I was interested to see in the
last Newsletter that ‘Onlooker’ is back with us, together with his
sometimes controversial, but always trenchant views. The suggestion
that local FOE members could join National FOE is
of course valid, but surely all serious supporters should be national
members anyway, for at least four cogent reasons:
1.
FOE has long since moved beyond the
relatively narrow field of nature conservation, and now embraces
the whole concept of sustainability and the ultimate survival of
the planet (as does WWF in particular) and works closely with, supporting
or leading, such organisations as Greenpeace, Transport 2000,
CPRE, RSPB and similar in both campaigning and research.
2.
FOE’s national campaigns only become
effective when backed by the deluges of letters or postcards from
thousands of local members. Remember the 1 : 200 rule - for every
one letter which an MP receives in which the writer is complaining
or campaigning. He/she reckons that ten others would write similarly
if they had the time, and for each of these there are twenty more
who would hold similar views if they were aware of the concerns
expressed. Industrial/commercial companies probably are aware of
the same ratios, and are frightened of loss of business and profits
when shamed of bad eco-practices.
3.
The
quarterly magazine, ‘Earth Matters’, provides key points
in punchy paragraphs to use directly or adapt when writing to your
MP or company chairman, usually including indisputable research
results, even sometimes the government’s own!
It is also packed with useful information on the progress
of campaigns, and facts and figures to confound the often-inaccurate reports in the media generally.
4.
There
is a valuable four-page centre pull-out for children, labelled ‘Kids
Matters’, which parents (or grandparents!) can at least discuss
with the young generation, and hopefully school staff at the PTA
or the governors’ meetings to take in as further information or
teaching aids for relevant subjects on a regular basis, as the information
will be right up to date.
Here are some examples of letter campaigns, initiated or
robustly supported by FOE and its members:
1. Three Private Members’ Bills:
a) to
end fuel poverty
b) mandatory levels of recycled content of newspapers
and magazines
c) official targets for
organic farming
2. Warning the Prime
Minister that proving British support (Export Credit Guarantees)
to the British Contractors of the Ilisu Dam in Turkey will seriously
discredit his ‘ethical’ foreign policy. (Massive dams were shown
years ago to be very damaging to the ecology, to agriculture in vast areas both up and downstream, and ultimately uneconomic overall.
Even the World Bank stopped funding them years ago).
3. Congratulating John Prescott in his decision to designate the South
Downs and New Forest as National Parks. This will provide much stronger
protection against building, inappropriate agriculture, and general
desecration of natural habitats and the local ecosystem generally.
(It is good politics to congratulate Ministers when they do what
we want).
4. There are two dangerous flawed clauses in the Freedom of Information
Bill, which could easily result in greater, instead of less,
restriction, which FOE and others are fighting vigorously.
They are reminiscent of ‘Yes Minister’ - Civil Servants attempting
to hide their motives and errors, by reducing public accountability.
(All the above are from the Spring 2000 edition of ‘Earth Matters’).
5. Writing to your local manager or supermarket head office to set
a date by when all animal feed used by their suppliers will be GM-free.
The British Medical Association has issued a health warning
on the use of an antibiotic resistant marker gene.
6. Demanding reduction or abolition of VAT on domestic insulation
and draught proofing. The French have done it, despite government
claims that EU law prevents it.
7. Local Authorities are now required
to purchase products which offer
the ‘best value’ rather than ‘cheapest option’. FOE has written
to all local authorities, asking them to ensure that they specify
reclaimed, locally produced, or FSC certified wood and wood products.
Topics features in
the Winter 1999 edition have included
The World Trade Organisation
(WTO), Toxic land and deliberate mass-polluters.
The WTO is a rapacious ogre
in Mother Theresa clothing - an organisation of supra-national companies
dedicated to the domination of all trade and production, governments
and resources, to their benefit
Natural Capitalism is a revolutionary
concept where the Toxic land and deliberate pollution by chemical
companies is of course nothing new. Probably the most famous example
to date was in the town of Niagra (near the famous Falls) on a estate
named the Love Canal, where chemical discharges were causing mysterious
birth defects and fatal illnesses. This incident happened over 15
years ago, but companies such as ICI are still discharging
chemicals. In 1999, they paid out under £400,000 in fines for causing
pollution - a mere 0.15% of their profits. This sort of scandal
will only change when the costs of clean-ups are charged in full
to the culprits, and non-reversible pollution assessed by a completely
independent organisation, and at least 10% of that fine going to
environmental projects.
There is a great deal to be done
- but together we can do it!
Peter Nuttall
--- 