Great to be at the Our Land Festival event in the Gal Gael Centre last Saturday, to hear inspirational speakers discussing the vital importance of land reform here in Scotland. Especially when you find out who some of the big landowners in Scotland are these days and what they’re up to around the world, exploiting workers, undermining human rights and destroying the environment. All the more reason why we need to stop the UK Government funding land grabs and the corporate takeover of agriculture in Africa.
Deflating the carbon bubble
We went along to the Strathclyde Pension Fund AGM on Tuesday, with our friends from Fossil Free Strathclyde, to talk to people going in to the meeting about the madness of continued investment in fossil fuels. Great to see that Unison and a growing number of other Fund Trustees and Members are listening to the case for divestment. We can’t keep on putting money into the carbon bubble – current reserves of fossil fuels are enough to fry us all, so we need to shift the money into more sustainable places. After all, what’s the point of a pension if civilisation collapses before you get to retirement age…
Another wonderful wet gala day
We were at the wonderful Gibson Street Gala on Sunday…and it was even wetter than previous years! But loads of people turned out before the rain came down (and a fair number of hardy souls even came along in the downpour) – about 150 people signed our petition to David Cameron asking him to send lifeboats to rescue migrants in the Med, not warships to turn them back. If you didn’t get the chance on Sunday, you can sign it here.
Brandalising Monsanto
We’re doing a wee bit of rebranding this month – adding some more accurate information to Monsanto’s Roundup products in shops and garden centres around the area. The World Health Organisation says glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, ‘probably causes cancer’ and yet the EU is considering relicensing the product for another 15 years. Oh, and there’s a nice article in the Sunday Herald about our action…
If you have 2 minutes, you can email Liz Truss, the Environment Secretary, that we want the UK to vote on the basis of the science, not to listen to the corporate lobbyists.
Stop the trade apocalypse
We’re joining up with our friends from the growing Scotland Against TTIP coalition to take action this Saturday against TTIP, CETA and the other crazy trade deals that the corporate lobbyists want to impose upon us.
Saturday 23 April, 12 noon
Buchanan Street Steps
Come along and say hi, sign the Stop CETA petition and lend a hand if you have a few minutes to spare.
Hustings fever
There’s one of those election things coming up in May (if you hadn’t noticed), so it’s time to hold our politicians to account. We’ll be joining Stop Climate Chaos Scotland and Oxfam at their hustings event on Tuesday to ask candidates some awkward questions about climate and TTIP.
Tuesday 15 March, 5:30-7:30pm
Botanic Suite, Hilton Grosvenor Hotel, Grosvenor Terrace
You can register and find more info here, and there’s also a really good briefing from SCCS with questions to ask the candidates here.
