Call for action against proposed Bristol biofuel power station: meeting Thurs 12 Nov

I've been in touch with Zenith Milner, campaigner against virgin biofuel power station proposals, such as the one planned for Avonouth (one of many applications all over the UK). Please support her call for action - the coming weeks and months are a vital time, with planning applications being considered here. Zenith said,

Please come to our urgent meeting this Thursday 12 November to oppose the plan for a new virgin biofuel power station at Avonmouth, Bristol. Meet at 6.45 for 7 at the entrance of Coexist, 80 Stokes Croft, Bristol, B31 3QF.

W4B has plans to build a power station that would use palm oil and jatropha i.e. virgin biofuel. The plant would have devastating environmental and social consequences. These would include local air pollution from nitrous oxides and particulates which cause respiratory and cardiac diseases, ezcema and may even be related to cot death. Burning vegetable oils would lead to more climate change gases - carbon dioxide and methane - than burning even fossil fuels. Rainforest destruction would be caused, leading to violent evictions of indigenous peoples and the killing and endangering of animal species such as orang utans, sumatran tigers, sumatran elephants and many more. Using land for biofuels instead of food in a world where one billion (or 1 in 6) people are going hungry should be unthinkable. Jean Zeigler, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, said it was a crime against humanity to divert arable land to the production of crops which are then burned for fuel.

The scandal is that this type of power station is only viable due to heavy Government subsidies to the tune of tens of millions of pounds of tax payers money. It is also outrageous that there has been virtually no public consultation here in Bristol, which is why so few people know about it even in a city where there is so much environmental awareness.

Consultation has also been minimal in other towns where plans for biofuel power stations have been submitted. However, when citizens have been made aware of the plans they have expressed strong opposition and supported successful campaigns that have led to planning committees rejecting the proposals in Southall, Newport in Gwent and Portland.

It is vital that Bristol shows the way by rejecting this application for a biofuel power station here in Avonmouth and making a stand against virgin biofuel power stations in general in this country.

Please join our EMERGENCY CAMPAIGN MEETING this THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER at 6.45 for 7 at the entrance of Coexist, 80 Stokes Croft, Bristol, B31 3QF.

Please sign the online petition against the power station at
http://epetitions.bristol.gov.uk/petition.php?id=302

Do get in touch with Zenith at zenithswifter@yahoo.co.uk if you can help with the campaign or want any further information

For further information about biofuels:
http://sites.google.com/site/foodnotfuelorg/
http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/