May 2002 Newsletter
The following is the May 2002 newsletter. Information within his page is correct only as of May 2002. For updated information, please see the relevant campaigns as indicated by the buttons.
A decent rail system for the North West has been delayed due to the wrong type of Chancellor!
MFOE Throws Punches for a Better Railway…
In
mid-April, as part of a week-long national campaign, Manchester Friends
of the Earth and friends took to Victoria Station with a clear message:
the railways are essential to a sustainable transport system and yet
the Government is drastically under investing in them.
A giant punch bag was erected, and Richard Dyer (ex Manchester FOE, now campaigner for National FOE, see picture) donned the guise of station announcer. Mock announcements such as 'A decent rail system for the North West has been delayed due to incompetence in the Westminster Area', caught the imagination of commuters and media alike. Commuters were given leaflets asking them to send a text message or email to Gordon Brown demanding more investment in the railways. Nationally, over the whole week, in excess of 4000 of these messages were sent to the treasury.
Locally, this was one of the most successful media campaigns in a long-time, with coverage by 3 radio stations, 2 TV stations and the Manchester Evening News. The lobbying is backed up by research to suggest how the extra money could be found: cuts in road building, increases fuel duty to keep the cost of motoring level, and development of 'congestion charging'. FOE awaits the Government's Response.
Graeme
Local Food for Local people
Manchester Friends of the Earth are holding a Real Food public meeting on Tuesday 11th June. The meeting will mark the launch of our 'Real Food Campaign', and the first draft of the Manchester Real Food Guide (listing sources of local / organic / fair-trade produce) will be available.
The meeting will include presentations from a Manchester FOE speaker, local producers and traders provisionally including Unicorn Grocery, The 8th Day, Earth Café and an Anti - GM campaigner and there will also be free food on offer from 8th Day, Unicorn and a local organic market garden.
The meeting will be a chance to meet others involved in 'Real Food' either as producers, traders, campaigners or consumers, find out more about what Manchester FoE are involved in, make new contacts and eat yummy organic food!
All welcome - Tuesday 11th June, 7pm at the Friends Meeting House.
L. Glitter
Why Organic?
A 12-year German study found that organically grown food contained higher levels of minerals than did non-organically grown food. The largest difference were for potassium and iron, but magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin C levels were also higher in organic vegetables (Sustain 2001).
Pesticide manufacturers pass on the costs of cleaning up pesticides to farmers, who pass it on to water companies who in turn pass it on to consumers via water bills. The annual total cost of removing pesticides from the water supply in the UK is £120 million (Sustain 2001).
In Ethiopia, 125000 farm households adopted sustainable agriculture methods, resulting in a 60% increase in crop yields as well as a 70% improvement of overall nutrition levels. Some of the farmers also sell excess crops to local market. This area was once reliant on food aid but can now feed itself (Sustain 2001).
Why local?
A study by the Wuppertal Institute analyses the total distance travelled by all elements used to make a pot of strawberry yoghurt and arrived at the figure 349km (Barton, 2000).
Many residents in deprived urban areas in the developed world are being more stranded in 'retail deserts', where supermarkets choose not to locate. The cheapest food is in out of town supermarkets, virtually inaccessible to those without cars.
Graeme
In Town Without My Car Day
Last year, Manchester Friends of the Earth persuaded Manchester City Council to close a road for 'European Car Free Day'. This day, 22nd September every year, is to celebrate alternatives to the car. We held a mini-festival in Exchange Street and gave away free tickets for local public transport for those who pledged to give up their car for a day.
This year's European Car Free Day is known as 'In Town Without my Car Day' and the UK Government has signed up to encouraging all local authorities in England to organise an event to mark the occasion. We've thrown down the Gauntlet to Greater Manchester Local Authorities: 'You've seen what we can do, now it's your turn.' Given our success as a small voluntary group, what could a Local Authority achieve if it set its mind to it? In April, we made a presentation at a seminar for interested organisations, including some Local Authorities, which was well received.
So far Bury MBC have committed to a high profile event, and Stockport MBC and Manchester City Council have decided that they will arrange something in their areas.
You can help us convince more councils. Please write to your councillors and MP asking them why your council isn't doing anything (if you live in Bury, Manchester or Stockport you could write and congratulate them!). Please contact the office if you would like a sample letter to send.
We look forward to working alongside Local Authorities to bring the car-free message to Greater Manchester this year.
Michael and Graeme
Responses to European Car Free Day 2001
Few of us can fail to appreciate the added speed and convenience that the private car can bring - at least for some journeys. But you can fall into the trap of using it just because it's there, not because you actually prefer it.
On European Car Free Day on the 22nd September, we gave people the chance to explore the potential (and possible difficulties) of using different modes of transport to go about their daily activities. People who signed our car-free pledge were later sent a questionnaire to find out their experiences of managing without a car. The majority of replies which were positive:
"Found it possible to travel quickly to a variety of destinations
via train, bus and tram. No problems at any time." (Stockport).
"Much better - less stress. Can read while on Metro and bus"
(Salford). "Surprisingly, the kids were much more willing to walk
about town than when we go by car - less whingey. And no hassle finding
parking space" (Withington).
Some people however have little or no choice in their use of a car,
because they have children or other dependents that expect, or need,
a lift. People with disabilities also have extra hassle to contend with
like transporting shopping and getting down steps.
Our replies seem to show a sort of hierarchy of public transport. There is a perception of the Metro as the "elite" form of transport - clean, punctual, comfortable and safe. Trains are shambolic but slowly improving, while buses are seen as chaotic and unreliable, only worth considering as a last resort: "Driving into town is becoming unbearable. Living near the Metro means I have an alternative for certain journeys, but I would never consider using the bus which is so unreliable." (B Carter, Sale, who successfully completed a shopping trip that would normally have been car-borne)
From the small number of replies received, it appears that people are not as firmly attached to their cars as the road lobby would like us to believe. Using public transport sometimes turns out to be not only more environmentally friendly, but actually more fun. Given better information about timetables and fares, it seems that many car owners could be persuaded to drive less. But they are not likely to do this in large numbers until service standards improve.
Will
GOVERNMENT PLANNING SHAKE UP:
A Threat to Democracy and Civil rights
The government has recently put forward proposals to reform the land-use planning system in England and Wales. They claim to want a faster, fairer planning system for all - but it seems that the proposals will deliver precisely the opposite. By removing people's democratic rights at national and local level and reducing democratic accountability, the proposals will create administrative chaos - ultimately slowing the planning system down.
In December 2001, the Government published two documents of vital importance to the future of the land-use planning system which represent the most significant erosion of civil rights in planning by any government since the introduction of the system in 1947. The measures will reinforce the powers of those with property interests to the exclusion of individuals and communities fighting to have their voices heard.
Under the new system, parliament will be able to grant permission for a wide range of projects including large-scale quarrying and opencast mining, airports, power-stations, chemical plants and roads over 30km. Individuals who make an objection will lose the right to be heard at a local plan public inquiry or challenge the principle, need or location of major developments. New business zones will also be introduced where developers will not have to apply for planning consent and national policy on issues like nature conservation will be slimmed down.
Several Manchester FOE members have responded to the proposals by sending letters to their MPs and Local Authorities. A group response has also been sent to the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions and we await the response of the consultation on the Green Paper, which is due to end on March 18th.
For more information go to www.foe.co.uk/resource/local/planning.
L. Glitter
FOR PEAT'S SAKE!
In the run up to the March Bank Holiday Weekend, 100 protesters gathered at a remote site in South Yorkshire to save one of Britain's most beautiful and diverse habitats from its Gro-Bag fate. Easter bank holiday is a big weekend for US based multinational Scotts who hold peat extraction rights to Hatfield and Thorne Moors for the next two years, just enough time to devastate the area beyond repair.
Peat is as vital to the carbon balance as rain forests. Moors such as Hatfield and Thorne have hundreds if not thousands of years worth of organic material compacted and stored in such a way that it does not decompose, thus locking carbon into the earth. Extracting and using peat for gardening or fuel wrecks havoc with the natural balance and once destroyed nature will take thousands of years to begin to repair the damage done to the bogs.
The four days between 25th-28th March saw plenty of action at Hatfield, including a blockade on the Monday which successfully stopped work at the plant as no vehicles could enter or leave the site, autonomous actions throughout the area and a colourful protest by Friends of the Earth on the Tuesday. Hopefully a few less Gro-Bags were sent to the shops that weekend and with just two years left to go, every day that work can be stopped counts for the future of the bogs.
L. Glitter
(For more information see: www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/corporates/case_studies/scotts)
TRANSPORT, COMMUNITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Manchester FoE Transport Campaign gets local (maybe - use your judgement on that subheading, see how it looks!)
MFoE's new Social Inclusion Project aims at helping communities that are socially disadvantaged by working with them to tackle issues relating to transport and getting around. The project will be based in East Manchester.
We will use a technique called Participatory Appraisal (PA) to work with the local communities to help identify problems and solutions. PA has been successfully used in developing countries, and has now begun to be applied in the UK. For example, Oxfam and Sustain (the food and farming group) used the technique to examine and address food poverty in three inner city areas in the UK.
The project will draw on the expertise of Friends of the Earth and community consultants, Development Focus. Friends of the Earth has an in-depth knowledge of transport and social exclusion issues and considerable campaigning expertise, whilst Development Focus have wide experience of applying PA in practice.
We will learn more about transport needs of deprived areas and work to highlight the relationship between transport and social and economic conditions. Possible future actions might include practical schemes (a walking bus prehaps) and input into Manchester City Council's Local Transport Plan. Given that this project involves working closely with national Friends of the Earth we hope that it will also be able to influence national policy.
We are looking for volunteers, in East Manchester and beyond, to join the team that will carry out participatory appraisal. Participants will recieve full training in PA, through a training course with Open College Network affiliation.
If you'd like to get involved, please contact Graeme at the Manchester FoE office.
Graeme
LOOKING THE TIGER IN THE EYE! STOP ESSO
Last
December 306 Esso stations around the country were targeted by protestors
as part of the biggest ever UK action on global warming. Esso had been
labelled the 'Number 1 Global Warming Villain' for their role in President
Bush's decision to pull out of Kyoto, their corporate campaigns to undermine
climate science and their lack of investment in renewable energy sources.
Despite the best efforts of campaigners though, Esso continue with their
dirty tricks in their mission to sabotage global action on climate change.
In February this year, Exxon released a secret memo to the Whitehouse calling for the removal of Bob Watson as head of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) along with other 'progressive' officials. The memo criticises Watson for speaking out about the dangers of climate change and once again shows us who's really pulling the strings in US policy.
DON'T LET ESSO GET AWAY WITH IT
Saturday May 18th marks the 2nd National Day of Action Against Esso. Campaigners in Greater Manchester hope to cover every station in the area to get the message out to the public. This is no small task though and we need all the help we can get! Volunteers are needed to take part in and to co-ordinate actions all over the area. To get involved contact either:
Lauren (central Manchester) 0161 221 0581
(laurenglitter@hotmail.com)
Elanor (South Manchester) 0161 881 1738
(elanor_Gordon@hotmail.com)
Martin (East Manchester) 01457 851587
(thesoupdragon@btinternet.com)
Sharon (Stockport) 494 7272
(sharonwhigham@hotmail.com)
Volunteers and co-ordinators are also needed in Oldham, Bolton and Bury (contact any of the above co-ordinators) - to hand out leaflets, talk to the public, hold placards and dress as tigers…
There is also a possibility of a monthly action taking place at stations in Manchester, either as a Saturday or evening event. For more details about this or the May event, contact Lauren@glitter.com or come along to a MFOE Meeting.
To find out more visit www.stopesso.com.
"As a citizen sometimes direct action is necessary to make a positive contribution to something you care about." (Esso UK website).
L. Glitter