Big Issue North: Off-beam decision on solar panels

The Majalla: E-waste, Egypt and the Digital Divide

Around two months ago, 170 nations met in Spain for a UN environmental conference and agreed to accelerate a ban on exporting e-waste from rich nations to the developing world. For green campaigners and the marginalised poor forced to sort toxic e-waste in developing countries, this was a resounding success. This hard-won victory, however, wasn’t celebrated by all.

Some e-waste campaigners raised concerns that a blanket ban would in fact starve highly skilled repairers in the developing world of vital resources. This in turn would mean more e-waste was sent to landfills rather than being re-used and access to computers for those less well-off in developing countries would be undermined.

E-waste, or electronic waste, is believed to be the largest illegally traded toxic hazardous waste in the world. The UN estimates that up to 50 million tonnes of electrical and electronic goods are thrown away every year and this figure is set to rise to 73 million by 2015. Part of the reason for the continued rise is that emerging economies have flourishing consumer electronic markets but lack the infrastructure to dispose of e-waste effectively.

INTERVIEW: John Ashcroft and Manchester’s bid for the Green Investment Bank

Arwa Aburawa met up with John Ashcroft, the man leading Manchester’s bid to host the Green Investment Bank, to talk about the rainy city’s chances and whether it can see off competition from London

Manchester is one of over twenty cities which has made an official bid to host the Green Investment Bank (GIB) which will be government-funded to the tune of £3 billion. The bank is expected to funnel £15 billion of private finance into green projects over four years and employ up to 70 members of staff. Its main areas of work will be offshore wind, energy from waste, waste processing/recycling, non-domestic energy efficiency and supporting the Green Deal. The final decision on which city gets the bank will be made by Vince Cable, aided by an advisory panel, this February and the bank will be launched April 2012.

Hush… Female Palestinian Artists Speak Up

Larissa Sansour's Nation Estate photography series depicts Palestine as skyscraper with cities built on various levels- a nation forced to build upwards due to political and geographical constraints

Hugely impressed with Palestinian filmmakers this week. Firstly, Larissa Sansour manages to get enough support to shut down the Lacoste film competition which kicked her off the shortlist for being, and I quote, “too pro-Palestinian”.

Second of all, I stumbled across a stunning short documentary by another talented artist from Bethlehem. Samar Habzoun’s documentary, which is titled ‘Hush’, looks at the issue of gender-based violence and life in a Palestinian women’s shelter. I am currently in the process of getting a full article commissioned so keep your eyes peeled….

SISTERS Magazine: Saving Water- An Islamic Duty of Care

Really excited about the latest issue of SISTERS magazine as it’s all about saving water and being environmentally friendly from an Islamic perspective. It also features my article on the front cover which is lovely too! SISTERS are currently running a very special three issues for a £1 offer so if you’re curious- now is the time to get yourself a subscription.

Saving Water An Islamic duty of care

Arwa Aburawa looks at the very stuff of life – water – and why Muslims should be working to preserve every drop.

Imagine waking up to find that water, which normally flows freely out of your tap, had become a scarce and precious commodity. That it had become too important to use to flush the toilet or to flow down the drain as you brush your teeth- too precious to waste on that daily morning shower. Would you see water differently? Would you be using it more sparingly and showing more concern about waste? Of course you would, it would only be natural and yet a famous hadith reported by Ibn Majah states that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) told us to not to waste water even if it is abundant. But sadly, when it is abundant we take advantage of it, we forget its vital importance to our health and survival and, ultimately, we waste it.

Green Prophet- Updates on Climate Change in the Middle East

Firstly, apologies for the lack of posts over the last couple of months. I keep saying I’ll put up some of my work but impending deadlines mean that updating my silly little website slips to the very bottom of my list of priorites. Still, I am busy working away and one important place I write about environmental issues in the Middle East is at GreenProphet.com, which is the leading news site on environmental issues in the Middle East.

So, if you’re interested in that sort of thing (and even if your not) it’s definitely worth checking out. You can see a full profile of my work at GreenProphet here.

Some highlights from the last two months:
- Uncovering greenwash in Jordan which saw an oil shale company owned by Shell fund university degrees on environmental issues
- Q&A with Lebanon-based Greenpeace campaigner Raefah Makki
- Interview with Fazlun Khalid who heads the world’s oldest green Islamic organisation, The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences
- Launch of Green Prophet’s Guide for Barefoot Bloggers which includes a chapter from yours truly
- Speaking to Green Hajj expert Dr. Husna Ahmed about greening the Islamic pilgrimage, water conservation and the role Muslim women can (and should!) play
- Covering repairers in Cairo whose re-use culture is helping the world avert e-waste from landfills

:: Image is of a water mural in Gaza.

Guardian: Manchester Uni contract raises questions on organic food market

A new organic food co-op in Manchester is bucking the trend by working with a large public sector client- but can smaller food organisations survive when local organic produce is in short supply? Arwa Aburawa reports.

Organic veg – in this case from the Ethical Superstore. Photograph: Organic Picture Library/Rex Features

This September saw the launch of a new organic food coop in Manchester called Manchester Veg People. It had been the culmination of years of work by local organisations such as the Kindling Trust and brought together local organic farmers with various clients such as sustainable groceries and restaurants. The unique thing about the coop, however, was that one of its clients was the Manchester University which has 29 eateries and as such requires a substantial amount of produce.

“We are lucky to have Manchester University as one of our clients,” admits Chris Walsh, who works at Kindling Trust which is part of the co-op. “They are our biggest customer by far and the public sector is a stable market for growers to tap into.” The co-op wants to ensure that growers receive a living wage for their work by selling their fruit and veg at market value and so having a stable market is one way to ensure that. Walsh adds that they are hoping to take on more public sector clients such as prisons and hospitals in the future which will also mean that organic food is reaching those not normally that interested in the quality of their food.

Adbusters: #Occupy Climate Change

Really excited to be on the frontpage of Adbusters talking about climate change and the Arab Spring. This kinda commentary is a little out of my comfort zone but watching the events unfold in Libya and the Occupy movement gain momentum made me put pen to paper about our abilities as human to take huge risks and embrace change.

#Occupy Climate Change

The impossible is suddenly possible.

Arwa Aburawa , 09 Nov 2011

In the grand scheme of things, capitalism is a blip. A flicker on the historical radar and a rather dangerous planetary-scale experiment whose results are easy to guess and hard to ignore. When you have a giant machine pushing for infinite and perpetual growth in a world with finite resources, you know it’s not going to end well. Yet right now, for the average citizen of the West, a world without the hallmarks of capitalism – without Wall Street, the rat race, shopping malls, economic growth, debt and competitive consumerism – is almost impossible to imagine. The very thought of a consumer-free world opens up such a void, such a unknowingness that it scares the bejesus out of us.

Throughout history, however, there have been people willing to place themselves in that white void and be petrified, even liberated by change. The Arab Spring, which has seen ordinary citizens revolt against mighty dictatorships, is the most recent example of that human ability. And for that reason, the Arab Spring gives us hope. Hope that the world will be able to save itself from the system that has pushed the earth and its resources to the brink. That an alternative will not only be imagined but embraced in the name of new possibilities and freedoms.

We’re Back! Subscribe To Manchester Climate Monthly

Those of you with good memories may recall that I co-edited a hyper-local fortnightly newsletter on environmental issues along with Marc Hudson which was aptly named Manchester Climate Fortnightly. Well, after a years rest we’re back!

We’re now going to publish on a monthly basis and will blog and tweet and facebook and youtube lots in between. You can expect a lot of the same things that you got from Manchester Climate Fortnightly – important local news and campaigning as well as lots of new multimedia things such as short ‘guide to everything you need to know about…” videos.

Our first issue will be out in January- you can subscribe for free here: http://manchesterclimatemonthly.net/about/subscribe/

You can also follow us on Twitter: Mcr_climate

Or ‘Like’ us on Facebook.

Here’s what we’ve been up to in the last week or so:

Friends of the Earth’s ‘Final Demand’ Campaign Update

Weather Vs Climate: Food, Nuclear Power and Thin Threads Of Hope

Solar Power and The Right To ‘No’

We’re Back!

Mule: Business As Usual- Greater Manchester’s Climate Change Plans

Greater Manchester’s local authorities are affirming official schemes to reduce carbon emissions. But so far their plans appear more aspirational than actual, and driven by the interests of business rather than preparing the city for a sustainable future.

On 29 July, the ten councils of Greater Manchester [Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan], unofficially led by Manchester City Council (MCC), agreed to cut their carbon emissions by 48 per cent against a 1990 baseline level by 2020.

Despite the scale of the commitment, the announcement attracted little media attention – revolutions and phone hacking scandals understandably sell more newspapers than council ‘strategy documents’ – and went largely unnoticed by environmentalists.