September 2009 Archives

Have you seen The Age of Stupid yet? The film stars Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: "Why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?"

I don't think it has as much to do with stupidity as with selfishness - I would be interested to know what you think. Check the Age of Stupid website for screenings near you, or how you can organise a screening in your neighbourhood yourself.

The Avaaz Wake-Up call, that I mentioned last week, was a bit low key in Birmingham. I felt a bit conspicuous as the only grey haired person amongst a large group of young Oxfam volunteers. However, overall, the event was a great success: there were more than 2,600 events in 135 countries. Gordon Brown became the first major world leader to agree to the demand to attend the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, where he will press for a fair and effective climate agreement.

In a phone call to a demonstrator in Parliament Square, Gordon Brown acknowledged that organised pressure from the public does make a difference, and "...what people think is impossible can become possible".

The next date for our diaries is December 5th, when Stop Climate Chaos has organised a human wave of support in London, for action on climate change, before the UN climate summit in Copenhagen. Transport information can be found on the Wave website.

Some of you will know about this already but, in case you are undecided about participating, I hope that you will think seriously about it.

131 countries have planned 2,146 events and there will be 219 events in the UK. If none of them are near you, or you can't attend for any reason, you can still send a message of support which will be registered.

Thousands of people across the world are getting together in groups for a great global climate wake up call on Monday 21st September.

If you have a few minutes to spare Monday lunchtime in Birmingham, come along to Victoria Square with a mobile phone and alarm clock and show your support for an 'ambitious, fair and binding global treaty that will stop climate catastrophe'.

Further details on the Avaaz website for Birmingham and for the UK and the rest of the world.

Information about vehicles and fuel technologies, which could deliver an 80-90 per cent reduction in vehicle emissions, will be presented by Professor Julia King at a Lunar Society lecture at Aston University on Thursday September 17th.

Birmingham, the motor city of the past, could revitalise a key sector of the city's economy by leading in the design and manufacture of new low-carbon cars.

Birmingham Airport hit the local news headlines this week, when an Airbus A380 arrived from Dubai. The C0₂ emissions from this aircraft are claimed to be less than the emissions from British trains, per kilometre travelled.

Low-carbon cars, and three storey aircraft, may satisfy politicians as a way of achieving C0₂ reductions, and gain profits for businesses, but are they a sustainable solution for travel in the twenty-first century? Will our great-grand-children be able to drive to work from leafy suburbs and be able to fly to Dubai, to have exotic holidays on unspoilt beaches?

Electric cars, and three storey aircraft, have a lower impact on scarce resources, and lower emissions to speed up global warming, than fossil fuel cars and Concorde, but are they really a sustainable solution?

The Government's Planning Policy Guidance PPG13, back in 1994, advocated that we should be trying to reduce the need for travel.

If you have not yet watched the film "Wake up, freak out, then get a grip." I recommend that you take a 12 minute break now.

The most pressing action this week, to help south Birmingham residents to achieve "lighter footprints", is to send a letter to Centro about providing railway stations at Balsall Heath, Moseley, Kings Heath and Stirchley along the existing 'Camp Hill line', which need to be connected to Moor Street station using a new curve. I wrote about this in early August and, just in case you thought "Yes, I should write a letter", and have not written one yet, this is a timely reminder.

The Centro draft 'Rail Development Plan' is open to public consultation until 11th September 2009 - so please act by next Friday.

More details of how to ask for the project to be brought forward as soon as possible are on the Friends of the Earth's website.

Please check this out today and pass this message on to as many people as you can.

Friends of the Earth issued a press release today and I hope that you will read the story in newspapers soon. Just in case the full text is not published, it was as follows:

Huge Backing for Local Stations

Campaigners asking for the re-opening of local stations In South Birmingham say that the number of letters going to public transport planning body Centro will provide incontrovertible proof of the demand for local rail services.

With all the pressure being put on rail providers and politicians, local people are hoping they will soon be celebrating a new chapter for rail in Birmingham.