Response to allegations regarding 'climategate'

A wee while back I was sent the Science Insider piece with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s 10 answers to allegations that 'Climategate' disproves warming. Anyhow I enclose that below - I think it is a useful reminder that this is the issue. It may not be in the news so much but all the evidence coming forward only confirms the scientists fears.

See also previous blogs like the 'climategate videos' that explain what went on and another post re comments in the SNJ at the time.

Photo: Enjoyed this pic of Al Gore and the suggestion he was from the Church of Climatology!

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report (29th July) on 2009's climate, which says the decade of the 2000s was the warmest since readings were first kept. In a phone interview with reporters today, Peter Stott of the U.K. Met Office, a contributor to the 224-page report, said the scientists who wrote it had sought, among other things, to draw attention to 10 variables he said "most intuitively" reflect temperature. He called that part of the report a "response" to allegations in recent months that scientists at the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia or NASA—or both—could jigger the record to fake warming, particularly by purportedly skewing records of land surface temperature. From the report:

"If the land surface records were systematically flawed and the globe had not really warmed, then it would be almost impossible to explain the concurrent changes in this wide range of indicators produced by many independent groups."

What follows are the 10 variables that show warming, according to the report:

Air Temperature Near Earth's Surface: The 1960s and 1970s were cooler than the 2000s by about 0.6°C, the 1980s cooler by about 0.35°C, and the 1990s cooler by 0.2°C. Seven sets of data were used to come to that conclusion, with some of the same raw data in several of those sets (p. 28).

Humidity: A warmer atmosphere means a moister one, and three sets of data each show a steady rise since 1970, with peaks in "1987/88, 1997/98, 2002, 2006/07, and 2009 (/10)" (p. 31).

Glaciers: A negative "mass balance" means that glaciers lost more mass than they gained; 2008 was the 18th straight year this number was negative for the world's alpine glaciers. For example, the report says "of 93 Austrian glaciers surveyed in 2009, 85 receded, 7 were stationary, and 1 advanced"; most glaciers receded by more than 14 meters in 2009, "slightly higher than in 2008" (p. 47). Meanwhile, the "34 widest marine-terminating glaciers in Greenland lost 101 km2 ice area in 2009" (p. 107). Meanwhile, Antarctica's climate has largely warmed in the past year-although "significant ice loss has occurred along the Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica in the last decade." Scientists cannot link the loss to regional warming (p. 126) but say warmer seas may be the culprit.

Snow Cover: Each decade since 1970, the extent of spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has fallen more and more below the 40-year average. Winter snow cover fell in the 1980s and 1990s but rose slightly in the 2000s (p. 34).

Temperatures Over Oceans: Analysis of five sets of data shows that the air temperatures over the world's seas have risen steadily since 1970 (p. 26).

Temperatures Over Land: Four sets of data show the same trend, with slightly less warming in the past few years (p. 26).

Ocean Temperatures: The water temperature at the surface of the ocean has risen more or less steadily since roughly the 1980s. Compared with the 1971-2000 average, 2009 was the fourth warmest year for sea temperatures, "behind 1998, 2003, and 2005, the top three warmest [ocean temperature] years since 1950" (p. 55).

Sea Level: Since 2003, seas have risen by 2 to 3 mm a year (p. 71).

Sea Ice: The total area in Arctic seas covered by floating ice has dropped by roughly 4% per year; around Antarctica, sea ice has increased by roughly 1% per decade (details here).

Ocean Heat Content: The stored heat in the world's seas has risen steeply since roughly 1990, according to three separate data sets (p. 58).

Casework: Cashes Green Hospital, disabled bays, stile, Parish Plan and more

Well a quieter week regarding meetings - did have a training session in Gloucester (see pic) on how to ask questions at Scrutiny (!!), a couple of hours meeting scrutinising the quarterly return report for the planning department and a couple of meetings with officers about particular issues. Below is a taster of some of the other issues in the last week...I do this summary periodically - see here - this is only a flavour and no identities shared but some of the issues are of general interest to other residents.

Stile in Ruscombe Valley: A resident has pointed out that the stile going from Wheelers walk to the field near Archway has been sawn off a while back (see my photos). This stile is an on-going problem - several previous blogs on it - indeed the County have received lost of complaints re the new stile from local dog walkers who could not get their dogs over it. Apparently the issue of motorbikes was discussed with residents but they still wanted the stile removed. The contractor therefore removed the top rail to lower the height and I guess a local has removed the other. It has been suggested to everyone who complained that local people got together and contribute towards a kissing gate instead - £212.00. The County would pay for the installation of the gate. Well I've written to both Parish and Town Council but no reply. What do others think?

Road resurfacing: Westrip Lane was recently resurfaced - see here - a local resident was incensed when soon after it was dug up by the gas board. What a waste. She wrote various letters and it does seem a mistake was made in this case. I am told that this is an unusual situation with regard to the utility works following resurfacing works and - that this happens on a very irregular basis. On this occasion I am also told that it was down mostly to a breakdown in communication not helped by the extremely heavy workload due to the winter weather at the start of the year. As some folk will know there is a way of protecting roads for a period of two years from planned utility works called a Section 58 agreement but it is not full proof and restricts the methods of treatment courses available. A section 58 agreement would not have protected Westrip Lane on this occasion. It also does not include protection against emergency or new connection works. We have been assured that such a situation will as far as possible not occur on the Main Road, Randwick.

Disabled parking bays: New double yellow lines have led to difficulties for a disabled woman. No objection was received by residents to these lines but this woman was not consulted as she lived around the corner! We are now considering what might be possible....it maybe possible for a disabled bay but there are strict rules on the provision of disabled bays - only if all criteria is satisfied would GCC consider a request. In addition to this all disabled bays are checked for safety reasons and any permissions are at the discretion of GCC. A charge of £50 + vat is payable on confirmation of acceptance. The criteria that must be met in order to be considered for a disabled bay are:

• A letter of recommendation from Social Services Occupational Therapist
• A vehicle must be registered to the address on the application.
• The applicant must live permanently at the given address and using the vehicle on a daily basis.
• No available off road parking (eg driveway or garage)
• The applicant must be registered disabled and a blue badge holder

Cashes Green Hospital Site: This week I met the Director of Hab for lunch (I paid for my own). This is Kevin McCloud's company - see here - who were recently in the press as they are keen to work on the Cashes Green Hospital site - well it was a good chance to share previous concerns - not always has communication between Parish, SDC, developers and all been that great. It has also appeared at times like a project imposed on Cashes Green by outsiders - a huge loss of that very precious green space - and not forgetting that Cainscross ward has the highest concentration of housing and least green spaces in the District. We need to get this right - too many developments in this area have been pretty dire to say the least. Well so far I have been impressed with Hab and their keenness to consult and take on board concerns raised - it also looks set to be a very green project that will cut fuel bills of those living there and be really affordable housing - I again reiterated that I hoped Cashes Green residents will be given first choices on the homes. The allotments are a much smaller area than we had hoped (see some of my previous comments here) - this is not to do with Hab but the way the package has been put together - I raised issues like protecting them from builders rubble when the site finally goes forward (I am also seeing with the Parish if there are other sites for allotments). Ah well enough of this now - more in future.....and I suspect if Kevin McCloud is putting name to it and will be part of development he wont want to get it wrong!!!

Dog attack - last weekend a local resident and I tried to rescue a stray black greyhound with yellow harness type collar that was wandering in Ruscombe and then later in Randwick. Well the seemingly mild mannered dog suddenly turned on the guy and bit and scratched him when he tried to look at the tag - the shock led the guy to pass out and an ambulance was called by his family. Fortunately no serious damage - looked worse than it was - police were unable to then find the dog and there has been no further news? I hope the owners have found it?

Stratford Park Leisure Contract - I had a long conversation with a resident who has a number of concerns about the current and new contract. There will be more on this issue soon as it comes to Council - but already I have raised a number of issues re the draft contract.

Allotments Video: the regular working parties have now nearly completed all the paths with membranes and boards around plots. More wood chippings needed and then some improved fencing and a gate...we are getting there - and next month will come my monthly garden notes of tips on gardening that I complied for myself many years ago... see Youtube video here of the site.

Immigration issue. I wrote a letter a couple of months ago supporting a resident who was being threatened with deportation within 5 days despite being married to a local resident. I was delighted to hear that the letter was cited as part of the reason for allowing the person to stay - indeed it was outrageous it got that far but at least sense was seen in this case.

Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish Plan: Well residents will soon get a letter seeking help with the Parish Plan - this follows the meeting in May (see photo) - Parish Plans will be increasingly important - with the loss of Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) by the Coalition government we are going into unknown territory - what will replace it? It could be that housing targets will now be considerably more - under the RSS our allocation of houses went partly to Gloucester - it looks like under planning law we will now need to demonstrate we can house those people here in the District - what will that mean for the Parish? Well we need a robust Parish Plan that demonstrates clearly where any housing will go if it has to....anyhow here is the letter going out from the Parish - please do get involved!

It's been some time since the May coffee morning but we have not been standing still. As I mentioned to some of you the items that were non-controversial could be started before the community plan was finished. I thought you may like an update of progress so far on some of the topics raised. Village E-mail list - We have started to build up a village e-mail circulation list to improve communications throughout the community. If you have any community announcements that you would like to be circulated please e-mail them to Helen at clerk(at)wrpc.org.uk. Not everyone has e-mail or wants to receive e-mail news so we will keep on circulating the WaRbler and of course a lot is passed on by work of mouth. 20 mph - We have made good progress on the petition (over 300 signatures so far). We are planning to present the petition to the County Council in September. Film club - We have got the use of a digital projector so we could do some trial screenings of DVD based material. Please can the people who said they would be interested in this contact me at jgrwhiteshill(at)gmail.com so that we can get things organised. Village Event - It is also clear that people would like some form of whole village event. A Whiteshill and Ruscombe Olympics on the playing field has been suggested featuring events like pancake races, welly wanging, and pantomime horse steeple chase but we do need people to volunteer to organise it. There would also appear to be support for community renewable energy projects and biodiversity schemes but these need further work to develop into specific proposals. General Policies - The Community Plan is a mixture of specific proposals like those mentioned above and general policies concerning the development and maintenance of village facilities and services. To give weight to these the policies will need to be endorsed by the whole village through a questionnaire and public meeting. What goes into the questionnaire sets the agenda. You have seen some of the topics that I think should be in the plan at the coffee morning but to be a proper community plan the agenda must come from the community not the Parish Council. To do this we need a Community Plan Steering group. The Steering Group sets the agenda, carries out consultations and identifies who should produce various parts of the plan. Don't worry if you have not done this kind of thing before, we have access to professional advice and training, and also financial assistance for work carried out this financial year. The Steering Group is self governing and has a wide range of tasks so I am sure it could use help from a wide range of individuals who can spare differing amounts of time. If you would like to get involved in the Steering Group or any of the specific items discussed in this email please contact Helen (clerk(at)wrpc.org.uk).

Stop wasting money on PFIs for incinerators

Greens pointed out in the local press that even the Audit Office are opposed to incinerators - see letter here - well below is the chance to send an email to the Government telling them about the huge potential to save money through dealing with our waste more sustainably. But I have also included a letter from Green Party Economics Spokesperson, Molly Scott Cato to Neil Carmichael about public spending disaster.

Photo: Slide from Paul Conett's talk earlier this year

Anyway nearly £2 billion of private finance initiative (PFI) funding is currently allocated to planned large waste infrastructure projects - a subject I've referred to before. These projects would also require huge amounts of money from council tax payers for decades to come. As Friends of the Earth point out the majority of PFI waste projects are incinerators, which:

• contribute to climate change.
• destroy precious recyclable materials.
• create far fewer jobs than recycling.
• represent very poor value for money for tax payers.

At the moment England dumps and burns over £650 million of valuable resources each year. FoE research shows that if material currently being landfilled or incinerated was recycled instead, it would:

• save money.
• slash emissions equivalent to 6 million cars.
• reduce the need to import materials from abroad.
• create tens of thousands of new UK jobs.

The Government must stop wasting public money on incineration. Send the campaign letter from here.

Letter to local press from Molly Scott Cato, Green Party Economics Speaker:

18th July 2010

Neil Carmichael’s claim that the public-spending disaster facing the country is the result of Labour’s mismanagement (Stroud Life, 14^th July, p. 4) is disengenuous at best. I could bore your readers silly with the vast array of data that indicates without the possibility of argument that the massive increase in the size of the deficit results from the banking collapse, but would be grateful if you would publish just this single graph (attached) of public-sector net borrowing between February 2007 and December 2008. It clearly identifies the point at which borrowing started to increase massively: the autumn of 2008, following the collapse of the global banking system.

The gap between money in and money out of government coffers arose from three principal causes. First, the hundreds of billions (it is hard to reach a precise figure) that were given to the banks to stop them becoming bankrupt. Second, lost tax revenue because the banking crisis rapidly wreaked havoc on the businesses that make up the our national economy. And third, the money the government spent to protect the real economy –and all our livelihoods. I have many, many criticisms of New Labour’s 13 years in power, but to seek to pretend that they were responsible for this cyclical capitalist collapse is deeply misguided.

The seriousness of the economic situation facing the country takes us beyond the realm of petty party-political point-scoring. Mr Carmichael’s column indicates that either he does not understand the current position, in which case he is not qualified to represent us at Westminster, or he is deliberately seeking to mislead, in which case he is not morally competent to do so.

Yours faithfully, Molly Scott Cato, Green Party Economics Speaker

Green party membership continues to increase

The Green Party of England and Wales has been experiencing huge growth in membership – 57%, in less than two years, and still rising. We have also finally succeeded in getting ourselves an MP at Westminster, even under FPTP. This hasn't been achieved by Respect, UKIP or the BNP. This is a huge achievement and opportunity. See Rupert Reed's guest blog on Bright Green Scotland here discussing the next moves for the party - and consider joining the Green party here.

Should we cull councillors some District to save money?

At Full Council last week consideration was given on how the overall costs of democracy through Members could be reduced - ie a cut in the cost of allowances. It has not been the approach as yet to cut salaries in the public sector, but is has been the approach to cut the number of public servants. There has also been some Government discussion about a reduction in the number of MPs.

Apparently The Electoral Commission said there is approximately one District councillor per every 2,000 head of population. The question posed on the Stroud District councillors email list is whether this is too generous? Views were requested on whether you think it would be appropriate for the Council to make a representation to the Government about legislative change on electoral reform, for the reduction in numbers of Councillors across the whole of local government.

Here is my rather hurried personal response with some additional comments following it:

It is right that we consider the appropriate ratio of councillors to electors - but I have some concerns about cuts.

The loss of councillors already has led some to suggest we might qualify for the so-called endanger species Red List! In the past 40 years numbers have dropped by 77% to under 20,000 in 2007. The arrival of the larger unitary authorities has in my view led to the disappearance of local government altogether in some areas. The five county-wide unitaries have populations of up to 500,000 and are bigger than a quarter of the countries in the world. Northumberland now has only 67 councillors to cover an area twice the size of Luxembourg. This is clearly not local and not I suspect what many would argue for locally.

In Gloucestershire I note we do better than most areas in terms of the numbers of councillors per head - and we have Parish and Town councillors. I haven't got figures per population. The LGA note that already the UK has the lowest number of councillors per 100,000 electors in the whole of Europe. The second worst is Denmark with twice as many councillors per 100,000 as the UK.

A LGA Magazine, a while back, noted the average in the UK is about one councillor per 2,605. This compares with France where it is 116, in Germany 250, in Spain 597, in Italy 580, in Sweden 667, in Belgium 800, in Netherlands 1,700 and in Denmark 1,084. Also the average population size of the European councils are far smaller than ours by a factor of between three and 20.

I understand that there have been many attempts to assess the relationship between local authority size and aspects of performance but few have produced definitive conclusions. There are too many variables at work. However European studies (that excluded Britain) suggest the optimum size for a local authority is between 30,000 and 40,000.

Democracy at the district and parish levels is an important element of linking citizens with central government. The danger of fewer councillors is that local politicians will be distanced further from the people they represent. Reports suggest councillors do an average 22 hours per week - cost effective community work in many cases. Interestingly reviews by the Councillor Commission note that councillors are all short of time. To reduce the number of councillors we potentially reduce the amount of work achieved locally and also make a councillors role less attractive to younger members with jobs and families. If we can't attract representatives as diverse as our populations we represent, then it is argued that this is likely to "reduce the quality and variety of the debate and to reduce the legitimacy in the eyes of the constituents." Already the move to unitary authorities has led to a significant drop in women councillors.

The recent Total Place pilot areas found that an average of £7,000 per person is spent on services like health, education and care of the elderly yet only £350 is controlled by local elected politicians. Councils are the most efficient part of the public sector: it is surely right that they are given a greater say over how the money is spent. This would appear to be the direction the Government says it wants to move in. The recession means there is an opportunity to revolutionise local services to improve those services that matter most to local people. In an LGA poll two-thirds of people think that councillors should make local decisions, only one in ten say MPs and less than 3% would leave it to Quangos.

So where does that leave us? Well I didn't mean to write so much - congrats to anyone who has got this far.

I think a case could be made for reducing the number of councillors by a small number but I am really not sure what this would gain. There would be costs attached to the ward boundary changes etc and more work expected from those remaining councillors for limited financial gain? If the Government delivers on returning powers to local councils then there will also be more work for those remaining councillors. In addition to this there is a predicted population growth in the area. Any significant reduction in the number of councillors would be undemocratic.

How about taking localism a step further and devolving all powers from the county to the district and enhancing the role of Parish and Town Councils and introducing proportional representation to better reflect the wishes of the electorate?

I do not see this as the right time to be making a move to reduce councillors.

All the best - Philip

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


Basically local government has never recovered from the loss of powers under Thatcher. Blair continued that process. No other national government exerts such central control over local services nor has such large units of local government. The disadvantages of our over-centralised government and oversized local councils are widely understood. Research shows the greater the devolution, the more dynamic the economy. Government works best when government is closest to the governed.

In France for example power used to be very centralised with the Education Minister even knowing what was being taught in each school at what time of day. In 1982 a dramatic change occured leading to Parish size-areas running public services, raising taxes etc. In Italy, Scandinavia and Spain the changes were even greater.

Local government cannot become more competent and legitimate without greater devolution. Who wants to join local Councils, which in the past 30 years have seen their ability to raise revenue slashed and billions of services transferred to unelected quangos, while its other services micromanaged from the centre? In the UK every opinion poll on public services puts us at the bottom in Europe, but we don't have the worst services. What we do have is no local control and that can lead to little pride and less involvement from the community.

Greens want local governments that people can identify with, and which can respond to local needs and circumstances. Local authorities need power to take real decisions that affect the local area and to be held to account by the electors if they get it wrong. That also means reform of our unjust electoral system. As I've said before in this blog our present system creates greatly exaggerated majorities and parties winning control with less than half the votes, and occasionally fewer than their opponents. The system also means many believe their vote is wasted and will not make a difference. This discourages participation in democracy and many crucial issues like climate change just don't get discussed at election times.

We urgently need a proportional representation system, that will help re-engage people in politics and the running of our local services and communities - without such a change, moves to unitary authorities or anything else will miss huge potential benefits. Sadly what Lib Dems are proposing is not the right system - see my previous comments here.

Note:

(i) Green party policy on local government "PA300 Our preference will be to abolish the County Councils after the transfer of their present functions to District Councils and to confederations of Districts. However, the option of retaining a County Council will be open to the electorate through referenda. Where there is public dissatisfaction with boundaries, consultation and (where necessary) referenda will establish the most popular arrangement. This process will be overseen by the Constitutional Commission."

Charities are bullying, says MP

I read a couple of weeks ago that Charles Walker, MP for Broxbourne, says some charity communications amount to bullying!! Speaking at a Media Trust panel discussion he said: "Charities often write to MPs asking us to write to ministers to express their disquiet. They assume their concerns must be our concerns. That’s almost bullying, to be honest. Lots of the lobbying MPs are subjected to is blunt and cackhanded."

So there's an MP that really wants to listen to people working for a better society - I wonder what he thinks of the Big Society idea and the increased role charities are expected to play?!

Anger at cut to low carbon technologies

OK last week I was angered by news that the Sustainable Development Commission is being lined up for the axe. Here is my letter to local press below and after that I found Johann Hari's piece in The Independent - having read that I might have been even stronger in my letter to press!

Photo: Pic in window of Nelson Street shop of Stroud valleys covered in wind turbines - infact we would only need 32 large ones to power all domestic needs in the District- the pic is no longer in the window.

Dear Madam/Sir,

Each day brings news of cuts. It is hard to keep track. In terms of low carbon technologies we hear that DECC funding is to be drastically slashed. Yet we already lag behind other countries in terms of research and development into renewables and only Malta and Luxembourg are lower in the EU renewables chart than us.

Now we have news that the Coalition plan to axe the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC). This makes David Cameron's pledge to lead the "greenest government ever" a dangerous joke. The SDC has been a vital source of policy scrutiny and advise the government on reducing its carbon emissions and other resources. The SDC saves far more money that it costs (i). Even considering a cut makes no sense.

There are huge opportunities in green technologies to cut emissions, make new jobs and reduce costs significantly. We cannot afford to loose strong independent voices like the SDC.

Last month was the hottest June ever recorded worldwide and the fourth consecutive month that the combined global land and sea temperature records have been broken. This could be the warmest year since records began. Glaciologists have already expressed surprise at the speed of the break-up of the Greenland ice sheet which has retreated six miles since 2000.

In addition to climate change we have massive concerns regarding energy security. The Engineering Employers’ Federation warn this week that we face an unprecedented combination of energy challenges and need to invest billions of pounds in infrastructure. We cannot afford to make cuts to opportunities that could secure us a more safe future.

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

Note:
(i) The Sustainable Development Commission published a report revealing that moves towards greater sustainability made by the previous administration already save government £60-70m every year. http://bit.ly/EERgD

This is the piece by Johann Hari

Now David Cameron shafts the environment

Back when David Cameron was first trying to rebrand the Conservative Party, he touched down on the melting Arctic tundra to be photographed looking pensive and hugging huskies. He promised to lead "the greenest government ever. "Vote blue, go green," his posters cried. Some of us were skeptical, because the only time he had ever publicly discussed global warming before was in a statement where he mocked wind farms as "giant bird blenders." Now, two years later, he was building one onto his house.

But I hoped I was wrong. Preventing the biosphere from unraveling shouldn't be a left/right issue: rising sea levels and super-charged hurricanes will displace lefties and Tories just the same. So what happened?

Deep breath: Cameron has put the man most to blame for the worst environmental disaster in living memory in charge of his cuts agenda, and appointed a man who has faced accusations of wriggling out of cleaning up a environmental atrocity to run his party's finances. He has slashed programmes to prevent global warming first and hardest. He has decreed that the Department of Transport will take the hardest cuts, which will shutter much of our public transport network and force far more people onto smoggier roads. And he has appointed an oilman to ensure we begin deep-water drilling, Gulf of Mexico-style, off the coast of Britain - just as every newscast in the world is showing how well that turns out.

Let's start with the personnel. The Prime Minister thought the best person to be his 'Cuts Tsar' was John Browne. You might remember him - he was the head of BP, until he was forced to resign in 2007 because he was shown to have lied in court testimony. He does indeed have experience with cutting. Browne arrived at BP promising to do exactly what Cameron is promising to do to the British state - "produce more for less." He said you could slice out great chunks of staff and provide the same standard of service.

The workers he sacked included BP's specialist engineers. As the investigative reporter Tom Bower has written: "Hundreds were fired and replaced by subcontractors... Browne ditch[ed] BP's in-house expertise, which could second-guess every technical operation on land and under the sea."

The consequences were soon clear. BP's Texas City refinery blew up, killing 15 workers, and the official investigation found that BP "tolerat[ed] serious deviations from safe operating practices, and [showed] apparent complacency toward serious safety process risks at each refinery." Browne carried cutting on anyway, in a process Bower argues "led directly to the current catastrophe."

So the Prime Minister believes the best person to oversee his cuts agenda is an oilman whose last cuts job destroyed the Gulf of Mexico, possibly forever. It's an inspiring model to apply to our schools, hospitals, and transport.

At the same time, Cameron has appointed a reclusive tycoon called David Rowland, who has a history of being severely condemned by environmentalists, to run his Party's finances. In 1989, he bought a US company that had several years before built a smelting plant in Idaho that poisoned the local waters and caused acute breathing problems among the local children, until it was forcibly shut by the US government.

Rowland bought it as they were ordering the company to pay for the $100m clean-up - and he was accused of moving the company's assets overseas and engaging in a fiscal tango to get out of paying. Rowland denies the allegations, saying they are "unsubstantiated and false" and there is "no evidence" for them and "the case was settled with no payment being made by David Rowland nor by any company connected with him." But clearly, for Cameron, being reviled by environmentalists is no deal-breaker when making senior appointments.

This approach to the environment has seeped, like a slick, over Cameron's policies. He commissioned another oil man, Tim Eggar, to go and ask the world's oil companies what they want from his government. They won't let me see the findings. But we know oil companies received big tax cuts in the budget, and the government's subsequent energy policy paper (to read it, you can follow the link from here) says life needs to be made "simpler [and] clearer" for oil companies to drill in British waters. Even though it is our addiction to oil that is causing and worsening global warming, the paper says: "We need policies designed for hunting [oil]... We need policies that offer the right incentives to explore for and extract the remaining reserves of oil and gas, and to keep existing fields open for as long as possible."

It pledges to open the oceans off the Shetland Islands to deep-sea drilling. Yes - that's the deep-sea drilling you've seen in every newscast for the past month. Cameron is promising Big Oil tax breaks to drill, baby, drill.

At the same time, projects designed to provide alternatives to oil are being axed. The Financial Times headline put it bluntly: "Climate projects face axe from Cable." (Remember: Saint Vince is a former oilman himself, who worked for Shell through its worst atrocities, including working intimately with the Nigerian military as they were murdering democracy activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.) Some of the very best programmes are expected to go. For example, Mitsubishi and Siemens pledged to come to Britain to make offshore wind turbines if the government made a £60m upgrade to our ports to make it possible - but Whitehall whispers are that it will be abandoned. Britain will miss out on a head-start in one of the great growth industries of the twenty-first century.

Under Cameron, many more people will have no choice but to engage in more environmentally destructive behavior: if 40 percent of our spending on trains and buses goes, much of the system will sputter to a halt, and the roads will jam. He promised to require all power plants to meet the standards of a modern gas plant - which would condemn monsters like Kingsnorth - but now civil servants say no such pledge will be in any legislation. Even Cameron's one green measure so far, opposing the new terminal at Heathrow, turns out to be a trick: his close ally, London mayor Boris Johnson, simply wants to build another airport just as big nearby. Vote blue, turn oil-black.

Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. A survey of Conservative parliamentary candidates before the last election found that 91 percent did not believe anthropogenic global warming is even happening. Tim Montgomerie, the voice of the Tory grassroots, bragged back then: "I'm confident the sceptics are going to win. [Cameron has] lost the battle already." But was Cameron's "conversion" ever more than a PR stunt? Yes, it helped to detoxify the Conservative brand - yet, given power, he is choosing to retoxify the real atmosphere.

I'm sorry - I know lots of people in the US want to argue that the British right shows it is possible to be a right-wing party that also cares about global warming. It should be. But this party ain't it.

Cameron is making these dark decisions just as an important new book, 'Turned Out Nice' by the science writer Marek Kohn, lays out the best evidence for how global warming will affect Britain this century if we let it rip. It's a picture of a shrinking, sweltering malaria-plagued island inundated by climate refugees from the parched parts of the world that have been rendered increasingly uninhabitable. They will look back at this period - and the preceding years, when New Labour's record was almost as bad - and curse us, unless we build a mass movement to change the country's direction.

The evidence is plain. Yes, David Cameron hugged the huskies in opposition. But as soon as he got into government, he walked them into the Downing Street garden, and shot them in the head.

Water fountains in our parks?

I've mentioned the Story of Stuff video before - well now comes this charming web clip: http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/

Photo: View across to Randwick from Ebley

About the same time I saw that I read that the Ecologist reports on a survey that found that only 11 per cent of public parks in the UK have a water fountain and just 6 per cent had every water fountain working - it is suggested that this is pushing children towards unhealthy sugary drinks.

The Children's Food Campaign is recommending local councils fix and install fountains in more parks as well as providing signs to point out existing ones. Campaign coordinator, Christine Haigh said: "Drinking fountains are a cheap and easy way of improving public health. It’s not rocket science - the Victorians were way ahead of us on this issue."

Sadly with public services facing such cuts I don't think this is a priority that Council's will be considering - see my last comment re tackling obesity here. Of course if we took a Green approach then all these factors would make sense - plus tackling the dreadful food adverts, cutting the 6 to 7kg (13-15lbs) of chemical additives we each eat every year, reducing inequalities - and even 20 mph limits which lead to more people walking and cycling.

Update

I was just sent the link re the 1862 Nailsworth Fountain by local cartoonist Russ - see here - the plans to get that restored started many years ago when I was still living in Nailsworth - great to see it finally up and running - and so beautifully restored.

Only 1.4% want to save money!?

I meant to also mention in my last blog today regarding my meeting at Wessex Water that I asked about the results of their water and energy efficiency campaign. They have been giving out packs to help folk save water - but it seems so far since the launch on 1st April only 7,000 people have applied out of 500,000 in the Wessex region.

Wessex Water and indeed Severn Trent and other companies have been giving away a pack to save water - which also means saving energy - the pack includes a shower save (pictured) that can cut bills by £40 per year - people are asked to apply for the packs as research shows if they are just issued few people use them.

So why not save money? It is a good indication of the challenges we have to change behaviours. If there are folk out there who didn't respond to the Severn Trent or Wessex offer please do let me know why....clearly some missed the offer as they haven't read their news from the water companies, others might not have a shower...

Anyhow packs are still available - and I would recommend going one step further with an eco-shower head and tap inserts - see details of shower save and more here.

Wessex Water meeting:

As regular blog readers will know I sit on the Customer Liaison Panel of Wessex water on behalf of Stroud District Council. There are 3 or 4 meetings each year and one of those was this week - a day off work and a trip to Bath. You can click on the Wessex Water label below to catch up with the issues I have raised.

Photo: pics from visit

This blog will not cover the contents of the meeting as there is far too much to say - but a bit of a taster and hopefully pick up on some of the issues previously covered and whether we are in a drought...well some 35 or so of us assembled and first up was the Executive Chair's report which he delivered in style - Colin Skellett has much to be pleased about - service and performance standards all put Wessex Water first (or a couple of times second) in the industry.

I've covered the Price Review Outcome before but here's a summary of what they plan in next 5 years - improved security of supply by building a grid, cutting leakage by a further 5%, water quality improved for over 100,000 customers, installing advanced sludge treatment to generate green energy and cut carbon by 32,000 tonnes, solutions to 500 homes re flooding and better bathing and river waters.

Various issues were raised by Colin - one I was interested in was the move Wessex would like to see towards longer investment programmes - the current 5 year plans are ridiculous - I did seek assurances that longer plans would still be flexible to take account of new info re climate change or energy security - while Wessex have a plan I am not convinced other companies are as well along that road.

Indeed one of the other presentations from Wessex was their report on climate change adaptation for Defra - it looked for example at the impact of more frequent and intense storms and the drier summers - the sewer floodings, increased pollution, the growth of unwanted micro-organisms/algae in reservoirs, siltation of sewers, more flooding of buildings etc. I asked about how they were integrating the info from this report into their practice - again it is clear it is influencing and supporting their current strategy.

Another issue that is on the cards is how the current system encourages companies to build their own resources - there needs to be a way to encourage more sharing of resources - indeed the whole system is a nonsense whereby it is harder for a water company to merge with another water company than it is for a company that has no water interests - of course there are concerns re monopolies but some mergers would clearly benefit and provide more sustainable supplies of our water.

The current regulatory regime inhibits companies from generating renewable energy - an issue I've covered before - Wessex wants to become carbon neutral but such regulations make it difficult. Similarly sludge digesters could be used more widely - for domestic organic waste. While I am often fearful when there is talk of burning up the red tape and regulations there are clearly here examples of where it needs to occur. Regulations have often been brought in to tackle a particular problem - just to cut them is not the answer - certainly look at their functioning....but hey I'm getting off topic - I learnt that wind turbine prices have increased by 30% in recent years due to strength of pound and overseas demand for turbines - see my post here this week on renewables....anyhow at least the government are getting rid of similar regulations that stop councils from generating renewable energy...

Some interesting suggestions from Wessex included merging Ofgem and Ofwat, combining the Environment Agency with Natural England and making the Drinking Water Inspectorate part of teh food Standards Agency - well the later is unlikely as the Food Agency looks set to go completely - I'm not sure about the EA but certainly there is room for strengthening certain roles.

It looks like there will be a Biodiversity Bill fairly early in parliament - now at first I would welcome this but I have dreadful suspicions that it is not going to be the direction we want - already there is alot of emphasis on farming - and farming that is not particularly sustainable - but lets hope I am proved wrong!

Well there were also a number of issues raised regarding planning legislation - the ridiculous infrastructure charges that means new developments pay about £250 per development instead of the real costs of £1,200 - a way of subsidising housing developments - but why should existing customers end up footing the bill??? More of this in another post soon. Water companies should also be mandatory consultees....

We also had a brief discussion on Pitt - again an issue previously covered on this blog - sadly it has not resolved the SUDS issue. We do need leadership on this. There were other presentations on customer services - again Wessex is a leader so not much to say otherthan they are top and working to improve further. One other talk was a look at Waste Management - not the sludge stuff but everything else - the biggest part - some 80% - being the stuff they dig out of the road to lay pipes or fix leaks etc - they are looking at every step to see how this can be minimised - all impressive stuff.

So have we got a drought? Can we expect hosepipe bans in the Wessex region? In short no - some of teh northern water companies already have hosepipe bans but while reservoirs have dropped they are reasonable compared to other years, ground water storage is also OK as are rivers - the rivers are drier but not exceptional. This is not like 1995 or 1975/6 - also leakage rates have improved significantly.

Hey OK this is a bit of a ramble but happy to talk if folk have a particular interest.

Water Forum meets

On Wednesday night the Stroud Valleys Water Forum met at Ebley Mill - we were fortunate to have the County flood guy to give a presentation. However it was all cut short by problems with electrics - a huge bang earlier and lots of Eon vans - the presentation was only a few slides in when we were cut off - the emergency power came on but was intermittent.

In short, as with much else at the moment, we don't know how things will pan out re funding - at the moment flood works have been protected - rightly so - there is much that needs doing - the good news is that it looks like funding has been found for a project at Brigend to protect homes there that have been flooded.

One of the Forum members also publicised the new National Flood Forum - a charity working for flood resilience through partnership - see their website at: www.floodforum.org.uk/ I think this is a very useful new addition to raising awareness about flooding and it's impacts - and indeed what can be done - one problem locally has been a number of products fitted that haven't done the job - not kite marked - we need to find better ways of sharing best practice amongst folk.

Anyhow the meeting was very useful - too short - fortunately we have another date set up 2nd September when Neil Carmichael is also invited to hear more about water and floods in the Five Valleys. Anyone interested in hearing more about that meeting let me know.

Stop the ConDems U-turning on coal

I've covered the Greenpeace campaign against Dirty Coal before - see for example here - and how capture is a myth (see here). Remember Kingsnorth? The proposed site of the UK's first new coal fired power station in over 30 years? Thousands of us lobbied successfully to stop it happening, and the plan was shelved last year.

Photo: Coal at Bekonscot Model Village

The bad news is that the spectre of new coal-fired power stations - at Kingsnorth and around the UK - may be looming again. We were told by both Tories and Lib Dems that a tough, new Emissions Performance Standards (EPS) for power stations that they would introduce would stop the dirtiest coal-fired power stations, like Kingsnorth, from ever being built. Last month the PM promised to introduce an EPS so strong that "a new generation of unabated coal power plants could not be built in this country."

However here is what Greenpeace say: "The Energy Bill is expected in the autumn but ministers are deciding what will go in it now. Our sources in Whitehall tell us the government is planning to include EPS in the Bill, but we need to let them know that we expect them to adopt a strong standard - that we are watching and we intend to hold them to their promises. We urgently need you to help us put pressure on new Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, as the man responsible for introducing the Bill. Please write to him and insist his leaders keep their election promises, and introduce a tough EPS which will end the days of dirty unabated coal power forever." Go here to sign letter.

Update 16/08/10: The coalition is watering down a commitment to tough new environmental emissions standards, raising the possibility of dirty coal-fired power stations such as Kingsnorth going ahead. Green groups are aghast that a flagship policy called for in opposition by both Lib Dems and Tories, and which they last year tried to force on the Labour government, will now not be implemented in the coalition's first energy bill to be published this year. See:
Guardian 16th Aug 2010

Join the Big Butterfly Count: new garden opens

Butterflies are both beautiful and vital to the health of our environment. Their survival is crucial yet they are in serious decline. So says the Butterfly Conservation group and they are launching today the big butterfly count from the 24th July to the 1st of August.

They want us all to find a place where you might see butterflies, such as a garden or park, and count the different butterflies you see in just 15 minutes. You can make counts in several places during the week.

Submit your sightings at www.bigbutterflycount.org. Butterflies are disappearing fast and this is a great way to help understand more about them - and raise awareness.

In a blog last week I noted some advice about caterpillars we moved from the allotment site. In an earlier blog this year - see here - I reported on the worrying news about biodiversity in this country - so many declining species. Well this is something that we can do to help.

New garden

Meanwhile some great news at Prinknash (near Painswick) - today the Gloucestershire branch of the Butterfly Conservation open a new garden there - see: www.gloucestershire-butterflies.org.uk/ Great stuff indeed.

Official opening: 2.30 pm Saturday 24 July 2010 by Matthew Oates, Senior Ecologist to the National Trust - butterfly expert, enthusiast, writer and wildlife broadcaster. Garden open 2.00-5.30 pm Saturday and Sunday, 24 and 25 July 2010. It will also open Wednesdays and Thursdays 10 to 3pm - but check with them first.

Inequality leads to mental illness

I am a relatively new member of Gloucestershire's 2gether NHS Foundation Trust. I recently received their newsletter - no it was a while ago now as i see it says Spring edition on it - anyhow I've sent the letter below to the newsletter as I do not believe we are making the links between mental illness and inequality enough - some countries have 5% mental illness but then you look at the US and rates leap to 20% of the population. Of course inequality is not the whole picture but the research indicates that it has a significant role to play.

In Britain, the Labour government, despite its protestations to the contrary, has only maintained inequality at the level at which it inherited it. They've taken some positive action at the bottom income levels for pensioners and young families, but the damage has all been done at the other end. Peter Mandelson said early in the Labour administration, 'We are intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich,' and he's been as good as his word. Sadly it looks like the ConDems will make matters worse?

Anyhow see my letter below and more re the Trust (incl how to join) at: www.partnershiptrust.org.uk/

Dear Madam/Sir,

One key aspect of mental health that we are not highlighting enough is that mental illness is much more common in more unequal countries. The evidence shows that in developed countries economic growth has improved our material conditions, and now, in some cases appears to be damaging health.

In rich countries, a smaller gap between rich and poor means a happier, healthier, and more successful population. However Britain has become one of the most unequal societies in Europe. It is not a coincidence that we have some of the highest rates of mental illness. Indeed inequality and mental illness are linked whether you look across developed nations, or across the 50 states of the USA.

As Wilkinson and Pickett show in their book, 'The Spirit Level', it is not just the poor who suffer from the effects of inequality, but all of us. Indeed in more unequal societies there is also more drug abuse, alcohol abuse, obesity, teenage pregnancies, more consumerism, shorter lives, less well educated children, less patent applications, more crime and more people in prison.

The evidence suggests that if we halved inequality then mental illness would reduce by two thirds, obesity by a half, and imprisonment by 80%. By reducing income inequality, we can improve the health and wellbeing of the whole population. Even richer people are happier in more equal societies!

See more at www.equalitytrust.org.uk

Yours faithfully, Philip Booth

Graph from the Equality Trust here.

Protest at Tomlinson decision

Yesterday, we heard that the policeman caught on film attacking Ian Tomlinson last year won't face criminal charges. Click here add your name to the 38 degrees campaign group petition:
http://www.38degrees.org.uk/ian-tomlinson

Photo: Riffs in Stroud - great dog in the window

Here is what the campaign say: Ian Tomlinson died after being attacked by a policeman. He was just walking home from work. At first, the police said they had nothing to do with his death. They claimed protestors had got in the way of giving him medical help. The Guardian then published a video telling a different story. It clearly showed a policeman attacking Ian with a baton. It's hard to see how it benefits anyone for the policeman guilty of this assault not to face charges. For Ian Tomlinson's family, it's a big blow. For the police, it's an even bigger stain on their reputation. It sends the message that unlike the rest of us, the police can get away with committing serious crimes, even if they're caught on film.

Report on my talk in Exmouth

Here below is the article in Exmouth People about my recent visit to talk to Transition Exmouth - I did have green shoes! Nearly 40 people there and a good evening - I enjoyed talking to quite a number of folk about their thoughts and ideas and hearing about their challenges - not so different from Stroud....

Photo: advert in Exmouth for the talk, the photo in the Exmouth Mouth and lastly I manage to find time for a walk on the beach! It was great to meet enthusiastic folk and talk about some of their challenges.

FROM HIS Green political credentials down to his leaf-green shoes and vibrant green shoelaces, Philip Booth is clearly someone who has fully embraced the Transition Town ethos and is determined to turn it into reality. As such, Philip – a Green councillor on Stroud District Council, an active environmentalist and a member of Transition Town Stroud – proved an inspired choice of speaker ahead of Transition Town Exmouth's annual general meeting, held at the Telfer Suite, Exmouth Community College, on Monday 28 June.

1. 

   Philip Booth – an inspired speaker on Green issues and the Transition Town ethos

Delivering his speech at a rattling pace, Philip spoke of the many ups and some of the downs that TTS has experienced since it was established in 2006. There’s the Stroud Pound, the local currency, launched to benefit consumers, traders, businesses and local charities. The notes – which Philip passed round – aren’t just pretty; they are accepted by 40 Stroud businesses, including a butchers, a bakers and a community stores.

Then there’s the various TTS food projects, such as the successful Farmers’ Market (40 stalls, plus live music, every Saturday), StroudCo (a food hub linking local farmers and consumers), the Stroud Communal Allotment and the Garden Share scheme. Less successful has been Stroud Community Agriculture, a veg-box scheme which collapsed due to crop failure.

There’s also TripSwitch, where the public is encouraged to use forms of transport other than the car, a Green Travel Month and Changing Gear (a scheme encouraging secondary-school pupils to cycle to school). And there’s the Open Homes scheme, where the public can see renewable energy in action, by visiting the houses of people who have taken significant steps to reduce their carbon footprint.

All in all, it was an inspirational 45-minute journey through everything that TTS has achieved since it was established nearly four years ago.

Philip was then asked what he thought Transition Town Exmouth had achieved in its two years of existence. “A great deal,” he said. “Some Transition Town groups don’t even last a year. You’ve done two years and are still going strong. From our experience, that’s a great achievement in itself, and one that you should be proud of.”

Food for thought, indeed.

For more about TTE, go to Transition Town Exmouth

The TTE website is currently down but will be up again soon!

What will cuts mean to Stroud District Council?

Thursday night was Full Council - got there before 6pm and wasn't home till 10.30 ish - only a couple of items of any real interest - the Sustainable Communities Strategy which is all apple pie and wonderfulness - nothing to disagree but nothing in terms of actual plans - yet another of those strategies that we hope wont collect dust on some shelf. Infact it could have been better re closing gap between rich and poor and around peak oil and energy security.

The other item was the Coalition Government's plans for cuts - also below are bits re Green party questions to Council and councillors allowances...

The Programme for Government was presented by the Chief Executive - the Council has trawled through the 31 subjects in A-Z format (Banking to Universities) from the Coalition. They found around 95 actions that directly concern local government and have started to consider the impact. Of course much of what we need to know will not be made clear until October so this is just the first phase...

Overall the agenda of the Coalition is about:
• Decentralised, locally driven
• Removal of national inspection and regional direction
• New transparency requirements

Although as some have pointed out it seems to be about giving powers to Councils to make the cuts - so deflecting criticism - not a view I wholly share as local Councils are in the best place to make those cuts - of course I'm not sure they are necessary - see my letter re the budget here and Green party budget comment locally here.

Going, Going, Gone........

That was how the chief Exec started off looking at a list of items already abolished or planned to be soon. They include:

• Regional Spatial Strategy: no one seems clear what this might mean - could it even mean more houses for Stroud District - I was perhaps optimistic with about what the coalition was saying initially - I am now getting increasingly concerned.
• Regional Assembly funding
• Standards Board for England
• Tenant Services Authority
• ‘Ring fencing’ of grants removed
• Housing and Planning Delivery Grant
• Local Authority Business Grant Initiative: this will be a significant loss to Stroud.
• Future Jobs Fund ‘frozen’: that means the loss of the Backing Young Britain scheme - Stroud was the first Council to sign up to this measure - very disappointing to see it cut
• Comprehensive Area Assessment & Use of Resources
• Infrastructure Planning Commission
• County Sports Partnerships funding
• Free Swimming: Stops at end of month - Stroud are offering I think 20% discount for August if over 60s buy an annual pass and a month free if they pay by Direct Debit.
• Regional Development Agency (to be replaced by Local Enterprise Partnerships)
• No separate charging for refuse
• Local Area Agreement reward grant cut by 50%
• Transparency–byJan2011all contracts/tenders and spending items over £500 to be on line

Also likely to impact but still awaiting decisions are:

• Fair Pay Review – Will Hutton
• Pensions Review – John Hutton
• Housing Subsidy Review
• Government Offices in the regions
• Planning policy on development
• Future of various quangos
• White Paper on Health Services – public health, health scrutiny

The Emergency Budget

• Pre-Budget saw £6bn in immediate savings for 2010/11 – about 20% of this cut from local government but not Stroud in that round - infact Gloucestershire has already made £6.5m cuts.
• Effect of overall 25% Departmental Expenditure Limit reductions 2010-15(Budget Red Book) on specific areas – suggested 30% for non-priority areas but few details - some commentators are saying it could be as much as 40% cuts
• Public and public employees invited to suggest savings and efficiencies
• Council Tax freeze
• Pay freeze for 2 years for public sector employees earning more than £21,000 (under £21,000 will receive minimum £250 pa): of course they can't insist on this but clearly the call adds pressure to decisions taken locally.
• Comprehensive Spending Review – 20th October 2010 - that's the key date and then I suppose it takes time to absorb what it all means.

How will this all impact?

• On our funding partners e.g.College, Homes and Communities Agency
• On local government and public services in Gloucestershire
• On our Medium Term Financial Plan (our plan already assumes 5% year on year reduction in government grant i.e. 15% over three years). Clearly we might have to double or more these cut backs.

What new demands on the District Council will these other cuts mean?

• ‘Community run’ local facilities maybe possible - I am aware that in Nailsworth plans are being put together re the community facilities there.
• Public expectations – our role as ‘cuts’ by others affect the community
• Demonstrate greater productivity
• Demonstrate value for money across organisations – Total Place or its successor

Our focus?

• Clarity about housing finance, capital investment by others
• Intelligence about, and implications of, other public sector cuts
• Efficiencies and Budget Cuts – must deliver
• Review Medium Term Financial Plan
• Deliver Workforce Plan and keep under review

David Hagg, Chief Executive made a statement a couple of weeks ago regarding Stroud Life saying that Chief Executive David Hagg has given assurances that no jobs would be lost: "I have said at Cabinet and Scrutiny meetings and at Proud of Stroud sessions that we are planning to reduce the workforce by 10% over 4 years, in line with our current medium term financial plan. We will consider this again after the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review is published on 20th October."

Indeed current plans mean 45 people will be lost from Stroud District Council over 4 years - hopefully all by retirement etc. But we can't be certain.

Councillor allowances?

Also on the agenda we had the councillors allowances paper - oh dear - there must be a better way to do it than this - councillors talked and talked - anyhow the Independent Panel makes recommendations which we then vote on. The measures for councillors to have their own PCs and cuts to our allowances for Broadband etc mean a £70,000 saving over 3 years. This meant effectively a small cut.

Labour put forward a motion to cut all councillor allowances by a further 10%. I did support but there were only a handful supporting and I have to say I wasn't happy in the way it was brought forward - yes there is poss room to look at cutting some allowances - ordinary councillors now get £4,616 per year and have to pay for broadband, telephones, printing etc. plus any meetings outside the official Council meetings.

However if we cut too much it will stop councillors from coming forward to do the job - or rather only those ones with private income will come forward - in some ways there already is a skew towards that....it does exclude others from participating. In terms of hours a week for that allowance - there are some councillors who appear to do the minimum while others who will put in many hours each week - certainly my average week of Council and community groups is rarely under 25 hours.

Greens have repeatedly tried to have cuts to the travel allowances that mean the bigger your car the more you get - up to 65p a mile!!! As I've said before councillors should be reimbursed for key expenses otherwise we will further limit who is able to stand as a councillor, but the huge car mileage rate is excessive. I refuse to claim that - and instead claim 40p but don't claim all. 25p a mile is what some experts claim it costs to run a car you have anyway. Cuts to mileage allowance make sense. To me it would also be better to seek advice from the Independent Panel about how any further savings could be made. I also think this motion seemed more about gaining political points - if there had been a real attempt to make changes then surely it would be better to talk to other councillors and gain support rather than just springing it at the Full Council. But hey I'm too tired to write all this now - must to bed! But first those questions...

Green Questions to Council

Well Greens had all 4 questions - the first about Climate change and what the council is doing, the second seeking a report from GCC pensions - remember they are the ones who support smoking - see previous blog here (report will come to next Council.

Third was "Given that at least two of the submissions for the ISDS (Invitation to submit detailed solutions) part of GCC PFI Residual Waste tender process are 'Energy from Waste' that is single mass burn incineration, this means it is no longer hypothetical that there will be an incinerator at use Javelin Park. What response to GCC will this council make if Single Mass Burn Incineration is chosen as the residual waste technology?" The Council agreed it did not support mass burn but then seemed to say they would go along if the county chose it. Bad news.

Lastly John Marjoram asked about saving the Magistrates Court in Stroud - a very positive response from Frances Roden saying they will research the case - she noted many points in favour of this local resource. Let's hope this madness can be stopped.

Bread Street Bap Success: Community arts project launched!

OK I've already posted lots of photos and a write up about the Bap on Sunday - see here - but it was also suggested I send something to local press - well I sent the next bit. It seems to be still generating lots of good feelings - many residents have said how much they enjoyed the day.

Photos: from local resident Mike Gallagher and are available to Bread Street residents on request.

Today is Big Lunch day but in Bread Street Ruscombe we had our party yesterday - The Bread Street Bap - a friendly rival to Randwick's Wap! We had it the same weekend as The Big Lunch event and residents of the 34 houses had plenty of food, games, stalls and more.

Music was provided by local residents. First up was world class concertina player Rob Harbron with fiddler Miranda Rutter (see two photos). They were followed by local band Smoothee (see below in gazebo) that by the last numbers had virtually all the adults dancing: the children however were more interested in cycling up and down the closed road and playing football in the street.

Bread Street residents also embarked on a community art project: the creation of Bap Man, named after the street party and made of wire he has been covered in hundreds of bits of material that have been woven or tied into his wire frame. He is sitting on the newly renovated bench that former District Councillor Michael Charley officially reopened by cutting the ribbon. Children and adults all added a bit and he plans to sit there for residents to continue to add to him through the summer.

Philip Booth, the local District councillor and one of the organisers of the party, said: "Nowadays many of us either have such busy lives or we don't get out much at all, so there are few chances to meet neighbours. This is our second street party and it was very wonderful especially the amazing music. There is something special about having an event right outside your house: the street came alive with children cycling and running about."

Philip Booth added: "Certainly street parties are great for bringing together communities. Everyone contributed to make the party a success. We kept it mainly to Bread Street residents as we thought that helps us get to know each other. A few residents met several times in the pub to plan a little. Some visited each house to sort out food contributions, some sorted bunting or bands while others sorted the art project."

Stroud International Textiles at risk?

Stroud International Textiles - SIT – is taking the initiative! With further cuts to the arts announced by the new government SIT faces an uncertain future. Over the past 5 years they have become a beacon of international excellence within contemporary textiles; supporting emerging talent, enhancing education, supporting artist led initiatives boosting tourism and the local economy with our annual festival and year round programme. This blog has covered many of their events - well they now need our help. Here is their appeal notice:

The 2010 festival brought an estimated total of £140,000 to the District through visitor spend. But our future is not secure. The political and financial climate is a concern for all arts organisations, with key funders reducing or totally withdrawing their support. Therefore it is imperative that we become more self sufficient with income from diverse sources and not solely from public funding. Sustainability is our key focus in realising our ambition and matching accordingly, our income and capacity.

We now turn to you to help us reach our initial fundraising target of £35,000. SIT is actively seeking help from regular funders including Stroud District Council and the Town Council, and we continue our round of applications to organisations such as Arts Council, but is also appealing to regional businesses and to the public who play a pivotal part in securing its future. Your donation will be invested in ensuring the continuation of the annual festival and the development of our quality participation and education work through to 2012. In supporting our unique organisation, artists/makers, young people, 15,000 annual visitors (2010) and local businesses will also benefit. By supporting SIT you will not only be supporting local artists and young people but also helping to ensure that our unique organisation can achieve its ambitious target of establishing Stroud as the UK's Centre of Excellence for Contemporary Textiles. This will raise the profile of the District and attract growing numbers of spending visitors from outside the District and abroad.

We have a target of £25,000 to reach by the middle of September to ensure the festival can proceed and the remaining £10,000 to carry out the year round programme must be in place by December 2010.

How can you help? All donations of whatever size will be gladly received and help to ensure that the excellence and innovation that has become our hallmark will continue. Those who are able to make the most generous donations can be assured that their investment will be acknowledged publicly. If the 13,000 individuals who attended the festival were to donate £10 or become a Friend of SIT we would not only have secured the 2011 festival but we will have begun to ensure ongoing success for 2012 and beyond. If only half of those visitors could support us we still would have secured sufficient money to pay for the 2011 festival.

If you can support us of course we would be delighted to meet you and discuss in more detail. Please contact our Director, Lizzi Walton for further details. All our supporters will be invited to special events during the Festival, meeting participating artists, honoured guests and Patrons.
“There has never been a more important time to engage people with the arts and craft skills. Education through the arts touches people – creatively and emotionally – in ways that conventional methods of teaching rarely do”.

A detailed Case for Support can be downloaded from our website: www.stroudinternationaltextiles.org.uk/

This is now an urgent appeal for immediate support but SIT also recognises that in order to survive in an uncertain future for the arts, we will have to increase and maintain our sustainability over a long period. As a successful organisation looking towards the future we at SIT feel this to be a responsible way forward. You can donate online by going to the website and click on the DONATE TO SIT page.