Is 1% a majority?

Yesterday Birmingham city council released the results of their consultation on HS2.

On their website they proudly announced that the "Majority of residents on HS2 route back plan". To me that would mean more than half of the people living there have replied and are in favour, but in fact they say that of the respondents "53 per cent fully supported the proposals" and on checking how many respondents there were (600) that means about 300 people. When you consider that nearly 30 000 consultation documents went out and it was available to many more people on the internet, it turns out that this is actually 1% of the number of leaflets that went out and if a number of those responses were from people responding on the website, not from those who received the leaflets, the percentage could be even lower.

How can they justify a claim that the majority of residents on the route back it in this case?

Digbeth's Future

Last Thursday, I went along to an event at the Eastside Projects called “Imagine the Digbeth Summit ...” and found it a really inspiring evening.

There was a real sense of the people there having a shared vision for what Digbeth and Eastside could and should be like and a real sense that people want to get together to help achieve this and stop the kinds of unsuitable development that we all think blights the area, too. The issue of cheap car parking taking over and the need for green spaces, community facilities and re-claiming public areas ran through much of what was said.

5 of us gave short presentations on what we're doing in the area and a little bit about what our vision is. First there was the Pigeon Project who I'd heard about before, but never fully understood what they did. It really is about pigeons and I'll be popping over there soon to have a look having heard what they say about the project.

I went next to introduce the work on Birmingham Friends of the Earth, including information about our building and the history of that, events such as Buy Nothing Day, In Town Without My Car Day and our opposition to the incinerator and airport runway extension. I wasn't sure what reaction to expect, but put in a mixture of the light-hearted side of campaigning and the more serious issues we campaign on and got some very positive feedback.

After that, Jayne Bradley spoke about Edible Eastside and also her thoughts on future developments around the canals. She is planning to get a garden going where people can learn about growing food in an urban environment. This is similar to what we had been hoping to get going with grow-sites, although we remain frustrated in our attempts to find land for this.

Next was Nicky Getgood of Digbeth is Good, who has been organising guerilla picnics under the title Reclaim the Spaces. Nicky has been passionate about Digbeth and promoting the best bits of the area for some time and this is a great idea. Certain parts of Digbeth have become almost "no-go zones" for a lot of people, so she wants to have picnics in these places to show that it is up to people to take them back.

Finally, we heard from Val of the Digbeth Residents Association who also showed her passion for the area and a real will to get things done. Tree planting was mentioned as was better use of public spaces and engaging businesses as well as residents in the group.

We had a question & answer session afterwards in which we heard more about future plans for bringing people together for a Digbeth Summit. This was linked to the need to develop Neighbourhood Plans that has been part of the government's Localism Bill. If Digbeth can bring people together to be ahead of the game in developing these, it will show that we have a vision that is far better than the council have produced in their many documents for the "regeneration" of Eastside, with which the whole room was unimpressed to put it mildly.

I await with great interest to see what comes out of these ideas for a Digbeth Summit and can't wait to get involved in more fascinating discussions over the future of the area.

Joe Peacock

6-lane M42 the alternative! So HS2 does make sense!

The standard of debate around the HS2 plan has been pretty poor and overly sensationalist a lot of the time. Both sides are really avoiding a proper examination of what the UK's transport system is like now and what we should be aiming for over the next 15 years.

What we have been left with is a very polarised battle over one badly designed route that doesn't fit into any kind of integrated transport strategy, seems more intent on linking up airports and promoting speed at any cost rather than dealing with promoting alternatives to the car or plane and is unlikely to be more affordable than the current over-priced rail system.

This is why our points are less likely to hit the headlines, but deserve a lot more attention. They are concerned with the need for a proper strategy to deal with reducing the UK's carbon emissions from transport, as well as a future where there will be a lack of oil, which should be the first step and then High Speed Rail plans fit into that, rather than the other way round.

Lately, the pro-HS2 lobby have been getting more and more active on twitter, jumping on any remotely negative post and accusing people like ourselves as being anti-public transport. The latest one from @AntiAntiHS2 read “@Bham_FOE I despair of FOE NO HS2 4 extra lanes on M40 both sides Wishing and idealism gets U nowhere.” and this is not the first time I have had such responses.

Now this is just so ridiculous. Although there was a stupid suggestion in the Birmingham Post today that the government should spend over a billion pounds buying up the M6 toll and making it free for everyone to use!!! Generally, there is more acceptance now that just building more motorway capacity is not the way forward and has not solved problems, but just caused more over the past 50 years of following such a strategy.

The price of oil is only going one way (up) and electric cars are good for shorter journeys, but not able to take over the burden of transporting people over long distances yet. It would be lunacy of the highest order to be basing a transport strategy on cheap oil and continued use of private motor vehicles now.

If the government is saying there is £2bn a year to spend on transport, we should not be arguing over the cost of HS2 and saying we can't afford to spend the money, we should be arguing for the best possible use of that money to transform our transport system and future-proof it and our economy.

See these articles on our website for more details on our views:

http://birminghamfoe.org.uk/transport-news/is-hs2-the-way-to-create-sustainable-transport-and-jobs

http://birminghamfoe.org.uk/transport-news/should-we-spend-30bn-on-high-speed-rail

and the problems we foresee with HS2 specifically as a rail plan are outlined in the Right Lines charter that FoE is signed up to:

http://www.cpre.org.uk/what-we-do/transport/rail/update/item/1683-a-charter-for-high-speed-rail

So, should we support HS2, just because it's currently the only public transport scheme being proposed for the £2bn a year? No, we should continue our campaigns for the best possible deal for everyone and the highest possible standards of sustainability in the government's transport plans.

Will this lead to more motorways being built or a better transport system to benefit the country and the planet? That's up to the democratic processes of the country, but we'll fight for the latter every step of the way.

Joe Peacock

Weekly compilation 10.06.11

Here are some of the stories that caught our eye on twitter this week:

Transport

That's interesting - a High Speed Rail conference with both sides represented: http://bit.ly/l4RyTN - hope there's a good debate on #HS2

RT @wwwfoecouk: Blog: Babble in the cycle bubble?: Is it normal to go by bike? http://goo.gl/fb/owsnR - Only for 1.5% here.

Critical Mass seems to be gaining popularity in Birmingham. How about a Bike Train? http://bit.ly/jmJ1SC

Had heard about this - excellent video! RT @BikeFoundry: Came across this today. Ridiculous! http://tinyurl.com/3j7m2bu

RT @wwwfoecouk: Ban for most polluting traffic? Councils should favour public transport, walking & cycling #airqualityhttp://bit.ly/kY6WvM

Air travel is still far too cheap if you consider the environmental costs and tax breaks the industry enjoys: http://tgr.ph/l2vc2P

'If someone says boo, we do not change our laws – that would not be serious." - EU will not back down on ETS: http://bit.ly/lU6V5Z

WWF: "Congress should stop interfering with Europe's aviation carbon pollution policy" http://bit.ly/jdjCGo

RT @RichardHebditch: Done quick blog on response to transport cttee on #HS2. Will probably not please pros or antishttp://bit.ly/k1D5Ba

RT @philiploy: What cycling really needs no 1 http://bit.ly/jhWiNeand 2 http://bit.ly/iYaTkr

Energy & Climate Change

RT @newscientist: Renewables needn't be fickle as the weather: This green machine powers up in wind, rain or shinehttp://bit.ly/jhu2vn

Report on our #energybill meeting with Steve McCabe MP and others is now up on @wwwfoecouk website: http://bit.ly/iOnKFr

RT @wwwfoecouk: Watch Nick Clegg feel the heat on energy saving http://bit.ly/lT2gop #energybill

RT @wwwfoecouk: Should I install renewables? Feed-in tariffs and the renewable heat incentive: new guide for householdshttp://bit.ly/iOWDNf

RT @wwwfoecouk: Government slashes solar electricity funding & stop communities producing their own solar electricityhttp://goo.gl/fb/wmu2K

"It's time to put a brake on gas exploration": http://bit.ly/mb7E3l says Mike Childs if we want future of secure renewable energy supplies

Very worrying that CO2 emissions are going up not down at most universities when urgent cuts are needed: http://bit.ly/kWONM7 #greenleague

Food, Waste and Local Shops

Government set to make waste prevention a priority:http://bit.ly/jmxB83 - about time, reduce being the first and most important of 3 Rs

Strengthen the Localism Bill and Curb Supermarket Expansion:http://bit.ly/kr8sxg - update on Birmingham situation, plus link to action.

RT @BhamEnvironment: Warehouse Cafe are overall winners of Bham Green Restaurant of Year 2011. Details of other winnershttp://bit.ly/mewqug

RT @SoilAssociation: 'We should all have beef with factory farming', says Geoffrey Lean in The Telegraph. http://bit.ly/iRh3a6

Others

Tim has blogged on being on the streets campaigning with opera singers: http://bit.ly/mixdwK

Even conservative MPs think there are massive problems with the localism bill: http://bit.ly/mFuDO2

Our response to Natural Environment White Paper: Bolder policy change needed to protect nature in UK and abroad:http://bit.ly/iVFVGc

Daisy's doing an MA in Contemporary History and is looking for people involved in the Anti Poll Tax Movement to help:http://bit.ly/kErj32

RT @davebriggs: "Using digital tools to build local activism"http://bit.ly/ml8PQa

Save the Diva - Birmingham gets Street Opera

On Saturday 5 June, the opera came to Birmingham and hit the streets!

The Opera Group performed Save The Diva - a short opera focussing on climate change and consumerism.

Our mission – raise awareness of the issues, promote Birmingham Friends of the Earth and encourage passers-by to attend Seven Angels, a full-scale climate change opera based on John Milton's Paradise Lost at the CBSO on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 June.

With Birmingham activists Rosie and Hetta plus Friends of the Earth Events Manager Joanna Watson on hand to explain things to curious passers-by, this was campaigning with a difference.

As you can see from these photos, the performers certainly stood out in Birmingham city centre.

So if you like what you see, come along to Seven Angels in a week’s time! We will have a presence there too and an opportunity for climate campaigner Rob Pass to address the audience after the Saturday matinee.

Tim Atkinson

Imagine the Digbeth Summit...

Next Thursday, you can find out about some of the exciting projects that are currently happening in Digbeth and put forward ideas for the area’s future development at this FREE public event.

With presentations from Birmingham Friends of the Earth, Project Pigeon, Digbeth Residents Association, Edible Eastside, Reclaim the Spaces and more, followed by a discussion chaired by Gavin Wade, director of Eastside Projects.

Thursday 9 June
6.30-8pm

Eastside Projects, 86 Heath Mill Lane, Digbeth, Birmingham, B9 4AR, 0121 7711778, www.eastsideprojects.org

We are very much looking forward to taking part in this discussion and telling people how we envisage a sustainable future for Digbeth.

Joe Peacock

New festival for our lockups crew

This year, we are pleased to announce that we're adding Shambala to the list of festivals where we are running lockups.

This year Sustrans have teamed up with Shambala to offer festivalgoers guided rides from 8 cities and towns around the UK. As part of their commitment to green travel and cycling, the rides are being subsidized, so it's a great way to get there and get fit.

Shambala is set on a beautiful country estate, in the heart of the English countryside. With stunning lakes, lush flat fields, woodlands, and meadows. Over the bridges find healers waiting to massage and pamper fun fatigued limbs. Lounge around in hot tubs sipping cocktails or swim in the lake amongst giant lotus flowers.

The festival caters for families, as they say; "Shambala has long been known as being one of the most family friendly events with a wild side. We know what families need - we all have kids! This year we have a dedicated quiet family camping area a stones throw from the car parks, a toddlers tent, baby bathing, one of the biggest kids areas known to the festival world, and bedtime stories with cocoa in the campsite yurt."

To further boost their green credentials, the event "is 99% powered by wind sun and waste veg oil. And has been judged the greenest outdoor event by Industry Green and A Greener Festival." Also, they pride themselves on being completely independent till the day they die! So you will not see any adverts trying to sell you stuff you don’t need or want on site!

I'm sure our volunteers will enjoy working on site and we hope that festival-goers will find our service to keep valuables safe a positive addition at this and all the other festivals we're at this summer.