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The Key Oxfordshire's Sustainability Newsletter Press Releases and
Cuttings Renewables and Energy Conservation Partners |
News and Views This is YOUR page. Send us your comments on anything to do with the issues of sustainability. It can be ideas for future projects, critical comments on what we've done so far, opinions of local national and international issues around climate change, energy conservation and generation, waste and recycling or biodiversity. We will accept most articles, subject to suitability and the laws of libel and as long as they're not signed "Jeremy Clarkson"! The views expressed will be, of course, your own and not necessarily shared by Sustainable Woodstock as a group. We would prefer that your comments are attributed and we reserve the right not to publish anonymous comments. Depending on how busy this site becomes, we may have to ration space in the future. But for now, the floor is yours ............ To send your comments please click here
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sustainable Woodstock is not alone in promoting the issues of sustainability in Oxfordshire. There are at least 55 similar groups, large and small, working independently but under the umbrella of the Low Caron Hub and Oxfordshire's Community Action Groups. The yellow stickers on the map of Oxfordshire shows where we all are!
Chairman of Sustainable Woodstock, Colin Carritt, writes about the limitations of the recent International agreement at the Durban climate change conference. I think it was the wild eyed Scotsman, Fraser, in Dad’s Army who used to run around shouting, "We’re all doomed!" every time Captain Mannering got them into some scrape or other. Are we all doomed? Rio, Kyoto, Copenhagen, Cancun and now Durban haven’t really demonstrated a truly international commitment to tackling climate change. And if there’s anyone out there who still doesn’t believe in climate change just watch Attenborough’s "Frozen Planet". Attenborough is no hard leftie and he makes a compelling case that surely will convince all but the hardest of hard-nosed climate change deniers. Mind you, the deniers aren’t stupid. They know that there is a link between the move to a low carbon future and politics. They know that the traditional capitalist model of growth and consumerism is contrary to the sustainable model of self-sufficiency, co-operation and equality. So it’s not surprising that tackling climate change has proven so difficult when it is arraigned against global capitalism. If we’ve learned anything from the financial meltdown of the last few years it is that global capitalism remains firmly in the driving seat trumping all efforts by governments, democratic or otherwise, to significantly influence events. The banks, the big FTSE companies, the oil, pharmaceutical, arms and engineering giants still rule the roost. And while they hold sway they will do their utmost to thwart any attempt at moderating the excesses of the "growth and consumerist" model. So are we all doomed? Maybe. Maybe not. Certainly even the modest agreement struck at Durban will still result in a catastrophic 4 degrees rise in world temperatures by the end of the century. This will cause massive migrations of populations across continents in search of food, water and accommodation. And that’s the "least bad" scenario. The worst case is passing a tipping point at which runaway climate change is precipitated by the release of billions of tonnes of methane locked under the oceans and in the permafrost of the Polar Regions. That would be Armageddon. If, on the other hand, the Durban agreement becomes a first step to a more sustainable economic model, then the 4 degrees rise might become 3 degrees or even 2. Such a change might be survivable. But we will surely only get international acceptance of a sustainable economic model if we can first defeat the vested interests of global capital. And that is why we must support the globalisation protestors of the Uncut movement at St Paul’s and throughout the world. It’s the only way. Colin Carritt 19th December 2011 A View of Sustainable Woodstock posted by Wootton member, and former Oxfordshire County Council Chief Executive, John Harwood. Our grandchildren’s legacy Woodstock has played an important part of the life of this part of Oxfordshire for over 800 years. The historic buildings, the thriving living townscape and the community it supports are the product of our history. Today we all benefit from the care which generation after generation took investing in their town and what was, for them, the future. But what will our generation leave to the future citizens of Woodstock? What will our great-grandchildren say about our legacy to them? Will the Woodstock we know and cherish still be thriving when this present century nears its end? The answer – unless we change some of our 20th century habits soon – will probably be that Woodstock will be nearing the end of its long life. And – sadly but inevitably - our grandchildren will probably blame us. We are heading towards a major crisis. The scientific evidence is now overwhelming that unless we drastically reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases, our climate will change both adversely and irreversibly. The trouble is that our use of fossils fuels – the prime source of the greenhouse gases – has become central to our way of life. Nevertheless the government’s former chief scientist described the threat posed by climate change as one of the gravest facing our society. It is possible to cope with the threat. But not nearly enough is currently being done, and each year that this continues the threat grows more serious. So what are we to do? Some measures will clearly have to be taken at governmental and international levels, although there is little evidence of real action so far. Other steps will be taken by inventors and innovators. But somehow lots of ordinary people in ordinary places – like us here in Woodstock and our hinterland – will have to make the changes we need happen. This is what Sustainable Woodstock is all about. Many of the actions we are starting to think about will only be small steps. Reducing or ending the give-away plastic bags, for example. Or helping our farmers’ market to be more successful. But we have to start somewhere. And each small step can be the foundation for the next. Then we could face up to the big issues around our use of energy – how could we encourage greater efficiency without compromising our overall standard of living? So please join the debate and take part in Sustainable Woodstock. What could we achieve in the short term? And what should we aim for after that? Where should we focus our efforts? Above all – what do we really want our grandchildren’s legacy to be? John Harwood |
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