Friends of the Earth Scotland’s supporters’ magazineIssue 63 Summer 2014

subject lineWhat on Earth 63

Friends of the Earth Scotland (FoES) is:• Scotland’s leading environmentalcampaigning organisation

• An independent Scottish charitywith a network of thousands ofsupporters and active local groupsacross Scotland

• Part of the largest grassrootsenvironmental network in the world,uniting over 2 million supporters,77 national member groups, andsome 5,000 local activist groups.

Our vision is of a world where everyonecan enjoy a healthy environment and afair share of the earth’s resources.

Friends of the Earth Scotland is anindependent Scottish charity SC003442.

What on Earth is published by andcopyrighted to:Friends of the Earth Scotland5 Rose Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PRT: 0131 243 2700E: info@foe-scotland.org.ukW: www.foe-scotland.org.ukTwitter: @FoEScotfacebook.com/foescotland

Editor: Connal HughesPicture Editor: Connal HughesDesign: www.triggerpress.co.ukCover: FoES and World Development Movement'Carbon Bubbly' protest at RBS AGM about thebank's continued financing of coal projects.

The views expressed in What on Earth are notnecessarily those of Friends of the Earth Scotland.FoES accepts no liability for errors, omissions orincorrect data in advertisements.

Printed on Revive pure white silk 100% recycledpaper

Contents

4 Sustainable FinanceMaking money work for people and the planet

6 Unconventional Gas Update Ups and downs in the fight against new fossil fuels

10 Glasgow’s Air PollutionDid the Commonwealth Games bring cleaner air?

12 FoES Local GroupsUpdates from our local groups across Scotland

14 Network NewsFoE groups from across the international network

RE-USE AND SPREAD THE WORDWhen you have finished with thismagazine, save it or pass it on tofriends, a doctor’s surgery, school,student union, library or café. As a last resort recycle it.

Editorial & News in BriefWHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014

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Welcome to What on Earth Issue 63. Inthis edition we explore our new

sustainable finance campaign, hear about ourwork to tackle air pollution in Scotland andshare stories from right across the Friends ofthe Earth network.

We will also update you on key developmentsin the fight against unconventional gas and letyou know about some really exciting eventshappening this autumn.

I have just joined the team in Thorn Houseand have been hugely impressed by the

knowledge, skills and dedication of thecampaigners both here and at the local level.I am really looking forward to meeting more ofyou and helping you continue your fantasticwork.

If you have any feedback or thoughts aboutmy first edition please get in touch.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I haveenjoyed putting it together.

Connal Hughes, Editor whatonearth@foe-scotland.org.uk

Glasgow launched its public bike rentalscheme this summer in an effort to boost

active transport.

Air Pollution campaigner Emilia Hannawelcomed the news saying “together with thenewly proposed cycle routes across the city,this scheme will improve people’s health,

reduce carbon emissions, and help tackleGlasgow’s air pollution problem. Glasgow CityCouncil needs to go further however andtackle congestion through a traffic reductiontarget for the city centre and create LowEmissions Zones to keep out the mostpolluting vehicles.”

NEIL LOVELOCK, FOE GLASGOW

WHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014News

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The long awaited Courts Reform Bill iscurrently going through Parliament and

to our great delight the Justice Committeeagrees that the proposed reforms will do littleto comply with our international obligationsunder the Aarhus Convention. They have alsoexpressed sympathy with our call for anenvironmental tribunal. This coincides nicelywith the publication of a report that we havecommissioned from the Environmental Law

Centre Scotland on the subject, currently outfor an informal stakeholder consultation.

Scotland missed its climate emissionsreduction target for the third successive

year. Our Climate Change Act is regarded asone of the most ambitious in the world but thegovernment has had difficulties meeting its

yearly goals. Ministers responded to thedisappointing figures by announcing an extra£20m in funding including support for greenertransport schemes and rural energy efficiencymeasures.

There was good news for communitiesacross the central belt as British

Geological Survey estimates showed only amodest amount of shale gas resources. Whencombined with recent tighter planningrestrictions on this type of development, partlyin response to our pressure, this means thatScotland is increasingly unwelcome tounconventional gas companies. However, thebad news is that the UK Government havelaunched a licensing round offering up a hugearea across the Central Belt of Scotland.

Head of Campaigns Mary Church said “theScottish Government needs to send astronger signal to the industry and banunconventional gas extraction altogether,

focusing instead on making the most of ourabundant renewable resources andsupporting communities to generate their ownsources of clean energy.”

RIC LANDER

Director’s ViewWHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014

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Over the summer I have beenstrengthening our links with theFriends of the Earth network, first at

the FoE Europe AGM in Spain and then atFoE England, Wales and Northern Ireland’slocal groups’ event, Basecamp, in Derbyshire.

It was great to hear what FoE groups aredoing around Europe and about the workfocused on the European Union which is runfrom the Brussels office. We had reports fromthe central campaigns on Climate Justice andEnergy; Food, Agriculture and Biodiversity;Economic Justice; and Resource Use; as wellas hearing about network developmentactivity intended to increase the impact ofYoung FoE Europe and to build capacity inthe FoE France.

Among other things, we discussed joint plansfor the Paris climate meeting in 2015, ourcommon messages across Europe, how weshould or should not engage with business,how to deal with the new crop of MEPs andthe TTIP trade agreement. The latter has

become a major priority for the FoE Europeoffice because it potentially threatens so manyareas of our work. It would open the door forgenetically modified crops and allow UScompanies to get around Europeanenvironmental and labour laws.

We had a great session sharing experiencesof running a FoE organisation and it was asurprise to find out that we are medium-sizedas FoE groups go in Europe.

We are currently planning for GlobalFrackdown Day on 11th October and our ownlocal groups’ weekend on 22nd/23rdNovember. This weekend will include workingwith other organisations on plans around theParis climate meeting and beyond, and sharingvaluable skills with other campaigning groups.

FoE Europe AGM session on TTIP trade deal

by Dr Richard Dixon @Richard_Dixon

Sustainable Finance WHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014

Scotland’s financial sector has animpact far beyond our borders. Loansfrom banks enable corporations to

cash in on land grabs, food speculation anddestructive, polluting fossil fuel projects.

Working with FoE groups and other alliesacross Europe the Sustainable Financecampaign is getting to the root of thisproblem, to challenge and reform our brokenfinancial sector andsupport banking in theservice of people and theplanet.

Friends of the EarthScotland has long been atthe forefront of this change. Since the UKGovernment's historic £20 billion bailout ofRBS we have been pushing for a withdrawalfrom dirty energy and a transformation to a“Royal Bank of Sustainability”. With ourpartners we uncovered billions flowing from

RBS to coal, oil and gas around the worldincluding enormously damaging schemessuch as the Alberta tar sands.

When we began, RBS denied that climatechange was an issue and refused to take anyresponsibility for the carbon footprint of itsloan book. Now they publish the emissions oftheir investments and this year divested frommountain top removal, one of the most

destructive forms of coalmining. RBS remains theUK's largest fossil fuelbank, but our collectiveefforts are starting to effectchange.

To broaden our campaigning on finance wealso hosted the 'Just Banking' conference,exploring ways in which we could reformbanking for the public good. Many of thediscussions at this event are continuingacross the UK and we have seen a multitude

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FoES & WDM 'Carbon Bubbly' demonstrationat RBS AGM about their ongoing investmentin coal projects

We want to see smaller,democratically-controlledand publicly-owned banksfunctioning in a diverse

banking sector.

by Ric Lander

RIC LANDER

Sustainable FinanceWHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014

of ideas spring forward on making financework for a better world.

Using research cases where Scottish financeis linked to human rights violations andenvironmental damage in the Global Southour new Sustainable Finance campaign willconsider how we can use our power to cleanup Scottish finance. We have manyopportunities to make this change: pressuringour pension funds, banks, and institutionalinvestors like our universities, churches andunions.

Our first step is to share a vision of how wethink banks should be reformed in a newScotland. We want to see smaller,democratically-controlled and publicly-ownedbanks functioning in a diverse banking sector.With independence, we could negotiate ourstake in RBS to create these new banks – butas part of the UK the UK Government has thepower to do this too. We also want to seecontrols on the carbon emissions ofinvestments so that our banks phase outfunding dirty energy altogether.

We think banking reform is a vital topic toexplore and our proposals will be publishedonline this summer. Our society and our planetdesperately need sustainable finance so wehope you'll continue to support this work.

We will be sharing our ideas for the campaignour Local Groups Day event on November22nd so we'll see you there.

How to encourage more sustainable financewill be a key question explored at our

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Public debate: Wed 10th Sep 19.30–21.00Conference: Thurs 11th Sep 9.00–17.00Glasgow University

Speakers will include Ann Pettifor,Richard Murphy, and ProfessorsRichard Werner (Southampton),Malcolm Sawyer (Leeds) andAndrew Cumbers (Glasgow).

Organised in partnership withJubilee Scotland, Oxfam, UNISONScotland, Christian Aid, STUC andWorld Development Movement.

For more information and to booktickets visit:ReinventOurEconomy.uk

Reinventing oureconomy forpeople and theplanet: An Enquiryabout SustainableAlternativeEconomic Policies

conference on alternative economics inSeptember. We will also be examining howwe can increase democratic controls over oureconomy, reverse the trend of deepeningincome inequality and begin to plot analternative economic pathway that ensureswellbeing for all and cares for theenvironment.

WHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014

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Our campaign to secure buffer zoneprotection for communities facingshale gas or coalbed methane drilling

and fracking finally paid off with thepublication of the new and improved ScottishPlanning Policy in June.

While the policy is far from perfect – we’vebeen calling for Ministers to use devolvedplanning powers to implement a ban – it doesestablish important protections. Developersare now required to undertake a riskassessment and propose a buffer zone basedon their findings. If implemented properly inthe densely populated central belt thesebuffers would necessarily be extensive. LocalAuthorities are obliged to reject applicationswithout adequate buffer zones.

The policy alsoremoves apresumption in favourof unconventional gasextraction, uses muchmore cautiouslanguage and closes a loophole that couldallow coalbed methane operators to startfracking without explicit planning permission.

However, crucial gaps in the new frameworkremain. The policy does not appear to covershale oil extraction and underground coalgasification, and there is no specific guidanceas to what kind of financial bonds and

monitoring regime should be put in place toensure site clean up post-operation or shoulda company go bust. The Planning Ministerhas promised additional guidance to support

the new policy and wewill continue to workwith officials to ensurethese apparentoversights are dealtwith.

But where does all this leave the communitieswith developments and planning permissionsalready on their doorsteps?

The good news is that because the newplanning policy applies to any application asyet undetermined, it applies to Dart Energy’sproposal for commercial coalbed methane

By Mary Church@mmachch

Fracking

Crucial gaps in the newframework remain. The policydoes not appear to cover shaleoil extraction and underground

coal gasification

WHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014

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extraction at Airth. The Reporters deciding thiscase have taken further evidence from partieson what the new policy means for thisdevelopment. We are clear that from theevidence presented in earlier Inquiry sessionsthat Dart have not conducted an adequate riskassessment or proposed adequate bufferzones. It is our view that this new policyrequires the Reporters to turn thedevelopment down.

For the community at Canonbie with 20planning permissions for coalbed methaneextraction around their village, the picture isless clear, as the new policy cannot applyretrospectively. However, a group of residentshad a complaint accepted by the ScottishPublic Services Ombudsman about the way inwhich these planning permissions were dealtwith. Few locals were notified, and each of theapplications, which are all part of the sameproject, were approved separately with noexamination of the cumulative impacts.

We eagerly await the outcome of these casesin the coming months. In the meantime, theproof will be in the pudding as to therobustness of the new planning protections forcommunities when companies apply forlicenses in the 14th onshore round. A hugeswathe of central and southern Scotland isbeing offered for unconventional gasexploitation: if the fracking companies choosenot to go for licenses in Scotland then we willknow that half the battle is won…

Fracking

After the huge success of lastyear’s stunt outside the SNP

conference in Perth which sawMinisters commit to delivering bufferzones, we will continue to pile on thepressure with a bigger and better eventfor 2014. Plans are at an early stage,but we want to send out a loudmessage that Scotland doesn’t want orneed this dirty industry. GlobalFrackdown Day will also be a greatchance to lend support to the Scottishcommunity resistance groups who arefacing this David and Goliath battle.

Put the date in your diary now! For more information contact Paul: pdaly@foe-scotland.org.uk or 0131 243 2708

Save the date:GlobalFrackdown DaySaturday 11October 2014

A huge swathe of central andsouthern Scotland is being

offered for unconventional gasexploitation

WHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014Co-Power

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Later this year we will release aCommunity Power film and case studyreport which will tell the stories of

Kingussie hydro scheme, Dingwall Wind Co-Operative and other exciting energyprojects from around the country.

Please keep an eye on our website forupdates or support this great initiative throughour current appeal: foes.do/HelpCoPower

Scottish Community Energy Coalition(SCEC)Friends of the Earth Scotland hosted thesecond coalition meeting in early June whenexperts from Client Earth presented theirresearch into the best legal frameworks tohelp community energy flourish. These willenable us to develop joint recommendationsto remove barriers to success. See the fullreport: foes.do/ClientEarthCoPower

Community outreachThe Scottish Government provides financialsupport and advice through the Communityand Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES),

which is currently administered by the LocalEnergy Scotland consortium (Check outlocalenergyscotland.org). There is also astrong political commitment with a 500MWtarget of “community and locally owned”energy by 2020.

Yet despite this support, Scotland lags behindDenmark and Germany where these projectshave become much more normalized. Asignificant obstacle to uptake is a lack ofawareness of the huge potential that exists.

Edinburgh based social enterprise SCENE(scenetwork.co.uk) discovered that less than20% of community council members have anyawareness of opportunities for communitygroups to get involved in energy projects. Weare therefore working with them and othercoalition partners to develop a communityoutreach programme over the coming months.

Search on Twitter for #CommunityPoweror visit www.communitypower.eu

By Anne Schiffer,Community PowerCampaigner@AnneSchiffer1

Access to JusticeWHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014

We’re just back from the 5th Meetingof the Parties to the UNECEAarhus Convention, where

delegates gathered from as far afield asIceland and Kazakhstan to discuss issuesranging from national compliance to thecreation of similar regional agreements.

The Meeting upheld the recent decision of theAarhus Compliance Committee against theUK for failing to meet their commitmentsunder all three pillars of the Convention:access to information, public participation, andaccess to justice. Our campaign has focusedon the last pillar because this is whereScotland, and the rest of the UK, are sostarkly in breach of the rights enshrined byAarhus. Without equitable, affordable accessto justice to pursue breaches of environmentallaw, the rights under the former pillars areunenforceable.

What is important about this new decision isthat it finds against the UK on the issue of theextremely high cost of taking legal action in

environmental cases, despite the introductionof measures designed to reduce communitiesand NGOs exposure to expenses. This backsup our view of the flaws in the new system ofProtective Expense Orders, in the context ofreal difficulties in accessing legal aid and adoubling of court fees in just two years.

The good news is that as a result of our workfeeding into the various Aarhus processes, thenew decision recognises differences in thelegal jurisdictions within the UK and makes itharder for the Scottish Government to hidethe flaws specific to our own legal system.

While in Maastricht we also heard the verywelcome news that the UN FrameworkConvention on Climate Change had agreed toreverse an earlier decision to charge NGOsfor side events at the annual climate talks dueto pressure from FoE International colleaguesand others using an Aarhus article whichcommits Parties to promoting its principles –in this case public participation – ininternational forums.

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By Mary Church @mmachch

WWW.IISD.CA

WHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014Air Pollution

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By the time you’ve picked up your copyof What on Earth, Glasgow’sCommonwealth Games will have

been and gone. Races will have been run,winners will have been celebrated, and thelosers forgotten. But when the media spotlighthas moved on, the tourists have gone and thestreets have been swept, what will the legacybe for Glasgow? Will it include clean air?

The answer to this question is literally amatter of life and death. UKGovernment figures now put the deathtoll from exposure to fine particles inGlasgow at over 300 people each year.Air pollution is the top environmentalhealth threat in Scotland costing us22,500 life years annually.

For those children growing up inGlasgow who now dream of competingin future Commonwealth Games, theanswer to this question has a very realbearing on their chances of making it.Exposure to traffic related air pollutionis already known to be associated withworsened allergic symptoms in youngpeople. There is now increasinglyrobust evidence emerging from King’sCollege London that exposures canlead to reduced lung growth and poorcognitive outcomes, showing that such

pollution can have potentially limiting impactson our children's development.

The Commonwealth Games should havebeen a testing ground to trial measures toimprove local air quality. In fact, one of thekey “green” promises of the Games was thatLow Emission Zones would be piloted aroundall the venues. These zones would cover anumber of streets around venues where themost polluting vehicles would have had to

By Emilia Hanna@emiliajaneagain

Air PollutionWHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014

stay out or face fines. Low Emission Zoneshave been successfully implemented inLondon, Berlin and Copenhagen and arestarting to show promising results for airquality.

The Games Organising Committee decisionto renege on this commitment which wasextremely disappointing and a real missedopportunity.

On the other hand,spectators and athletesenjoyed three days ofreduced traffic in Glasgowduring the Games. On thedays of the marathon,bike time trial and bikeroad race, key streets were closed to traffic.There was a fantastic festival atmosphere inthe city, with people walking and cycling freelyaround streets like Broomielaw and High

Street which are usually congested andpolluted.

As part of our campaign for clean air inGlasgow, we will continue to call on GlasgowCity Council to prioritise the introduction of aLow Emission Zone in its future plans for thecity centre. We are also calling for a nationalframework for Low Emission Zones to beintroduced which maps out how such zonescould be introduced across all Scottish cities.

Low Emission Zones arejust one essentialingredient in the overallmix of measures neededto clean up our air. Wealso need to see a

greater investment into walking and cycleinfrastructure, improved public transport andto cut spending on unnecessary new roaddevelopments.

So, perhaps in and of themselves theCommonwealth Games will not havecleaned up Glasgow’s air. But Friendsof the Earth Scotland and FoEGlasgow will continue to put pressureon Council and Government to committo clean air long after the memory ofthe Games has faded.

If you want to be involved in the air pollution campaign please do get in touch.ehanna@foe-scotland.org.uk

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UK Government figures nowput the death toll from

exposure to fine particles inGlasgow at over 300 people

each year

FoE Glasgow, Paul & Emiliaenjoyed a day out at the Marathonand asked people to sign petitionsfor cleaner air in Glasgow.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL DARROCH/OAKTREEPRODUCTIONS.

WHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014Local Groups

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FoE Dumfries organised a filmscreening about Cambodia: A RiverChanges Course at their local filmtheatre, with a lively discussionafterwards.

FoE Tayside, not resting on thelaurels of their fantastic victory againstplans for Dundee Biomass, have beenresponding to their Local Developmentplan and held an event as part of theGreen Groups initiative with DundeeMuseums, focusing on Nature andEnvironmental Protection. They are alsoworking to ensure that communities areinvolved and biodiversity is promoted inthe development of Dundee Waterfront.

FoE Stirling are planning some socialevenings and looking to recruit moreactive members.

Over the summer FoE Falkirk will beholding events at their communitygardens to promote local food andchallenge litter in the town centre. Groupmembers continue share the messageabout the risks of coalbed methane withlocal communities. Recent meetingshave discussed ‘Good Energy’ and theyhope to include a session on communityenergy projects in one of their Autumnmeeting slots.

FoE Glasgow have also beenresponding to the City Centre TransportStrategy. The group attendedscreenings of Musicwood and A RiverChanges Course at Glasgow FilmTheatre and distributed FoES leaflets tothe audience. FoE Glasgow have astreet collection and a fundraising musicgig coming up on 13th September, andhave been working with FoE Scotlandon our air pollution campaign.

FoE Inverness & Ross have beentalking to Eco-congregations about theirchurch energy saving and solar panelsproject. They have also made someprogress trying to cut down on wastefuland polluting idling of diesel trains atInverness station.

Russel Ecob, FoE Glasgow

Local GroupsWHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014

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If you’re part of a local group, why not getsome of our new membership leaflets?They’re bright, colourful and offer an idealintroduction to FoE Scotland and ourcampaigns. Contact jfitzgerald@foe-scotland.org.uk Tel: 0131 243 2717

Our 2014 Local Groups Day will be on Saturday 22 November in Edinburgh. We willhear about what local groups are doing, share news of FoES campaigns, and begin

planning local actions ahead of the UN climate talks in Paris in 2015. For more information, email jfitzgerald@foe-scotland.org.uk Tel: 0131 243 2717

WHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014Basecamp

Many of the Friends of the EarthScotland team were in Derbyshirein June for Basecamp. This is the

national activist event for local groupmembers of Friends of the Earth England,Wales and Northern Ireland (FoE EWNI).

Over 400 activists from Friends of the Earthand other groups came together to learn fromeach other, build connections and gatherinspiration for the year ahead. The weekendhad a festival atmosphere, with creativeworkshops and music alongside formal talksand meetings. Activitiesincluded cooking a sharedmeal from vegetablesrescued from waste, andbuilding a giant ‘Mr. Frackhead’ puppet toappear at events across the country.

“It was really inspiring to feel connected withthe wider FoE network” said FoEScampaigner Paul Daly. “Unconventional gasand fracking pose risks across the UK, sobeing able to strengthen connections betweenaffected communities is very helpful.”

Catherine Howarth, Chief Executive of

ShareAction, gave a keynote speech on whyand how environmental activists shouldchallenge the financial sector. ManchesterFoE won the ‘group of the year’ award(pictured), and everyone enjoyed a ceilidhwith the Green Kite Band.

A packed programme of parallel workshopscovered a huge range of topics. FoE Scotlandstaff contributed to sessions on fracking andthe implications of devolution and theforthcoming referendum on Scottishindependence. Other topics included FoE

EWNI’s new campaign ‘Runon Sun’ which aims to bringsolar energy to as manyschools as possible, and

details of the EU’s secretive new TTIP tradedeal, which seriously threatens our ability toprotect our environment.

Emilia Hanna welcomed the chance toconnect with other activists working on airpollution: “there are a lot of people working onthis issue, both local activists and FoE EWNIstaff. It was great to be able to share ourScottish experiences and learn about what ishappening in other cities.”

FOE EWNI

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It was really inspiring tofeel connected with the

wider FoE network

by John Fitzgerald @JohnFitzG

Friends WorldwideWHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014

No deal for European citizens

Friends of the Earth Europe in Brusselshave been focusing their expertise on

challenging the proposed EU-US trade deal. Itis known as the Transatlantic Trade andInvestment Partnership (TTIP) and has beennegotiated largely in secret since discussionsbegan last year.

The deal could see a mutual lowering ofstandards in both trading blocs, aiming toremove certain regulations that big businessdeems ‘barriers to trade’. These rules includemany hard won environmental safeguards,workers’ protections, food safety standardsand financial regulations.

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It could also introduce the right forcorporations to sue governments if theyintroduced a policy that would negativelyimpact upon their profits. This anti-democraticmechanism could pave the way for fracking,the unrestricted imports of tar sands andseriously undermine European climatelegislation. Learn more at:foes.do/TradeDeal

UN legislation to tackle businessabuses

The UN Human Rights Council has votedto start creating an international, legally

binding instrument to regulate the activities ofmultinational corporations regarding theirhuman rights abuses.

Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) andother civil society organisations havecampaigned for decades for bindingstandards to hold corporations accountablewhere and when they commit environmentalcrimes and human rights violations. EUnations and the USA fiercely opposed themove threatening financial sanctions againstcountries who supported the proposal.

Such a mechanism could potentiallyprosecute companies like Shell for theirpollution in the Niger Delta, the garmentfactories manufacturing ‘cheap’ clothes forthe west or other firms engaging in landgrabs in Africa.

Defenders of the environment can often faceterrible consequences for their actions withFOEI recording more than 100 incidents ofviolence against them between 2011 and2013. Companies are often directly orindirectly involved in these rights violations.foei.org

FOEI / VICTOR BARRO –WWW.FOTOSCONLETRA.COM

FoE Nigeriaattending UNHuman RightsCouncil

WHAT ON EARTH SUMMER ISSUE 2014Film Review

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This is the follow up to the criticallyacclaimed documentary ‘You've BeenTrumped,’ which told the story of the

Forbes and the Milnes who have fought toothand nail against billionnaire tycoon DonaldTrump's invasion of the stunningAberdeenshire coastline to develop anexclusive golf course.

Director Anthony Baxter weaves the Scottishstruggle with those of other communitiesaround the world fighting new golfdevelopments. He travels to Croatia where acourse is being developed just above thetown of Dubrovnik, a UNESCO WorldHeritage protected site. The overwhelmingmajority of residents oppose the project dueto concerns over the wasteful use of theirmost precious natural resource – water.Meanwhile, the Mayor of Dubrovnik supportsthe scheme, tellingly describing theearmarked land as “just for the animals andthe peasants".

The Aberdeen story seems so ridiculous thatit is almost beyond belief that it could happenmore than once. Yet across the planet,developers see profit in pouring pesticides,fertilisers, and millions of gallons of wateronto land to develop luxury golf courses;often in beautiful locations which should be

sensitively managed and which localcommunities should have the right to enjoy.

The climactic meeting of filmmaker Baxterand Trump is not quite the triumphant "screwyou Trump!" moment that I was hoping for,where Trump makes a fool out of himself bysaying something wholly disrespectful,inappropriate, and villainish. But this isprobably a testament to Baxter's success:Trump has prepared for the interview and heclearly sees Baxter as a threat.

The film is a stirring reminder of theimportance of the fight for environmental andsocial justice. It epitomises everything ourAccess to Environmental Justice campaignstands for. Friends of the Earth Scotland isworking tirelessly to ensure that people havethe right to hold public authorities andcorporations to account for breakingenvironmental law.

This film is not to be missed. It is thoughtprovoking, empowering, and shows thatcommunities across the world are united in acommon fight to defend the environment frombeing trampled on by an irresponsible elite.The film will be released across Scotland on5th September. adangerousgame.org

by Emilia Hanna

In July we asked our members to pledge their support for ourwork to bring ‘power to the people’. We’re pleased to say that this

appeal has raised almost £8,000 at the time of going to print. There is still time to donate to this appeal: just go to

www.foe-scotland.org.uk/appeal Thanks for all your support!

With the support of thousands ofpeople like you we’ve secured saferfood and water, defended wildlife andnatural habitats, defeated coal-burningpower stations and delivered a world-leading climate act for Scotland.

We need to keep campaigning on theseissues today. And we need to beScotland’s voice for the planettomorrow and in the years to come.

With your support, we can continuemaking life better for people byinspiring effective solutions toenvironmental problems.

You don’t have to be wealthy to leave agift in your will. A gift of any amountcan help protect the environment foryears to come.

You can call John on 0131 243 3717 formore information about leaving a gift inyour will to Friends of the EarthScotland or emailjfitzgerald@foe-scotland.org.uk

PHOTO: DAVID TIPLING

You are vital to the future – for everyone.

“We take so much from the planet during our lives,and it gives us so muchpleasure, it seemed likethe right thing to do to givesomething back for futuregenerations.”