Birmingham Friends of the Earth newsletter - Spring 2015

newsletter Spring 2015

Go Local - our new localisation campaign on page 12 also contains • Divestment Day • Big Green Debate • Climate Action Network

Who should be pictured on the Birmingham Pound?

contents 3 - campaigns’ digest 5 - in the media 7 - warehouse news 8 - climate mobilisation & the ‘run-up to Paris’ 2015 11 - warehouse merchandise 12 - Go Local - our new localisation campaign 18 - big green debate - should campainging organisations be politically neutral?

20 - Stones & Bones exhibition 21 - annual general meeting 21 - volunteer appeal 22 - Divestment Day comes to Brum 24 - guest article - Climate Action Network Birmingham 25 - volunteer spotlight 26 - diary 27 - contacts

campaigns’ digest It’s an exciting time with spring having sprung and the weather (slowly) starting to get a bit warmer and sunnier. It’s also exciting because we’ve been hard at work planning our new campaigns. As we revealed last issue, localisation is the overall theme, with a number of issues within that. Check out the main article where you can find out lots more about our plans around the local economy, waste, and nature.

It’s also an interesting time as we head into the elections. The general election is being billed as one of the most unpredictable in a generation.

Whilst the local elections are being fought amongst the backdrop of the Kerslake Review into Birmingham City Council, and the change to Birmingham’s electoral system to all out elections in 2018.

Energy & Climate Change Along with Birmingham Climate Justice, we organised a fantastic action for Global Divestment Day. We presented some fantastically designed Valentines cards in front of the council and stood with the Birmingham Fossil Free banner.

The event was attended by around 30 people from six or seven different Birmingham climate and development groups. See Maria’s article for more information on the Fossil Free campaign and Divestment Day in Birmingham.

A few campaigners also went down to London for the Time to Act

2

Climate March on 7th March. The march was fantastically positive with a diverse attendance and varied voices at the rally. It really feels that the climate movement is really getting going again. Check out Josie’s article for more info about the run-up to Paris and some key dates for the climate movement this year.

Local Economy It’s about the local economy, stupid!

Well, it is in at least a good chunk of our new campaign. There’s some exciting news regarding a potential new currency, which Birmingham Friends of the Earth will be supporting over the next year or so.

Adam has more details about this and what the benefits could be for Birmingham and environment in the main article.

3

campaigns’ digest (continued from page 3) Nature

Waste

It’s always quite interesting to see what weird and wonderful media requests we get in here at Birmingham Friends of the Earth. Some of the more ridiculous ones we’ve had in the past included whether we wanted to comment on the police moving to lead-free bullets, or on someone urinating on a statue. Needless to say, we politely declined both of those offers!

Getting started on our waste campaigning for this year, our waste campaigner John Newson has been attending a couple of council meetings related to the new waste strategy. Meanwhile, Maria and Josie chatted to the public about waste issues at the Birmingham Greenfest event.

Most of the requests aren’t quite as weird as that, but it’s always interesting to see what’s on the minds of journalists and producers.

The other week we had a call from BBC Radio WM asking if we wanted to be interviewed about the story that inefficient lightbulbs were to be phased out under new EU rules.

The waste strand of our new campaign is really going to focus on getting the most sustainable waste strategy possible for the city.

When the council brings it to public consultation we’ll be working to get as many members of the public to respond as possible. Have a look at Maria’s waste section of the main article to find out a bit more about our plans.

Seemingly taking their lead from the Daily Mail, the interview seemed to be framed in the context of barmy EU rules costing us money. I argued that even if these lightbulbs are more expensive, because they use less energy and need to be replaced less often, they will actually save people money. I also countered the scaremongering that these lightbulbs were completely banned and people would have to replace them immediately, when it’s simply a case of them no longer being on sale.

This is one of the key themes for our new campaign. We’re looking at what activities we can do around the theme of making good quality nature more accessible to more people in Brum. Have a read of Christina’s contribution to our new campaigns article for more details of our thinking around nature.

Transport While this isn’t a top priority, we have been keeping on top of the latest developments on 20mph as the initial roll-out continues. We also met with one of the City Council’s transportation officers to outline our thoughts on the City’s transport strategy for the next 20 years; Birmingham Connected.

4

in the media

As always we’re always looking for more people to get involved, so if you fancy helping us with any of these issues then please get in touch. Our email contacts are on page 27.

Julien Pritchard

As much as talking about lightbulbs is fascinating, I thought it best to try and move the interview on to talk about the bigger picture. I made the

point that lightbulbs were just one small part of the actions we need to take to tackle climate change, we should really be focussing on energy efficiency and renewable energy to save the planet and people money.

This interview contrasted with one I had a week later on BBC Radio WM about planning - can’t say I’ve had many media requests on this topic during my time here, so this was a first for me. The interview concentrated on the proposals to build on Sutton greenbelt. I argued that we really need to use old housing and brownfield land first, that we could make the city a lot denser, as well as working as hard as possible with other councils, before we start opening up the countryside.

Long may we continue to have more interesting interviews like that one!

Julien Pritchard

5

warehouse news - solar panels

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.

The roof above the Warehouse Café has needed patching every year for as long as I’ve known it.

Last year saw the end of that; we had the money in our reserves (thanks to fantastic fundraising at music festivals), the cafe had a summer shutdown to allow us to do the work and a grant was on offer from Coventry University.

Our insulation obsession kicked in and we specified huge slabs to sit above the joists. The flat, weatherproof roof and the pitched one next to it screamed out to have solar panels put on it at the same time. We started off with 4kW, but thanks to an anonymous lender, we’ve now extended it to 8kW. Thanks to the Coventry Uni grant

and the low interest loan, the whole project has a payback time of less than 7 years.

The project also takes our building’s energy performance certificate up to a mid B, which is fantastic for its age and our finances.

Over the next few months we’ll be building a new office, installing bike hangars, carrying out some secondary glazing and hopefully improving our wheelchair access (fingers crossed the grant application comes through).

The Coventry Uni grant is still available to small WM organisations.

Details can be found here: http://s.coop/ecogrant Phil Burrows

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

6

7

climate mobilisation & the ‘run-up to Paris’ 2015 Every year we see the impacts of climate change grow. Effects that scientists predicted years ago, such as the temperature change causing floods, droughts and storms, are all happening now.

The poorest people and countries are the ones having to deal with the consequences. To reduce the effects, we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the burning of fossil fuels and the cutting down of forests.

A brief history of climate talks: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the international body that assesses the state of climate change. It was created in 1988 to provide the world with a clear view on climate change and its impacts. In 2013, the IPCCs report said that it is 95% certain that humans are the "dominant cause" of global warming since the 1950s.

COP stands for ‘Conference of the

Parties’ and happens every year.

COP 20, in 2014, Peru, brought 500 leaders from key United Nations bodies, governments, international & regional companies and leading non-governmental organisations. COP 21, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, will be held in Paris, France in December 2015. The objective is to create a legally binding, universal agreement on greenhouse gas emissions for all nations of the world.

What are we as Friends of the Earth calling for?

To reduce the effects, we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the burning of fossil fuels and the cutting down of forests.

Friends of the Earth are calling for a fair global climate deal.

This means rich countries cutting their emissions faster and helping developing countries to change over to clean energy. Friends of the Earth

8

and the rest of the international climate movement will be pushing for the best deal possible in Paris.

However, after the 2009 talks in

after the 2009 talks [....] the movement is under no illusions that talks will deliver anything close to what we need and what is equitable

sunny day where thousands of campaigners came together in the centre of London, calling on the government to act on climate change. We want large investment in renewables instead of new fossil fuels and a rapid cut to emissions.

Julien Pritchard was at the event with Birmingham FOE and said: ”I've been on quite a few marches climate or other ones, and this was definitely one of the best.

The atmosphere was friendly and positive, and it was just a lot of fun. There were lots of people from different groups, including lots of people from non-environmental organisations - trade unions, for example.

Copenhagen, the movement is under no illusions that talks will deliver anything close to what we need and what is equitable. So this year is as much about beginning a journey than reaching a destination. It's more about building a movement than it is about one set of talks. This is why what happens before and after is just as important as what happens during the talks What events are happening in the ‘run-up to Paris?’

We joined the Time To Act March on 7th March 2015, a successful

“The rally at the end was interesting and, although it was quite long, there were some really interesting and, more importantly, diverse

9

climate mobilisation continued from page 8 speakers. There is a feeling that the climate movement is on the up again at the moment, in particular with things like the fossil free divestment campaign, and I felt the March really reflected that.”

There are loads of other events to get involved in this year including: 12-14th June – Basecamp. Friends of the Earth national gathering will host lots of exciting sessions on movement building and the December Paris talks.

17th June – ‘Speak Up!’ Mass Climate Lobby of Parliament. This will be a huge event - a great way to tell new MPs that they need to support tough climate action (http:// www.theclimatecoalition.org/events/ speak-love-climate-lobby).

26th September - Global Frackdown Day of Action. This is presented by Frackfree Yukon Alliance. It’s a Democracy School Workshop, Ordinance Working and Public Lecture. Come learn to say “NO!”

10

30 November – 12 December UNFCCC Climate Talks in Paris 31st January 2016 - People's Demands Debate. A national assembly we’ll be co-hosting with other organisations will help agree 3 transformational people’s demands that we will focus on together in 2016.

31st March 2016 – Action on Energy Solutions Trafalgar Square London. This action is aimed at our European leaders and is one of many parallel events happening in cities across Europe.

Hopefully these milestones in the climate campaigning calendar can really help build that climate justice movement up to Paris and beyond!

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. They 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.

Josie Lockwood

11

Go Local - our new localisation campaign Introduction Over the past couple of months we’ve been planning our new localisation campaign. As a bit of a curtain raiser, Adam, Christina and Maria talk about the three main strands of our campaign of the economy, nature and waste. First up Adam explains localisation and why it’s important, before he, Christina and Maria look at each theme, explaining why they are such important local issues and what we’re going to do about them.

Julien Pritchard

Localisation Much of the work around localisation has been done by the transition movement and organisations like the New Economics Foundation and the Schumacher Society. E.F. Schumacher, author of ‘Small is Beautiful: a study of economics as if people mattered’ (1973) was a major influence on the environmental movement. It is fairly intuitive to most people that, as Schumacher said, “production from local resources for local needs is the most rational way of economic life.”

Localised economies save the financial and environmental costs of transportation by shortening supply chains and generally producing less waste. They are more resilient and stable, since peaks and troughs

12

in economic activity are less pronounced at a smaller scale.

A more local economy will give people more power over, and more connection to, the things they consume, which means people take more care of the environment and the natural world around them from which those resources are derived. Political power runs parallel to economic systems and the less centralised an economy is, the less

Localised economies save the financial and environmental costs of transportation by shortening supply chains ...... centralised and more democratic the decision making process becomes.

Economy In this sphere of our campaign, we are going to be focusing on money and trying to encourage its everyday circulation to be as local as possible.

When money is spent in the ‘clone town’ corporation shops, which we unfortunately see on every high

street in the country, a lot of that money is siphoned out to offshore tax havens – kicking its heels and making the super-rich even richer and increasing the inequality in

because it means all money spent is kept in the local area. It therefore also facilitates resources being circulated in the local economy, which is where the environmental benefits come in. Resources being used more locally means there is less waste, less transportation, and it’s easier to put the circular economy into practice.

Recently, I attended a meeting organised by Localise West Midlands, which was exploring the potential for a Birmingham or West Midlands based local currency, where we were given a presentation of the workings of the Bristol Pound, which is the UK’s largest local currency.

society.

However, spending money with small independent businesses means that money continues to circulate in the local economy, creating more employment. Emphasising the huge gulf between the reality of the economy and how politicians portray it, a statistic I came across recently says that despite controlling two thirds of the global GDP, the top 500 corporations create less than 1% of global employment (see references section at end).

A local currency can greatly facilitate and drive local economic activity

Anyone should be able to create a currency. The only reason why we don’t have them everywhere is because central bankers use the regulatory bodies they control to enforce their monopoly over the issuance of currency and credit, and shut down any successful alternatives to the central bank’s printed money. But the Bristol Pound and many others are showing that, with will power and creativity, it is possible to benefit people and the environment by creating alternative currencies which help drive local economic activity.

Whatever the currency used, our localisation campaign is about encouraging spending away from large corporations and towards small independents, whilst helping to push the launch of a ‘Birmingham Pound.’

Stay tuned for more news in the

13

our localisation campaign continued from page 12 coming months.

Nature

References:

As the second largest city in England, with extremely poor air quality, it is more important than ever for Birmingham to be reconnected with its green roots.

Lewis, M. & Conaty, P (2012) The Resilience Imperative: cooperative transitions to a steady state economy - New Society Publishers http://bristolpound.org/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_ currency Adam McCusker

the Bristol Pound and many others are showing that, with will power and creativity, it is possible to benefit people and the environment by creating alternative currencies which help drive local economic activity.

14

Birmingham is a highly developed, former industrial city, so accessing nature is particularly important for the population. Birmingham is not short of green spaces with 571 parks or other open space, the largest number of parks in any city in Europe.

However having a lot of green space doesn’t mean it is quality space or that it will be utilised. Urban life can make it easy to forget where we come from, why we need nature and why it is so important that we have access to quality green spaces. It’s not just because of the numerous benefits that it can bring to us, but also because it impacts on city life on a bigger scale.

Nature is important for our health and wellbeing, it can help to restore and revive us from the demands of everyday life and it is important for personal and social development, particularly in children, as natural environments promote creativity and a respect for the natural world.

We are at a point now where the high demand for resources from the ever growing population is putting a huge strain on the land. Connecting with nature can help to encourage us not to take our food, water and resources for granted.

Natural green space in urban environments also helps to improve air quality and helps boost biodiversity. This is extremely important and relevant at the moment considering key species such as our bees are threatened.

People are already taking practical

Birmingham is not short of green spaces with 571 parks

action all over the city with food growing, gardening and wildlife projects. Birmingham Friends of the Earth wants to connect people to nature and make sure that everyone has access to quality local green spaces. We want to build bridges and encourage people to have fun and get involved with the natural environment.

We plan to achieve this with a few upcoming projects and community garden events aimed at engaging people with nature. We are also looking into a couple of potential projects with a more political edge, aiming at improving our biodiversity and community access to green space.

Christina Nijjar

15

our localisation campaign continued from page 14 Waste One of the key areas of the new localisation campaign is all about Birmingham’s waste. A campaign that is particularly timely as the current Birmingham waste contract draws to a close in 2019.

In preparation the Council is conducting a public consultation period over the summer, which BFoE plan to be at the heart of.

The current waste system is completely controlled by Veolia, with 70% of the waste stream being burnt in the Tyseley incinerator and relatively low recycling rates of about 30%. The incinerator has

many environmental issues attached to it: it produces pollutants harmful to people’s health, such as nitrogen oxides and large CO2 emissions.

Along with this, it burns many items which could be reused or recycled.

The new campaign is all about creating a new waste strategy which is forward-thinking, sustainable and environmentally sound. One of the main focuses of this campaign is to push the council to start a household food waste collection service. Currently, the majority of food waste is discarded and burnt in the Tyseley incinerator along with all other waste. A minority of people do compost their own waste at home;

however, for a large number of Birmingham’s population who don’t have a garden, composting isn’t viable.

Not only is it inefficient to burn food waste, if food waste was collected separately it would prevent some recyclable waste from being contaminated, allowing recycling rates to be improved. If collected separately, food waste could actually be a resource. It could be taken to anaerobic digestion plants and converted into gas for the national grid and fertiliser for local farming, creating a greener waste stream.

Another important objective of the waste campaign is for smaller, local companies to deal with waste rather than one large company having sole ownership of the contract.

This will not only give smaller local businesses a helping hand and boost the local economy, it will also decrease the emissions produced

16

when transporting waste over longer distances.

If we can achieve these steps of creating a household food waste collection, increasing efficiency of food recycling and localising waste management, then we will render the Tyseley incinerator obsolete, and have a super sustainable circular and localised waste system!

Maria Marsden Get Involved If you’re inspired or intrigued by any of the issues raised in this article, then please do get involved by coming to a Monday meeting or emailing campaigns@birminghamfoe.org. uk

17

should campaigning organisations be politically neutral?

Introduction After a hiatus the Big Green Debate returns with a debate about whether campaigning organisations should be politically neutral when it comes to political parties. With it being election season this debate couldn’t be more topical. Libby will be making the case for neutrality and independence, while Roxanne will be making the case against.

Julien Pritchard

Yes Remaining party politically neutral is essential for campaigning organisations: keeping their independence and not putting unnecessary barriers in place.

It’s vital for the future of campaigning organisations to have their voice heard, no matter which party is in power. Without a political alliance, we have the freedom to approach any party without the fear of alienating them. It is proven that working across the political board and building consensus creates a better chance of having policies changed.

Not only do we risk damaging our relationship with our current allies within the political sphere, we could also lose our alliances with other campaigning organisations that do not support the same party as us or believe we should remain neutral.

This creates another barrier for

18

achieving our goal for change. We achieve more when we work with a range of organisations, whether it’s other campaigning groups, religious groups or neighbourhood associations. It would be detrimental to lose their trust and support.

We campaign for change that affects everyone and in doing so we must have the support from the general public. If we endorse a party, we risk not gaining support from those who do not like the party and those who wish not to have any involvement with politics.

It’s a challenge to work with members of the public who do not agree with a particular campaign. By having a political alliance, we could push them further away.

We need to look within our organisation to see the internal barriers a political alliance would create. We would go from inclusive to exclusive. Our policies need to be independent, free from political influence, to show we are open and have no hidden agenda. Politics would create a barrier, preventing those who do not like politics from getting involved with the organisation.

The only way we can truly represent the general public is by remaining party politically neutral. This prevents our policies from becoming distorted by those with a hidden agenda and to show that we are an independent, inclusive organisation.

Libby Harris

No I can see the logic behind campaigning organisations such as Friends of the Earth and many others being politically neutral, but, in the end, it results in some absurdities that don’t best serve the aims of the campaigns.

There is a difference between being independent – which is necessary and vital for all campaigning organisations that wish to influence people in power – and being neutral – effectively saying that we have no opinion on who wins an election and who ends up governing the country.

The fear of losing influence on certain parties results instead in us keeping silent on important issues; if campaigning organisations were more open about their political allegiances, maybe they would actually be in a stronger position to effect change in government.

Campaigning organisations freely criticise government policies that are party political, so the silence around the party politics of elections feels like an odd contrast. It would be disastrous to become aligned to a political party to the extent that we were unable to offer criticism or work with other parties, but equally it feels disingenuous to pretend that our aims aren’t more closely aligned to some parties than others.

Whoever ends up in government will be responsible for implementing policies that have a profound impact on the work that NGOs do; I’d be

surprised if any campaigners said they were indifferent to this.

The focus of NGOs needs to be on lobbying and campaigning on issues and mobilising public activism.

The focus of NGOs needs to be on lobbying and campaigning on issues and mobilising public activism.

That needs to be distinguishable from party political campaigning, but at a point where the nation is convulsed in conversation about party politics, it feels like politically neutral campaigning organisations are needlessly removing themselves from the key issues.

Other organisations, such as in the print media, feel able to express support for a particular party while remaining independent of them. We all have aims and objectives we are striving for and the election of some parties would achieve those more than others, so we should be honest about this fact and get stuck in!

Roxanne Green

19

stones and bones When we made the decision to solve some storage issues by donating a load of our old campaigning materials, newsletters and photos to Birmingham Library archives, I don’t think many people anticipated that these items would re-emerge alongside ancient fossils and rocks as part of an exhibition of 600 million years of geology.

I was surprised and delighted to be able to represent BFoE at the launch event of Stones & Bones, a fascinating exhibition at the Library of Birmingham, produced in collaboration with the Lapworth Museum at the University of Birmingham and showcasing local Midlands history.

A geology novice myself, it was quite a revelation to me how interesting all this really, really old stuff could be, and how all these changes from gazillions of years ago have shaped and formed the Midlands of today, and how we all live within it. The Midlands has been like the Mississippi delta, the Bahamas and

annual general meeting the Sahara desert, and has been roamed by mammoths, woolly rhinos, hippos and lions.

The exhibition contains a strong focus on amateur discoveries, and I was quite taken with the idea that we could all become historical sleuths and piece together mysteries of the past. There is still so much that we can learn from the environment around us, and anybody can do it. I was outraged to learn that one significant discovery was made by a local schoolgirl in the 1950s, but nobody believed her and all the credit went to a schoolboy a year later!

The BFoE materials share a wall with some woolly mammoths and are the most modern thing in the exhibition, coming at the end of the timeline and essentially representing the human race.

The curators explained that they felt it was really important to demonstrate that geology isn’t something that’s over and done with; the Earth continues to change at a more rapid pace than ever before and these changes will have profound and irreversible effects on us all. It is great to see this message put forward and for the impacts of climate change to be included in this context.

Stones & Bones is part of the Origins Season at the Library of Birmingham and runs in the Gallery until 17 May 2015. Free entry.

Roxanne Green

20

We are due to hold our annual general meeting, which this year is happening on 6th July at 7.30pm in the Meeting Room at Birmingham Friends of the Earth’s building, 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 in addition to being a financial supporter 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 2014/15,

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!

We will be reporting on how we have done financially, environmentally and socially

volunteer appeal Birmingham Friends of the Earth (BFoE) are looking for enthusiastic, outgoing individuals to help us build support and raise awareness for our campaigns, in particular our new Localisation campaign.

You would be involved in staffing stalls, talking to members of the public, helping run BFoE events, building relationships with other

organisations, as well as generally supporting the campaign from our office.

Some of the work will be based in our office at the Warehouse in Digbeth, but also out and about in and around Birmingham. If you are interested, please contact Julien Pritchard for more information on 0121 632 6909 or at campaigns@ birminghamfoe.org.uk

21

Divestment Day comes to Brum On the 14th of February Birmingham’s Victoria Square was taken over by an orange banner and a group of determined activists fighting for divestment from fossil fuels.

The action was one of over 450 organised in cities across the globe as part of Divestment Day. The Day of Action was the latest part of the fast-growing divestment campaign Fossil Free.

It’s a shocking statistic, but only 200 publicly-traded companies possess almost all the known listed reserves of coal, oil and gas in the world. The idea of divesting from fossil fuels is simple, the Fossil Free movement is asking for goverments, organisations, institutions, and even the individual, to immediately freeze new investments, as well as divest

24

current investments, in these 200 companies.

Divesting from this industry should diminish the power of these multinational companies, and hopefully encourage greener more sustainable solutions to implemented throughout the whole world.

On a more local level, many UK local authorities have public money invested in fossil fuels, particularly through pension funds. This could have disastrous consequences when the carbon bubble bursts. As money markets realise that fossil fuel reserves cannot be burned because of the damage they are causing to the climate, local and national goverments’ shares in fossil fuels will become worthless.

Climate Justice and Birmingham Friends of the Earth, with help from Climate Action Network Birmingham, and Birmingham & Black Country Greenpeace.

fuels, posed for an inspirational photoshoot with the orange banner, and talked to members of the public about the campaign to gain their support.

With Birmingham Green Party and University of Birmingham People & Planet also in attendance, it meant that there were 6 climate groups involved and all parts of Birmingham’s environmental movement were represented.

However the action wasn’t just limited to environmental groups, with Birmingham Jubilee Debt Campaign also taking part.

Overall it was a good day, despite the lack of sun shining down on Victoria Square. Hopefully the action, and the growing Birmingham Fossil Free campaign, will encourage Birmingham City Council to think seriously about divesting from fossil fuels, and push them to take action in the future.

During the action campaigners presented a giant Valentine’s Card to Birmingham City Council, asking for the Council to divest from fossil

Visit the Fossil Free website to find out more about the campaign and how you can take action on divestment Maria Marsden

The Birmingham Fossil Free action was organised by Birmingham

23

climate action network Birmingham guest article

CANB was born out of the largest ever climate action demonstration, on 21st September 2014. In just four weeks, a small group of people from diverse organisations in the city and wider region pulled together a rally and lobby attended by about 200 people.

We collected 400 signatures on a petition in only a couple of hours.

Our aim is simple: to help achieve zero CO2 emissions in Birmingham by 2050 in line with climate science.

This year, we think the Paris Climate Conference in December 2015 is a priority and a major opportunity to build a mass campaign for binding agreements to cut fossil fuel use.

We also have members from around the region and hope to be able to support / work with other local groups.

We learned that we are stronger together and that despite the lies of climate deniers, most people now understand that climate breakdown is real and burning fossil fuels is the cause. We also learned that a lot of positive things are happening, which deserve to be more widely known.

CANB is free to join, just email us on climateactionnetworkB@outlook.com or sign up via the web site at http:// canbham.wix.com/home . We will use new and old channels to help publicise various groups, activities and ways of getting involved with the widest possible appeal.

We want to build on that momentum by supporting stronger links and better coordination between groups and individuals. CANB is not just another group; it’s the connections between people who share similar aims and values.

Our first Annual General Meeting will be on 28th June, where we will formally set up the organisation and agree the plan for the rest of 2015.

We will publicise and encourage all kinds of actions and participation.

None of us has all the answers; all kinds of personal and political action are valid, provided they are nonviolent.

24

Join us on Facebook: http://goo.gl/ZOKqOQ Twitter: #climatebham Jules Todd

volunteer spotlight - Rachel Powis How long have you been volunteering with BFoE?

What do you like about working here?

I’ve been volunteering at BFoE since April 2014, so it’s nearly my one year anniversary.

I’ve really enjoyed meeting a likeminded group of people who care about the same issues as I do. But my favourite part of being in the office is working so close the vegan shop and getting cake for lunch!

What have you learnt from volunteering with BFoE? That, by being organised, a small group of passionate people can really make a difference. And that Phil’s taste in music is sometimes questionable...

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

I’ve got to say air pollution really, haven’t I? Not only emissions being damaging to health, but in the wider issue of climate change from CO2 emissions.

What do you do here?

I’m the resident air pollution expert, as I studied Air Pollution Management at Uni and it’s also a major part of my day job. At BFoE I’ve worked at lot on the Let’s Get Moving campaign: analysing air quality data, scouring the internet for air pollution news and working on BFoE’s response to a variety of inquiries and calls for evidence. You will occasionally find me working stalls and getting you to sign up to our campaigns.

What’s your best green tip/ advice?

Freecycle! (Other recycling communities are available). Not only does it save a great deal of items from being thrown away unnecessarily but it’ll save you a bit of money, too.

25

contacts

diary Farmers’ Markets

Contact us:

Birmingham University: 4th Wednesday of the month 9am-2pm Harborne: 2nd Saturday of the month 9am-2pm

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

Kings Heath: 1st Saturday of the month 9am-3:30pm

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

General Manager: Philip Burrows

Kings Norton: 2nd Saturday of the month 9am-2pm

E-mail: info@birminghamfoe.org.uk Web: www.birminghamfoe.org.uk

Treasurer: Margaret Lynch

18th May: Action Meeting - TBC

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

Friends of the Earth is:

Climate Change & Energy: Jacob Williams

25th May: No Meeting - Bank Holiday

New Street: 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month 10am-4pm

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

1st June: General Meeting

Solihull: 1st Friday of the month 9am-5pm

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

Campaign Meetings - Mondays 7.30pm 13th April: General Meeting 20th April: Action Meeting Elections 27th April: Action Meeting - Nature 4th May: No Meeting - Bank Holiday 11th May: General Meeting

8th June: Action Meeting - TBC 15th June: Action Meeting - TBC 22nd June: Action Meeting - TBC 29th June: Action Meeting - TBC

Other Events Now-17th May: Stones & Bones Exhibition - Library of Birmingham 18th April: Global Trade Day of Action 19th April: Birmingham Friends of the Earth Fundraising Pub Quiz Anchor Digbeth 12-14th June: Basecamp, Friends of the Earth national gathering Castleton Derbyshire

Sutton Coldfield: 2nd Friday of the month 9am-3pm Jewellery Quarter: 3rd Saturday of the month 10am-3pm

- 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:

Chair: Roxanne Green Campaigns Co-ordinator: Roxanne Green Campaigns Support Worker: Julien Pritchard

Nature: Christina Nijjar Planning: Ben Mabbett Transport: Adam McCusker Waste & Recycling: John Newson Newsletter Editors: Zoe Wright Website Editor: Philip Burrows Talks: Speakers available on request.

Please get in touch.

All enquiries and callers welcome.

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

17th June: ‘Speak Up!’ Mass Climate Lobby of Parliament London

26

27