WEN local groups

Your right to know!

2009-04-01T14:55:00.003+01:00

The Health and Environment Alliance (along with a number of other organisations)have created a leaflet as a part of the Chemicals Health Monitor Project. The aim of the leaflet is to ensure that key scientific evidence on the links between chemicals and health are placed within policy making as soon as possible.

The leaflet includes a sample letter that one can use to request information about chemicals and ingredients from companies as well as a link for the respective obligations companies have to consumers.

Print it out....use it....share it!!

http://www.chemicalshealthmonitor.org/IMG/pdf/REACH_consumers_FINAL.pdf

New year, new you!

2009-01-21T16:03:00.012Z

WEN invites you to....the launch of the new WEN Careful Beauty Checklist hosted by Jo Fairley (author of the Green Beauty Bible and founder of Green &Blacks) at Neal’s Yard.

Come and find out about safe alternatives and have a go at making your own cosmetics. Get informed about the thousands of potentially harmful chemicals used in skincare products and the effect on our health.

Please join us at:
Neal’s Yard Remedies, 124b King’s Road, London SW3 4TR
6.30-8.30pm
Wednesday 28 January 2009

(organic wine, nibbles and a goodie bag included)

Choosing our Future

2008-12-17T12:35:00.002Z

The Health and Environment Alliance and David Ratte have published a dark yet humourous comic strip to highlight of chemicals one comes in contact with on a daily basis. The stories illustrate the association between exposure to manmade chemicals and adverse health affects such as asthma, allergies, cancers, reproductive disorders and hormone disruption, to name a few.

The publication is titled “Choosing our Future – For A Healthier Life, Consume Chemicals in Moderation!” and is in both English and French. The comic can be downloaded from www.choosingourfuture.eu

Please forward to all your friends and why not comment on this blog what your thoughts are on the strip!

Top 5 Eco-holiday tips

2008-11-26T15:57:00.047Z

Thank you to Deborah and the Vale of Evesham WEN for sharing their ideas for the upcoming holiday season.

1. Buy Local & Organic

- Concentrate on quality rather than quantity (it seems a very common problem to buy too much food at this time of year)! Plus it is much healthier and cheaper if you bake your own mince pies etc.than to buy the pre-pack stuff

2. Make your own gifts

- Eco, personal and fun! Try making herbal oat bath sachets out of muslin and ribbon, which can be washed after use and remade.

- Most importantly when gift buying make sure your gift is tailored to the person & won't end up in landfill by January! If in doubt go for a charity gift or voucher.

3. Decorate Naturally

- Try holly, ivy, mistletoe and evergreen boughs on picture frames
- Use icing sugar coated pinecones, dried leaves and berries for table decoration
- Try making your own vegetable wax candles.
- Use oranges with cloves or dried orange segments for the tree
- Get the kids involved with old cereal boxes, egg boxes and recycled foil!

4. Save Energy

- LED Lights last a long time
- remember to turn off the lights when you go out and when you go to bed.

5. Recycle, reuse, rewrap

- Buy recycled brown paper and pretty ribbon,avoiding the need for tape altogether and then use the same stuff year after year!
- Use last year's cards to make this year's gift tags or even as part of your own homemade cards
- Try gift bags that can be used time and again.

If you have any hot tops tips you would like to share with other like minded individuals, perhaps even have a delicious low carbon recipe you'd like to share, please comment on this entry and share the link with your friends!

If you have any additional entries you would like to see on here, please email health@wen.org.uk with what you would like to have added.

Using the Blog

2008-11-12T15:28:00.002Z

Dear WEN friends,
It has come to my attention that it is a bit difficult to add things to the blog. Perhaps, we will have to explore other options on how to use the tool.

Have a look around the site and please do comment on any previous post or idea you are interested in.....OR email me at health@wen.org.uk with BLOG POST as the subject and the idea you would like to see on the blog. I will try to put it online each Wednesday.

Hopefully this will work for the moment and if anyone has any thoughts on how to create a blog site that enables more posting and interaction please comment to this site!

Hope that helps! Thank you all for your continued interest!

Laureen
London Local Groups and Health Officer.

the plastic debate continues.....

2008-11-12T15:26:00.002Z

It was interesting reading about your group's plastics discussion and one area which I'd like to know more about is the question of which plastics are likely to be most toxic and what products they are in. I believe that Bisphenol is a 'baddy' and is present in lots of plastic products although it has been banned in Canada and also by the EU for products used by young children.

My grandchildren and their friends go to school hugging a plastic water bottle which has one of those pull-out tops which are often chewed when they are pulled out using the teeth. The two schools attended by my grandchildren both ask children to bring bottles of water to school presumably because they don't have access to water in school. Have the water drinking fountains which were a familiar and well-used essential in schools in days past disappeared from schools? If so, why? If the reason is 'health and safety' my guess is that a child's health is more at risk from chewing on plastic than from using the same drinking fountain as their friends!

I'd be really interested to hear whether all schools now ask children to bring a plastic bottle filled with water to school. In addition to the potential risk from toxic plastic, just think about the massive land-fill problem produced if each child has a bottle. Or two or three each to allow for lost bottles. Then there is the hastle each morning when we can't find the bottle just when we are rushing to get to school .. and the moans when the bottle is left in school at the end of the day. We desparatley need a campaign outlawing the need to take a bottle of water to school!!!

Eileen Peck
(S E Essex Group)

Nobody likes a nag?

2008-10-15T13:41:00.002+01:00

Upon coming back to a very crowded inbox after my annual leave, I stumbled across a fun, interestingly presented, quirky website that introduces a different way to be informed and aware.

http://www.thenag.net

The basic idea??

To create a sustainable lifestyle is through what they call 'nagging'.

However, it's not as daunting as it sounds. The Nag desires to "make it easy for people to do one thing each month to contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle." Through low-effort, high impact activities and action, The Nag promotes and expresses a number of ethical, carbon friendly, community driven efforts.

It is a fun website to explore and check out and could be a source of ideas for locals group discussions and events.

Have a look and let us know what you think?

............Rebirth of the blog!............

2008-09-17T13:18:00.040+01:00

WELCOME.......Again!

This is officially the relaunch and rebirth of the WEN Local Groups Blog! Due to popular demand we would like to remind you about this easy but useful, helpful but informative tool which can be used to create awareness of environmental issues that affect women and men.

THIS IS FOR YOU!

Please use this blog as a device to create discussion and interaction among like minded individuals and to strengthen the connection between users, no matter what the distance between us!

Mapping out how to strengthening our local groups network
Photo - Shirley Abranches

You might find it interesting to view past posts and create new thoughts to discuss. Ideally, this is a tool made for you and used by you! If you have any questions, thoughts or ideas on how to improve or alter the blog, please email health@wen.org.uk.

Many thanks & looking forward to see how this baby grows!

The Cucumber Issue (or the plastic dilemma.)

2008-07-23T16:12:00.001+01:00

At the start of July, North London WEN discussed the issue of plastic- is it always bad, and can we live without it? Following a week of avoiding plastic (or trying to), local group members recognised the prevalence and usefulness of plastic in our modern, urban lifestyles. The discussion covered many of the tricky environmental issues surrounding plastic including perceptions of plastic, packaging, recycling, the role of plastic in transporting goods, together with some science and a bit of history. In the course of the discussion, North London WEN unearthed a range of confusing issues but came to the following conclusions: we should not assume that plastic is always the worst eco-choice, we should try to make informed decisions in order to purchase plastics that can be re-used or recycled, and we should buy unpackaged (if possible) or in bulk.

Many thanks to the North London group for the continued contribution to this Blog. It's a great opportunity to share knowledge and bring on debate and discussion. If your local group or any individuals have anything to discuss - please add a comment or email health@wen.org.uk with any form of contribution or comment.

Are you a Sister?

2008-06-18T15:49:00.013+01:00

Last Wednesday, Oxfam premiered their short film "Sisters on the Planet" at the Prince Charles cinema, Leicester Square. The film features four stories from women in Uganda, Bangladesh, Brazil and England. Each story illustrates different outcomes and methods taken by these women to combat the consequences that effect their families and the local community due to climate change.

Since the premier, I have seen a number of blogs and online articles highlighting various conflicts about climate change being an issue of gender. WEN’s Women’s Manifesto on Climate Change, states that women are indeed more vulnerable to the consequences of a changing climate due to our social roles and status. You can review this by visiting the following site:
http://www.wen.org.uk/general_pages/reports/manifesto.pdf

***We encourage you to read and post a comment on the New Scientist blog where I originally saw the opposition gender and climate change.***

Please visit the following: www.newscientist.com/blog/environment/2008/06/is-climate-change-feminist-issue.html

WEN will soon have copies of Sisters on the Planet for viewing and discussing within your local group. Why not organize a night of local treats, fairtrade drinks while putting into action how you can help make a difference – these four women will certainly make an impact of you!

Please be sure to leave a note on our blog if you have a position on climate change, gender issues and other related ideas to this topic! We'd love to hear from you all!

! Action Alert !

2008-06-11T13:35:00.007+01:00

North London WEN Group take action

*photo - www.wvwd.com

‘The Council pop* issue’:

Should I drink bottled or tap water?

To kick off a series of monthly discussion groups, North London WEN met at the start of June to consider the issue of bottled water. By examining ‘The Council Pop’ issue, local group members hoped to reach agreement about whether to drink bottled or tap water. In order to do so, the group considered the environmental costs of packaging and transporting bottled water, together with ethical, health and access issues surrounding tap water. A blind taste test of bottled and tap water revealed subtle differences in preference. Taking all issues into consideration, the group’s verdict was that we should drink tap, rather than bottled, water. Watch this space for a more detailed summary of the discussion, coming soon!

*slang term meaning tap water*

Tis the Season

2008-05-28T14:32:00.022+01:00

..Green Fair galore..

The season of festivals promoting environmental awareness and green fairs is now upon us. We would like to create an opportunity for WEN members and those stumbling upon this blog to inform one another about new events promoting sustainable, local organic food, fairtrade options and climate friendly items.

Photo: Laureen Benton

Be sure to inform us if you have an upcoming fair or event we shouldn't miss!
Here is a selection of events you don't want to miss:

BRISTOL VEGAN FAYRE
w: bristolveganfayre.co.uk
31 May & 1 June - 09:00 to 21:00
@ Amphitheatre & Waterfront Square
CAMDEN GREEN FAIR & BIKEFEST
w: camdengreenfair.org.uk
1 June - Noon to 19:00
@ Regents Park

STRAWBERRY FAIR @ Garden Organic
w: organicgardening.org.uk/events
e: events@gardenorganic.org.uk
29 June - 10:00 to 17:00

NOTTINGHAM GODDESS CAMP
w: goddesscamp.org.uk
18-20 July @ Bestwood Country Park

WEN members are very welcome to attend the camp! Click on photos for more details.

2008-04-30T15:05:00.008+01:00

WEN members participated at the Friends of the Earth's Climate bill public meeting on 22nd April 2008.

Eileen Peck from SE Essex asked the first question to the panel about the practicalities of measuring an individuals carbon emissions. London WEN member Ruth Mayorcas put forth her view regarding plastic bags; both topics were well received.

2008-02-18T15:20:00.000Z

North London WEN are organising a Green Drinks party to bring together local business women. Speakers include Emily Thornberry, MP Finsbury and Islington South; Catherine Conway, Owner of Unpackaged and Denise Celeghin, London Environment Centre. The event will take place on 6th March from 5.30 - 7.30 pm at the Queen Boudicea, 292 St John Street, EC1V 4PA. Come along for information and practical advice on greening your business.

2008-02-18T14:26:00.000Z

We are really happy to announce that on 13th and 14th September 2008 WEN will run a retreat for all local groups. We will let you know more in the next issue of Women's Eye and will also shortly send out booking forms to all local groups.

During the retreat we will run a series of interactive sessions on a variety of topics related to local groups and WEN’s work but there will also be plenty of time to chat and exchange ideas in a friendly and informal manner. We hope to have a really creative and FUN weekend. The retreat is a fantastic opportunity for you to meet other local groups from all across the country.

We hope you will join us for a brilliant weekend!