During the Olympic Games in 2012 two lanes of the Euston Road are going to be closed to normal traffic and reserved for Olympic vehicles, a bit like the Zil limousine lanes for communist bureaucrats during the time of the Soviet Union.
At first it sounds like the Olympic lanes will create chaos, but maybe, just maybe, they're a tremendous opportunity. How about this for a radical Olympic legacy for Camden - how about turning those two Olympic lanes into cycle lanes either side of a tree-lined walkway? The bikes can be directed back into the main traffic flow at junctions using advanced stop boxes (bike boxes). 
This is an idea that came to Green Party councillor for Highgate, Cllr Maya de Souza, and I after we heard Roger Madelin of the Kings Cross developer Argent, speaking at the recent Camden Air Quality Summit. He pointed out that when the Channel Tunnel work was being done a few years ago, and the Euston Road went down to two lanes, people got used to the delays or simply stopped using the road.
Afterwards Cllr Maya de Souza and I had a combined 'eureka' moment - what if we don't turn those Olympic lanes back into normal traffic lanes, what if we use this as an opportunity to green one of the most polluted and dangerous thoroughfares in London?
So that's our challenge to the Mayor. Give Camden a real Olympic legacy. Turn those Olympic lanes into cycle lanes and a tree-lined walkway. Let's green the Euston Road.
If you live or work near the Euston Road, or if you travel through it regularly by foot or by bike, then please get in touch if you support this idea.
So Michael Welbank, the Chairman of the Hampstead Heath Management Committee and Member of the Corporation of London's Court of Common Council, thinks the Green Party should be "one the Corporation's biggest supporters" (“The city and corporation”, Camden New Journal, 17 November). Well, we're not. Far from it. We see no reason for the City of London to be governed differently to any other part of the UK.
Elections to the Corporation are not conducted like normal elections. There are no parties or programmes to vote for – only shadowy individuals. In no local authority in the country do businesses get a vote unless their owners are also residents. The 34,000 business voters in the City far exceed the 9,000 residential voters. To qualify for a business vote you need to be a sole trader or a partner in an unlimited partnership, or you need to be appointed by a City business or organisation. To quote George Monbiot - it is a “plutocracy, pure and simple”.
It’s hard to take Michael Welbank seriously when he claims that the Corporation takes reform seriously. It managed to wriggle its way out of democratic renewal in 1835, 1894, 1963 and, most outrageously in 1969, when the rights of businesses to vote in local elections was abolished everywhere in the country except in the City of London. And the 2002 reform of which Mr Welbank speaks so highly dramatically increased the business vote. The Corporation is also the only “local authority” in the country that is not accountable to Parliament. Not very democratic all that.
As for recycling – Mr Welbank, you should be ashamed to claim that the Corporation is any good at it. You only have to go to Hampstead Heath on a beautiful day to see rubbish bins all over the Heath piled high with waste that could mostly be recycled. I and others have tried to persuade the Corporation to stop using polluting diesel vehicles on the Heath. Not so long ago the Corporation proposed building a new road through the bottom of the Heath. Not very green all that.
So no, we’re not the Corporation’s biggest supporters. We want the City of London to be run by a normal council operating under the normal laws of the land, and Hampstead Heath to be a public park run by the local council so that local residents can have a say over what happens there.
The Corporation of London is one of the most significant private lobbying groups in the UK. It is an old boys' network that is almost impossible to join. And it presides over a Square Mile of gambling, excessive risk taking, profiteering, tax evasion and law evasion. Like the Chair of the Financial Services Authority, Lord Adair Turner, we see little social value in most of what the City of London does, and even less in its lobbying arm, the Corporation of London.
So let’s recycle the Corporation of London – recycle it into a democratic local authority which is subject to the law like the rest of us. And whilst we're at it let's begin the business of cleaning up the City of London and recycle all those gamblers, profiteers and spivs into more useful members of society.
Green Party Leader, Caroline Lucas MP, has condemned the coalition government for failing to tackle fuel poverty effectively.
She said: "It is completely unacceptable that millions of people across the UK are still struggling to keep their homes warm and protect their families from the cold - with excess winter deaths reaching 25,000, increasing by 38% during the cold snap last December."
Caroline went on to say: "If the Government is serious about eradicating fuel poverty by 2016, it must radically improve housing standards, curb the power of the big energy companies to charge what they like, and put in place measures to help fuel-poor households."
Please contact the Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99 if you need advice on how to stay warm this winter. Or Camden and Islington's Energy Efficiency Helpline on 0800 80 17 38 or via email - energy.advice@islington.gov.uk. And, if you live in a draughty Victorian building, then why not sign up for a Transition Belsize Draught Busting Workshop.
Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London, has called on the European Commission to investigate whether the UK government’s proposal to drastically slash the Solar Feed-in-Tariff will weaken the UK’s ability to meet legally binding EU targets on renewable energy.
Under the Renewable Energy Directive 2009, the UK is required to source 15 per cent of energy needs from renewable sources, including biomass, hydro, wind and solar power by 2020. The government’s plan to cut Solar Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) payments by more than half will see the payments for electricity generated by solar energy fall from 43p per Kwh to just 21p – a move which will dramatically undermine solar pv installation and capacity and weaken the UK’s capability to meet its 2020 target.
Alarmed by the Government’s unexpected proposal to cut the tariff from 12 December 2011 and at the devastating impact the decision could have on job creation in the renewable sector, carbon savings and fuel poverty, Jean has tabled a Priority Question to the Commission which asks them to scrutinise the effect of the cut on the UK’s ability to meet its obligations under the Directive and to set out what proceedings will be taken if the Government should fail to meet the 15 per cent target.
Jean said: “The solar feed-in tariff has been very successful in helping homeowners, community groups, local authorities and businesses to realise and harness the benefits of solar power. In fact, since the scheme was introduced in April 2010, it has seen some 100,000 solar installations, the creation of more than 22,000 jobs and almost 4,000 new businesses.
“Not only will the Government’s proposal to make drastic cuts to the solar Feed-in-Tariff hamper job creation in the renewable industry and discourage community owned energy set ups, but the move also shows a blatant disregard for the UK’s obligation to meet legally binding EU targets on renewables.
“The UK Government has long since submitted its national action plan to meet the Directive on Renewable Energy which requires the UK to produce 15 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2020. The feed-in tariff was a programme to support this drive towards renewables and slashing the scheme may mean that the UK cannot deliver on its plans. If the UK fails to meet its agreed target by 2015, the European Commission could impose fines running into millions of pounds – a criminal waste of public money in these tough financial times.
“It now falls to the Government to demonstrate that it is not changing an agreed component of its roadmap and that the UK is still on course to deliver 15 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2020. The Government can not be let off the hook on this most vital of issues.”
Well done Cllr Paul Braithwaite for spurring Camden and Islington Councils into organising Monday night’s excellent Air Quality Summit at Camden Town Hall.
The Council Chamber was packed to hear experts explaining that streets like the Euston Road are breaking European and World Health Organisation limits many times over; that more than 4,000 people are dying in the capital each year because of poor air quality; and that the lives of those 4,000+ Londoners was shortened by 11.5 years on average because of air pollution.
But mortality rates are only the tip of the iceberg – tiny diesel particles are not only getting into our lungs causing breathing problems but they’re getting into our bloodstreams causing blood-related diseases. They’re even exacerbating conditions like diabetes.
Children are the worst affected. Children breathe in twice as much pollution as adults because their mouths are closer to vehicle exhaust pipes. Children also suck in more polluted air than adults because their energy levels are higher, their lungs are bigger in relation to their bodies than adults and their lungs are not fully developed. Nor will their lungs ever develop properly if they live near busy roads, which is disproportionately the case for children of lower income, ethnic minority families.
Why aren’t we up in arms about this? It’s hard to say because air pollution is killing and injuring more people than alcohol, smoking, drugs or road accidents. Maybe it’s because the public are just not aware of how bad the situation is. Maybe it’s because diesel particulates are invisible by comparison with the pea soupers of the 1950s, which led to the Clean Air Act.
The Camden Green Party is calling on Camden Council to lobby for three significant changes which we believe would dramatically improve the situation:
- A strong inner London Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) rather than a weak LEZ starting at the M25 which penalises the wrong drivers and doesn’t address the real problem which is central London. In Germany 40 cities have done this with great success. The Berlin LEZ is already far, far tougher than the proposed tightening of the London LEZ in January 2012.
- Transport for London to use cleaner fuels for its buses as Camden is doing with its municipal fleet and as European cities like Lille and Malmo have been doing for years with their buses. In 2007 when I was a Camden councillor and Eco Champion I persuaded the council to run a trial of biogas made from food waste, which produces far fewer carbon emissions than diesel and involves no air quality issues. Camden now has 25 municipal vehicles running on biogas made from food waste and companies like John Lewis are starting to use the council’s refuelling facility in York Way.
- Transport for London to help black cab taxis move from diesel to biogas or electricity. TFL should pay for the development and the refit of cab engines, then recoup the cost via a precept on future cab fares.
If you’re concerned about air quality in your area, then there are two groups you can go to for help with measuring pollution: the Campaign for Clean Air in London and the Healthy Air Campaign. We recommend signing up to airTEXT which warns you by text or email when air quality is bad.
You could also write to the Mayor of London and express your concern about his lack of action on this critical issue. According to leading air quality campaigners the Mayor has shown zero leadership on this issue despite surveys regularly putting air quality among the top concerns of Londoners. Or you could take a more direct route and vote him out of office in the Mayoral elections in May.
Natalie Bennett, Alexis Rowell & Cllr Maya de Souza Camden Green Party
Councils have seen their budgets reduced by 20-30%, pensions are losing value, the economy is in a mess, millions are living in fuel poverty, nurseries, community centres and libraries are closing and yet Britain's top bosses have awarded themselves an incredible 49% pay rise.
The average salary of the UK's most senior company executives is now £2.7m while the UK's average salary is just £24,000. A tiny minority continue to be rewarded for failure.
David Cameron said the report was "concerning". It's more than concerning, Mr Cameron, it's wrong and makes a nonsense of your cuts agenda. It's examples of corporate greed such as this that prompted Jenny Jones, Green Party mayoral candidate to campaign for London to become a ‘Fair Pay City'.
As Jenny herself states: "During Boris Johnson's Mayorship the number of people within the GLA group earning more than 10 times the London Living Wage (£8.30 an hour) has risen by 56% (from 62 to 97). The Chief Executive of Crossrail, Rob Holden, earns £857,134. That's about 55 times the London Living Wage!
A 10:1 maximum pay ratio would seriously reduce the pay gap in our city. It is unacceptable to use the economic crisis to defend paying workers less than the amount needed to support a family at the same as paying out colossal salaries to chief executives.
At Brighton & Hove Council, which is run by the Greens, the differential between the highest paid and the lowest paid has been reduced to 10:1. Following calls by the Camden Green Party for the same at Camden Council, our new Chief Executive will get a basic salary of 10 times the lowest paid staffer.
There is a Greener fairer alternative.
As many of you will be aware there are no recycling bins on Hampstead Heath. And, as you will undoubtedly have seen, on a nice day the rubbish bins are overflowing. Something like 90% of that waste could be recycled, but the Heath authorities – the Corporation of London – say they don’t have the staff to collect recycling as well as waste.
Is that ok? Or should we suggest something radical like removing all the bins from the Heath and having mini-recycling centres at the places where people access the Heath as there are in the East Heath car park?
As delegates gather for today's inaugural Camden & Islington Air Quality Summit today, Islington Green Party campaigners have released figures showing that air pollution figures are twice as bad if you're the height of a child than if you're an adult.
Caroline Russell, a long-time road safety campaigner who commissioned the research, revealed that nitrogen dioxide levels exceeded national and European target limits in half the measuring stations across the borough. In addition, levels were twice as bad at child-height across Islington than at the 2.5 metre height most commonly published.
Jenny Jones, the Green Party Mayoral candidate, said: “These figures are bad news for giants, but even worse news for children. We know NO2 leads to more asthma, lung and heart disease and even premature death. City Hall must urgently do more to bring levels of air pollution down.”
And they must start measuring air pollution at the height which actually affects adults and children rather than far above the head of the world's tallest person, which is where most air quality monitoring devices are in London.
Caroline Russell, the Green Party candidate in the recent Islington by-election, said: “The figures at child height in particular are terrifying. As well as commissioning further studies, our representatives in the council must look at ways they can work with the Mayor to reduce air pollution locally, and all of us in London must consider what we can change to avoid exposing children to such high levels of NO2."
We often hear politicians talk about ‘tackling poverty’ and the need to improve ‘social mobility’ but economic inequality lies at the heart of both these phenomena and much more. See here for Ten Reasons To Care About Economic Inequality by the new economics foundation.
From a poster at the Occupy London Tent University outside St Paul's Cathedral:
"Only after the last tree has been cut down.
"Only after the last river has been poisoned.
"Only after the last fish has been caught.
"Only then will you find out that money cannot be eaten."
Or, as I said in my recent post about the Arctic on cuttingthecarbon, even as we fall over the cliff we will be grasping at the air and trying to sell it for a profit.
The directors of Mansfield Bowling Club in Croftdown Road are planning to sell their outside lawn to a developer to build nine luxury houses. The club says it can’t afford to maintain the outside bowling green and that with the proceeds of the sale they could properly refurbish the inside bowling green and the associated leisure facilities.
Highgate Green Party councillor Maya de Souza has objected to the plan. She said: “I’m very keen to see the open space protected, but if the bowling green really can’t be made to work, then surely there are better things to do with this site. For example, what we really need is affordable housing not more luxury units.”
But what do you think? Should the club be allowed to sell the bowling green to a developer of luxury houses? What would be your preferred solution?
I went down to see the Occupy London protest at St Paul's Cathedral yesterday and found it immensely uplifting. I really recommend a visit to everyone. There are talks in the Tent University and speeches/meetings in front of the steps of St Paul's. It feels like something is awakening, something that can move us towards a greener, fairer future, one where the 1% don't lord it over the 99%.
Transition Dartmouth Park are showing a film called "In Transition" at 7.30pm this Wednesday (9 November) at the Dartmouth Park Arms in York Rise that looks at how and why the Transition movement has spread so quickly. There are eight Transition Initiatives in Camden alone!
The film will be followed by a discussion with Jo Homan, one of the organisers of Transition Finsbury Park, which has been going for several years. Jo is also one of the founders of Edible Landscapes London.
The Transition movement is about working together to live more sustainably and to strengthen community at a very local level. It's about taking positive action to enhance the quality of life while improving the environment and having fun! See here for more.
Freakish weather disasters — from the catastrophic drought in Texas to the record floods in Thailand — are striking more often and there's a more than 2/3 chance that they are the result of manmade climate change. Those are the conclusions of a draft summary of a new report by the world's top climate scientists, the International Panel on Climate Change.
The IPPC report comes hot on the heels of the news that in 2010 global carbon emissions reached their highest level ever. The IPPC warns that, as carbon emissions warm up the planet, climate change is likely to spawn more similar weather extremes at a huge cost.
Read more about the IPCC report on wild weather and climate change here.
The global output of heat-trapping carbon dioxide has jumped by a record amount, according to the US Department of Energy, a sign of how feeble the world's efforts are at slowing man-made global warming. The figures for 2010 mean that levels of greenhouse gases are higher than the worst case scenario outlined by climate experts just four years ago.
"The more we talk about the need to control emissions, the more they are growing," said John Reilly, the co-director of MIT's Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change.
The world pumped about 564m more tons (512m metric tons) of carbon into the air in 2010 than it did in 2009, an increase of 6%. That amount of extra pollution eclipses the individual emissions of all but three countries, China, the US and India, the world's top producers of greenhouse gases.
Read more here.
I've just heard that St Paul's Cathedral is suspending its legal action against the anti-capitalist protest camp outside the church. A cathedral spokesman said it intended to "engage directly and constructively" with the protesters "without the threat of forcible eviction". Read more here.
Maybe common sense has prevailed. This is after all about the most important issue facing Western society - how to put ethics into economics.
Or maybe, just maybe, they read that banner asking "What would Jesus do?"
Something caught my eye as I was out and about this morning. Could it be? Surely not. But it was. White grapes hanging on a fence on the Holly Lodge estate on the south-facing slope of Highgate Hill. It can't be long now before there's a Holly Lodge vintage!
During the Olympic Games in 2012 two lanes of the Euston Road are going to be closed to normal traffic and reserved for Olympic vehicles, a bit like the Zil limousine lanes for communist bureaucrats during the time of the Soviet Union. 
This is an idea that came to Green Party councillor for Highgate, Cllr Maya de Souza, and I after we heard Roger Madelin of the Kings Cross developer Argent, speaking at the recent Camden Air Quality Summit. He pointed out that when the Channel Tunnel work was being done a few years ago, and the Euston Road went down to two lanes, people got used to the delays or simply stopped using the road. 
So that's our challenge to the Mayor. Give Camden a real Olympic legacy. Turn those Olympic lanes into cycle lanes and a tree-lined walkway. Let's green the Euston Road.
