Birmingham Friends of the Earth Newsletter - Autumn 2015

Birmingham

Newsletter Autumn 2015

friends of the earth

Beyond Paris On 30 November, representatives from countries around the world will gather outside Paris for two weeks of negotiations at the catchily titled United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties. Much has been said about the tortuous history of these talks, which have been going on for decades with very little of substance to show for it. And, Paris is more significant than most in terms of ratifying commitments and agreeing action.

Continued on Page 12

Contents 3 - Campaigns’ Digest 5 - In the Media 7 - West Midlands Pension Fund – Divest!

10 - Confronting our Privilige 12 - Beyond Paris (continued from front cover) 14 - West Midlands Combined Authority 15 - Big Green Debate 18 - Warehouse News 20 - Halloween Harvest Festival 21 - Volunteer Spotlight 22 - Diary 23 - Contact us

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Campaigns’ Digest Happy Autumn! We’ve had a busy summer here at Birmingham Friends of the Earth, with lots of stalls and activities.

With an action-packed next couple of months, there’ll be no lull during the autumn. We’ll be continuing to focus on the Waste isn’t Rubbish part of our Go Local campaign, as well as working on Climate Mobilisation in the run-up to the Paris climate talks and beyond. Hope to see you at an event or stall near you!

Economics The Birmingham Pound is still very much in the planning stage at the moment. We’re hoping to have some more news about this in the next few months, so watch this space!

Energy & Climate Change Following on from the Speak Up Climate Lobby, we’ve got stuck into organising lots of Climate events and activities. We’re working with other groups on campaigning around Divestment in Birmingham and the West Midlands, including organising for the Reclaim Power Day of Action on 10th October. In collaboration with Eco-Sutton, Equality West Midlands and Christian Aid, we’ve organised a panel discussion on ensuring strong and fair international action. If that wasn’t enough we’re also keeping tabs on, and helping promote, lots of other

climate related action over the Autumn. See Rox’s article for more details on these activities, and check out Rob’s article for more details on the Divestment campaign.

Nature As we go to press, we’re in the midst of organising a Halloween Harvest Festival event on 31st October as part of our nature work.

We’re still ironing out the finer details, but check out Tim’s article for more info and keep an eye for more promotion on our website.

Planning

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Campaigns’ Digest (Continued from page 3) Birmingham’s master planning document, the Birmingham Development Plan, which has been in development for a couple of years, has now been sent back from the planning inspector for the City Council to make a few changes. We’ll be having a look to see if there’s anything major being changed, and responding accordingly.

Transport We’ve also been looking into some consultations on transport with the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority consulting on its new strategy. Check out our website for more details of what we thought.

campaigning, with lots of talking to people on stalls as well as speaking at many community meetings across Birmingham. We’ve had a great response to our campaign for a zero waste city, with lots of petition signatures and groups signing up to support the campaign. We’ll be continuing our waste campaign into the Autumn, putting pressure on Birmingham City Council to close the incinerator and create the most sustainable waste strategy possible.

We’re always looking for help with all of our campaigning work, so if anything that we’re working on has taken your fancy, please do get in touch. Our contacts are on page 23.

Waste It’s been a busy summer for waste

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Julien Pritchard

In the Media Media coverage can be a bit unpredictable sometimes. You think you have a fantastic story which is going to get you lots of coverage, but it turns out the media would have been more interested by a story about watching paint dry. Other times you aren’t hoping for a lot, but you suddenly get a shedload of coverage.

Campaign stunts can be a bit hit and miss sometimes; the media often jaded by having seen it all before.

This means that you have to be particularly creative for the story to be covered because of the action alone. Our campaign stunt to launch Waste isn’t Rubbish (see last issue) was lots of fun, but I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t been done before. Yet, it got a heap of media coverage.

Our stunt outside the Council House was covered in no less than five media outlets, including the Birmingham Post, Birmingham Mail, Tyburn Mail, Chartered Institute of Waste Management, and the Birmingham Press. As well as being quoted in these articles, our waste campaigner Libby Harris had a radio interview with Charmaine from the local community radio station, Newstyle Radio. Not only did we get lots of attention, but the coverage did a good job of communicating the

issues and our campaign. It really felt like we were leading the debate on resource use in the city.

We talked about our campaign asks of a food waste collection and more composting, more kerbside recycling, the use of local companies to process our waste, as well as the opportunity presented by the end of the council’s contract with Veolia, and their consultation on a new waste strategy.

As well as the coverage of our campaign launch, I was interviewed on BBC WM about the new plastic bag charge. In addition, our Campaigns Co-ordinator, Roxanne Green, had her first television interview with a slot on Big Centre TV, the new television station for Birmingham and the Black Country.

So, not a bad month for the media, and hopefully we’ll continue finding stories with rich seams of media coverage.

Julien Pritchard

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Support

Birmingham Friends of the Earth We are the only organisation in Birmingham that campaigns on Air Quality, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Energy, Transport, Planning, Waste and Recycling.

You can help us to do this in a number of ways: 1) By taking part in our campaigns; 2) By joining us as a supporter; 3) Both.

Whichever route you decide, you are helping to change your environment for the better and making sure that those who pollute, monopolise or despoil locally, nationally, or internationally are held accountable.

What your gift could provide: £10 To help campaign for cleaner air and a more sustainable transport system.

£10 To help push for more and better recycling in Birmingham. £10 To help create a community garden in the heart of Digbeth

birminghamfoe

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West Midlands Pension Fund – Divest!

“It makes no sense to invest in companies that undermine our future. We need an apartheidstyle boycott to save the planet.”

Desmond Tutu, 2014 We know that over 80% of the world’s proven coal, oil and gas reserves need to stay in the ground if we want to stop climate change.

And, yet, each year hundreds of billions of pounds is invested in finding new sources of fossil fuels that, if burned, will cook the planet.

At least we haven’t got this crazed insanity on our consciences, right?

Well, actually it depends on how you look at it! Much of the money required to find and exploit new sources of fossil fuels comes from our investments in shares in these

companies. The extent of pension fund wealth that is invested in fossil fuel companies is simply enormous.

There is a rapidly growing global alliance campaigning for divestment from these fossil fuel businesses.

There have already been hundreds of successes in persuading universities, pension funds, churches and other institutions around the world to take their investments out of fossil fuels and into clean energy alternatives.

Divestment is a growing and increasingly successful juggernaut.

Friends of the Earth is about to launch a new campaign mobilising the wealth of experience and existing contacts many FOE groups have from years of engaging with

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West Midlands Pension Fund – Divest! (Continued from page 7) their local council. We are going to persuade local authorities to go fossil-free.

For the first time, thanks to 350. org research, we can reveal that across the UK, £14 billion of local government public money is invested in fossil fuels via pension funds. Three quarters of these direct fossil fuel shareholdings are in only ten companies, headed by BP and Shell.

The West Midlands Pension Fund alone has £355 million in fossil fuels.

Its biggest direct fossil holding is £59m in Shell; others are BP, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and BG Group.

The West Midlands Pension Fund is one of the UK’s largest pension funds. It contains the Local Government Pension Schemes of seven local councils – Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Sandwell, Dudley, Solihull, Coventry and Walsall.

The responsibility for “strategic investment opportunities” and “implementation of investment policy” lies with the Investment Advisory Sub-Committee, which comprises representatives from the seven district councils and two local trade unions. It is ultimately this sub-committee which holds the power to change their investment strategy.

However, it will be a combination of ordinary people writing to

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Councillors, building pressure from the local media and social media, and possibly a large West Midlandswide petition, that will determine the success of the campaign.

I will now make a prediction. This campaign will not be quick and easy! It is going to be a gradual process of building momentum and support with other local environmental groups, making alliances with groups who represent fund members, such as trade union representatives of council workers, the council workers themselves (not just Councillors), and individual councils within the fund.

It’s about pointing out the moral and financial arguments behind divestment, and both cases are strong. However, we might find that our council is not warm to the idea, in which case we will need to make it easier for them. As a first step, it may be easier to persuade them to divest from the dirtiest forms of energy, such as coal and tar sands.

Partial divestment is a good start!

Finally, we need to be shouting from the rooftops about the opportunities that clean energy investments represent for our futures.

If, like me, you think this sounds like the makings of a classic Birmingham Friends of the Earth campaign, please do get in touch and help us change the world!

Robert Pass

Warehouse Merchandise Organic, Fair Wear, Artist Designed, Locally Printed T-Shirts

£15

All Proceeds Go To Our Community Garden

Our limited edition ‘Green Heart’ T-shirts have been lovingly produced for you by Stanley and Stella and Get a Grip.

Stanley and Stella are specialists in ethically produced garments, using only sustainable and environmentally friendly raw materials.

Stanley and Stella work with the Fair Wear Foundation, an independent non profit organisation that aims to improve labour conditions for textile and garment workers.

Get-a-Grip are a unique, local screenprinting company that use their Punk Rock DIY ethic to print a wide range of garments. Their Digbeth based workshop employs a small production team that use traditional screen printing techniques and waterbased inks.

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Confronting our Privilege

Intersectionality and the implications for environmental activism is something I’ve been grappling with for a while. The study of intersections between forms or systems of oppression, domination or discrimination, the theory suggests that various axes of identity interact on multiple and often simultaneous levels, contributing to systemic injustice and social inequality.

Intersectionality holds that the classical conceptualizations of oppression within society do not act independently of one another.

Instead, these forms of oppression interrelate, creating a system

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of oppression that reflects the “intersection” of multiple forms of discrimination. That’s what you can find out about the term on Wikipedia.

But the Young Friends of the Earth Europe Summer Camp in July this year put the issue of intersectionality front and centre in a way that I have never encountered in the environmental movement.

We explored what privilege meant in a personal and challenging way.

Sometimes this meant a difficult atmosphere, with controversial views aired and high emotions. It was intense, I believe, cathartic and necessary, but uncomfortable. Really

thinking deeply about our roles in systemic oppression is a difficult thing to do.

On top of that, most participants were communicating in a language they were not fluent in. Language makes a massive difference.

Some people couldn’t adequately express what they wanted to. Some misinterpreted things. Others held back from contributing for fear that their language skills would not enable them to communicate effectively. We were also a diverse group in terms of cultural background and familiarity with the issues. Some of us had been studying intersectionality for a long time, while others had never heard the term. A number of us were also sleep-deprived and suffering the aftereffects of French red wine. This stuff is hard – and external factors have an effect.

For my part I found conversations helpful in understanding how to respond to these issues. For those of us coming from situations of comparative privilege, it can be difficult to know what to do for the best. Millennia of systemic structural injustice can weigh heavy. It is important to acknowledge this and move past paralysing guilt. It’s not about individuals, it’s about systems. I was born into a system I didn’t choose and I didn’t create. I

....an ongoing process where you ‘start and never stop’.... cannot bear the whole responsibility for it. What I am responsible for is acknowledging the ways in which I have benefited from the system.

I am responsible for talking to my peers and trying to educate them. And I am responsible for challenging systems of injustice and for consciously trying to counteract their effects.

The most important thing I took from the week is that it’s OK to make mistakes, that we need to keep actively trying to engage with the subject, that it’s an ongoing process where you ‘start and never stop’ as one participant put it. No one person has all the answers, we all need to strive to do our best and be open to getting things wrong, be prepared to listen and to take feedback on board. That’s a hard thing to do, but if we want a movement that truly encompasses justice and equity, it’s the most important thing we can do.

Roxanne Green

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Beyond Paris (continued from front cover)

However, far more interesting than bureaucrats and diplomats debating minutiae of carbon emissions in a corporate-sponsored airport conference suite is what’s happening outside of that space. On site, in central Paris, and across the world, civil society is working together to mobilise activists in a show of defiance against the injustice of global paralysis. We know that even if the outcome of the talks is more positive than we expect, the answers aren’t going to come from leaders and that Paris isn’t the last word in climate justice. Rather, it is a moment in time when people are talking about climate change, and a point that could galvanise the movement into something broader and more powerful than it is today.

On 28 and 29 November, as our leaders descend upon Paris, there are decentralised marches happening in capital cities across the globe, to let them know we’re watching and prepared to make a stand. In the UK, there are marches in Cardiff and Edinburgh on Saturday 28th, and in London on Sunday 29th. On the weekend

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of 5 and 6 December, a mass global village of alternatives is being held in Paris by the Alternatiba community. This will demonstrate the myriad local projects and forms of organising that already exist and show that there is nothing inevitable about the current system. There will also be acts of protest and civil disobedience over the two weeks across Paris.

The most important actions, however, are happening in Paris over the final weekend of the fortnight, as the negotiators pack up and head home. Friends of the Earth International are organising an event on the evening of Friday 11 December, bringing together the network in an action to ‘light up the dark’. Then, on Saturday 12 December, activists from all manner of environmental and social justice movements will join together to create a mass demonstration of solidarity and unity. Whatever our leaders cobble together during the talks, it is ordinary people, global citizens, who will have the last word.

Birmingham Friends of the Earth is going to be in the thick of activities leading up to, during, and after the talks. Over the next couple of months, there are a number of dates planned in the city to highlight international climate justice issues and mobilise people ahead of December. On Saturday 10 October, we will be taking part in the

international Reclaim Power day of action against dirty energy. Details are being finalised as we go to press but this is going to put pressure on Birmingham City Council to divest from fossil fuels. See Rob’s article for further details about this campaign.

Five days later, on Thursday 15 October, we are co-hosting an evening panel discussion with EcoSutton, Equality West Midlands and Christian Aid. Speakers include Andrew Mitchell MP, Donna Hume from Friends of the Earth, and Mark Letcher from Operation Noah. This starts at 7pm at St Peter’s Hall in Sutton Coldfield. See our website to book a place.

Many more activities are in the offing and being developed over the Autumn by other groups as well. There’s a play called Baked Alaska at All Saints Church Centre exploring climate change from a Christian perspective, in Kings Heath on 20 October. On the evening of 28 November, there will be an interfaith vigil in the centre of Birmingham, as well as possible other actions earlier in the day. And, of course, we will be going down to London to join the national demonstration on 29 November, as well as heading under the sea to Paris itself for the 11 and 12 December. Friends of the Earth, nationally, is organising climate trains and accommodation and we should be linking in with that; if you

are interested in joining us do get in touch.

Getting to Paris is one thing, but keeping the energy and focus on the climate moment after the end of the year is a whole other challenge.

The ‘Where do we go from here?’ question still has many possible answers, but things like fracking, roads, aviation, coal are going to be key battlegrounds for people to organise around. In Birmingham, the divestment campaign is growing quickly. And, on 31 January, there is a People’s Climate Assembly being planned in London to take forward some of the networks that have developed leading up to Paris.

I’m excited about being part of this moment in time and having the opportunity to join so many other people in articulating a vision of a better world. I would encourage anybody that cares about justice and fairness to join us in Birmingham, London or Paris, if you are able. It’s far too important an issue to leave up to the leaders.

Roxanne Green

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West Midlands Combined Authority

Next April Fools’ Day will see the establishment of a new West Midlands Combined Authority. This involves the coming together of Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall, Birmingham, Coventry and Solihull councils and members from each will sit on the board. The new organisation is proposed to give joined-up thinking on issues such as: transport (what is now Centro will be included as part of the structure), marketing, economic investment, regeneration and some other public services. As part of the ‘devolution’ agenda, set out by Lord Heseltine, and which George Osborne is pushing, the WMCA will likely have an elected mayor.

Whilst we often bemoan the lack of co-operation between neighbouring councils, and this new authority may be advantageous when it comes to a number of issues, in particular infrastructure, there is also the potential for this new authority to go awry in certain areas. It is always worth being suspicious of

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new organisations set up without grassroots support and the public clamouring for it. It would be interesting to know what percentage of people in the region have even heard of the WMCA, but I bet it would be in single figures, making it fundamentally undemocratic from the start. And, without public knowledge or awareness of this plan, it means that the very national politicians we don’t trust to do practically anything right are able to design political structures in their own image and inevitably for their constituents’ (bankers and oligarchs) interests.

It would be great to have a truly democratic confederacy between people in the West Midlands. There

It would be great to have a truly democratic confederacy between people in the West Midlands. is no reason why such structures couldn’t be designed, and the Greater Manchester CA has to be given a fair amount of credit,

in particular for its organising of transport links. However, I suspect that George Osborne’s definition of ‘devolution’ (as opposed to the dictionary definition) is more what the West Midlands Combined Authority represents, and their website has a predictably corporate and top-down feel about it. A senior councillor at the recent Local Enterprise Partnership conference admitted that there was a history of metro/city mayors becoming quite dictatorial, but these things ultimately come down to levels of

public participation, so BFoE and others must work to build that as far as possible.

Adam McCusker

Big Green Debate - Anaerobic Digestion To tie-in with our current waste campaign we take a look at anaerobic digestion in this installment of the Big Green Debate.

Shaz Rahman takes a critical view of the technology, whilst John Newson argues it’s one of many parts of a zero waste strategy.

No The idea of anaerobic digestion is a good idea in theory. Creating gas via possible waste seems to be a positive way to use what could otherwise be discarded as rubbish.

On a very small scale, anaerobic

digestion can work well. The reality, however, is that we risk creating new demand for anaerobic digestion rather than tackling the problems at root source. There are better ways to deal with potential waste that could end up in anaerobic digestion.

A big problem with anaerobic digestion is the source materials that will be used in anaerobic digestion. A lot of the waste material would be better utilised elsewhere.

The first priority is to reduce the amount of waste produced in the first place. A significant amount of waste that could end up in anaerobic digestion does not need

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Big Green Debate (Continued) to end up there. Approximately, a third of food bought ends up in bins.

Many restaurants plan to throw away a percentage of the food they cook. Rather than creating new industries to cater for our wasteful habits, we need to change those habits. If we better matched up our needs with what we use, we could better manage the smaller amount of waste produced and there would not be such a demand for waste processes like anaerobic digestion.

The other big problem with anaerobic digestion and, in particular, large scale anaerobic digestion, is that we risk creating a large scale industry for waste that can be better dealt with elsewhere.

Even if we do massively reduce the waste we create by using much less, there will still be waste that does need to be dealt with.

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There are industries that claim to be environmentally friendly but have turned out not to be. One example is the biomass industry. Small scale biomass using local waste wood from farms is a good idea. However, the industry also acts in a way that is damaging to the environment.

Large scale wood is being grown specifically in places like Canada and then transported across the Atlantic Ocean to be used in Britain.

The big example we have in Birmingham for a seemingly environmentally friendly waste usage system is the Tyseley incinerator. The incinerator takes Birmingham’s waste and burns it to produce electricity. On the face of it, this appears to be a good idea as electricity is being produced from waste. The problem is that the incinerator is Birmingham’s biggest carbon emitter and that it diverts waste that could be used elsewhere to use for the incinerator. Recycling rates in Birmingham are much lower than the surrounding cities because a lot of our waste is reserved for the incinerator.

The same problem could happen for anaerobic digestion. If we create a large scale industry for anaerobic digestion we could have source material being specifically produced for the industry.

Shaz Rahman

Yes Digestion by bacteria is Nature’s way of dealing with food waste, in the intestines of people and animals. For centuries every town’s food waste went to pigs, chickens and cows, but it is not practical to do this on the scale of a modem city, so we should plan for digestion in Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plants, to make our wet, organic waste into useful products.

“Food waste” does not mean food fit for human consumption is being wasted, rather we are talking about all the waste from food preparation.

People are wasteful with food, which needs to be tackled, but only part of food waste is avoidable, so there has to be a sustainable pathway for the remainder. My kitchen caddy has peelings, stalks, rinds, dirty paper, tea bags and floor sweepings – not the ingredients for soup! I compost it with my garden waste, but half the households in Birmingham have no garden, so a household collection will be needed, and the waste is too contaminated for pig swill. Food is perishable – it goes off and rots.

Restaurants, schools, hospitals, produce a huge volume of stuff that is not edible but is biodegradable.

Feeding waste to animals can transmit disease between species and this is the reason it was stopped. Livestock farming has a

huge pollution footprint, because of the animals’ uncontrolled methane (at both ends!) - a gas 30 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas. This is the reason why Friends of the Earth recommends a lower meat diet for the UK . The argument for ‘feeding’ AD plants is that the gases are enclosed, so the biogas gets burned instead of fossil gas or oil, leaving them under the ground. ‘Green gas’ from AD plants is carbon from the air, so it will be an essential part of Zero Carbon Britain .

AD’s other product is liquid fertiliser.

Nutrients are returned to farms, hence AD plants in cities can reconnect our excess fertility to the fertility deficit of Britain’s soil, so we need to import less food.

There is no one answer to waste, but anaerobic digestion looks like an essential tool in the kit. AD might be abused, but that requires the right regulation, not being against the technology.

John Newson

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Warehouse News Simon and Susan are a couple that are passionate about healthy living and all natural food, this is reflected in their knowledge and love of all things superfoody!

Their new shop, ‘Natural Healthy Foods’, housed within the Friends of the Earth Warehouse, is a convenience store and meeting place for like-minded people, and anyone who may be interested in leading a health-conscious lifestyle.

In keeping with the theme of the shop of the last 30 years, it will remain completely vegan, though it has been refurbished, giving the little shop a new lease of life. This will allow customers to stock up on their old vegan favourites and find

some new exciting stock, too.

Raw snacks, superfood powders, and vegan supplements are just a few of the items that can be found in the hundreds of new lines that have been added already. The new team are all very excited about the ability to shop online for all customers in the near future!

For all the long-time lovers of the vegan store, fresh krulls snacks will be provided every week, including all the old favourites, from chocolate muffins to Cornish pasties. There will be posts on Facebook whenever fresh deliveries come in. On top of this, Natural Healthy Foods continues to add fresh exciting products including: new brands, like raw food from InSpiral; frozen treats, like ice cream from Booja Booja; Amy’s Kitchen burgers and Mac and Cheese; and smoothie ingredients like frozen kale and spinach. To top it all off, stocks will include amazing chocolate brands from the likes of Conscious Chocolate and Ananda’s!

The new team are very passionate about meeting the needs of the local community. All new stock ideas are welcome and the team will do their best to accommodate any interesting new lines or large orders that are requested; they love to hear new ideas and be introduced to

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new vegan ranges!

interest to everyone who comes

The new owners of the shop are excited to meet all existing and new customers and look forward to talking endlessly about food, veganism, health and diet. We are sure that their backgrounds in naturopathic nutrition with be of

through the door. In the near future, the shop hopes to host tasting events for the customers and local community, as well as taking part in local food fairs and events. All information will be on their website, Facebook, and Twitter accounts!

Be sure to pop in, have a chat with the team and stock up on all new vegan treats!

Website: http://www. naturalhealthyfoods.co.uk/ Facebook: https://www. facebook.com/100percentvegan Twitter: https://twitter.com/ nhfoodsuk

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Halloween Harvest Festival

The winter season is fast approaching but before the days become short, and while the leaves are still clinging to their trees, we thought that it was about time we got together to celebrate nature in Birmingham, and appreciate the opportunities we have to grow into a greener, healthier city.

So, if spooky costumes, Halloween games, and great food are your thing, then keep October 31st clear in your diaries because this year we’re putting on our very own Halloween Harvest Festival!

It will be a public event so we’re hoping to see some new faces, as well as some more familiar ones. It promises to be good fun for all ages, with games, activities and prizes to be won, so please invite your friends

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and family.

Fancy dress will be encouraged and there will, of course, be plenty of delicious food. There will also be an opportunity to exhibit your weird and wonderful home-grown produce. We want to showcase the weird and wonderful homegrown veg that wouldn’t make it onto the supermarket shelves, so we’re having a strangest vegetable competition. If you have a terrifying turnip, contorted carrot, or a misshapen marrow, bring it along.

The event will be held in Digbeth Community Garden just behind The Warehouse. Details of the activities and exact times are yet to be confirmed but we’ll be there all afternoon. Hope to see you all there.

Tim Thorpe

Volunteer Spotlight How long have you been volunteering with BFoE? I’ve been volunteering at BFoE for almost a year; I started around October 2014.

What do you do here?

I deal mostly with nature related things at BFoE. My forte lies with animals and wildlife conservation as that’s what I studied at university, so nature and biodiversity seemed to be the most natural fit for me here at BFoE. You’ll find me in the office quite often researching, emailing, networking, updating social media and occasionally writing articles.

What do you like about working here?

I like meeting new people who are like-minded and who care about the same kinds of issues as I do. I also like the fact that, as a volunteer, my input and work is valued and I’m able to choose to work on issues in which I’m interested.

What have you learnt from volunteering with BFoE? I have learnt a lot about campaigning, and also that we are able to make an impact on the issues we work on as a small group of passionate people.

What do you think is the most important environmental issue and why?

I would have to say animal agriculture. It’s not commonly talked about as an environmental issue, but it is one of the worst offenders for water consumption, pollution, deforestation and rainforest destruction, and creates more greenhouse gases than our transport system does.

What’s your best green tip/ advice?

I guess it would have to be: consider a more sustainable diet, eat less meat and dairy, and source food locally and organically when able. It also pays to grow your own!

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Diary Dates Campaign Meetings - Mondays 7.30pm 12th October: Action Meeting Nature 19th October: Discussion Meeting Intersectionality 26th October: Action Meeting Nature 2nd November: General Meeting 9th November: Action Meeting (TBC) 16th November: Action Meeting (TBC) 23rd November: Action Meeting (TBC) 30th November: Action Meeting (TBC) 7th December: General Meeting 14th December: Action Meeting (TBC)

Other Events 10th October: Birmingham Funeral for Fossil Fuel Investments Birmingham City Centre 15th October: Sutton Coldfield Climate Discussion with Andrew Mitchell MP - St Peter’s Church Sutton Coldfield 31st October: Halloween Harvest Festival - Digbeth Community Garden 28th November: Faiths for a Low Carbon Future Climate Vigil Birmingham City Centre 29th November: Peoples March for Climate Justice & Jobs 11th & 12th December: Actions around Paris Climate Talks See Northfield Eco Centre (http:// www.northfieldecocentre.org) for more events and workshops.

21st December: Action Meeting (TBC) 28th December: No Meeting

Farmers’ Markets Birmingham University: 4th Wednesday of the month 9am-2pm Harborne: 2nd Saturday of the month 9am-2pm Kings Heath: 1st Saturday of the month 9am-3:30pm Kings Norton: 2nd Saturday of the month 9am-2pm

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Moseley: 4th Saturday of the month 9am-3pm New Street: 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month 10am-4pm Solihull: 1st Friday of the month 9am-5pm Sutton Coldfield: 2nd Friday of the month 9am-3pm Jewellery Quarter: 3rd Saturday of the month 10am-3pm

Contacts Contact us:

Campaigns Co-ordinator: Roxanne Green & Shaz Rahman

Friends of the Earth (Birmingham) The Warehouse 54-57 Allison Street Birmingham B5 5TH

General Manager: Philip Burrows

Tel: (0121) 632 6909 Fax: (0121) 643 3122

Treasurer: Margaret Lynch

E-mail: info@birminghamfoe.org.uk

Economics: Adam McCusker

Web: www.birminghamfoe.org.uk

Friends of the Earth is: - The largest international network of environmental groups in the world, represented in 72 countries.

- One of the UK’s leading enviromental pressure groups.

- A unique network of campaigning local groups, working in more than 200 communities in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

- Over 90% of its funds come from its supporters.

Birmingham FoE: Campaigns at a local level to effect environmental change (in ways which feed into national and international policy) through:

Campaigns Support Worker: Julien Pritchard

Nature Christina Nijjar Planning: Ben Mabbett Waste & Recycling: Libby Harris John Newson Maria Marsden Newsletter Editors: Margarita Galkina Zoe Wright Website Editor: Philip Burrows Talks: Julien Pritchard and others All enquiries and callers welcome.

- Lobbying - Education - Empowering others to take action - Participation and representation through public fora

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