Do you think hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for natural gas should go ahead?’ Another poll by The Guardian. Get voting people!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/poll/2011/nov/18/forward-with-fracking-poll?CMP=twt_gu&fb=native

The ‘No’ votes are currently winning by 3 to 1 – just 11 hours to go. 4 to 1 by the end is possible if you all act quickly!

If you have problems accessing the link please let me know and I will
happily email them to you directly or print off copies for you.
Also if you have any special requirements or need help finding the venue
please let me know and I’ll do my best to help.
Please pass this on to anyone else you know who is attending but you think
has not notified me.
If you can make a small donation of a couple of pounds to help with costs
of the buffet that will be gratefully appreciated, but not essential if you
are on a low budget.

10:45-11:00 Conference Welcome with coffee/tea – Aneurin Bevan Room,
Cardiff Student Union

11:00 Conference Opens (Open to all)
Leaders Speech (10 mins)
Deputy Leaders Speech (10 mins)
Councillor Felicity Norman
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/region/westmidlands/people/felicity-norman
To speak on being a Green Councillor (15 mins)

11:35-11:50 Break with coffee/tea

11:50 Chris Williams, West Midlands regional development officer who has
successfully increased the number of Green councillors in the area,
speaking on theme of “winning local elections” (40 mins)
Q&A for Chris and Felicity(15 minutes)

12:45 -13:30 Buffet lunch

13:30 AGM Opens (members only)
Receipt of emergency motions, close of nominations for WGPC positions for
which no nominations were received by the published deadline (10 mins).
Issue of ballot papers.
Minutes of previous AGM (15 mins)
Reports from Officers and SOC (45 mins)

14:40-14:55 Break with coffee/tea
Policy debates (45 mins)
Hustings for officers (15 mins)
Motions (Emergency, organisational and policy) (40 mins)
Discussion around equality led by Anne Greagsby (15 mins)
Announcement of winners of council officer elections (5mins)

17:00 Conference close
Social drinks in Taff bar on 2nd floor of student union (open to all)

19:00 Bar close

Biofuels have been getting a real bad press. There is potential for it to make a contribution to our energy needs, but as ever it needs careful management and cannot be entrusted to private sector capitalists, or else it can present the sort of nightmares presented below:

Original Message:

Dear Andrew In the video below, Mariam Shabani, 13, tells you how her village had its land grabbed by UK company Sun Biofuels. Now, they often go hungry and have to walk miles for water. >> Watch the video and send a message to Mariam and the families of Kisarawe Your message will be delivered straight to Mariam’s village, to show people we are with them in their struggle. In August, Sun Biofuels was sold to a new company. We are hopeful that we can work with them to help Mariam and her community get justice. If you’d like to find out more about the campaign you can read this expose in the Guardian. Thank you for your support, Josie Cohen, ActionAid biofuels campaigner josie.cohen PS. Thank you to the thousands of you who signed the petition to stop the global biofuel land grab. It’s a powerful message to politicians that will help stop biofuel companies grabbing land from communities like Mariam’s.

This marks the Anniversary of the re-launched Bridgend Green Party

So it would be nice to see as good a turn out as possible.

AGENDA

1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Apologies for Absence
3. Minutes and matters arising
4. Officers’ reports
5. Campaigns update – esp. fracking/pv for free
6. Elections – BCBC 2012 – Nomination of Candidates
7. Wales Green Party Conference – Sat. 19th Novemeber
8. AOB
9. DoNM

NOTE – Venue is 2 minutes walk from both the Bus and Train stations in Bridgend.
See map: https://bridgendgreens.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/next-meeting/

IF ANYONE NEEDS A LIFT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW

Andy.

Something the Global Language Monitor calls its Narrative Tracker technology determined the top words, phrases and names. This technology “analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the top 75,000 print and electronic global media, as well as new social media sources” for references to certain terms.

This year’s top honors in the word category go to words we’ve frequently seen and heard in the news recently:

1. Occupy – Occupy has risen to pre-eminence through Occupy Movement, the occupation of Iraq, and the so-called Occupied Territories.
2. Deficit – Growing and possibly intractable problem for the economies of the developed world.
3. FRACKING – Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial method for extracting fossil fuels from hitherto unreachable deposits.

Full details here: http://www.languagemonitor.com/global-english/top-words-of-2011/

The Co-operative

Did you know that co-operatives implemented the minimum wage 90 years before it was made law in the UK? Today, with just fifty days to go before the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives, we thought we’d share a short animated film that brings to life the past, present and future of the co-operative movement. Let us know what you think of the film!

This localist approach is the embodiment of Green economics, and the Co-operative values have been seen in practice in the Co-operative’s crucial support in the fight against fracking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KYPe5xJAm5w

:http://www.ukprogressive.co.uk/editorial-why-is-wales-still-not-safe-from-fracking/article15577.html

Amongst the excellent analysis in the editorial, Denis picks up on the fact that the First Minister and Bridgend AM, Carwyn Jones, along with Bridgend CBC, have been very slow on the uptake on this whole issue. He paraphrases me very well when comparing the impact of campaigning in Bridgend with the impact in the Vale:

“Ironically in the next town over, the constituency of the 1st Minister for Wales, Andy Chyba of the Green Party said, protests are largely ignored, test wells are drilled and the anti-fracking argument gets seemingly nowhere. ”
Denis’ concluding comments are an excellent summation of where we are in the campaign:

“So one-by-one plucky voters gather enough information to realise the lies of Big Oil, complicity of many government officials and lobbyists, Environment Agencies in over their heads and rely on well-meaning civil servants who do not have the answers and simply fill out forms, cover their tails and pass the hot potato decision on to the next desk.

That is no longer good enough on this issue.

The Vale took three courageous actions:

they asked for lots of information from experts,

rejected the test bore application and

asked the Welsh Government to join them in kicking the can to Westminster and declaring a moratorium on fracking until more can be learned.

1st Minister [Carwyn Jones] is learning an informed electorate is a dangerous one. And a group committed to ensuring his colleagues also know all, causes him enormous problems.”

He cannot say he hasn’t been warned!

Louise Evans (centre) and Andy Chyba (left) lobbying in the Welsh Assembly building.

(Photo: Courtesy of Denis Campbell)

Fabulous blend of factual documentary and fictional drama about the most precious commodity on the planet, set in a Welsh context. Check out this new play by award winning writer, fellow fractivist, and good friend to The Vale Says No! team and Bridgend Greens:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b016x2k6/Afternoon_Play_The_State_of_Water/