Resources

Suggestions of useful resources for communities campaigning against new coal, can be sent to: updates@pirc.info

Planning

• CPRE Planning Guide - The Campaign to Protext Rural England has an excellent guide on the planning system, including practical ways to influence planning decisions and a wealth of information on all things planning. They also have a very useful intro into what their members have been doing to stop opencast mines (PDF).
• Planning & Climate Change -from the excellent Home and Communities Academy, this site explains the significance of the new Climate Change ‘Planning Policy Statement’ (PPS), which sets out how regional and local planning should contribute to reducing emissions and stabilising climate change.

Climate Change & Coal

• The case against coal - Greenpeace deal with some common questions on the subject.
• James Hansen’s letter to Gordon Brown (pdf) - contains an excellent overview of the role coal has played (and is playing) in driving global climate change.
• Our very own info page - covers the basics.

Health & Opencast

• Coal opencasting and health - by Dr Dick van Steenis

Freedom of Information

• The Campaign for the Freedom of Information - has published a very useful guide (found here) on everything you need to know to use the Act and attain documents and information that may help you in your campaign. Many previous campaigns have attained documents including communications between mining companies, local councils, Ministers other officials; some of which have been the basis of legal challenges.
• DirectGov FoI - more advice on FoI requests.
• Information Commissioners Office - more info as well as details of how to appeal if your FoI request is refused.

Climate Change

• Demystifying Climate Change - a great introduction to how local communities could be affected by climate change and how they can respond.
• Climate change controversies - a simple guide for climate change non-experts, from the Royal Society no less!
• Climate change: a guide for the perplexed - from the New Scientist, a natural follow-on to the Royal Societies guide above by the New Scientist.
• Your guide to climate change - by the UK Met Office, including lots of facts and figures, as well as a climate change layer for Google Earth and a timeline of climate science.