[GreenYes] World Cup Report

[RicAnthony@no.address]

World Cup  Report 
Rick  Anthony 
July 2006 
The thing I like about  England is that they speak English  and the planning 
issues are similar to what is happening  here. 
Debbie and I started 2006 in England.  It was below zero in London when we 
arrived on Boxing Day, and a bit higher in  Bath, where we  spent the New Year.  
After a visit  to Stonehenge, we drove up to East  Anglia to work in 
Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.  We spent our time in this bitter cold,  with winds 
blowing off the North Sea, auditing  businesses to define commercial discards. A 
month in East Anglia was enough for me to really  appreciate the mild San  
Diego winters.   
The European Union has ordered organics out of  landfill and the following 
objectives have been articulated in the national  strategy and the EU Landfill 
Directive: By 2010, reduce biodegradable resources  going to landfill to 75% of 
1995âs generation values; By 2013, reduce  biodegradable resources going to 
landfill to 50% of 1995âs generation values, By  2020, reduce biodegradable 
waste going to landfill to 35% of 1995âs generation  values.   
The central government announced that  they think that they will not meet the 
EU requirements and have asked the  Counties to plan for incineration.  The 
Recyclers, Environmentalist and the neighbors near the proposed  facilities are 
outraged.  Town  meetings are being held all over the Country where these 
sites are being  proposed.  The people are pretty  upset. 
Our project in Lowestoft was not the result of an incinerator but because  of 
the local need for jobs.  A high  unemployment rate was the basis of looking 
at recycling and composting as a  source of new jobs.  Our report  shows 
millions of Pounds and hundreds of jobs could be created through source  separation 
and composting and recycling.  In the areas where the incinerators are 
planned the neighbors are asking  why not an RR park here and not an incinerator.   
In March, Neil Seldman from ILSR, who is  helping set up training projects 
for deconstruction of old buildings in  Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth, and I 
attended one of these meetings in  Oxford.  We focused on source  separation as an 
alternative to burning that will create jobs and revenue.  The key is source 
separation.   
A series of meeting were planned for the  summer in other communities.  I  
offered to attend and speak.   I thought this would be a fun way to get  to see 
the world cup soccer matches during reasonable hours and talk about  resource 
management. 
In June shortly after the  USA team got creamed by the  Czechs, Debbie and I 
took off for a 25 day tour of cities in England and those on the way to and 
from  Germany.  We flew into Amsterdam and then to  Newcastle, England where the 
Zero Waste Chartists, the Zero Waste Alliance and  the Zero Waste Trust were 
meeting at Gateshead to plan actions against the  incinerator there and 
discuss the zero waste future for England, and in my mind  the world.   
The Gateshead event was important in  that it has unified the zero waste 
movement in the UK and issues  like MBT were discussed and clarified.  In general, 
the agreement was the first sort at the point of generation  before 
processing should be a wet and dry separation.    Mechanical and biological treatment  
(MBT) is important in processing these materials after separation not  before. 
 Thinking about California, I think the  plastic bags must go to the dry side 
and advanced recycling fees (ARFâs) must be  placed on all glass and nappies. 
  
In a Pub in Newcastle, we cheered the effort of the USA lads against  the 
Italian team to hold them to a 1 -1 tie with only nine men left on the  field.  
It was the only game anyone  scored on Italy until the final with the  French, 
even if it was an own goal.  
After Newcastle we flew back to Amsterdam and caught a train to Luxembourg, 
We watched games with the locals in  sidewalk cafes and pubs on the way to 
Nuremburg Germany for USA v Ghana.  The train platforms were infiltrated with  
people from all over the world wearing their team and countries colors and for  
the first time in recent memory the German trains were making announcements in  
English.  There was noticeable  recycling in the train stations but not on 
the  trains. 
In Nuremburg we bought tickets for the  game from two guys from Los  Angeles 
who had found better tickets.  Once inside we bought hot dogs and  drinks.  
All drinks were sold in  refillable souvenir cups.  No  bottles or cans.  While 
waiting for  the game (we got there early) we met an American who was a 
referee/coach and  retired lawyer from Pal Alto.  We  talked about soccer and the 
Palo Alto Zero waste project, amidst the gathering  of Americans, Ghanaians and 
Germans arriving for the game.   
It was a good game. Most of the fans  although not from Ghana were  for Ghana 
and the foul that  eventually gave the game to Ghana was disputable.  That 
was a game we really needed to  win. 
FromGermany to France, where in the  cafeteria at the Louvre we saw Italy 
beat Australia, and then in a Cafà near the  Effie Tower that was owned by a guy 
who had lived in Pacific Beach for several  years.  France beat Spain and  
Paris and the Eiffel Tower sparkled that night.   
After France we rode the train up to Amsterdam for a couple  days of bike 
rides.  These rides  were easy 4 hour trips, one day through the city and one day 
through the  countryside.  It was hot and clear  and glorious.  We rode in 
the  morning and watched the knock out rounds in the evenings.  I had to leave 
the coffee shop in  Amsterdam when they got to penalty kicks for the  German v 
Argentina game; the  fans in this Coffee shop were for Germany.  I was for the 
American teams  (USA, Mexico, Trinidad,  Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and 
Costa Rica).  America is bigger than the  USA.  None of them got into the final  
four. 
On July 1 Debbie flew home and I flew  back to England for a  Saturday 
community meeting in Norwich.  In this meeting of about 75, 8 were elected 
councilors and most of them  green party members.  They are  against the Norwich 
incinerator proposal and wanted to know  more about the RR Park options. The day 
ended in a Pub in Norwich with the English losing to the Portugal  team.  A sad 
day for the  English. 
Later that week after working on the  local projects with Maxine, we finished 
with a flourish.  A night meeting in Cromer solidified our  base in Norwich an
d brought another sector into  the community movement, and then the next AM 
we were off to Hull.  This city with a suspension bridge  longer than San 
Francisco is on the northeast  coast of England 100 miles  from Edinburgh,  
Scotland.  A huge incinerator is planned and the  neighbors had asked to have us talk 
to them, their counselors, and MP.   
It was surreal.  We crossed the bridge and met former  Mayor of Hedon (suburb 
of Hull), he drove us to a TV studio here I was  interviewed and asked why I 
cared so much to come so far. I said we needed to  save the world for our 
children.  After a Pub dinner we drove to the meeting where over 300 people were  
waiting for us.  The chair was an MP  that the mayor said was undecided, but 
looking at the crowd, he declared his  opposition to incinerators.  Our  talk 
was about why incinerators are outdated because recycling and composting of  
resources is more important to our future, and showed them California examples.  
After I was done, the people  commented.  Besides saying Rick was  right, 
they condemned the incinerator project.  Finally the MP said, Rick was right,  
incinerators were bad and we need to save our resources for our children.  I 
thought I was dreaming.   
It was a six hour trip back to Norwich and then a 6 AM flight to Amsterdam, 
Houston and  San Diego,  eventually two days on the road without really 
sleeping.  I was home on Sunday morning in  Pacific  Beach to see the Italians,  who 
our team tied, beat the French on penalty  kicks. 
While I was gone, not much changed  here.  CRRA held an election for the  new 
seats on its board after the reorganization.  No body ran form the North; I 
won a seat  from the south.  Although it was by  only one vote, thank you, I 
will take it, With the NRC vote they would never see  me how close I got. 
August 6 CRRA will meet in Conference at  the Fairmont in San Jose.  On a 
Monday panel Maxine Narburgh from Bright Green and Karen Strandoo  from Suffolk 
County England will discuss the Lowestoft project in a panel.  Karen used to be 
part of the San Francisco team.   
The planning issues here and there are  the same.   
Richard  Anthony 
July  2006


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