Fear December 16, 2007
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden, Environment , 1 comment so farHow much does fear stop people doing the right thing for climate change? Our society now seems pervaded by fear - terrorism, crime, and the world about to end.
There is an excellent initiative going on in Camden, that will probably do more to save the planet than all the carbon-generating talkfests in exotic places held by central government. Led by Liberal Democrat councillor Alexis Rowell, and including councillors from other parties, particularly the Greens, the Camden Sustainability Taskforce is starting to make a real difference. Each quarter, it produces a report on a particular issue for the executive, and its recommendations are being accepted. The first report, on Energy and Energy Efficiency went to the Executive in May, and work is now underway on a number of its recommendations.
The task force’s meetings are open to the public, and are well worth attending. A series of talks by experts in the area being discussed is followed by a brainstorming session of ideas to include in the report. The latest meeting, on biodiversity, included the council’s Biodiversity Officer, a representative of the Peabody Trust discussing the challenges facing social landlords in increasing biodiversity on their land and a specialist in Green roofs.
The Peabody Trust speaker talked about how green space in housing estates is often seen as a liability, rather than an asset. A culture of fear - health and safety worries, along with muggers hiding behind bushes (but not cars) - pervades many social landlords, and is indeed very evident in the housing department of the council, and this makes it difficult to create imaginative outdoor spaces. Being asked to cut down trees because they spread disease (its called pollen), or children’s playing areas having to be sealed because dirt is, well, dirty. This isn’t just the fault of the landlord by a long way - its also the view of many residents. If you have been brought up in a place where green space is rare and not very inviting, its probably natural to dislike and fear it.
I go walking in the countryside on my own sometimes. Its a little risky perhaps, but we’re talking farms and small woodlands, not going bush in New Zealand. I’m never far from a pub, or out of mobile range for long. I once got lost, and it took a couple of hours to find myself again. Hardly the end of the world, though falling and breaking a leg might be a bit more of a problem if hardly life-threatening. So often, I’ve had someone tell me its dangerous, and suggest that I’m either extremely brave, or just foolish.
But this fear of the world around us is debilitating and dangerous. Whether its fear of losing out to China and India stopping major governments setting realistic emissions targets, fear of someone getting hurt by falling on a rock stopping wildlife gardens, or the notion that three teenagers constitutes an ASBO stopping our communities from talking to each other. This is the first thing we have to overcome if we’re to get anywhere beyond the low-energy lightbulb approach to saving the planet.
How do we get rid of the fear?
More light Green fluff November 13, 2007
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Environment , add a commentThe world seems full of easy ways to save the planet these days. If you haven’t heard about low-energy lightbulbs, taking the bus and the joys of holidays at home by now then, frankly, your CO2 emissions are probably very low. You’re not breathing.
And now the Guardian is in on the act, with it’s new Tread Lightly campaign, which gets people to take on a different pledge every week, and calculates how much CO2 emission is saved. Of course if it makes someone think about their impact on the planet, then its a good thing, but do we really need to hear about Green-lite household hints from yet another source?
This week’s pledge is to reduce your thermostat by 1 degree. Personally, I haven’t even switched my heating on yet, so I can’t sign up to that one. I wonder how many other Guardian readers (at least in mild London) are in the same position?
The best thing about the site is its blog. A piece of puff about the pledge of the week is followed by some good, practical ideas from readers, and interesting stories about making your own thermal backing for curtains. And read the post on low-energy lightbulbs (you means someone still uses the old ones?) for a general view on this light-weight contribution.
Now, how about a few more pledges:
- Never buy or hire a car with CO2 emissions above the 10th percentile again.
- Reduce personal miles travelled by any non-human powered form (ie. walking or cycling is fine, ALL motorised transport needs to reduce) by 20% this year
- Do not use central heating until the outside air temperature drops to single digits
- Buy only goods packaged in recyclable packaging
Come to think of it, I did this once before. Have a look here.
Carnival of the Green #70 March 25, 2007
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Environment , 2 commentsWelcome to the 70th Carnival of the Green. Last week we were over at The Good Life and next week, on Sludgie. If you’d like to know more about the Carnival, how to host, and how to post, Treehugger explains all. There are a fair few posts this week, so go get a cup of coffee, sit back, and enjoy the ride!
This week you can read about what’s really going on in Africa, as the struggle for diminishing natural resources heats up. The post on Veggie Revolution describes the plight of the Dyeratu family, a Malawi family with few options.
The Greener Magazine talks about the Ecology Center’s Consumer Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Cars, turns out gas prices are not the only ‘gas’ issue you may have to consider when buying a new car.
From Triplepundit, we have a lengthy but interesting piece on the impact of conservation strategies such as buying land to save it for conservation purposes on local people and economies, and questions whether these practices will actually deliver their stated aims, or whether they simply displace the problem elsewhere.
Jeremy Bruno presents Climate Crisis Action Day: Part I posted at The Voltage Gate.
Luigi Guarino presents Mapping underutilized genomes posted at Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog.
Welcome back to MaryEllen of The Blue Voice, who has been rather quiet for a while, with some personal musings on World Water Day, 2007, water conservation in general, and some helpful web links on the subject.
At The Wild Green Yonder, Adam Brock summarizes current trends in the exploding urban agriculture movement, and extrapolates a future where agriculture is woven into the urban fabric.
Silicon Valley Blogger presents How Much Credit Have You Turned Down? Maybe Half A Million Dollars Worth posted at The Digerati Life.
The Evanagelical Ecologist and his son waded in the headwaters of the Old Testament book of Exodus this week, and read the account of Moses and the plagues, and were struck by how tightly the fate of creation is bound to the fates of Egypt and Israel and the decisions of God and Pharaoh. Why, for instance, would God not only kill the firstborn of the Egyptians, but their firstborn camels too?
Niki Anders presents The truth about our global climate posted at The-A-TEAM.
Paul Michael presents An energy bill of $0.00 posted at Wisebread Frugal.
john presents Blogs for Global Temperature Denial posted at hell’s handmaiden.
Eric presents Practical Reasons to Eat Less Meat posted at saving simply.
Poignantly green February 20, 2007
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Environment , 1 comment so farGo and watch this little film. Its not long, and gets the message across powerfully.
Technorati Tags: greenfilm.net
Camley St Nature Reserve December 23, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden, Environment , add a commentI had a surprise call from Adrian Oliver, one of Camden’s new Green councillors, the other day, asking me if I’d be prepared to be on the steering group for a little gem about a mile from here, the Camley St Nature Reserve. Apparently the Council, which provides funding, gets to nominate someone, and the post was allocated to the Greens.
Its a wonderful example of local community involvement in an environmentally positive way, so ideal for Green involvement. Apparently it was started in the late eighties by concerned locals who saw the need for a little bit of green in an industrial area, and has gone from strength to strength. Nearly twenty years on, it provides a chance for local children, many of whom will not even have a garden, to learn about native wildlife, and a good place for adults to relax or volunteer.
Local politics at its best, this sounds like a good way to be involved.
Technorati Tags: Camley St, Camden, Green
China opens a coal fired power station every week November 12, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Environment , 3 commentsThere’s a perfect excuse in Britain to ignore climate change, and keep on living as if there were no tomorrow, and that’s the way that China opens a coal fired power station every week.
But, if you use that excuse, consider this. China has, in the last twenty years, turned from a backward, poverty ridden nation, to a powerhouse economy. It has done that without worrying about planning regulations, human rights or any of the other, deeply desirable, ideas that may slow the West’s ability to respond to the need to reduce carbon. Its geography means that it may suffer more than Britain will, with encroaching deserts and sea level rise threatening delta and coastal cities. Its bright youth study engineering and science.
The first hydrogen refueling plant has opened in Beijing, and will be used for fueling a hydrogen vehicle fleet for the 2008 Olympics.
If China, its government and power brokers, decide that they will reduce their own carbon emissions, and perhaps use their economic power to encourage others to do so, they will do it, and quickly.
It is complacent, and somehow patronising, to assume that China will fail to recognise the problems its industrial revolution and economic boom are causing and, having recognised them, will fail to deal with them. We, who have had 200 years of industrialisation, need to look to our own dirty back yard now, before we are passed by in this as well.
Recycling in Camden October 23, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden, Environment , add a commentThis blog has had a visit from Councillor Alexis Powell, Lib Dem and ‘Eco Champion’ of Camden Council with a lengthy comment on the best posts page. Its interesting to see how the new Camden Council are dealing with green issues, particularly as Green councillors have been elected. The new Sustainability Task Force is apparently intending to suggest policy, rather than be a scrutiny committee, although exactly how it sits within the Council is still not entirely clear.
Camden Council is proud of its recycling record, though its hard to see why given our low rates of recycling compared to many parts of Europe. We’re better than most in London, but that’s hardly a major achievement.
One of the reasons recycling is poor is a policy which says that bins will only be given to buildings with six or less homes in them, therefore eliminating doorstep recycling as an option for many people who live in larger blocks of flats. The usual ‘health and safety’ nonsense is cited, as if it is more difficult to take away bags of recyclable material than bags of rubbish. I’ve questioned that, and have now been promised a visit from a ‘Recycling Officer’ within two weeks, so it will be interesting to see where that leads.
Technorati Tags: recycling
An Inconvenient Truth September 18, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Environment , 5 commentsAl Gore’s movie has made it to the UK, and it is essential viewing. If you’re already a committed environmentalist, you may not learn many new facts, but his clear, wryly humourous way of describing the situation is an important lesson in how to communicate the problems we face. If you’re not sure, or perhaps even a climate sceptic then please, go and see it. At the least, it will give you food for thought, and Al Gore is an entertaining speaker.
I remember as a child seeing the film ‘Atomic Cafe’ in a cold church hall, sponsors by the NZ precursor to the Greens, the Values Party, and being terrified. These days, I’m perhaps a little less sensitive and a lot more familiar with the arguements, but in some ways this film is just as terrifying and will hopefully cause people to rethink what they, and the institutions that dominate our society, are doing.
If you’re still a sceptic, or find yourself talking to one, I’ve added a site to the blogroll which will be of interest. A Few Thinks Illconsidered looks at the many and various arguements against global warming and demolishes them. One of the most important statistics Gore trots out is that from the review in Science of 928 papers in the literature not a single one disagreed with the statement from the Interdisciplinary Panel on Climate Change that
“Human activities … are modifying the concentration of atmospheric
constituents … that absorb or scatter radiant energy. … [M]ost of
the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due
to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations”. He had a contrasting statistic, which I’d not seen before, of a similar survey in the popular press which showed 53% of articles sceptical.
Another good site, which is always happy to take reasonable comments
and questions, is RealClimate, a conglomeration of climate change
scientists trying to explain the problem. Its not always easy, and rarely comes in a simple soundbite, but does host very good debate.
We’ve have to start understanding the science. Question it, of course. Check the motives of those who present it, definitely, but make sure you understand it and, if you remain a sceptic, are doing so with a valid, reasoned arguement. This is too important to leave to those who will listen to soundbites.
Technorati Tags: an inconvenient truth, climate science
Sheep Poo Paper September 15, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Environment, Investing , add a commentNo, its not for wiping their woolly backsides. That would be silly. In fact, its a nice wee eco-friendly business.
Because sheep don’t digest the long cellulose fibres in grass very well, most of it passes through and, once sterilised, makes a rather good base for paper. Yes, its in Wales (though it wouldn’t surprise me if there was something similar in the Waikato, NZ).
Technorati Tags: sheep poo paper, business, green
Free Toxic Waste at Euston
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Environment , 1 comment so farIt’s amazing how many freebies you can pick up if you travel through two London mainline stations each morning, and are so inclined. In the last few weeks, I’ve been given Coke Zero (diet coke for boys, and just as full of carcinogens), a travelcard holder with a picture from the new musical Wicked, a free umbrella with a paper and a bottle of some sort of fruity water stuff that was actually quite nice. If the giveaway looks useful or interesting, I’ll take it, but don’t have time to look too closely in the rush of the commuter crowd. This morning, I accidently acquired a couple of potentially explosive bottles of noxious chemicals, courtesy of Unilever.
They’re Sure spray on deoderant. Does anyone still use sprayon? Would you really want to use something that said ‘Extremely Flammable’, ‘No smoking during or shortly after use’, ‘Do not spray near eyes or face’. Do underarms count as ‘near eyes or face’. Why take the risk, and the environmental harm, when rollons exist?
So now I have two little bottles of toxic waste. I’m tempted to send them back to Unilever, with an invoice for the carbon offsets.
Technorati Tags: Unilever
