news
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In The Media – Nuclear Power |
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Written by Roxanne Green
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Wednesday, 01 June 2011 15:48 |
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Nuclear power is an issue that provokes fierce debate and strong emotions amongst environmentalists and this has been apparent in some of the coverage over the issue recently. With the pressure on fossil fuels becoming difficult to ignore and the ongoing issues in Japan, nuclear power has risen up the agenda once again.
Friends of the Earth inflated a giant white elephant outside parliament to protest against public funds and resources going into nuclear energy. In Birmingham over a hundred people held a vigil in Victoria Square to mark the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. This highlighted fears that the plant at Fukushima may prove to be more destructive than it has so far appeared. Coupled with this, Friends of the Earth International is challenging the Japanese government’s decision to increase the permitted levels of radiation children can be exposed to.
The Economist ran a debate discussing the motion ‘This house believes that the world would be better off without nuclear power’. Tom Burke of E3G argued that the fact that private investors have never been willing to take the economic risk of nuclear power is a clear warning to treat all assertions about its costs with some suspicion, chiming with FOE’s giant white elephant. Ian Hore-Lacy from the World Nuclear Association, in opposition, claimed that sources of power capable of providing continuous, reliable supply on a large scale while avoiding carbon dioxide emissions have never been more needed – sidestepping the issue of efficiency altogether and assuming that the planet will be able to support our current consumption rates.
In the Guardian, Helen Caldicott and George Monbiot have been engaged in a furious argument on the claims and counterclaims about the health impacts of the nuclear industry. FOE’s Mike Childs has summed up the key points of the recent debate and what this means for the future of energy policy, pointing out that when it comes to nuclear versus renewable energy, the key issue is not safety or cost, but speed. We urgently need to cut our emissions to avoid dangerous climate change, and renewables need some financial support in order to drive this further.
Whatever your view on nuclear power, the fact that there is now a debate raging about our energy future may mean that people are waking up to the fact that energy usage and supply both need to change, and it provides an excellent opportunity to press for energy policies that are genuinely sustainable.
Roxanne Green |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 June 2011 15:48 |
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Written by Ben Mabbett
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Wednesday, 01 June 2011 15:47 |
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Sunday 1 May was International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day, which is promoted by www.guerrillagardening.org, so a small group of people headed out from The Warehouse to plant sunflower seeds around the Digbeth area. As many people who frequent Digbeth know, it is in places rather neglected and there are a lot of empty barren pieces of land. Whilst some of this is part of its gritty urban charm, we thought that a few jolly sunflowers scattered over those forgotten and unloved patches of ground would add a bit of colour to the landscape. After all, who doesn't feel a little happier seeing a few sunflowers brighten their day? As an added bonus they're also a doddle to grow and provide tasty food for birds.
So, armed with a big bag of sunflower seeds, some dibbers to make holes in the ground, and bottles of water, we set out on a lovely sunny day with the aim of brightening up Digbeth come the summer. We managed to cover a fair chunk of the area, scattering in all manner of spots, although some rather optimistically! So keep a look out in the coming months for sunflowers springing up in unexpected places, and if you fancy planting a few yourself, then drop into The Warehouse to pick up some seeds of your own – we've got plenty of them!
Ben Mabbett |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 June 2011 15:47 |
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Birmingham’s non-nuclear half marathon! |
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Written by Aldo Mussi
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Wednesday, 01 June 2011 15:36 |
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Help us raise funds… at Birmingham’s non-nuclear half marathon!
You’ve probably noticed that Birmingham City Council for the last 3 years (after a gap of some years) has again been holding a half marathon road race each Autumn. There are lots of good things about this - it’s quite an occasion, and the turnout and support from Brummies (especially near Broad Street) is great. Given that they (with the sponsors EDF energy) tell people that by entering the race, you’ll be joining the ‘Green Team’ in a ‘race against climate change’, you’d think it was the ideal event. BUT… while they have won praise for their recycling, there is a lot of ‘greenwash’ going on which is revealed by a closer look at EDF (‘Electricitè De France’), who are huge producers of… nuclear energy! (That isn't in the publicitè).
So, it’s good to be able to point out that an alternative exists : the Birmingham and Black Country Half-Marathon (BBCHM) on Saturday 2nd July. I love this race. It goes for 13.1 miles from near Wolverhampton Rail Station, past some great local heritage, finishing in Brindleyplace. I find it enjoyable running along the canal (though don’t be fooled: the surface is a bit uneven underfoot, and the humpback bridges don’t make it particularly fast). Best of all, it’s a low key but well regarded event, with around 1000 entrants (you set off in groups of 10, so there’s no mass falling into the canal!), organised by local enthusiasts…. and not a nuke in sight!
So, BFOE is using the BBCHM as an opportunity for some much-needed fundraising – and we’d like you to please give us your support in one of the following ways :
1)Run (or walk*) it yourself! – and get sponsored for BFOE (ask me about the ‘support package’ we’ll provide).
2) Sponsor me! Preferably, use the ‘One Off Donation’ page of www.birminghamfoe.org.uk, but let me know whatever method you choose to pay.
3) Come and cheer us – along the route, at the finish, or else for a post-run pint in The Wellington :o)
4) Follow us on our Facebook event: ‘Canal Half-Marathon’.
* The organisers say you’re welcome to walk the 13.1 miles – just let them know in advance, so they can arrange for you to set off early.
Details of the BBCHM can be seen at www.bbchm.co.uk
Email me with any queries / sponsorship at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Aldo Mussi |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 June 2011 15:36 |
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Campaigns Digest June-July 2011 |
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Written by Joe Peacock
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Wednesday, 01 June 2011 15:25 |
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We are building up to some more big campaigns for the summer, as we look to take forward the ideas we have developed through our dedicated research for the consultations we have taken part in over the past few months.
Energy and Climate Change
The group has been out in Kings Heath talking to retailers about their “close the door” campaign to reduce their energy usage by not leaving doors open during the winter as was mentioned in the previous newsletter. We hope that by the time the cold weather is back, far fewer shops will be wasting energy in this way.
Meetings have been held with four MPs to lobby them about the energy bill and a public meeting has been arranged for 2 June in Selly Oak with Steve McCabe along with other members of the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition. The pressure has been paying off as Chris Huhne (Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change) has said that from 2018, the rental of the very worst performing properties - those rated F and G - will be banned through a minimum energy efficiency standard.
Local Shops, Food and Waste
Work with the Digbeth Residents Association to find a suitable site to grow vegetables in the area is still continuing, but proving harder than anticipated, so if anyone can help with this, please let us know. The temporary use of disused space while it is waiting to be developed has been shown to be successful in other areas, so we want to encourage more to happen.
There is now a petition up on the Council website for our campaign to halve the amount of rubbish in black bags in Birmingham through better recycling and food waste collections: http://epetition.birmingham.public-i.tv/epetition_core/view/Halverubbish. This has proved popular, with 100 people already signed up to it after only five days and we hope to get a thousand people signed up by the end of the summer.
We are looking for new volunteers to take forward our campaigns to stop unsustainable supermarket developments, so please get in touch if this interests you.
Transport
The public debate on High Speed Rail at the end of March, which we organised in partnership with Sustainability West Midlands, was a big success. A large audience was there to listen to the debate, which was expertly chaired by Adrian Goldberg, with panellists Christian Wolmar, Jim Steer, Mike Geddes and Martin Dyer all adding their expert opinions. Midlands Today was there to cover it and we hope that this has helped to ensure the debate in Birmingham is around how best to create a sustainable transport system for the future.
We have also done some high-profile media work on the public money being put into moving the A45 to allow the runway extension to be built and opening up the M42 corridor as an “Enterprise Belt”. See our website and blog for further details on this and also walking and cycling events which we have attended over the past few months.
Swap Shop and Crafting
The much-copied Swap Shop in Moseley has remained one of our most popular events and was combined with a Green Spring Fair with ethical producers and other organisations coming along to join us at the end of May. If you want to run a similar event, just get in touch for tips on how to do it and also send in your suggestions of what you'd like to learn to do in the crafting group.
Joe Peacock |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 June 2011 15:25 |
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Big Questions for Birmingham |
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Written by Joe Peacock
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Wednesday, 01 June 2011 15:10 |
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The Big Questions - Post Election Action
We've decided to do something a bit different. Rather than tell you what we're doing and what we want you to do to help in that, we'd like you to tell us what you think we should do.
As we are sure you are all aware, there has just been an election and a fair amount of change on the Council, so now would be a good time to make clear to councillors new and old what measures we would like them to focus on implementing. After the elections, there are now 55 Labour councillors, 39 Conservative, 24 Liberal Democrats and 2 Respect. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition remains in charge despite Labour being the largest single party, but next year's elections will be crucial, so we need to put together a strategy of what we're asking for most strongly.
There are many improvements that need to be made to make Birmingham a more sustainable place, so we need to make sure we prioritise these according to our supporters' wishes. In order to do this we have developed a questionnaire which we would like you to fill in and send back to us.
Over the past year we have spent a lot of time responding to consultations and feeding in our ideas on what should be done for the city centre (the Big City Plan), for transport (Local Transport Plan 3) and for planning guidance overall (The Birmingham Core Strategy). Now it is time for us to start pressing more directly for our ideas to be implemented, or doing more campaigning as it's commonly known.
Currently, we have three active groups running campaigns: Transport, Energy & Climate Change and Local Shops, Food & Waste. We are always looking for people to take on more active roles within these groups in order for us to be able to campaign more effectively and if we are to campaign on other issues, again we need people to take a leading role.
For this survey we have only included issues that fall within these action groups, but you are free to add your own ideas in the spaces provided.
If you would like to fill in the questionnaire and send it back to us, feel free to download the .doc file or .pdf file below.
Download the .doc file here.
Download the .pdf file here. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 02 June 2011 14:10 |
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