This is my last post for Community Care, and I'd like to thank all readers, especially the few who have written interesting comments, and my employers at Community Care who have been so good to me.
Regular readers will know of my interest in how money affects sustainable development, stemming from my early involvement in York Local Agenda 21. The three pillars of sustainability, according to Agenda 21, are our natural environment (air, water, soil, ecosystems and living things) our social environment (people) and our fiscal environment, which is how we organise our trade, taxation, businesses, banking and how wealth is spread between us. Our monetary environment is just as important as our biosphere and our fellow humans.
I like watching television, but I know where the off-button is and I do lots of other things as well as watch telly. I have several friends who don't have a telly and when I mention something I've seen or that they 'should see', they remind me that they don't sit and goggle... and on occasions I've felt a bit guilty that I do! For a period of about 5 years in my 20s I also didn't have a telly, until my girlfriend's grandmother gave us one. We didn't miss TV, and couldn't understand how people made the time to watch it, but once we'd got one, we quickly became hooked, sorry 'accustomed' to our daily watching habits.
Coal's in the news a bit recently. The G20 protests, some of which were about the lack of action to combat climate change, and the disgusting response from some of the police has put images of last year's Kingsnorth policing back on our screens. And then there is the pre-emptive policing of a proposed protest on Ratcliffe on Soar power station... another coal-burning electricity generator.
But this blog isn't about policing, however interesting that is. It's about Coal. Coal is fossilised plant remains from millions of years ago, and as such, is carbon which was sucked out of the atmosphere by those plants. When we mine coal, and burn it, that carbon is released right back into today's atmosphere. Whilst coal is underground, it is in an oxygen-free environment. When we dig it up, the methane (natural gas or 'firedamp') which is in the coal also gets into our atmosphere, and this gas is even more powerful than carbon dioxide for the global greenhouse. When the coal comes in contact with the air, reactions take place on the surfaces oxidising the carbon, so releasing carbon dioxide even before the coal is burnt, which of course releases ALL of the carbon it contains.
Supporters of he coal industry talk about 'carbon capture and storage', an experimental technology in it's early infancy. The theory might look good... take the carbon dioxide out of the gas leaving the chimney, pressurise it into liquid and pump this into empty gas fields, oil wells and aquifers... But large scale CCS is years if not decades away, and we really don't have that kind of time scale to continue trashing this planet. We have existing technology which would stem our carbon haemorrhage... insulation, switching things off, A-rated appliances, renewable generation... and I believe that some of the investment in CCS could (should) be spent on these proven technologies. I think that CCS does have it's part to play in a sustainable future, but I despair about disinvestment in renewables (for instance, what happened to Pelamis).
So, I want to invite you to participate in the Coal Caravan, a cycle trip from Nottingham to Blyth, starting on 24th April and finishing on 5th May, and taking in some of the biggest of the UK's coal mining communities. There's cycling during the day, and nature walks, visits to open cast coal mines, and then meetings with discussion or film showings in the evening. I hope to join them as they pass near to York, just for part of the day, to support the riders.
If some of you think that I'm being alarmist about climate change, then read what experts say in this website, 100 months. Some of the so-called' tipping points' seem to have already started... for instance there are disturbing reports of permafrost melting and raised methane levels in the arctic.... So, time is short. What are YOU doing to be a responsible ancestor?
Earlier this week I took the train up to Middlesborough to do some filming wih the BBC, for the programme 'Inside Out' which has local editions for the different regions. I'd been asked to go and help a radio presenter, John Foster, start a week of living on a pound a day. This was inspired by a book by Kath Kelly called How I Lived a Year On Just a Pound A Day.
Food is responsible for the largest part of our individual carbon footprints, more than transport or household energy and heating. So when it comes to greening our lives, reducing food waste is one of the top issues. Obviously there are things we can do in our own lives which will cut our individual and family food waste... such as getting portion size correct, learning how to re-use leftovers, and, initially, taking a shopping list to the supermarket and sticking to it!!!
I subscribe to a number of email newsletters, and one came through last week with news of an eco-calendar which has caused a bit of controversy. Ethical Junction member Flipside Vision have produced a 'Calendar of Climate Change' for 2009 with a plethora of wonderful images depicting our world, many of which have significant connections to climate change themes. For instance, February has an image of a Dutch painting of a windmill and a canal, and alongside this, a smaller picture of modern windmills which generate electricity.
The current 'Credit Crunch' combined with high energy prices is seemingly causing a recession... a period of no economic growth or contraction. Part of me welcomes this, despite the discomfort we will all experience (such as reduced entertainment bookings for me) as in a greener world we'd consume less, and in a recession we do just that. One of the weird effects of this economic situation is that with reduced demand, some prices will fall... so I'm not suprised to see the fuel prices dip temporarily.
Once again I've had an interesting gig as 'Professor Fiddlesticks', entertaining children this weekend at a conference organised by Sibs. My role was to provide a fun two hours with a circus show followed by a workshop where the children could try out different skills, finishing with an opportunity for some of them to show off these newly acquired tricks to the adults who had attended the meeting.
Books per se are not that green. They use lots of resources in their manufacture, are printed in one place and have to be carted all over the place and are heavy. Most are only read once and then sit in a bookshelf... OK, bookshelves are a way of sequestering carbon, but really we should share our books and use libraries more... but I am going to suggest you go and buy a good book. (And when you've read it, lend it to friends!)
I am very fond of Kate Lock, whom I first came accross as a columnist in the York Press, and soon met as she was having some problems with her compost and she asked a volunteer York Rotter to come and sort it out. It turned out that she was on some kind of mission to be greener and that my assisting her meant that I would appear in the book she was crafting. That book is now on sale and I have spent a good few hours of my holiday immersed in it.. 'Confessions of an Eco-Shopper, the true story of one woman's mission to go green' (ISBN 978 0340 954676, Hodder & Stoughton 2008) is an excellent read, with everyday challenges such as having a veggie-box delivery and wondering what to do with unknown veg, growing her own herbs and salads, ethical fish suppers, dispensing with the bleach and using vinegar instead, experimenting with 'green and reusable' sanitary protection, finding out if fair-trade tastes as good as 'ordinary' teas and coffees. Kate put a lot of effort into researching the book, trialling all-sorts of products and lifestyle changes. Of course my favourite 'Isle' (its arranged like a supermarket!) is the one on rubbish and recycling, where we follow her path from non-composter to happy and successful rotter, even trying out a wormery and 'Bokashi' to recycle her cooked and meaty foodstuff wastes.
I read the book cover to cover, and learned a lot. It is really good to read a female approach to living a greener life... so many commentators are male, and they tend not to write about clothes, cosmetics or sanitary-wear. So I am going to shamelessly plunder some of these topics for future blog posts. Although Kate thanks me for helping her with her composting, I'm sure she will see this as a 'fair swap'!
