Bristol Friends of the Earth

    
Friends of the Earth (FOE) is a international organisation started in the 1970’s, which saw the birth of many well known environmental groups in response to the oil crisis and the development of environmental awareness in the West.

Bristol FOE was launched in October 1971 when members of the group dumped non-returnable bottles outside the Schweppes depot in Brislington. Bristol FOE is run on an entirely voluntary basis and is part of a network of 240 local FOE groups around the UK.

We asked Pip Sheard and Jane Stevenson to tell us how members of Bristol FOE have been influencing decision-making both in Bristol and nationally.

What campaigns are you involved with at the moment?

In April 2005 the group chose launch two campaigns - opposition to the expansion of Bristol International Airport and as its second, opposition to the construction of the South Bristol Ring Road. We are united by a desire to campaign locally for policies to reduce CO2 emissions in our local area.

Bristol International Airport (BIA) is the biggest single producer of greenhouses gases in the West of England and it's emissions will grow as it's passenger numbers first double and then triple if their plans are realised. This is against a national backdrop where individuals and other industries are being urged by Government to collectively reduce our emissions.

Similarly emissions from cars and other road transport are also growing. The South Bristol Ring Road will increase traffic while simultaneously severing South Bristol communities, destroying their environment and the tranquillity of green belt countryside all the way from Long Ashton to Hicks Gate.

In November 2006 we launched the Transport for Greater Bristol (TfGB) Alliance. Seven local groups including FOE, Bristol Civic Society, Streets Alive, Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways and Bristol Cycling Campaign got together and drew up a green transport manifesto for the Greater Bristol region. The manifesto and list of groups that have joined the Alliance is at http://uk.geocities.com/transportforbristol. The current aim of the Alliance is the creation of a Strategic Transport Authority for Greater Bristol to improve and develop the local rail and bus network.

Bristol FOE has a local food directory on our website listing good local food outlets, giving recipes and facts about food. We’re involved on an ongoing basis in the national FOE campaign to oppose the introduction of GM food into the UK and against GM testing.

Our Blackout Bristol campaign encouraged large companies and institutions including Bristol City Council to switch off their office lights (and so reduce CO2) at night on two occasions in the past year.

Our latest campaign - Carbon Reduction, involves individuals working in a group setting and giving a personal commitment to reducing their own CO2 emissions over a period of time. This starts with measuring their current emissions and working out the best ways of reducing them.

What have been your recent campaigning successes?

All our campaigns have had success. It’s now hard to find examples of offices in Bristol leaving their lights on at night, so we are discussing re-orienting the Blackout Bristol campaign to tackle other areas of corporate energy waste.

Over the past two to three years, the whole debate on the role of aviation in climate change has become a major national political issue due in part to the efforts of groups such as Stop BIA Expansion, campaigning against the expansion of their local airports.

Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council have both voted to create a Strategic Transport Authority (STA) for Greater Bristol. It appears likely that other local councils will follow suit. The TfGB Alliance is now working on a rail/light rail strategy for the STA to adopt and this will be followed by a bus strategy to introduce a smartcard system, a team to enforce bus priorities and to step up the implementation of the Showcase bus routes.

Do you think it is possible for individuals to influence decision-making in Bristol?

Yes, but it is necessary to understand the political structures that currently operate in Bristol and where real decision making powers reside. Campaigns are not likely to be successful unless they have clear understandable (by the public, media and politicians) goals and target the right people. Working in alliance with like-minded groups is one route to success.

How do you get people involved in BFOE?

We welcome new members at all our meetings, held on the second Thursday of the month 7.30pm at Redland Library, Whiteladies Road, Bristol. At each meeting we summarise campaign activities to encourage people to get involved.

What benefits do you get from being a member of Voscur?

We like to keep up to date by reading the Voscur newsletter and appreciate being involved in an organisation that represents the voluntary sector in the city.

Contact Bristol Friends of the Earth

For further information and general queries, please email Jane Stevenson: info@bristolfoe.org.uk or leave a voicemail message at 0117 911 4084. For Transport campaign issues, email Pip Sheard: pip_sheard@hotmail.co.uk

www.bristolfoe.org.uk