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Jade Wright visits vital environmental projects funded by Merseyside’s generosity
May 17 2011 by Jade Wright, Midweek Visiter
IT’S the little red envelope that makes a huge difference. This week is Christian Aid week, and around Merseyside people are raising money to help those less fortunate. But where does the money actually go? And for those of us who don’t have a fortune to spare, can a small amount really make any difference?I travelled to India to see for myself the projects that receive your donations. I visited women’s co-operative farming projects to see how every penny counts.
India is currently going through massive change. In rural areas, more and more people are turning to organic farming.
It’s not a lifestyle choice – it’s the only way they have to feed their families. In a country with 1.2 billion mouths to feed, farming is vital. The so-called ‘Green Revolution’ that started in the 1960s introduced high-input farming all over the country. In many regions it initially increased yields - but at a high cost. In the long term it caused erosion, severe water pollution, and ground water depletion. Now, the intensively farmed land lies barren, and people are having to find a new way. Or, as it happens, a much older one.
Christian Aid is helping to fund the Deccan Development Society (DDS), a small charity in the Andhra Pradesh region of southern India, which provides micro-loans and education.
In Indian society, there was traditionally a caste system, which divided everyone into a hierarchy. At the bottom there is an underclass, the Dalits. While officially the caste system is now outlawed, Dalits are still excluded from public places and no-one will loan them money – except DDS.
“They cannot go into many shops and temples,” says PV Satheesh, the director of DDS. “They would never be allowed into people’s houses. In many areas they are not even permitted to make eye contact with someone from a higher caste. They would be expected to look at the floor while the other person walks past.”
Satheesh started DDS to help the most marginalised people in society have a voice.
“We looked at society, and the Dalits were the most marginalised group,” says Satheesh. “Then we looked and saw that those in rural areas were suffering more than those in the cities. Dalit women in rural areas were the most marginalised of all.”
DDS work with groups of Dalit women in rural villages, and using money from Christian Aid donations, they provide education and micro-loans to help set up small organic farms and related small businesses.
Laxmamma Begari , 45, was loaned money to buy 2 ½ acres of land. After receiving training, she now works as the seed keeper for her village, Humnapur.
“We had lost our traditional skills,” Laxmamma explains. “Generation after generation had passed down the knowledge of how to farm in the old ways. We passed down seeds from mother to daughter. My mother knew every seed and how to gather and keep it so it would germinate the next year.
“But then the new methods came. We were told to buy packet seeds (the plants from which do not produce seeds for the next year’s sowing) and chemical fertilisers. I worked as a labourer, and the first year the harvest was good. Then years went on and it was worse. They were having to put more fertiliser on the land each year. It got to the point where they were having to use four times the original amount of fertiliser.”
Laxmamma used to work as a casual labourer for farmers. As a single parent Dalit woman with two children and no land of her own, it was the only way to feed her family after her husband walked out. She would earn just two rupees a day (about three pence).
“In those days I had nothing,” she says, looking down at the floor. “I was just an agricultural labourer. I had no land and was a single woman living with my mother. When the costs went up, the farmers couldn’t afford to pay me.
“The green revolution told farmers to only grow one or two crops. But if the weather wasn’t kind to that one crop – if the rains were early or late – then they had nothing. There was a lot of shame. Some farmers committed suicide.”
In the last 10 years in India 250,000 farmers committed suicide.
“Many were ruined,” she continues. “People lost everything. As labourers we had nothing to lose, but we were hungry because there was no work and little food. The green revolution didn’t work. We had to go back to the old ways.”
Laxmamma created a pool of seeds to use in the traditional method. In two years shegathered 82 varieties. She bought a small patch of land to farm so she didn’t have to work for landlords.
Each seed has a specific benefit – some will withstand heavy rainfall, some harvest early, some late, some withstand little water.
As well as helping Laxmamma, the DDS investment has helped the fragile local economy. The seeds are kept in special baskets. These are made by Narsamma Erakololla, a grandmother in a nearby village.
“Before this, nobody cared for us and nobody would give us a loan,” says Narsamma, 65, referring to the caste system. “Nobody trusted us, even in the village. There were 10 families like us and altogether we got a cash loan from DDS of 20,000 rupees (£275) between us to weave baskets and pay back the loan. We have made so many grain baskets to help women in the villages near here to store seeds. This means that we can send our grandchildren to school.”
Narsamma can make four baskets a day. The materials cost 10 rupees (14p) and she sells them for 20 rupees (28p). She makes 50p a day, and from that, she is able to make repayments.
In a country where 50 pence a day is a good wage, it’s easy to see how the money we put in those little red envelopes can go a long way. A loan of less than £30 to Narsamma’s family has made all the difference. I feel ashamed, as I realise I probably waste that much every week on lunches and cups of coffee.
“Because we were very regular with our loan repayments we got the loans without paying interest,” says Narsamma, proudly. “It would be too difficult to even imagine life without access to those loans. I cannot say thank you enough.”
"Greenwashing"
American, United, Continental Airlines "Greenwashing", say environmental groups
EDF joined five other major environmental groups today in denouncing American, United and Continental airlines for working to gut anti-pollution programs while simultaneously bragging about their environmental performances.
The companies each touted their environmental responsibility around Earth Day last month: American in an article in American Airlines in-flight magazine, and the newly merged United and Continental in the description of their new “Eco-Skies” environmental campaign.
Meanwhile, these airlines, along with the U.S. airlines trade group Air Transport Association of America, are suing in the European Court of Justice to block a new law that holds all airlines accountable for their global warming pollution resulting from flights to, from and within the European Union.
The companies are also lobbying the U.S. Congress to declare the EU law invalid.
EDF submitted the above ad to United and Continental Airlines' Hemispheres magazine, and a similar one to the American Airlines' American Way magazine, urging the airlines to “start flying cleaner.”
EDF today also submitted advertisements to American Airlines’ American Way and United/ Continental’s Hemispheres in-flight magazinesurging the airlines to start flying cleaner.
In its April 2011 in-flight magazine American Way, the American Airlines feature “AA Reduces Environmental Footprint” says the company is:
The article is from the Environmental Defense Fund. Read the original article here.
The companies each touted their environmental responsibility around Earth Day last month: American in an article in American Airlines in-flight magazine, and the newly merged United and Continental in the description of their new “Eco-Skies” environmental campaign.
Meanwhile, these airlines, along with the U.S. airlines trade group Air Transport Association of America, are suing in the European Court of Justice to block a new law that holds all airlines accountable for their global warming pollution resulting from flights to, from and within the European Union.
The companies are also lobbying the U.S. Congress to declare the EU law invalid.
Environmental groups urge airlines to drop lawsuit
In letters today to American Airlines Chairman and CEO Gerard J. Arpey and United Continental Holdings Inc. President and CEO Jeffrey A. Smisek, the environmental groups criticized the companies for“spending [their] customers’ money on lawyers and lobbyists in an effort to thwart a crucial anti-pollution program”.The groups that signed the letters – including Environmental Defense Fund, Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), Earthjustice, Environment America, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club – urged the airlines to:
drop the lawsuit, and join the future of low-carbon aviation by making your actions consistent with your words.The amount of global carbon emissions from aviation is expected to grow 3-4 percent per year. EDF, CBD and Earthjustice have intervened in the litigation in support of the EU, as part of a trans-Atlantic coalition of environmental groups. Oral argument for the case is expected in Fall 2011.
New EDF ads say American, United, Continental “dragging their wings” in cutting pollution
EDF submitted the above ad to United and Continental Airlines' Hemispheres magazine, and a similar one to the American Airlines' American Way magazine, urging the airlines to “start flying cleaner.”
In its April 2011 in-flight magazine American Way, the American Airlines feature “AA Reduces Environmental Footprint” says the company is:
“committed to identifying and implementing programs to reduce our environmental impact as well.”The webpage for the new “Eco-Skies” campaign for the merged United and Continental Airlines says the airlines:
“have shared a common focus on protecting the environment, which is allowing us to integrate our programs and focus on the environmental commitment of our combined company.”These airlines, says EDF’s ad, are suing European governments over common-sense rules to save jet fuel and reduce pollution. EDF’s ad says:
[G]iven a chance to cut pollution and save money, these airlines are dragging their wings… Instead of wasting money on PR and lawsuits, why not join in the effort to make our world cleaner?”EDF has requested the airlines respond within a week indicating whether the ads will be accepted for publication.
The article is from the Environmental Defense Fund. Read the original article here.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke
While it is still hotly debated, especially by the tobacco industry, second-hand smoke can be deadly. Not only has the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta issued a report on the effects of it, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) made the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ 9th Report on Carcinogens this year.
“If you can smell it, you’re breathing in those cancer-causing chemicals, and 90 percent of the smoke you smell in a room is the most dangerous type of cigarette smoke,” explained Kim Winter, manager of the Tobacco Control Program at the American Lung Association of Connecticut. “That ‘side-stream smoke’ comes off the burning end of the cigarette and burns at a lower temperature than when someone takes a drag. That cigarette is constantly putting those chemicals into the air for the five to 10 minutes the cigarette is lit.”
Side-stream smoke has five times the amount of carbon monoxide as the smoke the smoker inhales, according to the ALA. Carbon monoxide decreases the body’s ability to carry oxygen to tissues. Side-stream smoke also contains three times the amount of benzo(a)pyrene, a known carcinogen, and 50 times the amount of ammonia, a respiratory irritant.
“In the United States per year, there are between 30,000 and 60,000 deaths of healthy nonsmokers attributed to ETS,” said Beverly Kingsley, epidemiologist at the Office on Smoking and Health at the CDC. “If exposure to second-hand smoke causes lung cancer and heart disease in adults, do you honestly think children are any more resilient? We will probably have evidence in 10 years that ETS causes the same in children.”
There are also plenty of statistics about other respiratory or lung ailments ETS causes.
“The [Environmental Protection Agency] attributes thousands of new cases of childhood asthma to second-hand smoke,” Winter said. “Additional episodes of increased severity in asthmatic children are worsened by environmental smoke, estimated to account for somewhere between 200,000 and 1 million cases per year.”
“The only strategy is to avoid, avoid, avoid,” Kingsley said. “Don’t sit in any restaurant where there is a nonsmoking section in the same room as a smoking section. It’s just like trying to swim in the nonchlorinated section of the swimming pool.”
What You Can Do
Keep your home smoke-free, even if you are a smoker.
Avoid restaurants and public buildings where smoking is allowed.
Make it known to the management that a smokeless environment is preferred.
Never expose children to second-hand smoke. If you can smell it on your child’s clothing, he or she has already inhaled it.
Cigars and pipe smoke should also be avoided.
“If you can smell it, you’re breathing in those cancer-causing chemicals, and 90 percent of the smoke you smell in a room is the most dangerous type of cigarette smoke,” explained Kim Winter, manager of the Tobacco Control Program at the American Lung Association of Connecticut. “That ‘side-stream smoke’ comes off the burning end of the cigarette and burns at a lower temperature than when someone takes a drag. That cigarette is constantly putting those chemicals into the air for the five to 10 minutes the cigarette is lit.”
Side-stream smoke has five times the amount of carbon monoxide as the smoke the smoker inhales, according to the ALA. Carbon monoxide decreases the body’s ability to carry oxygen to tissues. Side-stream smoke also contains three times the amount of benzo(a)pyrene, a known carcinogen, and 50 times the amount of ammonia, a respiratory irritant.
“In the United States per year, there are between 30,000 and 60,000 deaths of healthy nonsmokers attributed to ETS,” said Beverly Kingsley, epidemiologist at the Office on Smoking and Health at the CDC. “If exposure to second-hand smoke causes lung cancer and heart disease in adults, do you honestly think children are any more resilient? We will probably have evidence in 10 years that ETS causes the same in children.”
There are also plenty of statistics about other respiratory or lung ailments ETS causes.
“The [Environmental Protection Agency] attributes thousands of new cases of childhood asthma to second-hand smoke,” Winter said. “Additional episodes of increased severity in asthmatic children are worsened by environmental smoke, estimated to account for somewhere between 200,000 and 1 million cases per year.”
“The only strategy is to avoid, avoid, avoid,” Kingsley said. “Don’t sit in any restaurant where there is a nonsmoking section in the same room as a smoking section. It’s just like trying to swim in the nonchlorinated section of the swimming pool.”
What You Can Do
Keep your home smoke-free, even if you are a smoker.
Avoid restaurants and public buildings where smoking is allowed.
Make it known to the management that a smokeless environment is preferred.
Never expose children to second-hand smoke. If you can smell it on your child’s clothing, he or she has already inhaled it.
Cigars and pipe smoke should also be avoided.
MASTERING A CAREER IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Last summer Annabel Foskett made the bold decision to end a long-term contract with a client and go back to her studies. The 37-year-old environmental education consultant from North London enrolled to study for a Masters in Environmental Management, and since then has not looked back.It is with a view to her own longer-term career that Annabel decided to undertake the degree and broaden her skills in the environmental management and conservation industry. Her interest and ambition has led to a sought-after scholarship and landed her as the Women and Work Environmental Conservation joint-winner of the year.
Annabel said, “I’d been told about Lantra’s Women and Work award and applied for it. It was great getting the grant because it has not only helped fund a small part of my degree but it also gave me great encouragement in actually going back to study.”
Annabel’s enthusiasm for her environmental work also netted further success when she was recently selected from more than 11,000 applicants for the Vodafone World Difference scholarship. The funding, which went to 500 people, has afforded Annabel a two-month conservation work placement.
“I want to extend my knowledge of environmental management work and not just specialise in the education side of conservation work,” she says. It’s in part thanks to her now 13-year-old son Leonardo, that Annabel’s conservation career ever got off the ground.
Having gained an NVQ level 2 in Amenity Horticulture Garden Design eight years ago Annabel started to help out at her son’s primary school on ad hoc nature projects.
“As it does, one thing led to another and I started to work with the children on energy conservation and habitat projects,” she says, “it’s been non-stop since then.”
For the last five years Annabel has been working as a self-employed environment educational consultant with clients including Barnet Countryside Centre, Veolia Water Educational Services and primary schools.
Beside her consultancy work Annabel volunteers as an Eco Schools, Green Flag School assessor, is a school governor, a London in Bloom, school grounds judge, a fundraiser and charity worker for Community Development in Africa, an RSPB youth and education volunteer and a founder and chair of the Friends of Cromer Road School.
“Once I’ve completed my degree I want my work to have a strong community
focus and for it to show a direct benefit to people and the environment around them,” she says. “After making my decision last summer it was a huge benefit to me getting both the Lantra award and then the Vodafone scholarship. They’ve opened up new and exciting opportunities.”
Lyndsay Bird, Lantra Women and Work Programme Manager said, “Annabel has really taken on the spirit of this programme. It is very inspiring to see the heights that her career has already taken, and no doubt this is just the beginning for her.”
Lantra Sector Skills Council is supporting Adult Learners' Week, as individuals like Annabel make brave choices to increase their skills throughout their lives.
The week-long national campaign from Monday 14 May to Friday 20 May, encourages thousands of adults whatever their age or background to give learning a go - either to catch up with new skills, or to learn for fun.
The annual event promotes education and training for adults as well as providing access to information and guidance to help motivate more adults to participate in learning opportunities.
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