Friends of the Earth Cardiff Cyfeillion y Ddaear Caerdydd

Friends of the Earth successes

2005

The Big Ask campaign motivated over 100,000 people to ask their MP to support a new Climate Change Bill. Over half of all Westminster MPs, from all political parties, signed a parliamentary petition in support of year-on-year cuts of climate change gasses. The Government was forced to include the Bill in the Queen’s Speech in November 2006.

2003

The Household Waste and Recycling Bill became law just two years after Friends of the Earth drafted it. As a result, every council in England must collect at least two recyclable materials from every household by 2010, cutting down on landfill.

2002

A £41 million boycott of Indonesian timber and other products started by Friends of the Earth leads to Indonesia agreeing to stop illegal logging.

The National Assembly adopted a target to produce 30 percent of energy used in Wales from renewable energy by 2010 after a campaign run by Friends of the Earth Cymru.

2001

Friends of the Earth pressurise construction company Balfour Beatty to abandon construction of the Illisu Dam on the River Tigris in Turkey. The dam would have flooded 15 historic towns, 52 villages and displaced 78,000 Kurdish people. Cardiff Friends of the Earth co-organises a rally in Bala.

Cardiff Friends of the Earth organised a week-long Organic Food Festival.

High street retailers, including Boots and Marks & Spencer, pledge to phase out risky chemicals in products they sell to millions of people after a campaign by Friends of the Earth.

2000

Cardiff Friends of the Earth supports Friends of the Earth Cymru's GM Free Wales campaign, which leads to the Assembly unanimously voting in favour of a restrictive GM policy for Wales.

The EU promises to ban the pesticide Lindane in 2001. Friends of the Earth had successfully urged the British Government to vote for this. Lindane affects the central nervous system of humans and can cause of breast cancer. It has also been linked to blood disorders.

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act protects wildlife areas across England and Wales from destructive road and building plans becomes law. This follows 20 years of hard campaigning by Friends of the Earth and other people passionate about Wildlife. The law protects Sites of Special Scientific Interest which are often home to threatened people.

1999

The Vale of Glamorgan Council was forced to abandon plans to build a duel carriageway road through the Wenvoe Valley to Cardiff Airport after protests from Cardiff Friends of the Earth, Barry Friends of the Earth and local residents.

After a public enquiry, a planning application for an extension to the Marks and Spencer store at Culverhouse Cross was rejected by the Planning Inspector. Unfortunately this decision was later overturned by the National Assembly’s Planning Committee.

1998

The Road Traffic Reduction Act becomes law after successful campaigning by Friends of the Earth and others. This stops the road building boom of the past decade by setting a 10 percent traffic reduction target for councils in England and Wales.

Friends of the Earth’s Warm Homes Bill becomes law. About 30,000 people die prematurely because they cannot afford to heat their homes.

The Chancellor cut VAT on some energy-saving materials, such as loft insulation, from 17.5 percent to five percent. This was the result of a long-running Friends of the Earth campaign.

A Bill to close a loophole in the Building Regulations became law. The amount of energy each house uses to stay warm was supplied by the builders to councils, but not to house buyers. This made it impossible for buyers to chose the most energy-efficient home.

Cardiff County Council designated Green Belts between Cardiff and Newport, and Cardiff and Caerphilly after a long-running campaign by Cardiff Friends of the Earth and other organisations.

1996

The European Community took the British Government to court over pesticides in drinking water; eight years after Friends of the Earth started campaigning on pesticides.

1995

The Government announced it was ending it’s subsidies to nuclear power and that no more nuclear power stations would be built after a long-running campaign against nuclear power by Friends of the Earth.

1994

The Planning Inspector removed the Wentloog – St Mellons Link Road and the Ely Spur Road from the Cardiff City Local Plan. The amount of land earmarked for housing and businesses was also reduced. This followed evidence given by Cardiff Friends of the Earth at the Public Enquiry.

1993

Plans for the Eastern Approach Road were dropped from the Cardiff City Local Plan following campaigning by Cardiff Friends of the Earth.

Cardiff City Council makes a concessions on a number of issues in the Cardiff City Local Plan after a Cardiff Friends of the Earth gave evidence at the Public Enquiry.

1992

Cardiff City Council proposed to axe the green bag recycling scheme to save money. After a Cardiff Friends of the Earth campaign, the scheme was saved and expanded.

1990

The Government abandons its 3.5 billion pound road building plan for London after sustained campaigning by Friends of the Earth and other groups.

1989

The Government abandoned plans to privatise nature reserves after campaigning by Friends of the Earth.

Two heavily used pesticides, Dieldrin and Aldrin are banned by the Government after a long-running campaign by Friends of the Earth. They affect the central nervous system in humans and animals. It accumulates in the body of animals and fish and is passed along the food chain.

1988

Friends of the Earth launched the first campaign to stop Climate Change.

1987

McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken stopped using CFC-blown cartons after a campaign by Friends of the Earth and other groups. CFC was one of the main gasses destroying the ozone layer which protects the Earth from cancer-causing rays.

Dangerous pesticide, Tributyltin, is banned after sustained campaigning by Friends of the Earth. It is a hormone disruptor and causes reproductive disorders and cancer in humans. It is also extremely toxic to aquatic life.

1986

Four planned nuclear waste dump sites were scrapped by the Government after campaigning by Friends of the Earth and other groups.

Two harmful pesticides, Cyhexatin and Dinoseb were banned after campaigning by Friends of the Earth. Cyhexatin is toxic to humans. It causes cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, affects the brain. It is also toxic to aquatic creatures. Dinoseb causes reduced body and thyroid weight, male fertility problems and thickening of the intestinal lining in humans. It is also toxic to birds and fish.

1982

Friends of the Earth gets a Europe-wide ban on all whale products. Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and WWF start a campaign that leads to a 10 year international ban on commercial Whaling.

1976

The Endangered Species Act which was drafted by Friends of the Earth becomes law. This slows down the rate at which endangered species become extinct.

1974

Friends of the Earth succeeds in getting higher insulation standards under health and safety law.

1971

Friends of the Earth launches in the UK. Campaigners left 1,500 non-returnable bottles outside the Schweppes Headquarters to highlight the need for recycling.