Press Release: Green Xmas

Press Release (immediate)

How to have Green Christmas

Local Green Party campaigners have put together a list of suggestions in order to have a Merry Christmas which doesn’t cost the earth. Many environmentalists are becoming much more wary of how their actions contribute to global warming.

Christmas Dinner:
Turkeys can’t fly very far but some have travelled a staggering 30,000 miles to get to dinner tables in this country! Shasha Khan commented, “It is important that shoppers look at labels on the food they purchase and choose the local option. European fowl and African vegetables can be forsaken for home farmed produce. Also try and support local shopkeepers.”

Presents:
UK households already owe £1 trillion in debt. Thousands of people risk pushing themselves even deeper into the red. Bob Steel said, “Why not try purchasing gifts from a charity shop or giving Secret Santa presents. If you do end up with unwanted presents why not sell or pass them on using web sites or second hand shops.”

Cards and wrapping paper:
Each year, 200,000 trees are cut down to supply the UK’s 1.7 billion Christmas Cards and enough wrapping paper is used to wrap the whole of the London Borough of Sutton. In view of such massive quantities, it important that as much as possible is recycled or reused.

Christmas tree:
Each year over 6 million trees end up in land fill sites. It is possible to save money and resources by using a tree with roots that can be reused. Shasha Khan added, “You can enjoy watching it grow all year round.”

Ends

Letter sent to local paper

11.12.06

Dear Editor

There are a several things that one can associate with the season of goodwill and the dawn of a new year: Christmas trees, the exchanging of presents, the queens speech, the NYE party and the inflation busting rail fare increase (Train fares leaping ahead of inflation rate yet again, December 06). Commuters using trains operated by Southern will continue to pay through the nose to travel like sardines. Some may be priced off the railways altogether. At a time when the governments Stern Report predicts catastrophic consequences if urgent action is not taken to reduce carbon emissions; greater use of budget airlines and higher levels of congestion on the roads will only increase pollution.
It is painfully obvious that a railway system that is privately owned is a tragedy for the commuter and the climate.

Yours sincerely

Shasha Khan
Sutton and Croydon Green Party

December Meeting

The next meeting of the Sutton and Croydon Green Party will be on Tuesday 12th December at 8pm at the Centre for Environmental Initiatives Carshalton, map here.
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Tags sutton, greenparty

Borough’s on an emission mission

Link

Local press coverage

Letter to Sutton Guardian- Apple festival in Carshalton

Dear Editor

How much I agree with Mrs Nash who wrote in to praise the English Apple festival at Country Harvest greengrocers, Carshalton in lasts week’s issue. It’s such a refreshing change to have genuine local produce, variety, taste and difference in our midst, as well as supporting the beleaguered English apple grower. This initiative trumps the farmers’ markets where sadly much of the food on offer isn’t really all that local.

Although some supermarkets are slowly responding to consumer demand for variety, the fact is that supermarkets have stitched up food producers over many years with unreasonable demands on size, appearance and cost, and are largely responsible for the dismal situation today where nearly all our apples are the same two or three types, and almost all imported. This is the economics of the madhouse of course, and is replicated across pretty much the whole food industry. So let’s strike a blow for tasty local produce free of a massive food miles footprint by supporting the remaining independent shops like Country Harvest.

Sincerely

Bob Steel

Chair, Sutton & Croydon Green Party

November Meeting

The next meeting of the Sutton and Croydon Green Party will be on Tuesday 14th November at 8pm at the Centre for Environmental Initiatives Carshalton, map here.

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Tags sutton,croydon, greenparty

Press release climate change march

Press Release – Climate Change March.

Members of the Sutton and Croydon Green Party joined thousands of others in the biggest climate change rally in the UK on 4th November. Local Greens joined other campaigners outside the US Embassy to listen to speakers, including Green MEP Dr Caroline Lucus. She commented that: “Failure to act to tackle climate change is costing lives – and threatens the
very future of human civilisation as we know it”.

Campaigners carrying banners and placards then marched from the US Embassy to Trafalgar Square, where they joined thousands of others who had congregated for more speeches and a concert. Performers included Razorlight and KT Tunstall.
Local spokesperson Shasha Khan said, “The Stern report has made it clearer than ever that we need urgent global action if we are to prevent the worst impacts of devastating climate change. All around the world national governments are spending too much time highlighting the failings of other national governments in combating global warming. What we need is governments, national and local, to become part of the solution and not part of the problem.” Ends.

Climate Change March

Brussels visit

link

Brussels trip for Green party man
The treasurer of the Sutton and Croydon Green Party, Shasha Khan, visited Brussels to meet with London's Green MEP Jean Lambert.

The meeting earlier this month tackled issues such as air quality and the use of household chemicals.

Mr Khan said: "Despite being based in Brussels and Strasbourg, London's Green MEP has been at the forefront of defending the rights and welfare of the people of Sutton."

continued...
Ms Lambert recently opposed a European Parliament report that sought to loosen restrictions on EU air quality standards.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) calculates that air pollution reduces the life of the average European by 8.6 months.

EU plans to cut pollution by 2010 should on average save 2.3 months of life for each European.

On the use of household chemicals, Ms Lambert pushed forward the REACH directive, the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals, which was adopted this October.

The REACH directive gives consumers increased access to information about the ingredients of household products as well as ensuring that the most toxic chemicals are replaced with safer alternatives.

Safety testing involving animal experiments have also been scrapped.

Carbon emissions

Comment made to Sutton Guardian in response to the Liberal Democrats claim that on carbon emissions, only they have "put forward firm plans to help is change our behaviour".

"For the Liberal Democrats to claim that they are the only party to "put forward firm plans" is laughable.

Sir Nicholas Stern's report, commissioned by The Chancellor of The Exchequer, reveals the apocalyptic cost of global warming if the issue is not tackled within a decade.

Since it's formation in 1973, when it was called the Ecology Party, the Green Party has continuously offered policy solutions to this impending global catastrophe, through its Manifesto for a Sustainable Society. The other parties, including the Liberal Democrats, are living in cloud cuckoo land if they think taxation is the only way to combat climate change. Yes, taxation is useful tool in tackling climate change but it must be used alongside regulation, legislation and public investment.

In the last General Election the Green Party's policy was, and still is, to abolish VAT and replace it with less environmentally damaging green taxes. VAT is a regressive tax which does not take into account the environmental impact of goods and services. However, taxation alone cannot reduce the UK's ecological footprint - legislation must be used, too. In Germany, the government has passed a law which guarantees a higher rate for commercial and domestic suppliers of renewable power. The result has been a boom in wind and solar power in that country. "

Green Party Party

Fundraiser for the Sutton and Croydon Green Party

Green Party Party

28th October 8pm – 2am

Please come along to our Green Party fundraiser at The Cartoon, 179/183 London Road, Croydon. Entry £7 on the door. Bands taking part are

Alex Lato - currently on course for £1.5 million record deal www.alexlato.com

Unloaded - Lead singer formerly an artist on Poodle Records www.unloaded.info

Deb Espace with David - X Factor contestant and has also appeared on Trisha.
www.myspace.com/debespace

Tim Eveleigh - Well known local artist and promoter www.evinsol.co.uk
Simon Chauke and friends - African music style. Played last years gig. www.myspace.com/timbamusic

Simon & Keith - Played their debut gig at last years Green Party Party. Now with a band.

Plush Baby - welcome return - played last years gig http://www.myspace.com/pwushbaby



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Tags croydon, greenparty

October Meeting

The next meeting of the Sutton and Croydon Green Party will be on Tuesday 10th October at 8pm at the Centre for Environmental Initiatives Carshalton, map here.

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Tags sutton,croydon, greenparty

Environmental Fair Report

The day was a bit windy and occasionally very wet, but in the end went very well, with around twice the funds raised from last year, a large number of signatures collected against nuclear power, and all the fun of the Rhinocycle.

Environmental Fair

Please come and support our Green Party stall at this year's Environmental Fair, on Monday 28 August in Carshalton Park, Ruskin Road, Carshalton.

We need people to help man our stall throughout the day – just an hour if you can? Please bring any small items suitable for sale (books, films, music, whatever)
and ideally some home-made cake for our Fair Trade tea & coffee stall.

August Meeting

Our next meeting will be in Croydon.

Upstairs at the Green Dragon Pub.

Thursday 17th August at 7.30pm.


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Tags Sutton, greenparty

NATIONAL EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION

On Saturday 5 August there will be a national emergency demonstration in London calling for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza, the end of Israel's attacks and the end of Tony Blair's support for George Bush's wars. Dozens of coaches have already been booked to bring protestors to London. Everyone who is outraged by the barbarism we are witnessing in Lebanon and Gaza should support this demonstration.

NATIONAL EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION
END ISRAEL'S WAR ON LEBANON AND GAZA
SATURDAY 5 AUGUST: ASSEMBLE 12 NOON
SPEAKERS CORNER, HYDE PARK
(Nearest tube Marble Arch)
MARCH TO PALIAMENT SQUARE FOR RALLY

Darren Johnson will be the Green Party speaker on the platform.

The Green Party meeting point details are as follows.

Meet from 11.30 inside Hyde Park, Park Lane side, roughly where it says
'Brook Gate' on this map:



further info
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Tags war, greenparty

Hiroshima day event

Karen & Ashok (they of the Barn in festival walk, Carshalton) are hosting a Hiroshima day remembrance event on August 6th on Carshalton pond.

This is similar to previous events – meet at the Barn at 3.30 for 4pm launch on the pond (opposite Greyhound pub)

All Greens warmly invited.

Rob

The Next Meeting of the Sutton and Croydon Green Party

The next meeting of the Sutton and Croydon Green Party will be on Tuesday 11th July at 8pm at the Centre for Environmental Initiatives Carshalton, map here.

Police should prevent crime, instead of picking on cyclists

Responding to yesterday’s High Court victory by bicycle protestors over the police, Jenny Jones, member of the Metropolitan Police Authority and Green Party member of the London Assembly, said:

“This decision is a victory for common sense. Critical Mass is a lively, but peaceful get-together of cyclists which has been going on for over a decade without any major incidents. Arresting these cyclists would have been like arresting a group of passengers for gathering at Westminster tube station during the rush hour. The police should stick to catching criminals instead of picking on cyclists. Tomorrow, shall be asking the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police not to appeal the decision.”

The Judgement

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Tags criticalmass, greenparty, cycling, police

"Thousands of voters were 'swindled' in local elections"

Thousands of voters were 'swindled' in local elections, says watchdog By Andy McSmith Published: 15 June 2006

Hundreds of thousands of voters who turned out at last month's council elections were "swindled" by a system that put control of a dozen councils in the hands of the "wrong" party because of a mismatch between votes cast and who got elected.

That was the claim made yesterday by the Electoral Reform Society, which published a 110-page booklet called "The Great Local Vote Swindle" , analysing the election results. Its analysis shows that the Conservatives " won" the contest in Kingston upon Thames, with 41 per cent of the vote, but it left them with only 21 council seats.

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A big loser was the Green Party, which won more than one fifth of all the votes cast in Hackney, but ended up with only one councillor out of a total of 57.

The Great Local Vote Swindle

The Society's full report on the 2006 local elections is out now.


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Tags sutton, greenparty, electoralreform, votes, democracy

Next Meeting

The Next meeting of the Sutton and Croydon Green Party will be on the 13th June at 8pm at the Centre for Environmental Initiatives Carshalton, map here.

Environmental Fair

Please come and support our Green Party stall at this year's Environmental Fair, on Monday 28 August in Carshalton Park, Ruskin Road, Carshalton.

We need helpers, items to sell to fundraise, and any ideas to make the stall more fun (and profitable!). As last year, we hope to be selling Fair Trade tea and coffee, organic cakes, etc. It's always a great day out.

Election Success

Sutton Green Party pushed Labour into fourth place or joint third in the council seats fought in Sutton.

Results here.