Gathering together the Midlands family

On Saturday, we had our regional gathering for FoE campaigners in the West Midlands.

As always it was a great opportunity to swap stories, exchange knowledge and tips or just generally moan about the bad things going on with the environment.
Our biggest campaign at the moment is Final Demand, so we had Donna Hulme up from London to give us some detail on the plans for how that will develop, as well as explaining what's going on with FiTs - why the government wants to kill the solar industry.

The question I really wanted to put was how we counter the arguments put by Monbiot that solar can't deliver very much and is a tax on the poor for middle class people to get eco-bling. The answers were very convincing and it's a bit puzzling that Monbiot has refused to have a public debate on it, as our policy team are very confident they would be able to counter any points he makes. This blog post by Alan Simpson does a good job of it, but a few quick snippets of solar's positives are:

• we could generate a third of the electricity we need from domestic roofs
• solar and wind complement each other very well
• the behaviour changes you get from those with PV on their roofs are very marked
• community or social housing schemes can really benefit the most vulnerable, including fuel poor
• It's still well worth putting PV on your roof with the 21p FiT, but community schemes need more

My understanding has also been much improved by the emphasis that it's not just the rate which is the problem with the government's tinkering, but having to have band C energy performance, which takes out about 90% of the housing in this country. That makes far less sense for generating electricity than for heat, but there's no connection with the Renewable Heat Incentive and efficiency.

We also spoke about new campaigns on biodiversity and greener products, but these campaigns are still in development and also had a session where we looked at lobbying MPs.

On a lighter note I also won some chocolate for the following pretty awful limerick - it was the only entry in the poetry competition:

Chris Huhne's sped away from DECC
Where he was always a pain in the neck
He tried to kill solar
And melt all the polar
Icecaps, but his plans were wrecked.

Joe Peacock

The Moseley Swap Shop

One man's trash is another man's treasure!

At The Moseley Swap Shop

Have u got anything you don't want? Or do you just fancy some new stuff for FREE? Then the Moseley Swap Shop is the place for you! Brought to Moseley by FOEcycle and REUSED. Don't miss first Swap Shop February the 27^th, at the Prince of Wales. It'll open at 12pm and finish around 5pm and will be appearing at The Prince of Wales every 4^th Saturday of the month!

Come along maybe after a visit to the Moseley Farmers Market, pop in to The Prince of Wales to get out of the cold and there you will find books, clothes, kitchen stuff, DVDs, Computer games, Ornaments, and anything you bring along to add! All for FREE This stall is entirely dependant on you getting involved, so come down and participate! Based on the online yahoo group Freecycle (now Freegle). www.IloveFreegle.org which allows you to place ads to get rid of things you don't need and respond to ads to get things you do, without money getting involved, well worth a look. The Moseley Swap Shop is your local alternative!

We all know about the 3R's, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, this is a great way to achieve all 3 of them on a Saturday afternoon in the pub and leave with some nice stuff! The stall will also be taking donations for Birmingham Friends Of The Earth and have promotional information available about the activities of BFOE in Birmingham, and other information about what Green alternative stuff is going on in Birmingham and how you can get involved if you're interested.

So don't miss out on the 27th of Feb because you won't be disappointed!

If you have any inquires please email me at fisher_woman@live.co.uk

Happily Ever Crafter

The tale of Its a wrap continued...

On the 3rd Monday of the month at 6.30pm at Birmingham Friends of the Earth's warehouse Allison St, B5 5TH, There will be a craft group! Led by Becks and Beth, it will cover loads of different ways of making things over the weeks.

The first session will be Recycled Craft! on Monday the 15th of February we will be looking at what can be made out of a juice cartons for example wallets, decorations, jewellery, baskets etc. Please bring juice cartons if you have any lying around, we have got some, but more is always better!

So.... please come along for tea and craft and do get in touch if you have any talent, maybe you would like to lead a work shop or requests, for a workshop you would like us to run any suggestions welcome! you can email us at reused.it@gmail.com

Meat Free Mondays: Buy one get one free at Warehouse Cafe

The meat and dairy industry produces more climate-changing emissions than every plane, train and car on the planet - 18% of the global total. This doesn't mean that you have to give up eating meat, but that you should consider reducing the amount of meat you eat, see our other food chain blogs for more information about our Food Chain campaign.

So we can start by having Meat Free Mondays, or any other day of the week. The point of having Meat Free Monday (or just a meat free day or meal) is it will take the pressure off the food chain and get people thinking about caring about what they eat and the impacts it has on the world around us. It is more realistic to get the whole world to alter their diet and reduce their consumption than get a few to convert to vegetarianism or veganism.

To make this easier for us, and to tempt us by having an enjoyable Monday evening out, with excellent food, the Warehouse Cafe at 54-57 Allison Street, Digbeth B5 5TH, has a great offer: buy one meal, get one free until 8th February. Call 0121 633 0261 for details of the Meat Free Mondays offer and reserve up to eight places - four will be free. Mention that you read about it on this blog.

The Wave: Wondering At The Wave.

On the 5th of December 2009, a coach-nearly full- set off from The Warehouse. For some it was far too early in the morning, but there was a buzz of anticipation none the less. How many people would show up? Would the police be heavy handed? Would the placards survive the duration of the march without falling to pieces? Finally the question always asked in Great Britain, would it rain? (It didn't rain until the very end, and only lightly.)

After nearly losing one passenger at Oxford services, and then getting stuck in a seemingly inpenetrable one way traffic system we eventually arrived at our drop off point in London.

We grabbed our banners and started following the masses of living blue material trudging, dancing and shouting it's way to Grosvenor Square where the march began. Estimates vary between the Police's conservative 20,000 and the organiser's 50,000 estimated people in attendance. What ever the true number it filled up the square and overflowed down various roads. After half an hour or so the march began.

Far too much happened in the hours of walking to be recounted, but overall the atmosphere was one of both hope and wondering, with a little bit of fun mixed in. Hoping the collective effort would have some effect on the then upcoming Copenhagen Climate talks and wondering what the use was if nations bigger than out the UK took no action.

To see the fun aspect of the march, watch the video below.

Although in retrospect The Wave march seems to have had little effect on the decisions and emissions cut pledges (or lack of) made at the Copenhagen Climate Talks, I think it still served a very valuable purpose.

It brought people together from all over the United Kingdom and Europe. The optimist in me hopes it showed those attending, and especially the British government, that people want action to be taken quickly on climate change. What struck me was the great mixture of people from all walks of life and of all ages in attendance.

Even if the governments of the world seem hopelessly lost in a maze of negotiations, at least we know we can get organised as individuals and organisations to take action together. I look forward to a new year and decade, and wonder if we can avert runaway climate change?

Thanks must go to Mark who helped organise and sell tickets for the BFOE coach, as well as everyone else who helped sell tickets and prepare for the march.

CLIMATE JUSTICE NOW! SPEAKER TOUR

Here are the details of our speaker event at the University of Birmingham Avon Room, University Centre on 19th November at 7pm.


CLIMATE JUSTICE NOW!- UK SPEAKER TOUR
The climate crisis has been caused by rich industrialised countries, but it is the world’s poorer majority who are paying the highest price, as extreme weather events become more common, freshwater glaciers melt, and droughts increase. We believe that this means rich countries owe a ‘climate debt’ to the global south.

The Climate Justice UK speaker tour this autumn will see public meetings held around the country. Join us to hear why we need a global climate agreement which is both effective and delivers justice for the global south, and how you can make this happen.
Speakers are:
* Mohammed Shamsuddoha (Equity Bangladesh)
* Andy Atkins (Friends of the Earth)
* Hilary Thorndike (Refugee Council)

Spread the word: Invite your friends to this event!

Full details of the tour can be found at: http://www.climatejusticenow.org.uk

Organised by: World Development Movement, People & Planet, Jubilee Debt Campaign, and Friends of the Earth.

More information about the Shared Planet conference is at: http://peopleandplanet.org/shared-planet-09

********************************************************

WHAT IS CLIMATE JUSTICE?
The climate crisis has been caused by the rich industrialised countries, but it is the world’s poorer majority who are paying the highest price, as extreme weather events become more common, freshwater glaciers melt, and droughts increase.

We believe that rich countries owe a ‘climate debt’ to the global south. Not only do we need to reduce our emissions drastically, but we also need to provide new money so that poor countries can develop in a sustainable way and cope with the climate crisis which is already putting millions of lives at risk. This should not be seen as overseas aid, given out of charity, but compensation for our overuse of the earth’s resources.

In the run up to the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December, rich countries are trying to bully developing countries into accept unreasonably large emissions cuts, whilst shirking making the necessary cuts themselves. At the same time, they are seeking to channel climate change funding for poor countries through the World Bank, the largest multilateral lender for fossil fuel projects in the world! What’s more, this will mostly be in the form of loans which will only add to the unjust debts which developing countries owe the rich world.

Come and hear our speakers explain why we need a global climate agreement which is both effective and delivers justice for the global south, and how you can make this happen.

SOB - Save Our Buses?

There are worrying signs that all is not well with bus provision in Birmingham. Instead of improving the services, anecdotal evidence suggests that they are becoming even more infrequent in places where people need them. Only today there was an article in the Birmingham Mail about prices being too high and we have been campaigning for months for better bus services to be driven by a Statuatory Partnership which would be responsible for driving improvements. There is an e-petition for this and we have been collecting signed letters from discontented bus users.

It seems that National Express, which runs TWM (the company responsible for buses such as the one in the picture) is in financial difficulty and may not be able to survive. This means that a new company could soon be running the buses here and we need to be ready to engage with them and explain what it is we expect from the bus service in this city.
At the transport action group meeting on Monday evening it was decided that we need to hold a special meeting to draw up our demands or "bus manifesto" to be prepared for such a situation and use in our campaigning. Next Monday we have a general campaigns meeting at 7.30, but we'll also be holding a special bus meeting before it at 6.30. So, if you feel strongly about this come along then, or email your comments to campaigns@birminghamfoe.org.uk and we'll use them to guide the discussion.

Our Food Chain Parade

Last Saturday, members of our campaigns group were out in Birmingham City Centre on a Food Chain Parade to end our Food Chain fortnight of action.

As you can see from the picture below we were drawing people's attention to the issues surrounding factoring farming in this country leading to deforestation of some of the world's most valuable pristine habitat in South America. Arrows go from the animals to the bags of soy feed which they eat to the man with the chainsaw who cuts down the trees to grow the crops.


The parade went from in front of Tesco on New Street, up to Victoria Square, along Colmore Row, down Church Street, across to Ludgate Hill, up to St Pauls Square, along Brook Street, along Graham Street up Frederick St and along Warstone Lane where we finished at the 24 carrot farmers market in the Jewellery quarter.

Shaking our maracas we made our way along the route giving out badges and stickers to people along the way and singing our own version of "Old MacDonald Had A Farm".

It was a really fun event. Thanks to everyone who helped make the props and who joined in on the day. Let's hope that all the MPs get behind this now and the bill goes through parliament to make our food planet-friendly.

Click here to see how you can help online.

Bees - the new canaries

Over the years a few different animals and plants have been termed the new canaries in the coal mine for climate change and the ecological problems facing the world. Amphibians are at terrible risk of being wiped out, which could lead to huge increases in the numbers of insects and other problems. Coral-bleaching shows how much the oceans are warming and there is also evidence of how acidic they are becoming, with the real possibility that they could lose their ability to store carbon. Now though, it is the turn of the bees to become the symbol of environmental problems with a new film vanishing bees looking at the reasons for colony collapse disorder and warning of the consequences if nothing is done to save them.

On Wednesday a few of us from Birmingham Friends of the Earth went along to see the film at The Electric cinema and all of us certainly did come out thinking we wanted to do something - maybe put a hive on the roof of the Warehouse? Well, no that's probably not feasible, but definitely plant some bee-friendly stuff in the garden and maybe chuck a few seed bombs into the disused bulldozed sites of Digbeth.

While not as bleak as the Age of Stupid, the picture given in this film in the no-action-being-taken scenario, is also pretty worrying. The arguments for the importance of bees for all of us are pretty stark and cannot be ignored. The trouble is that neither this film nor any scientific study has provided conclusive proof of what is causing the bees to disappear. If you go expecting to get that, you'll be disappointed.

As a film, the vanishing of the bees has been described as "earnest", so I wasn't expecting it to be much more than informative, but there certainly were some interesting characters in the film and a few shocking facts - for example, the USA is now flying in bees from Australia to pollinate certain crops!!! It was also nice that there was a woman called Bee and a man called Dr Pollan in there who obviously belonged in their field.

The culprits are gradually revealed in the course of the documentary through interviews with bee-keepers, scientists and farmers. As an environmentalist they are pretty much what you'd expect; the use of certain pesticides, the use of intensive farming methods that have created huge monocultures rather than the biodiversity of mixed organic farming systems, loss of habitat and probably some of it is due to the industrialisation of bee-keeping itself. Many of these are also drivers of climate change and other problems associated with the ecology of our planet, so although the fate of bees is not necessarily directly linked to climate change, if we deal with one we will be helping to deal with the other, too.


I hadn't realised quite how much The Vanishing of the Bees would be about the USA, but that was primarily the focus, with only a minor mention of the UK. The fact is that we are the two countries mentioned who have not banned a certain Bayer pesticide with nicotinoids, which has been banned all over Europe where bee-keepers showed conclusive proof of what it was doing to bees (even Germany has banned it and Bayer is a German company!). I very much liked the French bee-keepers who took on the industrial giant and won, describing themselves as hippies who had been underestimated.

The American bee-keepers were interesting characters, but most of them work on such a massive industrial scale, taking their bees back and forth across the USA on lorries, that I kind of want that way of working to fail. There were a few small-scale bee-keepers and the ones who work locally with crops that flower at different times of the year seem to be doing much better.

Overall, it was certainly worth going to see, but the film was a bit over-long and could have been a bit bolder. For someone who didn't know about the topic at all, it would be very revealing, but for those with a reasonable amount of knowledge already, it did sometimes come over as a little patronising.

What is clear after seeing The Vanishing of the Bees, is that we must do something to change the destructive farming practices and have a new green revolution. This will help with food security both in terms of contributing fewer of the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change and in helping to protect bees who are vital for so much of the food we eat. This all ties in very well with our Fix the Food Chain campaign, so look here to see how you can help with that in Birmingham this weekend.

Joe Peacock

Washout

One of the perils of campaigning at outdoor events is the weather and boy was that the case today. A brave team of us made it all the way out to Kings Norton for the 3 Estates festival, erected our gazebo and stood under it as the rain lashed down.

Even with our canvas cover overhead it was almost impossible to keep any of the campaigns materials from getting soggy unless they were in plastic boxes (luckily they were thanks to the foreward-thinking Campaigns Coordinator who had provided just the things). After a couple of hours one of the organisers came and put us out of our misery, saying that the amount of water was becoming a health and safety issue, so everyone had to start packing up.

We did get a few letters signed and hopefully made a good contact with a residents group down there who are very interested in getting us along to talk to their members, but this will not go down as one of the most successful days campaigning I've ever done.

Thanks to the volunteers who came along (and those who were half way there when the call went out to turn back and head home). A memorable day, if not for the right reasons.

Why I joined Birmingham Friends of the Earth

With environmental concerns slowly ascending the recent political agenda, as the G8 summit attempts to make progress on pre-Copenhagen agreements, momentum behind local and national groups campaigning to raise awareness of the necessities of collective socio-environmental change is increasing.

Since the beginning of my University sojourn (2006), the ailing state of the environment has gripped the public consciousness and prompted huge efforts in trying to negate our destructive influence on the planet. I, however, had remained fairly detached from participation – until I visited Köln, Germany, last year.

Hosting approximately 1,000,000 (996,000 - 2008) inhabitants, comparable with Birmingham’s estimated 1,000,000 (1,010,200 - 2005) the steps that Köln has taken to reduce its CO2 footprint are numerous and well-planned. The formerly traffic-locked downtown area has been converted into an ‘environmental zone’ forbidding vehicle use (with exceptions) and a state-of-the-art solar test centre has recently opened.[1]

Ultimately this visit inspired me to consider for the first time the impact my life has upon the environment. Furthermore it demonstrated what can be achieved, and I resolved to participate, by joining Birmingham Friends of the Earth, in ensuring Birmingham Council remain always mindful “that much more needs to be done to make Birmingham the green and sustainable City of the future that we know it can be.”[2]

[1] http://www.greenbang.com/state-of-the-art-solar-test-centre-opens-in-cologne/ [2] http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=27087&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=5191 – Quotation found in penultimate paragraph. (as of 08/07/2008)

By Chris Greasley