Two related pieces in the press this week:
Disasters escalating four-fold as climate change hits poor hardest, says Oxfam
"Natural disasters have quadrupled over the last two decades, from an average of 120 a year in the early 1980s to as many as 500 today, says international agency Oxfam in a new report, "Climate Alarm," today. The increase in these extreme climatic events is in line with climate models developed by the international scientific community."
Similarly in the Independent: Climate change: how poorest suffer most
"Monsoons displaced 14 million people in India, seven million in Bangladesh and three million in China which has seen the heaviest rainfall – and second highest death toll – since records began. Cyclones blasted Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Hurricanes devastated the Caribbean and Central America, killing more than 1,600 Mayan people in Guatemala. Droughts have afflicted Africa, driving 14 million people from their homes."
These stories hardly hit the mainstream news. Last nights BBC TV news headlines focussed on Labour's latest scandal (the illegal funding from David Abrahams) and local news on a missing dolphin and how the police want to sell baby clothes. While the Labour fiasco needs reporting (and investigating by the police), and dolphins are great animals, where is the concern for the poor in the world?
The BBC is pretty good in comparison to the likes of the Daily Mail and the Sun. These papers are read by millions yet are complicit in not only a failure to report the most criminal of all activities, climate change, but seem to be concerned only with celebrities and how England must come first. Their attitude to the world is criminal.
Green Party campaigner in Kent. Also a nurse, academic, former manager, writer, Druid, husband and father...
Thursday, 29 November 2007
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Vague Promises and Anti-Farting Powder
This video is doing the rounds on YouTube. It is a pretty good example of where Labour are on the environment (airport expansions, M1 widening and other road building,new nuclear power, economic growth, corporate friends, etc., etc.).
If you think Labour (or the Tories or LibDem) can deliver a future for us and our children, then please explain. The LibDems are just as committed to road building, airport expansion and economic growth as the others - but best of all is one idea from them for helping Britain go zero carbon: Introducing low flatulence feeds for cattle... Anti-Farting powder for cows - a stunning idea! (see 4.6.9 of their policy) The rest of this policy is riddled with problems too (happy to supply these).
If you think Labour (or the Tories or LibDem) can deliver a future for us and our children, then please explain. The LibDems are just as committed to road building, airport expansion and economic growth as the others - but best of all is one idea from them for helping Britain go zero carbon: Introducing low flatulence feeds for cattle... Anti-Farting powder for cows - a stunning idea! (see 4.6.9 of their policy) The rest of this policy is riddled with problems too (happy to supply these).
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
Arms for Kent Taxpayers
Details of a press release below. Please sign our petition here:
Kent Green Party have slammed Kent County Council's decision to keep investing in arms, tobacco and oil companies(1). The decision reached on Friday by KCC's Superannuation Committee means that millions of Kent taxpayer's pounds will continue to be used to fund the manufacture of arms, cigarettes and the production of oil. These un-ethical investments were denied by the Committee's spokesperson, LibDem Dan Daley, in an email to Kent Greens last week. As at 31 Mar 07, KCC share holdings included £13.9 million in BAE Systems , the UK's biggest arms manufacturer and the 4th largest arms manufacturer in the world, £14 million in tobacco and £91.8 million in oil, according the Acting Director of Finance at KCC, Nick Vickers.
Stuart Jeffery, who has led the investigation of KCC’s investments, said: "We had high hopes that County Councillors would find an ounce of conscience in their souls, but we were sadly wrong. Investing in arms is not just unethical, it is foul and deplorable. These arms kill people: civilians and soldiers. There is no excuse for tax payer's money to be used to fund death and destruction.
"Ethical investments are now out-performing unethical ones so there is no remaining excuse for holding them. Allowing KCC investments of this nature should surely fall into the category of unacceptable standards in public life.
"What is perhaps most amazing at all is that the Committee's spokesperson, LibDem Dan Daley, tried to deny that the council holds these investments. This is clearly not true(2).”
ends
FURTHER INFORMATION: Stuart Jeffery on 07970 436029. Contact address as above. Kent Green Party is running a petition against these investments (3)
Notes:
1. Statement of Investment Principles for KCC is shown below
2. An email from Dan Daley stated: “We have debated hard and long in the Superannuation Committee concerning ethical investments and have instructed all of our Fund Managers to
ensure that our instructions in this regard are complied with. The Kent
Fund takes no part in investments in any companies engaged in armaments
or tobacco for example - and we are careful to exclude companies trading
in those areas where there is evidence of lack of awareness of climate
change or human rights abuses. You may obtain more information if you
require it from the KCC Secretariat.”
3. Kent Green Party has an online petition against these investments: http://maidstone.greenparty.org.uk/kccinvestment.php
KENT COUNTY COUNCIL
PENSION FUND
INVESTMENT PRINCIPLES
There are 3 main areas where the Fund looks at broader social issues relating to investment strategy:
Ethical Investment
Ethical investment is normally taken to mean not investing in certain types of company on a pre-determined basis such as production of armaments, tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceuticals, etc. The Kent Fund places no specific restrictions on the companies which our investment managers can invest in due to:
· Our fiduciary responsibility to achieve the best return we can on investments. Ultimately the cost of the pension fund comes back to local taxpayers through their Council Tax and we need to minimize the impact on Council Tax.
· The difficulty of agreeing what is in and what is excluded. By not making exclusions we can more readily judge how well our investment managers are performing.
· Investment managers highlight that it is much easier to influence company behaviour as an investor rather than by not holding the stocks.
Underpinning this, the Kent Fund will intervene with the investment manager if we believe that they are making investments in stocks or companies which are not acceptable to the Fund.
Corporate Governance
For the managers of UK stocks we have had a long standing policy of insisting that managers vote their shares. Managers are required to report back to us on a quarterly basis and we also monitor by means of a 3rd party voting organisation, Manifest.
Environment and Climate Change
The Fund recognises as a responsible investor the importance of environmental and climate change issues in making investment decisions.
We believe that investment managers should take account of environmental and climate change issues in their investment decisions.
To enhance our understanding of these issues and to allow us to fully engage with our investment managers the Fund has joined the International Investors Group on Climate Change.
Kent Green Party have slammed Kent County Council's decision to keep investing in arms, tobacco and oil companies(1). The decision reached on Friday by KCC's Superannuation Committee means that millions of Kent taxpayer's pounds will continue to be used to fund the manufacture of arms, cigarettes and the production of oil. These un-ethical investments were denied by the Committee's spokesperson, LibDem Dan Daley, in an email to Kent Greens last week. As at 31 Mar 07, KCC share holdings included £13.9 million in BAE Systems , the UK's biggest arms manufacturer and the 4th largest arms manufacturer in the world, £14 million in tobacco and £91.8 million in oil, according the Acting Director of Finance at KCC, Nick Vickers.
Stuart Jeffery, who has led the investigation of KCC’s investments, said: "We had high hopes that County Councillors would find an ounce of conscience in their souls, but we were sadly wrong. Investing in arms is not just unethical, it is foul and deplorable. These arms kill people: civilians and soldiers. There is no excuse for tax payer's money to be used to fund death and destruction.
"Ethical investments are now out-performing unethical ones so there is no remaining excuse for holding them. Allowing KCC investments of this nature should surely fall into the category of unacceptable standards in public life.
"What is perhaps most amazing at all is that the Committee's spokesperson, LibDem Dan Daley, tried to deny that the council holds these investments. This is clearly not true(2).”
ends
FURTHER INFORMATION: Stuart Jeffery on 07970 436029. Contact address as above. Kent Green Party is running a petition against these investments (3)
Notes:
1. Statement of Investment Principles for KCC is shown below
2. An email from Dan Daley stated: “We have debated hard and long in the Superannuation Committee concerning ethical investments and have instructed all of our Fund Managers to
ensure that our instructions in this regard are complied with. The Kent
Fund takes no part in investments in any companies engaged in armaments
or tobacco for example - and we are careful to exclude companies trading
in those areas where there is evidence of lack of awareness of climate
change or human rights abuses. You may obtain more information if you
require it from the KCC Secretariat.”
3. Kent Green Party has an online petition against these investments: http://maidstone.greenparty.org.uk/kccinvestment.php
KENT COUNTY COUNCIL
PENSION FUND
INVESTMENT PRINCIPLES
There are 3 main areas where the Fund looks at broader social issues relating to investment strategy:
Ethical Investment
Ethical investment is normally taken to mean not investing in certain types of company on a pre-determined basis such as production of armaments, tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceuticals, etc. The Kent Fund places no specific restrictions on the companies which our investment managers can invest in due to:
· Our fiduciary responsibility to achieve the best return we can on investments. Ultimately the cost of the pension fund comes back to local taxpayers through their Council Tax and we need to minimize the impact on Council Tax.
· The difficulty of agreeing what is in and what is excluded. By not making exclusions we can more readily judge how well our investment managers are performing.
· Investment managers highlight that it is much easier to influence company behaviour as an investor rather than by not holding the stocks.
Underpinning this, the Kent Fund will intervene with the investment manager if we believe that they are making investments in stocks or companies which are not acceptable to the Fund.
Corporate Governance
For the managers of UK stocks we have had a long standing policy of insisting that managers vote their shares. Managers are required to report back to us on a quarterly basis and we also monitor by means of a 3rd party voting organisation, Manifest.
Environment and Climate Change
The Fund recognises as a responsible investor the importance of environmental and climate change issues in making investment decisions.
We believe that investment managers should take account of environmental and climate change issues in their investment decisions.
To enhance our understanding of these issues and to allow us to fully engage with our investment managers the Fund has joined the International Investors Group on Climate Change.
Thursday, 22 November 2007
Caroline Lucas on KIG
A GATEWAY TO GLOOM:
SOUTH EAST MEP THROWS GREEN SPOTLIGHT ON KENT DEVELOPMENT
The planned development of Kent International Gateway will harm rural village life, increase traffic congestion and inflict considerable damage on the local environment, a Euro-MP for the South East has warned.
Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas has voiced apprehension over a recently submitted planning application which outlines a strategy for the construction of Kent International Gateway by insurance giant AXA.
In a letter to Maidstone Borough Council, Dr Lucas condemned the proposed development on a rural site near to the village of Bearsted as “inappropriate” and “environmentally irresponsible”. Having listened closely to the concerns of local people, she also warned that quality of life in the area would be negatively affected.
Dr Lucas said: “The plans to develop Kent International Gateway fail to take into account its potentially negative social and environmental impact on local communities. The proposal poses a substantial threat to life in the village of Bearsted and beyond, and is worryingly close to Bearsted Green Conservation Area.
“Residents cherish the land for its natural beauty but proposed construction work would demand the removal of a significant number of trees and landscape features.”
The Green MEP continued: “Furthermore, the roads in the area are simply not designed for such a volume of traffic, and lorries using the 24-hour KIG facility would need to travel day and night through junctions 7 to 3 - the most congested parts of the M25.
“We should be decreasing CO2 emissions and switching from roads to rails in line with government policies, not increasing the traffic on the roads and pollution in the skies.
“I do not believe that the planners have adequately considered alternative sites for the KIG. In addition, they have admitted that only half of jobs created would go to local people, throwing into further doubt the supposed benefit to local communities.”
SOUTH EAST MEP THROWS GREEN SPOTLIGHT ON KENT DEVELOPMENT
The planned development of Kent International Gateway will harm rural village life, increase traffic congestion and inflict considerable damage on the local environment, a Euro-MP for the South East has warned.
Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas has voiced apprehension over a recently submitted planning application which outlines a strategy for the construction of Kent International Gateway by insurance giant AXA.
In a letter to Maidstone Borough Council, Dr Lucas condemned the proposed development on a rural site near to the village of Bearsted as “inappropriate” and “environmentally irresponsible”. Having listened closely to the concerns of local people, she also warned that quality of life in the area would be negatively affected.
Dr Lucas said: “The plans to develop Kent International Gateway fail to take into account its potentially negative social and environmental impact on local communities. The proposal poses a substantial threat to life in the village of Bearsted and beyond, and is worryingly close to Bearsted Green Conservation Area.
“Residents cherish the land for its natural beauty but proposed construction work would demand the removal of a significant number of trees and landscape features.”
The Green MEP continued: “Furthermore, the roads in the area are simply not designed for such a volume of traffic, and lorries using the 24-hour KIG facility would need to travel day and night through junctions 7 to 3 - the most congested parts of the M25.
“We should be decreasing CO2 emissions and switching from roads to rails in line with government policies, not increasing the traffic on the roads and pollution in the skies.
“I do not believe that the planners have adequately considered alternative sites for the KIG. In addition, they have admitted that only half of jobs created would go to local people, throwing into further doubt the supposed benefit to local communities.”
Monday, 19 November 2007
Clone Town Maidstone?
Dear Editor,
What great news it is that around 50% of our businesses are locally owned, however we don't really know how this compares with other areas and single statistics such as these are not really helpful.
Two years ago the survey by the New Economics Foundation found that Maidstone was indeed a clone town with the same chain stores in the main shopping areas as many other towns across the UK. Since then Fremlin
Walk has opened giving Maidstone even more chain stores - hardly an improvement in our Clone Town status!
The Clone Town survey is being repeated, this will give us a real indication of how we compare to other towns and whether things have improved over recent years.
Stuart Jeffery
Maidstone Green Party
What great news it is that around 50% of our businesses are locally owned, however we don't really know how this compares with other areas and single statistics such as these are not really helpful.
Two years ago the survey by the New Economics Foundation found that Maidstone was indeed a clone town with the same chain stores in the main shopping areas as many other towns across the UK. Since then Fremlin
Walk has opened giving Maidstone even more chain stores - hardly an improvement in our Clone Town status!
The Clone Town survey is being repeated, this will give us a real indication of how we compare to other towns and whether things have improved over recent years.
Stuart Jeffery
Maidstone Green Party
Sunday, 18 November 2007
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Sunday, 4 November 2007
Non Violent Direct Action against Tescos
We were out this morning with placards in front of Grove Green Tescos collecting signatures for Compassion in World Farming calling for Tescos to go cage free. Very successful too... four of us got around 100 signatures in the hour we spent outside the main entrance.
There is no excuse for battery farming and there is even less excuse for buying eggs that have been farmed this way. Amazingly, it is only Tescos and Asda who won't give up this practice.
Thanks to Wendy for organising this and to Del and Karen for supporting it.
From their website:
"Compassion in World Farming has been calling on supermarkets and the food industry to go cage-free. This means only using and selling eggs from hens in free-range, organic or barn systems.
"Despite the scientific evidence that the battery cage system is cruel and increased public support for free-range farming, Tesco and Asda, the two largest UK supermarkets continue to make no commitment to help millions of hens and stop selling battery eggs."
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