Green Party councillors arecalling on Brighton and HoveCouncil to hand over

Patcham Court Farm to a speciallycreated not-for-profit communityland trust to develop the 3.6 acres forco-operative housing, social enter-prise work places and communityfacilities.The existing cottages andallotments would not be affected.

“By donating the site to a land trustat no cost the council would take theland costs out of the development equa-tion, making the new homes affordableto local people on modest incomes,including some of the 7,000 householdson the city's housing waiting list,” saidGreen Party spokesperson for housingand Brighton and Hove city councillorBill Randall.

“In addition, it would meet the aspi-rations of many Patcham residents whohave expressed a wish to see social

housing built on the site.” All the components are in place to

take the idea forward. The city hasstrong and experienced housing co-opsand a growing social enterprise sector.

“We would, of course, expect thenew homes to be deep green and wantto see the Brighton-based firms involvedwho have experience in low or zero car-bon building,” added Cllr Randall. “Theyare already planning a scheme of 16 lowenergy earth-ship homes elsewhere inthe city. Let's have some more atPatcham Court Farm.”

The community land trust would bea not-for-profit company with £1 share-holders. It would own the land on behalfof the community.Anybody in the city,among them Patcham residents, wouldbe entitled to buy one share and electcommittee members.

“We believe our plan is the way for-ward for Patcham Court Farm, which has

gone to waste for too long,” saidCouncillor Randall.

Number 28, Spring/Summer 2006

CITY HOUSINGCRISISGreens work to find solutions

Speak up! p.7

A city education? p.5

From Greenspeak to Tight Lip...everyone’s talking about it

Teacher Rachel Fryer looks at theGovernment’s education reforms

Mine’s a Harveys p.6

Andy Knott praises the tastydelights of local brewing

Distributed by the Green Party to thousands of homes in Brighton and Hove

Find out more about us on-line at: www.brightonandhovegreenparty.org.uk

New affordable homes at Patcham Court Farm could make an important contribution to easing the city’shousing crisis:7,000 households have their name on the waiting list; the annual house-building shortfall is 1,200homes a year;850 households were housed from homelessness in 2004/2005,and 40 percent of young workinghouseholds in the city cannot afford to buy a home,according to research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Inset: Cllr Bill Randall

Caught between the Devil's Dyke and the deep blue sea? Land is scarce in a city sandwiched between the Downs and the sea and suffering a housing crisis.

Green city councillors have welcomedthe decision by Brighton and HoveCity Council to defer the granting of

planning approval for a captive seal andpenguin pool at Brighton’s Sea Life Centre.

The Council’s Planning Committee postponeda decision on the application by the aquarium onMarine Parade until more information has beenprovided on the suitability of the plans.

Greens have been at the forefront of thecampaign to fight new plans to keep seals and seaotters at the Sea Life Centre. Representativesfrom a coalition of local animal rights groups,

including Brighton Animal Action, the Born FreeFoundation and International Animal Rescue willpresent a petition with over 3,000 signatures tothe Chair of the Planning Committee.

Green Councillor Georgia Wrighton said:“We’re really pleased the Planning Committeedeferred this totally inappropriate planning applica-tion.This is simply the wrong place for seals andsea otters.They would live out their days in con-finement, in a dank semi-basement in the middleof the region’s busiest tourist hotspots. I’m alsopleased that so many questions and points wereraised by councillors on animal welfare issues.”

Acity-wide bike hire plan for£30,000? An extra £100,000for pedestrians across the

city? There is plenty of popular sup-port for such schemes.

But these were just two ideas in arange of Green environmental proposalsthat were rejected by Labour andLibDem councillors at the city council’sbudget meeting this spring.

Green councillors proposed thatBrighton and Hove should be a “beaconof renewable energy” and invest in a£200,000 Renewable Energy Fund (REF)to use the natural power of wind, sea andleg-power to provide for the city’s future.Brighton and Hove as a city has the 17thworst ecological footprint across the UK.

Green Party councillor Keith Taylorsaid: “The REF is part of our sustainablefuture - I regret wholeheartedly that theCity Council administration chose not toaccept the REF into their own proposal.As far as I can see, the only thing wrongwith the REF from their viewpoint is thatthey didn’t think of it.”

A coalition of Labour, LibDem andone of the two independent councillorson Brighton and Hove City Councilrejected the REF by a narrow margin.

Cllr Taylor added: “As usual theLibDems pretend to be green but in real-ity their words do not meet the aspira-tions of the many people who are con-

cerned about the environment."There is public support, as shown by

the coverage in local newspapers such asThe Argus and Leader, for renewableenergy options for this city. We’re plan-ning public meetings to help grow thissupport."

The Council did however establishthe post of an energy efficiency officer.

Our city is open for theright kind of business

Recently there’s been talk about the future of our city inthe local press and elsewhere about how the city willdevelop over the next few years – especially the proposedbig building projects at King Alfred and the Marina.

Some in the business community,mainly property developers,are claiming that Brighton and Hove will “die” if the localcommunity does not unquestioningly embrace the schemes thatdevelopers are applying to build. They say that if local people voiceconcerns then developers will view our city as ‘closed for busi-ness’ and take their investment and regeneration plans elsewhere.

This is blackmail. Local people have a right - even a duty - toquestion and scrutinise closely the impact of such large scaledevelopments. If built, these developments would be here fordecades and would fundamentally change the look and feel of ourcity for future generations. They are not plans written in chalk ona blackboard that you can rub away if you don’t like them. Theywill permanently alter the urban landscape. It is thereforedisrespectful for advocates of ‘development at any price’ to accuselocal people who question and sound caution of “killing our city”or acting like “amateurs.”

While the fabric of the city centre is mainly low-rise Regencyand Victorian, there is a place for carefully implemented excitingand ambitious developments to complement the city’s urbancharacter. New developments must be sustainable in every sense.

Brighton and Hove is open for business.The business commu-nity must understand that the people who live and work herewant the essential feel and appearance of their city safeguarded.It's ironic that if this is harmed then the very reason developersare here in the first place - the opportunity to make money outof this city's popularity as a place to live - will vanish and we wouldhave lost that special character that makes this city so special.

GreenLeaf Spring/Summer 2006page 2

Green Cllr Georgia Wrighton (centre) with protestors outside the Sea Life Centre

Council rejects £200k planfor Renewable Energy Fund

Green councillors set up a REF inKirklees, and have attracted anextra £3m funding for renewables

If you have any comments or wish to advertise, call us on 01273 766670 or visit us at W.:www.brightonandhovegreenparty.org.uk E: greenworker@brightonandhovegreenparty.org.ukOpinions expressed in GreenLeaf are not necessarily those of Brighton and Hove Green Party.

Sea Life protests keepanimals safe,for now

Other Green budget measures:EnvironmentInvestment in cycling and walking: £100kNorth Laine pedestrian programme: £35kCongestion charge preliminary study: £50

Community, Education & Social CareSatellite annex for secondary school foreast Brighton: £20kMore spent on school meals: £61kIncrease on voluntary grants: £37kLonger library opening hours: £87kSafeguard against Labour/LibDemincrease charges for social home careand day centres

Greens have announced theircandidate team to representpeople in Brighton’s Preston

Park area. Three Green candidateswill stand for election to the citycouncil in May 2007.

Greens already hold one councilseat in the area, which covers PrestonPark, Fiveways, Prestonville and PrestonCircus. They are hopeful of winning theother two seats from New Labour nextyear.

Candidates include local Greencouncillor Richard Mallender who waselected in 2003. As a local councillor hehas worked hard on local issues includingfighting proposals for the giantHollingdean waste recovery depot aswell as on refuse collection and trafficmanagement issues. Richard lives onStanford Avenue.

The Greens are also fielding LeoLittman and Sharon Hamlin. Leo is anexperienced community activist who hascampaigned on local issues for manyyears in the Fiveways area. Sharon is asenior social work professional and ifelected will bring her expertise on

health and social care issues as a council-lor. They both live in the Fiveways area.

Councillor Richard Mallender said:“We’re a professional and experiencedteam and understand what matters topeople who live in the Preston parkarea. It is a large geographical area andcovers several local communities.

“It’s also a beautiful part of the city

and local people want to keep it thatway. Residents have seen the differencea Green councillor can make. We hopelocal voters will elect all three Greensnext year to represent the area.”

For more information about PrestonPark area Greens or to offer to helpplease contact Sharon or Leo on 01273673191, email: leo@headweb.co.uk

Campaigners issuedmock ‘parking tick-ets’ to drivers of 4x4

vehicles to launch a newcampaign highlighting whybig cars are a poor choicefor driving in urban areas.

Volunteer ‘parking war-dens’ from the Brighton AllianceAgainst Urban 4x4s used ticketsthat look like parking fines, buton closer inspection detail thereasons why 4x4s are “dirty and dangerous cars”.

Blake Ludwig of the Alliance said: “We can understand peoplethinking these vehicles are safer because of their size, but they’reinvolved in 25% more accidents than other cars.Using 4x4s in urbanareas isn’t safe, isn’t good for the environment - and it isn’t cool.”

Councillor Keith Taylor of Brighton and Hove Green Partysaid:“This campaign is not anti-car or anti-motorist. We are notobjecting to people owning these vehicles if they need them foroff-road usage, or in rural areas - but they are not safe for thecrowded streets of Brighton.”

The Jubilee Library opening hours could be extend-ed by six hours a week, says Councillor BillRandall, Green Party spokesperson on culture and

tourism on Brighton and Hove City Council.New accounting arrangements have produced an £87,000

windfall in the library budget, which the Greens have earmarkedfor the extended opening hours in their council budget propos-als for 2006/7.

“Unfortunately, keeping the library doors open longer is nota priority for the other parties, and they refused to support us,”said Councillor Randall.

“But the money is still there and should be used for thispurpose, unless the administration has siphoned it off to prop upother services. I receive many complaints about the openinghours. Everybody likes the library, but most people feel it shouldbe more accessible.”

The Jubilee Library was opened on March 3rd, 2005 - WorldBook Day - but opens for a total of just 48 hours each week.

Councillor Randall added: “Unfortunately £87,000 is notenough to open Jubilee Library on Sundays, but it could fundanother late night in the week and extend the limited Saturdayopening hours.”

GreenLeaf Spring/Summer 2006 page 3

Ditch the plastic

Ninety-nine percent ofBrighton & Hove shop-pers want supermarkets

to use only the minimum pack-aging, a survey from the Take ItBack Campaign has revealed.

The survey, which polled 648people in the Brighton and Hovearea, also showed that 90% of shop-pers want supermarkets to stop giv-ing out free plastic bags.

Watts Bank SuccessGreen councillors say BrightonUniversity must do more to protectthe Watts Bank area of ‘special natureconservation importance’ after theUniversity tried to build new studentaccommodation on the site.

Green councillor Sue Paskins wasinstrumental in persuading theBrighton & Hove City Council planningcommittee to reject the application.

“The university houses the Centrefor Sustainability in the BuiltEnvironment,” explained Cllr Paskins.“Such organisations should have higherstandards.”

News in Brief

‘Tickets’ for dirty 4x4s Extend library hours?

Preston Park goes Greenfor 2007 council elections

Preston Park Ward's new Green Team: (l-r) Leo Littman, Sharon Hamlin andCouncillor Richard Mallender

4x4s are dirty and dangerous

Leo Littman was born in Brighton andHove and has lived here all his life, for thelast 23 years in Fiveways north of PrestonPark. He has worked in a number of fieldsincluding administration for East SussexCounty Council, teaching English, andwebsite design. Leo has been an activemember of the local Greeen Party for 17years. He is also a member of AmnestyInternational, Friends of The Earth and theFree Tibet Campaign. Recently, Leo hasattended local public meetings regardingthe proposed building of a tower blocknear Preston Park, the wheelie-bins row,and the Hollingdean waste facility.

When Sharon Hamlin moved toBrighton five years ago after marine con-servation work overseas, she felt that shehad 'come home'. She joined the GreenParty when she saw how active Greencouncillors were in tackling local issuessuch as waste collection and transportproblems. A qualified social worker for15 years, Sharon is currently employed asa senior social worker. She is especiallyinterested in the mental health needs ofboth adults and children, and is setting upa Green Party Health and Social Welfareworking group. She is also a member ofthe Community Health Council.

Richard Mallender is a city councillorfor the area. He has lived in the PrestonPark area since 1993 and was elected tothe city council in May 2003. He workswith local residents on a variety ofissues, including traffic calming, highwaysafety, school admissions, health, andrefuse collection. Within the Greengroup of councillors, Richard leads oneducation matters, serving as a memberof the Children, Families and SchoolsCommittee and the Children's TrustBoard. In 2005, Richard was elected asChair of the Green Party of England andWales.

Greens in Brighton and Hove arespearheading a campaign to reducethe number of unwanted animals in

shelters and to put a stop to the trade inanimals caught in the wild.

The campaign, led by Alison Plaumer, the GreenParty’s Animal Rights Group Convenor, has the sup-port of four leading pet shops in the city.

“These responsible pet shop operations haveagreed to our simple six point Declaration,” said MsPlaumer, whose group has approached all ten petshops licensed by Brighton and Hove City Council.”

Ms Plaumer added: “The majority of those thathave responded support the principles of ourDeclaration.”

The Declaration, which pet shop owners haveagreed to support, initially calls on them to:

· Always ensure the highest welfare standards· Stop the cruel trade in wild caught animals· Ensure all breeders and suppliers are reputable

and have excellent animal welfare standards · Follow excellent Health and Safety Practices· Actively promote responsible pet ownership

· Actively provide customers with informationabout good husbandry techniques

The pet shops that have agreed to support andimplement the declaration are Repco (PrestonDrove), Pet Pet Pet (West Way), Paws and Claws(Station Road Portslade), and Pets Corner(Wyevale Garden Centre).

“We are delighted these pet shop owners haveagreed with this responsibility and signed up to oursix point declaration,” said Ms Plaumer. “We are alsopressing for legal obligations to be place on petshops to actively promote animal welfare, and toensure this through spot-checks by the licensingauthority. Such measures would be a tremendousboost for animal welfare.”

Jenny Wells, manager of the RSPCA’s centre atPatcham said: “Every year the RSPCA finds newhomes for around 70,000 animals. These animalsarrive at the RSPCA out of various circumstances -they may be unwanted pets that have been callouslydumped or victims of cruelty by their owners.

“Animal welfare is everyone's responsibility andthis initiative is to be greatly welcomed.”

GreenLeaf Spring/Summer 2006page 4

Pet shops happy to signGreens’ six-point plan

A big hole in the government’s bucket...

Living by the sea, few inBrighton & Hove have missedthe rain this winter, which has

been the driest, locally, on record.But, with it coming hot on the heels

of one of the driest summers, reservoirsin Sussex are low and ground water isretreating. Brighton and Hove has seenless rainfall in the last year than Jerusalemor parts of Namibia. Water is becominga little more precious all the time.

Brighton & Hove residents' havebeen banned from using their hosepipesfor almost a year now, but this hasn'tbeen enough - we are facing 'water cuts'and standpipes in the streets for the firsttime in almost 30 years this summer.

Efforts must urgently concentrateon reducing our usage of water. This isthe recommendation Southern Water ismaking to its customers: stop usinghosepipes to wash cars and water gar-dens, fit 'Hippos' in toilets - and turn offthe tap whilst brushing teeth or shaving.

These measures will make a smalldifference, but they are targeting thewrong people, and will do little morethan raise the sense of injustice which isalready seeing thousands of customersignoring the restrictions and local ten-sions over water use escalate.

It's pretty hard for most people tounderstand why it's fair for golf coursesto use hundreds of millions of litres

keeping greens moist for the memberswhen they're being asked to save half alitre here or there by turning the tap offwhile brushing their teeth.Thames Waterhasn't helped by publicly washing theirwindows last week - with a hosepipe.

The reality is this is a problem causedby Government failure and inaction.

Though it's hard to blame them forfalling rainfall (hard, but not impossible -our climate is changing as a direct resultof Government transport, energy andhousing policies) - the real pressures onthe system are from leaks, poor collec-tion rates, a lack of domestic metering,and the threat of half a million newhomes across the region.

Asking customers to stop usinghosepipes might buy Southern Water afew days if the drought persists. But weneed the Government to find ways toensure the privatized water companiesdivert some of their profits to investingin improving the leaking and creakinginfrastructure - and improving collectionrates. Less than two percent of rainfallever makes it into a reservoir or tappedwater source; 98 percent runs straight toground and, eventually, the sea.

This investment must be required bylaw, so water companies don't pass thecosts on to their customers, many ofwhom are vulnerable to any increase inprice and reliant on regular supplies.

It must also legislate to makedomestic water meters compulsory - socustomers who waste water or chooseto use it to fill swimming pools or watercars are made to pay for the privilege.Again, this must be centrally funded andcharges calculated to ensure vulnerableheavy water users aren't penalised.

But perhaps most importantly, theGovernment must not make the problemworse. It should revise plans to build newhomes across the region, and considerthe impact on water use and supply ontheir location and construction methods.

Most crucially, it must close theyawning gulf between rhetoric and reali-ty on tackling the climate chaos which ismaking our rainfall increasingly unpre-dictable and more likely that droughtswill afflict Sussex and the South-East.

Gardeners have to use watering cans,while golf courses can waste millions of gallons

Hosepipe bans in Sussexand the region aretargeting the wrong people,argues Caroline Lucas,Green Party MEP forSouth-East England. It isthe government that musttake responsibility for thewater crisis. And it is thegovernment that shouldtake action.

Inset: Caroline Lucas, MEP

Recent Green Party conferences have seen unani-mous votes opposing the 'privatisation' of schools -the City Academies and Trust Schools proposed in

the Government's Education White Paper.Although some local Labour politicians have spoken publicly

against the Government schemes, Labour-led Brighton and HoveCity Council has embraced controversial 'Private FinanceInitiative' (PFI) contracts between buildings contractor Jarvis andlocal schools in Patcham,Varndean and the former COMARTschool in east Brighton.

PFIs create many unwelcome restrictions on schools, includ-ing being forced to pay Jarvis, the contractor, to use school build-ings out of hours. Essential coursework preparation often hap-pens outside normal school hours, as doparents' evenings, music and sports activi-ties.These are essential for enriching theeducational experience of pupils and helpto engage them.The lack of communitycontrol over school buildings has otherunsavoury consequences. For example,where healthy meals are available, schoolsunder PFI management will have lesspower to refuse vending machines.

The Government's White Paper andthe Education and Inspections Bill, promise to put "parents at theheart of learning". But so far in Brighton and Hove the COMARTPFI contract agreed for COMART School has cost the council£4.5 million in compensation.When the initiative failed toimprove standards, the school subsequently closed, with disas-trous effects for the community. Brighton and Hove City Councilhas also been instrumental in promoting the potential CityAcademy Status for Falmer High School.

So far, Falmer is an improving school.This trend is likely toreverse if the students are educated in huts for two years, as ispredicted under the new Academy scheme. Many City Academieshave worse results than other schools. Concerned parents are

being led to believe this is the only way the school will receivethe funding it needs.Additional administrative responsibilities candivert attention away from pupil achievement.While schoolsshould have more autonomy and a less restrictive curriculum,Trust schools and City Academies are not the means to this end.

Private trusts have the power to appoint a majority of thegovernors; in some cases the parents only have the right to votefor one parent governor.The implications are stark. In theBusiness Academy in Bexley an entire day is devoted to businessstudies including participating in a mini stock exchange and trad-ing floor.Almost half of existing and proposed Academies involvefaith groups.The Vardy Foundation plans to establish a chain ofAcademies teaching biblical creationism and history lessons that

consider if England escaped invasion byHitler due to an 'act of God'.

Then there are admissions criteria:most Trust Schools choose their ownadmissions procedures, which makesequality for children from all backgroundsand abilities less likely. DespiteGovernment claims, evidence suggests thatgreater choice will not raise standards andwill increase segregation. Expert consensussuggests that improvements in perform-

ance are found when there is broad socio-economic inclusion.Greens believe that every child should have the choice to

attend a good local school.This is important not only for tradi-tional environmental concerns such as reducing traffic pollutionand congestion in transporting children to school, but also forpromoting community, equal opportunities and providing and astronger all-round education.

At the Green Party annual conference, coming thisSeptember to Hove, education will be the focus of a whole day.Student representatives will be invited to join delegates, teachersand teaching union representatives in workshops, talks anddebates. Please contact us if you would like to know more.

GreenLeaf Spring/Summer 2006 page 5

Thefuture ofeducation

Following on from theMarch 2006 Children,Families & Schools com-

mittee decision to revert to theexisting schools admission poli-cy, to allow time for a fairer sys-tem to be developed for imple-mentation next year, the work-ing group developing proposalshas held its first meeting.

Councillor Sue Paskins will bethe Green rep on the working group.She said, “As well as the 'node' sys-tems previously looked at the groupwill consider and develop the Greenproposal for an 80/20 split of pupilslocal and further away from theschool they wish to attend.

“Whilst it's not a perfect solu-tion it does enable all children tohave at least a chance to attend theschool they want. Greens want tobuild a new city centre school, possi-bly linked to a successful and estab-lished school.”

Could Falmer soon be an Academy? (Inset: Rachel Fryer)

School admissionscrisis:Greenspropose 80/20 split

Advertise to over50,000 households inBrighton and HoveContact Amy Kennedy on 01273 766670 or by email atgreenworker@brightonandhovegreenparty.org.uk

What effect will plans for Academy Schoolshave on education in Brighton and Hove?Music teacher and Green Party memberRachel Fryer has her say

Falmer is an improvingschool.This trend is likely

to reverse if students are tobe educated in huts for

two years, as is predictedin the Academy scheme.

Pubs and real ale are an inte-gral part of British culture.While the former have trans-

formed themselves over the lasttwenty years, the latter has beenneglected in favour of alternatives,notably branded lagers and morerecently wine.

There are encouraging signs, howev-er, that a reappraisal and reawakening ofreal ale is occurring. In Sussex, Harveyshas been central to this process.With ahistory dating back to 1790, this Lewes-based brewery has deviated from themarketing script favoured by the bigbrewers.

Its strategy is to focus solely on pro-ducing a quality product and selling it to acaptive local audience. The quality anglehas been acknowledged by CAMRA whoawarded it the Best Bitter prize in 2005,while the new interest in ethics recognis-es the sustainable logic of their restrictingsales to a radius of 50 miles of the brew-ery. The big lager brewers, by contrast,have a single national site of production,and then inefficiently transport what islargely water around the country.

What’s more, all Harveys ingredientsare locally sourced and produced. Thebrewery has its own spring which pro-vides its major component, fresh water.Beyond that, the malt and hops are grownin Sussex and Kent, while the yeast hasremained unchanged for four decades.

Take a Harvey’s Holiday

Brighton and Hove residents will findHarveys in a number of pubs, but the realessence of Harveys can be found in fourpubs that they own. These are theConstant Service in Hanover, not onlynamed for its bar-staff, but after theConstant Service Water Company whoowned the pub in 1853 when it was apumping station. Harvey’s also owns theMitre on Baker Street, the Nelson on

Trafalgar Street and the Eclipse in Hove.But if you wanted to make it a week

(or month) of Harvey’s, you could try tovisit all 69 of their pubs across the south-

east, from the Bricklayers Arms inChipstead to the Elephant’s Head inTunbridge Wells.

Most of Harveys production is oftheir award-winning Best, which at 4% isan excellent all-round beer.At their pubs

you might also like to try their other reg-ular lines, such as Pale Ale (3.5%),Armada(4.5%) and Mild (3%).

Modern Democracy

In 2000, they also began to produceseasonal lines to quench this revivedinterest in different styles of real ale. Solook out for Porter (4.8%) during April,Knots of May Light Mild (3%) in May, andthe wheat beer Copperwheat Brew(4.8%) in June. July’s seasonal speciality isnamed after Lewes’s most renowned fig-ure, the champion of modern democracyand the welfare state Tom Paine, weighingin at a mighty 5.5%.

On a final note,Harveys run a warm-ly recommended tour for enthusiasts,which provides a fascinating account ofnot only the brewery, but also beer’sdevelopment over the past two centuriesalongside stories from the local social andeconomic history.

GreenLeaf Spring/Summer 2006page 6

The Brewery in Lewes: take the tour or visit the Harvey’s shop

There’s three basic things youneed to know about stock.Firstly,it’s very easy to make,

and takes little time.Second,alwaysmake large quantities as it freezes well.Finally,never ever follow a recipe.

The base of a good stock is the west-ern 'holy trinity' of onions,carrots and cel-ery (as opposed to the eastern 'holy trinity'of garlic,ginger and chilli).Beyond that, it’s agood idea to lob in any veg that you wouldotherwise discard and store them in a plas-tic bag in the freezer.

Examples include broccoli stems, thespines of cabbage leaves,parsley stems,peapods, the tough outer layers of fennel,orwhatever you deem appropriate. If you’re ofcarnivorous inclination,you can also freezechicken carcasses too.

Method:1. Gently fry onions,carrots andcelery in enormous stockpot forfive minutes.2. Add frozen veg and/or chickencarcass (see earlier).3. Add other ingredients if available,such as plenty of (ideally Maldonsea) salt,whole peppercorns,bayleaves,chillies, lemon,star anise.4. Fill stockpot up with water.Bringto boil and simmer for half an hour.5. Use immediately in soups,risot-tos, stews or casseroles or straininto Tupperware containers andfreeze.

Stock upfor thesummer A brewery that uses its own spring water and sources all its ingredients locally, and

makes prize-winning beer too. Andy Knott raises his glass to the benefits of a local pint

Everyone loves a Harveys

Seasonal (asparagus) tips

Unlike continentalEuropeans, Britsare rather

reserved in celebrating ourfood culture and ingredi-ents.Yet it’s acknowledgedby the cognoscenti that ourclimate creates the finestof certain produce; one ofwhich is asparagus, whoseseason usually runs fromApril through to June. Solap it up while you can.

One good way with it isto simply roast it with olive oil,

Maldon sea salt and blackpepper for 10 to 12 minutes

at 200°C. Serve as a starter, oras a light meal with plenty of

fresh bread.Another idea is to serve it

with another seasonal gem, JerseyRoyal potatoes. Boil the potatoes for20 minutes and asparagus for 10.Strain, season well and cover with

melted butter spiked with lemonjuice.You could also scattersemi-soft cheese over the top

and whack it under the grill for aminute or two.

GreenLeaf Spring/Summer 2006 page 7

It takes a lot to get journalists toadmit they might not knoweverything.But that’s what Greenspeak, the

monthly series of ethical deates, managedto do when it relaunched at the TerracesRestaurant in March.The series kickedoff with a tough talk on nuclear power,which brought together local Sussex res-idents with speakers from energy,research and politics to debate the issue.And it was let to Sarah Dawson, an off-duty journalist, to sum up the night:“Itopened my eyes to these issues. I thinkthe vast majority of people are in denial;this made me want to get off my back-side and get active.”

Getting off backsides is what a fewBrighton & Hove individuals have beendoing over the past year: not just todebate nuclear power, but to revive thecity’s spoken word scene.

Greenspeak is run by volunteersMartin Grimshaw and Kat Neeser. Bothof them felt the city lacked anevent where local people couldengage in a quality debate aroundethical and green issues.“Brighton and Hove as a city hasthe 17th worst environmental footprintin this country.A space to talk aboutthese issues was certainly something wewere missing,” said Martin. Duncan Fry, abarrister, in the audience for therelaunch night, agreed.“A high calibre ofspeakers, debate and discussion,” he said.

The return of Greenspeak, whichtook a well-deserved rest through 2005,has been part of a revival in the city forthe spoken word in the form of Slams,poetry nights, prose events and debates.A number of nights have been instiutionsfor a while - the Brighton PoetrySociety at the Sanctuary Cafe beinglong-lived and noisy throughout, as its

compere Robin will tell you - but eventhe old guard can’t deny it: talking is in.

“I was around five years ago,” saysAbi Curtis, who co-runs The SWIMspoken word night at the Sanctuary

Cafe, an open mic evening for prose, sto-ries and poetry.“Then one or twopeopleran the scene.When they left, it dried up.Even a year ago there wasn’t much. Nowthere’s almost too much!”

“When I came to Brighton fifteenmonths ago, there wasn’t really a scene,”agrees Sam, who rus Hammer &Tongue, the Slam poetry event import-ed from Oxford.“But now we’ere pullingin a hundred each month.” That’s scream-ing, shouting, slamming punters, too.Impressive for just over a year’s effort.

Greenspeak’s audience is no lesspassionate about what’s being debated,even if they are a little more decorous

while the speakers are actually on thepodium, says Martin. Hannah Wylie, apermaculture student, left feeling “firedup and ready to take some action.” Asco-organiser Kat Neeser adds,“reachingpeople with these types of open debatesis really important if people are going tomake up their own minds about what todo next.”

“In an age when science is seen asinaccessible, remote and irrelevant toeveryday life it's important to find waysof communicating science to ordinarypeople, and also of letting scientistsknow what ordinary people think oftheir work,” says Jim Grozier, organiserof Cafe Scientfique, which also runs atthe Terraces.“Cafe Scientifique plays animportant role in this process.” The Cafeholds debates on topics such as thefuture of fusion, autism, and soldiers inthe lab. So it all looks rosy.Are there anydownsides?

“There are a lot of literary people inBrighton, despite evidence tothe contrary,” says Jay Clifton,organiser of noir prose night,Tight Lip. “The problem isvenues. Spoken Word nights

aren't a commercial proposition.ThePermanent Gallery, host of Tight Lip, isarts council funded. But normally if a baris ready to give you a night, you can betit’s a Sunday or Monday.”

Greenspeak, however, is going strongat the Terraces. In the next few months itwill be tackling Green Economics,TheEthics of Food,Airport Expansion, andAlternatives to Animal Testing.

“And I just showed everyone howto fold plastic bags into triangles sothey’re easier to take back to the shopsand re-use,” says Kat. Lively debate andneat tricks to save the planet? You’vetalked me into it.

The SpokenWord Revival

What’s on and WhenGreenSpeak: 2nd Tuesday of the month@ The Terraces, Madeira Drive.http://www.greenspeak-brighton.org.uk

Cafe Scientifique: 3rd Tuesday of themonth @ The Terraces, Madeira Drive.http://www.cafe-scientifique-brighton.org.uk

SWIM SpokenWord: 2nd Monday ofthe month @ The Sanctuary Cafe, Hove.http://www.sanctuarycafe.co.uk

Brighton Poetry Society: last Mondayof the month @ The Sanctuary Cafe,Hove. www.brightonpoetrysociety.co.uk

Hammer & Tongue: first Monday f themonth @ Komedia.http://www.hammerandtongue.org

Tall Lighthouse: first Tuesday of themonth @ Duke of York’s cafe barwww.tall-lighthouse.co.uk

Speakeasy: last Thursday of the month@ The Cowley Club, London Road.http://www.cowleyclub.org.uk

Tight Lip: 3rd Friday of the month @The Permanent Gallery, Bedford Placehttp://www.permanentgallery.com

Everyone in Brighton & Hove’s talkingabout it: talking,that is.The city’s found itsteeth,and every subject is on the menu

Dirty, Dangerousand Expensive

Nuclear vs. Renewable Energy

A talk by Cllr Keith TaylorPrincipal Speaker of the Green Party

May 31st7.30pm

Lewes Town Hall, High Street, Lewes, East Sussex

For more information call the Party Officeon 01273 766 670

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The case for renewable energy must dealwith the government's wrong-headedenthusiasm for building a new series of

nuclear power stations.If we are to stand any chance of staving off climate

change then we must cut global greenhouse gas emissionsby 80% to 90% by 2050. To do that we'll need nothingshort of a revolution in the way we run our economy andthe way we produce and consume.

Although nuclear power releases no carbon whengenerating power, there are still significant emissions asso-ciated with mining and extracting the ore, in transport andconstruction.

Even if Tony Blair gives the go-ahead later this year,wewouldn't see the first reactor until 2015.What that meansis that a new nuclear programme would make no differ-ence at all to achieving government targets of reducingcarbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2010, and only limit-ed difference by 2020. This is when the government'senergy white paper tells us we should be making signifi-cant progress towards our 60% target by 2050. If thenuclear build programme went ahead with eight or nine

reactors the biggest reduction in carbon emissions we'relikely to see is around 8%.

Also, we cannot forget we have just passed the 20thanniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident.Between 15,000 and 30,000 people have died as a result

of the explosion at Chernobyl's Reactor 4 in 1986 and sixmillion people still live in contaminated zones.

Supporters of nuclear say standards have improved.But the truth is that accidents can and will happen, even inthe best regulated industries - look at the recentBuncefeild oil depot fire. For people unconvinced by the

safety argument, there have been many well argued sub-missions to the government's recent Energy Reviewwhich argue against new-build nuclear. Amongst these arereports from the Greens, thegovernment's ownSustainable Development Commission, the NewEconomics Foundation, Greenpeace and many more. Allthis research identifies several common arguments:

1. It is impossible to guarantee safety over the long-term disposal of nuclear waste.

2.The costs of nuclear are highly uncertain. For theeight new power stations the government wants to build,construction costs alone are £1bn each.Decommissioningcosts of existing power stations are estimated at £70bn.

3.Nuclear would lock the UK into a centralised ener-gy distribution system for the next 50 years, at exactly thetime when opportunities for micro-generation and localdistribution network are stronger than ever.

4. A new nuclear programme would give out thewrong signal, implying a major technological fix is all that'srequired, when what we need is energy efficiency.

5. If the UK brings forward a new nuclear power pro-gramme, we cannot morally deny other countries such asIran the same technology.

So, if nuclear is not the answer what is?We need a basket of taxation, incentives and a regu-

latory framework that sets ambitious standards for ener-gy reduction in electrical equipment, in transport, wasteand recycling and the way we construct our buildings.Weneed investment in renewable energy technologies likewind, biomass, solar and wave resources.

We also need The Sustainable Energy Bill, a privatemembers bill which has received it second reading, whichwill embed sustainable energy obligations and targets inlaw. Please ask your MP to support the bill.At a personallevel, changing your energy supplier at home or at workto a green supplier and considering installing solar or windgenerating equipment is something everyone can do.

Responsibility ultimately remains with the govern-ment, which has to make a choice. It's difficult to be con-fident Blair will make the right one.We also have to recog-nise that governments of various persuasions have beenconsistent in their support of nuclear. Since 1974 they'vespent £6.8 billion on research into nuclear fusion,which isstill no closer, while in the same period they've spent just£540 million on renewable power research.

How our generation produces energy could create adirty, dangerous and expensive legacy for the future whenthe renewable alternatives could deliver power, reducecarbon and create jobs. Building new nuclear is simply tooimportant a decision to become yet another of TonyBlair’s mistakes. Our arguments must be ringing in theears of the decision-makers.

The argument against nuclear

Published and promoted by The Brighton & Hove Green Party, at Eco Centre, 39-41 Surrey Street, Brighton BN1 3PB & Printed by Newsquest, Hollingbury, East Sussex

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info@brightonandhovegreenparty.org.ukwww.brightonandhovegreenparty.org.uk

GreenLeaf Spring/Summer 2006page 8

National Green Party Principal Speaker Keith Taylor explains why nuclearpower is the wrong choice for our energy needs, despite Tony Blair’senthusiasm for the dirty, dangerous and expensive choice

We’ve just passed the 20thanniversary of the world’s worst

nuclear accident. Between 15,000and 30,000 people have died as aresult of the explosion at Chernobyl