Sun Biofuels in Tanzania: deep concerns

Biofuels is an issue I've not covered for a while - and wasn't going to - but a particularly persuasive email from ActionAid with a shocking story and the expose in the Observer yesterday have prompted a quick mention here.  Basically it seems the biofuels company Sun Biofuels took land from the people of Kisarawe, a small village in Tanzania, to grow crops for biofuels - you can read it here http://bit.ly/tO1I20

ActionAid have a series of videos that show different members of the community in Kisarawe talking about what Sun Biofuels has done and how it has affected them - see YouTube channel here. ActionAid are also directing people to sign their petition to try and end British government support for biofuels - see http://www.actionaid.org.uk/biofuels


Click Read more to see ActionAid's press release.

Baking Real Bread On Sunshine

Back in August there were some great 'Bake and Taste' workshops in Randwick Village Hall with 7-11yr olds. They came away with a sample loaf plus scones and recipes to take home. I bumped into tutor Claire over the weekend and it jogged my memory to report on those workshops here.....here's the news release that went out....all very inspiring - we could do with more of these!

Follow the trail to picturesque Randwick Village Hall along the aptly named Bread Street and you will find master Baker Claire Griffiths passing on traditional baking skills to her young baking classes using the power of the sun to power her ovens. Claire a qualified teacher is handing down skills to young and old alike with specialist baking courses using locally milled Shipton Mill Flours to create loaves from around the world. As well as special sword bread for the boys.

  

Recently refurbished Randwick Village Hall has 24 Solar PV panels fitted to its South facing roof overlooking the Five Valleys of Stroud generating electricity to power the energy efficient Turbo fan bread oven supplied by Target Catering Equipment to bake the real bread.

Making real bread has got to be better than watching the “telly” as these young bakers have discovered with the special eye level mobile bread oven supplied by Target Catering Equipment which plugs in anywhere there is a standard plug socket. To finish the day when parents collect their children a special tea with jam and cream scones was prepared by the children and the welcoming smell of baking bread wafting over the village as parents arrive providing a clue to what has been going on at the village hall.

Claire Griffiths is a Ruscombe resident and works as a parent and child educator with the relevant enhanced CRB checks, First Aid certificate, and Child Protection.  She is also passionate about bread and baking, making it her mission to introduce and educate as many people as possible, young and old, as to how easy and simple bread making can be, and how important it is to use good healthy ingredients in our every day eating!  ~ ~ The difference really is in your hands, when it comes to taste and health!

For further information on baking courses contact Claire Tel: 01453 747348 

Two reports: one worrying and one hopeful

Two reports - the first on climate change and the second on meeting our energy needs.....

It was interesting to read this last week parts of the new independent study, The Berkeley Earth project - a climate change report for the climate skeptics. This new study reinforces the evidence that the Earth's climate is heating up. It shows that a number of skeptic arguments, such as the "heat island effect" of the world's major conurbations, cannot explain away climate change.

The study is also important because it uses a huge data set and shows the long term trend over a time period of about two centuries. Skeptics often leap on events such as a cold winter in a particular location to try and disprove climate change and in so doing reveal a total lack of scientific understanding. Climate can be defined as weather averaged over 30 years. So as this blog and common sense says, climate change does not mean that every year will be hotter than the previous one - or that it will not snow any more.

Green Party Science and Technology Spokesperson commented: "The Green Party was arguing that climate change was a serious issue decades ago - long before the other parties took an interest and at a time when the issue was rarely in the news. This was because then - and now - the Green Party tries to use the best evidence available to back up its policies, rather than taking a pre-determined position and trying to get "facts" to fit. The tragedy in all of this is that despite the overwhelmingly strong scientific evidence than human society is altering the planet’s atmosphere, causing it to heat up, and the urgent need for action, far too little is being done to head off what we remain on course for - dangerous climate change. Skeptic organisations such as the Global Warming Policy Foundation continue to cherry pick so called "facts" to suit their cause but hopefully this study will start to erode even the strongest of doubters."

In sharp contrast to that report, good news came out this week in new research suggesting that up to 90% of the UK's electricity could come from wind, solar, tidal and other sustainable sources by 2030 - without the need for nuclear power. The report was commissioned by WWF, entitled "Positive Energy: How renewable electricity can transform the UK by 2030", calls for greater political will to drive investment in renewables, and also highlights the importance of efficiency measures in keeping energy bills down.

Green Party leader, Caroline Lucas MP said: "This compelling report is a wake-up call for the Government to stop the anti green forces in the Coalition from scaling back ambition on the UK's climate and renewables targets - and undermining investor confidence in clean industries. It shows that, with proper investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency measures, we can wean the UK off dirty fossil fuels and vastly improve our energy security - as well as create a whole new generation of skilled green jobs. The WWF research is a valuable addition to the growing body of evidence proving that the jobs-rich, low carbon infrastructure of the future can be both good for the planet and for the economy."

Download the report at: http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/positive_energy_final_designed.pdf

"Meet the Installer" event in Forest Green

I recently uploaded the last of the Eco-Renovation Open Homes weekend videos - see here - they include one re feed-in-tariffs, one on internal insulation and another on green roofs. Well now there is an opportunity to meet local installers if you missed them at the Open Homes weekend. You can drop in any time on Thursday.

Do you want to know about planning permission for renewable energy installations, how disruptive external wall insulation may be or simply how much it will cost to implement energy saving measures in your business?

Go along to SWEA's ‘Meet the Installer’ events on Thursday next week to find out what you want to know about:
·         Insulation, including solid wall insulation (ideal for older buildings);
·         Heating systems, efficient controls and renewable energy alternatives including solar water heating;
·         Renewable electricity generating technologies including PV;
·         Renewable heating systems such as biomass and heat pumps.

Click read more to see more.

Lining Wage: not if you work for Her Majesty

I've just read this week's SchNEWS and copy one item below re a Living Wage. Greens have long campaigned for a Living Wage - Brighton have just adopted one following Greens gaining power there. Surely Her Majesty should be leading by example?

POOR'S PAY REIGNED IN

There were muted celebrations from cleaners at Buckingham Palace last week as they won a pay rise from £6.45 to the princely sum of £7.50 per hour - still short of the London Living Wage of £8.30 they had been campaigning for.

Sadly Her Majesty's altruism has its limits. On the day the pay rise was announced, hospitality contractor 'Off To Work' was offering shifts for a 'wonderful team' to work at Windsor Castle for £6.81 per hour. Part of Off To Work's 'company vision' is that people 'should feel like kings for one small moment' - presumably it wasn't referring to its staff.

Legal case offers chance that local health services will be kept in NHS

Here is the press release from Stroud Against the Cuts - plus see my video of the recent protest and march in Stroud here.

My photo of march - used by The Guardian on their website

The Honourable Mr Justice Collins has determined that NHS Gloucestershire should not complete any agreement to finalise their proposed transfer of over 3,000 NHS health staff and a variety of health services in Gloucestershire[i] out of the NHS, following the issuance of judicial proceedings by Leigh Day & Co. Solicitors[ii] on behalf of Stroud resident Michael Lloyd, 75, on Friday 21st October [iii]. The legal case is being supported by local campaign group Stroud Against the Cuts[iv], who say the challenge creates an opportunity for the services to be kept within the NHS. The group points out that while similar transfer plans are due to take effect in 20 PCTs across the country, this is the first time plans to transfer parts of the public sector to a 'social enterprise' at this stage have been halted by a legal challenge – and it is the example where transfer would have created the largest Community Interest Company (CIC) in the country. Campaigners have strongly criticised the lack of consultation about the plans, and fear the loss of accountability that the new body will bring.

Stroud Against the Cuts has organised a Public Meeting on Monday 7th November, 7.30pm at the British School as an opportunity for local NHS staff and members of the public to ask questions about the campaign and the legal case[v]. The group is calling for donations towards legal costs: cheques can be made out to ‘Keep Gloucestershire’s NHS Public’ and sent to Bernice Boss - Treasurer, Keep Gloucestershire’s NHS Public, c/o SATC, The Exchange, Brick Row, Stroud, GL5 1DF.

John Marjoram, Stroud Mayor, said: “We’ve had a fantastic response to our ‘Keep Gloucestershire’s NHS Public’ fundraising appeal to contribute towards legal costs[vi]. I have yet to meet anybody, whether they be public or staff, who want the transfer out of the NHS. Once people know exactly what the proposals are there is unbelievable opposition, which we have seen at the public meeting held in Stroud on August 31st, and the protest march on October 24th”

James Beecher, a co-ordinator of Stroud Against the Cuts said: “If successful, this challenge will force managers to consider options which have been successfully implemented elsewhere in the country and would keep services and staff within the NHS. The legal case alone cannot save our local NHS services – we encourage people to join the campaign and put pressure on managers to keep these services in the NHS. Unless we act now we believe that in 3 years time these services will be taken over by a multinational healthcare company, as recently happened in Surrey[vii]”

Rosa Curling of Leigh Day & Co Solicitors said: “Our client believes the proposed transfer would be highly detrimental to the NHS services which he and other Gloucestershire residents receive. NHS Gloucestershire has a number of options open to it, two of which would not result in a competitive process and do not appear to have been properly considered by the Trust[viii]. It is only if NHS Gloucestershire decides that it wants to outsource its services to a non-NHS trust that the Procurement Directive applies. In those circumstances the law requires the Trust to hold a proper and transparent, competitive process, to choose a new service provider. The PCT has acted unlawfully and in clear breach of these obligations and we issued proceedings at the High Court on that basis.”


See notes and links to two reports by clicking read more.

Robin Hood Tax: why is Cameron holding out?

Campaign poster!

Yesterday on this blog I covered actions to tackle tax evasion - today it is about helping those hit hardest by the crisis. In less than one week, David Cameron will meet world leaders at the G20 Summit in Cannes.  At this meeting, French President Nicolas Sarkozy will ask governments to sign up to a Robin Hood Tax.  This is a once in a generation opportunity to secure this tax.

I have long campaigned for such a tax - there is now support of over 115 organisations in the UK, the European Commission, millions of ordinary people, 1,000 international economists, hundreds of parliamentarians, campaigners in over 50 countries, world leaders such as Angela Merkel, the Pope, Desmond Tutu and Nicolas Sarkozy, and global figures such as Bill Gates. But we still don’t have the support of the UK Government. Even doubters like Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte have U-turned and now favour the tax.

Part of the answer for Cameron's reluctance maybe related to the fact that 51% of Tory Party funding comes from financial sector donors. Please email Cameron here - he needs to show he has the interests of the many at heart not just his City friends.

Join calls to end tax evasion

John Christensen in Stroud Jan 2011

You may remember in January this year Transition Stroud helped organise the talk with John Christensen about Tax Havens. You can see video highlights here.

First action. Then back in March, Caroline Lucas tabled a Tax and Financial Transparency Bill aimed at tackling corporate tax evasion and avoidance - see here. Caroline has now launched a related e-petition to galvanise public support for the proposed measures - we are also hoping that this will help to put pressure on the Government to make time available for the second reading of the Bill on 25 November and raise awareness of the issue more generally. Over 1,800 people have already signed since 11 Oct.

The petition is here: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/18996. Obviously the more signatures the better, so please feel free to circulate far and wide! UK Uncut are supporting and have posted a video here: http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/blog/help-make-corporate-tax-dodgers-pay-their-fair-share

Second action. Action Aid have already been campaigning on this issue. The Treasury has acknowledged the impact of tax dodging on developing countries and there are two other parliamentary petitions aimed at putting pressure on the government to take action. They are now asking us to email our MPs to gain their support. Please email your MP from here:
http://www.actionaid.org.uk/100621/blog.html?article=3551

Occupy movement spreads

More than 1,000 cities across the world have joined in the #Occupy movement sparked off by Occupy Wall Street. They are united by common tactics and the common slogan, 'We are the 99%' - brought together by a knowing of the injustice and unsustainability of the global economic system....yet at the same time amongst the protesters are many different voices - but my next blog on tax evasion I am sure would have support from all present.

Saturday 15th October saw occupations take place all over the UK. The biggest and most headline-grabbing is the 'Occupy The Stock Exchange' - several hundred people camped outside St Paul's Cathedral. The unexpected charity from the Church has meant that the protesters have been able to camp up relatively unmolested on the steps of St Pauls Cathedral. However now as we heard in the news that St Pauls may reopen with the protest still in place - see here. disorder.”  See Stroud Green Party's Parliamentary spokesperson, Martin Whitesides' comments after his visit to to St Pauls, here.


Caroline Lucas MP commented earlier in the week after a visit: "As awareness increases of the injustice and unsustainability of the global economic system,  more and more people are taking to the streets in opposition. The camp that has been set up a stone's throw from London Stock Exchange is an opportunity to explore a different kind of future to the one the mainstream political parties have constructed. The authorities must respect the right to peaceful protest. If they have any sense, they will also start to listen to the voices of those ordinary - and extraordinary people - who want to invest in a greener, fairer future rather than the stocks-and-shares house of sand that sustains corporate capitalism."

Around the world there are many reports of the protest - sadly like in Rome not all has gone well - see this video of police firing into people helping an injured protester in Oakland. Meanwhile a group of well over 100 prominent authors including Salman Rushdie, Neil Gaiman and Pulitzer prize-winning novelists Jennifer Egan and Michael Cunningham signed an online petition declaring their support for "Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy movement around the world".

Stratford Park Leisure facelift

Photograph this last weekend

On 1st November 2011 a substantial programme of modernisation will begin at Stratford Park Leisure Centre. It marks the handing over of the day-to-day operation of the centre from Parkwood to Sports and Leisure Management (SLM) Ltd, who will giving the centre a new look.





There is no question there have been difficulties in the past as noted on this blog - the Performance and Overview Scrutiny of which I was a member looked at Stratford Park every 6 months and there were many issues relating to cleanliness - yes the building was old and there were many challenges - for me the big issue is the huge and rising fuel costs - it is an expensive place to run. One of the successes was getting a pool cover to save heat - it took sometime and initially was refused but was installed a while back now. Some of us have also long been pushing for a long-term solution regarding fuel costs - see here - it is a great pity this plan for a digester still isn't moving forward.

In the District Council's press release Councillor Keith Pearson, deputy leader and cabinet member for regeneration for Stroud District Council said: "Over the last few months we have made substantial improvements to the centre including replacing the windows, a new all-weather pitch, a new ventilation system and a major clean to the front of the building - all with the aim of improving the customer experience. When SLM takes over the management of the centre next week, it will be immediately investing a large sum to make it even better. It's an exciting time."

The forthcoming £750,000 modernisation programme will include improvements to the gym; the introduction of the latest fitness equipment; a new studio for more classes, including spinning; a new health suite with steam room and sauna; dedicated changing rooms for the new health and fitness suite; refurbishment of the sports hall floor, and the redecoration of all areas of the centre.

For more information and to keep abreast of developments at the centre visit the centre's new website at www.everyoneactive.com/stroud.

French outlaw vegetarianism!

Surely this is a joke? This news item seems to be in most of the vegetarian press - a governmental order issued on October 2 this year says all meals served in school canteens in France must contain animal products - and that meat and fish will be served at a certain minimum frequency. That will affect 6 million children. This implies that by law from now on no vegetarian can eat at any public or private school in France.

It seems similar decrees will be taken shortly regarding almost all forms of catering from kindergarten to hospital, prisons and retirement homes. Vegetarianism will then have effectively been banned for a large part of the population. At a time when we need to reduce meat consumption this seems a crazy blow against individual human rights, the planet and of course animals. Read more here and sign petition here.

Dolphins dying of chemical pollution off Welsh coast

Poppit Sands

A week ago I was fortunate enough to be near Cardigan in Wales for a few days - it was totally wonderful - what a great area with hills, beaches and all. It is also famous for it's bottlenose dolphins - an estimated 250 live in the area. Anyhow one day I was on Poppit Sands and ended up talking to a marine biologist working on a dead dolphin there - apparently it was his third dolphin death in Wales this year but it was too old to tell how it had died.

However I learnt that high concentrations of organochlorine compounds (particularly PCB) have been found in bottlenose dolphins in West Wales. One dolphin previously found had the highest level of PCBs recorded in this species in the UK in the last 20 years.


There are more than 200 kinds of PCBs - PCBs are basically toxic chemicals that used to be added to paints and cements, fire retardants, adhesives and hydraulic fluids. Because of their extreme toxicity, they were banned in many countries, but they still persist in the marine environment, particularly in coastal waters. They get into the fish the dolphins eat and are readily absorbed into fat, so the dolphins' blubber is an ideal reservoir. Click read more to see more but please note it includes a photo of the dead dolphin on Poppit Sands.

2,700 will die from being fuel poor

Almost 3,000 people in England and Wales will die this winter because they cannot afford to heat their homes - more than the number killed in traffic accidents each year (see The Guardian here). Yesterday I blogged on fuel poverty - today again I want to highlight this issue, but first a mention of the Friends of the Earth campaign - they are trying to stop the big energy companies taking us for a ride - see here to sign petition and see their fun video - of course fuel prices are also high due to Peak Oil (see Ecologist article here) but that is another story...

Earlier this week the Hills Fuel Poverty Review, commissioned by the government, found that if just 10% of UK winter deaths are caused by fuel poverty (a conservative estimate) 2,700 people will perish as a direct result of being fuel poor. The report clearly indicates that, however we define fuel poverty or formulate remedial policies, the scale of the problem is vast and growing - with low-income households spending over £1 billion more on their energy needs than more affluent households.

Responding to publication of the Interim Report, Caroline Lucas MP (Green Co- chair of All-Party Parliamentary Fuel Poverty & Energy Efficiency Group), said earlier: "This report is yet more proof that low-income households are being completely ripped off on their energy bills. It is deeply unfair that those who can least afford it are expected to spend an even higher proportion of their income on energy than the average household just to achieve this basic right. If the Government is to deliver social justice alongside policies to facilitate the shift to a low carbon future, it desperately needs to wake up to the need for radical improvements in the UK's housing standards - and not ask poorer consumers to pay for it through their energy bills."

There are 27,000 extra deaths in the UK each winter compared to other times of year, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics. The report found most of this was due to cold weather. That figure is one of the highest in Europe and worse than Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway and France.  Click read more to see more.

Oldbury closure date at last!

Oldbury - 16 miles from Stroud - is the oldest civilian nuclear reactor in the world. Yesterday it was announced that it will stop generating electricity next February after 44 years because it would not be economically viable to continue.

It has been generating electricity since 1967 and many of us have long argued and campaigned that this is too long - the risks are too great.This blog has covered before many of the specific issues of concern like the depleted graphite - see for example here a talk by nuclear scientist John Large (apols but the photos seem to have disappeared from that blog post?).

Meanwhile for those wanting an update on nuclear issues try the excellent NuClear News No.33 which is now available to download at: http://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/nuclearnews/NuClearNewsNo33.pdf

Stroud's eco-homes event videos

"Stroud's Eco-Renovation Open Homes weekend: An Introduction" is my latest and last in the series of this years' videos of the Open Homes event. See links below for the others. Do get in touch if you are interested in helping organise an event next year or comments re the videos.



Previous videos re Stroud's Open Homes:

A look at internal insulation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5zKl03kZDc

Green Roof workshop:
http://youtu.be/f8K9POATRR4

A collection of lower cost energy saving ideas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwmED2EVRkE

Feed In Tariff workshop:
http://youtu.be/3PQVZw6Qp4o

Last year's event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObXbgMlwuyw

See details of courses:
http://ruscombegreen.blogspot.com/2011/09/open-homes-free-courses-in-energy.html

Sign of dire times: Food Bank comes to Stroud

One in four are now in fuel poverty in the UK - this is an issue I have worked on locally - chairing the inquiries that led to the Energy Strategy for the Council (see here). Sadly that will do far too little to tackle the growing problems - 30% are now in poverty in the UK - we hear that by 2020 some 3.3 million children will live in relative poverty while 3.1 will be living in absolute poverty according to analysis by the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies ie the longest sustained rise in child poverty since the 80s.


Edwina Currie says she can't believe anyone goes hungry in the UK - well she is so so wrong - see a useful piece in The Guardian here that shows Child Poverty Action Groups research. In Stroud a small group of local Christians have been working to set up a Food Bank. This is an ecumenical group with full backing of Churches Together in Stroud. I give this a huge, huge welcome as in the charity I work for I have already come across people in dire situations who would benefit from this short term help......

A Food Bank collects non-perishable foodstuff and through a voucher scheme distributes it to those in need. The vouchers would be given out by clergy, CAB, GPs and others who help less fortunate people. The aim is to provide food to help over the short term until statutory provision can be arranged. There are already a growing number of these banks across the nation supported by local Churches and the Trussell Trust. Locally our Churches have given harvest produce to the Stroud Foodbank.

But oh how sad - what a sign of the times that we have to have such banks....here is a comment from Positive Money:

The basic rules of economics do not require child poverty  -  or indeed any other kind of poverty.
It is the present rules of finance, not the rules of economics, which encourage poverty, by insisting that the number of financial units lent into existence by profit-making private businesses should determine both the level and nature of economic activity and the distribution of purchasing power.
The rules of  economic prosperity are very different from those of finance.  The rules of economic prosperity do not state that financial scarcity rules, ok.  The rules of economic prosperity put money firmly in its place by requiring that anything which is physically possible and socially desirable should be made financially possible.

The Government may have inherited a situation where the money isn’t there: but it should stop acting helpless and ignoring the basic rules for a thriving economy. Instead, it should accept its responsibilities, and legislate for a stable money supply, issued free from any debt at source, and spent into circulation on projects which increase the nation’s real wealth.

Sadly the situation is also dire in the US. More than one out five American children live in poverty while one of all 6 Americans live in poverty. The overall poverty rate climbed to 15.1 percent up from 14.3 percent in 2009. Income rates are also down - see here. Meanwhile I came across a staggering fact that 30 million tons of food was dumped in US landfills in 2009!

Glos NHS Privatisation Scandal

Stroud Against the Cuts have just released this leaflet which they plan to distribute. Double click on the leaflet to read.

Parish Council vacancies

It looks like there is a vacancy coming up in both Randwick Parish Council and Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish for a Parish councillor. Apply to Parish Clerks when the posts are advertised - Randwick has been already advertised.

Well done to The Star in Whiteshill!

Stroud Life recently reported that the Campaign for Real Ale has judged The Star in Whiteshill as one of the best locals for a pint. Well done indeed to them. It has been a remarkable journey - some years ago the pub was suffering and many thought was in terminal decline - now it is a vibrant heart of our community - and what's more the beers are great!

Here is what Stroud Life wrote: "The pub is a new entry in the 2012 Good Beer Guide published by Camra. Stroud Camra members were on hand to toast the guide's launch at The Star. It is one of nine locals in the area picked for the range and quality of their ales. The new guide lists 4,500 of the best pubs in Britain for real ale, all chosen by local Camra members, serving beers from more than 800 breweries. The other eight locals in the guide are the Butcher's Arms in Sheepscombe, the Clothier's Arms and Crown & Sceptre in Stroud, Crown Inn in Frampton Mansell, Prince Albert in Rodborough, Woodchester's Ram Inn, The Weighbridge in Minchinhampton and Woolpack in Slad."

Greens anger at County 20 year 'nasty' landfill plan

Tree in Ruscombe valley

For a long while Greens have had concerns about landfilling incinerator waste at Bishops Cleeve. Indeed as long ago as 2005 I was writing to the press with concerns - see here. See also this story here. This blog has covered this issue before - however I was shocked that planning permission has now been granted. Liz Hillary, a Green Party member wrote to the SNJ with the story:

Dear Editor,

I wonder if people are aware that in September, Gloucestershire County Council’s Development Control Committee granted planning permission to Grundons (a private waste management company who already run an incinerator at Colnbrook near Heathrow) to, amongst other things, landfill 120,000 tonnes of hazardous waste at Bishops Cleeve every year for the next two decades?

Part of this waste is the extremely nasty residues from incineration collected through Air Pollution Control systems (known as APC residues). These residues are considered so dangerous that their emission into the atmosphere is restricted by legislation and their production is continuously monitored 24 hours a day.

By granting this permission to Grundons, Gloucestershire County Council is allowing 50% of the country’s APC residues to come to Gloucestershire, be poured into a large silo, mixed with contaminated waste water and then tipped from the back of an OPEN truck into our green and pleasant land.

There is no air pollution control system at Bishops Cleeve to deal with this waste.  In fact, to allow it to come to Bishops Cleeve at all, the Environment Agency has had to issue a derogation from normal environmental controls regarding landfill sites.

Our County Council and other authorities are happily building or planning to build incinerators to deal with residual waste, yet they are not planning strategically how to deal with the end result of this process. Processes do exist to deal with APC residues, which can turn material hazardous to human health into inert substances useable for construction. However, while permission is still given by Gloucestershire County Council and the Environment Agency that allows the low cost, primitive dumping of toxic material to continue, the capital investment and financial imperative required to develop such technologies will never be found.

Yours truly,

Liz Hillary, Green Party Member

Stroud Greens condemn Government's proposed planning policy

Ruscombe fields: threatened by developers - photo Mike Gallagher  

I have covered some of the campaigns against the changes to the planning laws - see for example a few days ago here. The National Trust petition is now closed but you can still lobby your MP - see here. Greens locally have issued a press release today - you can read it below.

Stroud District Green Party has raised serious concerns about the controversial government planning policy, the draft National Planning Framework (NPF). In essence the Green Party believes that, in principle and in approach, the framework is a thinly-veiled gift to developers, which paves the way for damaging developments while professing to boost "sustainability".

“Developers already enjoy huge advantage during the planning process and the government has entirely failed to improve this condition - in fact horrifyingly this framework is quite the opposite: communities and local councils will have less, not more, control over what gets built in their area,” said Cllr Philip Booth (Ruscombe).

“We need more homes - already Stroud has a waiting list of over 3,000 - but this is not the way to do it; these planning changes are bad news and will lead to seriously poor and unsustainable developments in Stroud and the rest of the country,” Philip continued.

His colleague Cllr Martin Whiteside (Thrupp) agreed, adding, “We need more affordable homes and local jobs, and we as local communities should decide where these are built, rather than handing over the right to speculate and profit from our heritage to the Tory Party's developer friends and their bankers.”

Meanwhile Cllr Simon Pickering (Slade) described the framework as "a deceitful bill apparently offering a simple system and giving power to local people but in reality changing little, and most importantly doing nothing to switch to a truly sustainable green economy or promote real living communities"

The draft NPPF bluntly states that “development means growth”. Soon after, the document asserts with no argument or evidence that “without growth, a sustainable future cannot be achieved”. The Green Party believes that such circularity means that all development becomes sustainable, and as the presumption makes clear, all so-called sustainable development must be approved.

The Green Party has enormous concerns regarding the power and influence of powerful lobbyists for the building industry who are routinely putting profit before people. David Cameron himself described lobbying as "the next big scandal waiting to happen" in a speech last year and yet is allowing developers free rein in the disastrous NPF.

The NPF in its current format is at odds with the idea of sustainable development and as such The Green Party cannot support it.

Click read more to see the Green MEP's press release.

More quotes

"A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm." Henrick Ibsen

"This is not like an ordinary recession where you lose output and get it back quickly. You may not get it back for many years, if ever, and that is a big, long-run loss of living standards for all people in this country. When something isn't working, it behoves us to question whether a different approach might be more appropriate." Mervyn King, Governor Bank of England (March 2011)

'How to be green? Many people have asked us this important question. It's really very simple and requires no expert knowledge or complex skills. Here's the answer. Consume less. Share more. Enjoy life.' Penny Kemp and Derek Wall

"A lot of folks can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in our country.
 Well, there's a very simple answer.
 Nobody bothered to check the oil.
 We just didn't know we were getting low.
 The reason for that is purely geographical.
 Our OIL is located in the North Sea
 Our DIPSTICKS are located in Westminster!"

“Trickledown theory–the less than elegant metaphor that if one feeds the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road to the sparrows” JK Galbraith

"You start with your nose, then your hands, your back door, your doorstep. You get all that right, then everything is right. If all that*s wrong, nothing can ever be right." Bill Mollison, co-founder of Permaculture.

New Scientist article on 20mph

Old newspaper cover of our campaign

Speeding comes out in the top three issues when I am on the doorstep in the ward. This is not strange and is reflected nationally where speeding is among the top local issues. As many will know we have long campaigned for 20mph for residential areas. The campaign continued but we are not sure whether the County really understands this issue. They have for years failed to act on repeated requests. The latest possibility relates to GCC's Big Community Offer - it is not clear whether our 20mph proposals fit that bill. Hopefully news soon?

The New Scientist article here, is worth a read as it reinforces what we have already said.... it has a useful opinion piece on why 20 mph is the way to go:. Here are a couple of paras: "Survivability refers to the body's capacity to tolerate the energy transfer in accidents. Evidence shows that on access roads, where crashes involving pedestrians are likely, a 20mph (30kph) limit is appropriate. On distribution roads, where side impacts are likely - when a car might ram into the side of another that is pulling out of a side road, for instance - the limit should be 30mph (50kph). In situations without pedestrians and where side impacts and head-on collisions are improbable - motorways and freeways - the limit should be 60 to 70mph (100 to 110kph)....

.....It may be important for politicians to distinguish between media debate and public concern on this issue. For example, Damian Poulter – a colleague at the University of Reading, UK – and I examined the UK government's British Crime Survey to determine what people are concerned about in their local communities. In comparison with a range of antisocial behaviours such as race attack, drugs, intimidation and noisy neighbours, speeding was the top concern (Accident Analysis and Prevention, DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2006.08.015)."

Anti-Slavery day today

Today Tuesday 18th October is the second UK annual Anti-Slavery Day (see last year here). It will now fall on 18 October every year as this date coincides with the European Union’s Anti-Trafficking Day.

The aim of Anti-Slavery Day is for people in the UK to acknowledge that despite the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade over 200 years ago men, women and children continue to be victims of the modern-day slave trade. The day will help to raise awareness of the dangers of modern-day slavery, including human trafficking and exploitation, and encourage people to be proactive in the fight against it. Trafficking is the third largest illegal activity in the UK - a £32billion 'business'.

Trafficking takes many different forms; debt bondage, sexual exploitation, trafficking of children, either for petty crime or more serious crimes such as ATM thefts and begging. Children under 10 are increasingly trained for criminal activity, since they fall below the age of criminal responsibility.

ECPAT UK, a children’s rights organisation campaigning against the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the UK believes that Anti-Slavery Day provides a great opportunity to shine a light on the largely hidden yet brutal crime of human trafficking in the UK. As part of their campaigning work, ECPAT UK is calling on the Government to provide greater protection for child victims of trafficking. In particular, they are calling for a system of guardianship for child victims of trafficking in the UK. More information and a specific briefing on guardianship can be found on their website at www.ecpat.org.uk/campaigns/guardianship.

Stroud has had a tradition of anti-slavery - many will know the anti-slavery arch in Paganhill - see here - we have also had many demonstrations and a march to commemorate 200 years since abolition (see here arguments about whether we should apologise for previous roles in slavery). Zarin Hainsworth, a Ruscombe resident has led discussions on trafficking (including Green Party's Coffee House) and worked with government to bring about improvements. There have been improvements in some areas and greater awareness but in 2010 the Met's special unit closed - the only one in the country. This is totally dire - and made worse by the Governments refusal to sign a new EU directive this year to tackle trafficking!! Also earlier this year I reported the concerns about the denial of rights of asylum seekers - see here. Since then we have also seen news come to light that authorities are failing to enforce the law aimed at tackling sex with trafficked women - see Guardian here.

We need to be doing much more - well done to ECPAT UK for raising this issue and keeping it alive.

Electorate should decide the membership of the Second Chamber

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

Greens believe that the House of Lords should be a wholly elected Second Chamber and as such the Appointments Commission should be abolished.  Click read more to see more - also see more from Unlock Democracy here that adds more weight to calls for an elected house.

Blog Action Day: food growing links

Today is Blog Action Day on Food. Since 2007, Blog Action Day has focused bloggers around the world to blog about one important global topic on the same day. Past topics have included water, climate change and poverty.Well the day gives me an excuse to revisit our Edible Open Gardens project. It was so successful this year that already plans are afoot for next year.

Our videos of the day have also still getting lots of views - see them here if you haven't yet - several people have passed me links to other useful websites so here goes - thanks to Helen, Jim, Roxanne and The Ruscombe Dreamer for these:

Facebook Backyard and Garden farming, smallholding, homesteading and foraging.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/Backyardfarming/?id=10150373919798619

Eat Weeds - foraging for wild food - an excellent site:
http://www.eatweeds.co.uk/

Self Sufficientish - Forum and huge wealth of information:
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/

Downsizer - aimed at providing info to those on a journey to live more simply and sustainably:
http://www.downsizer.net/

Composting advice - hot and cold:
http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/composting/compost_2.php

10 Rules for Composting:
http://www.nannypro.com/blog/10-rules-to-remember-about-composting/ 

The film 'Our Daily Bread' - it is very moving, horrific and powerful and enough to make anyone think about where their food comes from: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxlquoyqU7M 

And here's an article re storing food which looks at the Mormons policies and how that appears to have led to food waste:
http://www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/transition-voice/2011-09-16/who-s-storing-food-now

Greenest Government claim a complete sham

Wheat field

A few months ago I looked at the claims of the Government that they will be the greenest ever (see here). Well they were failing then but now I think we can safely say they have failed spectularly.

George Osborne has vowed that the UK will not lead the rest of Europe in carbon emission reductions. In his speech at the Conservative Conference, Osborne announced that the government will only cut emissions when other European nations do. Yet Osborne stated in 2009: "If I become chancellor, the Treasury will become a green ally, not a foe".

Osborne accounted for this change in policy by inaccurately blaming "a decade of environmental laws and regulations [for] piling costs on the energy bills of households and companies." In fact these high prices are a result of the UK’s dependence on coal, gas, and oil. It is very clear that the British business sector would not be damaged with green regulations, as Osborne believes.

Here is what Cllr. Andrew Cooper, Green Party spokesperson on energy and climate change said: "The only sustainable way to boost our energy industry and keep energy costs low in the long run is to harness the UK’s clean power potential and develop renewable energy systems. Being the ‘greenest government ever’ given the record of past governments is not particularly taxing for the coalition, but the evident downgrading of the green agenda by the Chancellor and the Prime Minister shows a lack of appreciation of the consequences of climate change and the benefits to the economy and our society of addressing it."

Critics of Osborne’s statement liken him to former US President George W. Bush, who also pledged not to adopt green policies until other competitors did likewise. A stinging report from the UK's major environmental groups has concluded that the government has made moderate or no progress on more than three-quarters of its green promises because of obstruction by the Treasury and business departments and a lack of public backing from the prime minister. As I well remember David Cameron pledged within days of taking office that he would lead the "greenest government ever" but the report has found that good progress was being made on just seven out of 29 environmental pledges made in the coalition agreement.

New planning laws will be disaster

Mike Gallagher photo of Ruscombe Valley

We are now looking at where housing and employment must go in the District - places for some 3,200 homes needs to be found. There will be lots of discussion, debate and no doubt many campaigns. Locally we have the threat of significant housing numbers on several key sites like the Ruscombe Valley - more details will be available very soon when papers are published.

Things were bad but the changes being made by the Lib Dem Tory Coalition Government are very bad indeed. This looks set to be a charter for development. I recently read Green Leader Caroline Lucas' Guardian blog on the planning reforms - see here with links - for me it sums up the key arguments so I have copied it below along with a couple of other links on this topic. Click read more to see. There is also info re the National Trust's 'Up for Grabs' campaign and how to sign a petition against sweeping reforms to the planning system.

20 mph update

Well the update is that there is still no news from the county re our repeated requests for a 20 mph. However the '20 is Plenty'  signage has returned to the Parish - and I did want to note the decision by the European Parliament to support 20mph speed limits in urban areas. The measure was part of a report, adopted by the parliament, which aims to improve road safety across the EU.

As a member of the parliament’s Transport Committee Green MEP Keith Taylor had argued for the 20mph speed limit in urban areas to be included in the report. He commented: "Road accidents across Europe remain at unacceptably high levels and there is a need for a more concerted effort to improve road safety. The European Parliament has today signalled the right direction for road safety, notably by strongly recommending an EU-wide speed limit of 30 km/h (20mph) in urban areas. This limit would ensure drivers have to respect the same road rules no matter where they drive, making it easier for drivers and safer for all those on or near our roads. Lower speed limits in urban areas will not only have major safety benefits for all road users but will also reduce noise and air pollution and, as such, would be a win-win situation."

The overall target of the report, adopted by the European Parliament in Strasbourg, is to reduce EU road deaths by half (from 38,000 in 2010) as well as reducing injuries. Various measures to tackle the major causes of traffic accidents – alcohol, drugs and speed – are included in the report. These range from recommending lower blood alcohol levels for new and professional drivers, fitting alcolocks which prevent driving if alcohol is detected to new types of commercial vehicle, reducing danger from ´blind spots´ and promoting safe routes to school.

Transition Stroud AGM

A couple of weeks ago we had our Transition Stroud AGM and it was great to hear about all the progress - and some great cakes to eat!! I've played a role in developing a number of the projects like this years' first Stroud Potato Day and the Edible Open Gardens project which saw workshops and 37 open gardens - plus the fourth Eco-Renovation Open Homes this September and getting Energy Monitors into Glos libraries. Stroud Pound has also been making it's mark and for the first time we have a Development Worker two days a week developing Transition and the StroudCo Food Hub - see more about that exciting project here. See more at:
http://www.transitionstroud.org/

It was good to read The Independent and their good article about why the Transition movement is so important. See here or click read more to see it.

400 at Hinkley blockade!

View across to Oldbury

Up to 400 people joined a peaceful blockade at the gates of Hinkley Point power station on Monday, 3 October, in protest at EDF's plans for the largest nuclear plant ever built in the UK.  I've just heard from a couple of people who went from Stroud - here's what one said: "It was a fantastic atmosphere and a real boost to our campaign to stop us going down this route to build more nuclear plants."

For those of you who weren’t there here is a link to pictures and videos of the event: http://www.stophinkley.org/EngRevu/111002DemoB%27wtr.htm

The other good news is that the government's nuclear policy took another blow last week as major energy provider RWE reviewed whether to scale down or abandon its UK nuclear programme. The German-owned utility, which owns the npower supply business, has started an internal probe of its plans to construct two possible atomic power stations at Wylfa in Wales and Oldbury in Gloucestershire. Apparently well-placed sources told the Guardian that the company was looking at all possible aspects of the Horizon Nuclear Power joint venture it operates with E.ON, that would build at Wylfa and Oldbury. "There is a strategic review going on and there are a lot of discussions about all aspects of it including whether new partners could be brought in," said one of the sources. "It's not surprising scrutiny has intensified given what has happened in Germany and the way the British nuclear projects have been left out on a limb." See Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/07/rwe-uk-nuclear-power

Meanwhile Labour's love-in with the nuclear industry continued at a fringe event at their party conference in Liverpool. Public consultations on the building of new nuclear power stations are required by law - amazingly - or perhaps not - it is claimed that these consultations would not cause problems in getting them built. Alan Raymant, CEO of Horizon Nuclear Power who want to build a new nuke at Oldbury, said (quoted in The Guardian): "As a developer we are not obliged to follow the results of the public consultation. But we have to take it into account and explain why we have not include its recommendations." 

While Malcolm Grimston, of Chatham House said: "Public consultations have become a type of referendum. What they should be is: This needs to be done, do you have better ideas of how to do it?"

Trident go-ahead would be disaster

I've seen a wee while ago a petition re Trident and the disasterous impact renewing it will have - it is a message to the Durban Climate Change conference on 19th November. Please consider signing: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/durban_climate_conference_and_nuclear_disarmament/

Also see local activist speaking recently at RAF Croughton - unfortunately the camera work is a bit shaky at the beginning - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2bMj9XLYMg

Video of Feed In Tariffs workshop

Highlights of a workshop on the Feed In Tariff as part of the Eco-Renovation Open Homes weekend organised by Transition Stroud. Paul Sheriden talks through some of the key aspects relating to PV. Thanks to Claire for videoing - I struggled a bit to put together as it is hard cutting an hours workshop down to 15 minutes.

Transition Network newsletter is out

The October issue of the Transition Network newsletter is out - see it here:
http://www.transitionnetwork.org/news/2011-10-06/october-2011-transition-network-newsletter

It is the newsletter's third birthday and features a number of videos that I have put together re the Edible Open Gardens and Eco-Renovation Open Homes event. The newsletter is as always full of inspiring events and projects from around the world - well worth a look.

Stroud Mayor at Festival of Nature which included renewable installers fair

Energy Strategy set to fly

At Scrutiny meeting at Ebley Mill on Thursday night we passed the Energy Strategy for our Council Housing stock - I have been working on this for too long! I will say a bit more ion that but also cover in this blog more from Scrutiny re NHS and Canal

The Energy Strategy was a recommendation in the inquiry I chaired which started 2 years ago! That got passed when I presented it to Cabinet in March 2010 but then various things led to a delay and in the recent inquiry I chaired on Decent Homes Standard for housing we reiterated that call with a deadline for November this year. Well you can now download the paper from:
http://www.stroud.gov.uk/docs/democ/meeting_details.asp?meet_id=1359

At the meeting I gave it a huge welcome - there are too few Councils taking this issue seriously enough - and particularly in the light of news this week that average household fuel bills are now a staggering £1,000!! As I have repeatedly said it is unacceptable that we have more than 15% of households in the district in fuel poverty. This strategy will go a way to prioritising and tackling that. The strategy passed unanimously.  I diod also note thanks to Officers and others for working on this strategy - particularly Ruth Kirkup who has now left the Council. See more background here: http://ruscombegreen.blogspot.com/2011/04/success-re-step-to-tackle-fuel-poverty.html

Canal update

Councillors were treated to an update of progress re the canal - the highlight this week being the Ryeford Double Lock gates -  The Cotswold canal Trust have a great website which is regularly updated - see: http://www.cotswoldcanals.com/

I mentioned the Brewery windows - see previous blog here and it seems money is being sought to repair these. I also noted at the meeting the huge volunteer input from individuals and also the support of great organisations like REACH. They really are making a significant difference to the project - and it has also been great to meet some of the volunteers and see and hear the enthusiasm for the project. The Scrutiny Committee passed a note to congratulate volunteers and I also asked to hear back more about how we can recognise/thank volunteers.

NHS

Well we had a verbal report back from the County Scrutiny Chair which sounds like they will completely ignore the 'demand' by Stroud District to look at the changes to our health service. See more background here. I am seeking the legal advice they got that they say means they cannot look at those changes. See also here link to Guardian coverage re Glos health. More on all this soon - there were other issues re the NHS but it seems as a District we have very little powers to make a difference. See also Molly's blog this week: http://gaianeconomics.blogspot.com/2011/10/where-is-social-in-social-enterprise.html

Riots

Anyway there was a fair bit more at the meeting but check out the webcast on the District Council site to see more. Apparently the County Community Safety Committee will look at how the riots were handled but not the causes. This seems a missed opportunity - see Green Party response here.

Cainscross ask: "What do young people want?"

Well Cainscross Parish are making every effort to engage with local young people to find out what is needed and wanted. They are having an event at Victory Park on the 26th October (half term week) from 2-5pm. They have booked something called an outdoor laser clay system (weather permitting) and if the weather is inclement they have a back up for indoors - plus a pod laser tag inflatable game, hopefully some archery and graffiti wall inside the pavilion.

The Parish have already been doing work in this area - here's what they write: "The idea of the event is to talk to the local youth to find out what facilities they would like in the parish and to attract them we are holding a fun event. So far we have had one consultation at the Cashes Green Youth and Social Centre and it appears the young people would like a youth room. To this end, it looks like we may be able to use the hall in the pavilion as a dedicated youth room."

Government's policy is still to help bankers

View across to Archway from Bread Street

Mervyn King says this may be worse than the Great Depression (see here). UK financial firms have been downgraded by Moody's rating agency (including Lloyds TSB, RBS, Nationwide and Santander UK) (see here). While the Bank of England is to inject a further £75bn into the economy through quantitative easing. Dear oh dear it really is getting bad and very hard to see how things can get better....

Green MP Caroline Lucas (Brighton Pavilion) commented: "While it's clear that quantitative easing is one of the only options left to get our ailing economy off its knees, the Bank of England's decision to usher in £75bn worth of unregulated QE is problematic. Unless we impose constraints on private banks to ensure the money reaches the real economy, we're effectively throwing money into a banking black hole - a recipe for systemic economic failure and further social inequality. What we need is properly regulated quantitative easing directed towards actually creating jobs, increasing lending to small businesses and facilitating the move towards a green economy. A job creation strategy like the Green New Deal, for example, would ultimately pay for itself by generating incomes and boosting emerging green industries. As the average annual energy bill reaches a shocking new high of around £1,000 per household, surely now is the time to consider a green quantitative easing programme to help fund energy efficiency solutions such as home insulation to help keep people's bills down, and create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process."

Richard Murphy from Tax Research UK has also blogged on this - see here - he concludes: "But I’m afraid to say that this time QE looks like it is a policy made by bankers for the benefit of bankers. And that is the last thing we need right now."

As another Green colleague argues: "At present, huge sums (up to £120 billion per year) are haemorrhaging out of the national economy into tax avoidance and tax havens. It this were recouped, the national economy would be better off to the tune of 120billion a year. Taxes for ordinary people could be cut by this sum, minus the amount needed to reduce the deficit. This action does need to be global, through the G20 &c, to avoid capital flight. Price rises by corporations would be subject to competition, so greedier businesses would lose out. There might be some price inflation, but it would be offset by lower general taxation. So tax the rich still stands."

Indeed  today is End Tax Haven Secrecy Day of Action - see more at:
http://www.endtaxhavensecrecy.org/en/2011/10/07/end-tax-haven-secrecy-day-of-action/


Depressing stuff but as a tonic have a look at this YouTube about a Scottish community's renewable energy film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls_1p8ad2mc&feature=youtu.be