Andy D'Agorne

The new ecologically designed depot held an open day this weekend - demonstrating what can be achieved with political will and a bit of external funding even by a cash strapped council like York. The wind turbine is still awaited, because manufacturers cant keep pace with demand. However I had a particular interest in attending having been to see the modcell panels being prefabricated in a barn near Easingwold. Apparently the staff are still a little apprehensive about how it will work out in summer, but what better way to convince the industry than to base the highway maintenance, street cleaning and refuse staff in this 21st century low energy building? Solar panels, rainwater recycling, walls of straw covered in render to keep energy use to a minimum, and an area designed to cater for visiting school parties.

Lib Dem councillor Christian Vassie certainly deserves credit for getting stuck in to making the project happen - the only negative comment I heard from any visitors was that some councillors were overheard in a bout of point-scoring over their 'green' policies - must have been after I left for the Wilberforce event in the Minster to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 'abolition of slavery' in this country.

 Having got a puncture today asa result of an underinflated back tyre going over a pothole on Museum St I am keen to get all cylclists to report any such defects. Tonight while discussing the possible Highways PFI funding it was proudly stated how York achieves 'a 95% repudiation rate' ie it successfully defends all but 5% of damages claims against it! Being a member of the Cycle Touring Club would seem to be particularly worthwhile in York.

Report it!

Two new online tools, which will help get potholes fixed and off-road trails cleared of obstructions, have been launched by CTC - the UK's national cyclists' organisation.  

Using the new system at http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/ cyclists (and other road users) can zoom into any road in the UK, mark the location of the defect, and let the authority know about it, which then has a duty to take action. It takes no longer than 2 minutes to use, and it is possible to include photos, measurements and other useful information, which other people will be able to see.  

A similar facility at http://www.clearthattrail.org.uk/  allows cyclists to report off-road obstructions. CTC Director Kevin Mayne said: "Potholes and other road defects are more than just a nuisance; they're a danger to cyclists. They're responsible for 12% of compensation claims by CTC members, and local Councils have a duty to fix them. Reporting problems like this can be a chore, but our online facility has made it quick and easy."  

One of the Labour MP's who has commanded much respect for those of us concerned about peace human rights, and the environment has finally admitted that he can no longer support the party and will be standing down next election to spend more time with his family in his new eco home. Alan has critiscised Tony Blair on issues ranging from GM crops to ID cards and Iraq, providing some hope to those who believed that the New Labour is not all bad. Now he has come out saying that he thinks Labour will be even worse under Gordon Brown and that some Labour MP's 'would vote to slaughter the first born' if it was the party line!

I have to admit being disappointed some years ago that Alan decided to fight on in the party rather than switch to the Green Party that espouses so many of the policies he has fought for. In the early 80's I worked with Alan on the committee of Nottingham CND of which he was a very effective co-chair. At that time we were opposing the original plans for Cruise and Trident nuclear weapons, and I gained my first experience of election campaigning when Alan first stood in the 1987 General Election. It wasnt until 1990 that I gave up on Labour and joined the Green Party. Thatcher and Major squandered our oil reserves and Tony Blair has squandered the reserves of good will and hope embodied in his supporters in that victory of 1997, when were promised so much. No wonder people are cynical about politicians!

To find out more about Alan and his ecohome go to www.alansimpsonmp.co.uk

To read a pretty damning inditement of Blairs lack of leadership on climate change look at

http://www.alansimpsonmp.co.uk/pdf/Climate_change/Another_Inconvenient_Truth.pdf

Now here's a positive site that tells you how to reduce your carbon footprint from the average 5 tonnes to one per year! Try visiting  http://theonetonners.blogspot.com/

This is Fulford Road, from the top of a bus. As you can see, the bus travels no more quickly than everyone else in their costly little boxes on wheels. There are no cycle lanes, so the cyclists choice is a detour to the riverside path, take a gamble on squeezing through on the inside or illegally ride on the largely empty footpath. One consolation you can see is crossing the road is a bit easier if the traffic is really jammed up!

Over the next few years, 600 dwellings in Hungate, 300+ at the Barbican, possibly 700 at Germany Beck, will all have occupants wanting to get up and down this road, and so will shoppers at the new Morrisons on James St, which is not on a direct bus route. A new office building on Hospital Fields has just got planning permission to add to the traffic from the premises down there, including the 100 dwellings in 'Fulford Place'.

So what do you think we should do about it? The 'Fulford Road corridor study' recommended various things including bus lanes (about 7 years ago) but opposition from Fulford residents ended that idea. The updated version has been delayed until after a decision on the proposed Germany Beck housing development.

The latest suggestion, to speed the buses is not the ftr ticket machine (thank God!) but to make the Park and Ride buses limited stop (picking up only at Designer Outlet and Fulford) Why Fulford? Well which party represents Fulford at present? What about all the residents of Fishergate who catch the no 7 bus to the station (the 415 goes to Piccadilly)? Well they can just walk or get on their bikes cant they! If you dont want this to happen you had better start sending those emails and letters to Cllr Ann Reid, before they finalise the Park and Ride contract for the next five years this summer!

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Posted by: andydag    in: About Fishergate ward

Press release issued 14/2/07: Published in The Press 17/02/07

NEWS RELEASE - YORK GREEN PARTY

Incineration 'Greenwash' attempt fails


MEPs yesterday voted to reject attempts to rebrand waste incineration as an
environmentally friendly alternative to landfill. As Green Party Councillor
Andy D'Agorne notes, this will have implications all over the continent -
including the City of York's own waste strategy.

The City of York Council is in partnership with other councils of North
Yorkshire to devise a plan for the county's waste over the next twenty
years. Whilst York Councillors ruled out an incinerator in York, the option
of sending York's waste to an incinerator elsewhere in the county is very
much on the table. Yesterday's vote on the EU Waste Framework Directive has
brought us one step closer to an enlightened, low-carbon waste strategy for
the twenty-first century, says Green Party Councillor Andy D'Agorne -

"Instead of finding convenient short-term ways of dealing with the problem,
Euro-MPs have agreed with the Green Party line that we must all stop
producing so much waste, and we should not promote anything that is likely
to reduce the amount we can reuse or recycle. This is the case in the City
of York and across the EU."

The Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas, who visited York last week, was the
'shadow rapporteur' for the subject. She said, "The decision by MEPs to
reject an amendment which would have reclassified waste incineration is an
important step for the environment. Re-branding incineration as a means of
recovery rather than waste disposal could create the impression that burning
our rubbish is environmentally friendly, which it clearly is not. "

The average European is responsible for 534 kilos of household waste per
year. MEPs have called for the stabilisation of the levels of waste
generation by 2012, based on 2008 levels. In York waste levels are already
going down due to increasing levels of recycling. "This underlines the total
pointlessness of building an incinerator. We can deal with our waste
better - and more cheaply - without one," said Councillor D'Agorne.
-------
York Green Party

You might not have noticed, but on May 3rd almost every adult in the City of York will have the chance to engage in the democratic process of voting for their local councillor. In Fishergate the Green Party will be defending the first two Green seats in the city for the first time. I hope that I have given good enough service to the electorate who have asked for my help to be re-elected, along with other Green Party activists who will be standing for election.

While our most obvious focus is on meeting the global and local challenges to the planet from our current way of life Greens have a whole social and economic programme that fits with that objective, unlike the other parties that seek to have our cake (the planet) and eat it!

Tony Blair is currently more focussed on how to turn Iraq from a mess into a positive 'legacy' as well as committing us to a nuclear future under an upgraded Trident, with the nuclear power stations to make sure more of the stuff is on hand for other countries or terrorists to seek to acquire.

We truely are at the crossroads - do we spend money on giving everyone well insulated secure homes, public transport a decent health service, pensions and less CO2 emissions or do we blow it on nuclear power plants, submarines, ID cards, dealing with the millions of refugees from war and environmental disasters?

If you do nothing else, write to your MP and ask him to vote for a delay on pushing ahead with wasting billions on Trident which is a relic from the Cold War and if ever used to fire weapons would be a crime under international law see http://cnduk.org. The real threat that even Blair admitted comes from climate change can be tackled with the right political will, but not if we carry on as we are. The feedback loops from the melting of tundra, icecaps and die back of tropical forests will soon be kicking in - we dont have time or money to waste. Are you ready to join us creating a radical Green council in York?

Our new website will soon have our latest local manifesto - take a look at www.york.greenparty.org.uk or get in touch if you can help us in our urgent task of getting more Greens elected in May.

On Thursday evening we attended the recording of the panel discussion that will be broadcast on Radio York on Mon Feb 12th 10.30am. The panel was very authoritative, with Sir John Lawton Chair of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, Tom Oxley Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for Norwich Union, Craig McGarvey from Environment Agency and Caroline Lucas Green MEP. 

Salient points from the panel included the general view that the issue is urgent, we can make a difference and it is not too late, even though the pace of change is speeding up: there has been a 0.7deg C increase in average  global temperature since 1900, most of that since 1990, with another 0.5deg that will happen if we call a halt now to any further increases in CO2- Predictions show a 3deg C increase by 2100: this may not seem much until you learn that the overall difference between temperatures in the interglacial and glacials has been 5deg C.

There seemed to be agreement that we have to find ways to consume less not just replace fossil fuels by renewables. In answer to the question about the expanding CO2 output of China and India it was stated that as their 'customer' we should set the same standards as we accept here as condition for trade and exchange technology and ideas so that they can benefit from our cleaner technology, leapfrogging the stages we went through.  Caroline Lucas stressed how much of our ability to respond depends on the political will - in Europe an integrated transport system is not a function of geography - it has developed because the parties have ensured the investment and funding is directed to it.

EXAMPLES of the impact of many small actions were given: If every household fitted 2 low energy lightbulbs we could shut down a power station. Norwich Union has 32,000 computers in the UK - a survey showed 54% are left on overnight, adding up to £1m pa in electricity costs to the company, quite apart from the impact on global warming.

The panel were asked to suggest one thing that would make a difference : suggestions included:

Fix your home (and save yourself some money and discomfort in the longer term)  do something to help the natural workd adapt to climate change (eg nature garden), Tell 10 other people how they can make a difference , and vote for a party that is going to get serious about tackling the issue (think you can guess which one?!)

To find out more about the project being run by the Stockholm Institute see www.ClimateTalk.org.uk To play the recording highlights go to www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire after midday on Mon Feb 12th and select Elly Fiorentini's programme details.