last updated 15th June 05
By 4ecotips

6000 members voted to take up the cause

MORE than 6,000 members of the Women’s Institute meeting at London’s Albert Hall today have voted to become environmental activists.

Delegates from across the country attending the National Federation of Women’s Institutes’ AGM heard an appeal from Green Party Principal Speaker Caroline Lucas to back a motion warning that we must all take responsibility for reducing our impact on our fragile environment.

The motion, which simply states that the WI should “care for the Environment” by reducing waste, and calling on manufacturers, retailers and politicians to do the same, was proposed and adopted by more than 6,000 votes to just 39.

The resolution “calls on WI members to take further action to reduce waste and conserve resources in their own homes and communities; to lobby manufacturers, retailers and decision-makers to reduce waste in the production, packaging and transportation of public and consumer goods”.

Dr Lucas, Green MEP for South-East England and a member of the European Parliament’s influential Environment Committee, said profligate lifestyles in the UK were damaging both human health and the environment.

“Action on waste and resource conservation really matter, and the WI can make a real difference – both through the actions its members take on a daily basis and through the power of their advocacy to manufacturers anddecision-maker,” she said.

“The production and consumption patterns of those of us in the rich North are destroying the environment and denying the opportunities for development of some of the world’s poorest people.”