| London Travel Watch's 10 policies for the next Mayor | |
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London Travel Watch have issued a transport users’ priorities document which contains 10 key policies which will improve the passenger experience for public transport users in the capital. Read it here |
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| Population Crisis | |
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A
public meeting on the issue of population was held at the Polygon, St
Mary’s Church in Over
40 people attended the meeting, which was organised by Population Matters
and EFOE. Nina
Clarke and John Collier, speakers for Population Matters, showed how the
earth’s population has rocketed in recent decades and how it is forecast
to increase. Nina
said: “It is not good enough to say resignedly that with population
growth we will need many more resources both in the Nic
Ferriday, speaking for EFOE, showed how environmental impacts are related
as much to population as to over-consumption or inefficient technology. Nic
said “All environmental impacts increase and become harder to solve with
more people. Whether it is air pollution, destruction of forests or
climate change, controlling our population is essential if we are to
safeguard the future of the planet and its people.”
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| Final Demand Campaign | |
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Have
your energy bills rocketed this year? It's because the Big Six are keeping
us hooked on dirty, expensive fossil fuels and because our homes
guzzle power and leak heat. Just six big energy companies supply 99% of our homes. And they've got the Government wrapped around their little fingers. They want to maintain their massive profits and keep new firms out of the market. Politicians
and regulator Ofgem have questioned the power and dominance of the energy
companies - but nothing's changed. Friends
of the Earth has launched a petition calling for:
You can sign the petition to David Cameron on the FoE website. Paper copies will be available at the meeting on 16 November, when we will be discussing the campaign. This issue has become even more pressing in view of the recent announcement that the new Feed-In Tariff review will cut solar incentives in half, threatening our newly thriving solar industry. We need to lobby our MPs!
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| The government and renewable energy | |
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Friends
of the Earth is calling on the Government to alter its plans to slash
subsidies for households and communities that install solar panels, or
face legal action. Climate
Change Minister Greg Barker announced plans last week to impose lower
feed-in tariff payments after 12 December this year. But
Friends of the Earth has written to him, saying that unless the Government
agrees to amend its proposals by 4pm on Friday 11 November, it will
commence court proceedings.
Many
solar energy projects across the country, including community energy
projects that would benefit schools and hospitals, are under threat or
have already been cancelled. And
schemes that would have seen thousands of social housing tenants benefit
from lower fuel bills through having solar panels installed have already
been abandoned. The
Government has launched a consultation on its proposals, but the deadline
for responses is 23 December, nearly two weeks after the new tariffs are
to be introduced.
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| Stand Up for Climate Justice March | |
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Campaign against Climate Change Stand Up for Climate Justice March and Rally in More details will be made available on www.campaigncc.org
soon
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| Consultation on the future of Ealing's green spaces | |
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This
consultation ends Monday 14 November so be quick if you want to let the Council know what
you think. Information on the Green Space Strategy and an online consultation form can be found here: http://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/200073/parks__open_spaces/949/ealing_green_space_strategy |
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| Local Development Framework | |
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The ‘Local Development Framework’ (LDF) is the strategic plan for the borough of Ealing. See council web site: http://www2.ealing.gov.uk/services/environment/planning/planning_policy/local_development_framework/guide/ The
LDF is a prime consideration in the determination of any planning
application and is thus crucially important in determining how the borough
develops. WE submitted responses to the consultation drafts of the plan and have been invited to take part at several hearings of the ‘Examination in Public’: http://www2.ealing.gov.uk/services/environment/planning/planning_policy/local_development_framework/development_strategy/examination_in_public/index.html |
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Council wants to cram 14,000 housing units and 26,000 more people into borough
We took part in the hearings into Local Development Framework (LDF) on 1st and 2nd November 2011. The key issue, identified by residents’ groups and others, is a plan by Ealing Council to build 14,000 new housing units. This will lead to a population increase of some 26,000 by the year 2026. Nic Ferriday who represented us, said “The housing target is the dominating feature of the LDF. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, we believe that this will lead to more traffic, more congestion, more air pollution, more greenhouse gas emissions and more threats to open spaces. In short, a lower quality of life for Ealing’s residents. The housing target was agreed behind closed doors by Ealing’s and the London Mayor’s officers. Nic continued: “There was no involvement or consultation on the housing target. This undermines the whole allegedly democratic LDF process. If the most important issue is not up for debate, it is hardly surprising there is so little public or media interest in the LDF.” |
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| Recycling Light bulbs | 7,000,000,000 people and counting |
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Old-style
incandescent bulbs have to be disposed of with general waste (preferably
wrapped in case of breakages). They should not be put with other glass
items as they contain metal. |
The United Nations has designated 31st October 2011 as the day that the seven billionth citizen will be born. World population has been increasing more and more in the last few decades, and the trend continues upwards. more ... |
| Science Museum | Council to charge for garden waste collection |
| Did you know that the Science Museum is open for adults only between 18.45 and 22.00 on the last Wednesday of each month? It’s a chance to have a look round in relatively quiet conditions, and you don’t have to fight small children for a go on the hands-on stuff. more ... | Ealing Council’s cabinet recently announced that it had agreed a return to a chargeable garden waste collection service for residents across the borough. |
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Ealing Broadway Interchange |
Urban Gardens |
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Ealing Council's consultants' report on possible new arrangements for buses at Ealing Broadway has now been made public. The council intend to take forward 3 of the simplest and cheapest options. These are estimated to cost between £4m and £10m. If they get funding from TfL they plan to put these to public consultation. In the meantime we would like to offer a new alternative arrangement for traffic and buses which should make life easier for bus passengers. Nick O'Donnell, Assistant Director of Strategic Transport at Ealing Council, has said he is happy for this option to be included in the later consultation on options.
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The Royal Horticultural Society has just
launched a new campaign on the importance of urban gardens based on
quite extensive research .The key findings were: urban garden plants and
trees help to cool the air in towns and cities, helping to combat
dangerous temperatures caused by heat waves; trees and hedges can bring
energy costs down in winter by providing insulation; garden plants and
trees intercept intense rain and slow runoff, while garden soil absorbs
rainwater, reducing the risk of flooding; urban gardens support a range
of wildlife and help to maintain biodiversity; gardening has a
beneficial effect on mental and physical health. There are some
potentially negative aspects of urban gardening, in particular the need
for water, and the indirect contribution to carbon emissions through the
consumption of manufactured and transported horticultural goods and the
use of power tools. The RHS has produced a useful 4 page leaflet which can be downloaded here: http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardening/Sustainable-gardening/pdfs/RHS-urban-greening
and you can find
much other valuable information on sustainable gardening on their
website, including a number of leaflets on conservation and
environmental issues. Another interesting publication is Gardens
cover nearly a quarter of Greater London, and as already outlined, they
are valuable in many ways. But they are under threat. This project
establishes the current garden resource in It highlights the significant changes
that have taken place in recent years: garden greenspace has been lost
at the rate of two and a half Hyde Parks per year and hard surfacing
increased by over 25% in the 100-month study period. A summary of the report can be
downloaded from the London Wildlife Trust’s website www.wildlondon.org.uk
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Congestion zone removal caused increase in traffic |
Mayor claims removal of Western Extension did not affect air quality |
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In the first 12 weeks of 2011 traffic entering the
former Western Extension to the congestion charge zone during charging hours
increased by 8 per cent when compared with the same period in 2010. |
In terms of air quality, TfL modelling showed that the removal of the Western Extension would have a very small impact on pollution concentrations. The available data so far for 2011 shows that air quality in the former Western Extension zone has behaved in the same way as that in the rest of London and there has not been a discernable ‘WEZ removal effect’. | ||
| Night flight ban is good for the economy |
Helping
you change the way you think and act on energy |
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| A major report launched in the House of Commons on 27th January at a meeting hosted by Zac Goldsmith MP shows that a ban on night flights at Heathrow before 6am could be expected to have overall benefits for the wider economy. |
The Centre for Sustainable Energy has produced a
series of advice leaflets telling people how they can cut their fuel bills and
keep their homes warm.
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Boris' plans to tackle pollution |
The Localism Bill |
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School run mums who leave their
engines 'idling' whilst dropping off children could face fines of up to £120.
The move is part of Mayor of London Boris Johnson's Air
Quality Strategy which also seeks to target delivery van drivers, taxis
and buses.
Under the plans, no-idling zones which target drivers who are parked rather than those stuck in traffic could be established within months with an information campaign aimed at mothers who leave cars running when dropping off or collecting school children. |
The Government's Decentralisation and Localism Bill is set to radically change the planning framework for local communities - undermining local democracy and action to tackle climate change. FoE are launching a new campaign to tackle these issues, so keep an eye out for future actions. |
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| Advice on feeding birds | Mega Dairies - No thanks! | ||
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But some food can do more harm than good. |
It
is encouraging to know that a number of MPs across all parties have expressed
concern at the plans by Nocton Dairies to build a vast factory complex housing
up to 8000 cows. The cows would be kept indoors for most of their lives
“zero grazing”. This “farm” would be the first of its kind in |
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Planet Friendly Farming |
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Ealing Friends of the Earth supports planet-friendly farming
Ealing Friends of the Earth visited the Farmers’ Market at West Ealing on Saturday 9th October 2010 to ask the public to support ‘planet friendly farming’.
Virginia Fassnidge, food campaigner for Ealing Friends of the Earth, said: “The way we produce food has a huge impact on the environment. Unfortunately many of our meat producers are causing wholesale environmental damage by the way they feed their animals. Rainforests are being destroyed in South America to grow soya beans for animal feed in Britain . We are asking our MPs to support the Sustainable Livestock bill, which will encourage farmers to feed animal on home grown and rainforest free crops.”
Friends of Earth wants the government to stop subsidizing this environmental destruction.
Virginia
added “Even as world leaders are meeting to discuss how to stop
deforestation, the UK Government is propping up damaging factory farms with
millions of pounds of taxpayers' cash - leaving the public unwittingly caught
in a food system that's destroying Brazilian wildlife and rainforest. The
Government must support British farmers to feed their animals homegrown feed -
so our Sunday roast doesn't cost the Earth.” Notes 1. British imports of beef and soy for animal feed from Brazil last year are estimated to have caused the loss of an area of Brazilian rainforest and grassland twice the size of Greater London, according to a new report launched by Friends of the Earth on 10th October. 2. The green campaigning charity's report, From Forest to Fork, shows that increasing demand for animal feed produced in Brazil for British factory farms, along with beef imports, are estimated to have caused around 1,200 square miles of deforestation in 2009. 3. Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to introduce a Sustainable Livestock Bill to reduce the impact of meat and dairy production and consumption in the UK which is causing wildlife, rainforest and livelihood destruction abroad. Factory farms - dependent on feeding animals soy protein grown in South America - are subsidised by UK taxpayers to the tune of £700 million a year. |
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End Domestic Flights now |
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Saturday
4 September 2010 – Demo: End Domestic Flights Now 11.00 am outside City Airport (DLR Woolwich Arsenal branch to London City Airport ) NB.
The CENTRAL LINE is NOT RUNNING from EALING BROADWAY TO MARBLE ARCH that weekend For more information go to Campaign against Climate Change website: www.campaigncc.org
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Campaign against agrofuel power station in Southall is successful |
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Ealing London Borough Council's rejection of a proposed agrofuel power
station in Southall has been upheld by the Secretary of State, following a
planning appeal and public enquiry. More than 1,000 people, mostly from
Southall, had objected to the planning application, both because of concerns
over further increasing the demand for agrofuels, and over air quality
impacts in a heavily polluted urban area.
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The London Plan 2010 - West London FoE response |
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At a seminar on the London Plan, an officer from the GLA was asked if the
Plan stated any environmental limits to growth, eg air pollution or greenhouse
gas emissions. The short answer
was “NO”. That is, there are
NO sustainability criteria for If it is the policy that
sustainability should be sacrificed in a ‘rush for growth’ (population,
construction, transport schemes, biofuel plants, incinerators, car parks,
etc), this is of such fundamental importance that it should be stated clearly
and debated fully. Indeed, we
consider it of such importance that the process of finalising and adopting the
Plan should be deferred if that is what is necessary in order to resolve this
fundamental issue. |
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How to take on the Climate Change Deniers |
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Sceptic questions/claims: 1. Climate changed peaked in 1998 and the world has been cooling since. Why is this happening when CO2 is still rising relentlessly. 2. Solar activity caused the warming. 3. The polar ice cap has recovered all its recently lost area. 4. Sea level is not rising. 5. The cold winter of 2009/10 in the UK and Europe disproves global warming. |
Responses:
Overall the
2000s were warmer than the 1990s showing that the decadal mean is
(Temperature data source NASA GISS). For further claims & responses see www.campaigncc.org/sceptics
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Campaign for a better bus interchange at Ealing Broadway station |
Ealing Broadway
Interchange |
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EFOE have been campaigning for a better bus station for several years. We tried with Ealing Centre Partnership but got nowhere. In 2007 we enlisted help from EPTUG. Then when Save Ealing's Centre was formed it became a major campaigning point for them. Now Ealing council have produced a brief for consultants to examine all the ways a new interchange could be created. Watch this space |
Now that the |
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Crossrail Scrutiny committee - Ealing Broadway station |
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See Save Ealing's Centre presentation by Richard Chilton |
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Latest from New Economics Foundation |
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Arcadia
Planning Permission refused |
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John Denham, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local
Government agreed with Inspector David Richards that Glenkerrin's planning
application should be refused. Glenkerrin wanted to redevelop the The
inspector's main reason for recommending refusal was: "The bulk, massing and certain
aspects of the design would be inappropriate in its surroundings, and would fail
to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Town Centre
conservation area, and the setting of the Haven Green conservation area" The inspector did not agree with us
about the traffic implications. He accepted that there would be an increase
in the morning peak traffic of 14.4% northbound on A spokesman for Glenkerrin said
"We’re bitterly, bitterly disappointed after three years of working
through the due process". We suggest that next time they try
to stick a bit closer to what we, the residents, have asked for in the UDP
and the upcoming Local Development Framework. |
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