Its now nearly 10 years since I started campaigning for 20mph limits, first in Warrington and then throughout the UK. It is 5 ½ years since I set up 20s Plenty for Us in order to assist campaigners like yourself in influencing your local authority in implementing wide-area 20mph limits. And because of your efforts both individually and collectively we have made a huge change in the way that our roads are shared and in the debate on how they should be shared for the future.

With now 191 local campaigns around the country we are probably one of the largest and fastest growing grass-roots organisations. And the fact that all of this has been achieved with what are mainly volunteer resources is a testament to both the popularity of our message and the work done by you all.

In all of our campaigning I have felt there are 3 very clear objectives which we should have :-

1. Support local campaigns
2. Influence transport professionals on the value, benefits and popularity of 20mph limits
3. Lobby local and central government on the need and benefits of lower speed limits.

In my time campaigning I have had quite a lot of communication with campaigners and organisations around the world. Their perspective is that in the UK we are taking a progressive and pragmatic approach to lower speeds that is, through debate and the democratic process, sensitising whole communities towards treating our streets as public spaces rather than just roads for automobiles. And whilst in some EU countries they have an even more progressive approach to lower speeds and many decades of implementation we are really showing in the UK that cultures can change and make a difference.

And that EU involvement is so important. It is a fact that the UK government is very much being influenced by our arguments and those made by local authorities to enable wide-area 20mph limits to be put in place economically and effectively. It is being recognised that we are in a transitional phase from the urban speed limit being 30mph everywhere towards a situation where 20mph is the norm. When so many of our iconic cities have less than 15% of their roads with a 30mph limits then 30mph no longer becomes a national default but merely a dated relic from the 1930s. And so it is time that we should be also looking to maximise our influence at government and pan-European level.

We are already involved with the European Citizens Initiative to get the EU commission to seriously consider setting 30km/h or 20mph as the standard for urban streets with the ability for local authorities to make alternative arrangements for vulnerable road users. Indeed, I am one of the 7 members of the citizens Committee which has set up the initiative. And we have until November to raise 55,000 signatures in the UK.

I know that many of you have already been working on this and have either influenced people to sign the initiative or sent me paper copies of signatures you have obtained personally. But we need to raise our sights and lift our game if we are to take maximum advantage of the opportunity which we have at our hands. Over the course of 29th April till 12th May there will be a major push by vulnerable road user organisations throughout Europe to raise awareness of the Initiative and increase the support and signings. This will be timed to co-incide with Global Road Safety Week under the patronage of United Nations and supported by the World Health Organisation.

I would therefore ask each and all for you to join with fellow campaigners across Europe in making a real effort to increase participation and signatories for the initiative. I would like you to take copies of the initiative and ask your friends, colleagues and family to either sign the paper copy or the on-line page. In many ways the former is so much better because you can see it signed rather than relying on someone remembering to sign it on-line.

A copy is attached and you can print off as many as you wish. If you would like us to send you some printed blanks then just let us know. Once you have got as many signatures as you can then please just mail them to me.

Of course you can also take the opportunity to include a call to action for your colleagues and other campaigners to do the same with their friends, family and colleagues.

We know that 20 is Coming. In some places its coming earlier and faster than others. But this really does give us all an opportunity to end the postcode lottery on speed limits and create an EU wide debate about how we share our streets as public spaces for all rather than just roads for automobiles.

I am sure that if we can all focus our energies on this initiative during the two weeks of Global road safety then we can really leverage all the excellent work which you have done to-date. I therefore look forward to a strong response from you all in supporting the European Citizens Initiative for 30km/h or 20mph limits.

I have attached the voting form and you may also see details on our website at www.20mph4.eu

Please get back to us if you have any questions. I also look forward to the signatory count increasing and receiving signatory forms from you all.

My best regards

Rod King

Rod.k

www.20splentyforus.org.uk

Follow us on Twitter @20splentyforus

Sign our European Citizens Initiative for 20mph limits at www.20mph4.eu

http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/10355420.Labour_leaders_shift_their_allegiance_to_the_Greens/

“Former Labour leader of the Worcester City Council and Party chrman David Barlow has joined the Green Party as has former Worcester Labour Party candidate, Peter Nielsen.

Mr Barlow led the city council in 2000 and terminated his Labour membership in 2011 after 30 years of being a member of the party. Mr Barlow said: The Green Party offers exactly the kind of credible, progressive policies which I have always supported and from which the Labour Party has drifted away.

Peter Nielsen said: “The Green Party has the ethical and moral dimension that has been lost in our traditional political parties, in particular the Labour Party. The Green Party sees environmental sustainability and social justice as inseparable. It is now 40 years old, and has matured into an impressive and credible political organisation that I am happy to join and in which I feel completely at home.”

David Barlow was a member of Worcester City Council from 1985-2004. In addition to being leader of the council, he chaired several committees, including Environmental Health, Community Services, Policy & Resources and Licensing. He was also a County Councillor (Hereford & Worcestershire), 1993-’97, where he chaired Personnel. Throughout, he had been much involved in numerous outside bodies and in local government associations regionally and nationally.”

http://frackfreewales.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/national-action-against-fracking-in-wales-16th-april-cardiff-bay-at-the-senedd/

Full report PDF via attachment at the bottom the page.

Contents:

• The key differences between traditional conventional fracking and the recent so-called unconventional fracking
• Borehole casings
• Seismicity
• Explosive fracturing
• Hydraulic fracturing
• Health impacts of frack chemicals
• Disclosure of chemicals
• Handling flowback water
• Silica sand
• Airborne pollution
• Water resource implications
• Climate change impacts
• Population density

Conclusions:

“In conclusion, allow me to point out that most peoples concern over fracking tends to start in a NIMBYist fashion, with concern over related planning applications in their local areas. Witness the ever increasing plethora of local opposition groups across the country, indeed across the world. What invariably happens, however, is that people very quickly learn about and recognise the full range and scale of the issues involved the issues in this review, and many more such as noise, HGV traffic, property values, loss of amenity, and impacts on biodiversity, agriculture and tourism and so on. We have seen many local opposition groups thereby morph into national and international campaigns, seeking to be mutually supportive towards a common goal. This is an issue that therefore stretches beyond the scientific and technical. It has to become a political issue in which choices about our relationship with the planet we depend on are central.”

It’s unbelievable, but Monsanto and Co. are at it again. These profit-hungry biotech companies have found a way to exclusively ‘own’ something that freely belongs to us all — our food! But if we can pressure key European countries to slam the patent door shut on their destructive plans, we can stop this attack on our food. Help build the biggest food defense call ever by clicking here:

It’s unbelievable, but Monsanto and Co. are at it again. These profit-hungry biotech companies have found a way to exclusively ‘own’ something that freely belongs to us all — our food! They’re trying to patent away our everyday vegetables and fruits like cucumber, broccoli and melons, forcing growers to pay them and risk being sued if they don’t.

But we can stop them from buying up Mother Earth. Companies like Monsanto have found loopholes in European law to get away with this, so we just need to close them shut before they set a dangerous global precedent. And to do that, we need key countries like Germany, France and the Netherlands — where opposition is already growing — to call for a vote to stop Monsanto’s plans. The Avaaz community has shifted governments before, and we can do it again.

Many farmers and politicians are already against this — we just need to bring in people power to pressure these countries to keep Monsanto’s hands off our food. Sign now and share with everyone to help build the biggest food defense call ever:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/monsanto_vs_mother_earth_doy/?bdtmtbb&v=23899

Once a patent exists in one country, trade agreements and negotiations often push other countries to honour it as well. That’s why these food patents change everything about how our food chain works: for thousands of years, farmers could choose which seeds they’d use without worrying about getting sued for violating intellectual property rights. But now, companies launch expensive legal campaigns to buy patents on conventional plants and force farmers to pay exorbitant royalty fees. Monsanto and Co. claim that patents drive innovation — but in fact they create a corporate monopoly of our food.

But luckily, the European Patent Office is controlled by 38 member states who, with one vote, can end dangerous patents on food that is bred using conventional methods. Even the European Parliament has issued a statement objecting to these kinds of destructive patents. Now, a massive wave of public outcry could push them to ban the patenting of our everyday food for good.

The situation is dire already — Monsanto alone owns 36% of all tomato, 32% of sweet pepper and 49% of cauliflower varieties registered in the EU. With a simple regulatory change, we could protect our food, our farmers and our planet from corporate control — and it’s up to us to make it happen:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/monsanto_vs_mother_earth_doy/?bdtmtbb&v=23899

The Avaaz community has never been afraid to stand up to corporate capture of our institutions, from pushing back the Rupert Murdoch mafia, to helping ensure that telecoms keep their hands off our Internet. Now it’s time to defend our food supply from this corporate takeover.

With hope and determination,

Jeremy, Michelle, Oli, Dalia, Pascal, Ricken, Diego and the whole Avaaz team

SOURCES:

Conventionally-bred plants or animals should be exempt from patents, say MEPs (EU Parliament)
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pressroom/content/20120509IPR44733/html/Conventionally-bred-plants-or-animals-should-be-exempt-from-patents-say-MEPs

President of the European Patent Office gives green light for patents on plants and animals (No Patents on Seeds)
http://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/information/background/green-light-for-patents-on-plants-and-animals

Monsanto: All Your Seeds Belong to Us (Mother Jones)
http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/02/scotus-hears-monsanto-soybean-case

Plant Patentability Questions Deepen In EPO Tomato Patent Case (IP Watch)
http://www.ip-watch.org/2012/06/13/plant-patentability-questions-deepen-in-epo-tomato-patent-case/

Tomato patent back before EPO’s Enlarged Board of Appeal (Europolitics)
http://europolitics.eis-vt-prod-web01.cyberadm.net/business-competitiveness/tomato-patent-back-before-epo-s-enlarged-board-of-appeal-art336003-7.html

Following the announcement that the UK Government is planning to push ahead with Fracking/Coal Bed Methane Extraction in Wales and the UK despite the obvious and well-documented risks, we are holding a peaceful protest outside the Senedd to highlight the dangers posed by fracking to the general public and the environment.

At the end of the action we will hand a letter and a report written by Andy Chyba (will be published here on 16th April) outlining our concerns to First Minister Carwyn Jones. If you cannot attend and would like to sign the letter please post to that effect on the event wall.

Please share this event widely and invite anyone you feel is as concerned as we are.

Full details of where to assemble at 2pm will be added soon.

http://frackfreewales.wordpress.com/

F.A.O.
Rt. Hon. Carwyn Jones
First Minister for Wales
Sent to:- carwyn.jones@wales.gsi.gov.uk
16th April 2013
Dear Mr Jones
UNCONVENTIONAL ENERGY EXTRACTION IN WALES: HYDRAULIC FRACTURING AND COAL BED METHANE
We are writing to you to express our concerns about the prospect of unconventional fossil fuel extraction in Wales. We are concerned that these methods will be allowed in Wales despite grave environmental concerns that they are unsafe to our future generations. A summary of our argument can be found as an appendix to this letter.
We respectfully ask that you as First Minister for Wales provide detailed answers to the following questions supported by referable academic evidence: –
1) Is it your personal belief that these methods are a sustainable energy option for Wales? Can you provide evidence that these methods are better than renewable sources of energy such as solar, geothermal, tidal and wind?
2) Please can you provide us with a referable map as to where unconventional fossil fuel extraction is proposed to happen?
3) Please could you provide any plans for pipelines across Wales?
4) Are the people situated directly next to these sites going to be correctly compensated and relocated because of the pollution caused by these methods?
5) Will there be Compulsory Purchase Orders?
6) What are the Economic Benefits of Hydraulic Fracturing and Coal Bed Methane Extraction to the ordinary person in Wales? What are the economic costs?
7) What guarantee do we have that these companies will not be registered offshore for the purposes of taxation and all financial records will be thoroughly transparent?
8) Do you understand that methane is a Greenhouse Gas 20 times as powerful as Carbon Dioxide? What does the WAG plan to do in the case of a large methane accident?
9) Has the WAG considered or calculated increased projected carbon emissions for natural gas extraction in Wales, taking into account WAGs emissions reduction target, and how much this will undermine those targets?
10) Exactly what chemicals will be used in the Hydraulic Fracturing and Coal Bed Methane process in Wales? Please could you provide a COSHH register analysis of all known names to all chemicals in use?
11) What emergency service contingency plans have the WAG in case of earthquakes in Wales?
12) What contingency plans do the WAG/Dwr Cymru have in case of well failure and the pollution of the water table in Wales? How will this affect our ability to supply Wales and indeed England with water?
13) How will the WAG and councils dispose of the excess fluids created by these methods?
14) What are the WAG contingency plans regarding the nuclear material under the ground that may be disturbed by these processes?
Our aim is to open dialogue with yourself and WAG to establish the facts. We look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely

Member
Frack-Free Wales

As I say, I am not proud of taking any sort of satisfaction in the death of a fellow human being – but I know that I am not alone in my reaction to the news. Such is the woman’s legacy.

Every form of media was immediately all over the news. But one blog piece seemed to encapsulate my own memories of her ‘achievements’.
The Politics Blog by Charles P. Pierce is not my usual reading material , but this American commentator’s piece certainly resonated as I made my way across London today:

I am going to leave the encomiums to the late Margaret Thatcher to the people who loved her best, of whom I am decidedly not one. What I remember best about her is that she pretty much invented the modern concept of the distracting Wanking Little War the Falklands begat Grenada and that she allowed an elected member of the British parliament named Bobby Sands to starve himself to death in a British prison rather than dress the way he wanted to dress, and that she once held this view about Nelson Mandela:

The Conservative prime minister had dismissed the ANC as “a typical terrorist organisation” and refused to back sanctions against the apartheid government, pursuing instead a policy of “constructive engagement”. South Africa was then seen as a vital ally in stemming communist expansion.

Her record in Northern Ireland was abysmal, the 1985 Anglo-Irish Treaty be damned. If you want to see where the Bush people got all those bright ideas about preventive detention, and drumhead tribunals, and extrajudicial assassinations, look to Margaret Thatcher’s time as prime minister. (Which, of course, coincided with an appalling over-escalation by Irish nationalist militants. The Enniskillen bombing in 1987, detonated without warning, left what was left of the IRA’s reputation in tatters.) She made it illegal to broadcast the voices of Sinn Fein leaders. She was the last real Unionist, a direct heir to the people whose policies made Ireland bleed unnecessarily for seven centuries, and she allowed the bleeding to go on for nearly two more decades. And that’s not even to get into her role in breaking British trade-unionism and laying the groundwork for the delightful austerity-is-prosperity policies of today. Other people can mourn and they will, God knows. I’m going to give it a good leaving alone.

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/margaret-thatcher-death-040813

Andy Chyba.

Do you know about the TPP? If not you must watch this video

That Barack Obama is backing this really worries me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=U56ZP3YrTM4

More here: http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-trans-pacific-partnership-obamas-secret-trade-deal/5329911

Note those sinister but innocuous sounding words FREE TRADE cropping up. Not to be confused with FAIR TRADE! Au contraire:

http://fairworldproject.org/voices-of-fair-trade/fair-trade-vs-conventional-free-trade-an-introduction/

Firstly, we are currently calling for nominations for inclusion on the list for the Euro election next year. For this election Wales is classed as one region and can elect four Members to the European Parliament (MEPs) to represent us. Wales Green Party therefore needs to stand a list of at least four people in the Euro elections.

If you are willing to be nominated to be included on that list please contact Ann Were annwere and she will give you all the information and advice you need. The deadline for the receipt of nominations is 13th April so time is of the essence.

Secondly, there is to be a Special Conference held in Cardiff on 11th May. All details are available on the members website but simply contact Ann Were on ann_were12 if there is anything you would like to know or if you would like a copy of the First and Final agendas. The deadline for amendments to the first agenda is 13th April and the final agenda will be available from the 25th April.

We will be proposing important changes to the constitution at this meeting so I would please urge you to try and attend, even if it is for only part of the day. We are specifically looking at the name of the party in Wales and whether or not it should be changed, so your input would be extremely valuable.

I look forward to seeing as many members as possible at the conference on 11th May

Pippa

Leader, Wales Green Party

ADDENDA FROM ANDY CHYBA (Chair, Bridgend Green Party)

1. Amongst the constitutional changes proposed, that Pippa fails to mention above, are changes to allow existing Wales Green Party Council members to circumvent the normal practice within the Party of only being able to serve on such bodies for a maximum of 5 years before having to have at Least a year’s break. This should be resisted. It is an abuse of Wales’ ‘semi-autonomous’ status, in my opinion, to move away from a fundamental principle of how GPEW operates in the way that is being proposed.

It is vital to a healthy and vibrant democratic party that people are encouraged and supported to get more involved and also to share the burden and experience of running things. That this is not happening in Wales is not grounds to change the constitution to allow the same few people to carry on things as they are. There are plenty of things that could and should be happening to avoid this sad state of affairs. As I am unable to attend the ‘Special Conference’, I would encourage people to go and oppose this seriously misguided and retrograde proposal.

2. A good starting point for getting more people involved would be for us to see volunteers to act as at least ‘paper’* candidates in elections in order to raise the Party’s profile. With regards to the Euro Elections mentioned by Pippa above, John Evans, Bridgend Electons Offocer and Wales GP ERO, informs me that it looks like only me, Pippa and Chris Were (WGP Deputy, paper candidate only) standing at present. For gender equality, it would be particularly welcome to have a woman come forward. Let me know if you are interested. The deadline is 13th April.

3. Feel free to call or email me for any further information or advice: bridgendgreens@chyba.go-plus.net

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_candidate

For clarity sake. I resigned purely on the principle of unjustifiable censorship. As for the Population issue, as an ex-geography teacher, I believe I understand the issues better than most. As such I see merit in some things Population Matters say, but disagree with other things they say, especially with regards immigration. But I recognise the legitimacy of their point of view.

There are therefore two very distinct issues.
One is the behaviour and attitude of some current GWEB members. I therefore endorse your point 2 below.
Second is the matter of Green Party Population policy, which given the strength of feelings on the matter, gives a lot of merit to point 4. I will do this and point 5.

Best wishes,

Andy Chyba

Population (Still) Matters

Green World editorial board (GWEB) has recently confirmed its refusal to accept a Population Matters flyer as an insert in the Green World magazine. GWEB’s stance contradicts party policy. This fully recognises the threats posed by population growth. Even dissenters from policy must accept that Population Matters is a respected charity whose views are in line with policy and widely shared within the membership, and so should not be censored. (http://www.populationmatters.org)

One GWEB member, Andy Chyba resigned over this matter and another, Miriam Kennet, has disassociated herself from the decision. Caroline Lucas too has said that Population Matters should not be censored in this way. GWEB is treating Green World as the voice of a faction within the party, not the voice of the party.

So, I ask you to:

1. Write to the Green World Editorial Board demanding that they abandon their censorship:

gweb@greenworld.org.uk

contact@matthewbutcher.org.uk

and copy in the Green World Advertising Manager:

shasha.khan@greenparty.org.uk

2. Vote in the next GWEB election or by-election for candidates standing on a ‘no censorship’ platform;

3. Write to party leaders Natalie Bennett and Will Duckworth, requesting that they clarify their views on this whole matter:

natalie.bennett@greenparty.org.uk

willjduckworth@gmail.com

4. Request that the next national conference devotes a plenary session to debate the whole population issue (email the organiser: louisa.greenbaum@greenparty.org.uk);

5. Forward this note to the membership in your area.

It is worrying that many rank and file members of the Party do not seem to know about the on-going manoeuvres against Population Matters.

There has been no better time than now to discuss this issue, given the country’s rising population and the unsustainable demands it helps to generate. On present trends, the population will rise from 62 million in 2010 to 73 million by 2035. England is already the most densely populated large European country. The UK as a whole is currently growing at the unprecedented rate of about 450,000 (one new Liverpool) per year. We have to provide enough new jobs, power stations, housing, hospitals, schools, roads, etc. for a new Liverpool every year, just to stand still in terms of living standards.

Such unsustainable pressure surely merits serious discussion at conference.

Sandy Irvine (member, Newcastle Green Party)

Communism, welfare state what’s the next big idea?

Any attempt to challenge the elite needs courage, inspiration and a truly groundbreaking proposal. Here are two to set us off

“So where do we look for the idea that can make hope more powerful than fear? Not to the Labour party. If Ed Miliband cannot bring himself even to oppose a bill which retrospectively denies compensation to cheated jobseekers, the most we can expect from him is a low-alcohol conservatism of the kind that doused all aspiration under Tony Blair.”

“Last week I ran a small online poll, asking people to nominate inspiring, transfiguring ideas. The two mentioned most often were land value taxation and a basic income. As it happens, both are championed by the Green party. On this and other measures, its policies are by a long way more progressive than Labour’s.”