COUNCILLORS may ditch the services of an independent inspector when deciding on town green applications.

In place of using independent legally-trained inspectors to advise on whether a town/village green application, which many Bristolians are using to try to protect their local green space, should be refused or accepted (often involving an oral hearing into contentious evidence), Bristol City Council, who controversially want to flog quite a bit of Bristol's green space, are proposing instead that the decision is based entirely on officer advice, or, in contentious cases, a hearing to be heard by a four person sub-committee of the Public Rights of Way and Green Committee. Fix of fair? I say its a fix - and it cant be fair that the council are both police officer, judge and jury!! Officers and Councillors are not independent - its impossible to separate them from the policies of the council. Decent coverage of this matter by the Evening Post.

...the Green Party believes the council wants to make the changes to "wriggle out" of creating more town greens.

In a statement, the Greens say:

"This proposal to change the procedure may seem obscure but has important implications for protecting Bristol's open spaces.

"We believe the council has about 17 new application for town green status waiting on its books for determination, and if it is intended to use the new procedure, then it is clear from the outset that this is all about saving money and not improving its fairness.

"This proposal is a false economy since the money saved by not employing an independent inspector is likely to be used up very quickly if any applicant makes a challenge to the decision in the High Court."

The Greens believe the new procedure will be open to challenge because:

■ There will be bias because the council itself owns much of the land under application so it is an interested party in the decision;

■ Councillors with their party political pressures will now be making the decision rather than an independent person;

■ The council legal advisers and officers advising on the decisions are directly employed by the council and so will be less likely to decide against its wishes.

Charlie Bolton, Green candidate for Southville, said:

"It's very important for the council's procedures to be fair and any changes must have full consultation."

Gus Hoyt, standing for the Greens in Ashley, said:

"We want decisions on town greens to be taken by legally experienced people and not along party political lines behind closed doors."

The report before councillors says: "In its capacity of registration authority, the city council has to consider objectively and impartially all applications for registration of new greens on their merits, taking account of any objections and of any other relevant considerations.

"Registration as a town or village green is dependent purely upon past use, and not upon future plans."

COUNCILLORS may ditch the services of an independent inspector when deciding on town green applications.

BBC News - Greens launch English poll push with anti-cuts message

The Green Party has launched its campaign for next month's English local elections, promising to be the "true opposition" to the coalition. [see party broadcast here]

Leader Caroline Lucas said the Conservatives, Lib Dems and Labour had all broken promises and urged the creation of a more honest politics. She called for more local action to improve the environment and a halt to the government's spending cuts.

The party is running 1,605 candidates for council elections on 5 May. At the party's official campaign launch in central London, Ms Lucas said: "We have a government that is handing financial settlements to local councils which mean they are going to make horrendous decisions and big cuts.

"It's crucial that there are Green councillors to protect people from the most harsh of those cuts."'

Extreme austerity

She added: "Our whole analysis of the cuts project is that it's the wrong approach. Yes, we need to address the deficit but a better way is to get people back into work to ensure there are more taxes coming in.

"Otherwise there is a greater risk of a double-dip recession. We can already see what extreme austerity is doing in countries like Portugal and Ireland."

Ms Lucas said the Greens expected to gain councillors in the party's power bases, which include Brighton and Norwich, and elsewhere across England.

She called on councils to protect the "most vulnerable" in society from the impact of budget cuts and also for local authorities to do more to promote the use of renewable energy sources.

The Greens' election broadcast will air on 27 April. It features Ms Lucas "ambushing" an audience at a west London comedy club to tell them about her party's policies and call for a less "cynical" form of politics.

She told the BBC:

"It is trying to make the point, in what is usually a comical setting, that the issues we are dealing with are very serious.

"We are the true opposition party and we have the people and experience to do that job across England."

The Greens have two Members of the European Parliament and Ms Lucas became the party's first Westminster MP at last year's general election.

BBC News - Greens launch English poll push with anti-cuts message

Anger at plans to change town green applications,Bristol24-7

This is called fixing the system to get the outcome you want, instead of a thorough, rational, evidence-based approach!! ...Instead of using independent legally-trained inspectors to advise on whether a TVG [town/village green] application should be refused or accepted (often involving an oral hearing into contentious evidence), they are proposing instead that the decision is based entirely on officer advice, or, in contentious cases, a hearing to be heard by a four person sub-committee of the PRWG [Public Rights of Way and Green Committee].... Following the row over the sell-off of the city green spaces, the possibility looms of councillors bound by party loyalty to agree to the plan to sell these green spaces being in charge of deciding whether local objections to those plans are allowed.... Anger at plans to change town green applications Bristol24-7

Action for Happiness

This great campaign received some good media coverage today: Action for Happiness is a movement of people committed to building a happier society. We want to see a fundamentally different way of life where people care less about what they can get for themselves and more about the happiness of others. We are bringing together like-minded people from all walks of life, drawing on the latest scientific research and backed by leading experts from the fields of psychology, education, economics, social innovation and beyond.

Members of the movement make a simple pledge: to try to create more happiness in the world around them through the way they approach their lives. We provide practical ideas to enable people to take action in different areas of their lives - at home, at work or in the community. We hope many of our members will form local groups to take action together.

We have no religious, political or commercial affiliations and welcome people of all faiths (or none) and all parts of society. We were founded in 2010 by three influential figures who are passionate about creating a happier society: Richard Layard, Geoff Mulgan and Anthony Seldon.

What we believe: the core idea behind our movement

Introductory video about Action for Happiness

Our Director Mark Williamson shares his vision for a happier society

Lord Richard Layard gives his answers to the happiness sceptics

Supporting quotes from our partners Our panel of expert advisors

Action for Happiness is currently part of The Young Foundation, which is a Registered Charity (274345) and Company Limited by Guarantee (1319183) in England and Wales. Action for Happiness

Nick Clegg no local hero as Lib Dems leave him off election leaflets | Politics | The Guardian

Nick Clegg wasn't on the Focus on Knowle Election Special leaflet pushed through our letterbox recently either - no images, no quotes, not even brief ones. First time Lib Dems have been in national government for yonks and they don't want to remind us of the achievements so far - wonder why!! Maybe he'll feature on future Lib Dem material we receive before the 5 May polling day?? Or maybe they'll at least list what they've done for local authorities so far in the coalition government?

Nick Clegg no local hero as Lib Dems leave him off election leaflets Politics The Guardian

Lib Dems doing a great job of running the city?? With £28 million cuts??

"We all have concerns about what is happening nationally, and about how the party is performing, but locally I kow that the Lib Dems are doing a great job of running the city" says Chris Davies, Lib Dem candidate for Knowle (Focus on Knowle Election Special newsletter, April 2011 - see image). Great job of running the city?? £28 million of cuts this year and more cuts to follow - going along with his Lib Dem friends in coalition with the Tories at national level! This man faces in two directions at once expressing concern but implementing cuts.

Peoples message: energy saving and renewable energy not nuclear power

Message I've just received from Friends of the Earth: 21,000 of you have now signed our petition for a safe and nuclear-free future . This fantastic support for clean, green power is backed up by a recent poll. 75 per cent of people want energy saving and renewables (like wind and solar) to be Government's top energy priorities. The petition has already travelled far and wide. But with big decisions about energy coming next month we want to organise an attention-grabbing hand-in to the Government. Please send us your ideas - as big and bold as you like. The message is clear : Energy saving and renewable resources can provide all the energy the UK needs. There's no need to gamble on nuclear. So put on your thinking caps! What's the best way to get our message across to Government?

Rupert's Read: Greens overtaking LibDems...

Caroline Lucas, on the WESTMINSTER HOUR this weekend: "I’ve taken great comfort from looking at the opinion polls coming out of Scotland at the moment, which show the Greens overtaking the Lib Dems; that is exactly the direction I think we’re likely to be going in. We’ve got the Scottish Parliament elections coming up, as I say, on two polls now Greens have been ahead of the Lib Dems, and it’s very much our strategy to replace the Lib Dems as the third party in British politics." Way to go! Rupert's Read: Greens overtaking LibDems...

Government promotion of arms trading

There is a very strong case for closing the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI DSO). The UK's active promotion of arms trading through the UKTI DSO should end because arms trading has a devastating impact on millions of people including many living under repressive and violent regimes (see BBC report below*). Such regimes can never be relied on and selling arms to them threatens the security of both the people in those countries and UK interests.

*http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12967374

Arms export deals: MPs criticise UK's stance - Ministers past and present have been criticised over the UK's export of weapons to regimes in Africa and the Middle East.

The cross-party Committees on Arms Exports Controls accused ministers of "misjudging" the risk that the weapons might be used for internal repression. Countries recently sold UK arms include Libya, Egypt and Bahrain.

But the government, which has revoked arms licences to several countries, said its safeguards were "robust".

As recently as last year, the UK approved arms exports to regimes that have used force to confront popular uprisings.

Ammunition and tear gas were sold to Libya, with sniper rifles, sub-machine guns and CS grenades exported to Bahrain. Parts for armoured vehicles and weapons also went to Egypt.

The cross-party group of MPs noted that since January the government had "been vigorously backpedalling", revoking a total of 160 arms export licences. In February, dozens of licences for the export of arms to Bahrain were revoked after a Foreign Office review amid fears over the suppression of protests there....

(click the link* for more details)

See: http://www.caat.org.uk/

*http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12967374

http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/05-04-2011-arms-exports-report.html

Royal Wedding - Do you give a damn?

Royal Wedding - Do you give a damn? - I share Peter Tatchell's view (below), * "An ICM poll poll published in March, found that 79% of the British people are largely indifferent or don't care about the Royal Wedding. One-third of councils have no applications for Royal Wedding street parties and two-thirds have five or fewer applications. There is no great public enthusiasm for William's and Kate's nuptials. Monarchy is losing its lustre. It's becoming just another strand of celebrity culture and soap opera," said human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell. * "We should start thinking about the post-Elizabeth II era. It's time there was a serious public debate about the alternative to the monarchy - an elected head of state, chosen by the people and accountable to the people. * "This is an issue of democracy and human rights. The monarch is our head of state. The monarchical system is anti-Catholic, sexist and, by default, racist. Catholics are barred. For the foreseeable future, no black or Asian person can be our head of state. First-born girls are passed over in favour of younger male children. These discriminations are out of step with the values of modern, liberal Britain. * "I would prefer a democratically-elected, low-cost and purely ceremonial president, with no political powers and with any citizen being eligible to stand for the post, regardless of their race, gender, class, faith or sexuality. * "Our head of state ought to be chosen based on merit and public endorsement, not on the grounds of privileged parentage and inheritance. They should be subject to periodic election, so they can be replaced if they fail to fulfill their duties as expected. * "Monarchy is incompatible with democracy. It's a relic of feudalism and of a bygone aristocratic, imperial era. The time has come to consign royalism to history," said Mr Tatchell.

Spot the odd one out

"We come in the traditions that have marched in peaceful but powerful protest for justice, fairness and political change.

"The suffragettes who fought for votes for women and won. The civil rights movement in America that fought against racism and won. The anti-apartheid movement that fought the horror of that system and won."

And the radical message was...

“There is a need for difficult choices, and some cuts. But, this government is going too far and too fast...”

...not radical at all! In fact the same as the Coalition Government but a little less and a little slower

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/colleagues-defend-miliband-rally-speech-2254550.html

Great German Green victories

The Green party has taken power from Angela Merkel's conservatives in one of Germany's richest states, preliminary results from the Baden-Württemberg elections show... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/27/german-green-victory-fukushima Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, suffered a humiliating defeat in a vital election last night in a state that had been in her party's hands since 1953 after a wave of anger over her government's nuclear policy. The anti-nuclear Green party scored a remarkable victory over Mrs Merkel's conservative party in a state election that turned into a referendum on nuclear power in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/8410482/Angela-Merkels-party-defeated-by-Greens-in-key-vote.html

Anti-cuts demo - Caroline Lucas not invited to speak

Text of letter from human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell via this link.
Anti-cuts demo - Caroline Lucas not invited to speak

Budget for growth - for whom? how? at what costs?

I'm watching as Chancellor George Osborne is 'setting out plans to kick start Britain's stalled economy in what he says is a "Budget for growth".' Er...growth for whom, how and at what costs? Will growth enable: current and future needs to be met; a fairer more equal society and world; a less wasteful society; a more renewable society; less polluted environments; improving health and general wellbeing? Will it make local communities stronger and more self-reliant? If George's growth does enable these things then we will genuinely have made real progress - but I'm afraid they dont even enter his head and he's not even assessing and measuring them properly. Such is his fixation with GDP growth that his only interest is more money flow through the economy.

Senator Robert F Kennedy's words on growth as measured by GNP:

"The Gross National Product includes air pollution and advertising for cigarettes and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and jails for the people who break them. GNP includes the destruction of the redwoods and the death of Lake Superior. It grows with the production of napalm, missiles and nuclear warheads.

And if GNP includes all this, there is much that it does not comprehend. It does not allow for the health of our families, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It is indifferent to the decency of our factories and the safety of our streets alike. It does not include the beauty of our poetry, the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. GNP measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country…"

Part of the solution to our problems is to assess and measure the right factors in our society and economy, as long as we dont at the same time get obsessed with and tied in to a rigid, narrow approach to measurement. Progress should be assessed in terms of: efficiency; renewability; respecting environmental limits; stronger local communities; meeting needs now and in the future; local and global fairness; health, wellbeing and quality of life; and the interconnection between these. An evidence-based, reasoned, systems-thinking approach needs to be taken.

http://vowlesthegreen.blogspot.com/2007/11/sustainability-reconciling-economy-with.html

http://vowlesthegreen.blogspot.com/2008/01/what-sorts-of-economic-growth-are-good.html

Three tests for the Budget

Green Party leader Caroline Lucas MP today set out the three major tests which George Osborne should address in his budget on Wednesday:
- It should be a budget fostering the development of a sustainable economy, not a budget relying on unsustainable growth
- It should crack-down on tax evasion and avoidance and ensure that banks and corporations pay their full share
- It should use this extra taxation to support, rather than cut, public services...

Green Party Three tests for the Budget

Military action in Libya

This * seemed like a sensible initial position on the Libya no-fly zone for the Greens. Given what Caroline Lucas said on last weeks Question Time, clearly siding with former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie on the panel in opposing military action, things have changed. On this issue I find myself in opposition to the Greens leader, for once, if not my party. MacKenzie basically said '‎'Not worth it...Nothing to do with us...' which is surely not something Greens want to be associated with - I certainly dont.

*On the subject of a no-fly zone, a Green Party spokesperson said:

"We are not ruling out support for a no-fly zone, but it would need to be very carefully handled and would need the support of countries in the region. It would have to be something that the civilian population wanted, and only be enforced to protect the civilian population.

"Past no-fly zones have not always achieved the desired outcome and have not always protected the civilian population.

"Most importantly, the UN Security Council must refer the situation in Libya to the International Criminal Court. Colonel al-Gaddafi must understand that all those responsible for carrying out attacks on civilians will be held to account."

http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/11-03-2011-parliamentary-vote-libya.html

Mabinogogiblog: What can we do to bring the Libyan conflict to a speedy end?

Mabinogogiblog: What can we do to bring the Libyan conflict to a speedy end?

Jenny Jones for London mayor 2012

Elected to and serving on the London Assembly in 2000, Jenny is a very strong Green candidate with a lot of experience. This experience includes: Deputy Mayor; Leader of the London Assembly Green Group ; Deputy Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee; Member of the Confirmation Hearings Committee; Member of the Transport Committee; Member of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA); and more...

Jenny Jones has been selected as the Green Party's London mayoral candidate.

Ms Jones will go up against Labour's Ken Livingstone and Conservative incumbent Boris Johnson at the 2012 election after winning 67% of the vote.

After the result was announced Ms Jones said: "London needs a mayor who will create a fairer city and reduce the gap between rich and the poor."...

...Jenny Jones fought off competition from Shahrar Ali and Farid Bakht to win what she described as a genuine contest.

She said: "These are hard times for people who care about quality services, local businesses, and protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities."

And she pledged to make fighting cuts to housing benefit, the NHS and youth services a key part of her mayoral campaign.

"Unlike elections for parliament or local councils, the elections for the London Assembly are held under proportional representation. That means every vote counts.

"I'll be urging Londoners to use their vote to elect more Green Assembly Members next year," she said.

Ms Jones was first elected to the London Assembly in May 2000 and has served as Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Assembly's Planning and Housing Committee

BBC News - Jenny Jones to run for London mayor in 2012 election

Also see:

http://london.greenparty.org.uk/

http://www.london.gov.uk/profile/jenny-jones

Lucas: lessons on nuclear power from the Japan disaster

The lesson from the Japanese disaster is that you can never design out every possible human error, or natural accident, or unpredictable event. The problem with nuclear power is that it’s just so inherently risky. If a catastrophe does happen, then the impacts when we’re dealing with nuclear power are uniquely catastrophic, if you like, in a way that they’re not if we were dealing with the alternatives around renewable energy and energy efficiency, and so on. Of course, all of our thoughts are with the people of Japan, and particularly with those incredibly brave people who are at the plants now trying to bring them under control, but I just think that when we’ve got alternatives that are safer and cheaper, it does raise the question as to why we would run the risk with nuclear.

-“Wave and wind energy can’t be cheaper than nuclear, can it?”

Yes it can, and it is. If you look at the documents, that’s quite clear. Sometimes it doesn’t look that way of course, because nuclear’s very clever about not putting on its books the cost of decommissioning nuclear power at the end of its life. But if you add in those nuclear decommissioning costs, then nuclear is a lot more expensive. If we’re looking in Britain at the best way of being able to meet our carbon objectives, in terms of getting our emissions down to deal with climate change and keep the lights on, then it’s far cheaper, and government’s own statistics show this, to be investing in renewable energies and energy efficiency rather than nuclear. Of course the nuclear industry right now is engaged in a massive fight-back, trying to present itself as this nice clean energy of the future. I think the situation with Fukushima just shows us that that’s not the case, and it’s never been the case.

You can’t design out unforeseen circumstances. When they built those nuclear power stations 40 years ago, they never expected an earthquake of that size. Here in Britain, just back in the 1950’s, we had storm surges which were extraordinary and killed 300 people in East Anglia – you cannot predict what’s going to come in the future, and if there are alternatives, we should be using them. If it were genuinely the case that we had to make the choice between climate change and nuclear power, then of course the situation would be different, we’d have to look at it again. That’s not the choice we’re being faced with right now. You can never “design out,” whether it’s a terrorist attack, whether it’s human error, and when you’re dealing with something that’s as inherently risky as nuclear, it doesn’t make sense to take that risk.

Caroline Lucas MP, Green Party leader, on BBC Radio Sussex – 16 Mar 2011

Money spent up, recycling down: another Lib Dem failure

So much for the Lib Dem 'plan' to increase Bristol's recycling rate to 50%. They banged on about this so much (see policy six in their 'six to fix') but have not delivered - and it looks like there are lessons to learn for all who want higher recycling rates about how to get larger numbers of the public onside.

BRISTOL City Council spent £45,000 hiring "waste doctors" to encourage more people to recycle but they appear to have had the opposite effect.

The "Recycling For All" pilot scheme was launched last September with two officers monitoring the rubbish produced by 3,275 homes in the city.

But rather than improve recycling rates the statistics show fewer people recycled their food, bottles and papers after the pilot than before.

Recycling For All was one of four projects the waste doctors were involved in.

If they found people were not recycling, the officers would send letters advising them how they could.

They also had the power to issue a £75 fixed penalty fine or begin court proceedings that could result in fines of up to £1,000 if people continued to refuse to recycle.

The idea was to drive Bristol's already impressive recycling rate of 39 per cent up – one of the highest in the country – even further.

The council had hoped a successful pilot could be expanded across the city, pushing the recycling rate up to 50 per cent.

But far from improving performance, results from the pilot show recycling rates dropped by an average of 10 per cent – and in some parts of the city by as much as 30 per cent...

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/WASTE-TIME/article-3330115-detail/article.html

Green spaces sell-off? Bristol City Council has no Plan B

What sort of environmental decision making is it that does not properly consider - and in fact reconsider - all the options available, planning for a range of situations? Very poor quality, irrational, unsystematic and unsystemic - in short rubbish! Even on its own money raising terms the green spaces flog off favoured by Lib Dem, Labour and Tory Councillors alike is failing as income expected is now only a quarter of that originally envisaged. Cllr Gary Hopkins high handed, dismissive tone is again clear in the Post report on this though. Pity this man is not at the end of his 4 yr term yet - resign and put yourself up for re-election this May Gary and see how you get on!

BRISTOL City Council has never looked at ways of paying for the £87 million parks improvement plan that didn't involve selling off green spaces, it has been revealed.

The authority has always maintained that disposing of up to 64 sites across the city was the only way that enough money could be raised to pay for improvements in up to 200 others.

But it turns out that in the last five years of the Parks Green Spaces Strategy (PGSS), the council has never costed or even considered a plan that doesn't involve land sales.

The original funding for the improvement plan was £41 million from land sales; £21 million of grant funding; £15 million of money from developers and £10 million from the council parks budget. Since these 2006 estimates, the council has dropped the amount it expects to raise from selling land from £41 million to £11 million...

Bristol Green spaces Bristol City Council Liberal Democrats

38 Degrees | Save the NHS: Petition

Please sign and pass details on!!

The Petition Text: To the Coalition government,
Our NHS is precious - we won't forgive you if you ruin it
Don’t break up our health service and hand it to private healthcare companies
Listen to the the real experts - doctors, nurses and patients - when they give warnings about these plans
Don't rush through massive changes without testing them properly first
Protect patient care - don't cut beds, wards, doctors or nurses

38 Degrees Save the NHS: Petition

Nuclear emergencies in Japan

Japan has 53 nuclear power stations, making it third largest nuclear power user in the world. As a result of the earthquake and tsunami there are emergencies at 5 of them, 10% or so of the total in the country. Its incredible that nuclear stations have been built - and on a large scale - in a place where many earthquakes, large and small, often occur. Its incredible that these nuclear stations - with their systems (protected by systems) which protect systems... - have failed unsafely on this large scale. We have been told that nuclear stations are designed to do the opposite, hardly failing at all and when they fail they fail safely. Its incredible that a country leaves itself so heavily dependent on this energy source - or any single energy source. Or, given the extremely dodgy history of the nuclear industry, and given the goals that motivate industrial societies, is it so beyond belief??

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12722719

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Japan

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12723092

Mabinogogiblog: Greens debate the Libya NFZ

I'm with Dr Lawson and his sound reasoning on this one.

Mabinogogiblog: Greens debate the Libya NFZ

Carbon Plan ‘offers little that is new’, says Caroline Lucas - Climate Action Programme

The UK’s Carbon Plan is a ‘shallow compilation’ of the government’s policies and’ offers little that is new’, says Green Party Leader and MP for Brighton Pavilion, Caroline Lucas.

The Carbon Plan launched today (8 March) by the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, is a government-wide plan on climate change, which sets out actions and deadlines for the next five years, to help the government live up to the claim as ‘the greenest government ever’...

...However, Caroline Lucas said: “The move to elevate green priorities to the top of the Whitehall agenda may be encouraging, but I would like to have seen a stronger push, with more in the way of new and concrete proposals that are genuinely compatible with meeting the targets and facilitating the much-needed transition towards decarbonisation.”...

Carbon Plan ‘offers little that is new’, says Caroline Lucas - Climate Action Programme

Free writing workshops — Trading Local 2011

TRADING LOCALTHEATRE IN BROADWALK SHOPPING AREA, KNOWLE
on Saturday 8 October 2011

We want experienced and first time writers to create new 5 minute monologues to be performed by professional actors in Knowle shops. This is a great opportunity to turn a story into a drama!

Pieces will be developed in workshops led by Sheila Hannon, SOS’s Creative Producer. Up to 18 will be selected for professional production.

Workshops are free so just turn up!

» Download the schedule

For more information email us at: info@showofstrength.org.uk

Show of Strength Theatre Company

Claim that a Yes vote in the AV referendum will waste £250m is incorrect

Excellent letter from Chris Millman in yesterdays Post about the AV referendum. The man deserves to be elected! Here's what he said...

J ACK Lopresti's claim that a Yes vote in the Alternative Vote referendum will waste £250m does not bear scrutiny.

Of this figure, £90m is for the cost of the referendum, which was sanctioned by his government, and will be spent regardless of the result.

He goes on to claim that much of the rest will be required for the purchase of vote counting machines.
How so?

They use AV in Austrailian elections where turn out is 100% (voting is compulsory over there) yet find that they are able to count the votes manually. Why should it be different here?

The No Campaign estimates these machines will cost £125m when the actual cost will be nil. The remainder of the £250m figure that they have plucked out of the sky is to cover the cost of educating the public in how to use the Alternative Vote.

Why should this be necessary? It is a perfectly simple matter to list the candidates 1,2,3, in order of preference and if you do not feel inclined to do so, a simple X will suffice to indicate that this is the only candidate acceptable to you. No doubt the Government will spend some money encouraging people to vote, as they always do, but a voter turning up at polling station without any knowledge of AV whatsoever would still be able to cast their vote in the old fashioned way.

Mr Lopresti's other claim, that AV allows supporters of fringe parties to have more than one vote, is equally ridiculous.

The system of listing candidates in preferential order allows an 'instant run off'' to take place, so that, effectively, there can be further rounds of voting without the voter having to return to the polling station. Yes, the votes of eliminated candidates are redistributed according to the voters preference, but the votes of those whose choices have not been eliminated will also count in each 'round.'

Mr. Lopresti's contention that AV will benefit the Lib Dems is less easy to debunk, because nobody knows how people will behave when free of the temptation to vote tactically.

I think it is more likely that UKIP will be the party to profit, as there are a great many Euro-sceptics who are unhappy with the Conservative party, but keep voting for them for fear of letting Labour in. I suspect that this is the real reason that Mr Lopresti is so frightened of AV.

Chris Millman, Coombe Dingle

TALKS to end the dispute over the stadium site at Ashton Vale being turned into a town green have broken down.

Not a very enticing offer if this is all that it amounts to, so no surprise talks have broken down, for the moment at least.

He said: "We felt we had tabled a very good offer but for obvious reasons, I cannot discuss the details.

"As far as we are concerned, the meditation process is still on-going and we want to continue with the talks."

The Evening Post understands that part of the offer was to allow the open land to the south of the stadium site and the wetlands to be registered as a town green.

This would still allow the 19 acres that would be needed to build the new stadium on the landfill site to be developed.

TALKS to end the dispute over the stadium site at Ashton Vale being turned into a town green have broken down.

Bristol City FC joy hit by Village Green mediation failure | Bristol24-7

...In a letter seen by Bristol24-7 this morning, mediation between local community groups who want the space protected, and the club, has failed. The legal advice now being given to Bristol City Council is to approve the Village Green application.
This would permanently end the club’s plans of building a new 30,000 seat stadium near their traditional home – a bitter blow following the celebrations that took place in the chamber of the city council last night...

Bristol City FC joy hit by Village Green mediation failure Bristol24-7

BBC News - 'People's watchdog' touted to keep UK green

BBC News - 'People's watchdog' touted to keep UK green

SAINSBURY'S won permission last night to go ahead and build a superstore at Ashton Gate.

Just what we need to build a sustainable society - yet another bloody supermarket, a giant one smack in a place where local high streets would suffer too! It still may not happen though. Its simply not the case that this represents 'a giant step forward for a new...stadium'. Its not planning applications but is the town green process that has to come to a resolution either by negotiation/mediation or the legal process if necessary. If a town green goes ahead then this green belt site for the new stadium is ruled out - and would Bristol City want to sell Ashton Gate, at least on the currently thought of timescales, then??

6-1 victory: Fans greet the council decision with a standing ovation and cheers after councillors voted by six votes to one in favour of the plan. Sainsbury's won permission last night to go ahead and build a superstore at Ashton Gate.

The decision means a giant step forward for a new 30,000-seat stadium on a former landfill site at Ashton Vale.

Councillors on the planning committee which approved the supermarket plan last night voted 6-1 in favour, with two abstentions.

SAINSBURY'S won permission last night to go ahead and build a superstore at Ashton Gate.

Ruscombe Green: Call for windfall tax on banks

...At the Green party conference Caroline Lucas criticised the huge profits announced by UK banks - a stonking £25 billion. A windfall tax would restore public spending and help minimise the damage done by the cuts regime to public services, the economy and society as a whole. At a time of austerity, it is just not right that banks such as Lloyds TSB, part owned by the tax payer, are recording such huge profits. At the conference it was noted that there would be wide public support for a measure requiring the banks to pay a windfall tax on bank profits of 50%

Ruscombe Green: Call for windfall tax on banks

Norwich Green Party| Energy Scheme Will Reduce Cuts

More innovative thinking and action from Norwich Greens: Adrian Ramsay, Deputy Leader of the Green Party and Norwich City Councillor, will highlight the success of the Green Party's proposals to set up a Norfolk Energy Services Company (ESCO) at the party's Spring Conference in Cardiff this week.

The scheme will reduce the impact of national government cuts in crucial local services because it will bring in a guaranteed new income stream for the council, through the sale of surplus energy to the national grid, and reduce energy bills.

The ESCO, which would install solar panels on council property such as school, libraries and landfill sites, will also create new skilled, lasting jobs in Norfolk and reduce carbon emissions.

Norfolk County Council has agreed the principle of the scheme and Green Councillors are part of a working group that is developing the proposals.

Norwich Green Party Energy Scheme Will Reduce Cuts

Ten Reasons to Support AV | Yes to fairer votes

From the Yes to fairer votes website: In May voters will get the chance to choose a fairer voting system – the Alternative Vote. It’s a small change that will make a big difference.

The new voting system will keep what is best about our current system – the link between an MP serving their local constituency – but strengthens it by making MPs work harder to get elected and giving voters more of a say.

This is because, with AV, MPs would now have to aim to get more than 50% of the vote, and so will have to work harder and represent more of their constituents.

The AV system will change this. It will keep what is best about our current system – the link between an MP serving their local constituency, and the likelihood of decisive election results – and strengthens it by making MPs work harder to get and keep their jobs by giving voters more of a say.

Here are 10 good reasons for supporting AV.Click on your favourite ones to send them out on Twitter:

1. AV will force MPs to work harder to earn - and keep - our support

MPs need to secure a real majority of voters to be sure of winning, not just the 1 in 3 who can currently hand them power. They'll need to work harder to get - and keep - their jobs.
The expenses scandal showed how deeply out of touch some of our politicians became from the people who elect them. It arose from a culture where some MPs have ‘seats for life, and leads to poor service, complacency and taking voters for granted.

2. AV will give us a bigger say on who our local MP is

Forget tactical voting - just pick the candidate you really want to win. But if your favourite doesn't win you can still have a say.

3. AV will tackle the ‘jobs for life’ culture in Parliament

Too many MPs have 'safe' seats for life. We saw that in the expenses crisis. The AV system will change this.

4. AV is an upgrade on our current voting system

AV builds on the current system, eliminating many of its weaknesses, retaining its strengths and strengthening the link between MPs and their communities. Voters still have just one vote.

5. AV will keep extremists out of politics

AV is the anti-extremist system because candidates have to secure a real majority to be sure of winning. First Past the post enables candidates to win with a very small percentage of the vote, which means extremist parties such as the British National Party have more chance of being elected despite most people in an area opposing them. This is one of the reasons why the BNP is opposing AV.

6. AV lets you vote for who you really want

Forget tactical voting- just pick the candidate you really want to win. With AV you can back just one candidate (like now), or if you'd like to, state a second choice, or even a third choice. Voters can vote for what they really want so there is no need to vote tactically.

7. AV gives control to more voters

Less than 2% of voters decided the last election. To be sure of winning a seat with AV, candidates will have to get over 50% of the votes in that area. They will have to work harder and not just take us for granted.

8. AV will force candidates to positively engage with the wider community

First Past the Post has created a culture of complacency whereby most MPs know they can just rely on their core vote. AV rewards politicians who can reach out to a widest range of voters. Politicians will need to engage more constructively with more people if they want to be sure of winning.

9. AV is already used by 14m people in the UK

Alternative Vote (AV) is a widely used and trusted system in Britain outside public elections, because it is used by businesses, charities, trade unions and membership organisations

10. This referendum is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for us to have our say on the current system

MPs have been deciding their own rules for far too long. This is the first time that voters are being given a say on the system we should use to elect MPs. This is our chance to have a public debate and to demand more from our democracy.

Find out more
What is AV? Introducing the Alternative Vote
AV myths Let’s separate the facts from the fiction
A broken system What’s wrong with First Past the Post?
Why a referendum? Seizing our chance for change

Ten Reasons to Support AV Yes to fairer votes

Greens call for Stadium rethink as Sainsburys' prospects fade. | News

An Ashton Gate Sainsburys will hit other local traders far harder than the grocery giant has admitted. The independent report commissioned by the council from experts GVA challenges Sainsbury claims that its superstore - the third proposed for the Ashton Gate site [1] - can sit comfortably with existing retail businesses in South Bristol, especially those in North Street and East Street. It predicts that turnover in those shops would be cut by an average of 7%...

Greens call for Stadium rethink as Sainsburys' prospects fade. News

Cameron 'committed to full Trident replacement'

There isn't all-party support for retaining the UK nuclear deterrent, though the BBC asserts that there is. The Green Party eg through Caroline Lucas MP, is very clearly and strongly opposed and regards both the threatened and actual use of any weapon of mass destruction as immoral and illegal - and there are other MPs that support this view. Ludicrously our PM David Cameron uses phrases like 'keep our guard up' and 'insurance policy' about nuclear weapons!

It is, sadly, right to say though that few politicians are now arguing a fundamental case against nuclear weapons. I watched the 1959 film On the Beach about a post-apocalyptic world again recently. Its not a cheery number - with characters played by Gregory Peck, Ava Gardiner, Anthony Perkins, Fred Astaire and others facing the end of their lives and the end of human beings as fatal radiation levels spread across the globe - but for me its a classic film that makes some very telling points.

I'm 100% with Fred Astaire's character when he says 'The war started when people accepted the idiotic principle that peace could be maintained by arranging to defend themselves with weapons they could not possibly use without committing suicide.' (see video clip). Our PM David Cameron continues, with the support of the Labour and Lib Dem leadership, to support this idiotic principle.

"In terms of the future, all I can say... is that I am in favour of a full replacement for Trident, for continuous at-sea deterrent, and to make sure we keep our guard up.

"That is Conservative policy. It will remain Conservative policy as long as I am the leader of this party."'

All-party support

Labour MP John Woodcock, whose Barrow-in-Furness constituency builds the Trident submarines, also asked Mr Cameron for reassurance that he would not go back on his word.

Mr Cameron said: "I profoundly believe we should maintain our independent nuclear deterrent. I have looked at all of the alternatives over the years and I am completely convinced that you need a submarine based alternative - a full replacement for Trident in order to guarantee the ultimate insurance policy for this country."

BBC News - David Cameron 'committed to full Trident replacement'

Government go-ahead for controversial Bristol biofuel plant | Bristol24-7

This is a very bad decision. To be expected from a dreadful Con/Dem Coalition Govt.

Government go-ahead for controversial Bristol biofuel plant Bristol24-7

Day of action for Robin Hood Tax: College Green 16 Feb

Oxfam South West to hand over ‘final demand’ to a Bristol bank As banks reveal enormous profits and bonuses, charity joins global day of action to call for Robin Hood Tax.

Oxfam South West will hand over a ‘final demand’ at a Bristol bank on Wednesday (February 16), calling for a tax on the financial sector to help alleviate poverty at home and abroad.

As part of a global day of action, involving organizations such as Comic Relief, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth and Unite, the charity’s supporters will be at the HSBC bank on College Green, calling for a Robin Hood Tax on financial transactions.

The action comes as bonuses for bankers are revealed. A fresh wave of public anger has been ignited by news that banks are predicted to scoop bonuses of £7bn in the UK while at the same time public spending cuts start to bite.

Meanwhile, Britain's biggest banks are poised to reveal more eye-watering profits, with city analysts predicting combined profits of around £24 billion from four banking giants - HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and Standard Chartered.

A Robin Hood Tax – a 0.05% levy on each financial transaction made by the banks – would raise up to £20bn in the UK alone. About £7 billion could stop cuts to libraries, schools, higher education and other public services, while another £7 billion could pay for free healthcare for 226 million people in poor countries around the world.

Christopher Brown, from Oxfam South West, said the action was needed to remind banks of their responsibilities to use their huge profits for positive action to alleviate poverty at home and abroad – action called for by governments around the world.

“The expected profits made by the UK banking sector are more than enough to save essential public services – which are being cut left, right and centre in the UK – and bring hundreds of thousands of people around the world out of poverty.

“A Robin Hood Tax, which has been supported by the French president and current president of the G20 Nicolas Sarkozy, is a tax whose time has come. The banks got the world into the financial mess it is in – it is time they paid their fair share to rebuild our economy and save services we all need.”

Oxfam South West will join the global call for a Robin Hood Tax on Wednesday, February 16 between 12 and 1pm at the branch of HSBC at College Green. Supporters will hand over their final demand and ask passers-by to sign a petition in support of the campaign.

The media are invited to attend – Oxfam South West volunteers, dressed as Robin Hood, will be available for interview and photographs from 12.30pm.

ENDS

For press information contact:

Christopher Brown at Oxfam South West on 0117 916 6474 or 07887 632 658 or cbrown@oxfam.org.uk

Notes to editors:

For more information about the Robin Hood Tax, visit:

http://robinhoodtax.org/

Similar events will be held in Cardiff, Hereford, Glasgow, Manchester and London, in the UK, as well as in 12 countries around the world, including France, Germany and Canada.

Oxfam works with others to overcome poverty and suffering

SouthvilleGreen: Why stand?

Standing again because of: the cause, the cuts, the councillor, and the cruds who aren't standing up for local people but are backing big business instead.

SouthvilleGreen: Why stand?

SouthvilleGreen: Bolton is back!

Hey, Charlie Bolton is back to blogging again. He's standing as the Green Party candidate for Southville in this year's local elections too. Comments to Charlie - and to Southville's Cllr Tess Green via this blog.

SouthvilleGreen

Legal advice charities call for help – save our services! Rally, Queens Square, Bristol, Mon 7th February 12noon

A network of charities that offer free, independent, and confidential legal advice to households on low incomes in Bristol and the surrounding areas are calling for help from the people of Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. Proposed cuts in government funding will mean a huge reduction in the services that these agencies can offer to the most vulnerable individuals in society.

Proposals to remove Legal Aid funding for all welfare benefits, employment, and immigration cases for most debt cases and for many housing cases, will result in destitution, poverty and hardship for thousands of households across the region. It is estimated that in Bristol alone over 4,000 households will not be able to access advice to deal with their complex, life-changing problems if these cuts are made.

“Providing high-quality legal advice to vulnerable people on low-incomes is a good investment for society,” says Jane Emanuel, who works with advice agencies in the region. “The governments own research shows that the people most affected by these changes will be people with disabilities, people over pension age and other groups less able to help themselves. Government research also shows that for every £1 spent on advice the state saves anything up to £10 in reduced costs elsewhere in the system – for instance, lower NHS spending, lower housing spending and reduced social care spending. Not only are these proposals a disaster for individuals and families who will suffer because they cannot resolve their problems, they are a clear false economy that will not, in the long run, save the Government money.”

Local advice agencies and their supporters have arranged a rally in Queens Square, Bristol on Monday 7th February from 12noon to raise public awareness of this looming disaster, and to encourage the public to contact their MPs before the governments consultation finishes on 14/02/11.

We would ask everyone who values access to justice for vulnerable people to support us – see www.advicewest.org.uk for more details.

###

Notes for editors:

1 - The Advice Network is a three-year project managed by Avon & Bristol Law Centre on behalf of Advice Centres for Avon (ACFA). ACFA is a network of advice agencies who have been working together for over 25 years; most members are registered charities and all offer free, confidential, impartial, high-quality legal advice on issues such as housing, debt, welfare benefits, community care, employment, education and health. For more details visit our website – www.advicewest.org.uk.
2 – Local advice agencies in Bristol alone will lose over £500,000 in funding if the cuts to legal aid proceed as proposed
3 – Legal aid-funded advisers and solicitors are not ‘fat-cats’ – the average salary for a highly-trained and experienced adviser in the South-west is c£25,000
4 – Alternative funding sources simply do not exist – Bristol City Council have ring-fenced the funding they currently provide for advice services, but cannot fill the gaps left by government cuts; other cuts to funding for advice from national government have just been announced – this will result in a further loss of c£750,000 in funding for debt advice for people in Bristol and the surrounding areas.
5 – For further information, or for media interviews, please contact Ben Sansum, Jane Emanuel or Liz Freeman at the Advice Network project on 0117 929 2153, or 0794 838 2676

Goose steps and mass graves? We're only trying to save the world - Telegraph

Brilliant article in the Daily Telegraph from Robert Webb (pictured) 'one of Britain's most popular comedians, [who]brings his wit and imagination to the Telegraph's comment pages with capricious stories of his everyday life.' We need more communication on politics and climate change like this!

When the Martians finally invade and make me Lord High Protector of the Earth, I like to think that my first act will be to have myself arrested. It might be useful if those who spend a lot of time banging on about how much they love liberty ask themselves if they would do the same thing.

What would you do? A quick tweak here and there, and then hold elections? More than a tweak? It's the whole Earth, so there's quite a bit to put right. And you'll need people you trust to help: friends… maybe family! And what about those Earthlings who don't appreciate your efforts? Well, protest is one thing, but when they start to really interfere with your helpful plans for them, then it might be time to be a bit firm – which is just your way of showing how much you love them. So the Friendly Protectorship might go on slightly longer than we first imagined. Best to give it a while: say 30 years? A lifetime?

Yes, you've guessed it: this week's column is about the leader of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas MP. If you don't immediately understand the connection, then that's because you are sane. To have made the mental leap, you would need to belong to the head-banging libertarian/Ukip fringe who seem to think that all Lefties are born tyrants. You might be tempted to offer them the figure of George Orwell – who spent a lifetime defending the values of the democratic Left against the triple menace of communism, fascism and imperialism – but that doesn't work on the head-bangers, because they think Orwell is one of them. This indicates a psychological problem that experts have identified as "an inability to read a book properly".

Anyway, Lucas – who this week made an attempt to make the House of Commons work more efficiently, and was roundly patronised for her efforts – makes an almost perfect hate figure for the head-bangers, not just because she shows worrying signs of talking about wealth redistribution and actually meaning it, but because of the inevitable scale of aspiration that is part of the Green agenda. They look at her and think: "This woman doesn't just want to keep the 50p rate, she wants to change the entire Earth! This can only mean jackboots."

I say she's an "almost" perfect hate figure because she doesn't have an eye-patch or a hook or wear swastika earrings. In fact, it's a bit inconvenient all round that, when interviewed, she sounds quite sensible. Still, that won't matter. There's a YouTube video posted by "ukipmedia" where, to my ear, Lucas is clearly winning a debate with Ukip spokesman David Campbell Bannerman. At the point where she says, "People are dying from climate change, David", the video then clunkily loops back so we can hear her say it again another three times. The intended effect is presumably to highlight some kind of "gaffe" or standout absurdity, but in fact it reveals far more about the mentality of the poster than the subject. It's the use of repetition that is sinister here, not the thing that's being repeated. "People are dying from climate change" is not a remarkable statement; it is a scientific commonplace.

Given the bitter tone of the environmental debate, I imagine that this last sentence will have made some of you really quite cross. The YouTube clip has inspired seven pages of comments, characterised in the main by unhinged vitriol and references to totalitarian mass graves.

Let me have a go at understanding these people: wish me luck. I suppose that if you really think climate change is a sham; if you really think it's possible for a global scientific community to get together to fabricate a mountainous embarrassment of evidence in support of a particular theory and that, furthermore, they are able to hoodwink successfully – or even secretly conspire with – hundreds of governments and political parties, who are wildly opposed on everything else, so that there is a consensus that something should be done, then I suppose you're going to be quite annoyed when, as a result of this mammoth fraud, someone asks you to turn the central heating down.

Because if what they're saying is true, then our only way out of it is through unprecedented, long-term collective action. And human beings are really not very good at unprecedented, long-term collective action. And, knowing our history, we certainly don't like the look of that word "collective". Or, for that matter, "action". So better to believe the whole thing is a lie: Jeremy Clarkson will back us up, and he's a fun guy.
Believe me – I don't want to be on the un-fun side of the argument. I enjoy a visit to ClarksonWorld along with the next man, but I can't live there. All the rides are free because someone else is paying. And I sympathise with the daunted. I'm pretty daunted. The crushing scale of the thing, the complexity of getting agreements between countries at different stages of industrial and political development, the technological challenges, the whole seeming futility of it makes you want to club Caroline Lucas around the head with a patio heater to shut her up.

But still, I don't "get" where coercion, goose steps and Room 101 is implied in any of this. A failure of imagination on my part, no doubt. Maybe the Martians should appoint David Campbell Bannerman instead. What would he do?

Goose steps and mass graves? We're only trying to save the world - Telegraph

A World In Waiting: 10 Feb, Colston Hall

Passing on this from Nick Thomas...I'm just spreading word of a free event that may be of interest. It's the final event of the European Year for Combating Poverty & Social Exclusion - a large-scale exercise in direct democracy that we hope will attract a wide range of contributors with interest, ideas or experience of the issues involved. It's called A World in Waiting, evoking the better world that we hold in our hearts and that we could and should do more to make a reality. The agenda is completely open, to be set on the day - and the Dept for Work & Pensions is expecting us to generate 5 “policy asks” from the day’s deliberations, so it should have practical outcomes!

It takes place this Thursday (10th Feb) at the Colston Hall - and is open to everyone. It runs from 10am-5pm, but you're welcome to drop in at any time for as long as you like. Full details are at http://www.aworldinwaiting.eu. Do get in touch if you'd like to know more - and do please spread the word. We hope to fill the Colston Hall!
Many thanks,
Nick.


Nick Thomas
The Pierian Centre
Tel: 0117 924 4512
www.pieriancentre.com

Drag Parliament into the 21st century Caroline Lucas

Yes, yes, yes and yes to these proposals. Great work by Green MP Caroline Lucas on parliamentary reform. Drag that place into the 21st century and make it more accessible, practical, democratic, economic and effective!

...Among the report's proposals are; the introduction of electronic voting, a systematic overhaul of Parliamentary language, measures to prevent the "talking out" of Private Members' Bills, greater use by the Speaker on limits on backbench speaking time and an end to late night sittings...

Green Party MPs to debate Green calls for overhaul of parliament

BBC News - UN 'concerned' by world population growth trends

Agreed - how to achieve this by fair yet effective means is the key issue though...

The world population growth rate must slow down significantly to avoid reaching unsustainable levels, says a new UN report.
To have a reasonable chance of stabilising world population, fertility must drop to below "replacement level".
It must then be maintained at that level for an extended period, says the report.

BBC News - UN 'concerned' by world population growth trends

Support your local library 5 Feb

FT.com / House & Home - Enlightened energy

Hmmm...we have a south facing roof that might be suitable...so should we invest in solar photovoltaic panels or look into 'rent a roof' schemes? Interesting piece on this issue in the Financial Times.

“If you’ve got a bit of spare cash, it’s better to invest it in solar photovoltaic than putting your money in a building society,” says Charles Couzens, executive director of Ecos Trust, a Somerset-based charity that provides advice on sustainable building. He points out that you can get a healthy financial return of between 6 and 9 per cent, tax free.

The sea change for photovoltaic (PV) panels and other green electricity sources has come about through the introduction of feed-in tariffs in Britain in April 2010. This means that anyone installing small-scale electricity generation in homes, schools, hospitals or businesses can claim a substantial tariff – 41.3p a unit – for what they produce. And they get a further 3p a unit for any surplus electricity exported to the grid – as well as saving the cost of buying electricity in...

...in Germany, a national system of feed-in tariffs has turned a mostly cloudy country into a world leader in domestic solar panels. More than 250,000 people are employed in the industry and Germany is exporting components around the world...

...But what about people on lower incomes or those with young families who are unlikely to have enough money to spare? There is an alternative – a number of companies in the UK, and in other countries too, are offering consumers the chance to have solar panels installed and benefit from the energy they produce without having to pay a penny for them. Under most of these “rent-a-roof” schemes, the householder makes savings on their electricity bills, but gets nothing of the feed-in tariffs – these accrue solely to the panel owner...

FT.com / House & Home - Enlightened energy

70 months and counting ... | Andrew Simms | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Capital One's advert for its World Mastercard is quite emphatic: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, there's no limit." That kind of certainty normally comes wrapped in fundamentalist religion. It could be the magical thinking of an economic system drifted dangerously far from its real world roots, or just the "bring it on" machismo of banks desperate to forget the consequences of reckless lending.
Either way, it neatly illustrates Ban Ki-moon's suspicion that the world's economic model is an ecological "global suicide pact". Whichever data set you refer to, his concern is well grounded. Last year was either the equal warmest year on record, or second warmest...

...This month – number 70 in this countdown for action on climate change – saw BP publish its latest, industry standard projections of future fossil fuel demand and production. They predict that global carbon emissions will keep rising until at least 2030, in spite of the fact that to prevent dangerous climate change they should already be reducing. Presented in numbing pages of graphs and tables, this is the "global suicide pact" written invisibly into the world's economic model referred to by Ban Ki-moon. And it will remain so, until we can break the spell of magical thinking which allows us to believe that, economically and environmentally, there are no limits...

70 months and counting ... Andrew Simms Comment is free guardian.co.uk

BBC News - Helmet cameras capture bad driving

...The cycling organisation CTC says the more people cycle, the safer it becomes, as drivers become used to watching out for bicycles. The organisation says there has been a 91% increase in cycling in London alone since 2000, while casualties have dropped by a third.

However, there are still around 17,000 injuries a year and 104 deaths in 2009, the latest year that official figures are available for.

Most regular cyclists have horror stories of near misses, the bus that overtook too close, the car driver who did not see them on the roundabout, the van that forced them off the road...

BBC News - Helmet cameras capture bad driving