do blogs on the first Brook and Flood Forum meeting I set up earlier thjis week plus my day in Bath at Wessex Water - as for the rest suffice to say I've had meetings with Stroud Valleys Project and the District Council over the Eco-Renovation Open Homes event in September and met with Green District councillors a couple of times - I would love tonight to go to the Coffee House Discussion on the Severn Barrage but I've run out of puff...there are not enough hours in the day with work as well...

Greens don't support Council Tax proposals for 2009/10

Anyhow Thursday night - that was last night - seems an age ago already - it was the Council Tax setting meeting. At Full Council Green party District councillors did not support the Conservatives Council Tax proposals for 2009/10 which were passed with support of Liberal Democrat councillors. The tax proposals represent a 3.5% rise on the 2008/9 Band D.

Here is what Cllr Sarah Lunnon, Leader of the Green party group of District councillors said at the meeting: "This report does not address the urgency and responsibilities required to tackle climate change, nor do I believe the budget reflects the importance that residents in this District give to tackling climate change. We need radical action to solve today's problems not this business-as-usual approach."

Green party motion to sign up to the Sustainable Communities Act

Well it was passed with a Conservative amendment seeking further information. There was also a lot of nonsense as I think it wasn't handled well - indeed I even wonder if it wasn't a breach of the constitution as I thought if the motion proposer accepted an amendment then it went to vote without debate - I need to check - anyhow it was passed with the Tories amendment delaying it a little and calling us Greens 'irresponsible' for bringing the motion forward!! The Leader Chas Fellows even called for the motion to be withdrawn as they would look at it at next Council instead.

I have to say I am a little disappointed by that approach to democracy - after all many residents of the area have fought long and hard for this Act - indeed the Tories have had months to get their act together - 77 other Councils have already signed - and while some assurances were given by them that they were looking at this Act nothing seemed to happen - so back in November Greens put in the motion - this is the first time the motion could be heard as the last Full Council was budget setting. Anyway I understand work is now being done on it by the Council Officers so let us hope we can all get the benefit from it...although the delays will mean that there is only a small window of opportunity to get projects in this time - so if folks locally have ideas get thinking and planning now in preparation.

See Green party press release re the motion here.

I first started campaigning for this Act some 5 years ago. Many from all parties have worked hard, Our MP David Drew as a sponsor of the Bill has been instrumental in bringing this Act about along with Conservative MP Nick Hurd, Lib Dem Julia Goldsworthy and others like Green party leader Caroline Lucas.

In addition to the 77 Councils I mentioned who have already signed up some 90 national organisations from the Association of Police Officers to the Campaign for Real Ale support this. Over 300 local organisations and 1,000 Parish and Town Councils support this.

Basically this Act gives the Government a legal duty to assist Councils in promoting the sustainability of local communities. By opting in we are signing up to receive the government's assistance. It allows Council's the power to determine the nature of the assistance from Government and allows Councils to regain functioning and monies from central Government plus it increases involvement from local people. All good stuff.

Some have asked will it cost Council's officer time and money. However as I said at the Full Council meeting last night the Government have made clear 'net additional costs of new policies are covered'. They have stated publicly many times that no unfunded new burdens will be placed by Central Government on Local Government. My understanding is that in the annual settlement worked out by Government, the Local Government Assoc and Local Authorities, money must be provide by Central Government for Local Authorities to carry out this task of setting up and involving Citizens’ Panels in the Sustainable Communities Act process.

Great example of how the Act can be used

The economic downturn will have a huge impact on our local communities. Many of our local shops and businesses are being hit hard. This Act has the potential to give real powers to local people to protect and revive their areas. One example of how the Act could be used that I liked the sound of was regarding out-of-town supermarkets. As we know they don't pay non-domestic rates on their car parking spaces yet many local traders in our towns are affected by double yellow lines and parking costs. It is not a level playing field. The Act could let non domestic rates be levied on those parking spaces. We could then waiver those charges if the supermarket agreed to a stated percentage of local goods for sale. This could be an important boost for local farms and businesses creating jobs and economic activity.

There are some who question whether the Act will really be workable but many from all parties are wanting to make this work. This is the first time we have a law that empowers Councils to ask for help from Government to promote sustainable communities and requires the Government to reach an agreement.

Government Minister Phil Woolas suggests it is one of the most important Acts in the last 40 years saying he believes it will change politics - that sounds good to me!



What is meant by 'Sustainable Communities'?

The definition of sustainable communities in the Act is deliberately broad. The Act defines the promotion of sustainable communities as any of the following 4 things:
1. Environmental, e.g. promoting local renewable energy, increasing recycling and protecting green spaces
2. Local economies, e.g. promoting local shops, local businesses and local jobs
3. Social inclusion, e.g. protecting local public services and alleviating fuel poverty and food poverty
4. Democratic involvement, e.g. increasing the ways local people can participate in local decision making and promoting new ways in which people can influence what happens locally

Fluoride to be forced on us

Fluoride will be added to tap water in Southampton after health bosses voted it through earlier today despite massive protests. Some 72% of 10,000 respondents in a public consultation opposed the plan. This is undemocratic and unjust and it will also means that Gloucestershire's water supply is another step closer to being fluoridated - already Bristol are looking at it - see Glenn Vowles blog here.

Photo: Demonstration by Green party in Stroud against the Water Act 2003 which allowed health authorities powers to instruct water companies to add fluoride

It is extraordinary that despite the opposition the South Central Strategic Health Authority (SCSHA) unanimously backed the move. It is the first time a health trust in England, rather than water companies, has been allowed to introduce fluoridation under the new law that this Government has brought in.

Southampton City Council was in favour but the larger Hampshire County Council was against the plan, which is designed to cut tooth decay and which will affect 200,000 people.

John Spottiswoode, chairman of Hampshire Against Fluoridation and a Green party spokesperson, said: "I think it is absolutely disgraceful, they have refused to listen to all the evidence we have given them. They have ignored the will of the people, 72% didn't want it and yet they still are going to do it. It is deeply unethical. We think it's illegal and are thinking what we do next, maybe taking it to the courts in Europe."

See questions and answers re fluoridation here. I have already spoken today with local Safe Water Campaign members about stepping up the campaign locally and looking at further ways we can support those in Hampshire to reject this undemocratic, unjust move - let us hope there is a mass refusal to pay water bills by the 72% of the people who rejected fluoridation.

Update - see press release here:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/content/view/2247/2/

Different shades of green

Photos: Chester Cathedral Creation window - I went last year after reading an inspiring book about this window - see here - nothing to do with this post but amazing to go and see.

Anyhow I came across this from the Footprint Blog:

Fact No. 1: the human eye can see more shades of green than of any other colour.

Fact No. 2: while there has been little progress in addressing environmental issues, there is now a great deal more awareness of them than a few years ago.

As a result it is not surprising that the green movement is showing increasing signs of splintering, as Paul Kingsnorth's article and blog suggests. Green-ness used to be classified as either light (with a lot of white and prone to green or whitewashing) or dark and somewhat forbidding. Then there is the acid green of those prone to violence in the name of protection. But there is also the blue-green, who put the conservative in conservation, and the red-green (which should really be called brown) who link social issues to environmental concerns. And there is also the question that Paul raises of what it is all for. On this there are the technical greens, who may not even ask the question, as long as there is some environmental benefit. And the spiritual greens, for whom that is the whole point.

In response to this I wrote a great long piece and for some reason my blog has failed to save it - it is now lost forever - I had written about Arne Naess and Deep Ecology's influences on me - Deep Green stuff - then talked about red-green stuff - for me and indeed for the Green party, the idea that you can separate social justice from environmental justice makes no sense. Having said that the Green party has various shades of green folk - although I doubt many of the acid-greens as the party is very clearly about non-violence....

I also wanted to acknowledge that Paul Kingsnorth has a lot of important stuff to say in the link above about wilderness

Ah well I'll have to try and write it again sometime but have lost that flow that sometimes comes....and it was probably more interesting for me than you folks out there...

Meetings: 20 is Plenty, group to look at cutting carbon and more

Well the last week or so has seen various meetings that haven't made it into this blog - here's some of them:

- '20 is Plenty' - as folk will know this is moving ahead desperately slowly - but it is moving again - see recent Parish meeting here - well I met with Karon Cross who is hoping to see more 20 is Plenty in Cainscross ward and John Taylor re the moves we are making in Randwick.

The next steps are planned - wont go into them here - but wanted to note that Cashes Green now has some '20 is Plenty' sections - the signs are the usual boards - now as you will see in the photos some have been vandalised already - I am hoping we can have something more robust and legal looking.

We'll see but I am concerned that otherwise they will be ignored and the signs will just add to the street clutter. The hope is as noted previously that this will be the first step to getting a blanket 20 mph in all residential areas.


Scrutiny meeting - well it was our shortest yet on Thursday night - started at 6pm and finished by 9pm - a couple of reports from the Council's auditors - I am sorry not time here to cover in detail - you really need to read them and view the meeting on the webcast to get to grips with them but several points picked out like the failure three years running to score better than 'below minimum requirements' on 'a sound system of internal control' - things are set in place to improve now but have to note concerns that this was allowed to go on.

Another good bit of news is an enquiry has been launched by our Scrutiny Committee into how monies can be gained from outside agencies to help tackle climate change. I will be sitting n that Sub-Committee - I have been seeking improvements in this area for a long time - for example engaging with utilities would hopefully bring benefits like the scheme in Kirklees which was negoitiated by the Council there with the power companies - it has brought free insulation to every home in that District. Another scheme in Kirklees is a £3m (or is it £7m now?) revolving renewable energy fund whereby people wanting renewables get them 'free' and only pay back when they sell their homes. The money then goes back into the pot for others. This has been significant in boosting local green businesses.

- Glos Uni Students - well I was interviewed this week by a History student about the Green party and other green stuff and today have more for another student regarding Clone Towns after they picked up one of my old news releases.

- Other stuff - have been covering a variety of stories in last weeks and so had a meeting in Star Anise cafe with other Greens to see how we can still do better - stories this last week not already mentioned by this blog include the rail fares, a couple of local talks, nuke stuff - but have also been out meeting two sets of residents re planning issues locally. Not unusual but both cases are quite complex - infact poss another one to see today but look I'm for a coffee now and a read of next week's Council papers - oh the joys of being a councillor.....hey that sounded not so good but have to be honest there is too much nonsense to read but if you don't you could miss a crucial bit that could allow for real change.....

The Great Pancake Races of Whiteshill and Ruscombe 2009

Participants started to assemble well before 11am today for the great pancake races on the Playing Field.

Huge thanks must go to all at the Village Shop who were hard at work making pancakes all morning - a bargain at only 50p each - but also huge thanks to Tracey who organised the races - publicising them and getting the children grouped by different ages - plus starting them off and awarding prizes and certificates. Great stuff indeed - and wow was the weather wonderful - Spring is here?

You'll see from the photos it was all a serious business - many childrens races and two adult races - but adults had to face many children grabbing legs, arms, coats and even trying to catch their pancakes as they tossed them - you will be disappointed to know that all this meant your local District councillor only came in at fourth place....

I also have to report being shocked by tactics in some of the other races - one parent lifted their child into winning position while one child had their pancake swiped by another, some didn't toss pancakes while running and some didn't go all the way to the end - all this was met with laughter rather than the outrage it deserved - there is no accounting for some local residents.

Anyhow you'll see from this photo my particularly good style (on the left) at pancake racing - I will be training hard over the next year - and no doubt even more will be participating next year as this grows into a great regular local event. Thanks again to all who made it happen.

Results now available from Tracey:

Results of the Pancake races held on Sat 21/02/09

Older kids (1) Older kids (2)
1st = Hannah Simpson (12yrs) 1st = William Smy (10yrs)
2nd = Paige Telling (12.5yrs) 2nd = Paige Telling (12.5yrs)
3rd = Hannah Simpson (12yrs)
4th = Lisa Christensen (8yrs)

Younger kids (1) Younger kids (2)
1st = Helena Gardner (6yrs) 1st = Alex Vale (4yrs)
2nd = Alex Vale (4yrs) 2nd = Thomas Slater (6yrs)
3rd = Thomas Slater (6yrs) 3rd = Helena Gardner (6yrs)

Younger kids (3)
1st = Ben Bullock (7yrs)
2nd = Thomas Slater (6yrs)
3rd = Felix Slater (4yrs))

Also rans in the younger kids races:-
Mia Bedwell (6yrs)
Ami Bedwell (4yrs)
Piers Gardner (4yrs)
Emma Smith (4yrs)
Finn Pizzey (6yrs)
Kiera Slater (4yrs)
Helena Smy (5yrs)
Maddie Taylor (4yrs)
Alex Clissold (babe in arms !)


And lets not forget the participants in the Adult races:-

Jane Augsberger Rosie Augsbeger Jessica Bedwell Chris Brian Philip Booth Debbie Bullock Darren Clissold Karen Clissold Claire Deacon Chris Gardner Sue Gardner Jo Jowett Andy Slater Jenny Slater Cliff Smith Caroline Vale Russell Vale Sarah Walker Mark Taylor

A VERY BIG THANK-YOU TO ALL RACERS & SUPPORTERS

Coroners and Justice Bill seriously threatens our liberty

Today marks the 57th anniversary of the day in 1952 when the abolition of wartime ID cards was announced in the House of Commons. As part of Churchill's "bonfire of controls", the government abolished national identity cards with much support from the population. Now we see that the lessons of the past have been forgotten.

No2ID cards in their latest email highlight this poster which was produced in 1939, as Britain prepared for war and the year ID cards were last introduced in the UK: "It is summing up the current mood amongst civil liberties campaigners. As the Coroners and Justice bill (see more below) makes its way through parliament the poster, entitled 'Freedom is in peril', strikes a chord with anyone concerned about the threats to privacy that confront us today. The full text says 'Freedom is in peril defend it with all your might' and it was part of a series supposed to convey a message from the King to assure the people that all necessary measures to defend the nation were being taken and to stress an 'attitude of mind'."

The poster was apparently deemed ineffective because of ‘the abstractness of the words, not one of which had any popular appeal’. Criticism had been raised that "Freedom" was rather an abstract concept and was 'likely to be too academic and too alien to the British habit of thought'. I hope this does not apply to people in the UK today.

Encourage MPs to sign EDM

Card: from Russ

David Drew MP has supported the moves towards ID cards. I hope we can change his mind - it is not only a human rights issue it is also the vast costs - particularly when we should be sp[ending those billions on real threats like climate change. John Leech MP for Manchester Withington has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) in the House of Commons against the proposed pilot of ID cards in Manchester. The EDM notes: "the rising levels of public discontent over the scheme; and calls on the Government to halt the identity card scheme without delay". Please write to your MP using:
http://www.writetothem.com and ask him or her to sign EDM 672.

Why concerns now?

The government's stated intentions are: "to overcome current barriers to information sharing within the public sector". Now the Ministry of Justice has launched an extraordinary coup. It wants to convert the Data Protection Act into its exact opposite, into a means for any government department to obtain and use any information however it likes. Here's what NO2ID say: "Hidden in the new Coroners and Justice Bill is one clause (cl.152) amending the Data Protection Act. It would allow ministers to make 'Information Sharing Orders', that can alter any Act of Parliament and cancel all rules of confidentiality in order to use information obtained for one purpose to be used for another. This single clause is as grave a threat to privacy as the entire ID Scheme. Combine it with the index to your life formed by the planned National Identity Register and everything recorded about you anywhere could be accessible to any official body. That is what we meant by "the database state". It is now a threat not a theory."

Next Saturday there are events around the country connected to The Convention on Modern Liberty in London - Greens will be at many of those events.

Snow and climate change: letter to Citizen

The Citizen this week kindly printed my letter challenging one of their columnists, Martin Kirby, who seems to deny climate change - the columnist uses humour to shed doubt on the science and continues to try and demean many of the folks who are working to try and get our politicians take climate change seriously - I am deeply concerned that the messages he gives out just lead to further inaction by politicians and the public.

Photo: From local artist Russ - like the image that sums up the gambles we are playing with the planet - it was entered into a fark.com contest - can only view entries if you join

In many ways it is strange that he is allowed to repeat his prejudices on such a regular basis - but then so do the national papers give space to such nonsense - maybe if there was just one peer-reviewed article doubting climate change their might be a cause for a mention - it is also interesting that he chooses to target Greens yet it is the scientists that are saying we need to take action - and all the main parties accept climate change and accept the need for action - it is only Greens and a handful of others that are arguing for the action we need to take...

....ah well I'll leave that there for now...this blog is about my follow up letter as the heading over my letter in the paper could be misleading. I hope this clarifies....

Your headline, "Snow is a sign of global warming", over my letter about climate change (17/02/09), could do with further explanation. We know that climate change means more extreme weather events, but we cannot attribute this specific cold directly to global warming. As others have said we must distinguish between climate and weather. Weather happens in the short term whereas climate is the long term trend.

However the surprise that greeted the recent snow only reinforces how our climate has changed over the years. The Met Office research over 350 years shows that such extreme weather now only occurs every 20 years, but in the days of Charles Dickens hit every five years or so.

Climate scientist Dr Myles Allen, notes that snowfall "could actually increase in the short term because of global warming. We have all heard the expression 'too cold to snow' and we have always expected precipitation to increase."

Another factor which could be important in the future is that melting icesheets could reverse the Gulf Stream. This would lead to Britain having a southern Scandinavian climate with lots more snow and cold. However scientists are in disagreement over whether this is likely or not.

However there is not disagreement that in long term global trends the temperatures are up. The scientists are clear, we need to be taking urgent and radical action not just to reduce climate change but also to prepare for it's impacts.

Philip Booth

Join the Whiteshill and Ruscombe Shop Pancake Races

Tomorrow Sat 21st Feb at 11am bring your frying pan to the Whiteshill & Ruscombe Village Shop for races on the Playing Field - "Delicious pancakes served with a range of toppings” and other refreshments available at the shop between 10am and 12.30pm.

More about need for allotments

I only learnt recently that the first review Gordon Brown commissioned on becoming Prime Minister was an analysis of food issues. The resulting report published last July and concluded that: ‘existing patterns of food production are not fit for a low-carbon, more resource-constrained future’, and ‘existing patterns of food consumption will result in our society being loaded with a heavy burden of obesity and diet-related ill health.’

Photo: Monty Don photo pinched from somewhere - apols I can't credit it

Unfortunately, the Strategy Unit paper appears to be a ‘minority report’ and not the major influence over Government policy on food and farming. We need to change this. The UK’s precarious food supply needs attention - one way is to mobilise the nations 11 million gardeners. They will be able to grow food for their family and for the community and also help spread greater understanding about our food, quality and supply.

The Soil Association have launched a campaign headed by TV gardening personality Monty Don. As well as mobilising the nation’s gardeners, the Soil Association and Monty are also lobbying central and local government to create more allotments. Apparently in some areas there is an 80 year waiting list! Monty called the shortage of allotments as a disgrace and said because people do not feel ownership of their food they are less worried about throwing it away.

He apparently went on to call in his speech for a tighter definition of 'local food' as 'food miles' has really become an obsolete blunt tool for talking about food. He also stressed the importance of gardening and reconnecting people with food: "The real food world happens as much in the back garden as on a 100 acre farm. Unless we harness the skills and resources of gardeners then our whole approach to feeding ourselves will suffer." He also attacked industrial agriculture as promoting a 'failure of trust' for which we 'should be ashamed of ourselves'.

Fewer than 1% of the population now work in agriculture - one of the lowest percentages in the world. In 1900 this was 40%. Some 61% of our food is produced domestically, but imports make up a large percentage of food, for example 90% of fruit is imported, as opposed to 40% in France. If you look at apples in a supermarket – which used to be Britain's major fruit – we have hundreds of different domestic varieties which could be cultivated, during the height of the apple season, you will find they are only a few varieties and are mostly imported! This makes no sense whatsoever as I've said on thsi blog many many times. It is only possible because cheap fossil fuels allow transportation from far-off countries. As oil becomes more expensive, this will become uneconomic.

Overall self-sufficiency has dropped by 21 percent since 1995 - and as we know many people have no idea how food is actually produced.

Robin Maynard, Campaigns Director at the Soil Association said at the launch last year: “The two torpedoes up the tube are Climate Change and Peak Oil – and they will sink our future more certainly than the U-Boats if we do not take action now.”

Robin Maynard also criticised the complacency of the UK government on food security. Our agriculture is primarily based on fossil fuels and that will be very dangerous for the future, so he advocates reskilling by attending Soil Association masterclasses, where people learn new – or often rather old – skills, such as keeping chickens, running a smallholding, or making jam; things our grandparents knew but we have forgotten. As noted in a previous blog I am not so happy with the link with the war - see here - however I am delighted by the Soil Association campaign for "A Sustainable Food Plan for Britain" - see here. See also more re the National Trust's campaign re allotments here. Meanwhile in a couple of weeks the local Allotment Group meets to see if we can develop some local allotments - things are looking very promising.

A Local Currency for the Stroud Valleys

I discussed in a recent blog why we need a Stroud pound - see here - now comes the follow up to the meetings with Christian Gelleri last month. There will be another public meeting held by the Lifestyles and Livelihoods Group of Transition Town Stroud. This will be to discuss the developing plan for the local currency for Stroud Valleys to be launched this summer.

Photo: How will local currency look - artists are already discussing ideas and thoughts - maybe not our Mayor on the note? Then again....?

Details: 25th February 2009 at 7.30pm at the Centre for Science and Art in Lansdown, Stroud, opposite the County Library. As they say in the advert: "The local Stroud Valleys currency is an initiative to support and stimulate the local economy by emphasising the availability and quality of locally produced goods and locally owned businesses, thus to help the local community thrive and become more resilient. Our main aim is to reconnect people to their local economy for employment, goods and services."

Help clear up after sledging

I cannot believe the amount of rubbish following the sledging - on Doverow Hill already a whole trailer-load has been removed - must get some photos as it really is unbelievable!

Photo: Pigeons in Bread Street

Many walkers are also doing their bit but it still looks like it has hardly been touched - vast quantities of rubbish remain - steel doors, metal road signs, sheets of plastic, glass, doors and more - worse some sharp white plastic has shattered into sharp shards - cattle were hoping to go on that field but clearly can't.

The landowner, Julia Currie has appealled in the letter below for help clearing up - Randwick Parish chair Richard Huxford is helping although it is not quite in our Parish. There is a date - Sunday 1st March - the hope is to have lines of litter pickers to work their way down the field - I hop[e folk reading this will be able to join the great litter-pick.

I have rung the District Council but it is outside their responsibilities - although hopefully they will be able to help provide pickers and bags and may remove collected rubbish....it is clear Julia is not alone - I have heard from other farmers about the amount of rubbish they have collected - Kings Stanley Primary School have already helped clear one field - we are hoping a school might also help locally here.

Julia's letter to press:

During the recent snowy weather, hundreds of people, maybe even some who live in Randwick, were able to toboggan down Doverow Hill, part of my farm. I am pleased that so much fun was had. However I, and no doubt many others, are counting the cost. And that cost will be very dear.

Doverow Hill is now covered in the debris and rubbish left behind, including plastic bags, hard plastic in small and large pieces, glass and plastic bottles, metal from improvised sledges, and other unidentifiable objects.

Randwick residents will know that this land is crossed by the Cotswold Way and is within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Not so beautiful now. Additionally, and soon when the grass begins to grow, cattle will be put out to graze there. If any sharp metal objects or plastic is eaten by them, they may well be harmed.

I, and others so affected, will have to personally clear large areas of land. This will be painstaking and time consuming work.

May I therefore request that anyone, particularly those who had such fun in the Doverow snow, please consider giving up an hour or so of time to help litter pick. Please call 764376 or 765013 to do so, or meet at the stile exiting Doverow Tump from the woods and on the Stroud side, at 11am on Sunday 1st March. Please wear suitable clothing and shoes, and if possible, protective gloves.

Thank you on behalf of those walking this beautiful area and the cattle that will soon be grazing there.

Response to national councillors magazine regarding UK emissions

Here is my response to a councillor in the councillors national magazine published by the Local Government Association - I am dismayed by the number who seem to try and diminish the need for action on climate change.

Photo: view across Ebley from Far Westrip

Cllr Basil Ratcliffe (Con) suggests that Britains' carbon emissions are 2% and therefore "whatever we do, although perhaps an example to others, will have no measurable effect on the world situation" (first letters). In fact the 2% is a myth as it fails to reflect the UK's economic impact. As Christian Aid showed, adding in emissions from UK-funded operations in other countries, would raise the UK's share of the global total from 2% to about 15%.

Emissions from international aviation, shipping and importing cheap goods are not included in a country's greenhouse statistics, so the UK can claim greenhouse gases are falling. Yet how can we really hold China and India responsible for emissions from manufactured goods they sell to us? It is surely only fair that we should pick up our share of the real environmental costs of doing global business?

Indeed only when we confront the issue of the UK's "carbon omissions" can we really expect other countries to play their part in tackling climate change. The UK is rightly committed to slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, but in reality there is no way this target can be met without radical changes in Government policy. The UK has to vastly increase its efforts to stop climate change from taking away the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. As councillors we have a key opportunity and responsibility to help make those necessary changes.

Cllr. Philip Booth (Green party),
Stroud District councillor for the Randwick, Ruscombe and Whiteshill ward,

First climate change refugees

I have just read in The Ecologist that lying off the coast of Papua New Guinea, the Carteret Islands are slowly being engulfed by a rising sea (see article here).

Photo by Pip Starr. www.starr.tv

As the sea level rises the islanders drinking water and crops have been poisoned by salt and one entire island has been cut in half by the waves. The 1000 Islanders are now being evacuated and their home abandoned to the waves. These are the first people to be officially labelled as climate change refugees.

Dan Box will be blogging live on his journey to the Carteret Islands at: www.journeytothesinkinglands.wordpress.com

Local authorities need to prepare for energy crisis

This is a brilliant report! Loads of ideas, best practice, facts and all specifically tailored to local government. http://www.odac-info.org/

Photo: view of Randwick last year

The Oil Depletion Analysis Centre (ODAC) has prepared this new report for local government in the UK called 'Preparing for Peak Oil: Local Authorities and the Energy Crisis.' Get a copy and start quoting it at meetings, lobby your councillors and more!

From the report: "Global oil production is approaching a peak, followed by a permanent decline. It will radically change the way our societies are run: our transport systems, how we produce food, where we work and live....There are a great many things that councils must do, and policies that need to be changed, if we are to have any chance of mitigating the economic effects of peak oil. On the plus side, some of these initiatives already exist (recycling, road pricing, etc.) but these efforts need to be significantly expanded, and there remain entire areas of policy that have yet to be addressed... "

All this is good news and shows awareness of this issue is raising - even the Local Government Association (LGA) is increasingly on board. It published a report last month, 'Creating Green Jobs: developing local low-carbon economies', which includes warnings on peak oil - see below. What isn't necessarily grasped yet, including by the Green Party, is that the timescale may be so tight that it demands a wholesale review of reams of policy. The LGA also issued a report last month entitled ‘Volatile Times: transport, climate change and the price of oil' - download and read more here about that.

Quote from report: "This revolution [in energy use and supply] will also be driven by volatile and rising fossil fuel costs and concern about fuel security, particularly if oil production peaks. As oil and gas prices increase, the economic incentives to develop low-carbon goods and services intensify....There will be impacts on existing sectors - forestry and agriculture, construction and refurbishment, travel and tourism, distribution and logistics....There is a growing awareness of the risks associated with dependence on imported fossil fuels and the threat posed by peak oil. As we write there is a stand-off between Russia and Ukraine that has cut off gas supplies to many countries in Europe."

For me I need to think how best this can be made to impact most on Council policies - have already sent to the Transition Stroud Business and Government Group - and as regular blog readers will know it is an issue I've raised many times at Council meetings. Stroud still has a long way to go but at least now, as a result of work by that group and others, the Council has a Think Tank raising these issues - this is streets ahead of other Councils - another way to go is like Somerset County Council who last year voted unanimously to endorse a motion that they become the UK’s first ‘Transition Local Authority’.

What is means is that SCC could start taking an integrated approach to its planning processes, putting peak oil and climate change at the heart of its forward planning. It may well also unlock funds for the many Transition initiatives emerging across Somerset. See more here.

Biggest march in human history?

The Czech Foreign Minister, Schwarzenberg, is on his way to visit Hilary Clinton to discuss the US missile base in his country among other issues. Some will remember I have had an interest in this topic and corresponded with the hunger strikers in the Czech Republic - see here and here more stuff re background - anyhow I've recently had an update from them and they also sent news re the march - see below...

Greens have blocked the final ratification of the missile defence treaty in the Czech Parliament while they wait to see what the Obama administration intends to do. Protests continue. In Brussels, on the 18th of February 2009, there will be a meeting in the European Parliament among various MEPs and 20 Mayors of the Czech Republic and many protest groups will be present. The demonstration will be called “the invisibles”, because the 70% of the Czech population that is against the US radar base are invisible for the media, as are the 95% of the world’s population that are against wars.

World March for Peace and Nonviolence

This is planned to be the biggest march ever organised in human history - it will start in New Zealand on the 2nd of October 2009, proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Day of Nonviolence. It will pass through a hundred countries on five continents and will end in the Argentinean Andes on the 2nd of January 2010. We will no doubt hear much more of this - and hopefully have a chance to get involved.

Hundreds of organisations and personalities have already endorsed the March, like Michelle Bachelet, Chilean President, the Dalai Lama, the Italian football club Inter Milan, the actor Viggo Mortensen (from “the Lord of the Rings”) and many others.

Participate and join us in this March to say “no” decisively to wars and violence: www.worldmarchforpeace.org

More re Czech Republic

Video of the demonstration already held in Prague: http://www.europeforpeace.eu/news.php?id=1036&country=
Brief presentation about the Space Shield, useful to inform institutions, friends and groups in a simple way:
http://www.europeforpeace.eu/documents.php?country=&keyword=documents
Video with Noam Chomsky about the Space Shield in Europe:
http://www.europeforpeace.eu/video-detail.php?id=1027&country=
Video interview with Noam Chomsky about the possible role of Europe in order to avoid a nuclear catastrophe:
http://www.europeforpeace.eu/video-detail.php?id=1029&country=

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has gone beyond remit

As we know Oldbury has been nominated by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) as one of four sites to have a new nuclear reactor built.

Greens consider the NDA has now gone completely beyond its remit of cleaning up nuclear sites (see our letter to local press here). Indeed it was not long ago their chiefs were saying they're not in the business of nuclear new build. Since that letter appeared in the press I've had contacts from several people saying they are also not happy with the role of the NDA.

There is basically a serious contradiction regarding one of their key objectives for 2009-2012 being to "maximise commercial value from our existing assets and operations." This means in the words of one commentator: "continuing to operate old Magnox reactors, to "invest" in Thorp and SMP on the failed promise they might work, and at some point repay investment by earning revenue, and to "nominate" some land at NDA-owned sites, as prospective locations for nuclear new build."

Yet each of these purported revenue earning activities will result in increasing - in some instances massively both by volume and radioactivity - the radioactive waste burden of the nation. This is in direct contradiction to another stated "principle objective" of “identifying opportunities for reducing liabilities."

Why has the NDA not told ministers its remit it impossible to deliver while containing two mutually contradictory objectives? So far no satisfactory answer. I have written to David Drew MP regarding this.

'Age of Stupid' due for release next month

I've been circulating info to promote this film - "Age of Stupid" starring Pete Postlethwaite - a Green party colleague who saw a preview at Green party conference last year said: "This one could be an even bigger wake-up call for the Great British Public than the Al Gore Inconvenient Truth three years ago - time to stop living in a perpetual state of fear."

It is due for a world premiere on 15th March (London and elsewhere) and a UK cinema release 20th March. You can watch the trailer just released here http://vimeo.com/2991411
The website for the film is here http://www.ageofstupid.net/

30,000 chimney fires annually: time for action

Having had friends have a chimney fire that was very serious, I have long been aware of this issue - indeed I grew up with my parents having the sweep regularly come each year - yet in todays world of central heating it seems many don't know or seem to have forgotton the importance of a regular clean.

I was in Norway to visit family a while back and there it is mandatory to have your chimney swept - maybe we are getting closer to the point where we need that here? Certainly there needs to be much greater awareness - it is likely with rising fuel prices in the future that more will turn to using their hearths. How can we protect neighbours and all from those not responsibly looking after their fires?

The Citizen's article on chimney fires is a timely reminder of the importance of regular sweeping (9/02/09). Chimney fires account for 43% of all calls to accidental fires in Gloucestershire and appear to have been the cause of both recent fires in The Golden Fleece and The Duke of York pubs in Nelson Street, Stroud. There are some 30,000 home chimney fires annually!

High fuel prices and colder weather have meant more people are using their open fires and burners this winter. A minimum of once a year clean is crucial to remove the flammable substances and soot that tends to build up with use. Amazingly Coal soot and Wood tar chimney fires can create temperatures up to 1200 degrees centrigrade inside the chimney.

Indeed many European countries have made regular chimney cleanings mandatory. Germany, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden all have significantly reduced the number of home chimney fires thanks to initiatives taken by their government and insurance companies. It is time we took additional measures in this country to reduce the unacceptable number of fires?

Philip Booth

Household Electricity Monitors for libraries?

A while back I got confused between Smart Meters and Household Electricity Monitors. The latter are the gadgets that you can get to clip onto your electricity meter output wire and have a remote display are Monitors - more of them later in this blog and hopes for a project across the County.

Smart Metering on the otherhand is something the industry is planning and would install instead of existing meters. These provide monitoring for customers, more information and possibly multiple timed tarriffs and maybe even the ability to communicate with smart fridges (or special plugs) to turn off non essential appliances during times of peak load. More re Smart meters: www.energy-retail.org.uk/smartmeters.html and www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/energy/environment/smart-metering/index.html

Smart meters in some early studies using enthusiastic volunteers have shown cuts in electricity of 5% or more, perhaps worth £30 a year at today's prices, but a report by Frontier Economics suggests a much smaller figure of one or 2%. Is this really worth it? Probably not if that is the saving. However experience from around the world shows that smart meters and differential pricing can make substantial differences to energy consumption. Not that that is always popular. See more about Conservative policies announced recently re smart meters - sadly lacking any detail, costings or real analysis according to the article here:
www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/19/goodall-tory

Household Energy Monitors

Stroud Town Council already have 12 of these to loan out - see for example www.currentcost.com

Reading Greens a while back copied me in on a project of theirs to get the monitors in every library in the borough to help residents cut their energy use and household bills. The scheme would see the devices loaned out, just like books. The project was originally the brainchild of Lewisham's Green Party councillors, who have implemented the scheme in their area.

The device clips onto wires from an ordinary household electricity meter, and a separate portable monitor can be read by the householder as they walk around their home and witness the changes in electricity consumption, cost in pence per hour and CO2 emissions as they switch appliances on and off in turn. They have been shown to be incredibly successful in helping people to cut their electricity bills and CO2 emissions by showing exactly which appliances are expensive energy-guzzlers.

Indeed I've read somewhere that it has been estimated that an average household could save up to 150kg of CO2 a year by turning off unnecessary electrical devices - that is an important financial saving too. Here's what they had to say in Lewisham below but I have already written to our County library service a detailed email in the hope they might be interested in launching a similar scheme with the Eco-Renovation Open Homes project for this year.

Energy Monitor Loans from Libraries in Lewisham

The project was launched by Lewisham's Mayor on the 31st October 2008.

Thirty-six energy monitors (or 'smart meters' as they are also called) were initially put in Lewisham's libraries to be loaned out for 3 week periods. Library records since then show an average of 70% of the meters loaned at any one time, and we have now increased the numbers of meters available in libraries to 40.

The launch of the initiative was publicised in local media and posters and leaflets are placed in each library to encourage people to take advantage of the offer. The idea is that people can borrow a smart meter in the same way as they might loan a book, CD or DVD. In addition staff from the Council's Sustainable Resources Group have attended events at libraries and elsewhere to explain about the smart meters and talk more widely about the Council's work on fuel poverty and climate change.

A wide range of ages and backgrounds of people have expressed interest in the loans which suggests a fairly universal appeal so far. Feedback on the meters has been good in the vast majority of cases, with a few residents actually going to buy one at the end of the loan period.

The Council initially purchased 100 meters from Eco-eye at a price of £ 2593.00. The meters were chosen as the most user friendly and cost-effective of those considered, and the company were also able to offer corporate branding.

Alongside the library scheme we have loaned smart meters to Lewisham Council staff (50% of whom also live in the borough) and provided additional support in setting up the meters to a smaller group of residents as a way of getting direct feedback. This ongoing project will be assessed in more detail after 6 months.

Citizen columnist again sheds doubt on climate change

This letter below is my response to Martin Kirby's column in The Citizen where he again sheds doubt on Climate Change.

Photo: artists view of Britain shrunk after climate change raises seawater

Martin Kirby blames the failure of the country to prepare for the recent cold weather on the Green party for making our Government obsessed with global warming (Citizen 9/02/09). If only we had such influence. Sadly his suggestion is deeply dangerous, as throwing doubt on climate change disempowers people to take the actions needed to avoid climate catastrophe.

Greens that have long been warning that climate change means more unpredictable and extreme weather including snow. Indeed despite the recent weather scientists are predicting 2009 could be in the top-five warmest on record. As the Met Office have said: "Anyone who thinks global warming has stopped has their head in the sand. The evidence is clear, the long-term trend in global temperatures is rising, and humans are largely responsible for this rise. Global warming does not mean that each year will be warmer than the last."

Recent research shows we face a greater and more imminent threat than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's peer reviewed analysis by 2,500 of the world's top climate scientists (see here comment in Telegraph yesterday). They are begging for immediate action. Why are we not acting?

There are signs of hope, but the reality is that the three main parties are still failing us very badly. Where are their policies that get serious about climate change? Where is the support to help people make the necessary choices like better public transport and insulation? Where is the debate about the underlying insanity and unsustainability of our economic system? We face an unprecedented challenge: we can all do our bit but we must get moving.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.

Alternative transport system launched

The Fellowtravellers' website has been launched and I wish it well - it is an alternative transport system that according to their website "puts control of public transport in the hands of the people who use it – by enabling users to create new bus, minibus and shared-taxi routes which meet real need; and by raising efficiency, economy, and reliability across the board." See more here.

We need all these projects to explore ways we can escape carmageddon. There is some good news - traffic growth is less than previous forecasts, and CO2 emissions are forecast to remain level. However the bad news - yes emissions ought to be reduced by 80% by 2050, and remaining level until 2025 does not deliver that.
Download 62 page full report here.

That really is bad news....

Bring Tony Blair to trial for war crimes

The Blair War Crimes Foundation has set up a petition to President of the United Nations General Assembly and the UK Attorney General to bring Tony Blair to trial for war crimes. I already signed a few days ago but want to draw this to attention of more folk,

Already the move is supported by John Pilger, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Ken Loach, Noam Chomsky, Richard Dawkins, Lindsey German, Ben Griffin, Dr Nawal Saadawi, Haifa Zangana, Dr Kamil Mahdi, Bruce Kent, and other citizens who want to see the UN General Assembly and the UK Attorney General uphold the UN Charter, the Geneva and Hague Conventions, and International Law, and to indict Tony Blair for war crimes. Please consider adding your name.

New local history website

Already we have the Stroud History website which is building into a great local resource but now comes the History Journal by local Ruscombe resident Guy Ellis with the aim of 'bringing history alive'. It does.

On the website already is the history of Bread Street, Ruscombe which was compiled for our Street Party last year and makes great reading. Plus there is the fascinating story of the Wellington plane that ended up crashing in the Ruscombe valley in 1943.

The current project is a write up Edward Smith - the only military grave at Randwick and Canadian at that - and Richard Covignton a landlord at The Woolpack Inn in Slad, who was a Battle of Britain pilot and apparently had an interesting war to say the least.

Footpath opposite Randwick Scout Hut

A long, long time ago I met with Parish and Highways regarding the footpath that comes out opposite the Randwick Scout Hut (next to Cashes Green School) on Cashes Green Road - it is not quite in my ward but several folk have spoken to me about it - See original blog here. I wanted steps or a safer path down as it is the most direct route.

Photos: earlier in the week showing gap in fence and muddy slope - used less now it is so v muddy!!

Well as many have noticed a while back a new fence went up but not as high and a gap has still been left. As noted before I think it is more dangerous fenced, as children and adults are climbing over then coming down the slope faster - indeed I have witnessed many people taking that route - it is wet muddy grass that is slippery and could lead to someone slipping into the road.

To put in steps or a path at that site would not be possible according to Highways - this is nonsense but yes it would be v expensive. I still think there still could be more of a slope at an angle cut into the bank but then the Council becomes liable for all sorts so it is safer to leave it as it is....Randwick Parish Council are now exploring costs of putting a barrier at the bottom of the slope to prevent folk falling into the road - however my personal preference would be for a planting scheme that prevented people from coming directly down the slope and into the road. Planting would also be more attractive - another of those metal fences would be ugly.

Sadly although I spoke up at the last Parish meeting (I am not a member but as District councillor can speak at the beginning) the vote went in favour of the barrier - I am hoping it will be too expensive and they will then look at a planting option!!

Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish Council meet last night

Well it was a full Parish Council meeting with lots to discuss - I got there after a Woodcraft Folk Elfin group meeting learning Salsa - great stuff and we had two new members - spaces still available so do contact if you are interested (see more here)....

Photo: not winner of logo competition (sadly)

So what did we discuss at Parish - well minutes will be out soon on the website so this is just a taster...

Some of the issues I mentioned included:

- Allotments - there was an update on progress re the Allotment Working Group - see background here - a meeting is now planned with a local landowner re possibility of using a corner of land locally - exciting stuff.

- Ward name change - SDC lost the original letters sent last summer. These were resent and I got no response to three emails. I have now found a way forward and am hopeful we will hear more re how best to proceed on this! See more about name change here.

- '20 is Plenty' - I sometimes despair at the pace things go at - a 20mph voluntary limit was suggested a long while back when we learnt we could not have a mandatory speed limit despite being told we could have - anyhow that is all in many blogs long ago - things are now moving again - still issues to addres - is the data collected already sufficient? Or do we need to book radar again? Both Randwick and this Parish have in my view carried out sufficient consultation - the Warbler, Randwick Runner and my newsletter in the past plus this blog and many Parish meetings and minutes have all publicised 20 is Plenty - there was even a couple of Coffee Morning consultations in Whiteshill Village Hall. The next step is to get quotes and agree designs for Signs, Stickers and leaflets - then we need to agree location of signs - Whiteshill and Ruscombe have a meeting, where at 10am on Sat 28th, some Parish councillors and I, will walk around Parish to agree locations and numbers of signs. Hopefully Randwick will also have something similar - then we need Highways agreement....

- Gullies - see more here - a local landowner and resident have made noises re a number of key drains - a site meeting is planned soon.

- Grit bins - I have requested the one in Humphreys End to be dug deeper as it has fallen over (or been pushed over) on 4 occasions in the last year. See here my letter to press that was in the Citizen this week. Highways have agreed to come out re the missing bins in Far Westrip.

Other stuff

Plenty of other stuff also got discussed - the Parish logo competition was judged - two winners identified (entries had to be from inside the Parish) - hopefully be able to show them on this blog soon - one of them was Keith Bates, a member of the Village Hall Committee and also a Ruscombe Brook Action Group member - the basketball hoop was also considered - a grant is being applied fort and quotes obtained (see more here) - approval was also given to repair the iron railings in Ruscombe. What else - I've run out of time - must go and eat.....

Action at last on Westrip Lane wall

The wall in Westrip Lane near Hawthorne Rise and opposite Red House Farm was facing collapse - see original blog entry and photos here. Yes I know it is not in our ward but several people have remarked on it.

Photo; wall now removed

Many emails and letters finally bore fruit before Christmas when work was undertaken to remove the dangerous section. Their were very real concerns that the wall could collapse on passers-by and cause serious injury. At least that risk has now been removed. Big thanks to Highways and District for finally making it happen!