A news article on Camden’s website Camden Council slams government’s bid to cut solar feed-in-tariffs states:

The FiT currently guarantees an income to installers of solar electricity panels and is instrumental in supporting low carbon growth in Camden.

As well as cutting FiT rates, the government’s latest review makes two other controversial proposals: firstly it proposes to bring forward the cuts to a date prior to the close of the consultation and secondly it further reduces rates to organisations that install more than one solar system.

Camden challenged both of these proposals through the consultation process and made its submission on 20 December 2011.

Over 200 councils, businesses, organisations and MPs nationwide, have signed up to support our Final Demand joint statement. Signatories include Cllr Sean Birch, Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Transport, together with a number of other Camden councillors and representatives of local community groups and businesses in Camden. The statement asks the Government to urgently rethink its proposed changes to solar energy policies, specifically, the cut to the feed-in tariff. Read the full statement here.

Sign our Final Demand petition

Over 100 people in Camden have also signed our Final Demand petition, asking David Cameron

• To launch an independent public inquiry into the Big Six’s power over consumers and influence over politicians.
• Not to axe support for clean British energy produced by communities, councils, business and householders.

The Big Six energy companies make billions in profits each year and the Government is letting them get away with it.
If you haven’t already please sign the petition online and join the 20,000+ people nationwide who’ve already signed.

The author and environmental activist John Stewart will be speaking on the impact everyday noise can have on us and what we can or should be doing about it.

Is noise the most neglected green issue of our age? Find out about noise as a social, cultural, environmental and health issue and how we can act to build a more peaceful world.

View and download the poster for the event here.
For more details please email camdenfoe@gmail.com

Professor Frank Kelly (King’s College) started the summit on the impacts of air pollution. With 29,000 death per year in the UK, this kills more than road collisions! more than alcoholism! Note that for each of those victims, pollution is causing the loss of 11 years of life on average. He talked in great details of some of the most harmful pollutants: the particulate matters (PM) emitted by diesel vehicles. PM10 are six times thinner than a hair, and yet very harmful. One of the most alarming issue is their effect on the development of children’s lung. For more resources, please refer to comeap.org.uk

Isabel Dedring (Deputy Mayor for Transport) helped us identify the sources of PM10 and NOx. On the one hand, PM10 is a typically transport related pollution, with enormous contributions from the black cabs and from ‘tyre & brake wear’. On the other hand, NOx is a more complex issue, to which traffic but also gas boilers contribute to a great extent. When asked by a conservative councillor why the Mayor didn’t do more to reduce congestion, she pointed out that quicker journey times would generate more demand for car travel. We were happily surprised by this wise position.

Lewis Merdler (Environmental Protection UK) encouraged us to follow the @HealthyAirUK campaign: healthyair.org.uk

Simon Birkett (Clean Air in London, @CleanAirLondon) pointed out that the Environment Audit Committee, in their latest report [link to the EAC report] is talking of a ‘national scandal’ caused by the inaction of the government on air quality. On Euston road, a stone’s throw away from the Council Chamber, the average level of NO2 is three times the legal limit. Already 40 Germany cities have implemented low emission zones (LEZ). What are we waiting for? And are we protected indoors? He recommends us to check if our offices’ ventilation system comply with the EN 13779 standard.

Roger Madelin, developper of the new land behind Kings Cross, has given an enthusiastic talk of which we can remember two points:

- Euston Road has had its capacity severely reduced over months during the rebuild of St Pancras Station around 2004: the road network system didn’t collapse, traffic levels through the area simply dropped! That’s a lesson to learn for decision makers contemplating a reallocation of road space!

- His developments will rely on a heat network, hence preventing the use of individual boilers and reducing NOx emissions.

Lucinda Turner (TfL) was presenting the range of policies which TfL is implementing. In particular, TfL is campaigning for motorists to turn off their engines as soon as they plan stopping for more than 1 minute, which is allegedly the environmental threshold beyond which savings can be made. She also acknowledges that electric vehicles are not ideal considering that they cause congestion, severance… [+ collisions and obesity, which we would add to her words]

Many thanks to Cllr Paul Braithwaite and Cllr Sean Birch for their leadership in organising this meeting. The speaker’s presentations, but also the complete video of the event, have now been uploaded to the Camden Council website

Did you know?
7% of the world’s population produce 50% of the world’s emissions
7% of the world’s emissions are produced by 50% of the world’s population

“David Cameron” even joined us on the march! Photos below.

Couldn’t join the march but still want to take action? Find climate change campaign actions on the Friends of the Earth website.

Over the last 10 years London has made real advances in getting people out of their cars and into cycling.

Despite many more cyclists on the road there are clearly concerns about whether Transport for London is taking the increasing cycle safety needs seriously.

We were really pleased to see that Councillor Paul Braithwaite had brought a motion to Camden Council on tackling known dangerous hotspots and junctions. This is essential to reassure cyclists, in particular women, they are welcome on the roads.

We’d also like to see more initiatives that encourage cycling, including extending London’s cycle hire scheme into new areas.

The Twenty’s Plenty campaign to roll out more 20mph zones would do a great deal to make neighbourhoods nicer to live in as well as making a significant reduction in road deaths.

If we want more parents to feel confident to send their kids off to school by foot or bike, for example, we need to cut the speed of the traffic they are expected to negotiate.

Susan Poupard
Camden Friends of the Earth

The council’s Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Transport, Cllr Sean Birch, has assured us that “Camden has been lobbying and working with TfL and the Camden Cycling Campaign to identify the key areas in Camden that are of a danger to cyclists and pedestrians. Our whole transport strategy is geared towards road safety and the encouragement of sustainable forms of transport.” And that the council “will continue to work with TfL and lobby when necessary to make our streets as safe and welcoming as they can be for cyclists and pedestrians.”

We look forward to seeing appropriate action being taken by Camden Council and TfL to address known dangerous junctions and roads. We also support Camden’s current proposal to change its contractual conditions to include Freight Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) accredited operators.

See the London Cycling Campaign Camden for more on action needed to make our streets safer.

Camden council are creating a Green Camden resource to help people who live in Camden to be more eco friendly and to take environmental action. Join our workshop with the Camden Sustainability team on Tuesday to help feed into and develop ideas for this resource.

When - 7pm on Tuesday 8 November
Where - the Pirate Castle, Oval Rd, NW1 7EA

If you’re interested in joining the workshop please email camdenfoe@gmail.com so we know how much space we need. All are welcome (you don’t need to have been to a Camden FoE meeting before)

A photo and short article on page 2 detail the activities at the Belsize green fair and our treasure hunt.

The article says:

Camden Friends of the Earth hosted an eco-friendly treasure hunt across the borough.

Enthusiastic treasure seekers used only sustainable transport to hunt out clues, beginning at Camden Market and ending at the urban farm festival.

Photo: Camden treasure hunters Rosa and Ashley with trail organiser Natasha Clayton, of Camden Friends of the Earth

Click the images to view the article in full.

Want to try out the treasure trail for yourself?

If you’d like to try out the treasure trail in your own time, you can download the Camden up Close Treasure Trail directions (pdf).

The Earthmover Awards celebrate successes of the last year and recognise and reward the inspirational and innovative campaigning of local groups. The Judged Awards which includes the Outreach award are assessed by a panel of judges in advance of Conference. Camden FoE was given the award for a combination of our successful Energy Bill public meeting in March and our very popular pop-up freegan vegan banquet last October.

There are over 200 local Friends of the Earth groups across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, running some great campaigns and putting on inspiring events. As you can imagine we were really pleased to win the Earthmover award, especially as there were so many other deserving winners!

Thanks to everyone who took part - it was a great day and lovely weather for it - we hope you enjoyed exploring Camden as much as we did!

• You can now view the full Camden up Close Treasure Trail directions (pdf) to download and explore Camden at your leisure!
• Check the treasure trail answers 24/09/2011: Treasure hunt questions & answers (pdf)
• See photos taken on the route: Facebook photo album

If you have any photos to add or comments on the trail please email us!

* * * *

On Saturday 24 September Camden Friends of the Earth will host a treasure hunt using sustainable transport to explore Camden.

• discover unique local shops, cafes and pubs
• experience different forms of public or active transport
• explore key sights and hidden green places
• follow clues to collect ‘treasure’ along the way

The treasure trail will start at Camden Lock and will end at the Belsize Green Fair, near Belsize Park tube station. It will take about 2 hours.

All are welcome to join in on the day!

To take part, pick up your treasure trail map and instructions from our stall at Camden Lock, outside Lock 17, between 10am and 12 noon on Saturday 24 September.

All treasure trail participants will be entered into a prize draw to win a £25 voucher for the New Internationalist shop and a stack of goodies from Bulldog natural skin care.

To keep updated on this event you can sign up to our Facebook event.

View the treasure trail poster below or download the PDF poster:

For more info email us at camdenfoe@gmail.com

This event is organised as part of the 350.org Moving Planet day of action.

Renewables case studies: researchers, interviewers, photographers and writers

For our Big Energy Conversation campaign we’re looking to create some case studies of local Camden businesses and other organisations that either use renewable energy or work with renewable energy. We’re looking for volunteers to research examples of local businesses that we can interview, to help interview businesses, to take photos and to write up case studies.

Treasure hunt helpers

We’re planning a public transport treasure hunt to take place on Saturday 24th September to mark 350.org’s global day of action. The event will be an opportunity for people to explore a few different areas of Camden using public or active transport to get around and will end at the Belsize Green Fair. We need volunteers to help plan the route, write some clues, and test out the treasure hunt!

Want to help?

If you’re interested in any of the above we’d love to hear from you!
Email Susan at camdenfoe@gmail.com or come along to our next meeting, Tues 2 August, 7pm at the Pirate Castle to find out how you can get involved (please note our August meeting starts at 7pm - half an hour earlier than usual!).