Our Backyard

Published in association with Channel 4's new series of the same title, this book provides a guide for all those who wish to challenge the threats to their own health and surroundings - be it from polluted water, six-lane highways, a new housing estate or a waste dump. This book urges the reader to examine the view from their "own backyard" and to question the new roads and housing estates which cut through the landscape, the farmlands choked with pesticides and fertilizers or the waste dumps and open-cast mines. Within our own homes, the food we eat and the water we drink is increasingly suspect as new food scares appear on a regular basis. With a clear breakdown of the key issues, such as water and food quality, roads and building developments, rubbish and recycling, this book arms the reader with vital information. The book also provides a guide to campaigning - how to get the media, politicians and the law on the side of the environmentally aware. The book cites many of the well-known examples of success - where ordinary people have taken on the battalions of industry, government and local authority - to win their argument.
Complete with a factfile of contacts and "next stage" tips, this book should appeal to anyone who wants to regain control. The author is a journalist who has writen articles for "Conservation Now", "Environment Now" and "The Guardian" newspaper.