There are several sites and petitions now being put in place to help aid and bring awareness to the magnitude of damage that is affecting the wildlife of the Gulf of Mexico.
Great efforts are going into helping prevent further wildlife deaths with some U.S petitions. Fishermens and their families are now facing further hardships as the fish they rely on are dying in their hundreds of thousands and soon they will be told they cannot fish at all.
Join Care2 in helping gain numbers to bring about increased awareness of the growing environmental hazards from the oil spill. You too can help by signing this and using your voice to speak out for those wounded and diasbled animals and birds that cant.
Ok, so perhaps America hasn’t got the best green credentials and that’s putting it mildly, but under the new Obama administration there are some very positive noises for change coming from across the pond.
If there’s one thing we can say about our American cousins, it’s that when they do something they do it big time! While Obama is doing what all American Presidents dread, going head to head with the oil conglomerates to cease the horrendous oil spills off the coast of Mexico, it seems the American people are also picking up on the grassroots environmental movement.
Working For Green is a video-based web community which showcases innovative ways to save money and find meaningful work, all tied together with a very green bow. It’s a fascinating site. The rapidly expanding online community features everything from green hair salons to eco-dentist, including green hotels, green careers, community projects, knowledge sharing, you can even sign up to be a Green Irene, something which must be seen to be believed.
What all of these sites, services and the YouTube clip below show, is that perhaps here in the UK we’re missing a trick. What is so clever about all of these very green initiatives is that the saving the planet ethos shares centre stage with cold, hardnosed commercialism. If anyone was going to come at green issues from a hard line capitalist stance it would be the Americans and frankly I think it’s genius!
The focus on business, on jobs and on what a green approach can realistically and materialistically offer an individual other than a warm fuzzy feeling inside, makes it compelling to a much wider demographic. Of course this has been going on here for a long time, but because the Americans are so frank and open about blatantly making money, their approach seems particularly effective. If this little spark ignites it could mean big, bold and brash changes are afoot in the USA – bring it on!!
There is a plan in the pipeline to change the UK clocks to allow for another hour of daylight throughout the year.
The initiative that has been put together by 10:10 has launched and already has the support of both the Labour and Conservative parties. 10:10 are working together with ROSPA (royal society for the prevention of accidents) and have created the Lighter Later campaign and it is believed that it will result in reduced energy consumption, fewer accidents and improved health.
By changing the clocks to GMT+2 in the summer and GMT+1 in the winter and gaining an extra hour of daylight will reduce the daily demand for electricity. This adds up to be ½ million tonnes of Co2 being prevented and moves the UK 10% closer to the reduction in carbon emissions.
However, this is not a new story as changing daylight hours has been planned and tested before but didn’t succeed. Whereas workforce productivity increased and energy was saved it is said that there was an increase in traffic accidents in Scotland. It will be felt that this is a detrimental prospect for Scotland as during the winter months it is very dark and would mean school children are getting to school in the dark mornings.
I feel it is a divided front on how the public feel in this matter. Would changing the clocks really guarantee an extra hour of daylight? Of course it wouldn’t. Just by changing the clocks does not come with a written promise of more sun. But the concept of helping to reduce energy used in homes and potentially reduce the risk of accidents is one to be considered.
Go to the website to sign your name on the list to speak out for “give me more sunshine”.
A great article posted in The Independent recently debated the best way to make progress on environmental issues and it seems that times are changing. The 1970’s saw a surge in the success of the Environmental Protests and Rallies; however there is an argument that ever since these successes, the achievement of protests and mass demonstrations has been in steady decline.
Given last December’s COP 15 debacle, there has never been more proof that our glorious leaders are not listening to us; that they cannot be trusted to act in our best environmental interests when they keep getting distracted by pretty shinning things like money and popularity and that they are no longer taking much notice of physical protests.
There is of course always the lobbying aspect, where campaign groups converge in the paperwork, littering MP’s desks with letters of concern, petitions for action and cluttering up their hard drives with online petitions and e-mails threatening not to vote…
The 1990’s saw a raise in more dramatic feats to get heard, with handfuls of the more adventurers, steadfast protestors scaling huge buildings, tying themselves to things often in fancy dress or taking up residency in trees or on sites of environmental interest.
Although I am being flippant in my descriptions, all of the above represent large swaths of people, action groups and protesters who feel incredibly strongly and are desperately trying to make a difference.
It seems that in 2010, with the rapidly gaining prevalence of groups such as Transition Towns, Transition Heathrow and 10:10, a new form of action is being put in motion. Not surprisingly given the disillusionment of environmentalists following Copenhagen, this new style of making change happen operates on an individual, grassroots level, cutting out government and attempts to change legislation and instead focusing on the reality of modern day living and the price we will all have to pay for it.
The Transition Towns movement is a superb example of this; having lost all hope that local government will lead the way, and acknowledging the fact that fossil fuels are a limited resource, the movement prepares communities for a low carbon future, gradually yet effectively weaning towns off of fossil fuel dependency through a united and conscientious approach.
So are the days of protest marches well and truly over? Certainly not, any positive action will always have its place, however since we can’t trust the government to make the difficult decisions for us, we will simply have to start making changes to our own lives, doing what little we can to make a difference and leading by example – who knows one day they might just catch on.
A-list US celebrities gathered together by proactive environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, initiated a serious Green campaign on January 29th geared towards mobilizing Americans to get involved with forcing the hand of US environmental policy. A selection of the USA’s best-known celebrities including, Edward Norton, Jason Bateman, Felicity Huffman and Forest Whitaker, along with rising stars Chace Crawford, Emmy Rossum and Justin Long, are leading the This is Our Moment campaign to bring the need for clean energy to the fore in Washington.
Whereas here in the UK, following what some see and the complete failure of the UN Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, there is a sense that our leaders are not prepared to listen to us or act upon important green issues. People who feel strongly about green issues in the UK are starting to turn away from politicians for help and look to take positive action on a grassroots, local community level.
However in the US political system, mass lobbying has always had significant sway over US policy. Supported by mainstreaming celebrities, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the very latest viral and public forum technologies, the This is our Moment movement is designed to help Americans contact their senators, flood their email boxes, make videos and generally get interactive in pushing for an American clean energy bill. Given the negative global press generated by the Bush administrations restrictive environmental attitudes, this new campaign breathes fresh air into the environmental struggle not just in America, but the world at large.
Chew Magna, the beautiful, traditional village in Somerset, has been labelled ‘Britain’s Greenest Village’.
Following a parish council survey, it became clear that the biggest concern of the community was the environment and as a result the Go-Zero project was initiated.
Villagers now strive towards zero-waste and buy local produce including; fruit, vegetables, venison, ice-cream, medicinal herbs and trout from Chew Valley Lake. Action groups are discussing and encouraging the inhabitants to recycle more, change their transport methods and reduce their home energy consumption. Local energy companies have even donated light bulbs which the villagers can pick up for free. Approximately 85 percent of the village now recycles, that is almost 4 times the national average.
Chew Magna have also set up a ‘carbon-offset fund’; when someone books a flight with the local travel agent, the distance travelled determines their donation to the fund, even their journey to the airport will be eco-friendly, as the village has plans to run it’s own bio-fuelled coach shuttle service.
This community have many other plans in the pipe-line including becoming a Fairtrade village, following their support for African charities. What is truly inspirational is that all this came about because the community consolidated and discussed their concerns for the environment and together they were motivated to make changes – perhaps this small idyllic rural village will be responsible for providing a template for other towns and villages in the country.
The Strauss family from Gloucestershire challenged themselves to only have their dustbin emptied once in 2009!
Exercising great care and discipline they examined everything they bought to ensure as much packaging as possible was recyclable. In doing so, they managed to cut their waste down to less than 100g (3.5oz) a week.
The website was born out of this mission and contains tips from readers on how and what can be recycled. Check out the site at myzerowaste.com
In 2010, the Strauss’s hope to create zero waste to landfill. Impressive!
For the non-cyclist, but ‘green aware’ why not look at your lifestyle and see if you could do at least one errand/work/leisure/trip by bike? It’s a fantastic way to keep fit whilst reducing your carbon footprint.
Did you know that cycling 20 miles a week for a beginner can reduce the risk of heart attack by 50%?! There is no denying that this statistic is worth some serious consideration – cycling to work could not only be useful, environmentally friendly, but life saving!
And if you’re really keen to make a difference, you can always get involved with your nearest Critical Mass movement.
Following the diary posting on Greenmomentum for 24th October – International Day of Climate Action, I urge you to check out the 350.org website. The photographs are truly awesome and inspiring
The council’s plans are detailed in a 12 page ‘Climate Change Strategy’ document, which explains the lengths they are prepared to go to, to achieve their aim. Their proposals to reduce emissions include looking not only at the councils own use, but that of the community as a whole. Areas of concern are as follows; domestic/workplace energy consumption, use of fuel, public transport issues, sustainable procurement principles, energy conscious building development and environmental awareness education, to name but a few.
If Harrogate Council are prepared to adopt these strategies, shouldn’t other councils now follow suit?
Join Care2 in helping gain numbers to bring about increased awareness of the growing environmental hazards from the oil spill. You too can help by signing this and using your voice to speak out for those wounded and diasbled animals and birds that cant.