01/10/2011 - 14:00-16:00 Sunderland Greens Party next meeting - Revolution
The next party meeting will be held at our usual place (upstairs at the back) of Revolution in Sunderland City centre. This is an open meeting and all are welcome. Lots to discuss with there being no meeting in August.

09/09/2011 - Nancy's letter to the Echo regarding Green Belt land in Houghton
Dear Sirs,

Re proposal to build houses in North Road

I most strongly object to the proposed use of green land to build so many houses, impinging on the Bogs’ area, an S.S.S.I., therefore an asset to Sunderland Council who should be proud to protect this area with its green surroundings, consisting of meadows, rare ancient woodland, ponds and wetland, all so vital in encouraging our diminishing wildlife to survive and hopefully thrive, whilst this, our heritage, provides the local residents with a peaceful haven where e.g. rambling and nature watching can take place, unhindered by traffic. 

North Road is in reality a country lane, quite narrow, with many bends.  Several accidents have occurred over the years, so how could this accommodate access to so many more cars of residents to these proposed new houses?  There could also be problems with regard to water supply and draining of sewage here. The water in the brook at Brookside, which used to be clear so that minnows and sticklebacks could be seen quite easily, is now cloudy and murky; particularly after heavy rain, and though one moorhen visits my garden at present, the water is certainly not as it should be. The stream needs much more protection from pollution than occurs currently, not an extra strain placed on it.

I notice that only one of the new houses built over 2 years ago in Gillas Lane East has been sold, presumably because of the present anxiety over the present, probably long-lasting, uncertain financial situation – particularly in the North East.

Surely there are several sites in Sunderland – either brown field or where old houses have been demolished - where it would be much easier to install the utilities and use existing roads?

I hope that Sunderland Council will firmly reject this impractical proposal, so harmful to wildlife and no asset to this area.

Yours sincerely,
Nancey

03/09/2011 - 14:00-16:00 Sunderland Greens Party next meeting - Revolution
The next party meeting will be held at our usual place (upstairs at the back) of Revolution in Sunderland City centre. This is an open meeting and all are welcome. Lots to discuss with there being no meeting in August.

16/07/2011 - 14:00-16:00 Sunderland Greens Party next meeting - Revolution
The next party meeting will be held at our usual place (upstairs at the back) of Revolution in Sunderland City centre. This is an open meeting and all are welcome. Topics to discuss will be sent out soon.

Sunderland Green made substantial election gains
On May 5th in the local council elections Sunderland Greens make very positive gains, even beating the Lib-Dems in most wards.  Please see below the 7 candidates results:

Doxford
David ERRINGTON - The Labour Party Candidate - 1,906
Hilary JOHNSON - Local Conservatives - 946
Matt MACDONALD - Liberal Democrats - 46
Caroline Leigh ROBINSON - The Green Party - 296

Hendon
Debbie LORRAINE - Local Conservatives - 535
Thomas MARTIN - The Labour Party Candidate - 1,781
Sam MAY - The Green Party - 301

Millfield
Vijaya DAS - Local Conservatives - 289
Paul EDGEWORTH - Liberal Democrats - 585
Rod MACPHERSON - Independent - 161
Jack MCGLEN - The Green Party - 134
Lynda SCANLAN - The Labour Party Candidate - 1,363

Pallion
David CAMPBELL - The Green Party - 451
Peter O`CONNOR - Local Conservatives - 506
Paul WATSON - The Labour and Co-operative Party - 1,688

St Annes
Emily Fiona BLYTH - The Green Party - 238
Lisa SMILES - The Labour Party Candidate - 1,908
Kathy WALKER - Liberal Democrats - 90
Paula WILKINSON - Local Conservatives - 436

St Michael’s
John Leonard APPLETON - The Green Party - 285
David OWENS - The Labour Party Candidate - 1,364
Andrew WOOD - Liberal Democrats - 248
Peter Robin WOOD - Local Conservatives - 1,962

Silksworth
Andy BEX - Liberal Democrats - 130
Peter GIBSON - The Labour Party Candidate - 2,227
Joella Hannah LYNCH - The Green Party - 274
Dominic MCDONOUGH - Local Conservatives – 709

Also a huge well done to the two Green Party members elected in the North-East region, Middlesbrough (Joe Michna) and Alnwick (Rachael Robert).  This is yet more evidence that the public of the North-East are looking to the Greens for our principles, policies and what we stand for.

04/06/2011 - 14:00-16:00 Sunderland Greens Party next meeting - Revolution
The next party meeting will be held at our usual place (upstairs at the back) of Revolution in Sunderland City centre. This is an open meeting and all are welcome. Topics to discuss will be sent out soon.

03/04/2011 - Newcastle May Day Celebration 2011; by Jack McGlen
A fantastic day was had all round, a much needed antidote to the royal wedding, which isn’t to everyone’s taste!

There was a real sense of solidarity today. Each of us was aware that the May Day bank holiday is under attack by the ConDem government.  

While David Cameron and his millionaire cabinet are determined to wipe our holiday off the calendar there is a clear mood amongst activists to maintain the tradition of May 1st. We congregated at the Centre for Life at 11am and marched to Exhibition Park in honour working class people around the world. The 8-hour working day, the Haymarket martyrs and those who have died in struggle- today was a day to remember and commemorate them.

There was also lots of fun to be had with performances from bands, fantastic speeches and some delicious real ale.  

It was a pleasure to celebrate with activists from across the political spectrum. Socialists, anarchists, greens and pressure groups gathered. Not only did they celebrate May Day but exchanged ideas relevant to today. Stopping the cuts, ending the Afghan war and building solidarity across the movement were also on the agenda.

We will be celebrating May Day for many years to come. I look forward to them.

25/04/2011 - Emily Blyth writes an article for the Sunderland Greens Action Day
Sunderland Greens' Day of Action got off to a great start before we'd even left the house - John's postal vote arrived, and was duly posted before we'd knocked on a single door! One in the bag for David Campbell, our Pallion candidate.

We'd decided to target the Pallion ward because Dave is a terrific candidate and has a real desire to effect change in his community. He's always lived in Pallion and knows a lot of people, as well as being a prominent member of the local residents' association, so he's someone we can really get behind as a team.

Canvassing started in earnest after breakfast, with seven of us dividing into teams. We covered an entire estate before lunch, and the feedback was generally really positive from local residents. We listened to a lot of the issues people had, whichthey felt weren't being dealt with effectively by the present councillors, promoting the fact that Dave is in their community and faces these same issues. His motivation to improve the neighbourhood is genuine.

We stopped for a break and a bite to eat at Dunelm Mill, where we met up with Helmut, Shirley and Tony. The weather was beautiful and everyone was keen to get going, with a lot of enthusiasm for door-knocking! Personally I was a bit tired of canvassing by this point, and felt more than happy to leave it to others, so Dave provided some of us with maps and a stack of leaflets to deliver instead.

My shoulder was aching from the weight of all those leaflets when we set off, but my bag got lighter and lighter as we went, until we finally had to give up as we'd run out! Leafletting is a peaceful but quite solitary activity. Physically demanding too, as Shirley and I were mostly doing opposite sides of the same streets, somehow I always managed to choose the side with steps up to the front door!

I was glad to stop for a well earned pint, when we'd exhausted our supply of leaflets, and shortly we met up with the door-knocking teams. By now it was five o clock and everyone was quite tired, but full of excitement and positivity. The canvassing had gone very well, lots of people had been impressed by Dave's ideas and the enthusiasm of the team, and many were simply disillusioned with the present council.

We won't know how effective our work was until May 5th, and realistically we can't anticipate unseating the Labour candidate - at least, not this year. But it really is all to play for in Pallion and the work will continue until the day of the election, and indeed all year round until the next one.

Last year, we stood two candidates in Sunderland, and the party's profile was raised significantly in the city as a result. The local party trebled in number almost overnight. Who knows what this year will bring? The Green message is really getting out there in Sunderland, and I think we have exciting times ahead!

Sunderland Green Party is doing lots more canvassing and leafletting, and would welcome any time that people can spare to come and help. Contact: David Campbell Mob: 0795 655 1376

07/04/2011 - Caroline Robinson's Monthly Green Tip
Sunderland Greens' very own Doxford candidate, Caroline Robinson, has set about making her very own monthly tip column on this site. Giving fantastic ideas and pratical tips to help you be more green.

Caroline Say's
"Being Green and helping the planet is something most of us would like to do.

BUT – where to start?  Too much information? Too many things to change?  Not enough time to make all the changes? Feel guilty? Too big a problem?

Why not try to ‘Change one thing at a time’. Every month we will suggest one thing you can absorb into your lifestyle that will really help make a big difference.

If you have a tip you would like to share please email me at
caroline.robinson@sunderlandgreenparty.org.uk

Remember Every Little Bit Helps to Create a Greener Planet!"

06/04/2011 - Greens write letter to Echo regarding gay pride march
Sunderland Greens' very own John Appleton write in reply to a letter in the letter's page of the Echo claiming there is no point to a gay pride march in Sunderland:

Why there is a need for Pride march

YOUR correspondent “RM” (Letters, March 30) asks for an explanation for the planned Pride march. He or she suggests that it makes as much sense as a “not gay” pride march. In some senses, your correspondent’s thinking is on the right tracks. It should be absurd that we feel the need for a demonstration to show a personal preference (as absurd as a march to show that you prefer tea to coffee, for example). Unfortunately, the march is necessary, and there are good, sensible reasons for this.

Alternative sexualities have been considered social taboos for centuries, and your readers will have their own opinions as to why this is so. However, the fact remains that some people are gay, or bisexual, or transgender – as has been the case since the dawn of time. A person cannot choose his or her sexuality any more than they can choose, using my previous example, to prefer tea or coffee, so this taboo is obviously likely to cause many issues. These range from emotional issues such as worry about coming out, or spurious feelings of guilt, to much more serious problems of violence and hatred toward people who, by no fault of their own, do not conform to an arbitrary convention.

These issues still exist today, but thankfully, they’re becoming less and less prevalent. Among the reasons are the numerous Pride marches that have taken place since the LGBT rights movement began. These marches are there to show people who still have worries, fears or even contempt over LGBT issues that there’s nothing wrong or abnormal about alternative lifestyles. They exemplify the fact that it’s the taboo that’s the problem, not the breaking of convention. And they show that there’s no need for a gay, bisexual or transgender person to feel guilt or worry over something as simple as a question of taste.

RM is perhaps right in suggesting that many people don’t concern themselves with other people’s preferences, but the march is for those who, whether through worry or prejudice, don’t realise that.

John Appleton, Sunderland Green Party, St Michael’s Ward

05/04/2011 - Sunderland Greens Annoucne Local Election Candidates
The Sunderland Greens today announced the 7 candidates to stand for the local election this May 5th. Candidates are as follows:

Pallion - David Campbell
Millfield - Jack McGlen
Silksworth - Joella Lynch
St Michael's - John Appleton
St Anne's - Emily Blyth
Hendon - Sam May
Doxford - Caroline Robinson

07/05/2011 - 14:00-16:00 Sunderland Greens Party next meeting - Revolution
The next party meeting will be held at our usual place (upstairs at the back) of Revolution in Sunderland City centre. Main topic of discussion, election results and perforamces. All welcome.

02/04/2011 - 14:00-16:00 Sunderland Greens Party next meeting - Revolution
The next party meeting will be held at our usual place (upstairs at the back) of Revolution in Sunderland City centre. This is an open meeting and all are welcome. Topics to discuss will be sent out soon.

07/03/2011 - Greens help Sunderland Against the Cuts in protesting
The Sunderland Greens very own Emily Blyth and Jack McGlen attended a recent demonstration to oppose the coalition public spending cuts. Click Here to read more

12/03/2011 - 13:00-15:00 Sunderland Greens Party next meeting - Revolution
This months meeting has been moved forward one hour as the venue have requested from our usual 14:00 to 13:00. All are welcome, topics to discuss will be sent out shortly.

01/02/2011 - Sunderland Green Party Sale of British Forests interview on 107 Spark FM
107 Spark FMs very own Sam Willey had a chance to catch up with Sunderland Greens Tom May, giving the Greens the opportunity to speak out against the sale of nationally owned forests to the private sector.

Click Here to listen to the interview.

29/01/2011 - Letter sent to Sunderland Echo regarding The Dangers of Glocal Warming
The dangers of global warming
WE refer to the letter by L. Blythlyn (January 19) who thinks global warming is a myth.
A rise in global temperature has been measured and is accepted as fact by the vast majority of scientists.

It is a fact that the addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere at a rate greater than the Earth can remove by natural cycles has caused this rise.

A global effort is required to reduce carbon emissions to a level where the Earth’s natural cycles can achieve equilibrium.

As for scientists in the 60s predicting an ice age – where did you get your information? This may have been a theory of a small group, but was by no means the view of the majority.

However, it is known that periods of warming in the Earth’s history are followed by periods of rapid cooling – so they may have been ahead of schedule in predicting an ice age, but not entirely incorrect.

Melting of ice does occur in the summer, and more of it melts than is replaced in the winter. Continued rising global temperature will eventually lead to a loss of all ice at the polar caps.
Ice reflects solar radiation, whereas ocean water absorbs it being darker in colour. The loss of ice and increase in ocean water causes a more rapid absorption of solar energy by the Earth, accelerating the warming.

This is the threat we face, and it is not a threat to the Earth, it is a threat to our way of life and our species, which is not prepared for the changes that will occur as a result of global warming. If you require proof of this, we call your attention to New Orleans, Australia, Pakistan, Brazil and even right here in the UK. In all of these places recent extreme weather has caused destruction, death and disease
.
Global warming refers to climate and not weather.

We do hope, however, that we can take a global approach to repairing a potential disaster before it is too late.

Sunderland Green Party

05/02/2011 - 14:00-16:00 Sunderland Greens Party next meeting - Revolution
The next party meeting will be held at our usual place (upstairs at the back) of Revolution in Sunderland City centre. This is an open meeting and all are welcome. Topics to discuss will be sent out soon.

07/01/2011 - Sunderland Green Party Tuition Fees interview on 107 Spark FM
107 Spark FMs very own Sam Willey had a chance to catch up with Sunderland Greens David Campbell and branch coordinator John Lowther. This is the first time Sunderland Greens have had the opportunity to speak about the tuition fees in the public domain.

Click Here to listen to the interview.

04/01/2011 - Letter sent to Sunderland Echo regarding Glocal Warming
I refer to D.J. Wright’s letter in the Echo, printed on 10th December 2010, in which he said that Climate Change has been proven to be a con as we have experienced cold weather during winter.

Climate Change refers to global changes over significant periods of time.  A global trend towards warmer average temperatures will not mean that every location on the planet will be warmer at all times.

Despite the recent cold weather in Sunderland, according to World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), 2010 will almost certainly rank as one of the three hottest years since records began and the last decade has been the hottest on record.

In the last year, record high temperatures were recorded in no less than 17 countries.  The WMO anticipate that this trend toward hotter average global temperatures will not only continue but also accelerate.

Therefore, whilst the world may be getting warmer, this does not necessarily mean that our UK winters will cease to be cold.  Indeed, the opposite may be true. Vladimir Petoukhov of the Potsdam Institute, has said that as a consequence of shrinking sea ice due to Climate Change the probability of cold winter extremes in Europe and northern Asia could triple.

Yours sincerely
David Campbell

References

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/dec/02/cancun-climate-change-conference-2010-hot, John Vidal
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5323512.stm, John Ashton, BBC Website
http://www.wmo.int/pages/index_en.html, World Metrological Organisation
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/20/uk-snow-global-warming, George Monbiot, Guardian Newspaper
http://www.pik-potsdam.de/news/press-releases/global-warming-could-cool-down-temperatures-in-winter, Petoukhov, V., and V. A. Semenov (2010), A link between reduced Barents-Kara sea ice and cold winter extremes over northern continent.


08/01/2011 - 14:00-16:00 Sunderland Greens Party next meeting - Revolution
The next party meeting will be held at our usual place (upstairs at the back) of Revolution in Sunderland City centre. This is an open meeting and all are welcome. Topics to discuss will be sent out soon.