..About how you wrap your presents and about sending out cards! the lazily smart folk amongst us know that we could save ourselves time - and as Leighton points out - trees this xmas - by wrapping presents in old magazines/newspapers etc. and sending e-cards. 50,000 trees apparently..
Ha good. Today”s Guardian is running a story on how the Royal Society - the UK”s national academy of science - has ticked off ExxonMobil for their dodgy dealings regarding climate change and have demanded:
” that the company withdraws support for dozens of groups that have “misrepresented the science of climate change by outright denial of the evidence”.
Apparently the Royal Society has done its own research into the extent of Exxon”s funding to such groups - which include the
International Policy Network.
As highlighted under the Campaigns page- ExxonMobil/Esso Mobil/Esso spend more than any other company on denying the existence of climate change.
Take a look at Exxonsecrets for more documentation on groups who have received funding from ExxonMobil.
epolitix had this little excerpt today:
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs publishes guidance for councils on how to tackle fly-tipping by householders. “Councils have tended to concentrate on clearance. That is vital, but there needs to be more emphasis on preventing fly-tipping happening in the first place,” said environment minister Ben Bradshaw. “Prevention, coupled with coming down hard on those who are caught fly-tipping, could help reduce the problem and save money.”
Ah Ben Bradshaw - “coming down hard” what nonsense! Really - will we never get away from this obsession with punishment? oh yes you mention prevention - and how? that”s what you want to focus on my friend - forget the punishment. the reason people fly-tip is very simple: what else are you going to do? Especially if you haven”t a car in london and you know if you leave stuff “outside” someone”s gonna come and get it. in the absence of formal exchange/re-use mechanisms that are actually convenient, what the hell is anyone actually meant to do, for goodness sake? If there are freecylce type schemes or Re-use type schemes in the Borough that Councils actually supported instead of leaving for the voluntary sector to deal with - we may get actually somewhere. If Councils were really bothered, they”d have worked this out by now. So take for example the disgraceful state of re-use and recycling in Southwark - right on the GLA and Ken”s doorstep. Alongside the few recycling bins there was a textile/materials recycling thingie - it got full pretty quick,
( obviously in demand) so what do the Council do - provide some more textile bins? Nope - just take the existing one away. Very smart.
And this is how the Capital is going to hit its recycling targets? It seems ( and i”ve found this out through my work with local authorities) that basically because the whole business of recycling is so difficult for them to work out ( something to do with supply chain logistics - hmmph) and expensive, it turns out its cheaper for them to miss their targets. Right. Wonderful.
“The ‘Merton Rule“ is the groundbreaking planning policy, pioneered by the London Borough of Merton, which requires the use of renewable energy onsite to reduce annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the built environment. Hundreds of local authorities look set to follow Merton’s lead, which will impact all new major development projects throughout the UK.â€
The policy was adopted in October 2003 in the London Borough of Merton’s Unitary Development Plan.
A Unitary Development Plan - for those of you who aren”t in the know! - is a statutory document ( written by the Local Authority ) which sets out the strategic framework for the use of land and detailed policies and specific proposals for development. For a list of other Boroughs which have now adopted this policy, check out the Merton Rule page, which is the definitive resourcce promoting planning policies for renewable energy. There are also case studies demonstrating how renewable energy systems can be incorporated into development.
Full text of the policy reads:
” The Council will encourage the energy efficient design of buildings and their layout and orientation on site. All new non-residential developments above a threshold of 1,000 sq metres will be expected to incorporate renewable energy production equipment to provide at least 10% of predicted energy requirements. The use of sustainable building materials and the re-use of materials will also be encouraged. As will the use of recycled aggregates in the construction of buildings. This will be subject to the impact on the amenity of the local environment, taking into account the existing character of the area..”
thanks to uniteddiversity.com for highlighting this
the main galleries of the dulwich picture gallery are open this sunday for free! as part of the dulwich arts festival from 10 to 5 p.m.
contemporary art: another interesting event that is part of the festival is ‘eco-vandalism‘ in Sydenham Hill Woods ( the wood is located between Dulwich, Sydenham Hill and Forest Hill) - also on Sunday.
” A group of challenging and divergent contemporary artists have been invited to respond to the theme of eco-vandalism”
MOVIMIENTOS @ The Salmon and Compass -Thursday 4th May (7pm -2am)
“A politically inspired night of Latin boogie & documentary films on Latin America.
The finest in Afro-Latin, Boogaloo, Brazilian, Funk, Ska, Hip Hop, Reggaeton, Salsa, Cumbia, Bachata, Manguebeat, Tango, Drum and Bass, Broken Beats, Rhumba House, Electronica etc…..Music hosted by DJs Arias & Springfield & Stylo Prohibido MCs With guest DJs Steve M and Mark Wimmers (Que Rico!) DJ Zen (Sonic 360 Records)
With guest DJs : Steve M and Mark Wimmers (Que Rico!) and DJ Zen (Sonic 360 Records)
Upstairs: Film Night- from 7 pm
“Documentary films on Latin America by independent film makers, presented by various solidarity and support groups based in the UK.We are excited to present a unique portrait of water justice and the exploitation of water resources in Latin America and beyond by Northwest London World Development Movement.
In recent years, Latin America has seen failed water privatisations and massive public protests from Cochabamba and El Alto in Bolivia to Argentina, successful alternative cooperative schemes in places like Brazil and a public referendum outlawing water privatisation in Uruguay…but this struggle against making our natural resources a commodity is also happening worldwide!
This month”s films focus on the global nature of this fight but there will be time for discussion of Latin American experiences, UK campaigns and the ways that water privatisation represents larger trends towards eradicating essential public services and human rights in favour of the private sector and multinational corporations.”
Dirty Aid, Dirty Water - World Development Movement, 2005
Length: 15 mins
Thirst - Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman, 2004
Length: 35 mins
A World Without Water : C4, 2005
Length: 90 mins
@ The Salmon & Compass
58 Penton Street (Corner of Chapel Mkt)
Angel , N1 9EZ
–
crossposted @ sonia.pickledpolitics.com
Activists have set up a blockade of Kimberly-Clark’s factory in Canada. * the folks who make Kleenex* They’re stopping all shipments of ancient forest products in or out of the factory, and they’ve hung a large banner that reads, “Kimberly-Clark & Kleenex: Stop destroying the Boreal Forest.”
Please help Greenpeace spread the message.
Act Now >> Greenpeace have obtained the direct phone number to Kimberly-Clark CEO Thomas Falk’s office, and they want you to call him and deliver this message: “Stop destroying ancient forests and start using recycled content in your tissue products.
they’ve had some good news, the campaign against Kimberley-Clark has been going for a year and this week, American University in Washington, D.C. wrote a letter to the CEO of Kimberly-Clark announcing that the University will not purchase Kimberly-Clark’s products until they stop destroying ancient forests for tissue paper.
Check out Greenpeace USA for more information
It ’s estimated that London produced around 375,000 tonnes of rubbish last Christmas - that’s the equivalent weight of 50,000 double-decker buses.
also - a massive one billion Christmas cards are sent out every year and if they’re not recycled - what then? WHSmith and Tesco stores are collecting Christmas Cards for the Woodland Trust from 2 to 31 January.
After two years of research the new version of the Guide Guide Online Database is now available at www.greenguide.co.uk
The Green Guide is a comprehensive directory of eco-friendly, natural, ethical and organic goods and services, containing all sorts of things the consumer & business user needs for a sustainable lifestyle & workplace.
The Green Guide for Christmas contains everything you need for the festive season – but with a planet-friendly, natural and ethical slant:
* more than 200 of the best green, ethical or natural gift suggestions
* listings for planet-friendly mail order suppliers and retailers
* the best green shopping web sites and ethical catalogues
* tips and advice for greening your Christmas
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