This keynote seminar was held at the Angel Hotel this morning and featured a lot of the players and vested interests in the energy sector from across Wales, including delegates from grass roots organisations – including Frack Free Wales (me).

Main points from each contributor:

PETER DAVIES (Commissioner for Sustainable Futures and Chair of Climate Change Commission for Wales)

Stressed the lack of public trust in energy companies and government. Called for much better participative processes and proper support for community renewables initiatives in a bottom up approach to tackling the issues.

DAVID TC DAVIES (MP for Monmouth)

Almost as good looking and intelligent as James Delingpole . My guess for what the TC in his name should stand for is not printable. Has form. This review by George Monbiot  of one of his speeches in the Commons will do fine here: “a Conservative MP called David TC Davies, … used his speech to produce a long list of conspiracy theories and zombie myths: claims that have been repeatedly debunked but keep resurfacing. “

SIMON POWER (Arup Director)

There is too much focus on the supply side – we need to do a lot more on the demand side but we are lacking any vision or leadership from Welsh Government.

DAVID JONES (Marine Energy Pembrokeshire)

Massive resource in Wales are being completely untapped. Even a very modest 30MW installation, which could be operational in 3-4 years, would provide 2000 person years of employemnet and £70million GVA.

GERWYN WILLIAMS (UK Onshore Gas Group – incl Coastal Oil & Gas)

Most interesting was our brief discussion beforehand where he revealed his stock market flotation has had difficulties and is a few months behind schedule. His new line of spin was that shale gas should be seen as providing the carbon for lightweight vehicles and the hydrogen for pollution free vehicles.

BEN LEWIS (GVA Director of Planning, Development and Regeneration)

Gave some interesting case studies:

TATA Steel in Port Talbot are building their own gas-fired power station that operates of the gases produced in their production processes, making them self-sufficient in energy.

Glyn Rhonwy, Snowdonia, is the first pumped storage scheme since the 1980s and will provide 99Mw of near instant response hydro electric power to help manage spikes in demand.

Also made the case for small modular nuclear reactors and also the need for more integrated, joined-up planning from Welsh Governmant.

Prof PHILLIP JONES (Cardiff University)

Looked at managing demand side through low carbon built environments and energy efficiency in buildings. Lamented inadequate building regs and lack of commitment to retrofit measures. Slammed WG for the gap between their rhetoric and their delivery.

CARL SARGENT (AM and Minister for Natural Resources)

Gave some more rhetoric about being the best at this and that and trotting out the same old rhetoric about sustainability being at the centre of all policy making. No sense of irony evident in his re-inforcement of Prof Jones point above.

Baroness JENNIFER RANDERSON (Lib Dem peer)

Keen to stress Government duty to ‘keep the lights on’ but introduced the serious dimension of aging infrastructure and historical under-investment in the grid – which was highlighted by a questioner pointing out a community renewables scheme in Mid Wales that has recently been rejected because of lack of grid capacity to accept what they produce (a mere 12mw)

MAXINE FRERK (Ofgem)

Stressed the challenges of trying to make markets work for the consumer and of being able to regulate networks.

SAM WHITE (Miller Research)

Focussed on problems of filling the skills gap and skilled labour shortages for areas like marine energy, lamenting the fact that it is left to companies to train up staff rather than finding mainstream education providing the grounding for these new industries.

Dr JOHN RHYS (Oxford University)

Emphasised need to develop new technologies in energy storage, CCS and control systems. Lamented the high subsidies for fossil fuels while renewables struggle for investment and also lamented the lack of certainty and stability in energy policy to make developing these technologies worthwhile for the private sector.

JONATHAN WILKINSON (Montgomeryshire Against Pylons)

Representative of the local pressure group, with a largely untenable position calling for energy innovation without the eyesore of pylons blotting the landscape. Did however, make the strong and important point about involvement and consultation with local communities being important from the outset – something our groups like FFW are much better at than the developers, I would suggest.

BEN RUSSELL (Horizon Nuclear Power)

One of the main developers of Wylfa Newydd on Anglesey. Outlined stages of plan to get it operational by 2025, with training of the workforce required being a key issue.

Dr IAN REES (Principal Coleg Menai)

Explained how they are rising to the challenge of meeting the needs of Wylfa Newydd in the courses they are developing.

In the final Q&A, I raised the point that a recurring theme of the day had been the inability of markets and incentives to actually deliver what we want and need. I asked if the panel would therefore support moves back towards a nationalised energy industry. There was a general concession that Government had to take a stronger lead in developing and resourcing long term policy objectives to provide the stability and direction that Welsh Government is patently failing to deliver currently.

I arrived after dark on Friday night and was met by a handful of wonderfully warm and welcoming people who had spent the day making the structure below habitable – much to my relief as fighting to put my tent up in a soggy, dark field did not appeal:

The newly completed chumba/cwtch block

In the picture, Steve is patching up at the very few leaks with roofing felt paid for by Frack Free Wales. It meant the Saturday night was even cosier:

Inside the chumba/cwtch block

I was sat on a three seater settee to take this picture, delivered on the Saturday. The donations to the camp are overwhelmingly kind and generous, emphasising just how much the local communities recognise and support the camp and its objectives. Food and wood supplies are currently not an issue at all, and with a mains water supply on the site, there is now little cause to be unduly anxious about people occupying the site over the winter months:

Borras’ very own ‘foodbank’ made up of donations from kindly locals and vistors.

Community engagement was also evident in the regular visitors from the surrounding towns and villages, just dropping in for a chat and see that they can do to help. On the Saturday afternoon, there was a family fun event with kids getting face painting and crafts done – making painted lanterns from jars and tea lights:

Family fun on a cold but sunny Saturday afternoon

This is not to say there are not issues and tensions. Security surveillance across the road on the original site extends to CCTV and infrared cameras high on masts that can monitor the new camp to an extent. Police visit regularly, which is fair enough to an extent, but when it extends to snooping about the lanes at 5.00am on a Sunday morning, is a bit oppressive. And some visitors/inhabitants of the camp have tried to change the ethos established by the local mainstays away from a totally peaceful camp, towards being a bit more challenging and confrontational. These people have not stayed.

I am very happy to witness the ethos established. The people are not pacifists and are realistic about the fact that confrontation will become inevitable at some point. The are prepared for this, but correctly, in my opinion are occupying the moral high ground and refusing to create the preconditions for confrontation. They are aware of the legalities of what they are doing and creating a place in which peace and harmony prevails (despite the odd hiccup). They are primarily lovers of the land, and lovers of Mother Earth.

Wales should be very proud and very grateful to the people here.

They are a ray of hope in the gloom of corporate greed and oppression of the people by the establishment. They are a merry band of modern-day heroes that I have come to love in no time at all, and I can’t wait to get back there at the earliest opportunity.

205 UK CITIZENS’ GROUPS TELL CAMERON NO TO FRACKING!

On Wednesday 10th December (UN Human Rights Day) at 3 pm, anti-fracking campaigners will hand deliver a letter to 10 Downing Street(1) which has been signed by no fewer than 205 UK residents groups(2) in support of a report calling for a moratorium on fracking on human rights grounds.(3)

One of the campaigners, Julie Wassmer from East Kent Against Fracking, said:

“There is a democratic deficit on the issue of fracking in this country: we did not vote for fracking and it is clear to us that the Government seeks to ignore the widespread opposition to fracking in the UK due its overriding commitment to shale. This opposition is clearly evidenced by the fact that there are currently over 200 residents’ groups actively campaigning against fracking in the UK – with Frack Free Sussex alone having over 10,000 followers. 205 of these groups have now signed a letter demanding that our Government acts upon the findings of a recent report, A Human Rights Assessment of Hydraulic Fracturing and Other Unconventional Gas Development in the UK, which calls for a moratorium on human rights grounds. We are delivering this letter to Downing Streeet with a copy of the report on Human Rights Day – Wednesday 10th December.”

The report, commissioned by the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, identifies human rights legislation which the government has a responsibility to respect and protect relating to life and security of person; water and health; home and private life and public participation in the decision-making processes for environmental matters. The report’s authors(4) claim that fracking potentially violates these rights and could breach the rights of future generations as well as the human rights issues of climate change.

Frack Free Fylde campaigner, Gazyer Frackman, will accompany Mrs Wassmer to Downing Street on Wednesday, having recently highlighted the report in a speech to EU politicians on 1st December after he completed a 14 day protest walk from Downing Street to Brussels where he was welcomed into the EU Parliament.(5) Mr Frackman said:

“My walk covered a distance of 360 km in order to raise awareness of the dangers of fracking and I was joined in that initiative by Alexandru Popescu who walked from his home on the far side of Romania to meet me. These are the lengths that ordinary citizens of Europe are forced to go to in order to make our voices heard. I asked for the European Parliament and Commission to take notice of this report and I am grateful to Green MEP Keith Taylor for doing so. 205 UK groups are now calling upon our Government to act on the report’s findings. This represents a huge amount of ordinary people – and electorate – right across the country.”

Green MEP for South East England, Keith Taylor, has delivered a letter on Frackman’s behalf to the EU Commission’s President, Jean-Claude Juncker(6) and said,

“I welcome this report and commend Bianca Jagger for her work in highlighting the problems associated with fracking.

The more and more residents find out about the impacts of fracking, the less they want it in their area. Fracking will not solve our energy problems and when the IPCC are telling us to move away from fossil fuels, investment in fracking is a huge mistake.”

Anna Grear, one of the report’s authors and Reader in Law, Cardiff Law School and Director of the Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment (www.gnhre.org) said of today’s letter from the groups:

“It was always the hope of the report’s authors that the report would inform and support those concerned about the potential impacts of fracking on their lives, neighbourhoods, house values, health and the quality of the environment. Given that fracking was recently described in a report published by the Government’s own Chief Scientific Advisor as being as potentially damaging as thalidomide, the lack of consideration given to the human rights of ordinary people by the Government in its ‘dash for shale gas’ is increasingly unacceptable. It is high time that this Government took its responsibilities to the general public more seriously and placed a moratorium on all fracking operations until a full, industry-independent human rights impact assessment is carried out.”

The 205 residents’ campaign groups will now be forwarding the report and a copy of the letter, (which is also signed by Bianca Jagger) to MPs and councillors across the country.

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS

(1) Letter to David Cameron – attached.

(2) List of 205 residents’ groups who have put their names to the letter – attached.

(3) The report, A Human Rights Assessment of Hydraulic Fracturing can be accessed directly on this link: tinyurl.com/lvmcnwp
With the report (and more information) available on:
http://gnhre.org/2014/10/30/report-released-calling-human-rights-impact-assessment-fracking-uk/

(4) The report’s authors are as follows:-

Anna Grear (Director of the GNHRE, Reader in Law, Cardiff Law School, UK and Adjunct, Associate Professor of Law, University of Waikato, New Zealand.)

Evadne Grant (Associate Head, Department of Law, University of the West of England, Editor Journal of Human Rights and the Environment GNHRE Coordinator.)

Dr Tom Kerns (Director of Environment and Human Rights Advisory, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Seattle Community College.)

Professor Karen Morrow (Professor of Environmental Law, Swansea University, core team, member GNHRE.)

Dr Damien Short (Reader in Human Rights, and Director of the Human Rights Consortium and Extreme Energy Initiative at the School of Advanced Study, University of London.)

(5) Details of Gayzer Frackman’s walk to Brussels and speech within this article: http://drillordrop.com/2014/12/01/lancashire-campaigner-takes-anti-fracking-message-to-brussels/

(6) Letter to Juncker attached – from Gayzer Frackman, delivered by Keith Taylor MEP. NB Geza Tarjanyi uses the campaigner name of Gayzer Frackman.

LETTER RE BIANCA JAGGER REPORT FINAL.docx

205 GROUPS THAT HAVE SIGNED HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT FRACKING LETTER 10th Dec 2014 FINAL.docx

Dear Mr Juncke1.pdf

Begin forwarded message:

From: SUTU WALES <standuptoukipwales>

Subject: Margam Demo

Date: 7 December 2014 11:11:30 GMT

To: Sutu Wales <standuptoukipwales>

STAND UP TO UKIP DEMO – MARGAM PARK, DECEMBER 6TH

Well over 100 people from Carmarthen to Newport joined yesterday’s protest at the UKIP Wales Conference in Margam Park, Port Talbot. It was a lively demo. The chanting that welcomed the ‘kippers’ left them in no doubt about our opposition to their racist policies. It gave them a taste of the protests they will face in the coming months leading up to the General Election in May.

For photos see: HERE

The news that no action is to be taken against Martyn Ford, Swansea West UKIP candidate for the BNP style leaflet he put out in October and that he is endorsed as a candidate – is every reason to redouble our efforts.

 

Published on 5 Dec 2014
(uploaded for non profit educational purposes)
John Pilger speaking at Logan Symposium, London 5th Dec 2014.

Click on image:

Transcript here:   War by media and the triumph of propaganda

Medialens describe this as:
“The most powerful talk on journalism and propaganda that you will hear in a long time. Masterful analysis by one of the giants in real journalism.”

Let me know if you are coming to either event.best
M
Margaret Minhinnick
Director
Sustainable Wales Cymru Gynhaliol
4/5 James St.
Porthcawl

whos afraid Rhodri Thomas flyer-poster.pdf

Bridgend
CF36 3BG

Christmas frock swap poster v3.pdf

01656 783962

http://www.sustainablewales.org.uk/

Donate

Sustainable Wales is an environmental charity. Committed to sustainable development, we focus on society, economy, jobs, creativity and the arts and their inter-connection with the natural world.

I had a very enjoyable few hours taking part in this debate on fracking aimed a Science and Technology students ranging from GCSE to undergraduates.

My adversary was a Geology lecturer from Cardiff University, Norwegian born Dr Ake Fagereng.

There was a straw poll taken at the beginning to see where the audience were staring from.
The question posed was “Should the Wales Government allow fracking to happen in Wales?”

As you will see below, the students have been working on the topic before this event, but that made me even more taken aback at the initial poll that showed that exactly 70% of them were in favour of fracking and 30% against. Ake was similarly surprised at this. It was going to be a tougher gig than I had anticipated!

Ake and I then had 10 minutes each to present our cases. Ake opened with his case ‘for’ – which seemed largely based on ‘it will all be fine if it is properly regulated and monitored’. My 10 minutes was basically a simplified synopsis of my paper on the Scientific and Technical Evidence Against Hydraulic Fracturing presented to Welsh Government on behalf of the Green Party a year or so ago.

There followed a 30 min session where the students debated amongst themselves and composed questions to fire at me and Ake. We were impressed with the range and quality of questions that emerged, and they certainly allowed me to explore more of the economic and political dimensions of the issue. I certainly had a lot more to say on many of these points than Ake.

There then followed the concluding vote. The official vote taken scored it at 61% in favour of allowing fracking in Wales, and 39% against, giving me a 9% swing in my favour.
However, one school group had started with all but one student against fracking, and had swung entirely to the pro fracking side, in complete contradiction to the clear swing in my favour with the rest of the audience. I think the fact that they were holding up green cards to vote FOR fracking confused them at the end – which if so would actually have been enough to give me a narrow 51/49 overall victory. But hey!

The overall feeling that I came away with was that there is scepticism that we can switch to a renewables based energy system quickly enough to not have to rely on fracking as a short term way of keeping the lights on. This is, of course, exactly the spin we get all the time from the neoliberals and the right wing media. We have to find ways of countering this more effectively, although all the time the neoliberals remain in government they can make it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

For these youngsters, fuel bills are not their problem, and property prices are an irrelevance as it is rapidly becoming a pipe dream for young people to own their own homes. But the thought of power supplies being interrupted in their gadget filled world horrifies them. Probably the most telling line of argument was the health issues associated with the industry. This is pertinent and a worry for anybody and everybody. It is therefore a pity I didn’t get round to citing to the report in last Friday’s Guardian that sees fracking as potentially as harmful as thalidomide, asbestos, smoking, lead in petrol etc.
I think I will make this my starting point next time around!

STAND UP TO UKIP

Saturday sees the launch of a broad based united campaign to stop UKIP building in Wales. We need as big a turnout out as possible to make the message clear – UKIP Not Welcome Here.
We will be outside the Orangery in Margam Park, where UKIP Wales will be having its conference – please join us.

11.00 – 1.30, Saturday 6th December – The Orangery, Margam Park, Port Talbot SA13 2TJ

There will be a free shuttle from :Port Talbot Parkway Station from 10.30.

Coaches: 9.30 Newport Rail Stn. 10.00 National Museum Cardiff 10.30 Sarn Services, Bridgend
8.30 Llamas St. Carmarthen 9.15 Town Hall Llanelli 10.00 Guild Hall
Cost £3 and £1 concessions. Reply to this email to book. Coaches will return at approx. 1.30

There is a car park inside the Park near the Orangery cost £4.50.

Bring your union – constituency and other banners – get creative with the chants – see you all there.

SUTU demo (Margam) both.pdf

Hi Members and Supporters of Bridgend Green Party,

As notified in the minutes of our last meeting, we have developed a tradition of not having a formal meeting in December, but instead have a bit of a social get together in Bridgend.

We will meet in the Railway PH, just down Station Hill from the train station, from about 7pm.

We then have a table booked at the Natraj restaurant, 2 minutes walk away in Wyndham Street, near the old town centre library. Will will move to here around about 8.00pm. We have had the restaurant pretty much to ourselves on previous occasions, being a Thursday evening, so knowing numbers in advance is not important, but I would appreciate knowing if you are intending to come along.

If cost is a problem, then please give me a call and I am sure we can sort something out.

Reviews here
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g186458-d3382962-r144856774-Natraj-Bridgend_Vale_of_Glamorgan_Southern_Wales_Wales.html