Brighton & Hove Friends of the Earth

Today, Brighton & Hove Friends of the Earth launches its BHFOE Manifesto 2015.  It is designed to raise awareness of the importance of looking after the environment for our benefit, both social and economic.  Unless we do that we risk increasing long term costs in terms of bad health and in some cases death through to paying more to clean up our water supply or to try and keep the NHS afloat.  Far better, as we argue, to tackle some of the issues at source.

Make it easier and more pleasant to walk and cycle and more people will do so.  This will improve their health and happiness, leading to better productivity and lower absenteeism at work.  It will also make them less susceptible to disease and ill-health and so place lower demands on the NHS, saving it money.  A more pleasant environment as proposed by the Valley Gardens scheme would also be attractive to visitors, supporting tourism and improve the environment for local traders.

Another example is around warm housing, where investment in insulation is not only good for reducing carbon emissions but it can help keep vulnerable people warm in winter.  This will help to reduce the excess number of winter deaths and save people money in fuel costs.

Our manifesto, does not profess to cover absolutely everything, but it is intended to cover some of the big challenges facing the city and suggests ways that we might start to tackle them.  We hope that politicians from all parties will back these proposals to help create a city for people that is better for everyone.