Birmingham Friends of The Earth newsletter - Apr-May 2009

20 miles per hour - Lower risks - Better lives!

Road accidents are the leading cause of death and serious injury in children and young people in Britain. While Britain’s road safety record is good overall, our record on child pedestrian safety is one of the worst in Europe, with a death rate that is double Germany’s.

Introducing 20mph speed limits is proven to make a major reduction on road casualty rates (60-70%). Furthermore, they take away the fear felt by families surrounded by fast moving traffic and encourage people to walk and cycle more! Schemes in towns such as Portsmouth and Kingston-upon-Hull Continued on Page 12

Campaigns Digest 3 - Campaigns Digest 5

- Warehouse

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- Food chain

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- Guest Article - Spanish Bombs

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- The Story of Stuff

10 - Big Plan for the Big City 12

Cover Article - 20 miles per hour

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- Operation Nauseous Taurus

17 - Capping Carbon = Economic Sense 18 - Water Footprints 20 - Volunteer in the Spotlight 21

- Diary

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- Membership Form

23 - Contacts

Aviation Despite Solihull Council being “minded to approve” the expansion of Birmingham International Airport, the Flyagra campaign continues. In mid-February we received a letter stating that the Section 106 Agreement (legal conditions placed on planning applications) for the expansion was ready and invited us to comment.

Needless to say we did, and made it clear that we wanted it to include greater limits on noise, night flights and carbon emissions and greater provision for public transport to the airport. The next council planning meeting is on 31st March and you can bet we’ll be there.

Energy and Climate Change Recently we have seen a jump in the number of organisations signing up to the “Energy Revolution” campaign to pressure the government into far greater investment in renewable energy.

We’re asking local organisations and businesses to sign a postcard to their MP showing their support for the campaign and so far 39 have.

We’re in the middle of a big letter writing drive, so we expect that number to rise. You can check our progress at www.birminghamfoe. org.uk and if you’d like to sign up your business or organisation, get in touch at campaigns@ birminghamfoe.org.uk.

Transport The Transport Action Group continues to campaign for more local rail services and 20mph speed

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limits on Birmingham’s streets.

In local rail news, it was recently announced that Kings Heath and Moseley would have passenger stations within 20 years, but BFoE are going to keep up the pressure to ensure it happens a lot sooner. There’s also been news that the council are to introduce 20mph limits around all schools in Birmingham, which could lend weight to our 20mph campaign. If you want to get involved, there are Transport Action Group meetings on 20th April and 18th May.

Local Shops & Food Local Shops & Food work has been focused on the national “Food Chain” campaign, which looks at what’s feeding our food. The European meat industry relies

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Campaigns Digest heavily on cheap soy beans from plantations in South America that are leading to rainforest destruction, forced evictions of local people and climate change. The campaign wants to change this and make sure our livestock are reared in a sustainable and ethical way.

It’s still early days, but if you’d like to get involved, please come to our next Local Shops & Food meeting on 27th April. You can also find out more in the article Food Chain – The Hidden Impacts or visit www. foe.co.uk/foodchain.

Planning Planning campaigning has picked up speed at BFoE since the new year. There was a fantastic group effort to produce a response to the Big City Plan consultation, which you can read about in the article Big Plan for the Big City. Since then the Planning Action Group has met for the first time in months and has raised concerns about two new developments in Digbeth; a skyscraper and a multi-story car park.

Multifaith Project Our work with faith communities continues to be popular in Birmingham and around the region. We’ve been collecting carbon emission data from places of worship interested in carrying out energy audits of their premises and implementing carbon reduction measures. Emily Eastwood has joined us for a few months to explore possibilities for holding

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events in some of our city parks over the summer and will also be continuing our work around Food and Faith. Please contact maud@ birminghamfoe.org.uk if you’d like to know more.

Recently we have seen a jump in the number of organisations signing up to the “Energy Revolution” campaign

The shops and companies here have all come together because they are dedicated to working towards a healthier, more organic city.

So if you want to help make Birmingham a cleaner, greener place to live, or you just want to eat some good vegetarian food, then come to The Warehouse and see what’s going on.

SPROCKET Cycles

Sales, service, repairs, accessories. Bikes also built to your own specifications.

Established over 15 years ago in the Friends of the Earth Building in Birmingham The Warehouse Café has a reputation as a quality provider of vegetarian and vegan food in Birmingham.

“Real people serving real food with local, organic and fair trade leading the way” Guardian Unlimited.

To see the delicious menu go to www.thewarehousecafe.com For bookings and enquires Telephone 0121 633 0261 Email info@thewarehousecafe.com

Open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-4pm 0121 633 0730

• 100% vegetarian and vegan • A Large selection of organic and fairtrade products, most supplied and delivered by a workers co-operative • Vegan owners - no meat or dairy products sold Open Monday to Saturday, 10am-5pm

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By Alistair Waugh, Redditch FoE

Food chain the hidden impacts Did you know that the meat and dairy industry causes more climate changing emissions than every plane, train and car on the planet?

A long reaching chain stretches from UK factory farms to the rainforests of South America, where huge soy plantations are wiping out wildlife and making climate change worse.

Soy crops in South America, grown to feed chickens, cows and pigs in Europe, now cover an area larger than the UK, and demand is growing at an alarming rate.

The expansion of soy farming has already destroyed much of the wildlife-rich Atlantic Rainforest.

Today less than a fifth remains, leaving many species under threat.

If current trends continue, 40 per cent of the Amazon will also be lost to soy farming and cattle ranching by 2050.

spraying is damaging people’s health. By ripping up rainforests to grow soy we are also pulling the plug on some of the Earth’s most valuable life-support systems, which we all rely on for clean water, healthy soil and a stable climate.

People in the UK are unwittingly caught up in this damaging chain, but with your help we can break it.

Changing the global intensive feed and farming system is a big job, so we’re starting where we can have the most impact.

We are calling on MPs to pass a new law to revolutionise the way meat and dairy is produced in the UK by introducing a Sustainable Livestock Bill by the end of 2009.

The Government urgently needs to: Switch subsidies away from intensive livestock production towards planet-friendly farming.

Change the menus in schools, hospitals and care homes.

Give farmers help to develop homegrown animal feeds.

With Big Ask we showed it was possible to get a massive change, so please support us in increasing public awareness about links in the food chain and build up public pressure.

On top of this, small farmers and forest communities in South America are being forced off their land and large-scale pesticide

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Watch our website and blog and come to our Local Shops and Food meeting on 27th April to find out how you can get involved - help us fix the Food Chain.

By Mary Horesh

Spanish Bombs It took almost 36 hours to travel door-to-door from Redditch to my amigo’s in Andalucia, two hours north of Granada. I’d chosen NOT to fly, travelling by public transport.

That meant using 4 trains, 2 coaches and 3 tubes – to go one way! The journey home took the same route, with the addition of a day in Paris, and although I felt I was frequently fighting to make connections I arrived everywhere ahead of schedule.

The tickets were economy, as I had booked in advance. www.seat61. com is useful for planning long distance journeys. The sleeper train to Spain is a compact, shared space but fine if you enjoy meeting people who travel like that.

The Andalucian landscape is dominated by the Sierra Nevada mountain range, but around this rolls a ruthless near-desert. My arrival in mid October was greeted with autumn rain that turned this arid region into carpets of rosemary & wild fennel with outcrops of pomegranates.

My amigo’s place has no mains electricity and he gets his water once a fortnight, unless it rains. Hot water comes from a wood-fuel fire by heating a pan of water with a coil inside. A 40-minute fire can shower 2 people and does 2 days washingup. In summer, hot water comes from a length of black hosepipe

left in the sun. Greywater from washing stays onsite and is used as a resource, as is the effluent traditionally where the prickly pears grow.

Olives, figs, almonds, grapevines and bamboo all grow well despite being on steep terraces. Food miles were low as I scrumped the thriving outdoor aubergines, peppers and tomatoes. In contrast, large areas of Andalucia’s coastline are covered in plastic tunnels, growing many of the fruit and vegetables eaten in the UK. Solar hot water heating is a common sight, as is photovoltaic technology to generate power, but like the UK, many people can’t afford the initial set-up cost.

I spent one week volunteering for a desert technology charity, Sunseed.

They’re finding ways to live and grow sustainably in deserts, with organic gardening, solar power, compost loos, communal living and appropriate technology. One technique is to make ‘seedbombs’, mixing seeds and clay into balls.

Baked in the sun, they’re thrown into areas to promote growth.

On return to my amigo’s, I soon started throwing bombs in the hope of greening the desert once more.

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The Story of Stuff A few weeks ago I came across www.storyofstuff.com. As soon as I saw it I emailed the link to my entire email contact list; it is brilliant and very accessible to kids over the age of about 10 and anyone not versed in green perspectives.

In a simple, straightforward 20 minute presentation the lunacy and consequences of rampant consumerism are laid bare. The presenter of the video, Annie Leonard, outlines the five stages of our linear economic system, from extraction to disposal, with lucid and incontrovertible analysis.

The Linear Economic System: The first fundamental flaw in the system is the very fact that it is linear, that is, it rests on the assumption of limitless resources and limitless disposal options. But as we all know neither of these assumptions is true.

Some illuminating statistics include:•

USA has 5% of the world population but uses 30% of its resources and produces 30% of the waste.

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On current consumption patterns we would need 3 to 5 planets just to keep the linear system running.

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1/3 of the Earth’s natural resources have been used up in the last 30 years.

The system is driven by consumption. Products are made as cheaply as possible and are designed not to last (whether by design or by fashion). People are accorded value and status as consumers. Furthermore, the system did not arise by chance but by design; quote Victor Le Beau, retail analyst and advisor to the US post-war government:

We make consumption our way of life, convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, “We make consumption our way of life, convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption... We need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at ever accelerating rate” Endless consumption is fuelled by Built-in Obsolescence; technology that cannot be viably repaired or technically upgraded and by Marketing - the supreme driver of consumption. Marketing knows no boundaries and creates Perceived Obsolescence where people come to believe that what they have is not good enough.

The system is also a hidden system where we only see the products we buy, and briefly use; we are never shown anything about the other four stages and, most importantly, about the externalising of the cost of the product. How can a radio be sold for $4.99, with all the extraction, production, distribution and disposal attached to that product? Answer: because we don’t pay the real cost – that is born by the low wages, poor working conditions and environmental degradation everywhere else along the line.

How can a radio be sold for $4.99 The cycle of spend and consume is brilliantly demonstrated by an ever faster spinning wheel of working, watching ads telling us to buy more, shopping, then working longer…and so on (spending less and less time on any meaningful activity). Chomsky once famously wrote about ‘Manufactured Consent’ but consumerism is almost as much about ‘Manufactured Discontent’ – discontent about one’s personal/ consumer life, not society of course!

The average American is thought to be exposed to some 3000 ads a day, something that 50 years ago barely existed. And all those ads are essentially telling us one thing

– that what we have is not good enough – we must have the latest fashion, gadget, toy, game, car...

So whilst consumption in the West has doubled in the last 30 years, happiness measures have plateaued and fallen in many countries – especially the most consumerist.

In the consumerist world people acquire value by ownership, whether it be land or commodities – we have rights as consumers; but increasingly less as citizens or workers.

On the disposal stage of the cycle, one particularly crucial fact is raised, which is that though recycling is good, for every one ton of waste saved by recycling there is still an average 70 tons of waste in the production process! So by all means reuse, repair and recycle, but above all RESIST. Resist the pressure to buy what you don’t need and resist this crazy system that is destroying the planet!

There are solutions of course, the fundamental one being changing from a linear system to a closed loop system; involving such principles and practices as zero waste, green chemistry, renewable energy and local living economies.

Like in the outstanding new film ‘The Age of Stupid’, the point is made loud and clear; we must curb our consumption dramatically and find a sustainable and equitable driver for the economy.

By Nigel Baker

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Big Plan for the Big City “The Big City Plan will shape and revitalise Birmingham’s city centre over the next twenty years, putting the city’s sustainability, culture, creativity, technology and enterprise at the heart of its future plans, activities and development.”

That’s how Birmingham City Council describe the Big City Plan (BCP), but what exactly is it? In a nutshell, the BCP is the council’s snazzy new planning project that will set out development for the city centre and surrounding areas over the next two decades. The area concerned is the 3 sq miles within the Ring Road (or Middleway) and covers a whole range of different issues and activities; from business to culture and from education to transport.

Late last year the council produced

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Greater pedestrianisation would be welcome

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Need diverse range of shops selling local produce

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Current high rent and rates preventing this

Should be a reduction in traffic congestion

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Suggest having a range of specialist markets

More greenery and improvement to the city’s waterways is needed

With the BCP covering so many different areas, both geographically and topically, a group effort was needed if we were to respond to everything, so in true BFoE style, we called a meeting. The February evening we had set to discuss our response to the BCP turned out to be cold and windy and there was thick snow on the ground - not promising - but despite this nine people struggled in and made the whole thing more than worthwhile.

Birmingham City Council had handily divided up the BCP into sections, so we all took 1 or 2 bits each and got writing. Within a week we had a 15 page response covering every part of the plan.

Now that’s community action.

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Encourage greater energy efficiency amongst existing retailers

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More allotments should be created

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Need to produce well-rounded citizens, not just consumers

Needless to say it’s a bit tricky to summarise the whole thing, but I’m going to give it a shot.

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A revival of repair and upgrading skills needed

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Need good schools, not a variety of schools

consequences for the future of Birmingham, BFoE decided to prepare a response.

Business and Industry

a Work-in-Progress document and asked people to comment on it from 12th December – 6th February.

With the BCP having such significant

Retail

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Should use a Green New Deal approach to regeneration

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Office space should be green retro-fitted

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Plan to move industry out of the city centre concerning

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Would support improved links to research and universities

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Would support mixed use development

Community Population and Households •

Need to renovate unused housing before building more

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Mix of housing needed in city centre

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More family friendly city centre would be welcome

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Would support sustainable housing, but this needs to include retro-fitting

We also responded to the sections covering each geographical area (such as the centre, Digbeth, Ladywood, etc), but this generally covered many of the above points, as well as highlighting the need for resident consultation.

If you would like to find out more about the BCP and read the Workin-Progress document visit www. bigcityplan.birmingham.gov.uk or you can read the “plain English” version at www.bigcitytalk.org.uk.

Education and Learning

Culture, Sport and Leisure •

Should be more cultivation of local creative talent

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Increased availability of green spaces needed

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Smaller, local facilities should be provided, not large central ones

You can also request a copy of our full 15-page response by emailing campaigns@ birminghamfoe.org. uk.

By Ben Martin

Built and Natural Environment •

This should reflect the needs of people, not cars

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20 miles per hour - Lower risks - Better lives!

Continued from front page

have had good results and with this kind of evidence it’s time for more councils, including Birmingham, to take action.

Safety The speeds at which vehicles travel is directly linked to the severity of injuries sustained in the event of an accident. A pedestrian, if struck by a vehicle driving at 20mph, is likely to suffer slight injuries (2.5% dying). At 30mph they would be severely hurt (20% dying) and at 40mph or above are likely to be killed (90%). Reducing the speed limit to 20mph has a direct impact on pedestrian safety and is the principal reason for introducing a scheme. A Transport Research Laboratory study of 250 20mph

after the limit was reduced, crashes fell by 60%, child casualties by 67% and average speeds by 9mph.

schemes across Britain found that after the limit was reduced, crashes fell by 60%, child casualties by 67% and average speeds by 9mph.

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although if speeds do not drop on particular roads, then residents will be consulted again to see if they want additional measures.

In most cases the 20mph limit is self-enforced and further speed enforcement measures are not needed.

Scope of Schemes 20mph schemes range in scope from a blanket city-wide approach to targeted zones in residential and/or commercial streets to schools only schemes. Schemes may be advisory or mandatory.

Kingston-uponHull now has over a hundred 20mph traffic calmed zones, covering over 30% of the city’s roads, and they are pressing on to civilise more streets.

Current Schemes - Portsmouth Portsmouth City Council was the first in Britain to make most of it’s residential roads 20mph.

Major routes remain unchanged.

Its government funded plan has attracted national attention and stimulated interest from other councils.

Kingston-upon-Hull - 20mph Champion

The 20mph limit was proposed for roads where the average speed was already 24mph or less. They installed prominent 20mph signs where drivers enter the new speed restrictions, as well as ‘repeater’ signs as reminders. It has been found elsewhere that this method reduces speeds by 3-4mph. Road humps are not part of the scheme,

Kingston-upon-Hull now has over a hundred 20mph traffic calmed zones, covering over 30% of the city’s roads, and they are pressing on to civilise more streets. Over 200 deaths or serious injuries and 1000 other injuries are estimated to have been prevented since the first zones were implemented in the 1990s. The total number of crashes within the

20mph zones has fallen by 56%, the number of crashes with deaths or serious injuries has been cut by 90% and the number of child pedestrian casualties is down by 74%.

North Lanarkshire Zones Using Signs Only

20mph

The results from a Scotland-wide trial of low-cost advisory 20mph schemes in residential areas were so good that North Lanarkshire Council decided to extend the three trial areas in its own area to all suitable residential streets. By March 2002 advisory 20mph speed limits covered the vast majority of residential roads in North Lanarkshire and there has been a significant reduction in casualties. The council is now piloting mandatory 20mph sign-only zones in three large residential areas.

Pros and Cons The main pro is the issue of safety and, as described above, the severity of injuries is far less the lower the vehicle speed.

Additionally, groups such as “Living Streets” and “20’s Plenty” argue that taking away fast traffic from residential and shopping areas results in an increase in cycle and on-foot journeys and make it less necessary to provide cycle paths.

Furthermore, there is an improvement in the quality of urban life when the emphasis shifts from the needs of drivers to those of the pedestrian. A classic study on the streets of San Francisco showed that traffic could have a profound

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20 miles per hour - Lower risks - Better lives! effect on social relationships. It surveyed three streets almost identical in appearance, but differing markedly in their levels of traffic. The quietest street had a high proportion of families with children; people tended to know their neighbours and to have friends on both sides of the road. By contrast, the street with heavy traffic was inhabited mainly by elderly and single people who tended not to know their neighbours and who treated the street as hostile territory.

Detractors of 20mph limits argue that it will be too costly, too slow and that drivers’ attention will be diverted from the business of driving by attempting to keep their speed to 20 mph and negotiating the various traffic-calming measures.

Also, air quality is not likely to improve, nor is there any likelihood

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Continued from page 13

of any emissions benefit; the only way most modern cars can keep below 20 is by using low gears with higher revs, hence fuel consumption (and emissions) will not reduce.

With ambitious schemes under consideration throughout the country from Aberdeen to London it’s a good time for Birmingham City Council to raise the bar here in Brum.

Broadly, there is an argument that it is better to target, not blanket.

The (road safety) point here is that the quality of residential and commercial roads are highly variable. The speed limit should reflect the conditions on the road, such as whether there are shops or houses, how broad, straight, well lit the road is or whether there are proper crossings and calming measures as you approach them.

On some such roads, there is a case for 20, for some

30 is fine, while for others 40 is acceptable.

Birmingham There have been a few school schemes such as the one in Oxford Rd in Moseley and parts of the city centre now have 20mph limits. Meanwhile groups such as “Pushbikes” and the “Cycle Network Project “ promote lower limits as an incentive to cycling.

BFoE is currently running a campaign to get 20mph on all roads in Birmingham that aren’t A or B routes, starting in Billesley.

With ambitious schemes under consideration throughout the country from Aberdeen to London it’s a good time for Birmingham City Council to raise the bar here in Brum.

Safer Routes to School Officer, Tim Hickey, has said that recently a new policy document has been drawn up regarding the introduction of 20mph near all Birmingham’s schools. If it is approved this would be progress;

but shouldn’t we be looking to the example of the more ambitious councils like Kingston-upon-Hull or North Lanarkshire and taking it further?

BFoE is currently running a campaign to get 20mph on all roads in Birmingham that aren’t A or B routes, starting in Billesley. If you would like to get involved, please contact Ben Martin at campaigns@ birminghamfoe.org.uk or come to our Transport Action Group meetings on 20th April and 18th May.

By Andy Welch

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Operation Nauseous Taurus The Bullring Bull: an imposingly brawny symbol of a city that forged its reputation as a powerhouse during the industrial revolution. Now we face the need for the greatest revolution since the rise of those dark satanic mills, what greater symbolic act would there be than to daub the great bull green?

Last year’s Birmingham Climate Change Festival optimistically promised a beginning to the revolution that would eventually provide ‘beautiful squares and attractive liveable streets, cleaner air, easy walking and cycling, large trees, new markets, investment and jobs in green technologies.’

The festival’s second year is the perfect opportunity to showcase how far this revolution has progressed.

Over the past year the need to combat climate change has only risen in profile, and the recent economic downturn has drawn the challenges into even sharper focus. Birmingham City Council should take this week to give its population concrete examples of what it has done and what it is planning to do in the face of these challenges.

This is an opportunity to show off the council’s ongoing commitment to Combined Heat and Power schemes – the utilisation of heat produced by electricity generation to heat buildings that can lead to 80% energy efficiency – demonstrated by the addition of Birmingham Children’s Hospital to schemes already running in Broad

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Street and Aston University.

It is also a chance to showcase achievements outside the council, such as those of Calthorpe Estates, whose most recent development was awarded the first ever BREEAM rating of ‘excellent’ for a commercial building in Birmingham in 2007, and was named ‘sustainable development of the year’ in December 2008.

A lot has been achieved to begin

the revolution that last year’s festival called for, and there’s a lot still to be done. The festival should celebrate the creativity and invention that differentiates resistance to climate change from the image of dull enforced austerity with which it is often painted. How can this be communicated to the public? A lick of green paint to one of our most famous landmarks might do the trick…

Of course, we’re not advocating direct action involving a trip to B&Q and a dripping paintbrush, but a few emails to the Bullring managers who decided to paint the bull silver for the shopping centre’s 5th anniversary are encouraged - http://tinyurl.com/ cs2nop.

By Ben Rackstraw

Capping Carbon = Economic Sense We held one of our most successful speaker events ever in January with Oliver Tickell, author of Kyoto2, speaking about his book and giving some real solutions on how to tackle climate change and proposing an economic framework for the value of carbon emissions. The venue was a lecture theatre in a new building at Aston University with a very bad energy rating, but we should offer thanks to them for hosting the event and allowing this valuable discussion to take place there.

Mr Tickell first talked about the fluctuations in the value of oil and the financial crisis that has happened since the completion of his book and whether what he had written still held firm. None of this had been predicted by economists, yet it mirrors the kind of feedback mechanisms of climate change very well.

He concluded that the messages are still very relevant and, even in times of recession, such as we have now, money should be invested in the mitigation of climate change. The figure he proposes is a trillion dollars, which is just 1.5% of world production, and could be raised through a system of selling emission permits. This could be spent on financing new cleaner technologies and, just as importantly, on paying countries not to cut down forests to grow crops such as palm oil and soya.

Many of the costs are not really costs, according to Oliver, as they would

actually save us money in the long term, such as employing out-of-work builders to insulate homes and create energy efficiency savings. Redesigning equipment that is inefficient, such as fridges, would also be cost-effective when the investment is compared to the widely distributed savings that can be achieved.

The messages that he was promoting fit very well with our Energy Revolution campaign (www.foe. co.uk/energyrevolution) to put real pressure on the government to ensure that carbon emissions targets are met and that we can move to a low carbon society. You can still sign up your organisation to this if you contact us at campaigns@ birminghamfoe.org.uk.

Pressure also needs to be applied to those taking part in the talks in Copenhagen later this year Pressure also needs to be applied to those taking part in the talks in Copenhagen later this year to ensure the world moves in the right direction to prevent runaway climate change.

By Joe Peacock

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Water Footprints So you are starting to grasp the concept of carbon footprints and they come up with another - the water footprint! In January this was the subject of our discussion group which you can find more about at Events on www.birminghamfoe.org.uk.

So what are water footprints all about? They tells us consumers the amount of precious H2O that has been used in the manufacture of food and consumer products. As with carbon footprints, a “virtual water” figure will indicate the extent to which a particular product has cost the earth.

Per cup/glass •

140 litres for coffee,

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30 litres for tea

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75 litres for 250 ml (half pint) of beer

works out at about 2,700 litres for 1 cotton shirt. This includes irrigation water (including evaporated water) and processing. Water use for cotton production has major impacts on the environment. Particularly intensive irrigation schemes can have disastrous effects, such as the desiccation of the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan.

Beef 15,500 litres of water, includes water drunk, general upkeep and water used to produce grain.

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Goat meat 4,000 litres

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Chicken comes in at 3,900

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Rice is about 3,400 litres

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Wheat 1,300 litres

Quoted from www.waterfootprint.org And it doesn’t stop there; there are items like cotton that are really water intensive. To produce 1 kg of cotton it takes 11,000 litres, which

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Experts are now talking of fresh water as “the new oil”, a finite resource that is running out in some areas, so people really need to start thinking about their water footprint to help water security around the world. Find out more at www. waterfootprint.org.

By Mary Horesh

The Aral Sea was once the world’s forth largest body of inland water, but it has shrunk to just 15% of its former volume.

Per Kilo •

many more examples of the demand put on water systems, which are creating havoc in ecosystems.

2009

annual general meeting 8th June - 7.30

The Aral Sea was once the world’s forth largest body of inland water, but it has shrunk to just 15% of its former volume. Its salinity has risen by almost 600% and so all native fish have gone. This is closely linked to Uzbekistan’s cotton irrigation systems which draw water from the region’s two major rivers. Together these giant waterways once carried more water than the Nile. However, with water being drawn off for cotton production, the volume of the water now reaching the Aral Sea has declined substantially. And there are

We are due to hold our annual general meeting, which this year is happening on the 8th of June in the meeting room at Birmingham Friends of the Earth’s building on Allison Street.

Everyone is invited, but only shareholders are allowed to vote. If you are interested in becoming a shareholder, then please contact the general manager using the details at the back of this newsletter.

Shares in our not for profit community co-operative cost £1 and each person is entitled to one vote no matter how many shares they have.

We will be reporting on how we have done financially, environmentally and socially throughout 2008 as well as electing our chairperson, treasurer, secretary and management committee.

It is a pretty packed and exhausting night, so we encourage people to bring food and drinks to share.

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Volunteer Spotlight Ben Martin interviews Chris Worth

Campaign Meetings

anything that needs doing, which ranges from helping research for campaigns, drafting letters to people, coming up with ideas for events and most excitingly addressing newsletters!

Monday Meetings – 7:30pm at the Birmingham FoE Warehouse, Allison St 6 April – General Meeting 13 April – No Meeting (Bank Holiday)

What do you like about BFoE? I love their passion and commitment towards the environment and their belief in how much of a difference they can make even when so many people are sceptical about the things they find most important (e.g. global warming). Most importantly, I like what they are trying to achieve and how they go about it in a peaceful, non-imposing way.

How long have you been involved with BFoE? Since November 08 Why did you first get involved?

I am very passionate about the environment and love the outdoors and everything about it and I was becoming increasingly concerned about global warming and its effects. I decided I wanted to do something to help and Birmingham FoE’s policies were exactly in line with my thinking.

What do you do here?

I do what I’m told! I help with ANY OLD LIGHTBULBS? - WE ARE If you or anybody you know is swapping their lightbulbs with energy saving ones, then please could you get them to give us the old ones.

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20 April – Energy Action Group and Transport Action Group Meetings 27 April – Local Shops & Food Action Group and Aviation Action Group Meetings 4 May – No Meeting (Bank Holiday) TUESDAY 5 May – General Meeting 11 May – Speaker Meeting (details tbc) 18 May – Energy Action Group and Transport Action Group Meetings 25 May – No Meeting (Bank Holiday)

Other Events

What environmental issues concern you the most and why?

Global warming is what concerns me the most at the moment for the obvious reasons. I find it incredible that so many people either don’t accept that this is happening or are so passive towards it they may as well not believe it when it affects everyone and everything.

24-26 April – Power Up, Harborne Hall, Birmingham (contact: PowerUp@ FoE.co.uk) 9 May – WM FoE Regional Gathering, 10:30am, Birmingham & Midlands Institute (Tim.Atkinson@FoE.co.uk) 16 May – Veggie Pride, Birmingham City Centre (www.veggiepride.org.uk)

Farmers’ Market

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

Well besides the obvious things like ending poverty etc, I’d make the world one giant ski slope!

Bearwood: 3rd Saturday of the month 9am-4pm 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 Moseley: 4th Saturday of the month 9am-3pm

COLLECTING THEM AT BFoE! They will be turned into chandaliers for the lights in reception and put forward as a way of recycling and energy saving.

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

Phil Burrows (General Manager)

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Become a Supporter...

We are the only organisation in Birmingham that campaigns on Climate Change, Transport, Local Shops, Planning, Waste and Recycling.

You can help us do this in a number of ways; 1.) By taking part in or our campaigns 2.) By joining us 3.) Both Whichever route you decide, you are helping to change your environment for the better. Making sure that those who pollute, monopolise or despoil locally, nationally or internationally are accountable. There are two ways to join us...

Either I wish to become a Golden Supporter with payments by standing order of £2 per month or more.

Or I wish to become an Annual Supporter, paying by standing order / cheque (Please delete as appropriate. Note that standing orders are cheaper for us to process).

Annual supporter fees are a minimum of: • £16 (waged) • £10 (unwaged) • £20 (joint/family)

Please

return with standing order or cheque to: Secretary, Friends of the Earth, 54-57 Allison Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B5 5TH.

Contact Details Full name: ..........................................

Address: ............................................ .........................................................

Town:................... Postcode: ...............

Telephone: .........................................

E-mail: ..............................................

Standing Order Form Sort Code (if known): .........................

Your name/ Account name: .................

Your account number: ........................

Bank Name/Address: ......................... .......................................................

Please pay the sum of £ every month/ year (delete as appropriate) starting on ____/____/_________

Contact us: Friends of the Earth (Birmingham) The Warehouse 54-57 Allison Street Birmingham B5 5TH Tel: (0121) 632 6909 Fax: (0121) 643 3122 E-mail: info@birminghamfoe.org.uk

Chair: Benjamin Mabbett Campaigns Co-ordinators: Mary Horesh & Joe Peacock Campaigns Support Worker: Ben Martin General Manager: Phil Burrows Treasurer:

Web: www.birminghamfoe.org.uk

Margaret Lynch

Friends of the Earth is:

Aviation:

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

James Botham Climate Change & Energy: Andy Pryke Multi-faith and Climate Change Project:

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

Rianne ten Veen & Maud Grainger Joe Peacock

Account no: 50 72 58 30 Sort Code: 08-60-01

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

Unity Trust Bank, 9 Brindley Place, 4 Oozells square, Birmingham B1 2HE

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

John Hall

This replaces any previous standing order in favour of Friends of the Earth Birmingham.

Birmingham FoE:

To: Friends of the Earth Birmingham Ltd.,

Signature: ...................... Date: .........

Campaigns at a local level to effect environmental change (in ways which feed into national and international policy) through: - Direct action - Lobbying - Education

Waste and Resources: Local Shops & Food: Mary Horesh & Nigel Baker Planning: Transport: Martin Stride Newsletter Editors: Katy Barry Phil Burrows Website Editor: Phil Burrows Talks: Paul Webb and others All enquiries and callers welcome.

- Empowering others to take action

Find us on page 74 of the B’ham

- Participation and representation through public fora

A-Z, grid ref: 4A

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Printed on 100% Recycled Paper Using Vegetable Based Inks

Birmingham Friends of the Earth