CAMBRIDGE FRIENDS OF THE EARTH NEWSLETTER

May 2020

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Welcome to Cambridge Friends of the Earth's first Online Newsletter!

In this and later newsletters we'll be telling you about local, national and international issues, what Friends of the Earth is doing about them and what you can do to get involved.

Our hearts go out to everyone affected by COVID-19, to all family, friends and loved ones. In this time of global crisis, it is heartening to see communities coming together to support each other.

Here's Craig Bennett, outgoing Chief Executive of Friends of the Earth, CEO Designate of The Wildlife Trusts and described as one of the country’s top environmental campaigners on Leigh Chamber's Cambridge 105 Radio show, giving an update on the global climate and ecological crisis, what the UK and Cambridge can do to help and how tackling these issues can also prevent the spread of the Coronavirus and prevent a similar virus emerging again in the future.

For some, working from home is possible during the current crisis. If that’s you, click here for the top Green Tips for working from home as recommended by Cambridge University.

Recent Activities

Talks and Meetings

Cambridge Friends of the Earth are often invited to send a representative to an event or asked if we can provide a speaker for a discussion? Where possible we like to oblige so we were delighted to be receive 2 very exciting invitations for February this year. The first was from St. Mary’s Junior School in Cambridge whose Head Teacher, Mr O’Reilly, asked us if we’d be able to visit the school to participate in their Climate Change week particularly the Climate Change Conference on the last day of the week. We gave a short presentation at the start of the week on Monday 10th February at the assembly and assisted with the day’s activity on Friday 14th where the girls were joined by pupils from St.Alban’s Catholic Primary School, a mixed school. The activity was based on a World Wide Fund for Nature Lesson Presentation. We had a great day learning a lot from the pupils too.

Our second invitation was to go to Cottenham Church on 28th February for ‘The Love Concert’ by TyrannoChorus, where our only tasks were to enjoy the concert, have a drink and a delicious snack in the interval, say a few words in the second half and agree to receiving a donation afterwards. We were absolutely bowled over by the wonderful time we had there.
The TyrannoChorus, is a group made up of 5 choirs singing together, the youngest singer present being 4 and the eldest 80 plus. All the songs were about love and were beautifully sung.
The highlight for me was the world premiere of a new piece for the youngest choir members to sing ‘Now is One of those Moments – Song for Greta’ written by Tim Lihoreau, pianist/arranger for the choir. These youngest singers, TongueTwisters, sang lyrics made up of quotes by Greta and were accompanied by the adult singers. One of these adults approached us in the interval to tell us he’d been one of the original members of Cambridge FoE which seemed very fitting.
Here's TyranaChorus's Facebook Page

Recent Campaigning

Waste Incineration

Cambridge Friends of the Earth continues to contribute to the the campaign against the proposed Waste Incinerator at Waterbeach, north of Cambridge.

Following an initial refusal of permission from South Cambridgeshire District Council, the company hoping to build the incinerator, AMEY, took the application to appeal.
An Appeal Hearing was held October/November 2019 to which we, Cambridge Without Incineration (CBWIN) and other local residents presented eviidence about the potential harm this development could cause, both to local residents, the environment and recycling targets.

Have a look at website of The United Kingdom Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) for more information on the issue of waste incineration.

Oxford to Cambridge Expressway

Cambridge FoE joined the No Expressway Alliance to camapign against the proposed Oxford to Cambridge Expresway and associated development along the route. The campaign seems to have a had a real effect as the planned road appears to be out of favour with the current government.

Details can be found here: https://www.noexpresswayalliance.org

Nuclear Power and Renewables

Members of Cambridge Friends of the Earth continue to contribute to both the Department of Business Environment and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)/NGO and Office of the Nuclear Regulator (ONR/NGO Forums, putting the case against nuclear power.

COVID 19

Since all that activity the world has changed dramatically and we’re now at home for 99% of the time.

However, there have been some benefits to the way we’ve been forced to react to the coronavirus. One of these is air quality which has improved dramatically since people are being advised to only go out when absolutely essential. The lack of flights has also had a very dramatic impact on air quality.

Air Quality and COVID-19

Unforunately, the converse of this is that a study has found that air pollution is linked to far higher COVID-19 deaths.

LOCAL ISSUES

Mill Road Trainwash

GTR, Network Rail, and Greater Anglia want to build a huge industrial trainwash behind Great Eastern Street, Cambridge, in the middle of the Mill Road Conservation Area.

It will be 33m long x 9m high x 7m wide, operate 24/7/365 (main hours 18:00-06:00, peak times from 23:00-06:00). It will block sun, cause noise and vibration, and pollute our environment.
Due to its size and location, it may end up being a primary washing point for trains in East Anglia – just 25m behind homes.

Save Cambridge’s Joint Area Committee

Sign the Petition
Cambridgeshire County Council has published a proposal to abolish the Cambridge Joint Area Committee (CJAC) by July 2020. This will mean that Cambridge residents’ interests in local transport matters will no longer be represented by Local Councillors, and they will find it very much more difficult to attend and observe meetings where decisions about their neighbourhoods are made.
This Committee has a central role in deciding on many local transport matters, such as cycling schemes; pedestrian crossings; parking, waiting and loading restrictions; traffic calming; residents’ parking schemes and charges; vehicle access and weight restrictions; dockless bikes; and electric vehicle charging points. The committee comprises councillors from Cambridge City Council as well as the county. It has existed for over 20 years, and its meetings are well attended.
Under the new proposals, local transport matters will in future be decided by County Council officers or a new Highways and Transport committee which, from next year, will meet in new offices in Alconbury (24 miles from Cambridge). Decisions will be made by a majority of people who do not live in Cambridge, and may have little experience or understanding of the city.
In other parts of the county, town and parish councils provide a forum for detailed consideration of Local Highway Improvement proposals, Traffic Regulation Orders and other local transport schemes. Without CJAC, there will be no equivalent forum in Cambridge. This is not about special favours for Cambridge; it’s about ensuring that local matters are decided locally.
There is also a proposal for the county council to withdraw from the Joint Development Control Committee for Cambridge Fringes (JDCC). This committee plays a critically important role in ensuring that building and transport planning decisions are made in a co-ordinated way. This is especially true given the huge challenges ahead to build more homes and support more jobs much more sustainably than now.

Please:
Sign the petition and share the link with family, friends, neighbours and colleagues.
And
Consider writing to your county councillor about why CJAC and JDCC are important for local democracy and decision-making. You may want to copy in the chair of the Constitution and Ethics Committee, Cllr Lis Every (lis.every@cambridgeshire.gov.uk) and the leader of the county council, Cllr Steve Count (steve.count@cambridgeshire.gov.uk).

Climate Change

Good News!

Cambridgeshire County Council Plans for 29MW Solar Development

Oxford University Passes Motion Banning Investment in Fossil Fuels
As Extinction Rebellion Cambridge say: Cambridge, What's Your Excuse?? :
" We were delighted to read the news this morning: Oxford University has (finally) announced that it will divest from fossil fuels. Although, disappointingly, many individual colleges retain their investments in this industry, this is a great step for the University of Oxford on the long path to a responsible position in an environmentally just world.
We send our appreciation to all those who have campaigned tirelessly for this change at Oxford, but to the University of Cambridge, we ask: what's your excuse?"

Cambridge Zero Carbon Society's Facebook Page

NATIONAL ISSUES

Footpaths

Time is ticking for our historic rights of way. Any pre-1949 footpaths, bridleways or byways that are not recorded on the legal definitive map by 2026 may be lost forever. In the year 2000, the Labour government introduced a clause to the right to roam legislation, stating that any pre-1949 rights of way must be recorded by 2026 (which may be extended to 2031) to continue to carry public rights. Following this, many councils, rambling societies and Natural England have embarked upon projects to restore and register any historic public rights of way which are not yet shown on the definitive map, which may result in this process intensifying as the deadline approaches.
Useful Links on this Issue:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/25/countdown-begins-to-prevent-loss-of-thousands-of-footpaths-and-alleyways

https://www.oss.org.uk/need-to-know-more/information-hub/applications-to-record-public-paths-after-twenty-years-use/

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-plans-to-simplify-recording-rights-of-way

https://www.groundsure.com/resources/a-change-in-direction-for-historic-rights-of-way/

Bees

https://friendsoftheearth.uk/bees

We have a huge opportunity to save bees from killer pesticides.
Right now European governments and the EU are rethinking how dangerous pesticides get approved. Together, we could persuade them to support much higher standards, that outlaw bee-harming pesticides.

No problem?? BUT, pesticide manufacturers Bayer and Dow’s lobbyists are doing all they can to keep their harmful chemicals on Europe’s fields.

Sign the SumofUs petition now and tell EU governments to make pesticide testing bee-friendly

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

One thing which hasn’t stopped during the global pandemic though is illegal logging. Deforestation has increased in the Brazilian Amazon by 30% in March according to government data:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-environment/illegal-loggers-uncowed-by-coronavirus-as-deforestation-rises-in-brazil-idUSKCN21S1I1

Meanwhile a new study shows deforestation increases the likelihood viruses and other pathogens will jump from wild animals to humans.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/climate/animals-humans-virus-covid.html

After Donald Trump deleted many of the pages related to Climate Change on the US Environmental Protection Agency's website, the City of Chicago put the deleted pages back up on it's own website: https://climatechange.chicago.gov/

AND FINALLY

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