Hammersmith and Fulham Friends of the Earth

25 Years Party

2006-11-30T23:03:00.000Z

25 Year Party

2006-11-30T23:02:00.000Z

25 Years Party

2006-11-30T22:59:00.000Z

25th Anniversary!

2006-09-24T18:09:00.000Z

Hammersmith and Fulham Friends of the Earth this year celebrates 25 years of successful campaigning. We have been one of the most consistently active local groups in the country and have forged a high profile for environmental campaigning in the borough. We got started back in November 1981 because a group of individuals wanted to get together to take positive action to help improve our environment. 25 years later we've gone from strength to strength. During that time we have taken action against global warming, air pollution, aviation expansion, GM food, waste, corporate irresponsibility and a host of other issues affecting the sustainability of people and our planet.

To mark the occasion we are having a celebration to thank all our supporters for their efforts over the years, at the Riverside Studios Cafe Bar in Hammersmith on Tuesday 14th November. There'll be a special guest speaker from Friends of the Earth head office, who will give a short talk about grassroots campaigning and the big environmental issue of the day, climate change. We are meeting from 6.45pm onwards for a 7pm start, and there will be organic refreshments available.

Community Spirits Raised

2006-03-18T18:25:00.000Z

Community spirit stall

The Community Festival stall – campaigning on both the Big Ask and Palm oil - went really well. We collected hundreds of postcards and we also completed 50 energy advice surveys with local residents. We also managed to network with some other groups in the community and do some display board research! The event seems to get better each year - the whole centre was full of community groups and there were lots of interesting performances too!

Carbon Dating

2006-01-24T21:35:00.000Z

Scientists use it to foster discipline-hopping research; fertility guru Robert Winston uses it to shed light on human nature. Now that the speed-dating concept has become the latest hot way to network, the Stop Climate Chaos coalition is holding a ‘carbon-dating’ event on Wednesday 1st March at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster between 12 noon and 5pm. A cross between lobbying and speed-dating, the event will be a chance for you to meet a variety of MPs and ask for action on climate change. If you would like to book your place or find out more, contact Alex Phillips in the Friends of the Earth climate team before February 20th.

Government launches public energy consultation

2006-01-24T21:16:00.000Z

The Department for Trade and Industry has launched a public consultation on future energy supplies. Entitled "Our Energy Challenge: securing clean, affordable energy for the long term", the consultation considers all aspects of the energy system including both energy supply and demand. The entire 77-page consultation document is available here as a PDF, with details of how to obtain a paper copy available on the website. Responses to specific questions can be submitted online. A somewhat less technical forum for debate on nuclear power can be found on a BBC talkboard.

Energy policy: let the government know your views

2005-12-19T21:26:00.000Z

Following a discussion on energy policy on Radio 4's You and Yours programme on 13th December, the public are being inviting to submit comments on their website, and to 'influence government policy'. They say: "For the first time BBC Radio 4 listeners have the chance to give their views directly to a select committee. Many of the Commons Select Committees have agreed to take evidence from callers to You and Yours and comments emailed via the You and Yours website. Your opinions will be scrutinised by MPs before they compile their final report...The Energy White Paper published in 2003 set out a vision in which renewables and energy efficiency would plug the gap left by the decline of current nuclear and coal generating capacity. The Environmental Audit Select Committee has launched an inquiry to examine the options for meeting future energy requirements. It will focus on the relative costs of different technologies, such as nuclear and the various forms of renewables like wind, wave, tidal and solar."

You can send your comments and listen to the programme again here.

Write to the papers

2005-11-28T20:37:00.000Z

We all know how important it is to get coverage in the local papers - and the letters page is a great way of getting our message across. And as many a former journalist on such a publication will tell you, there are times when the staff have to write them themselves. To help them out, Scaryduck has launched a competition for the best letters published in your local paper. "Most of these are screaming out for content that hasn’t been written in crayon or on the back of a beer-mat by the local nutter, and will publish virtually anything with a local angle," he says. Extra credit and prizes for bizarre subject matter or stoking a controversy, if getting the environment onto the local agenda isn't enough incentive!

Media coverage!

2005-11-28T20:35:00.000Z

Hammersmith Today kindly published our press release on the Big Ask.

Big Asking in Fulham

2005-11-26T18:39:00.000Z

Climate stall
Originally uploaded by hffoegroup.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the Big Ask stall in Fulham Broadway Shopping Centre on Saturday! We got over 80 postcards signed. At the time of writing, 300 MPs had signed up to EDM 178, but there's still some way to go.

Are they listening?

2005-11-22T21:32:00.000Z

The wonderful people behind TheyWorkforYou.com have launched HearFromYourMP.com, a new project to help constituents discuss issues they're concerned about with their MPs.

If you enter your details, they'll add you to a queue of other people in your constituency. Here's a description: "When enough have signed up, your MP will get sent an email. It'll say “20 of your constituents would like to hear what you're up to – hit reply to let them know”. If they don't reply, nothing will happen, until they get an email which says there are now 100 people; 200 people; 500 people – until it is nonsensical not to reply and start talking." It's been given a warm welcome by Hammersmith & Fulham MP Greg Hands, who has signed up to take part.

The site has only just been launched, but anything that encourages people to at least learn their MP's name and party must be a good idea - not to mention the benefits of making MPs more accountable to those they represent. If the Palm Oil day of action is anything to go by, I would estimate at least 90% of people don't even know who their MP is. Fortunately, all you need for the site is your postcode.

Palm Oil stall

2005-10-30T14:40:00.000Z

Palm Oil stall
Originally uploaded by hffoegroup.

A national day of action on palm oil was held on Saturday 29th October. Thanks to everyone who helped before, during and after the event in Lyric Square, Hammersmith - especially those who donned the orang-utan costume - we got over 100 postcards signed!

The Half-Green Prince

2005-10-29T09:22:00.000Z

How green is Prince Charles? Answer: could do better. Charles does seem to be the most outspoken of the blue-blooded bunch on green matters, though sadly Prince William has abandoned the idea of a career in the environment he once mentioned a few years ago to join the army. Charles told the BBC's Today programme that climate change is the biggest threat facing mankind - yet he clocked up over 77,000 miles of overseas travel last year, much of it in chartered planes.

An article in the Guardian on his green credentials (which left me wondering exactly how Charles was supposed to have had one-seventh of a child) gives him just two out of ten for travel (private cars, running three big stately homes and pledging to oppose new wind farms) but top marks for food and farming - including organic farming and conservation at Highgrove and promoting school vegetable gardens. Charles is as outspoken on green matters as others in top positions are silent, and certainly gets important publicity for climate change and organic farming.

Should Charles, who once said he could say what politicians can't, put his (our) money where his mouth is? You can share your climate change concerns on the BBC talkboard.

Write to Margaret Beckett about the upcoming vote on Monsanto’s GM maize (MON863)

2005-10-18T13:14:00.000Z

On 24th/25th October, the Agriculture Council is due to vote on the authorisation of Monsanto’s MON863 insect resistant maize.

In June 2005, the majority of Member States abstained or voted against the approval for import and use as animal feed. But because a ‘qualified majority’ was not reached, the final decision reverted to the European Commission, who approved the maize.
This next vote is for use of the GM maize as import and use as food. There are many concerns about the safety and potential environmental impact of MON863 maize, so we need to put pressure on the UK Government to vote against the approval. If Member States voted against the food authorisation, the previous animal feed decision would also be blocked!
A suggested letter is included below – feel free to modify the letter as much as you wish. Sending letters by post tends to have a greater impact than email, but it is possible to email the letter if you prefer.

Letters should be sent to:

Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Defra
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
Or you can email gm@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Please send a copy to lizw@foe.co.uk if you get a response.

Dear Margaret Beckett MP

EU Agriculture Council vote on food import and use authorisation for genetically modified maize (MON863)

I am writing to you to express my concern about the proposed authorisation of Monsanto’s genetically modified maize (MON863) which the UK will vote on at the upcoming EU Agriculture Council on October 24-25th

I am particularly concerned about the following issues:

Antibiotic resistance genes
I understand that MON863 contains an antibiotic resistance gene, conferring resistance to a number of antibiotics. Although this has been dismissed by the German authorities and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the antibiotics in question are still important for specific purposes such as treatment of neonatal infections. Horizontal gene transfer could have adverse effects on human and animal health where these medicines are being used.
Despite a deadline of the end of 2004 for the phasing out of antibiotic resistance marker genes in GMOs according to Directive 2001/18, the European Commission has yet to issue any official conclusions on this issue. Until the requirements of the Directive have been met, MON863 should not be authorised. I understand that in its comments on the original application, the German authority suggested it would limit registration of the maize to 31st December 2004.

Food safety and lack of transparency
I am concerned that a feeding study on rats showed significant changes in factors such as levels of white blood cells, kidney weights and kidney structure. Although this led to criticism from a number of scientists from different Member States, this was disregarded by EFSA who delivered a positive opinion on the maize. Monsanto also refused to publish the initial rat study and had to be forced to do so in a court ruling in a case brought by the German Government.
Scientific opinions obtained by Greenpeace since the full feeding report was released indicate that MON863 has the potential to affect rats’ health negatively. Independent reviews of Monsanto’s study have also concluded that the methodology and statistical analyses are poor.

Risk to the environment
I understand that Monsanto and the German authorities have concluded that, because the application is for import of food and feed only, there is negligible risk to the environment and that a monitoring plan is unnecessary. I strongly disagree with this. In Mexico, only food and feed imports of GM maize were allowed, yet local varieties of maize were found to be contaminated. This was probably due to the inadvertent planting of GM maize grains sold as food or feed, and this scenario could also happen in European countries. A monitoring plan is essential to ensure that GM maize grains sold for food and feed really are restricted to this purpose.

In June 2005, most member states did not support MON863. But as no qualified majority was reached, the European Commission authorised the import and use of MON863 as animal feed in August. Less than half of Member States supported MON863 for food at a regulatory committee vote in May 2005. I understand that the UK voted in favour of the authorisation on both occasions – I urge you to reconsider the UK’s position on this next vote.
Please support the precautionary underpinnings of EU legislation and vote against the authorisation of this GM maize, which reports and scientific evidence point to being harmful for both the environment and human health.
Further detailed information is available in the comments made by Friends of the Earth Europe on the original Monsanto application (May 2003)
http://www.foeeurope.org/GMOs/pending/MonsantoGM_Maize863.pdf

I look forward to hearing from you

Yours sincerely,

Question Time!

2005-09-22T19:17:00.000Z

(Environmental) Questions for Tony Blair?

Tony Blair is will answer questions at the start of the Labour conference next week - and is allowing the public to email suggested questions in.

A good area of questioning would be climate change - why we are not meeting our targets, and how we might do so in the future. Even Tony has said it's the biggest environmental challenge we face. But is the UK "leading the world in setting a bold plan and targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions?", as Mr Blair claimed last year?

Mail Morley about Montreal

2005-09-22T19:07:00.000Z

The UK currently holds presidency of the EU, and will therefore be the lead negotiators at the UN climate conference in Canada in November. The talks are the first since the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol earlier this year, but the signs so far are that the UK is not going in with as strong a position as we would like. FoE have launched an e-mail action for you to contact Elliot Morley, the Minister of State for Climate Change and the Environment, to ask him to take a strong stance.

You can also write to him:

Elliott Morley MP
Minister of State for Climate Change and the Environment
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London, SW1P 3JR

Mr Morley, who lists his hobbies countryside issues, ornithology and conservation, is Vice President of the Wildlife and Countryside Link and a former member of the councils of the RSPB and BTO. Hopefully these green credentials will count for something come November!

Big Ask guides online

2005-09-20T21:08:00.000Z

Two new action guides on the Big Ask have now been published online. Action Guide 4 - Public Meetings and the Climate Change Bill is available here as a PDF:

Action Guide 5 - Getting Climate Change targets into your local development frameworksT is available here.

22 September is the international In Town Without My Car Day. More information on European Mobility Week available here.

Night flights

2005-09-01T21:30:00.000Z

The Department of Transport is currently carrying out a consultation on whether there should be flight restrictions over a full eight-hour night period from 11pm to 7am.

World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines say that noise levels above 50-55 decibels (about the level of a normal conversation) are highly annoying. This level falls by about 10 decibels at night and the Government say they want to meet these guidelines in the next 25 years. FoE would like the Government to go further and ban night flights completely.

You can take part in the government consultation on night flights via the FoE website or e-mail the Department for Transport before Friday 16th September. Results of the first consultation were published in June 2005.

Meanwhile, Ryanair have their own take on the consultation and are asking people to write to the DfT in defence of low and not-so-low air fares. "The UK Government is currently proposing to increase noise restrictions at Stansted Airport, which threatens the growth of low fares flights for UK consumers," they state on their website. So if you live near Stansted and can't sleep, you know who to blame...

Tell Tony to speak out about climate change!

2005-07-06T20:09:00.000Z

Tony Blair says that climate change is the single greatest challenge facing the world. But his special relationship with George Bush could undermine global action to stop climate change. Tell Tony to stand up to climate criminals, stand up to Bush and take action to stop climate change at this year's G8 Summit courtesy of the Greenpeace website.

2005-07-06T19:36:00.000Z

Marchers on the Make Poverty History demonstration in Edinburgh

2005-07-04T19:37:00.000Z

Paula and Sarah outside the FoE stall in the Meadows.
An estimated 225,000 people from all over the country and indeed world marched in Edinburgh on Saturday 2 July as part of the Make Poverty History campaign - equivalent to about half the city's population. Much patient queuing ensued before we were allowed on the march at around 4pm, six hours after arriving! The march brought together a diverse range of groups, including Traidcraft, Christian Aid, Oxfam and Friends of the Earth.

West London Green Festival

2005-06-20T19:51:00.000Z

Pictures from the West London Green Festival, in Parsons Green, a showcase for environmental groups to reach out and attract people to their causes, are now online.

Big Ask campaign launched

2005-06-12T14:55:00.000Z

Friends of the Earth has officially launched its Big Ask campaign. You can sign a petition calling for further action or ask your MP to support a new climate change law.

Many signatures and postcards were collected at the Camden Green Fair on 5th June - look out for John Travolta and Marilyn Monroe silhouettes supporting the cause soon. Meanwhile, an article about how oil giants influenced Bush can be read here.

Edinburgh

2005-06-12T14:49:00.000Z

Paula and Sarah are travelling by train to Edinburgh on the evening of Friday 1st July and returning on Sunday 3rd for the Make Poverty History demonstration. Please let one of us know if you're interested in joining us.

The British Environmental Survey

2005-05-27T19:51:00.000Z

Loughborough University are carrying out a survey into people's views of the environment and environmentalism in Britain. It's hoped the information gathered may be of help to the green movement and those who take part. Research is entirely impartial and all participants will remain anonymous.

The survey takes about ten minutes to complete, and results will be published online at a later date.

2005-05-22T15:06:00.000Z

The group

Summer events

2005-05-22T15:03:00.000Z

The Big Ask

The Big Ask - a major campaign on climate change which aims to put pressure on the government to pass a new law to tackle emissions - is to be launched by Friends of the Earth on June 11.

The aim of the Big Ask campaign is to get the Government to bring in a new law setting legally binding targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 3% each year. In its recent response to the Government's Climate Change Programme Review, FoE advocates the conversion of the UK's 2010 20% reduction target into a carbon budget for the years 2008-12.

The campaign will feature nationwide cinema adverts during the summer. Determined to shed its beard-and-sandals image, a series of innuendo-laden permits will also be unleashed on the drinking public. Local action is likely to include stalls to ask the public whether the Government should do more to tackle climate change.

Locally, campaigning will focus on a range of summer festivals and events. The campaign kicks off on June 11th. We aren't organising anything on this day, but if you would like to help out another London group, contact David Babbs and he will put you in touch. There will be a post-action social in the evening.

Other climate campaigning events include:

Sunday 5th June: Camden Green Fair

Join activists from across London to take the new climate campaign to the crowds at the Camden Green Fair in Regents Park. This is the 14th Green Fair to take place in Camden and up to 15,000 people are expected to attend.

Sunday 19th June: West London Green Festival, Parsons Green, Fulham. We will have a stall at this event. The festival is a showcase for environmental groups to reach out and attract people to their causes. Some 30 environmental groups will be represented, and Jenny Jones, the London Assembly Green Party Member and road safety campaigner is due to attend.

Monday 27th June, 6pm to 8:30pm - Meet Shell's 'fenceline' communities from around the world. An evening to meet with Shell campaigners and communities affected by Shell's activities. Around eight representatives from communities around the world - Texas, the Philippines, Nigeria, Sakhalin Island, Durban and more - will be in London for Shell's AGM.
Location: Friends of the Earth, 26-28 Underwood St, London N1 7JQ

Saturday 16th July: Rise Festival (formerly Respect Festival), Burgess Park, SE5.

17th – 18th September: Thames Festival

Making Poverty History

2005-05-22T15:00:00.000Z

Leaders of the world's richest countries will descend on Gleneagles in Scotland in July for the first G8 summit to be held in Britain since 1998. The Make Poverty History campaign, a coalition of over 200 charities, campaigns, trades unions, faith groups and celebrities, is organising a huge march around the city centre to demonstrate support for trade justice, debt relief and more and better aid for the world’s poorest countries. This will be followed by the creation of a giant human white band around Edinburgh city centre, with staggered starts at 12pm, 1pm and 2pm. There will also be an opportunity to send messages directly to the G8 meeting in Gleneagles.

You can join up with Friends of the Earth supporters and campaigners on the day to march under a climate justice banner. There will be lots of opportunities to network and relax with other Friends of the Earth supporters and campaigners over the weekend too. Contact Naomi Hunt on 020 7566 1677 or email.

The G8 Alternatives summit is being held on Sunday July 3 in three main venues with four key themes – Africa, climate, corporate globalisation and war/peace. If you can’t make it to Edinburgh, Friends of the Earth Scotland is organising a Climate Alarm at 13.45 on Thursday 7th July to warn world leaders that they can’t avoid climate change. Friends of the Earth will set off an alarm outside the summit and at the same time, people across Scotland and the world will set off sirens, sound alarms and ring bells.

If you’re feeling energetic and have two weeks to spare, there are several organised bike rides cycling to Edinburgh. If you can’t make it to Edinburgh in person, find out how you can get a white band and support the campaign here.

A recent Observer article describes how poverty kills 30,000 people every day in Africa alone. Despite the Economist's recent assertion that "advocating debt relief has become the development-policy equivalent of kissing babies," and the noble rallying of A-list celebdom to the cause, the West's overseas aid is still, Oxfam estimates, equivalent to the cost of a cup of coffee per person.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh and Lothians Tourist Board expects the march to attract a substantial number of people, and is even offering travel and accomodation packages to take in the sights of Edinburgh. "Many of them are professionals...They are not full-faced, motorcycle helmet-clad anarchists looking to make a lot of trouble in someone else's city," they told BBC news.

So, with that and emails that look like they're from Robbie Williams in your inbox, let's hope the world's leaders listen to the world's people in July...

Climate change news

2005-05-20T19:18:00.000Z

The New Yorker has published three in-depth and very interesting articles on climate change. Elizabeth Kolbert travelled from Alaska to Greenland, and visited top scientists to examine the history of climate change, the conclusions of current research, and the arguments over what can be done.

New Yorker article

The Office of National Statistics has just published figures on UK greenhouse gas emissions. The figures show greenhouse gas emissions from UK air travel have doubled in 13 years, damaging the government's claims to be a world leader in reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The figures show total UK greenhouse gas emissions fell 8.1% from 786.3 million to 722.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent on an Environmental Accounts basis between 1990 and 2003, largely due to the closing of coal mines and the switch to gas for electricity generation. However, greenhouse gas emissions in 2003 rose 1.6% on the previous year, mainly due to increased emissions from the electricity generators. Greenhouse gas emissions from the transport and communication industries were 48.4% higher in 2003 than in 1990.

Read more...
Guardian article
Office of National Statistics

A meeting was held in Bonn from May 16-17 to share information on possible long-term climate change policies and measures adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. Friends of the Earth Germany held a climate demonstration outside the seminar.

Defra website

Congestion Charge Extension

2005-05-15T01:42:00.000Z

Transport for London are carrying out a public consultation on the proposed westwards extension of the congestion charge. The survey can be completed on TfL's website, or you can request a paper copy by telephoning 0800 028 5470. Responses need to be submitted by July 15th.

Monitoring has shown that the scheme has reduced traffic congestion within the current charging zone by 30%. The boundary in the south follows Grosvenor Road and Chelsea Embankment; in the west, the southbound route of the Earl’s Court One Way System, the West Cross Route and Scrubs Lane; and in the north, Harrow Road in part, and then the Grand Union Canal and the Great Western Railway Line, though Harrow Road would be the main route for diverting traffic. The net revenues from the western extension are predicted to be around £30-50 million per year, which are required by law to be spent on transport improvements in London. The earliest any proposal would be implemented would be early 2007.

Make sure you have your say, as the Mayor's plans are likely to to attract fierce opposition from the pro-motoring lobby! Should residents of one of Britain's wealthiest enclaves be entitled to a 90% discount? Are there issues that you feel haven't been taken into consideration? Have your say here:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/cc-ex/

Our very first blog!

2005-04-18T20:41:00.000Z

Hammersmith and Fulham Friends of the Earth has joined the wonderful world of blogging...The idea of this blog is to be a kind of companion to the website. Anyone can post comments, photos and links to it, add comments and generally keep information sparklingly up-to-date. It can be a forum for discussion, a place to let off steam (politely), a way to publicise an event and lots more!