NHS Haringey, [or Never Heard of Sustainability Haringey]

On a sunny september day we attended the official opening of the Hornsey Health Centre "to help people living in Hornsey to lead healthy lives". Sadly the sun doesn't seem to penetrate the new building and the lights are always on.

Despite the balmy day, the NHS Haringey AGM was held in a room with closed windows and air-conditioning. Small plastic bottles of water were everywhere, though there was a drinking water tap outside the door. I was answered with disdain when i asked why jugs of water couldn't be used instead. But surely if the NHS deems our tap water unfit to drink, they should put out a public health warning?

The NHS Haringey annual report 2008/9 only contains one paragraph mentioning the environment.
"NHS Haringey is committed to ... becoming a sustainable organisation. Over the next year, we will develop an energy/environmental policy, undertake a complete survey of all energy consuming plant and equipment and record and review all energy use.... An action plan will then be developed and funding will be considered over the next two years."
It's barely credible, but this means they don't seem to have an environmental policy yet, despite being "one of the largest employers in the borough".

It was discussed in the meeting that no solution had yet been found to the transport problems for patients attending the health centre, in particular the awkward bus change at muswell hill.

And after their difficult journey, what refreshments can the patients get?
The cafe in the foyer displays a wide array of bottled water and disposable cups. No fairtrade or organic drinks available, but it sells hot chocolate for £2. Expensive? Well there's no other cafe around, so no competition.


After the meeting the staff cleared food waste, recyclables & non-recyclables into the same bin-liner.






So is all this whinging about environmental concerns just a distraction from the serious business of healthcare and saving lives?

Earlier this year Kofi Annan's Global Humanitarian Forum (GHF) reported that climate change is already causing 300,000 deaths a year and "seriously affecting" 325m people.

Perhaps the guy who sneered when asked about the bottled water, and who wanted to know what the question had to do with the subject of the meeting, should attend the book launch of "The Health Practitioner's Guide to Climate Change":
http://www.greenerhealthcare.org/events/2009/10/book-launch-health-practitioners-guide-climate-change

'Climate change is the greatest public health disaster facing us today and one that requires action at local, national and international level. Only by firm and decisive action now can we, as a global community, hope to avert or mitigate an impending public health catastrophe of immense proportions.' Presidents of the Faculty of Public Health, Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in the British Medical Journal.

Tottenham Food Co-op & The Community

We’re Back! – We’re Back To Earth!

Tottenham Food Co-op & The Community

Kitchen are back tomorrow!

Back2Earth,Tottenham invites you

to the Broadwater Farm Community

Centre tomorrow Friday 25^th September & Saturday 26^th September 12-30 - 3-30. for healthy, fresh, organic, sustainable fruit & veg. and a selection of dry goods from our B2E Tottenham Food Co-op. plus delicious, freshly cooked, world food from our Farm Community Kitchen.

+ We have started our 1st pilot Back To Earth local Community Food Growing and Green Skills Training projects for Haringey on local allotments. If you want to do local community food growing, horticultural or green skills training, volunteering or mentoring, please let us know.

+ The latest plans for Lordship Rec are in the

Café displayed for your edification & comments.

ALSO we will be holding 2 Back2Earth Volunteer Recruitment and Induction days for all Back2Earth Activities planned over the next few months.

The B2E Tottenham Flower & Produce Show on September 12^th as part of the 3^rd amazing Restore the Rec Festival was a great success – thanks to all who participated.

At the Farm Café & Community Kitchen we cook and eat a variety of delicious, affordable, healthy,fresh, seasonal, where possible organic & local foods with our Food Co-op supplies selected from Hughes Organics, Norfolk and Perry Court Farm in Kent + Dry & Fair Trade Goods from Community Foods and Fair Trade Groups and local whole food wholesalers.

All at Broadwater Farm Community

Centre,1 Adams Road,Tottenham, N17 8AT.

All best and sustainable wishes,

Martin Burrows and Felix Waterhouse + all at the Back To Earth Projects

TEL/FAX: 020 8885 7775 / 4185 Mobile: - 07831 219032

Temp. e-mail: mab.prospect@tiscali.co.uk

Pilot projects funded in 2008 by Lottery’s Awards For All and in Autumn 2008 and 2009 by Haringey’s local Making The Difference Fund.

B2E @ BROADWATER FARM COMMUNITY CENTRE,

1 Adams Road, Tottenham, London N17 6HE

Local activists ensure smart meters are available in Haringey's libraries

Will help residents cut costs and carbon emissions

The Sustainable Haringey Network are celebrating a win for the borough, which they believe will help cut Haringey’s carbon emissions.

In partnership with Haringey Council's library service, The Energy Saving Trust Advice Centre for London is making 100 energy monitors available to library users to help them cut electricity costs.

Library users can borrow these special devices - wireless energy monitors - which show how much electricity is being used in the home and how much it is costing.
Borrowers will instantly be able to find out which electrical appliances are costing them the most money to run.

Sustainable Haringey has been lobbying for the idea for over a year. Sarah Cope of Sustainable Haringey explains “We knew that Lewisham had done this in their borough and I thought it would be an easy and effective thing that Haringey could do too. It’s a simple idea which will help people both lessen their carbon footprint and save themselves some money. Smart meters are just one of the many ways in which Sustainable Haringey are trying to ensure that the borough plays its full part in the global effort to cut carbon emissions.'

The monitors are easy to install, a simple fact sheet on how to fit them is provided, and they come with a portable display showing how much electricity is being used in costs per hour, kilowatts or and associated greenhouse gases emitted.

Every library user who borrows an energy monitor will also receive two free energy saving lightbulbs to help them decrease their energy consumption and electricity bills by up to £16 a year.

In Lewisham, where the meters have been available to borrow from libraries since last year, householders have reduced energy consumption by between 5 and 15%, representing £25 to £75 from a £500 bill. Residents can also attend a free Home Energy Doctor drop-in session to get advice on energy efficiency in the home and how that could save up to £300 per annum on home energy bills.

The Sustainable Haringey network has also been promoting local neighbourhood eco-teams thorughout Haringey, and a wide range of other effective methods, policies and practices to create a long-term sustainable future for the borough.


More info: info@sustainableharingey.org.uk

www.sustainableharingey.org.uk

IMPORTANT
Petition against Codex Alimentarius
(it just means Food Code - the Latin name is just meant to confuse us or think its not to do with us, but it will affect everyone)

Some of you will be familiar with this, but for others you may not be aware of what parliament is about to do in your name.

Codex Alimentairus is a law designed to hand over the control of natural remedies to the pharmaceutical giants. One more attempt to regulate us - with potentially dire consequences. Unless we take this last opportunity and act now we will not be able to buy vitamins or health/nutritional supplements without a doctor's prescription - they will be banned from 31st December 2009.

You may think this can't happen, you may think why haven't I heard about this before. Ther reason is that there are vested interests, giant multinational pharmaceutical companies, and it is not in their interest that you know about an oppose this. They and our lawmakers in Europe are banking on public apathy. Despite considerable pressure already exerted our government is still planning to implement this law - UNLESS THERE IS MASSIVE OPPOSITION IT WILL GO AHEAD.

Like many health and safety matters this was started with good intentions, in 1962 by the United Nations, to establish international free trade foods but has become a major threat to our civil liberties and freedom of choice.

Please, sign the petition to the Prime Minister. It takes 10 seconds! This is for our health and for the well-being of our children. Please click on the link below...... DEADLINE IS 05 SEPTEMBER 09.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Vitamins/
For more information google opposition to codex alimentarius or look on facebook and you'll see that the threat is very real and opposition is from the people from all walks of life in many countries.

Haringey named one of Mayor of London's new low carbon neighbourhoods

Friday 4 September 2009

Haringey has been named one of ten new low carbon neighbourhoods by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson and awarded at least £200,000 to turn their winning project into reality.

Speaking at the London Congress, a meeting of the Mayor of London and the capital’s 33 boroughs at the Guildhall, Boris Johnson announced the ten successful boroughs.

As part of their winning project for Muswell Hill, Haringey Council and partners will be working with local retailers and other organizations to use their roof space to install photovoltaic panels which can then be used to produce power for local buildings as well as installing measures to make community buildings, including the local library, examples of low carbon energy use.

The Mayor wants to make London a low carbon city, boosting ‘green collar’ jobs in the capital and helping to lower energy bills by becoming more energy efficient. These zones will showcase exactly how London can become a low carbon city by using a wide range of measures to help people cut carbon and by reducing the emissions of some of London's older buildings, which have generally been more difficult to make energy efficient.

The zones have a target to deliver 20.12 per cent of carbon emissions savings by 2012 and are bringing together local authorities, community organisations, residents, businesses and utilities to work in partnership in a targeted geographic area. The winning low carbon zones on average will save over 23 per cent by 2012. The zones will cover over 13,000 residential properties, around 1,000 shops and businesses, 20 schools as well as a hospital, places of worship and community centres.

Boris Johnson said:

“I am delighted to unveil the ten winning carbon-busting neighbourhoods in
London. There was a high calibre of bids from across the boroughs and it was a
difficult choice, but the winning entries are championing the latest
technologies, which will help us to become a leading low carbon city.”

Haringey Council leader, Cllr Claire Kober, said:

“We are thrilled to have succeeded in our bid, which is a real boost to our
green credentials and an important recognition of the work we are doing to cut
CO2 emissions. We want to become one of London’s greenest boroughs and this
innovative scheme is another key step in helping us achieve that important
goal.”

London Councils Executive member for sustainability, Councillor Sean Brennan, said:

“The Low Carbon Zones show the joint commitment between the boroughs and the
Mayor to make the capital more energy efficient. Not only will this have a huge
positive impact on our environment but could also help Londoners save money.


“London’s boroughs are committed to helping make the capital a
greener place to live and work, and this is just one example of how the closer
working between the boroughs and the Mayor through the City Charter is helping
to improve the lives of every member of our community.”

The Low Carbon Zones will be funded by the London Development Agency's budget for climate change activities. The Mayor has pledged to cut emissions in London by 60 per cent by 2025 and these Zones will showcase how this can be achieved using existing and new technologies, helping to establish the capital as a leading low carbon city. The Mayor will be helping Londoners to become more energy efficient through a London-wide homes energy efficiency programme set to launch next year.

This was the second meeting of the London Congress, the body set up to oversee the workings of the City Charter signed by the Mayor and London’s 33 boroughs in April of this year

As well as looking at ways to tackle climate change in the capital the Congress also discussed ongoing work to tackle youth violence, make the police more locally accountable and the impact of the economic downturn on boroughs in London.




http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/news_and_events/latest_news/low-carbon-win.htm