A hall-full of people gathered for our screening of A Crude Awakening on 25 November.

Simon Grover introduced the powerful film, the subject of which provoked much debate afterwards.

Spurred on by coffee, soup and home-made snacks, the audience was later addressed by representatives from Berkhamstead. They told us about their Transition Town project, and how we might emulate it in St Albans.

After last year's packed-out showing of An Inconvenient Truth, St Albans Green Party would like to invite you to see another unmissable film.

A Crude Awakening is about 'peak oil' - what happens when the demand for oil outstrips supply. Peak oil, like climate change, is happening now. And its consequences will be just as important.

See the trailer for the film here

If you'd like to know more about this crucial issue, come and see this startling, multi-award-winning film.

Tuesday 25 November

8pm (film lasts 90 minutes)

Trinity Church Hall on the corner of Beaconsfield Rd/Victoria St - very close to rail station

Tickets £5. Homemade soup available!

Seats are limited, so please reserve in advance by emailing:

Click here to go to the survey page.

Power to the People!

How YOU can use a revolutionary new law to help fix local issues.

Like towns and cities all over the country, St Albans has seen a decline in our local economy, environment and public services. We've seen traders move out, traffic get worse, and community facilities close.

Parliament has finally recognised this problem. It's passed a radical new law that gives local people the power to get the government to give us what we need to fix things.

The Sustainable Communities Act is about improving local areas, making them better places to live. The Green Party is passionate about sustainability. That's why we were one of the original supporters of this new law.

We love it, because for the first time it gives local people the power to tell the government what to do, instead of the other way round.

The Council now has to ask local people and groups for their ideas to stop the decline. Then they have to tell the government. There are lots of ideas about how this law could help mend St Albans, and we list some of them over the page - we'd like to know what you think of them. But we'd also like to gather your ideas.

If you could change how the Government spent taxpayers' money, to help our economy, environment or community, what would you do?

Click here to go to the survey page.

We'll also have a stall at St Albans market on Saturday 22 November. Simon Grover of the Green Party will be there, with other local members too. Do come and see us to tell us your ideas, or just to chat.

We'll gather all the ideas we receive and submit them to the Council, and publish any news here.

Local Green activists this week got on their bikes to join in with the national 'In Town Without My Car' day. The day was part of European Mobility Week.*

Local candidate Simon Grover remarked: "I welcome this special day as a chance to celebrate and promote cycling in St Albans.

"Cycling helps us beat rocketing fuel prices, and it improves health too. And every car left at home is another load of CO2 and noxious gases kept out of the air and environment, improving the air quality for the whole community.

"However, the county council should be making it easier for us to abandon our cars for the other 364 days of the year. For that to happen, we need massive investment in cycling programmes and in cheap, clean and safe public transport for the whole of the county. Electing more Greens onto Herts County Council can help us make the kinds of changes we need."

• For more on European Mobility Week click here

The clock is ticking on the world's climate. Hardly a day goes by without another authoratative, high level report on the need to take action to avoid climate chaos. But at the European Elections coming up there is an opportunity to make our region - and the world -- a greener place to live, by electing more Green MEPs.

There is already an influential group of Green MEPs in the European Parliament, including two from Britain. In our bid to gain an MEP in Eastern Region the Greens will put "developing a green economy" at the centre of our campaign platform.

Many people are doing their bit to make greener choices, but UK emissions remain stubbornly high and have not fallen since 1997, despite the Government's claims. Government has to make it easier for people to do the right thing. That is what Green parliamentary representatives can achieve.

During this election campaign we intend to tackle head on the fact that "business as usual" growth economics is incompatible with making cuts in emissions. Old-style economics is also not delivering a better society: people are less happy than they were in 1970, when the economy was less than half its current size.

The Government continues to pretend that we can tackle dangerous climate change whilst building another runway at Stansted, expanding roads, building incinerators and concreting over large areas of countryside for development. The Government is wrong.

Instead they should:

1. replace centralised development targets with local measures of the numbers and locations of homes needed in each area - particularly affordable homes;

2. remove the mechanisms that are leading more and more councils to plan to build waste incinerators. Investment should be directed entirely to raising levels of recycling and composting.

3. divert the tens of billions that new nuclear power stations would cost towards a major programme of energy efficiency and investment in renewables, to make Eastern Region a leader in green energy and in green jobs.

4. scrap the road building programme, with money spent instead on road safety and a big expansion of public transport to reduce road traffic levels and improve air quality.

These are the radical measures needed to help tackle climate change and create a better quality of life for people. Electing more Green MEPs will be a major positive step towards making sure these changes become reality. And with proportional representation at the European Elections, every Green vote counts.

I would like to challenge Michael Kissman of Tesco to actually answer some of the concerns that residents have about the proposed superstore. I don't mind if it's at a public meeting, at a stall at the market, or just down the pub. I am confident I won't have to buy him a pint because he won't turn up. He doesn't even answer emails. Some "Communications Manager".

All he has ever done is trot out the same nonsense about what a marvellous thing his superstore will be for us, how Tesco is so proud to be investing in St Albans, how the "silent majority" think it's a great idea. I love that phrase "silent majority". How does he know what they think if they're silent?

It's important to tackle his argument again, for fear that someone might start believing him. Here's my Top Ten of Tesco Twaddle:

1. It's not "some" people who oppose the store, it's a vast majority. Stop Tesco has gathered thousands of signatures from local people, and our survey of people who actually live near the store found 95% against. Mr Kissman mentions his two surveys. One, as he says, was funded by Tesco. The other simply interviewed people in the high street, a substantial number of whom would not have been from St Albans, let alone lived near the site.

2. Supermarket jobs are not "high quality" with "competitive salaries". They are widely acknowledged to employ some of the lowest paid workers in the country.

3. The superstore would not "vastly improve the London Road area". If you exclude improvements to the run-down buildings which are only in that state because of Tesco, the main change the area would see would be a lot more traffic.

4. The superstore and car park would not "bring more customers to existing shops". The gridlock would deter shoppers, and the location of the store would draw people away from the high street. And it is in the nature of any shop to try to draw people from other shops.

5. The superstore would not "be of benefit to the local economy". The average new supermarket destroys 276 more jobs than it creates. On Tesco's figures that's a loss of over 500 jobs. Plus only 7% of the money spent in supermarkets is recirculated in the local area.

6. The site on London Road has not "been identified as a potential solution" to a supposed lack of food stores. Council reports have said that any such store should be in the city centre, which this site is not. In any case, Stop Tesco have found that the "retail need" for more food shops is based on dodgy statistics.

7. Tesco's traffic measures will not "prevent congestion". There is already congestion round the site. A superstore will make that congestion worse. There is no way around that fact.

8. Tesco is not "investing in St Albans". Tesco is investing in Tesco. There's nothing wrong with that, but please don't talk to us like we're idiots.

9. The superstore would not "add to the choice" of where we shop. It would reduce choice as already hard-pressed local shops are pushed into closing down. And the vast majority of the goods on sale in the superstore are already available in other stores.

10. In barrel-scraping desperation, Mr Kissman also points out that these "improvements" come "at no cost to the council or council tax payers". Thank you so much, Mr Kissman, for not charging us for your lovely supermarket. However, you seem to be forgetting about the huge cost of considering your application and (no doubt) your appeal (when your plan is refused), the cost to our local economy, the cost to our health and the cost to our environment.

Will Mr Kissman be at the council's planning meeting on 30th June? Let's hope so. And let's hope that as many local people as possible are there to greet him.

Simon Grover St Peter's Ward Candidate St Albans District Green Party

We'd like to know more about the exact reasons why people vote Green in St Albans district.

The information will help us to plan our campaigns, develop our policies, and recruit members and helpers.

So please take just a few moments to answer our very short survey. Click Here

Thank you!

At the elections on May 1st we stood a 'full slate' of candidates in all 18 available wards in St Albans District, giving all voters a chance to vote Green. This in itself is an achievement which most smaller parties don't manage. Our total vote in the district was 2,675.

You can see the full results of every ward here

In the two central wards of St Albans, we moved up into 3rd place ahead of Labour. Whilst that is good progress, we had hoped to do even better after all the hard work of the last year.

One reason may be that the Tories' local vote was much better this year, reflecting the national trend. Another may be that for the first time the Lib Dems went out of their way to persuade people not to vote for us.

But in any case we are now well placed to move into position to challenge the Lib Dems in this area.

If you voted Green it would really help us if you tell us why!

Our campaign in central St Albans has been high profile and widely praised. Such attention is the best sign that we are being taken seriously in St Albans.

Across the Eastern Region the party made gains. In Norwich the Green group is now the official opposition on the council, a unique achievement in British politics. They are seriously in the running in Norwich to get a Green MP at the next general election.

Across the country there are now 116 Green councillors, after 9 gains and 4 losses.

In London Sian Berry, the Mayoral candidate, got 77,374 first preference votes, and the Greens retain two seats on the Assembly.

Thank you to everyone who has helped out in the campaign and over the last year. We are always very keen to have more help, whether physical, moral or financial! If you can help in any or all of these ways, or know someone who might, do get in touch.

Green Party members spent two evening rush hours last week collecting newspapers and plastic bottles from commuters at the station, to highlight their campaign.

Spokesman Simon Grover said: "We wanted to tackle the problem of overflowing litter bins and rubbish near the station. It's an opportunity to recycle a huge amount every day. We have been talking to First Capital Connect and the district council about this issue for over a year. Finally FCC is indicating to us that they will move forward on it, and they've asked us to help decide where the new collecting bins should go".

"This is a great example of how simple, thoughtful changes can make a if only there is a small amount of will to do it. The reaction from passengers when they hear about our idea has been fantastic, and I hope our action at the station will help guarantee success."

First Capital Connect has asked the Green Party to talk to them about the best place for recycling bins at the station. Previously they have sited security and access as the reasons for not installing them. St Albans Council has said there is a shortage of space for recycling bins near the station, and collection on a busy road might be difficult.

For all the information on how to view Tesco's plans, how to comment on them and the sort of thing you might say, please take a look at the Stop Tesco website.

For information on your local candidate click here

If you would like a poster, or can help deliver leaflets, please get in touch with us.

Why vote Green?

What some people say:

"The Greens will never get in."

"Greens are only interested in the environment."

"The other parties all have green policies now."

Every Green vote sends a clear message about what you want - a principled, practical, hard-working, fresh approach to local government. Our local vote share doubled last year, and the message is getting through.

St Albans Greens want our district to be run a lot better: planning decisions that protect our city's character not the interests of developers; strong support for energy and water efficiency and renewable power; sustainable transport planning giving top priority to pedestrians and cyclists; support for local traders against the clone stores that threaten the city's identity.

And Greens are the only party taking climate change seriously. This is the biggest issue facing us today, and there is a huge amount our local council could be doing about it.

Every Green vote on May 1st will have an impact. Every Green councillor will make a difference.

Vote Green, and make your vote count.

Click here to go to our Wheelie Bin page!

Is Tesco just trying to confuse us?

In February Tesco finally submitted an application for the London Road site. This got lots of publicity and prompted many residents to send in objections. But then the council found Tesco had missed out important information. So the whole process may have to start again with all those objections being ignored. Is Tesco just trying to wear us down?

The views of local people will have a big influence on the council's decision. So it's vital that, if you want to see something more useful than a supermarket on the site, you contact the council.

You should write to the council as soon as the date of the planning meeting is announced - watch out in the local press or on this website.

How to contact the council:

Send an email to: planapps@stalbans.gov.uk Write a letter to: The Planning Department St Albans City & DIstrict Council, St Peter's Street, St Albans AL1 3JE

What should I say?

Be brief and polite, and talk about the public interest rather than your own personal situation.

The key areas in the discussion are likely to be the impact on traffic and on the vitality and viability of the city centre. But feel free to mention any concern you have about the proposal.

"Never has an opposition with radical vision, political courage and practical policies been more urgently needed. Never has the muddy middle ground of the grey parties' policies been less up to the job."

Green Euro-MP for the South East Caroline Lucas has given an impassioned keynote speech at the Green Party's Spring Conference at Reading Town Hall.

To a packed audience of Party members and media, Dr Lucas slammed the current Labour government for its failure of political courage, lack of radical action on climate change and its failure to learn the lessons of its disastrous domestic and foreign policies. She said: "Never has an opposition with radical vision, political courage and practical policies been more urgently needed. Never has the muddy middle ground of the grey parties' policies been less up to the job.

"We have had enough of the yawning gulf between rhetoric and reality; enough of the drifting duplicity at the heart of government - and enough of a politics without purpose.

"I am so proud to be part of a political party that stands up for its principles. And I'm proud of all of our local councillors and the work they do, combining radical vision and practical policies to deliver real social and environmental change - day in, day out.

"It is because elected Greens make a real difference that more and more people are joining us, and ever more people are voting for us."

Highlighting the weaknesses of Westminster's opposition parties, she said:

"None of the three Westminster parties dares to challenge the dogma of neo-liberal economics and endless economic growth, despite the mounting evidence that the materialism driven on by our contemporary consumer capitalism is killing the human spirit even as it destroys the natural world.

"None of the three Westminster parties dares to take a principled stand against replacing Trident, despite the fact that upgrading our nuclear weapons system puts us in breach of international law, and makes the world a much more dangerous place.

"Not one of them has the political vision, the courage, or the commitment to carry through the kind of green energy revolution that we so urgently need to see, the massive programme of rigorous energy efficiency, the far-reaching investment in renewable energy, and the dramatic demand reduction strategies.

"Only the Green Party offers both the radical vision and the practical solutions to address the increasingly complex challenges we face today. For example, a number of Groups are beginning to consider a New Green Deal, which could address both the impending credit crunch as well as the urgent need to tackle climate change. With local government bonds, this would provide a safe haven for savings - in banks or in pension funds - which in turn could be used to kickstart a massive public works project to create new jobs and improve the efficiency of our public buildings."

Praising the electoral successes of the Party, she said: "We now have a record number of councillors on a record number of Councils, with Group status on 22 out of 40, and potential power-broking positions on several - and in Oxford, where we have 8 city councillors and 5 county councillors.

"So we're on course for our first Green MPs, who won't just be representative of, and cheerleaders for, local communities. They will signal nothing less than a sea change in British politics."

The vast majority of retailers in central St Albans are welcoming our campaign to reduce plastic bag use.

People bringing their own bags makes ecological sense, and saves retailers money too!

Lots of shops are now displaying our Green Bag Zone cards, to show their support and remind shoppers to bring their own reusable bags if they can. We've also handed out our cards to market traders, who are invited to join in.

We're also asking retailers to literally sign up in support of the campaign, to give it extra weight. Over 60 of them so far have done so, including:

Simply Gifts

The Dressing Room

Waterers

Nic Nacs

Ashwoods Art Supplies

Ocean Lane

Shree News

Loch Fyne

Printed Clothing Ltd

By George Antiques

By George Crafts

Willow Designs and Interiors

James of St Albans

Earleys

Richard Oliver

Galio

Wharton Goldsmiths

Chaos City Comics

The Real Sports Shop

Rocket

Howarths

Shoon

The Baby Shop

Pulse

JD Sports

West One

Silver Rivet

Ann Summers

Claire's

Maltings News

New Look

Cargo

Early Learning Centre

St Albans Body Shop

WH Smith

Springfield Pharmacy

Masters in Light

Blooming Marvellous

Indigo News

Simply French

Shimto

Studio Fabrica

Iguana

Moss Bros

FeuBlanc

Jigsaw

Boots

Edinburgh Woollen Mill

Marks & Spencer

Vision Express

Woolworths

Robert Dyas

BHS

Tesco

Nicolas

Bon Marche

Holland & Barrett

Burger King

Superdrug

HMV

Jones

Pots of Art

St Albans retailers and shoppers are being urged to help reduce the number of plastic bags we use.

In line with towns and cities across the country, Green campaigners in St Albans are helping shops to introduce a 'Green Bag Zone'. Local Green Party activists have surveyed seventy retailers in the city centre area and found a high level of support for the idea.

Greens are cooperating with St Albans Campaign Against Plastic, a local group that is hoping to spread the idea in the Fleetville area.

Spokesman Simon Grover explained, "Plastic bags are a huge environmental problem, and a symbol of how our society generates unnecessary waste. Shoppers and shopkeepers alike are keen to do something, and we are helping them to come together on this issue."

Shopkeepers are being invited to stop giving away plastic bags, and shoppers encouraged to 'use a reusable'. Campaigners will be asking store managers and market traders to display 'Green Bag Zone' cards to remind shoppers about the idea.

Retailers will also be given a list of suppliers that offer greener alternatives to plastic bags.

"If shops feel they have to supply plastic bags, we'll be asking them to consider charging for them, as an incentive to people to bring their own. This idea has worked brilliantly in places like Ireland, where a small levy has reduced plastic bag use by 95%", said Mr Grover.

The Greens put a question to the last full Council meeting (28th November) asking for its support. The Council will now consider the matter at cabinet level, and has agreed to hand out some reusable bags to shoppers in the run up to Christmas.

"Whilst we welcome Council support, they don't really have the power to do much on this issue", said Mr Grover. "What we really need is national legislation for a levy on throwaway bags. But in the meantime we are working to make a difference at a local level. We really hope everyone will join in with the spirit of this."

People in the UK use an average of 134 plastic bags a year, keeping each one for an average of just twelve minutes. The bags are made from oil, and contribute to greenhouse gases. They are thought to take hundreds of years or more to degrade. They are a major part of litter coming off landfill sites, and cause devastation to wildlife, particularly at sea. (*)

The UN environment programme has estimated that there are an average of 46,000 pieces of plastic debris floating on or near the surface of every square mile of ocean.

Anyone interested in helping with the campaign should email greenbagzone@sagreens.org.uk.

(*) Source: www.plasticbagfree.com

Green Party parliamentary hopeful Pete Eggleston has proved he is fit to run for office - by qualifying for the Great Britain Triathlon Team.

Mr Eggleston, 38, claimed a place in his age group during the last race of this year's season at Bala in Wales. With a race time of 2 hours and 5 minutes for the 'Olympic' distance race he made sure he'll be joining the GB team at the Triathlon World Championships next June.

In the Olympic distance triathlon, the standard modern course, athletes must swim 1.5km, cycle 40km and run 10km. Triathlon is the fastest growing sport in the UK.

Chair of St Albans District Green Party, Pete Eggleston was recently selected as the party's candidate for the next general election. He started competing in triathlons in 2004, and has been training hard for the qualifying competitions for the World Championships.

Pete Eggleston was chosen in a ballot of all local Green Party members. Mr Eggleston said he was delighted to accept his party's nomination. "There's never been a more urgent need for Green thinking. The General Election will be a vital opportunity to spread our ideas, and show that people support them."

The Green Party has been gathering support in recent years, both locally and nationally. The party relaunched in St Albans in 2005. In the local elections this year they received 20 per cent of the vote in some areas.

Pete Eggleston is an investment advisor for a major UK bank. In his spare time he is studying for an MSc in Biodiversity Conservation and Management, which involves field work with the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.

He is the chair of the local Green Party, and lives in central St Albans with his wife. His main hobby is competing in triathlons, and he is currently attempting to qualify for the Great Britain team.

The Green Party nationally is expecting to win its first parliamentary seats at the next General Election. In recent local elections Green candidates in Brighton and Norwich have crept up on the other parties and are now poised to win their seats. The main target seat for the party is Brighton Pavillion, where the prominent Green MEP Caroline Lucas will be the candidate.

Dr Lucas said she was delighted that St Albans would be fielding a Green parliamentary candidate. "It's important that as many people as possible get the chance to vote Green at the next General Election," she commented. "St Albans Green Party has come a long way in the last couple of years, and I wish Pete every success with the coming campaign."

With increased concern about climate change and sustainability, Greens expect their vote to continue to rise.

The District Council's strategy for tackling climate change has too much hot air and not enough action, according to local Green campaigners.

St Albans Green Party has offered the council a lengthy response to their Carbon Management Strategy. They say it does not go far enough to make a real difference to the district's emissions.

Spokesman Simon Grover commented, "We welcome this initiative because there's so much local councils can do to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. But we've told the council that their strategy needs to be much bolder, with clear objectives focussed on high priority issues."

The Council's strategy document, which ends its consultation period this week (14th Sep), says it is looking at ways to measure the district's emissions and to reduce them. It also wants more public education about what people can do to help.

Mr Grover added: "Time is running out so we need the emphasis to be on action. Our council is there to do things that we as individuals can't do by ourselves. So they need to take their responsibilities seriously, stop leaving it up to us, and do everything they can to reduce this threat we're facing."

The Greens say there are 'easy wins' that have been proved to work by forward-thinking local councils like Woking and Merton. They include requiring developers to include renewable energy in their plans, switching the council's electricity contract to a 'green' provider, and investing in combined heat and power plants.

"Sometimes the simplest things are the most effective at reducing C02," said Mr Grover. "Real nappy schemes, reflective radiator panels and flush-saving gadgets are all cheap and easy to do. They pay for themselves very quickly.

"But the council seems to be happy just talking about it and doing very little. They need to get on with it, because every day that goes by this issue becomes more important."

(You can reach our video page by clicking 'video' on the internal links menu.)

This video from the UK Green Party looks at what Green Councillors are doing and features interviews from the recent Green Councillors' conference.

Other videos on this page include:

Green Party- Real Progress- The Political Slot The Green Party's principal speaker Siân Berry looks at ways to be more green, and actions other political parties are taking to appear more environmentally friendly.