FOE NI Newsletter

[marian farrell]

Northern Ireland Activists 04 May 2012 Join us Friends of the Earth News  Breaking news - NI Ombudsman condemns planning "system failure" at Omagh goldmine The Northern Ireland Ombudsman has recommended that the Department of Environment pays record damages to three County Tyron..., whose lives were blighted by the actions of a goldmine near Omagh. His report condemns "system failure" on the part of what was then Planning Service, when it failed to prevent the unlawful removal of up to 140 truckloads a day of waste rock from the mine.  This operation went on for over a year before planners intervened to stop the practice. The goldmine has been a cause for much local anger for many years, as was shown in a piece by the BBC in 2009. We have issued a statement as a result of this story calling for no more controversial or high-impact applications to be approved until the systemic failures in enforcement are rectified. Our planning system needs fundamental internal reform, and greater reforms in the wider political systems and structures, if it is going to be fit for purpose.  We have laid out our vision in a policy document called "What Are They Planning?" If you would like to become involved in our campaign, please email Niall Bakewell.
Get in the Game Mass Lobby 8 May 2012 If you get this before Tuesday 8 May 2012, please try to pop along to the Long Gallery at Stormont between 4 and 6pm, to help us lobby MLAs for the Get in the Game campaign for a Northern Ireland Climate Change Act. It's too late to register officially, but you can still pop in. Otherwise, please write to your MLAs and ask them to pledge their support for a Climate Change Bill when it comes before the Assembly. Please also emailNiall Bakewell to register as a Get in the Game activist.
Fracking Campaign Updates A few pieces of news from the network of anti-fracking campaigners throughout Northern Ireland. Campaigners and the Co-op hosted a successful screening of Gaslands at the Black Box in Belfast on March 29 2012. The Co-op are now launching a campaign called "Frack Free Future" which is calling for a moratorium on development of shale gas and fracking in the UK. Anti-fracking activists in Northern Ireland have been on the road to make a short documentary called "Frack Free Ireland," which should be out in the near future. Local groups and activists will meet with the SDLP and Environment Minister on week beginning 7 May. Later in the month, the same group of activists will host a round table event with UUP MLAs. There will be a concert in the Black Box on 17 August, and the organisers are looking for performers of various kinds to take part in the show (for free). You can become an activist by joining the Facebook pages of: No Fracking Northern Ireland; Belfast Not For ; Fermanagh Fracking Awareness Network; and No Fracking Ireland. Please also sign the online petition against fracking in Ireland.
Schumacher Summer School in County Down - 11 to 15 June 2012 We are very pleased to hear that Schumacher Ireland is running a summer school on economics and sustainability. The five day course is called "From Crisis to Resilience: rethinking Ireland's economic future." The learning is led by four teachers who are international leaders in their fields.  Participants will explore fundamental questions about the nature of the economic crisis, and how we can make the transition to a low carbon, high well-being, and resilient society. The course is intended for anyone who feels they may have a a role in providing leadership for the transition to a sustainable economy on the island of Ireland. You can book on the website, and if you apply before 14 May, you may be entitled to a bursary