FEASTA ebulletin 12th June 2006

Contents

1. Vandana Shiva to open Green Ireland Conference
2. Get your FEASTA Nuclear Power Briefing
3. Book now for Understanding the Economics of Sustainability
4. FEASTA Report from UNSCD meeting
5. New Masters Program from the Centre for Cooperative Studies
6. Upcoming Events at Cultivate
7. FEASTA AGM at Enfo
8. Briefing Papers - what's YOUR hot topic?
9. Dates for your Diary June/July
10. Membership

Vandana Shiva to open Green Ireland conference

Kilkenny Castle, June 16th - 18th

Ireland's world famous clean green image provides a competitive advantage for our food, farm, and tourism industries. But this could soon be lost due to pollution from incinerators and genetically modified food and farming.

The Green Ireland conference provides provides a historic opportunity for politicians, stakeholders and key international experts to explore our democratic participation, legal rights and responsibilities for the future of food and farming ñ and Ireland's brand recognition in a globalising world.

For bookings & further information, call 0404 43885 or see www.gmfreeireland.org

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Get your FEASTA Nuclear Power Briefing

Get up to speed on the nuclear debate - check out the FEASTA Nuclear Briefing. You can download it from www.feasta.org, or if you would like some paper copies to distribute, please send an S.A.E to FEASTA, 10a Lower Camden St., Dublin 2. It is a 12 page booklet - donations to help cover printing costs much needed.

For the more aurally inclined, an audio recording of a talk given on April 19th by Dr David Fleming on nuclear power, together with responses by John McGuirk of the Freedom Institute and Nuala Ahern of the Green Party, can now be downloaded from www.feasta.org

You can make your voice heard by joining the Friends of the Earth One Million Europeans against Nuclear Power campaign. Friends of the Earth has launched the Irish leg of a Europe-wide campaign to prevent a revival of nuclear energy. 20 years after the Chernobyl disaster the nuclear industry is running a major PR and lobbying campaign to convince the public and politicians that nuclear power is the solution to climate change and increasing energy demand. Upgrading existing nuclear plants and extending their operating licences is now being looked upon more favourably. However, nuclear power remains the most dangerous method of electricity generation. Moreover, it is no solution to climate change, emitting as much as much CO2 over the whole life-cycle from fuel mining to waste management and decommissioning as a modern gas-fired power plant. And it is insanely expensive and wouldn't survive without taxpayers' subsidies. Go to www.foe.ie to learn more and add your voice to the 300,000 around Europe who have already signed the petition opposing nuclear and supporting real solutions such as energy efficiency and renewables like wind and solar.

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Back by popular demand - Understanding the Economics of Sustainability

The very successful 10 week evening course from FEASTA's Education Working Group 'Understanding the Economics of Sustainability' will be run again this autumn at the Cultivate Centre in Temple Bar. The course will take place on Tuesday evenings for ten weeks, from 26th September to 28th November.

Exploring such topics as:

- An Introduction to Environmental and Ecological Economic theories
- Debt-based Economies and the Growth Imperative
- Measuring Progress and Indicators of Sustainability
- The Implications of Climate Change and Peak Oil for Sustainable Development
- Trade and the Environment
- Localisation

and other related issues. Last time it ran the course attracted a enthusiastic mix of FEASTA members, community and environmental activists, and interested individuals.

The course fee is €150, €120 concession (FEASTA, NGOs, students).

To book your place please contact the FEASTA office, 10a Lower Camden St, Dublin 2, phone 01 405 3615 or email us

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Report from UNSCD meeting

This year was a 'review year' at the 14th session of the UN Commission for Sustainable Development in New York, but there was nonetheless an unstated core topic, both at the official and the side events: energy, with a recurrent focus on energy access for developing countries. FEASTA's focus at CSD was on gaining support for a substantial review of the EU's deeply flawed Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Carbon trading was not on the general agenda. There was, however, a Side Event on 5 May on the MDG carbon facility, presented by the UNDP, and one on carbon capture and sequestration, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Nicola Creighton presented FEASTA's critique of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme to a small but broadly sympathetic audience. Among NGO representatives Nicola met, there was some support for FEASTA's ideas for a reform of ETS but also much resistance for many different reasons. You can read a more detailed account at http://en.euemissions.com/index.php/site/blog/

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New Masters Program from the Centre for Cooperative Studies UCC

The Centre for Co-operative Studies is a Research Centre at University College Cork, Ireland. The Centre which was founded over 20 years ago originally focused on the study of co-operatives, but over the years has broadened its remit to the study of social enterprises. The Centre has developed many educational programmes for co-operatives and social enterprises, including diplomas and degrees in Rural Development and Social Integration and Enterprise. For more than 15 years a very successful full-time post graduate programme in Co-operative Organisation, Rural Development and Food Marketing has also been run. In addition, the Centre has a number of students researching social enterprises and co-operatives both at Masters and PhD level.

The Centre for Co-operative Studies, University College Cork, Ireland now also offers an MBS in Co-operative and Social Enterprise that is delivered entirely over the worldwide web. The MBS is a full time equivalent (or part time) taught programme taken over one (or two) calendar year(s) and is designed to prepare graduates interested in pursuing a professional or voluntary career in the co-operative or social enterprise field and will provide adults, combining family responsibilities and full-time jobs, with access to postgraduate and personal development opportunities.

For further details, please contact:
Dr. Olive McCarthy
Assistant Academic Director MBS in Co-operative and Social Enterprise
Centre for Co-operative Studies, University College Cork, Ireland
Tel: 021 4903354 Fax: 021 4903358 Email: o.mccarthy@ucc.ie

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Upcoming Events at Cultivate

Cultivate Community Multicultural Street Festival
Saturday June 17th 10.00 - 18.00
Temple Bar's West End & Cultivate's Main Hall & Civic Offices Amphitheatre
Cost: Free
A family-friendly, multicultural street festival taking place in the West End of Temple Bar in celebration of the Summer Solstice. The festival will feature public arts, activities for children and youth, stalls with ethnic food and presentations from a cross-section of multicultural Dublin, fashion market, urban sports including BMX, and Champion Skatboarders, eco-products, music, dance and a book fair. Produced by Cultivate Centre with the generous support of Dublin City Council.
Call now to book your stall: (01) 674 6396

The Village Talks - Sustainable Energy Communities with Sue Roaf
Wednesday June 21st 19.30 - 21.00 &8364;15.00
Sue is a Professor of Architecture at Oxford Brookes University, author and PV pioneer, Sue is currently involved in promoting Eco-design and working to make Oxford the first Solar City in Britain.

Rethinking the City Conference: Towards Zero-Carbon Cities
Thursday June 22nd 09.00 - 17.30
Cost: €175 corporate €150 individuals €135 concessions
A full day conference hosted by Cultivate Centre and the British Council featuring leading speakers from Ireland and the UK.
Contact: (01) 674 6396 See full details at www.sustainable.ie/cultivate/Rethinking/index.htm

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FEASTA AGM on May 6th at ENFO

The FEASTA Annual General Meeting was held on May 6th at ENFO in Dublin. Topics for discussion included potential candidates for the Annual Lecture and how members might have a forum in which to discuss their ideas. To help provide such a forum, a series of evening discussion meetings was proposed - interested persons should contact Bruce Darrell. Two new directors were elected - Roy Hicks and Adrian MacFhearraigh. Roy is currently serving on the FEASTA Executive as Treasurer. Adrian is based in Donegal and has been a FEASTA member since 2001.

Alternatives to the FEASTA tagline Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability were proposed, and the much snappier designing systems for a sustainable future agreed upon.

In the afternoon, Nicola Creighton gave a talk on the development of the Toolkit course, which she has been running in Belfast. Bruce Darrell also spoke regarding his plans to develop media products based on the 2005 FEASTA conference What Will We Eat When The Oil Runs Out?

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Briefing Papers - What's YOUR hot topic?

A series of briefing papers has been recently published by FEASTA, in association with the New Economics Foundation and supported by Comhar. The papers are available free of charge - either download at www.feasta.org or send an S.A.E. to FEASTA, 10a Lower Camden St, Dublin 2.

FEASTA welcomes YOUR ideas on designing systems for a sustainable future...send us your idea and maybe it will be the topic of the next briefing...see below for synopsis of the series so far!

The Great Emissions Rights Give-Away exposes the fundamental flaws of the current EU Emissions Trading System - including lack of accountability; added incentives for heavy polluters to continue business as usual, and unnecessarily increased cost to the public. FEASTA believes that the current ETS should be reformed and that from 2008 onwards, permits covering all the emissions allowed in any year under the EU's Kyoto commitment should be divided up on an equal per capita basis and distributed to every EU resident. The Climate group in FEASTA has set up a special website - www.euemissions.org - which it is using to kick start a European campaign to change the current ETS. The Irish part of the campaign wil go public in the next few weeks. If you would like to take part contact the convenor of Climate Group at climate@feasta.org.

Why Nuclear Power Cannot Be A Major Power Source - see Get your FEASTA Nuclear Power Briefing

Energy Rationing and the Oil Price Crisis The recent tripling of oil prices is causing great hardship for the worldís poor. According to the World Bank, higher energy prices can hit the poor twice as hard as those in the highest income group. Higher energy prices will also increase the cost of farm inputs like fertiliser and tractor fuel, pushing up the cost of food. FEASTA believes that energy rationing, introduced on either a national or an international level, could prevent malnutrition and fuel poverty increasing in the countries in which rationing is used.

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Dates for your Diary June/July

The Ecology of Money
Friday 7th - Sunday 9th July

Monkton Wyld Court , Dorset
Telephone: 01297 560342 Fax: 01297 560395
info@monktonwyldcourt.org

The money group in FEASTA has been dormant recently but expects to go into action shortly to oppose the enactment of the legislation that would allow the Irish Nationwide Building Society to sell itself off to an international bank. The group's reasons for opposing the demutualisation are on the website. If you would like to learn more about how money gets into circulation and money systems generally, a member of the group, Richard Douthwaite, is running a weekend resident course in England next month. Details can be found at www.monktonwyldcourt.org

Green Energy Fair
Sunday 18th June 11.00am - 6.00pm

Tote Hall, Leopardstown Race Course, Leopardstown, Co Dublin.

A Green Energy Fair is being organised by the Green Party on Sunday June 18th in the Tote Hall Leopardstown Race Course, Co Dublin. At this Green Energy Fair you will find out what you need to know about renewable energy home heating systems, new grants available to householders for installing these new heating systems and other exciting new technologies that will help you save money on your electricity and heating bills. There will also be a range of craftwork, organic food produce, and other interesting stalls to browse. Face painting and bouncy castles may win some younger converts to the cause.

If you are interested in having a stall there on the day, e mail Ciaran Cuffe

Rockfield Ecological Estate
Ongoing Workshops & Events

Rathaspic, Rathowen, Co. Westmeath

Arts, Culture and Heritage Eco-Workshops will take place in the old courtyard-buildings, which date back to 1780s and are restored using all eco friendly materials. Spinning, weaving, felt-making, paper making and stone sculpture are just some of the diverse range of courses on offer.

For more details contact Imelda or Jana 043 76024

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Membership

Membership of FEASTA gives you the opportunity to support the foundation's work and entitles you to two print newsletters, quarterly e-mail bulletins, and concessions on our events and publications.

€20 for a years membership
€10 concession for students and unwaged
€30 for a voluntary group or organisation
€65 for a funded group or organisation

If you are not a member please consider becoming one. Credit card payments accepted, and of course, donations are very welcome and much needed.