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media release everyone campaign VOTE WITH YOUR FEET FOR A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE
Thursday 30 November 2006
The Scottish Environment LINK everyone campaign (to be launched on Thursday 30 November) calls for politicians to commit to a better environment and a better quality of life for people in Scotland. The two go together like left and right. Over the next few months, people in Scotland will be asked to vote for all sorts of things. But whether young or old, male or female, there’s an increasing awareness of environmental issues. By demanding recognition of these issues, everyone can be a winner no matter who ends up in power. Fred Edwards, President of LINK said: “By focusing on the link between the environment and quality of life, the Everyone campaign recognises that the environment is not simply an issue but the context in which we live our lives. Politics and economics are issues that are variable. The envelope that sustains life on our planet is not negotiable.” The campaign asks people to put pressure on politicians to prioritise tackling climate change and the destruction of our environment through investment in active travel, energy conservation, local organic food in public procurement, and better management and preservation of our natural resources. Why? People and wildlife in Scotland are already suffering due to a lack of political action on these key areas: Transport is the fastest growing contributor to climate change. (TRANSform Scotland) More people in Scotland die from emissions than road accidents each year. (FoES) The average Cox's apple is sprayed 18 times with many different chemicals. (SAS) Of the 450 or so chemicals available to non-organic farmers to kill weeds, insects and other pests that attack crops, some of the most dangerous used in farming are organophosphates. They have been linked with a range of problems including cancer, decreasing male fertility, foetal abnormalities, chronic fatigue syndrome in children and Parkinson's disease. (SAS) Climate change may have a staggering impact on our environment - a third or more of land based plant and animal species could be driven to extinction by the 2050s if we take no action to limit global warming. (RSPB) 16 out of 21 Scottish fish stocks, including cod and Atlantic salmon, are beyond sustainable limits. (MCS) Seabird colonies are failing due to a shortage of food. Hundreds of guillemots are reported to have died of starvation across Scotland, especially on the west coast, with birds even swimming upstream into central Glasgow in September. (RSPB) We are currently experiencing the sixth mass extinction in the Earth's history (like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs) - known as the 'Holocene extinction event'. This is unique in that it is caused by human activity. The well-respected academic Professor E. O. Wilson of Harvard University has predicted that it could result in the extinction of one half of all species in the next 100 years. Notes GREEN NETWORKS FOR PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE – Scottish executive transport spending should be diverted to deliver an investment programme which ensures that every school and major public centre is accessible via pollution-free, safe cycling and walking networks by 2017. These networks should be linked into a series of well managed wildlife-rich green spaces, creating green routes between town and country. TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE AND FUEL POVERTY – By 2010, the Scottish executive should ensure that 40.000 houses a year are built or renovated using super insulation so that they have little or no heating bills and can meet part of their own energy needs using green technologies. A programme should also be introduced to ensure that these technologies are installed into all public buildings. BETTER PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF SCOTLAND’S NATURE – Better protection and management of Scotland's seas, landscapes, wildlife and habitats through a Marine Bill for Scotland, new legislation for protecting landscape and increased funding to help halt the loss of species and habitats in Scotland by 2010. HEALTHY SUSTAINABLE FOOD IN SCOTLAND’S SCHOOLS AND HOSPITALS – The Food for Life initiative, piloted successfully in schools in East Ayrshire and the Highlands, should be rolled out across Scotland for all public procurement so that unprocessed, locally sourced, organic food is provided in all Scotland’s schools and hospitals by 2017.
VOTE WITH YOUR FEET - Step towards a better environment and
quality of life in Scotland Speakers: For further details please contact: The everyone website will go live on 30 November at http://www.everyonecan.org/index.html More information on how to calculate your ecological footprint can be found at http://www.wwf.org.uk/researcher/issues/footprint/index.asp
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