www.everythingsgonegreen.co.uk

Last night I went to a climate change consultation with my local Rushmoor Borough Council.

40 local residents were invited down to Aldershot on a cold February night to discuss the borough’s policy and, arranged into small groups, we brainstormed Rushmoor BC’s plans for the environment and the future.

Of course, the number one topic raised was the issue of climate change itself. Currently, if you spend a lot of time in the media, the subject of climate change seems to be getting a real kicking. The Climategate affair, involving the leak of data from the University of East Anglia on the eve of the Copenhagen summit, followed by the controversy over the predictions of retreating Himalayan ice and now Sir David King’s attack on the IPCC mean that a lot of scepticism is creeping in and, last night, a few dissenting voices were heard in the room.

The important consensus though was that climate change is happening. It’s not just global warming or global cooling, but variations in “local” climate all over the world and, whether it’s man-made or natural, it’s best to prepare for it.

So, that first hurdle over, Rushmoor BC presented their plans for the next 20 years. The big issue locally is the Aldershot Urban Extension, meaning that our neighbouring town of Aldershot is to be the subject of a 4,500 home expansion. Whilst brownfield sites are preferable for new builds, it seems inevitable that so many more homes will be needed and the council will have to develop a new “town” of so many houses.

This will surely impact upon on our small Borough which is already a busy commuter area (with great links to London and the south coast via train and motorway). The plans are to lessen the impact of any new development, and Rushmoor BC made bold statements to meet and exceed environmental building standards by an additional 15%.

That prompted questions of “are the current environmental standards stringent enough?” meaning that beating them by 15% is a fairly easy task plus that age old question of “the council says it will meet & beat standards but will it actually do it?”

Many ideas were bandied around in our group with a lot of focus on restoring localisation, creating closer community, water run-off into the River Blackwater etc. Plus there was great interest in the proposed new power plant, powered, presumably, by local waste and providing heat & energy. The notion of creating an “eco town” was popular with the notion that Rushmoor could be as well-regarded as the city of Brighton which is always thought of as one of Britain’s greenest urban places.

The usual topics of individual wind & solar power arose with ground-heat pumps and green roofs being thrown in for good measure.

Overall, a wealth of ideas were explored and there seems to be a consensus that the majority of people were in favour of bold steps in order to make the borough a greener place in terms of planning over the next 20 years or so.

The Natural Environment

The second part of the night revolved around Rushmoor’s natural environment. Surrounded by military land, we are blessed with a fairly natural environment that is protected by its ownership under the MOD.

The consensus was that we should not only protect every single piece of green environment that we have around here but that we should also restore and improve upon it. Natural and man-made attrition of the trees in the borough is something close to my heart as I’ve seen numerous trees come down locally over the years, never to be replaced. Do we get an organisation like the Woodland Trust involved to help us re-green Rushmoor?

Cycle paths were mentioned again as local citizens expressed a desire to expand cycle routes and to encourage more use of cycles in the borough. One resident even complained that where he locked up his cycle in the North Camp part of town they had removed the cycle racks and never replaced them!

Conclusion

There was a very healthy discourse over the evening and a number of people felt as though this was just the first of many discussions regarding the environment in Rushmoor. The many notes that were made were taken away to be digested by the council and they will have much food for thought.

Some great ideas came out of the meeting and, for starters, I would like to see the replacement and replanting of more trees, an extension of cycle tracks and a push to get more people cycling, loft insulation for all, better buses and routes and a green roof initiative.

Every piece of green and MOD land must be fought for and preserved and the inevitable expansion of Aldershot MUST be sustainable, green and a benefit to current residents not a detriment.

Finally, I’d like to see flights to Farnborough Airport capped as they are. I’ve seen no major benefit to the local economy from the planes flying in and, working near the airfield, the avgas fumes are unpleasant and unhealthy, not to mention the M3 motorway and the ridiculous “sound barrier” erected for residents who brought houses right next to the M3 but complained it was too noisy! (irony?) Thanks to them the sound bounces off the wooden fences and pollutes an even greater area.

Let’s hope Rushmoor Borough can only get safer, greener and cleaner.

Whilst Governments bicker over reducing CO2 emissions and take too long to consider giving away money to poorer countries to help them in the fight against climate change, the world is changing, and not for the better either.

For years the term biodiversity has been bandied around as an important factor in identifying the richness of the environments on this planet and the flora and fauna supported within each connected ecosystem. But now the United Nations has decided that 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity.

For environmentalists, green people and nature lovers everywhere, every year should be a year of biodiversity but the UN campaign aims to create an awareness of the threat to the world’s dwindling natural populations.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has stated that species are being destroyed at about 1000 times the natural rate and is quoted as saying that

“business as usual is not an option”

which fits nicely in with not only biodiversity but the sustainability message too.

As usual, it’s human activity that’s encroaching upon the natural world with city-building and agricultural practices mainly to blame for the decline in biodiversity. I’d also throw in the lack of knowledge and education on sustainable practices plus the west’s greedy demand for the use of ever more natural resources plus the willingness of people to sacrifice nature for the sake of trade and money without the slightest thought for the consequences.

There will be plenty of material available after the launch of the International Year of Biodiversity today, so keep your eyes open for some incredible work in the fight to slow down man’s destruction of the natural world.

And think about the portent from some biologists who believe that if we don’t do anything this could be the earth’s sixth “great extinction” where the previous five were all caused by natural disasters such as asteroid strikes!

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has been running a consultation for the regulation of inorganic phosphates in domestic laundry and cleaning products (DLCPs) since October 2009. The closing date of the consultation is 21^st January 2010.

The consultation by DEFRA’s Water Quality Division seeks to gather comments on the banning of inorganic phosphates for forthcoming regulation.

In their own words, DEFRA states that:

Many rivers do not meet EU standards for phosphorous content. Phosphorous reduces the oxygen content of water and harms aquatic life. A ban will help to reduce inorganic phosphate pollution and mean the water industry has to use less energy and chemicals to remove phosphorous from sewage effluent.

So, by banning inorganic phosphates:

1. Britain’s rivers will be cleaner as the water quality improves, meeting EU targets at the same time.
2. Our aquatic life will no longer be harmed and
3. By not adding additional chemicals to DCLPs the water companies will not need to purchase and use further chemicals in order to treat waste water to remove the chemicals that were added to it elsewhere in the first place!

Banning inorganic phosphates from DCLPs looks like a win-win-win situation from here. Not only do we clean up our rivers & environment and help our wildlife but we also make huge efficiencies by banning inorganic phosphates. With the water industry using “less energy and chemicals to remove phosphorous from sewage effluent” you would expect their costs to decrease; they would be more energy-efficient, they would have less overhead in having to not purchase and use additional chemicals and their treatment methodologies would be simplified with less processes.

In addition the water industry would be taking another step toward their corporate social responsibility which is good for their conscience and good for their public image. Efficient, clean and green; what could be better?

The only losers in this equation would be the manufacturers of inorganic phosphates but with demand for phosphates increasing, particularly due to the increase in world population and the demand for meat & crops, phosphates will continue to be used in artificial fertilisers. However, as phosphates are a finite resource prices have increased massively, so discontinuing their use is an economic benefit for manufacturers of DLCPs.

The alternatives are plant-based environmentally-friendly products such as the excellent Ecover range of cleaning products (such as their lemon & aloe vera washing-up liquid or non-biological washing powder) which have minimal impact upon the environment.

So, if you have any thoughts on banning inorganic phosphates from domestic laundry and cleaning products then head over to theNetregs “Detergent regulations consultation”, read the details of the consultation and tell them your thoughts on the matter before the 21^st January 2010.

The deadline of 1^st January 2015 for the complete “ban” (with it being an offence to market DLCPs with more than 0.4% inorganic phosphates) has been set up to allow the industries concerned time to change their products and packaging, although with the speed at which they can launch products, this seems far too generous (five years to remove inorganic phosphates and “redesign” the packaging?!)

For further reading about see the Wikipedia entry for phosphates or the excellent SNB phosphate recovery website.

Why buy organic? What is organic? Why isn’t everything organic if it’s so much better? Why is organic more expensive?

If you know the answers to these questions then you’ll be happy to see this wonderful little movie from The Soil Association. If you have friends that need convincing that organic food is actually better than intensively farmed food then, again, you’ll like this.

We like the “public service broadcast” style because, in essence, it is a public service to understand and remind people why organic food is better for the food itself, us, the consumer, and the land and for nature.

(In particular we like the Jack Drummond tone of the film, but that’s another story, especially as we’re reading The Vitamin Murders at the moment. Green book review coming soon)

And if you like this film feel free to pass it on

It was an unofficial “bee day” yesterday.

It all started when I came home from my local beer festival on Thursday night. Sitting on the sofa at midnight I caught the last half hour of a BBC programme entitled Who Killed the Honey Bee? Being concerned about the recent plight of the bumble bee the show was really interesting.

Then on Friday whilst I was working from home for a change I went to work from my laptop in the back garden to take advantage of being out in the sunshine an fresh air. The patio was swarming with tiny bees -  a quick search of the internet revealed them to possible be Halictidae. These bees would occasionally burrow their way through the dry dirt in between the cracks in the slabs on the patio.

Back indoors, there was a lone bee, what a layman like me would call a common honey bee, trapped in the house. I rescued the bee but he seemed out of puff. A quick search of the Internet and I found that you can feed bees syrup (half sugar, half water). So I gave the little guy a dab of syrup which was tucked into with gusto and half an hour later, after much aimless wandering on foot, the bee finally flew off into the sunset. Happy

So despite me cycling to work and back on Earth Day I did forget to buy a bee box, so maybe this was nature’s way of telling me to do something for the bees? It might be cheaper, easier and more fun to build your own bee box (thanks, Devon County Council). We’ve got a typical English garden so hopefully the crocuses, tulips, roses, apple & pear blossom, bluebells, buddleia and lavender will keep the bees happy and healthy for another year.

What are you doing for the bees in your garden?

…Saturday 28th March 2009 at 8:30pm.

Yes folks it’s nearly time for Earth Hour again. Earth Hour takes place on Saturday night at 8:30pm local time so whether you’re in  Sydney, London, New York or Los Angeles at 8:30pm your time it’s time to switch the lights out.

The whole purpose of Earth Hour is to highlight the need for government action on energy use and climate change. By looking to sign up 1 billion people, the WWF are hoping to demonstrate the strength of public sentiment toward climate change.

Here we’re going to be switching all the lights out and even vacating the HQ for the night as we attend a party so if any readers out there want to take part and turn everything off for an hour that would be much appreciated.

To take part in Earth Hour all you have to do is switch the lights off for that one hour at 8:30pm. Even better would be to sign up and tell the WWF you’re supporting them. Have a party, tell your friends, spread the word and let people know that you care. Otherwise, if we keep going at the pace we are and allow the governments to burn resources at 20th century rates then we’re all in trouble.

Do it. Do Earth Hour.

London, 26th January 2009: A 16 foot high sculpture of an iceberg featuring a stranded female polar bear and her baby cub was launched on the River Thames today providing Londoners with a timely reminder of the dangers of global warming.

The sculpture, which was specially commissioned to mark the launch of Eden, a new digital TV channel devoted to natural history, graphically brought to life one of the most iconic images of climate change – the melting ice caps.

A team of 15 artists spent two months constructing the 20ft by 20ft square structure which was launched in Greenwich, South East London at 6:30am, before travelling up the Thames to stop beside Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament for a national photocall. The structure weighing 1.5 tonnes was winched into place in freezing temperatures, before travelling 7.5 miles along the Thames.

The melting of the ice caps will not only affect the polar bears, there will also be serious repercussions for the two billion people who depend on the glacial meltwater that feeds their rivers. The polar bears’ presence in London highlights these issues which will also be addressed in Eden’s Fragile Earth series which will run throughout the week.

Broadcaster and eminent wildlife conservationist, Sir David Attenborough says:

“The melting of the polar bears’ sea ice habitat is one of the most pressing environmental concerns of our time. I commend Eden for highlighting the issue; we need to do what we can to protect the world’s largest land carnivores from extinction.”

Eden’s Channel Head, Adrian Wills, says:

“The Earth is a fragile place and we were keen to launch with a message that would draw attention to the uncertain state of our finely balanced environment. Our aim is to reflect one amazing world, with one amazing channel that can address issues like climate change whilst providing an entertaining, informative experience by airing a range of high-end premieres, landmark natural history programmes and first class wildlife documentaries.”

Now the polar bears’ have finished their journey along the Thames, they will be taking the message about global warming to Hampstead Heath as well as key cities across the UK including Birmingham and Glasgow.

The Thames is familiar with unexpected visitors. In January 2006 a seven-tonne bottle-nosed whale became trapped in shallow water near Battersea Bridge. Crowds gathered as the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) attempted to save its life. But despite the team’s efforts to move it into deeper water, the whale died.

Other mammals which have strayed into The Thames include a family of Harbour Porpoises, which were spotted near Vauxhall Bridge in December 2004. Three years previously, a Bottle- nosed dolphin was discovered swimming past Tower Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge.

Eden’s programming starts at 9am, Monday 26^th January 2009, with Attenborough Explores… Our Fragile World at 10pm. A programme schedule for new digital Natural History channel Eden can be found at: www.exploreeden.co.uk

We are what we eat.

And tonight, Matthew, I’m scrumpy cider, cheese & biscuits

But we are what we do too, and that’s the message behind the great new website wearewhatwedo.org a sort of online karmic barometer promoting & monitoring how we can all do our little bit to change the world.

Basically, in their own words they have…

“created 50 simple, everyday actions that can improve our environment, our health, and our communities, making our planet and the people on it much happier. We started by putting these actions in a book, but the whole movement is getting bigger. And bigger.”

Now that sounds good. At their website you can tick the actions you do everyday on their do something page, see how many others are on the same path and sign up to your own personal action tracker to see how you’re doing.

The 50 actions are so simple that anyone and everyone can do them from simply smiling a bit more, fitting at least one energy-saving bulb to watching less TV and even planting a tree (a native broadleaf is highly recommended).

So go on, give it a look in, do your bit and make the world a better place because we are what we do, right?

When a bill comes through the post we all have a groan. However, the latest bills from BT have a nice little box-out to make things a little sweeter.

“Help the environment – sign up to paper-free billing.“

Now that’s a good idea – no more 3x sheets of A4 paper stuffed in an envelope every month. And what’s more, our national provider of telecomms has teamed up with The Woodland Trust to offer the planting of a sapling if you sign up for BT online billing.

There is one catch though – you do still get a bill.

Apparently we’ve lost something like 50% of our ancient woodland over the last century, so by signing up for paper-free billing BT will purchase a native broadleaf sapling and The Woodland Trust will plant your little gift in one of their woodland creation sites. What will it be? A Beech tree, a Chestnut tree or how about a mighty Oak?

So yeah, if you’re a BT customer why not go paper-free and do just one more little thing for this country’s future woodland heritage. From little acorns…