Havant FOE Newsletter - April 2021

Elections on 6th May

South East Climate Alliance have produced useful pledge cards which Havant Climate Alliance is sending to candidates. You can see the card and the linked resources here: https://seclimatealliance.uk/abcdpledge/

If you are meeting any candidates, FOE Climate Action have put loads of resources on their website
The Slow Fashion Revolution Monday 26th April at 7:30pm

Email: [email protected] for the link.

Anne Sayer of Planet Aware and HCA will be talking about how we can change our relationship with clothes.

In our consumer society, bombarded with adverts., we accumulate crazy amounts of clothes.  But it doesn’t make us any happier. More stuff just adds to our stress levels.  And the planet is suffering from “too much stuff syndrome” too.

The COP26 Coalition have planned 4 days of free online talks from 22nd-25th April. It’s definitely worth taking a look. https://cop26coalition.org/global-gathering/
JOIN THE UK’S BIGGEST EVER CALL FOR ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

From 18th-26th September we are joining with other members of The Climate Coalition to organise the Great Big Green Week – a huge call for action on climate change before the key climate talks in November. And we need you to help us make it the greatest, biggest, greenest week of action the UK has ever seen!

There will be national events like large concerts but the idea is also to have lots of local events like open days at wildlife projects, bike rides, open gardens, fairs. So we’re inviting people like you to host events and activities to raise the profile of climate change and how it is impacting the people and places we love right here in the UK and across the world.

Together we will show our communities, local decision makers and the UK government that it’s time to step up. Find out more and sign up at greatbiggreenweek.com

NB it’s Global Car Free Day on 22nd September…maybe something to link in with activities for the Great Big Green Week!
HOW CAN THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT BE ANTI-RACIST? 

Friends of the Earth  YouTube series brings you live chats with experts tackling climate hot topics. In a recent episode, activists Mikaela Loach and Shaira Begum joined us to unpack climate as a social and racial justice issue. You can watch this conversation and catch up on all episodes in the series on our YouTube channel.

The link for the Climate and Anti-Racism talk is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAvYncc9EDc
FOE has also released an emergency plan for green jobs for young people which they hope will help us to make the case for green jobs locally.

The plan provides detailed analysis of the impacts of early unemployment – a young person unemployed for one year can lose up to £133,000 in earnings over the next 20 years. It calls for 250,000 Green Apprenticeships to address the climate and youth unemployment crises, and it spells out the co-benefits of green jobs.
Don’t forget that Havant Climate Alliance meets via Zoom most Wednesdays. The next meeting is on Wednesday 21st at 8pm (later than usual because we have arranged a training session at the start. After that, Wed 5th May at 7 pm. Contact [email protected] if you’d like the details

Find out more on the website. https://havantclimatealliance.wordpress.com/ or  follow on Facebook or Twitter: @HavClimate.
Peat bogs are rare ecosystems – wild areas which are home to a wealth of plants, birds and insects. They also store three times more carbon than a forest. Digging out peat for use in garden compost is environmental vandalism. So could all you keen gardeners stop friends and relatives from buying it and tell garden centres to stop selling it. https://www.forpeatssake.org.uk/
The new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is a harmful piece of legislation, posing a serious threat to some of our most fundamental rights, criminalising the lifestyle of nomadic Gypsy and Traveller communities and limiting access to nature.

FOE and Havant Climate alliance have signed letters of protest but let’s get lots more individual signatures. https://act.friendsoftheearth.uk/petition/add-your-name-defend-right-protest
Waste of Space campaign – The Wildlife Trust have a new tool for identifying little spaces across Hampshire that are wasted space and could be homes for plants, trees, creating links in nature corridors.
You may have heard that Pfizer are pulling out of Havant and have moved their distribution centre to Belgium. Developers have submitted a Planning Application (APP/21/00200) for a “last mile” storage and distribution warehouse/depot on the site.

They do not name which firm will be operating the depot. While we have made a case for good insulation, solar panels and increased biodiversity around the new building, a lot of concerns remain about the traffic impact on Havant and the roads around it.

Havant Civic Society have been conducting a forensic examination of the paperwork available so far and here are their conclusions:

There will be approximately 2,500 movements per day of HGVs and LGVs through and around Havant. While it is proposed that some of the LGVs will be electric, many other vehicles will be diesel powered.

The “last mile delivery” reference is misleading. Only about 5% of traffic will be delivering to Havant with 95% delivering around Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey.  Two thirds of this traffic will be at peak times.

This operation will be unlikely to create new jobs in Havant. 150 employed by Pfizer will be made redundant and the developers talk of this site being a consolidation of other smaller sites with no-one being made redundant. Therefore, it is likely that they will be bringing employees with them from other depots. This may generate additional lengthy journeys for these employees to reach their work.

You can see more information on the Havant Civic Society website: https://havantcivicsociety.uk

There are a lot of objections on the Council Planning website, and we will need to raise a Deputation when this finally goes to the Planning Committee.
LEAP (Local Energy Advice Partnership) can provide energy saving advice to vulnerable residents across Portsmouth and the surrounding areas (PO1-PO13).

This is a FREE home visit service that offers advice, free small energy saving measures, and access to further funding for loft and cavity wall insulation. To book a free home visit Call: (0800) 060 7567 (free phone)
Save Our South Coast Alliance  https://www.sosca.org.uk/ Have a look at the very useful website– lots of useful information and something we all care about.
Other upcoming events
15th April – 7.30 pm Let Doughnut Economics change your world – many of you will have heard of the work of pioneering economist Kate Raworth and her theory of doughnut economics.

In this webinar Kate explains clearly and visually how we can make change happen and how it is starting to happen in Yorkshire.

Dorking Climate Emergency have been inspired by the webinar and are really keen to share it widely.  So they are putting on two special showings followed by a Q&A session.
Find out more here
Hampshire Climate Action Network’s next meeting is on Saturday 17th April from 10.00am to 12.30pm If you’d like the link and agenda, please contact [email protected]
Global Dimension, which is a huge database of resources for schools on global issues is launching a new campaign at 5pm. on 21st April.

The campaign will feature a series of short films– following the lives of five young people who, over the next five years, each play a role in rebooting the future.

These films were inspired by a book written by Jonathon Porritt, which will be included as a resource, alongside a set of teaching guides

https://globaldimension.org.uk/campaigns/how-will-you-reboot-the-future/
Wednesday 21st April 7.30pm, online. Ocean Witness Watch Part

Greenpeace’s documentary series about oceans and aspects of its protection. For details and to register (free) visit their website
Thursday 22nd April – The Economics of Biodiversity: Conversations on the Dasgupta Review – to celebrate this year’s Earth Day, United Nations Association Climate & Oceans are launching their first Biodiversity and Climate Emergency Lab, a series of events being held in the run up to COP26.

The main questions they will address are: What should the UK Government do about this? What should Local Authorities do about this? What can we all do at local level?This online cafe-style conversation will focus on the key messages of the Dasgupta Review.  Their guest speaker will be Catherine Weetman, author, Circular Economy expert and founder of Rethink Global.

Starts at 7pm.  Book a ticket here.
1.5 v 2 Degrees Centigrades Celsius: Why Half a Degree Really Counts -Tuesday 29th April at 7.30pm

Join this Science Museum talk where campaigners and experts will debate how best to tackle the challenge of Earth’s rising temperature.
April 11th, 2021 | Category: Havant FOE Newsletters | Comments are closed