What's Green in Brum?

A competitor to Freecycle and Freegle called Freegive has sprung up in Birmingham. All are email networks designed to give away rather than throw away unwanted goods.

LAST
Outside
the quicksilver sinks a little in the glass.
Inside the conference hall
the temperature rises.
After decades of hypocrisy
quick minds need to find a quick and lasting deal
to save us from the quicksands,
requicken our forests, restore our full humanity.
Last,
the kings & queens begin to trickle in
with their signet rings,
as hustlers continue to cobble texts.
Last chance? Last days? Last [...]

Birmingham City Council is pushing its Climate Change Declaration, with targets for 2015. What will it achieve? (By Chris Duggan)

The Age of Stupid is well worth watching for its own sake – it’s a really well made film, visually impressive, engaging, with great personal stories

Over 30 people attended the candlelit vigil in Kings Heath to call for a strong climate deal at Copenhagen this evening.

Temp: 6 months. Future Jobs Fund – you must have been unemployed and registered with the Job Centre for 9 – 12 months. Employer: Birmingham Friends of the Earth. Closing date: ASAP. Contact: Maud via faithandclimatechange.org.

We suggest every church in Birmingham prays for world leaders negotiating in Copenhagen. It’s the eleventh hour! Please tell us in the comments if your church is doing this. Ideas from other faith communities are welcome too.

David Urquhart, the Anglican Bishop of Birmingham, muses on environmental campaigning and the gospel. From www.birmingham.anglican.org. I have added the sub-headings.

5 December 2009
Dear Roger Godsiff,
I have just learned that our national bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, has lent or underwritten £8bn for exploiting the tar sands in Alberta, Canada. This is a crazy scheme for extracting oil by strip mining, destroying huge areas of forest. Extracting oil from this highly impure source requires a [...]

Moseley Community Development Trust is launching a new service to help residents in Moseley and Balsall Heath. The Green Doctor will help you to keep warm, save money on gas & electricity bills, save the environment