The winter issue of Birmingham Friends of the Earth's newsletter.
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Newsleer January 2016 Mobilising in Paris Continued on Page 18 Birmingham friends of the earth I think it was at Basecamp June 2014 that I first decided I would be going to Paris for the COP 21 UN climate talks this December, so I have been building up to this article for a while. The most important talks since the disastrous Copenhagen talks of 2009, the world was watching Paris. Civil society was determined to put forward an alternative narrative to the one from politicians and business.
Transcript
NewsletterJanuary 2016
Mobilising in Paris
Continued on Page 18
Birmingham friends of the earth
I think it was at Basecamp June 2014 that I first decided I would be going to Paris for the COP 21 UN climate talks this December, so I have been building up to this article for a while. The most important talks since the disastrous Copenhagen talks of 2009, the world was watching Paris. Civil society was determined to put forward an alternative narrative to the one from politicians and business.
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Contents
3 - Campaigns’ Digest
5 - Fossil Fuel Funeral
6 - To Paris & Beyond - the Verdict
8 - Spookilicious Halloween Harvest
9 - Brum Labour Leadership Election
13 - Christmas Cards for Cameron
14 - Faiths for a Low Carbon Future
14 - BFoE March on London
16 - In the Media
17 - This Changes Everything
18 - Mobilising in Paris
19 - Brum’s Big Polluter
20 - Warehouse News - Recycling Heat
21 - Volunteer Spotlight
22 - Diary
23 - Contact us
Happy (almost) New Year!
Although it’s December as I write this, by the time that (most of) you will read this it will be January. We had a fantastic autumn, building on our very active summer, with three fantastic events and actions! As well as ongoing campaigning for a zero waste Brum!
Economics
Saturday 5th December saw a successful Small Business Saturday event at the Library of Birmingham. This included a session on Birmingham Pound run by our friends and drivers of the Birmingham Pound project - Localise West Midlands. Hopefully, this will generate more interest to push the Birmingham Pound in 2016.
Energy & Climate Change
We teamed up with climate campaigners from across the region to launch Divest West Midlands Pension Fund on 25th September. The action included a hand in of letters to the pension fund committee and a banner photo stunt outside Wolverhampton Council offices.
Our successful Funeral for Fossil Fuel Investments was on 10th October, attended by around 30 campaigners from Birmingham Friends of the Earth, and Birmingham Green Party amongst others.
Five days later we had a successful joint public meeting on international climate in Sutton Coldfield with over 50 Suttonites asking some difficult questions of Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell.
On 21st November, we had some great conversations with a stall at the Quaker organised Interfaith Climate Exhibitions and Presentations event.
We also supported and participated in two lots of action on 28th November. Campaigners across the West Midlands (including Birmingham FoE campaigners) ran a Christmas Cards for Cameron action, engaging members of the public to sign Christmas cards calling for a strong climate action.
Birmingham FoE campaigners also took part in the interfaith climate walk and vigil, Footsteps: Faith for a Low-Carbon Future.
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Campaigns’ Digest
On Sunday 29th, we joined 50,000 other people for the largest ever UK climate march. We took our “Birmingham Says Change the System not the Climate” banner signed by the people of Birmingham, which attracted a lot of interest.
On 10th December, we teamed up with the Birmingham Cooperative Film Society for a showing of Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything, before heading over to Paris for the Climate Mobilisations with our signed banner.
Have a read of Matthew’s, Joy’s and Roxanne’s articles about all of these fantastic events for details!
Nature
We rounded off October with a great Halloween Harvest Festival in Digbeth Community Garden. This was attended by over 80 people, who had a great time celebrating urban nature with us. See Christina’s article for more details! We hope to be doing more nature stuff again in the spring.
Waste
Waste Isn’t Rubbish continues apace, with more stalls and the number of signatures mounting up. We’ve been talking to community groups around the city with lots showing their support for a zero waste Birmingham! We’ve also been
speaking to councillors about the campaign in an attempt to build cross-party support for a zero waste city.
I hear it’s the time of year for resolutions, so if you’re inspired by any of our actions and fancy supporting us, why not get involved in campaigning with us? Come along to one of our Monday meetings or get in touch via email - details are on page 23! Alternatively, if you don’t have much time, but would like to support us financially you can donate via local giving. Details on page 12.
Julien Pritchard
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Campaigns’ Digest (Continued from page 3)
On Saturday 10th October, as part of the Reclaim Power international day of action, members of Birmingham Friends of the Earth, accompanied by Birmingham Green Party and other campaign groups, led a funeral procession up New Street to the Council House on Victoria Square.
This raised awareness of how seven councils in the West Midlands have workers’ pension funds invested in large fossil fuel companies like BP and Shell, totalling at £355 million. This includes Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Solihull, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall.
Campaigners at the march carried a coffin draped in banners which read: “Divest Our Pensions” and “Death to Fossil Fuels” catching the attention of thousands of shoppers passing by. During the demonstration leaflets were distributed with information about the damaging impacts of using fossil fuels on the atmosphere, and how using sustainable energy can offer a solution to the threat of climate change. Specific to the issue of divestment, the leaflets handed out also explained why, as it becomes cheaper to use cleaner sources of energy, fossil fuels are becoming more of an unsustainable investment, ethically and financially.
Research shows that 80% of known fossil fuels need to be kept in the ground if we are to avoid irreversible and catastrophic levels of global warming. Therefore, it is imperative that the West Midlands should follow the example set by Oxford City Council and Bristol City Council and divest from fossil fuels.
On this issue, Kay Edwards of Divest West Midlands said:
“By divesting from fossil fuels West Midlands Pension Fund would be at once helping to protect our future and protecting pension holders from the risk of stranded assets.”
Similarly, our own Anne Randall added:
“Fossil fuels are not only yesterday’s source of energy, but also an outdated and risky investment. We need to be investing in the safe renewable energy sources of the
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Fossil Fuel Funeral
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Fossil Fuel Funeral (Continued from page 5)
future to help us tackle runaway climate change.”
To add to the simulation of a real funeral, rose petals were scattered along the road and flowers were held by “mourners” in the march. As the procession arrived at the Council House on Victoria Square, a headstone was placed beside the coffin which read “Here Lies Fossil Fuels, Remembered Solemnly, R.I.P. … NOT…”, and a eulogy for fossil fuels was read by a Birmingham Friends of the Earth campaigner
Once the funeral had finished, the
atmosphere of the gathering was lifted into a party, with confetti and bubbles blown into the air, as more passers by were encouraged to sign a petition. This was a great demonstration, and will hopefully show that the people of the West Midlands care about taking their money out of fossil fuels, joining a global mobilisation of local governments and businesses that has so far taken $2.6 trillion away from this industry.
Matthew Trickett
To Paris & Beyond - the Verdict
In mid-October, 50 local residents gathered together in Sutton Coldfield to consider the question: ‘How do we get fair and binding action on climate change?’. Jointly organised by EcoSutton, Equality West Midlands and Birmingham FOE, the event saw speeches from Mark Letcher of Operation Noah, Jamie Peters of Friends of the Earth and local MP Andrew Mitchell.
It’s fair to say that there were some contentious issues and lively exchanges of views on the panel and
plenty of interesting stuff said, but the best points of the night came from the audience. There were some really incisive questions, showing how deeply attendees cared about the issue and how well-informed they were. The inconsistencies of the government’s energy policy came under particular fire, one questioner naming the local energy providers that had fitted her solar panels, now out of business due to the reductions in Feed-in Tariffs.
One audience member brought home the moral imperative of the question with the potent example
of Malawi, where extreme floods washed away maize and livestock. Now there is a drought and the crops have failed, infertile sand has replaced the topsoil and there is famine in the country. Drawing on his experience as International Development secretary, Andrew Mitchell cited other examples of climate change exacerbating desperate situations in Darfur, Jamaica and Bangladesh.
The 16 and 17 year old members of the audience both spoke eloquently about the role of young people in demanding climate justice, and how there need to be more provision for climate education and more
opportunities for young people to influence decisions. Jamie Peters agreed, stating that education should teach children to be global citizens, not just a production line.
Summing up, the speakers were in agreement that climate change has to remain a top priority, and that the talks in Paris are not the end of the process. Thanks to everyone that made such valuable contributions to what turned out to be an inspirational night.
Thanks to Paula Simpson for invaluable notes from the night.
Roxanne Green
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On Saturday 31st October, Birmingham Friends of the Earth hosted their first ever Harvest Festival to celebrate nature and all that the autumn season has to offer before winter sets in. The halloween theme added a fun, vibrant aspect to the event.
It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon with a great turn out of people attending throughout. Digbeth Community Garden was turned into a spooky haven with pumpkins, bats, balloons and the odd spooky costume popping up.
There were plenty of activities on offer with pumpkin carving being one of the favourites. There were
also mushroom logs, seed bombs and garden tours to keep people busy.
The general public got a chance to see and hear a little of the history of the community garden, find out about Birmingham’s bat colonies and get some gardening tips too. For the younger ones, there was some spooky face painting and a fun nature trail around the garden.
To keep the chill off, a delicious three bean and tomato stew was on offer, provided by the award winning Warehouse Cafe. To drink, refreshing mint tea brewed with a variety of different kinds of fresh mint from the garden.
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Spookilicious Halloween Harvest
Birmingham Organic Gardeners provided a wonderful stall with some of their beautiful plants on offer. The Birmingham Real Junk Food Project were also along, providing some delicious hot vegetarian chilli and curry throughout the afternoon.
Everyone was in good spirits and it was great to see a good turnout of people, with over 80 people coming along, many of whom weren’t aware that Digbeth Community Garden existed.
It was a chance to learn about the history of the community garden and appreciate the charming
green space as a fully functioning garden hidden amongst its urban surroundings.
The event also gave attendees the chance to learn more about BFOE’s current Go Local campaign and get involved in spreading the message that ‘Nature is for everyone, everywhere’ with some great food, company and fun activities.
Don’t despair if you missed this one, as BFOE are sure to be launching more fun nature events in the new year!
Christina Nijjar
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Brum Labour Leadership ElectionIn the run up to the Birmingham City Council Labour leaderhip election on 23rd November, we wondered what a new leader might mean for the city and our current environmental campaigns. Could a change in leadership spark progress?
We selected five key issues on the Birmingham green agenda that we believe should be made a priority and asked each candidate where they stood on these issues. Mike Leddy, Penny Holbrook and Barry Henley took the time to reply, providing an interesting insight into
their stance on what we feel are Birmingham’s most pressing green issues. Unfortunately, there was no word from our winner John Clancy, who took the leadership by one vote and put Penny Holbrook in second place.
The zero waste aim
The current waste system in Birmingham is exactly that: wasteful. Henley and Leddy said they would not support the decommissioning of the Tyseley Incinerator, but would support significant waste reduction in
Birmingham through a strategy that includes a food waste collection service, community composting and infrastructure that makes it easier for everyone to recycle more types of waste from home.
Holbrook said that the implementation of a new food waste plan is a ‘key priority’. She believes we can transform our waste system and actually use it to support clean energy by finding ways to ‘localise food waste to produce electricity’.
If Clancy is in favour of the Tyseley Incinerator, it will make a zero waste city that much harder to achieve. If he expresses Holbrook’s progressive attitude towards alternative uses of waste, Birmingham’s wasteful waste system could be well on its way to transformation. Given Clancy’s desire to end council contracts with Capita and Amey, we hope that he will support the BFoE Waste Campaign for a strategy that ditches Veolia for waste disposal through local companies.
Fossil fuel divestment
Fossil fuel divestment has incredible potential but is only made possible with support from decision makers, so it was great to see that all three councillors would support the call for the West Midlands Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels.
Holbrook said that ‘at the end of the month, Cllr Lisa Trickett, Cabinet
Member for Sustainability, will meet with the Director of Investment on this issue’. Holbrook’s response suggests that things are in motion and we know that Clancy is very interested in using local government pension funds and investment in local economy. If he also supports the Divest West Midlands campaign for fossil fuel divestment, fellow decision makers in Sandwell, Walsall, Coventry and Dudley might follow his lead.
The Birmingham Pound
Birmingham has a vibrant and widespread community of independent businesses that would thrive on a complementary currency and local circulation of money. Holbrook was the only candidate to confirm that she would support the introduction of a Birmingham Pound, but in a promising response said that ‘supporting local investment and, just as importantly, the groups that are developing this proposal is essential’.
Support for a Birmingham Pound from Clancy could have a real impact on the city’s economy and its current and future independent traders. We hope that his support for local investment could mean a positive response to this proposal.
The cycle revolution
Cycling is a free, fast, healthy and sustainable way of travelling around
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Brum Leadership (Continued from page 9)
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the city. Henley confirmed that new routes are currently under discussion, for which there is ‘substantial funding’. Holbrook said that the existing infrastructure is ‘sustainable’ and that the council has ‘investment in models that will embed skills and cycling into the city for the years to come’. Leddy said that he would ‘continue with further development of cycle routes and partnership with CRT for canalside and riverside routes’.
The development of new and improved cycle routes in some areas of the city are currently being funded by central government, so we want to see John Clancy sustain the revolution by ensuring that cycle infrastructure continues to be improved and expanded across Birmingham in the future.
Air quality
The levels of air pollution in Birmingham are dangerous and unacceptable. Introducing a Low Emission Zone scheme across
the conurbation would be a really good way of improving air quality in the city. While Leddy said he might support the introduction of a Low Emission Zone, Henley and Holbrook both said they would. We want to see John Clancy support its introduction in Birmingham, and work with other leaders to implement a Low Emission Zone across the conurbation.
The future
Leddy and Henley both seem keen to support some improvements in our waste system and further developments in cycle infrastructure but, with the exception of fossil fuel divestment, fall short of full support for what we feel is really needed for a sustainable city. Holbrook trumped this survey with her dynamic stance on waste and support for a Birmingham Pound.
Clancy’s non-response to our survey and lack of promising environmental credentials might suggest that the Birmingham green agenda is not his top priority. What we can hope is that Clancy’s apparent lack of confidence in Bore’s leadership, his desire to cut contracts with Capita and Amey and his interest in local investment, may promise some support for a few of our environmental campaigns, with a greener future for Birmingham in sight.
Molly Luke
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Support Birmingham Friends of the EarthWe are the only organisation in Birmingham that campaigns on Air Quality, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Energy, Transport, Planning, Waste and Recycling.
You can help us to do this in a number of ways:
1) By taking part in our campaigns;
2) By joining us as a supporter;
3) Both.
Whichever route you decide, you are helping to change your environment for the better and making sure that those who pollute, monopolise or despoil locally, nationally, or internationally are held accountable.
What your gift could provide:
£10 To help campaign for cleaner air and a more sustainable transport system.
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On a cold and windy Saturday 28th November, intrepid campaigners from different West Midlands climate groups assembled at numerous locations across the conurbation for ‘Christmas Cards for Cameron’. This was one of many actions and marches as part of the Peoples Climate March weekend. We were aiming to engage people in our local areas about climate issues as well as add to the pressure for strong climate action.
Armed with Christmas cards large and small, we spoke to lots of people about the upcoming climate talks and the need for greater climate action from our own government. In total we got over 1,500 signatures on Christmas cards addressed to David Cameron across the eight locations of Birmingham City Centre, Dudley, Erdington,
Harborne, Kings Heath, Moseley, Stourbridge and Wolverhampton.
It was fantastic to have people from many groups across the conurbation working together and organising a very successful action, especially as this was organised in a relatively short amount of time. The groups involved have agreed to continue to work together as part of a nascent Climate Action West Midlands in the New Year. Hopefully we’ll see the West Midlands climate movement gain even more momentum in the New Year.
Julien Pritchard
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Christmas Cards for Cameron
On the evening of Saturday 28th November a well-attended interfaith climate change event, ‘Faiths for a Low Carbon Future’ took place. This was organised to bring all the religions of Birmingham together to push both UK and world governments to improve climate policies. The event began at the majestic St Martins Church in Birmingham City Centre at 7pm.
Well over a hundred people of many different religions and backgrounds attended. They walked and witnessed together. The walk started off in St Martins Church and ended at the Quaker Meeting Rooms on Bull Street.
During the service at the Meeting House, there were talks by the leaders of all the represented faiths
reading from their holy scriptures. All were in strong support of our common aim of reducing the world’s pollution and waste for the benefit of all. The important message behind this is that pollution and increased CO2 emissions will affect a massive range of people from different countries and of different religions. It is affecting us currently and will affect our future generations as we all live on this planet.
Sanjive Mahandru
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Faiths for a Low Carbon Future
Birmingham FOE march on London On Sunday the 29th November, people across the world marched, marking the eve of the climate conference to call for strong climate deals in Paris.
A small part of the 50,000 who descended onto the streets of London were Birmingham FoE campaigners, carrying placards and banners, which held messages,
slogans, and the signatures of other Birmingham citizens from across the city who were unable to attend.
Our banner read “Birmingham Says Change the System not the Climate” and attracted a lot of interest and attention throughout the march. Over 1500 people across the West Midlands had also signed giant Christmas cards for Cameron which
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called for strong climate action; these were later posted to Downing Street.
The event began and ended with speeches, poetry and song from some well-known figures (including Vivienne Westwood, Charlotte Church, Caroline Lucas and Jeremy Corbyn), but the consistent strength of the throng throughout the day showed that people had not turned up solely for the celebs.
As a first-time marcher, I was initially nervous about the size of the crowd (and the weight of my placard), but it was a peaceful, cheerful event and everyone seemed to be having a great time. We marched from Park Lane to the Houses of Parliament and even with strong winds and light showers the enthusiasm behind the cause was immense.
The support for a shift from fossil
fuels to renewables is evident globally, and is only growing with people’s awareness of climate issues. Having now experienced my first ever march, I am confident in saying that it will definitely not have been my last. In the area immediately around our small group there were representatives for WWF, Greenpeace, Tearfund, The Salvation Army, Oxfam, and The Woodland Trust, as well as many not officially associated with any particular group.
There were families, dogs, friends and strangers. People marched through London with placards representing a huge variety of worldviews, backgrounds and beliefs, but the common purpose and unity was clear to hear and see. Hopefully the politicians will eventually listen. And if they don’t, we’ll keep on mobilising and taking action.
Joy Aston
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In the Media
News, as the name suggests, needs to be new. Wait too long to get coverage of a story and media outlets won’t cover it because it’s no longer news. Equally, you can get a press release out as quick as possible, and the story gets stuck at any number of points between a journalist’s inbox and the newspaper, never to be seen again. Timing is everything.
Sometimes, however, you can get coverage faster than you can say: “our local media is too trivial/has delusions of grandeur/doesn’t care about green issues” (delete as appropriate). One such occasion was the launch of the Divest West Midland Pension Fund campaign.
On Friday 25th September, campaigners from the different groups involved came together to hand in letters to the pension fund committee calling on them to divest
from fossil fuels, as well as holding a banner and handing out leaflets outside.
No sooner had I got back to the office and sent out the press release with photos, than the article appeared on the Birmingham Post website. Getting coverage within a few hours of an action in the Birmingham Post is a bit of a record breaker, considering the next day or two is the usual.
Another example of relatively quick coverage was our reaction to the council’s plans to allow inedible food scraps into garden waste collection. Within 24 hours of sending the press release, I’d completed an interview on New Style Radio Community Radio Station. I talked briefly about the campaign, making the point that although it was good to see council responding to our asks, that this was not a strategic waste strategy!
It wasn’t just about fast proactive coverage. Back in September, as we went to press for the last issue, I spoke on BBC West Midlands on planning and greenbelt developments, within a couple of hours of being called.
With Waste isn’t Rubbish ramping up again, hopefully we’ll have more opportunities for quick coverage. Although I, for one, won’t mind if coverage takes an hour a week. Julien Pritchard
Thursday 10th December was a special day, being the Birmingham premiere of the Naomi Klein film This Changes Everything.
We’ve wanted to show this film for a couple months, so were over the moon when Birmingham Cooperative Film Society members chose the film for their December screening. The timing was perfect, the day before the (scheduled!) end of the climate talks and before we were travelling out to Paris for the mobilisations.
The film, by best-selling author of No Logo, Shock Doctrine and the This Changes Everything book, asks: What if confronting the climate crisis was the best opportunity we have for a better world? Shot over 211 days in 9 countries, it shows seven powerful portraits of communities on the front line of tackling a changing climate. Interwoven within the film is a chance to transform our failed economic system into something radically better.
Lots of promotion before the event meant a good attendance, with the room pretty much full for a 7pm start. The film was as fantastically inspiring as hoped, with a spotlight shone on communities fighting frontline climate battles in Greece, Canada, China and India. Their actions and successes were an inspiration that we can fight this, tackling the climate crisis and bringing about the better world that
we all want to see.
After the film, we showcased our own environmental movement by organising quick-fire presentations from campaigners involved in various groups and projects across the West Midlands.
We then got a fantastic solidarity picture with attendees - “Birmingham Says Change the System not the Climate” - and encouraged people to sign it before I took it to Paris the next day.
As I listened to representatives of the eight groups or networks we showcased, and watched as people enthusiastically signed the banner, I was reminded how much the movement in the West Midlands has grown with the impetus of the Paris talks. I was also hopeful and reassured that campaigning would continue into next year on what was always a road through Paris. I’m inspired and confident about our movement having a great 2016 here in the West Midlands.
Julien Pritchard
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This Changes Everything
The final weekend saw activists from across the world standing shoulder to shoulder to have the last word on climate justice, after two weeks of talks that were never going to deliver the sort of ambition that justice and humanity demands. A vast coalition had spent the last two years meticulously planning a mass mobilisation – and then the last four weeks completely replanning and renegotiating the entire thing. Events took over, as they do, and with Paris under a state of emergency it fell to us all to prove how creative and resilient our movement could be.
The mass demonstration planned for Saturday 12th was banned but we found other ways to make our voices heard. We spelled out the words ‘Climate Justice Peace’ across Paris using geolocation technology. We held hands together and formed a dizzyingly long human chain underneath the Eiffel Tower. In an act of defiance against the restrictive climate of fear to which Parisians were subjected, we flooded onto the streets and drew red lines to symbolise what cannot be crossed.
Joining together with many from the Friends of the Earth international family in celebration on Friday
night, the energy in the room was electrifying. I was proud that twelve people from Birmingham FOE made the journey over, and also saw so many old friends from across Europe joining together.
The point about those days in Paris was never about influencing the outcome of COP 21 – it was about being together and realising how strong the climate justice movement is. The conversations throughout the weekend were all about what happens next, how we scale up, how we deliver on the promise of what we began in Paris. 2016 is going to be a year of hard-fought battles, but with the energy that we created together, it feels like we are unstoppable.
Roxanne Green
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Mobilising in Paris (Continued from front cover)
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Brum’s Big Polluter
The 2015 Paris climate talks known as COP21 have drawn to a close, where negotiators agreed upon a deal that will hopefully reduce global carbon emissions and aim to limit global warming to 1.5C.
Here in our own city, Birmingham Friends of the Earth is urging Birmingham City Council to completely transform their waste strategy and decommission the Tyseley Incinerator which burns the city’s waste. The incinerator is the single biggest emitter of Carbon Dioxide in the city and closing it would reduce emissions by 323,000 tonnes a year.
As the Paris agreement will almost certainly not deliver the international action we need, it’s particularly important we do all we can locally to tackle climate change. The majority of Birmingham’s Carbon Dioxide emissions can be attributed to three main factors: poor insulation and a lack of green energy in homes and buildings; our unsustainable transport system; and the way our waste is handled.
While there are a number of ways to deal with road traffic emissions, they will take a while to significantly affect the city’s total carbon output. Likewise, transforming the way homes and buildings in Birmingham are heated and implementing green energy systems will be an unavoidably slow process. That is why Birmingham Friends of the Earth see the council’s review of its waste strategy as a top priority for tackling the city’s carbon emissions.
The incinerator is only 20% efficient, generating just 3% of the energy needed for Birmingham’s homes. If that weren’t enough, burning rubbish produces 300 tonnes of nitrogen oxides a year, greenhouse gases that are 300 times more powerful than CO2.
Birmingham City Council must act now. The end of their contract with Veolia is approaching in 2019 and this presents a vital opportunity to significantly reduce our city’s carbon footprint.
Birmingham’s current carbon emissions pose a threat to the health of its residents and make a large contribution to the UK’s global carbon impact. By ditching the incinerator to reuse, recycle, and produce energy via biodegradable waste, Birmingham would be one big step towards being a Zero Carbon city.
Molly Luke
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It’s always nice when the building ties in with the campaigns that we are running. This month we get to feature a new device that complements our Waste Isn’t Rubbish campaign. We already have high rates of recycling and composting for our physical waste, but until now we haven’t been able to recycle our heat.
This all changed when we installed our Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery system in December. Before we installed it, we had to let a lot of our heat escape out of the toilet extractors to comply with building regulations. We also had a meeting room with a few damp
issues that needed addressing.
Now, we can extract 90% of the heat from the smelly air that comes out of the loos and put it into the fresh air going into the meeting room. This should mean we have fresher air, less damp problems and lower bills. Triple win.
Phil Burrows
Warehouse News - Recycling Heat
Julien Pritchard interviews Faustine Ladeiro
How long have you been involved with BFoE?
I started volunteering in the summer.
How did you first find out about BFoE and what made you decide to get involved?
I’d visited the Warehouse Café a couple of times and wanted to learn more about Birmingham Friends of the Earth, so I did what anyone under the age of forty would have done – I googled it. I was so impressed by all the work BFoE have done over the years that I decided to become a part of it.
What do you do at BFoE?
Over the summer, I was working on building a network of local supporters for our waste campaign, but I have since taken a step back and will now work behind the scenes, editing this very newsletter.
What do you think is the most important environmental issue and why?
The industrial production of meat/dairy for human consumption is one of the top contributors to some of the most serious global environmental problems, and the one I am most passionate about.
Industrial agriculture and livestock raising are responsible for 80% of deforestation and 70% of freshwater use! They also produce over half of all greenhouse gas emissions across the world.
What’s your best green tip/advice?
Don’t be defeated if it sometimes feels like you’re the only one of your friends or family trying to make a change on the world – find a group of like-minded people and get involved!
(Also, stop eating meat.)
Volunteer Spotlight
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Diary
Campaign Meetings - Mondays 7.30pm4th January: General Meeting
11th January: Action Meeting - Waste
18th January: Training Meeting - Meeting
25th January: Action Meeting - Year Ahead
1st February: General Meeting
8th February: Action Meeting (TBC)
15th February: Action Meeting (TBC)
22nd February: Action Meeting (TBC)
1st March: General Meeting
8th March: Action Meeting (TBC)
15th March: Action Meeting (TBC)
22nd March: Action Meeting (TBC)
29th March: Action Meeting (TBC)
Other Events30th January: Climate Rising Event - London
31st January: Birmingham Friends of the Earth Pub Quiz - Anchor Pub
20th February: Friends of the
Earth Regional Gathering - BMI
Farmers’ MarketsBirmingham University: 4th Wednesday of the month 9am-2pm
Harborne: 2nd Saturday of the month 9am-2pm
Kings Heath: 1st Saturday of the month 9am-3:30pm
Kings Norton: 2nd Saturday of the month 9am-2pm
Moseley: 4th Saturday of the month 9am-3pm
New Street: 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month 10am-4pm
Solihull: 1st Friday of the month 9am-5pm
Sutton Coldfield: 2nd Friday of the month 9am-3pm
Jewellery Quarter: 3rd Saturday of the month 10am-3pm
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Contacts
Contact us:Friends of the Earth (Birmingham) The Warehouse 54-57 Allison Street Birmingham B5 5TH
