November 2011

Tuesday, Nov 8th, 6.45pm
Manchester Friends of the Earth monthly full group meeting
“Monthly full group meeting – open to everyone! Join us from 6.45pm at the Green Fish Resource Centre, 46-50 Oldham Street (next to Mint Lounge) to find out about what we do and how you can get involved. This meeting is perfect for those who are new to Friends of the Earth. Contact Colette at colette@manchesterfoe.org.uk or on 07754 042716 for further details.”
manchesterfoe.org.uk for full details

Thursday, Nov 10th, 8pm
Fracking: How can we stop it?
@ Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street
Organised by Manchester Green Party

Thursday, Nov 10th, 8pm
The next planning meeting for the 2012 Chorlton Green festival is on upstairs at St Clement’s Church. Please come along if you’re interested or email Nigel Rose on rosejeffmo@gmail.com if you want to be involved but can’t make it this time. Further meetings will be on, Dec 8th, Jan 12th, Feb 9th, Feb 23rd, Mar 8th and Mar 22nd.

Monday Nov  14th  at 6.30
Climate justice meeting at Manchester University Students Union, Oxford Rd.

This is part of the UK tour by Rehad Desai, climate activist from South Africa where the next UN conference on Climate Change takes place in December.
Other speakers will be Martin Empson of CaCC trade union group and a worker from Bombardier, the last train maker in Britain which is threatened with closure.
Organised by Campaign against Climate Change

Wednesday Nov 16th, @ 3.30 pm
Seminar: The Nature of Everyday Life in
ALB G30/31: Dr Alex Loftus (Royal Holloway)

Thursday, Nov 24th, 5.45 for 6.15pm
THE FUTURE OF PLASTIC PACKAGING
Public Meeting organised by EMERGE
5.45pm doors open for refreshments, 6.15pm meeting starts
Brazennose House West, Brazennose Street, Lincoln Square, Manchester, M2 5AS.

There is over 1 million tonnes of domestic mixed plastics packaging waste going to landfill every year. One third of plastic production is packaging. 4% of oil annually goes to making plastic. 80% of shoreline debris is plastic. Plastic production is increasing by 9% per year. There are increasing concerns about the health impacts of plastic packaging.

Should we be investing more in recycling plants that can sort plastics, or should we be designing packaging that can be more easily recycled? Should we be developing bio-plastics, made from plant material or using non-plastic packaging? Should we be aiming for zero landfill or making plastics bio-degradable? Are we trying to minimise energy use or CO2 production? Or should we simply focus on reducing use of plastics?

The meeting will comprise 4 short and provocative presentations followed by Q&A.

Speakers

Nick Cliffe, Marketing Manager, Closed Loop Recycling. Worked in the recycling field for 10 years, on timber with FSC, furniture with Greenworks and now on food grade plastic recycling.

Stuart Foster, Director, RECOUP, working on cradle to grave sustainability of plastics. Formerly worked for the Environment Agency, WRAP and Local Government.

Iain Ferguson, Environment Manager, The Co-operative Food, responsible for reducing food packaging. He is a Chartered Environmentalist and a Fellow of the Institute of Packaging.

Richard Thompson, Professor of Marine Biology, lead editor of volume of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society on Plastics, with ongoing research interests in plastic debris and marine litter.

The event is free, and all are welcome.

Thurs Nov 24th, 8.15pm til late
“A Reasonable Cause,” (music, friends, fun) at the Kraak Gallery in the Northern quarter.

Friday Nov 25th 12.30pm
Schumacher North annual lecture
lunch, 1.30 – 3pm lecture and Q&A
Bridge 5 Mill, 22a Beswick Street, Manchester, M4 7HR
website address:
Ed Mayo, Cooperatives UK, ‘The Wind is Behind Us – New Opportunities for a Cooperative and Sustainable Economy.’

Wednesday Nov 30th at 2pm, “Radical Gardening”
at the Working Class Movement Library 51, The Crescent, Salford M5 4WX

George McKay, Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Salford. In his new book Radical gardening: politics, idealism and rebellion in the garden, he aims to show how notions of utopia, of community, of peace and of activism for progressive social change, are practically worked through in the garden.

Weds Nov 30th 4pm
‘Policy Challenges for Sustainability Transitions’ Room 10.04/10.05, 10th Floor, MBS Harold Hankins Building, coffee from 3.30pm
Joroen van den Bergh, ICREA Research Professor, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics, VU University, Amsterdam