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GreenCities

September 10, 2020

Reprinting the Adelaide Green Cities Handbook

The original Green Cities Handbook was first published at the end of May, 1991 by FoE Nouveau.

It as meant to be a discussion starter on how we might change cities to be better for people and the environment.

It was published a year before the Ecocity 2 conference held in Adelaide, and was inspired by ideas from Peter Berg (Planet Drum Foundation), Richard Register (from Urban Ecology in the US, convenor of the first ecocity conference), and Peter Newman, who identified the benefits of a low energy, car-free city.

Paul Downton, architect of Christie Walk, a fragment of eco-city, was involved with the Green Cities Project team, comprised of students from the Mawson Graduate Centre of Environmental Studies at the Uni of Adelaide.

The Handbook has been out of print for the last two decades, and the only copies available were photocopies of photocopies. Adelaide Friends of the Earth decided they would reprint the original, as a start to revising and updating the handbook for the new millenium. We scanned the original copies, OCRed the scans, then edited and corrected the resultant text. We’ve tried to format it similar to the original, as close to the 1991 version as possible. Some things have changed since it was published, but a lot of the information in the Handbook is still relevant.

We invite you to peruse the original, and share your thoughts on how we might improve and update it. Adelaide FoE will be holding a number of workshops to discuss the update: let us know if you’re interested in getting involved.

View the reprint here: GreenCities Adelaide draft

Clean Futures, Climate, FoE, Green Cities

Principles for a Just Recovery from the COVID-19 crisis

September 3, 2020

from FoE International 25 August, 2020

The COVID-19 crisis is the result of an economic system that prioritises profits over peoples’ rights and the environment.

The systemic, inter-related socio-ecological crises we face — climate, biodiversity, food, water, economic and care — and this global coronavirus pandemic share the same root causes: a capitalist, patriarchal and racist system designed for capital accumulation and neoliberal, corporate-led globalisation.

This is why Friends of the Earth International believes that a “just recovery” built on environmental, social, gender and economic justice is urgently needed to comprehensively address the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.

Recovery does not mean going “back to normal”. This is the time to prioritise the sustainability of life, peoples’ rights, and the protection of livelihoods and the planet.

We propose four principles for a just recovery:

1. Abandon neoliberalism and austerity and immediately put in place policies and measures founded on justice, recognising ecological limits.

The State must play a fundamental role in guaranteeing peoples’ rights and environmental justice.

Public recovery packages must:

  • Support people directly, first of all indigenous peoples, black and afro-descendant communities, people of colour, migrants, women at the grassroots, and the working class.
  • Include policies for the redistribution of wealth, women’s autonomy, tax justice, and specific support for small businesses, as well as pathways away from extractive industries and fossil fuel dependence, including support for workers to transition to new jobs.
  • Not pay for corporate financial loss with public money or bailout transnational corporations, especially those most responsible for systemic crises such as fossil fuel and mining companies, agribusiness, airlines and companies based in tax havens.

Governments must:

… Read more >>

Clean Futures, Climate, FoE

Radioactive Exposure Tour April 2020

March 11, 2020

For over 30 years Friends of the Earth has been running Rad Tours to SA so people can experience first-hand the social and environmental impacts of the nuclear industry.

South Australia has experienced British nuclear bomb tests, extensive uranium exploration and mining, and is currently being targeted by the federal government for a national nuclear waste dump. And some are still lobbying to turn SA into the world’s dump for high-level nuclear waste.

We will visit uranium mining and waste dump sites plus speak to communities affected by the industry. We will also visit some of the beautiful places in SA including the Flinders Ranges and Lake Eyre.

We prioritise places for people who are involved in anti-nuclear campaigning or who are interested in getting involved.

WHEN: April 10?18, 2020 (from Melbourne) or April 11?17 (from Adelaide)

COSTS: $650 regular, $900 solidarity, $450 concession.

CONTACT: Lavanya, radexposuretour@gmail.com, 0468 490 768

Please fill out this form if you’re interested in participating.

More info on the 2020 Radioactive Exposure Tour.

Info on previous Rad Tours

Adelaide FoE Notes, FoE, Nuclear

More Dumplings, Not Dumps

December 2, 2019

Everyone likes dumplings, but no one likes dumps.

The Federal government is trying to impose a radioactive waste dump in South Australia, despite State legislation that makes them illegal, opposition from Traditional Owners and a truly flawed plan that’s done nothing but cost money and divide communities.

Please support the communities of the Flinders Ranges and Kimba by sending a submission to the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.

Get friends, family and co-workers together, eat dumplings and say NO to nuclear waste in SA and host a “Dumplings not Dumps” session.

It’s not too late to have your say! FoE Adelaide are hosting a Dumplings Not Dumps event next Monday night at Christie Walk (entry at 101 Sturt St), in the Common Room.

If you’re in Adelaide, bring your laptop and write yours on monday night while having a dumpling dinner.
Where: Christie Walk Common Room,
When: 6.30pm – 8.30pm,  Monday 9th December

Please RSVP by email — we want to ensure we have plenty of dumplings!

Adelaide FoE Notes, FoE

Adelaide FoE AGM, take 2

December 2, 2019

Dear Friends:
The recent session of the 2019 FoE Adelaide AGM having been just inquorate,
we have re-convened for 6.00pm @ the Christie Walk Common Room
(entry via 101 Sturt Street) on Monday 9th December.

If you are time poor, but would like to see FoE Adelaide continue its work in the coming year, this is the one meeting of the year tailor made for you to attend.

Warmest regards

David Faber
Facilitator

Note: The re-convened AGM is just before the Dumplings Not Dumps session on Monday, so not only do you get to see David running a super fast AGM (30 mins, max!), but you get to followup with a dumpling feast as your write your submission on the proposed nuclear dump in SA.

Adelaide FoE Notes, FoE