Miles Litvinoff - The Earthscan Action Handbook for People and Planet

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ENVIRONMENTALISM AND POLITICS

Volume 8

The Earthscan Action Handbook
for People and Planet

Full list of titles in the set
ENVIRONMENTALISM AND POLITICS

Volume 1: When the Bough Breaks

Volume 2: Dirty Words

Volume 3: Fax

Volume 4: World Who is Who and Does What in Environment and Conservation

Volume 5: Environmental Law and Citizen Action

Volume 6: British Politics and the Environment

Volume 7: Waste Not Want Not

Volume 8: The Earthscan Action Handbook for People and Planet

Volume 9: Richer Futures

First published in 1990

This edition first published in 2009 by Earthscan Copyright 1990 Miles Litvinoff

All rights reserved

ISBN 978-1-84971-009-1 (Volume 8 hbk)
ISBN 978-0-415-84717-9 (Volume 8 pbk)
ISBN 978-1-84971-001-5 (Environmentalism and Politics set)
ISBN 978-1-84407-930-8 (Earthscan Library Collection)
ISBN 978-1-1340-6057-3 (ePub)

For a full list of publications please contact:

Earthscan
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Earthscan
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Earthscan is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

First issued in paperback 2013

Earthscan publishes in association with the International Institute for Environment and Development

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for

Publishers note
The publisher has made every effort to ensure the quality of this reprint, but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent.

At Earthscan we strive to minimize our environmental impacts and carbon footprint through reducing waste, recycling and offsetting our CO2 emissions, including those created through publication of this book.

Dedicated to Cecilia, Angela and Daniel

Miles Litvinoff was born in London in 1950. He studied English at Liverpool University before going first into teaching and then into book publishing. He is now a freelance writer and editor and co-edited (with Czech Conroy) The Greening of Aid (Earthscan Publications, 1988). Married with two children, he lives in London and is an active member of the Green Party.

First published in 1990 by
Earthscan Publications Ltd
3 Endsleigh Street, London WC1H ODD

Copyright 1990 Miles Litvinoff

All rights reserved

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Litvinoff, Miles
The Earthscan action handbook : for people and planet.
1. Environment. Conservation
I. Title II. World Wide Fund for Nature
333.72

ISBN 1-85383-062-3

Production by David Williams Associates (081-521 4130)
Typeset by Bookman Ltd. Bristol

Earthscan Publications Ltd is a wholly owned and editorially independent subsidiary of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

Contents

About This Book

Everybody is green these days, but how much has really changed? True, there is an upsurge of interest in doing things to save the planet, and even our mainstream political parties and the multinational corporations say they want to help. Yet there has been a lot of talk and too little action. What we in the rich countries now think of as an environmental crisis is nothing new to the hundreds of millions of people in poor countries who have lived with hunger, poverty, the degradation of natural resources, physical violence, economic exploitation and political oppression for generations, and whose suffering is in many ways increasing.

This book sets out to show the connections between the global crisis as we in the wealthy North see it and as those in the impoverished South experience it in the brutality of their everyday lives. A time of crisis is also one of opportunity, and this book tries to suggest remedial action for most of the major problems facing us, even if these are rarely simple, swift or conflict-free.

For the sake of clarity, the book is divided into two parts, although any separation of the planets problems from those of the human race is artificial (neither can be eased without the other):

• Part One focuses on the denial of a decent life to millions of low-income people because of decisions made in boardrooms and parliaments around the world. It considers the upsurge of non-violent but determined effort needed to restore and uphold the rights of the worlds oppressed majority.
• Part Two describes the well-documented problems of land, water and atmospheric degradation and pollution, as well as species loss and the threat arising from the warrior mentality.

Solutions are suggested in every chapter. Most of them involve a change of priorities, and many demand apparent material sacrifices on the part of the industrialized countries, so much of whose wealth is wasted on misguided projects and short-sighted goals; many solutions also mean less material consumption by better-off people. Yet for every material loss, there will be more-than-compensatory gains of a different kind: health wise, emotional, moral, spiritual and convivial.

Where possible, the book tries to link long-term solutions with action we can take as individuals, by adjusting our consumption and lifestyle and participating in campaigns and political life.

There are suggestions in the Getting Involved sections at the end of each chapter for issues to raise in letters to local councillors, Members of Parliament and Members of the European Parliament, to UK government ministers, to the chairmen/ -women of banks and multinational corporations, to newspapers and so on. Write to your MP at the House of Commons, London SW1A OAA. You can obtain the name and address of your MEP from the European Parliament UK Office, 2 Queen Annes Gate, London SW1H 9AA.

A few points about letter-writing:

• Be polite if you want your letter to have a constructive effect or to receive a reply.
• Make your points clearly and briefly.
• When you write to a person, rather than to the press, ask at least one specific question and ask for a reply.
• Keep a copy of every letter you send and file the replies.
• Be persistent; dont be put off if youre not satisfied with the first reply.
• Going to the top can be effective; if you want to write a critical letter to a multinational or any other organization, phone first to find out the name and job title of the company president, chairman/-woman or chief executive and write to them.

In the UK you can also arrange to meet your MP in the House of Commons lobby by writing first. Or you can visit the MP in his or her constituency surgery. During elections, send a letter or questionnaire to each candidate, asking their views on the subject of your concern, or put questions to them at public meetings or when they canvass you. If you find yourself in broad agreement with a political party, become an active member and try to influence its policies.

Names and addresses of campaigning organizations and action groups are listed at the end of every chapter. When contacting them for advice, information or resources, bear in mind that many are run on tight budgets; if you want a reply, send at least a stamped self-addressed envelope or, better still, a donation. For more guidance about community action in the UK, see the books by John Button, Gavin Scott and Des Wilson listed in Recommended Reading (pages 3249).

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