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RISING TIDE UK CLIMATE ACTION NEWS SHEET 23rd October 2001 THIS ISSUE: REPORT ON THE RISING TIDE GATHERING INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION - NOVEMBER 6TH A note for newcomers- These news sheets are short (2 pages) and we won't "flood" you (ho ho)- we will issue them only when we have something to say and even then no more than one update per week. YOUR DETAILS WILL NEVER BE GIVEN TO ANYONE. ****************************************************************************** NATIONAL GATHERING 13th 14th October Last weekend over 80 people attended Rising Tide UK’s first national gathering in the inspiring Bridge 5 Mill environment centre in Manchester. The location added to the phenomenally successful atmosphere of the event which left everyone involved more inspired and empowered to take action on the causes of climate change. Some feedback from the evaluation forms: Hugely inspiring. Excellent. Very instructive and informative..great, relaxed friendly but committed atmosphere A brilliant space for a meeting...MERCI has very positive energy Leaving feeling inspired, thinking bigger and wider When we decided to organise the event it was because of the realisation that we knew that there were many people already taking various forms of grassroots action to help halt the process of climate chaos and many more who wanted to become more involved but there was not much of a feeling of a cohesive and supportive network. We wanted to provide an opportunity for this process to start and for those who would not normally work together to meet, talk and begin to understand one another better. We were really delighted with the fantastically wide range of political backgrounds that people came from and the lively debate that ensued. Great also to have the international connection with three people over from Risingtide in Amsterdam <http://www.risingtide.nl> . Saturday was mainly devoted to information giving workshops on issues including carbon trading, “contraction and convergence”, the flaws in the Kyoto protocol, the environmental impacts we make as individuals through our lifestyles and the oil industry. By the end of the day everyone needed a break and time to socialise with new friends. The evening’s open mike session proved we’re not only skilled campaigners but also posses a hidden range of musical and comic talents, no question however that the salsa dancing stole the show. Sunday started with gentle hangovers and an inspiring open forum where everyone shared information on action they had already been taking and plans they had for the future. Ideas for resources were discussed and as far as possible many will be available to download on either our or the European Rising Tide website. The rest of the day was focussed on constructive planning for future action and although we all agreed there was just not enough time many solid plans did come out of these discussions. One area where people felt they had energy to contribute to campaigning was to look at the problems of fuel poverty, an issue that is clearly in keeping with our philosophy that climate change can only be tackled alongside a commitment to social equity. A group of people agreed to explore ways of working together and developing campaigns (if interested contact weathersave@netscapeonline.co.uk). Other plans, still at an early stage, are for a national day or weekend of action on climate change in the spring or early summer, possibly focussing on the newly emerging market in carbon trading. One idea is to organise a centralised gathering or event of some sort in, say Manchester or London, but to invite people to make their way to it using whatever sustainable means of transport they choose. Part of this might be a huge 90% for 90% mobilisation, (please see website for more details on this campaign) maybe with one 'Climate Express' making its way through the country to the event. We are very keen for people to become involved with planning this event if you would like to do this please mail us <info@risingtide.org.uk> and keep reading these News Sheets. A group met throughout Sunday to discuss the future structure and emerging remit of Rising Tide. This turned out to be one of the most frustrating parts of the weekend- the discussion needed to be far better planned and there was not enough time to reach any agreement considering the range of views and the complexity of different possible structures. So, the first thing we will be doing is opening up the core group for more people to be involved in some of these internal discussions. Please contact us <info@risingtide.org.uk> if you are interested in being involved. There will be a special meeting to discuss the structure and future development of Rising Tide in December. All in all the weekend allowed for a huge amount of discussion and planning and hopefully everyone who attended went away with not only more concrete information but also feeling they were part of a bigger and more successful movement, one they could call on for support and ideas. Many people also volunteered to be local contacts. We are writing to them separately and will put their contacts up on the website in early November. Lisa Clayden ****************************************************************************** INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE DAY OF ACTION ¯ TUESDAY 6TH NOVEMBER Our friends in Rising Tide in Europe and activists across the Mediterranean (the MARE network http://www.mare.net.gr) are calling for an international day of action against climate change on Tuesday 9th November. The day is chosen to coincide with the ministerial session of the 7th Conference of Parties (COP7) climate negotiations in Marrakech ¯ a relevant time, and one of the few times when climate is in the news. It is also 3 days before the 9th Nov international day of action against the new round in the World Trade Organisation- a good chance to make links between globalisation and climate, especially with creation of the global carbon trade. So, a good chance for local actions and events; to protest, reach out, and engage people. If you do something, however small, please let us know so we can share it with others. Between the 7th and 9th of November, ministers from across the world will gather in Marrakech, Morocco for the “COP 7” climate summit. This meeting will bring the political response to climate change into the Mediterranean region for the first time. In the Mediterranean we can expect unbelievable upheaval if this process fails to take climate change seriously. ****************************************************************************** NEXT ISSUE 2001/2 DIARY EVENTS FROM THE DAY OF ACTION Please send us anything you’d like put up or anything for inclusion in this update to George at weathersave@netscapeonline.co.uk. The news sheet is a tight short format so if your info is too long we might put it up on the web page and just refer to it in the newsheet. More information on anything! Email: info@risingtide.org.uk Phone: 01865 241097 Address: 16b Cherwell St, Oxford OX1 1BG. http://risingtide.org.uk PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO A FRIEND AND INVITE THEM TO JOIN THE LIST To subscribe to this list send a blank e-mail to risingtide-subscribe@topica.com To unsubscribe from this list send a blank e-mail to risingtide-unsubscribe@topica.com |