Ban Illegal Timber: Preserve the climate and the planets biodiversity.

International — If you buy or sell pirate DVDs you would be breaking the law. You could face a fine or even get jail time. But when companies in Europe buy or sell illegal timber from the last of the world’s ancient forests they won’t even have the timber confiscated.

So even though you can’t watch a pirate copy of the latest Stephen King horror movie, the real horror is happening all around you as mountains of illegal and destructively logged timber flood onto the world’s timber market.

That’s because there are no laws to stop illegal timber or timber products from ending up in your local stores or home.

Everything from paper products to furniture or plywood could be made from illegal and destructively logged timber. When you purchase these products it could result in the loss of habitat and death for many unique and endangered species as well as contributing to a chain of human rights violations in forests around the world.

Europe plays a key role in fuelling demand for timber products, as it is one of the world’s largest users of timber. But Europe has no law to stop the flood of illegal and destructively logged timber entering the market.

We want to see that change.

“We want laws to ban illegal and destructively logged timber from being sold in Europe and so do more than 160 other environmental, labour, and human rights organisations. 80 companies have also asked for legislation to outlaw illegal
timber. You too have the right to say that things must change.”

How to help – it’s painless!

The European Commission is asking what the public, timber industry and politicians think about the best way to stop the flood of illegal and destructive timber that pours into Europe each day. So we’ve made it nice and easy for you to tell them, ‘Ban illegal timber’.

Simply go to the Greenpeace website and add your name and country of origin to the objection letter.

Planet Positive: Smart Ideas Shared

I have just returned from London where apart from meeting up with some good friends, I attended the inaugural meeting of Planet Positive.

The event was basically an opportunity to network with a lot of interesting people, but I would argue that some definite concrete actions will come of this; the event was also both salutary and inspiring.

Bellow i will add a few notes on my thoughts/involvement with the people and organisations. Any of the people there could do the same and highlight an entirely different set of connections and ideas from the meetings.

Alex Lees Climate Camp

Last year the largest coal fired power station in the UK (Drax) was targeted by the Camp for Climate Action. Roughly 500 people attend, this year the first meeting had around 100 participants and with the interest from last years media attention a doubling of numbers for the camp would–i think–be conservative. To get involved in the organising meetings or to find out more go here; join the mailing list and find upcoming dates.

Anarchist Teapot Anarchist Teapot
Andrew Leech 4ecotips
Ann Link Shared Energy
Brian Davis Creative Dream
Briony Greenhill Anti Apathy
Calvin Jones Climate Change Action Blog & CCC
Carla Wellings Flip Side Vision

• Very nice/stark climate change calendar–an interesting way to get the message accross.

Chantal Cooke Passion for the Planet

• Health and Environment radio station run by a very sharp business woman with definite ambition–a great place for getting green news across to those in the southwest. I suggested Marion Birch from MedAct as an interviewee, as MedAct are doing really good work with a strong focus on the Health/Environment interface.

Chris Church London 21
Christopher Le Breton Million Dollar Green Page

• A veteran of the UNFCCC process and current environmental management advisor, Chris is also a part of the Green Lib-Dems. With some ambitious green business ideas and experience in international relations an alternative perspective was provided to the generally uk centric deep green environmental mood.

Dave Hampton The Carbon Coach

• Dave had his 1m diameter purple balloon representing the volume of co2 that we each emmit per hour…this is an important part of his philosophy of making carbon visible (in this case literally but also financially, environmentally etc.,)

David Wasdell Meridian Programme
Deepak Rughani Alternatives
Diana Korchien Flip Side Vision
Duncan Law CCC
Ed Gillespie Futerra

• One of the UK’s only green marketing agencies and producer of the governments original climate change communications strategy. Futerra have two short reports about climate change, both of which are amazingly simple and deserve to be at hand when any campaign is being conceived or any materials produced. I`m hoping that they may also be able to help a soon to be launched campaign called ‘The Climate Justice Project (tCJP)’ to effectively communicate it’s message.
  

Eliot Lyne Sea Change
Fatemeh Eskandarypur The Save The Planet Club
Hamish Wills Sustainable Redland
Helen Gilbert St Ethelburga’s & One Earth Seminars
Isobel McConnan COIN Facilitators
Jean Leston CEL Operation Noah & WEN

• Jean is new to WEN and seems keen to move on climate change as an important issue within WEN, lobbying of government is going to be a new experience but hopefully some of the planet positive workshops added some positive suggestions to this undertaking.

Jim Cogan Good Earth Trust

• Involved with a simple yet brilliant plan for reducing deforestation in Africa at the same time as reducing fuel costs and saving time. Generally bricks have to be fired, this takes a large amount of wood to produce charcoal that is then used to heat the bricks for an extended time. This is all made redundant when you know that if you remove the topsoil from the ground throughout much of southern Africa you have ready access to subsoil that can be mixed with a small quantity of cement and then compressed to form Stabilised Soil Blocks, that can then be used for creating buildings, water storage tanks, septic tanks etc., the latest version are ISSB’s –they also interlock.

Jim Roland Levy CCC & Biofuelwatch

• Jim setup a session on biofuels and ‘pugwash’ (much to the confusion of our American participants). The overview of biofuels and there currently unsustainable development was a valuable contribution to the days general exchange of ideas and more specifically may lead to some contact between carbonsense and biofuelswatch.

Jo Abbess workface & BLACKOUT LONDON

• Jo was at the centre of this whole thing. Thanks Jo! The other organisers of the event where Dave, Nathalie, Duncan and Jonathan.

Jonathan Bootland Sustainable Development Foundation
Jonathan Elliott TalkAction
Jonathan Essex CCC & Green Party
Laurie Michaelis QGA
Karen Deignan EcoCentric
Mali Abili Contaminant Media
Mark Williamson What You Can Do
Matt Sellwood COIN
Mike Jones Quantum Consultancy
Naresh G. Giangrande Transition Town Totnes
Nathalie Koerfer Prophets of Hope & CCC

• Energetic and organised, prophets of hope and CCC have benefited remarkably from Nathalie’s involvement and her numerous creative connections may well be of benefit to tCJP.

Niel Bowerman Oxford University Students Union
Peter Robinson Derby Campaign against Climate Change

• Interesting campaigner with a strong drive to engage with his local council…lessons from his approach fro CCC in Aberdeen i feel.

Phil England Climate Radio
Poppy Lyle London Rising Tide

• Radical anarchist Poppy Lyle* seemed somewhat at sea: The unwillingness of other members to help in the organising of an explosive attack on BA was one issue, another was her appearance…the tinfoil hat apparently protecting her from the Met Police and it’s evil mind reading equipment was slightly to conspicuous.

Rebecca Passmore TalkAction
Robin Gwyntopher Cartoon Kate
Roy Tindle Faith Sustains
Sam Gordon Good Earth Trust
Sharon Turley BLACKOUT LONDON

• Blackout London gets its first paid member of staff to start a sustained campaign in order to build on the modest success of this years first event.

Theresa McManus PA21 TGWS
Tim Baster Campaign against Climate Change
Tom Rivett-Carnac Carbonsense

• Working at carbonsense, very much apart of the growing CSR movement, its always a question of where change is best effected but the dynamism of the business sector and the growing awareness of both the financial gains to be made through efficiency and positive branding make this an interesting area of work. Currently working on biofuels for some large corporates, I made clear my reservations on the viability of this energy source as did Jim Roland, I think that biofuelswatch will be having futher correspondence.

Vrinda Manglik Oxford University Students C&C Campaign

• New recruit to the cause of contraction and convergence, sharp Californian studying at Oxford and coordinating a soon to be launched campaign that is going into 60 universities nationwide “The Climate Justice Project: A Student-led Campaign for Contraction & Convergence”. Of all the projects that i heard spoken about at the meeting, this seemed like the most interesting and potentially significant. I am keen to leverage the contacts made at Planet Positive to help this campaign affect British NGO’s. There is mixed support for C&C amongst uk environmental organisations but widespread support amongst there members so with a bit of catalysis there may be potential for change.

The overall day plan was as follows:

10.00 am Doors open

• Registration
• Make your mark on the Activist Dot Chart to show your areas of
• concern for the day

10.30 am Informal networking

11.00 am Formal Offering

• Speed networking exercise “Carbon Dating”
• 2 Dimensional Space Positioning exercise “Where would you put yourself ?”
• Presentation of COIN Climate Action Group model
• Rapid-fire Feedback from various Climate Action Groups : “Get
• Local. Get Active.”
• Matchmaking : An active way of discovering what people want to do
• group work on

12.15 am Power Pitch

• Working Groups sell ideas for the afternoon sessions. People signup. 2 minutes per speaker.

1.00 pm Lunch

• “Wonderwall” (add your ideas to the wall charts on a range of topics)
• Hot Topic Zone (the stuff that was parked from the earlier sessions)

2.00 pm – 3.15 pm Breakout Groups

3.45 pm – 5 pm Breakout Groups

5.00 pm – 5.30 pm Next Steps

• Where do we go from here ? Taking it forward.

*Note Poppy is in fact not dangerous (under normal circumstances), not insane or predisposed to violent revolution: the paragraph above was for entirely fatuous.

24 hours of protest at Exxon Mobil (Esso) HQ

What? 24 hours of protest at Exxon (Esso) HQ

When? 5.00 pm Thursday 5th April to 5.00 pm Good Friday, April 6th
With Focal Point At
2.00 pm Friday

Could you Elaborate? Climate Victims’ Vigil, Music, Street Theatre, Workshops, Speakers to be announced…

Where? ExxonMobil (trading under the name “Esso” in the UK) Headquarters is South of London, about 20-30 minutes walk from Leatherhead Railway station (trains from Waterloo). It is North of Leatherhead, just inside the M25. For location see the map here, or for a more close-up map see here.

Why on that day? April 5th is the day of the release of the “Climate Impacts” section of the new IPCC report. Rumours abound that EXXON funded spin will yet again be shot into the media spotlight. Help make a statement, corporate funded climate spin is not acceptable: “Climate Disinformation Is Genocide”.

More details as they become available : http://www.campaigncc.org/

To spread the word about this action there is a PDF available.
i{content: normal !important}

Support Wind Power in the UK

Hi, I just recieved a message asking for help in supporting a windfarm application.

Apparently, a Londoner who hollidays in Scotland has managed to build quite a campaign against a scottish windfarm. I live in scotland and have had a similar experiance with a related group based in England and pretending to represent the people.

Anyway, if you would like to show your support for wind power please show your support:

Locluichart Wind Farm Message of Support
Local Newspaper Vote (bottom left hand side)
More Info

Save This Page as a del.icio.us favouritei{content: normal !important}

Sign petition to support contraction and convergence and carbon rationing.

The petition is on the 10 Downing Street website, please sign it if you live in the uk and make it clear that there is support for these measures.

“The best indicator of whether a person truly grasps the scale of the global climate crisis is not wether they drive a hybrid car or offset their flightd, nor wether they subscribe to the Ecologist or plan to attach a wind turbine to their house. The most reliable indicator is whether they support carbon rationing.”

More on carbon trading can be found on the carbon rationing action group website or in this short overviewby the ECI in Oxford. More on Contraction and Convergence can be found in this very affordable short guide or on this website.

The petition has been highlighted by the following blogs, they are mainly green uk blogs, have a browse. If you blog about this then please link to this article and let me know, I will place a recipricol link here.

Friends of the Earth Falkirk

Charlie Bolton’s Southville blog

Peak Oil and Simpol

Green Party UK Blog

Purpletigron

Hybrid Vehicle News

The petition states that:

1. We believe Climate Change is one of the most serious threats to mankind, and to biodiversity on this planet, and that rapid action is required.

2. We believe, we need a global cut in emissions of 60% by 2030, and that this is likely to require a 90% cut in UK emissions by 2030.

3. We believe, the fundamental international framework that can deliver these cuts is Contraction and Convergence. We urge the government to campaign tirelessly at an international level for the adoption of Contraction and Convergence. We believe this approach of sharing emssions fairly per capita worldwide, and a process of aligning all nations to that is vital.

4. We believe that supporting C&C in the UK requires adoption of carbon rationing, with a tradeable ability, not green taxation.

5. We believe, green taxation will alienate much of society and will be unpopular with many of the people whose emissions we seek to lower. Green taxes will hurt poorer people more than the rich. Green taxes will not enforce reductions. Green taxes take away personal choice in how we live our lives.

6. We believe, by implementing carbon rationing with binding targets we can force the country to only use its share, rewarding those who have spare ration, and allowing an element of personal choice in how a person spends their ration.

7. We believe, we must implement rationing with a trading ability as otherwise there will simply be a black market.

8. We believe, carbon rationing can bring personal and business emissions within an overall target and ensure fairness between interests of corporations and citizens.

9. We believe supporting these frameworks we need incentives for energy efficiency in the household, and for the use of renewable energy sources.

10. We believe we need regulation for businesses to drive changes in fuel consumption, energy efficiency, food miles etc.

Save This Page as a del.icio.us favourite

Wind farm NIMBYism alive and well in UK

Back in 2004 when there wasn’t much happening on the Greenpeace front, the heroic Shaun (Area Networker for Essex) led a heroic charge into Kent to mobilise people to campaign on behalf of the Thames Array windfarm.

Loads of letter’s got signed, lots of fun was had and the London, Essex & Kent networks combined to support what promises to be the UK’s largest Offshore Windfarm

That development is now under threat as a bunch of NIMBY’s in Swale have rejected planning permission for the onshore substation.

If you would like to take action to do something about this.

1) Go to the greenpeace website and take e-action. (about 30 seconds work)

2) Organise a day trip to Swale to campaign to get the Council to change it’s mind. Use the above email to run off some letters, print up some petitions whatever.

3) If you think the Thames Array is relevant to Londoners, get out on the streets of London to get stuff done? or if you’re out anyway on a Decentralised Energy stall, why not takes some too.

4) Drop me an email, and I’ll pull some events together

If you live in the UK near london then please spread this message around on any lists you are a member of and your blog if you have one.

Save This Page as a del.icio.us favourite

E-Action of the Week

Hello all, this weeks E-action

First, an urgent action alert before the Kyoto talks in Nairobi. Please go to Climate Ark and take part in a joint biofuelwatch/climate ark action – it will only take you a couple of minutes.

As hundreds of peat and forest fires are burning across Borneo and Sumatra, we can expect over a billion tons of carbon to go up in smoke in just a few months.

This is one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and it has been ignored by the international community, and by many NGOs. Time is running out for Indonesia’s forests and peat, and they contain nearly as much carbon as the Amazon rainforest.

If you could copy this into an email and forward it to other that would be great.

Second, you might also want to write to one of our power companies contemplating the use of palm oil as biomass under the Renewables Obligation.

There is a quick and simple action alert up at www.biofuelwatch.org.uk, re NPower.

Thanks to everyone for your help, and thanks to Glenn Barry of Climate Ark for partnering with biofuels watch on this vital topic.

e-Action of the Week: e-Mail New Scientist

As many of you will be aware New Scientist (NS) is a UK based science magazine with reports sourced from the top science journals. It provides low jargon science news reviews without simplifying stories so much that they become meaningless. Many of the major stories about climate change reach the public domain through NS so it does a great job. However they do accept advertising from some non to climate friendly businesses. This person suggests that we write and express out views on this…i have done, my letter is here. It’s a five minute job to write a basic e-mail, please do!

“New Scientist magazine regularly reports and features the results and outcomes of climate change, However, I have noticed that the magazine regularly promotes high polluting cars and air travel. This is hypocritical in my view.

I have written to them regarding this issue, but I feel my loan voice will have little impact on changing their policy.

My view is that if a major worldwide voice for the scientific community can’t resist the financial lure of promoting high polluting corporations, how can they, in turn, convince governments to act on climate change.

If you would like to help me to pressure New Scientist to change its advertising policy please email letters@newscientist.com.

Here is a copy I sent the editor today which will give you a good idea of what I mean…

Reference: New Scientist, 18 March 2006 issue”

E-Action of the week: Support James Hansen

This weeks e-ACTION is signing a petition to support James Hansen, the climate change researcher at the centre of yet another battle in the Republican war on science. Head of NASA’s Goddard Institute, James was muzzled by senior-politically appointed-members of NASA. These modern day commissars have to be exposed for what they are. Sign this petition and make your voice heard!

Postscript; Climate Change, ActionA

e-Action of the Week

This weeks action online is more of a personal commitment than an action. I regularly listen to eco-talk radio which is one of the few good national radio shows about the environment, this often involves climate change.

Eco-talk radio is currently on the endangered list due to changes in its funding agreement, so please check out the radio station, subscribe to the podcast a give a few pounds/dollars/euros to save this valuable service. This can be done by clicking on the Amazon oneclick button. Please give whatever you can, a few pounds if you are a poor student or more if you are a wealthy proffessor ( 😉 ).

Postscript: Climate Change, ActionA