---

Climate change - Hugh Bayley

Everyone seems to be talking about it now - we even had cross party support for our motion last night calling for the 'Merton rule' of a minimum of 10% ON SITE renewable generation for all major developments to be kept in Yorkshire's Regional strategy (peversely the minister has suggested removing it after the inspector approved it in the policy). Last week we adopted a policy on Sustainable design and construction, and the committee agreed with my proposal to have Code for sustainable level 3 as a minimum throughout (the draft had 2**) This should mean developers expected to have the same standards of insulation for all houses not just those funded through social landlords where the government has stipulated level3 as a minimum.

Tonight I attended a 'full house' addressed by Labour MP for City of York Hugh Bayley. The meeting had been called to allow questions to be put to Environment Minister Hillary Benn but he has decided to go an try to convince the Indian government before the Bali talks convened to try to reach UN agreement on a successor to Kyoto.

Contributions were wide ranging from strong attacks on the government double standards promoting another runway at Heathrow, widening the motorways,closing rural post offices, allowing building around York on greenfield sites, not spending enough on flood prevention.... One woman recounted how 'we managed to make rapid changes in 1939' - rationing, local food production, blackouts  - we need an equivalent urgent political consensus on dramatic action today. Hugh was his usual fence sitting on nuclear power, though he did support my proposition that a move to more local power generation and energy production combined with more insulation would cut out some of the energy losses from transmission. I also advocated that Carbon Footprint audits and action plans should be required of all businesses alongside their financial accounts.

Hugh seemed quite well versed on the water supply loss impact over the next 30 years in China and India if the current rate of loss of Himalayan ice continues. The point was well made that individuals need to keep up the pressure on the politicians, to give them the confidence to act and not feel that they will thereby loose the support of their electorate.

Current mood: Angry


What's the worst that could happen?

This little youtube video may seem a bit trite, but I think it is a good response to the climate change deniers out there - take a look and see if you agree with me! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDsIFspVzfI

Perhaps some members of the planning committee watched this before our meeting last night - The draft 'interim planning statement' (formerly known as Supplementary Planning Guidance) on Sustainable Design and Construction was at last brought back for approval. During the consultation period,  what started out as BREEAM levels...'very good' were replaced by the governments Code for Sustainable Homes ratings, which our officers had translated to 2** However the Housing Corporation now specifies level 3 as minimum for RSL funded housing so I put forward the proposal that we should adopt Level 3 for the policy. Other councillors then agreed that there would be no point in having a situation where 'pepper- potted' affordable housing (now required at 50% for developments of 15 or more dwellings) had to be at a higher standard than neighbouring for sale properties. No doubt developers will say they cant make it pay, but if we are to build the projected 18,000 dwellings in York in the next 20 years, the least we can do is make sure they have the lowest possible carbon footprint and the most affordable energy bills for future occupants. That has got to make sense both in terms of social inclusion and economic prosperity in the age of peak oil.

 

Having achieved this policy, we now need to pressurise the Minister to allow Yorkshire's RSS to keep the minimum 10% target for on site renewables: Bizarrely this policy was agreed at the Examination in Public and the Inspectors recommendations only for Yvette Cooper to then say it was 'too prescriptive' having allowed just such a policy in the North- East regions' RSS. If our motion to council is successful on Nov 29th York will be joining with other councils in the region to lobby for the target to be restored, in line with the IPS we have just adopted! The goverment seems to be ignoring the serious economic arguments for action on Climate Change spelt out in the Stern Report. Asthe above video clip makes clear, its up to every one of us to change the overall climate of opinion so that politicians know action must be more urgent and more radical.

Dont forget the National demo on the global day of action on Sat Dec 8th - tickets are still on sale at Fairer World but going fast. See www.campaigncc.org  

 

Facebook and all that

Well this communication mechanism seems to be competing with lots of other networks out there, myspace, blogspot, facebook,youtube, and all that. A week or so back i got an invite to become a 'friend' and since others were talking about facebook being the way many students and e students communicate I signed up and spent a bit of time spotting a few others I know to invite to become 'friends'.Without really trying I now have 20 friends, including a few contacts who found me (nice to meet up with old contacts, but I imagine anyone with a past they would rather forget might risk a bit of a shock  through this mechanism!) There are various 'groups' and an option to identify with your 'neighborhood' in this case Fishergate has been put on the map by Dave and got some residents in it! Ive joined one called 'Campaign to recognise York on facebook' as there is only a choice of York Univ, Leeds, or Sheffield 'region' -

My other network is http://www.flickr.com/ with wonderful photos from around the globe- and I have to confess to joining a few groups there too.. British Countryside, Urban fragments, Trees, pavements (honest!) Each have a few of my photos posted to them to join the thousands of images in each one. You can search on any 'tag' you choose or locate pictures by location - the first one I posted was of the Bile beans sign in Lord Mayors walk and now my site has a 'group' within it for signs and 'red' - you should find a link floating above this webpage if you just click on it you can take a peek at the world of flickr. The website offers the Creative Commons options of sharing images for non commercial use - for an explanation see http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses

 A great escape from the depressing analysis of potential budget cuts for next year!

 

Ode to Trees

 

Its come round to that time of year where its 'open season' for declaring trees unsafe and removing them. The combination of a very damp summer and warm autumn has created ideal conditions for waterlogged roots to rot and the damage spread with fruiting fungi providing tell-tale signs for eagle eyed tree surgeons to spot in the same way a mugger identifies a suitably vulnerable victim. I exaggerate a little, but it is true to say that Fishergate ward is set to lose yet another 150 year old beech tree - having challenged the test results, it seems that further examination of the structural integrity of the base, combined with a location close to a footpath will be enough to condemn this landmark that generations must have walked past and admired each summer and autumn as its leaves turned a copper colour.

Meanwhile the trees on New Walk soldier on, but each winter one or more succumbs to the combination of flooding, compaction of the roots, storm and disease. A management plan now exists, but not enough funding to do anything but the minimum judicious trimming to reduce the risks to the magnificent chestnuts that have supplied generations of children with conkers. Another budget crisis is unlikely to provide any prospects of serious action to protect this landscape heritage.

Currently playing: Knocking on wood
Current mood: Mad

Political song and white poppies

This year I marked Remembrance Day alongside others from around the country celebrating political song at the Raise Your Banners Festival http://www.raiseyourbanners.org/ in Bradford. At the Bradford Cenotaph at 1pm members of choirs from around the country assembled and watched an elderly member of the Peace Pledge Union place a wreath of white poppies alongside the many wreaths of red laid earlier to commemorate Bradford's war dead. The white poppy is worn, not out of disrespect for the soldiers, sailors and airforce personnel who died in battle but to remind us of the many civilians killed in wars and the people dying because the money spent on weapons is not available to tackle poverty, illness and problems facing millions of people around the globe. see http://www.ppu.org.uk/whitepoppy/index.html

 We sang songs such as 'Shallom' (Hebrew for peace, much needed in Palestine and the Middle East) and 'Not in My Name' - a song that I first learnt and sang soon after its composition on peace protests during the 1991-92 Gulf War. Little did we know then that a future Labour government would take us into so many wars again so soon after.

The festival was as ever a mixure of inspiration, reunion, and an opportunity to hear the songs and talents of people involved in struggle for a better world around the country. The 'usual suspects' of course were on the bill - Seize the Day, Chumbawumba, Dick Gaughan, and of course Roy Bailey who was travelling down today by train for a London performance with Tony Benn. We were all conscious of history and our small part in it - 200 years since the 'abolition' of slavery - 100 years since the peace protests (in the height of the first world war) of 3000 women textile workers who set off on a march from a building just next to our concert venue at the New Bee Hive /Irish Club. 

In the chorus words of one of Roy Bailey's songs (written by Si Khan) - "It's not just what you're born with, its what you choose to bear, its not how large your share is, but how much you can share, its not the fights you dreamed of, but the ones you really fought, its not just what you're given, its what you do with what you've got."   As one of the organisers of the first Raise Your Banners festival in 1995 - the inspiration of Nigel Wright who wanted to mark the 70th anniversary of the death of Joe Hill - it is heartening to see the project bringing together old friends and inspiring new generations who will take our places in fighting for a just and saner world than the one we have right now. The words of the most famous song relating to Joe Hill were about him rather than written by him-  http://unionsong.com/ebooks/peacesongs.pdf   Joe Hill organised union resistance and inspired action largely by writing new words to familiar tunes rather than composing new tunes, in the days before copyright legal writs and mass recordings, passing on the tunes orally in much the way that many world music songs and protest songs of the late 20th century. This is exactly how Billy Bragg came to have a hit with 'The Diggers Song' about the land claims of the peasants revolt in 1649 - Billy was on the same billing as Roy Bailey at one of the big CND conferences in Sheffield in about 1983 when he heard Roy singing it (and so did I) - and as they say the rest is history! 

Future of York

'Greenspeak' is an ocassional informal Friday evening discussion group at Millers Yard, Gillygate. In October we discussed energy (nuclear versus renewables) and this Friday Nov 9th we will be discussing 'Future York' - looking at issues such as the tension between economic growth, housing demand, transport pressures and sustainability. A report by York business leaders recently suggested that York'needs' to double its economy over the next 20 years! Elsewhere in the country groups are talking about 'Powered descent' to a post oil economy - the Transition towns movement started a few years ago by Rob Hopkins is spreading rapidly from its origin in a permaculture course in Kinsale in Ireland to Totnes. Now places as big as Bristol, Nottingham and Brighton have established groups to consider how to apply the concept: Heres a link if you want to know more: http://transitionculture.org/transition-town-totnes/ Here in York we have a CRAG group (Carbon Reduction Action Group) but the organisers were unaware of the Transition Town concept when I went to a meeting recently. Its always a dillema whether to think big or start small - We certainly hope that Greenspeak will contribute to the debate and networking in York, involving the personal and the political approaches to a sustainable future.

Collision course for gridlock

The plans for 'once in a lifetime opportunity' development to the North West of York go out to consultation this week, with comments deadline of Jan 14th 2008. The massive British Sugar and York Central sites together form 75ha of 'brownfield' land alongside the rail corridor - opening the prospect of a 'tram-train' system running from the planned A59 park and ride site via the new developments into York Station. With existing or former lines running past the Hospital and on to the NE this could form the basis of a modern fast transit for the city within the next decade. High density, low car housing and commercial development built to zero carbon standards could put York at the forefront of a 21st century post-oil economy.

On Fulford Road to the south of the city, we have at last a strategy to consult on for more bus priority measures to tackle the growing congestion and risk that more of the road will breach EU safe Air Quality limits.(see separate entry)

However there are major snags - the government doesnt have the vision to provide funding for such development and local buisinesses seem more concerned to press for a dual carriageway than rail/tram infrastructure.

Here's what Caroline Lucas has to say on the national Green Party website:

The government propose spending a staggering £1.3 billion a year on targeted increases in road capacity - with 23 schemes under construction now, and a further six underway next year. They also endorse further aviation expansion. (1)

"Irresponsible and short sighted, pouring yet more money into old- fashioned and carbon intensive modes of transport will guarantee our emissions continue to rise. Kelly's policy of large-scale road building and even greater aviation capacity is on a collision course with the UK's climate change targets. "We need to get away from the idea that soaring pollution and an ever- rising number of cars on the road and planes in the sky are a symbol of economic prosperity.

"The answer to the spiralling misery of transport is not more of the same thing. If the government wants to really tackle the UK's transport problems and curb our rising carbon emissions, they need to radically reform our transport and planning infrastructure. "We need to stop building in the need for travel in our everyday lives, rather than just try and make our journey times quicker. Increased mobility is part of the problem, not the solution.

"By ensuring that people have access to facilities for shopping, work and leisure nearer to their homes we can improve accessibility but reduce mobility - reducing the overall amount of transport that is required."There is no shortage of ideas for a more sustainable transport system. What is lacking is the political will to achieve it.

"By encouraging localisation, the current need for long-distance transport - the key source of emissions - could be tackled."