FoE Cardiff news - Summer 2010

Tue 17th Aug 10 — Heather

Upcoming Events

  • Cardiff Friends of the Earth AGM - 18th September 2010

Please come along and help shape our campaigns and activities for the next year. All supporters are welcome to attend and contribute to the discussions. Only paid-up members will be allowed to vote.

We will be discussing these and other campaign ideas at our Annual General Meeting on Saturday 18 September, from 11am – 4pm, in the Friends of the Earth Cymru office, 33, Castle Arcade Balcony, CF10 1BY.

  • Fix the Food Chain Day of Action - 9th October 2010
  • Cardiff FoE stall at Cardiff Freshers Fayre - 28th September
  • Local Group meetings are held on the 1st Wednesday of each month at Y Tair Pluen, St John Street, Cardiff from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

Contents:

Group Update

- Food Campaign - Fix the Food Chain

- Incinerator

- Get Serious about CO2

What's up in Cardiff

- Pont-y-werin bridge opens

- Cardiff solar company pioneering green solutions

- Anaerobic Digestion boost

Group Update

Food campaign - Fix the Food Chain

Cardiff FoE has been actively involved in the national Fix the Food Chain campaign which aims to change the way that meat and dairy is produced in the UK. At present, vast swathes of land are being cleared for soy plantations (a key ingredient in animal feed) causing deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions and the loss of valuable wildlife habitat.

Cardiff Friends of the Earth initiated the Cardiff Food Alliance - the joining together of local groups interested in sustainable food production - and organised a hugely successful 'fix the food chain' month in April. This involved:

  • a food fight using food rejected by the supermarkets
  • a screening of the film Food Inc at the Hungry Planet wholefoods shop
  • a pre-election hustings in Cardiff North to quiz candidates on food and sustainability and
  • a local meal at The Canteen.

      • To highlight the amount of food wasted in the city, the Alliance organised a friendly food fight using waste food from retailers around Cardiff.

      The campaign took a massive step forward with the introduction of a new meat and dairy Bill in Parliament which will aim to reduce British meat and dairy factory farms' dependence on animal feed grown in South America. We are now asking people to 'Join the MOOvement' in campaigning to ensure that MP's attend the second reading of the Bill on the 12 November 2010 and sign EDM 367.

      On Saturday 9 October we will be organising a Day of Action with some fun events and actions to highlight the problems the food chain and urging local MPs to support the campaign. The Food Alliance are hoping to arrange a picnic collecting food that would go to waste and getting talented chefs to cook it up into a tasty feast for all.

      Incinerator

      Cardiff FoE were shocked by Cardiff council's decision to grant planning permission to Viridor for an over-sized incinerator in Splott. The planning application was a second attempt by Viridor after a successful campaign against and the rejection of the first application in July 2009. Despite the second application being almost identical and suffering from the same problems; the council saw fit to allow it. Cardiff Friends of the Earth were especially annoyed as we were told by a planning officer on the phone that it was not going to be heard at the meeting and so did not attend. As a result, our reasons for opposing the plans including voices of local opposition were not heard. We appealed to the Assembly Government to call in the application; however, the Environment Minister decided not to do this.

      In order to operate the incinerator, Viridor require an environmental permit from the Environment Agency and in a draft decision, the Agency have announced that they are minded to grant the permits. Cardiff Friends of the Earth have joined local campaigners in several meetings and protests to urge them to change their minds and refuse the permits. We believe that the draft decision is deeply flawed as it is based on outdated and incomplete information.

      The UK-WIN (UK Without Incineration Network) recently announced that due to increasing recycling rates, British councils may have to import or divert waste from recycling in order to fulfill incinerator contracts in the future. Join the campaign and help us to stop the incinerator in Splott becoming another over-sized, polluting environmental disaster.

      Please write to the Environment Agency as soon as possible to voice your concerns over their decision.

      Get Serious about CO2

      Councils have a big say in UK climate emissions - from how we heat and fuel our homes to how we get around. The Get Serious About CO2 campaign is calling for every council to do its bit to tackle climate change. Cardiff Friends of the Earth will be supporting this campaign over the coming months as we believe that if Cardiff council got serious about climate change it would:

      • boost the local economy
      • create green jobs
      • slash your fuel bills

      Earlier this year, Cardiff council took the unprecedented move of withdrawing its Local Development Plan (LDP) following criticism of its key elements. Following this, the council is now embarking on writing a new strategy for Cardiff for the city's future to 2026. The final plan will impact on all future policies and developments in Cardiff's built and natural environment. We are hoping to be able to consult on this process and help form a sustainable strategy for the city.

      What's up in Cardiff

      Some interesting and encouraging news from Cardiff:

      • Pont-y-Werin Bridge opens - the cycle and pedestrian bridge linking Cardiff and Penarth was finally opened on the 14th July 2010. Although the route opens up a great 10.5km Cardiff Bay loop; residents in the Vale of Glamorgan are still concerned about the lack of adequate, safe access from the centre of Penarth and beyond.
      • Cardiff solar company pioneering green solutions - G24 Innovations, a Cardiff a solar cell manufacturer based in Wentloog, are working with Ecotricity to install a wind turbine at their plant. The turbine should be running in November and will apparently be the first in the world to produce energy on-site to be used to make renewable energy.
      • Anaerobic Digestion Boost - construction has started on one of Wales' first commercial anaerobic digestion plants. Once completed, the facility should convert 10,000 tonnes per year of food waste and turn it into energy. We believe that anaerobic digestion is a much greener solution to waste than incineration.