John Muir`s Blue Sierra # 2

Further to my earlier article, the government has confirmed it intends to proceed with the proposed Beauly-Denny powerline.

Now that a little time has passed since the announcement, I thought it would be interesting to check out the resonses of some of the interested parties.

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland has expressed "great disappointment".

The John Muir Trust goes further, describing this as "the wrong choice for Scotland" and expressing the belief that there has been insufficient attention paid to possible alternatives such as sub-sea cables.

Ramblers Scotland seem to have issued the strongest statement. Describing the planning process as "deeply flawed" , they note that it will be "many years" before work can begin and point out that this allows time for a legal challenge. With election time looming, they are turning their attention to politicians, commenting that  "those seeking election" in both Scotland and England "need to be asked where they stand".

Various links to relevant organistations and publications can be found at the foot of my original article. For a more detailed account of the government`s announcement, and the reactions of local people, it`s worth  visiting www.pylonpressure.com.

Footnote - Pylons and the planning issues relating to pylons are also a big issue in the Somerset area, spawning a number of community -based protest groups, many with names characterised by terrible puns on the word `pylon` -  No Moor Pylons, Pylon Moor Pressure, Pylon the Pressure, Save Nailsea West and Yatton Against Pylons . Fortunately, an umbrella group has been formed and is a `pun free zone`, opting for the more straightforward (though less imaginative) Save our Valley , (on the web at  www.save-our-valley.co.uk ) .  I was impressed to learn that Save our Valley and Save Nailsea West started the year with a New Year Protest March to the Pub. Now that really is a community-based approach ! Seriously, apart from the pylon issue itself, there are serious underrlying issues relating to representation and accountability which have been raised by campaigners and by Liam Fox MP, which do need to be addressed and are likely to crop up again elsewhere.

Waterways 2

Following on from my earlier article, the governments` precise intentions towards British waterways remain unclear.

At a time of economic uncertainty this may seem rather a parochial little dispute, but it`s worth considering the benefits canal regeneration can bring to an area. The recently formed Cromford Canal Partnership, an alliance between local authorities, canal users and others similar in form to the Chesterfield Canal Trust, has high hopes of revitalising the surrounding area with the work it envisages  including making the entire 17 mile-long canal from the Great Northern Basin at Langley Mill through Cromford to Pinxton navigable by boat, which would include  re-opening the Butterley Tunnel.

In response to the current uncertainties,  the Save Our Waterways group has become a membership organisation with intelligently thought out proposals and clear campaigning objectives. They envisage building alliances of local people, canal users, environmentalists, historians and other interested parties in seeking a secure future for Britain`s canal network. A key aim they have is that British Waterways should not be separated from its` property assets and they feel the government is avoiding this issue, perhaps intentionally. As they point out, if Britain`s waterways go into decline there will be a clear detriment to tourism, education, local communities, employment and even a knock-on effect on the Treasury`s revenue.

Those of us that can remember the state of Britain`s canals during the `70s and `80s, edged on either side as they often were by derelict warehouses and other signs of urban decay  will certainly see some merit to their proposals. I`ll be adding links to this blog for those who want to see how they fare.

As mentioned before, there are also relevant links at http://bookshelvesandbrownale.blogspot.com/

John Muir`s Blue Sierra

The Ramblers, The John Muir Trust, the Mountaineering Council of Scotland and the National Trust Scotland are among a number of conservation organisations joining forces to oppose the controversial Beauly-Denny pipeline, which will see a 138 mile-line of 600 mega-pylons put in place across the heart of the Highlands, including the Cairngorms National Park, and passing by the Wallace Monument.


A leaked government document seems to indicate that Scottish ministers are planning to give approval to the line, though as we all know, sometimes politicians arrange for these things to be leaked in order to test the strength of public feeling. 


In a new development, Richard Cellarious, International Vice-President of the Sierra Club, The John Muir Trust`s influential American sister organisation,  has written to Scotland`s First Minister Alex Salmond urging that the plan be abandoned in favour of "more environmentally benign alternatives".


Talking of the Sierra Club brings me seamlessly to that organisation`s involvement in America`s  Blue Green Alliance, a "national, strategic partnership between labor unions and environmental organizations dedicated to expanding the number and quality of jobs in the green economy".

Initially, the BGA was an alliance between the Sierra Club and the United Steelworkers trade union, but as it developed momentum , numerous trade union and environmental organisations signed up. In some areas, notably Cincinnati, the BGA has developed in a grassroots, activist-driven way, with emphasis placed on raising money for a green jobs study, fighting for a living wage for recycling workers and more generally building links between the labour movement and the environmental lobby.   

Now the United Steel Workers has made an agreement with Spanish co-operatively run business Mondragon to build worker-owned manufacturing co-operatives in America. It is generally felt that this intiative could fit in well with the USW`s commitment to the BGA and it`s `green jobs` objectives.

I gather Mondragon have, to use their own phrase "no pretensions" that they represent an alternative to capitalism, so it would seem that here we have a free enterprise initiative, co-operatively owned, backed by a trade union with impressive green credentials. In theory, presumably, that should tick all boxes, but one suspects  it will have it`s detractors. Against that, I`m sure there will be many supporters, if only because I`m sure many Americans, like many here in the UK, would welcome moves back towards an economy based on production  rather than one based on  speculation, as both countries have at present.

It will be interesting to see if this American example inspires similar initiatives elsewhere.

We`ve covered quite some ground, from pipelines in Scotland to workers` co-ops in the USA, but here are sme useful links ;

ON THE WEB

Ramblers Campaigns - www.ramblers.org.uk/campaigns
Ramblers Scotland    - www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
National Trust Scotland - http://www.nts.org.uk/
Mountaineering Council of Scotland - http://www.mcofs.org.uk/
John Muir Trust - http://www.jmt.org/
Sierra Club - http://www.sierraclub.org/
Blue Green Alliance - http://www.bluegreenalliance.org/
United Steel Workers - http://www.usw.org/
Mondragon - www.mondragon-corporation.com/ENG.aspx

SOURCES

As far as I recall, my sources for this article were ;

Phil Amadon - `Worker Co-Ops, The Blue-Green Alliance and Mondragon` - People`s World , 9/12/09

Unsigned Article  - `Pipeline Given Go-Ahead`  - Walk Magazine , Winter 2009

and other details were from some of the websites listed above

FURTHER READING

Nick Osmond - Rambling Through Adversity - http://bookshelvesandbrownale.blogspot.com/ , 10/12/09.

The Scandal of the Child Migrants

With the recent apology from the Australian Prime Minister over the plight of the so-called Child Migrants, no doubt there will be renewed calls for a similar apology from Gordon Brown, and possibly from reresentatives of the charities and church groups involved.

The plight of the children is so harrowing that I coudn`t possibly do justice to it in the limited spare time I have for this sort of thing, and to deal with it hastily would be an insult. In any case, the Nottingham-based Child Migrants Trust are quite capable of explaing the issues themselves, and can probably do it better than I can in any case. Check out their website at www.childmigrantstrust.com.

Waterways

Also in the UK, it seems that a row has broken out within the government over the proposed sell-off of British Waterways, with Environment ministers claiming they will be unable to do their job properly in affected areas if the sale goes ahead. No doubt there will be comment in due course from the general public and from affected groups such as conservationists - especially those connected with canal preservation groups - and the relevant trade unions.

Speaking personally, I never feel entirely happy with this selling-off of the country`s assetts to the highest bidder, I don`t like to resort to smear tactics but I have to say I always feel there`s something unpatriotic about it. Anyway, check out the links below and form your own opinions.

ON THE WEB

British Waterways - www.britishwaterways.com

Waterscape - www.waterscape.com

There are number of links to canal preservation groups and other conservation-related bodies at www.bookshelvesandbrownale.blogspot.com.

Power2010 and the Well-Known Chocolatier

New kids on the block  in the UK are Power2010, a new pressure group seeking to capitalise on voter discontent, a big issue over here. Their initial statements do seem likely to strike a chord with the  population at large ; "Our democracy is in crisis. MPs fiddle while the planet burns...Bankers blow billions and the taxpayer fooots the bill", as is their solution ; "A healthy democracy that works for all and not just a powerful few".

At present it`s unclear whether the new organisation itself plans to become democratic (though they would no doubt claim that their method of working, which is to solicit suggestions for campaigng issues from the public and then take up the most popular, is in itself an open and democratic process). It`s also not entirely clear how the new organisation will differ from Unlock Democracy or 38 Degrees, particularly given that Director Pam Giddy`s previous posts include a spell as Director of  Charter 88, one of the bodies that merged to form Unlock Democracy. I should make it clear that Unlock Democracy have welcomed the new organisation, and are looking to work co-operatively with it.

Interestingly, start-up funding for Power2010 comes from the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Rowntree was a Quaker and chocolate manufacturer, a man of liberal and philanthropic views, whose influence is still felt today. Traditionally, there has often been criticism of philanthropists from the political left, often on the grounds that they address the symptoms of social ills and not the causes. Interestingly, this was a view that Rowntree shared, he was very much concerned with causes, as well as the alleviation,  of poverty. In this, he may have been influenced by his son, the strangely-named Seebohm Rowntree, a noted anti-poverty campaigner and author of Poverty ; A Study of Town Life (1901).

In light of his interest in identifying the causes of poverty, he set up the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to "help to overcome the causes of poverty, disadvantage and social evil". This was one of four trusts founded by him (the others are The Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust , The Joseph Rowntee Charitable Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust), all of which are still active today, as we`ve already seen.

For further information on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Rowntree Society, see the links below.

ON THE WEB

Power2010 - www.power2010.org.uk

Unlock Democracy - www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk

38 Degrees - http://38degrees.org.uk

Joseph Rowntree Foundation  and Trusts -  www.josephrowntree.org.uk

The Rowntree Society - www.rowntreesociety.org.uk

The Search for Common Ground

Interesting to learn recently of the annual Common Ground Awards, given by Washington baed charity Search for Common Ground, which works internationally to find non-violent ways for communities to deal with conflict.

I like to keep these articles short, but here are just a couple that struck me as interesting.

Cease Fire - The Campaign to Stop the Shooting is run by the Chicago Project for Violence Prevention. They rely on outreach workers and `violence interrupters` (individuals `familiar with gang culture` who have now channel their energies into preventing violence). The organisation also goes in for more traditional activities, such as marches, rallies and vigils after shootings. They believe in mediation and changing community norms.

Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish is a medical man who seeks to bring about reconciliation between the Palestinian and Israeli communities. He refuses to become discouraged, despite losing three daughters and a niece to an Israeli shell earier this year. In their memory he has begun Daughters for Life, a charity aiming to provide access to education and medical care to women throughout the Middle East.

Full details of awards and nominees on the Common Ground website (see below).

ON THE WEB

Common Ground - www.sfcg.org

Cease Fire - www.ceasefirechicago.com

Daughters for Life - www.daughtersforlife.com