Thursday, 7 April 2011

Why Bother Lying?

In today’s world, sustainability or being sustainable is a concept that most people have heard of. Some companies incorporate sustainability into their policies, such as Velvet; promise that for every tree they use, they will plant three more. (http://www.velvettissue.com/velvet/plantthree.aspx)
Also, one of the factors that helped London to win the bid for the 2012 Games was its promise of sustainability and to make these Olympic Games the greenest games ever.



But how many of us actually do care? Most people will turn around and say they are ‘doing their bit for the environment’, I mean after all we are recycling our plastics and tins and glass. But is this actually making a difference? Given the choice between using a car to get to work, and getting the bus, which would you pick? If I am being honest, I would pick my car. There is a reason I bought my car. It is more convenient for me to use as a mode of transport, I don’t need to worry about having enough change for a ticket, and I don’t have to leave the house 20 minutes early to get to my car like you have to with a bus.

If presented with the option between a Ford car, and an Audi, I would pick the Audi. I have a Ford KA at the moment, and it’s a great little car, but in today’s society it’s acceptable to have a nicer car, and is almost a sign of wealth and affluence. I have also previously thought about where I would like to live. I would love to have a large house in the countryside, with a relatively large plot of land to perhaps be able to keep some chickens. I have always thought I would prefer the peace of the countryside as opposed to city living, and if you’re going to have country living, there is no point in doing it by half’s.

http://www.countrycottagesdevonengland.co.uk/countrycottagesdevonengland.htm

As far as holidays are concerned, I have had quite a few holidays around the UK, or some years not been away at all, but I will admit that my family have not chosen to do this out of concern for our carbon footprint, but more from a economic point. We have had some holidays abroad, and I can speak for my whole family when I say that if money were no object, we would be travelling abroad more often, and to somewhere more exotic than the previously visited France or Menorca. From an individual perspective, I would love to see the world, I would love to travel. I understand that this is probably an unrealistic wish. These desires have probably stemmed from being so interested in the world, which has been fed by geography all the way through school to the present day, and also from Travel and Tourism A-Levels. I do however appreciate the fact that as a geographer, I should be thinking more about the impact that this would have.



I admit I am one of those people that wants the latest phone, or IPod, and if my monetary fund’s permitted it, I would also have an Ipad. There is no question that I wouldn't swap my phone, for a Tesco handset. Clothes shopping I could possibly go without. I have never been one to follow the latest fashions or trends, and don’t go clothes shopping that often, so at a push I could possibly give up clothes shopping for a year. Handbags however, are a different story!

Fruit is a little bit more difficult to say whether I would stop eating out of season fruits. I do like some fruits, but I’m quite picky. I love Grapes, Strawberries and Bananas. I don’t really like oranges that much, so that wouldn’t worry me. But I can’t say that I would want to give up other fruits.

After writing this report, I have shocked myself at how little I am willing to change to help protect the environment. Unfortunately, the younger generation had been brought up in a world full of consumerism and technology, which is promoted by the media. I do recycle, as it makes me feel better about the fact I’m doing something to help, when in fact, I’m really not. When it comes to having a flashy car, or the latest phone, I think image has a large part to play in people wanting the best. It would be great to think that wind farms or solar energy is simply the answer to all the world’s problems, but I am unsure, I think we may have passed the point in which these methods are of help. If we are to change our ways, we need to target younger generations than ourselves, who aren’t yet old enough to have been taken in by consumerism, and are still young enough to learn new ways. The rest of us I think need shock tactics, but not just facts, figures and pictures. I think people will start to change if they start to actually experience the problems that we are faced with.


http://thisthatwhatever.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/guava-guava/

http://www.aca-demy.co.uk/browse-results.php?browseby=tags&drilldown=2012

Wednesday, 6 April 2011

'An Inconvenient Truth'

“I’ve been trying to tell this story for a long time, and I feel as if I’ve failed to get the message across” (Al Gore, 2006)

In 2006, a documentary film called ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ was released. The film is about Former United States President Al Gore’s battle to educate people about global warming.

Source: http://www.gobeyondoil.com/media/press-releases/gore-climate-film-goes-national-greens-urge-public-to-act

Gore starts with a joke, saying “I am Al Gore; I used to be the next president of the United States.’ I feel that this is perhaps used as an ice breaker, making the audience feel at ease and more comfortable with their speaker. He then goes on to talk about the issues the world faces in terms of global warming. Throughout the film, Gore uses a presentation that he has presented around the world.

Throughout the film, Gore incorporates his own stories, thoughts and feelings. In doing this, he submits himself to his audience, making himself vulnerable and open to criticism. I think that this brings him on to the same level as the audience, making him seem an equal, rather than someone who is ‘above’ the average citizen in his position as a politician. Gore’s story about an old classmate’s idea that South America and Africa might have fitted together in the past is quite symbolic of the whole issue of climate change that is happening today. His teacher’s dismissal of the fact that Pangaea existed is representative of all the sceptics, and the classmate being the ‘believers’ of global warming.

Another symbolic idea comes from him quoting Sir Winston Churchill from 1936:

“The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a ‘period of consequences’.” (Sir Winston Churchill, 1936)
Churchill spoke these words to the House of Commons, in the aftermath of the violation of the Treaty of Versailles, when Nazi Germany’s reoccupied the Rhineland. Just as the world then was going through a major time, you can ‘re-use’ the quote to represent what is happening today.


The overall message of the film is pretty clear nearly the whole way through, that global warming is not a problem to be ignored. He keeps the message simple, using technical terms when completely necessary, but other than he uses terms and ideas that people are going to understand. He does also address scepticism amongst other politicians, particularly when he explained why graphs fluctuate or ‘go up and down’ once each year. This he explains that this is to do with the annual season change and that the Carbon dioxide levels change in the different seasons. This depicted as the earth ‘breathing in and out’ was simple and effective in explaining this theory, and I found it particularly interesting, as this is something I have never been told.

“Climate change is really not a political issue, so much as a moral one.” (Al Gore, 2006)

I feel that the film is a very effective way to inform people of the severity of the situation, particularly by using real life examples, such as Hurricane Katrina, and images of retreating glaciers. I think that these images were successful in providing a ‘shock factor’ that this is really happening all over the world. 66% of people who say they have seen ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ said that the film “changed their minds” about global warming, and 89% said it made them more aware of the issue. Amazingly, 74% of viewers said that they changed some of their day to day habits as a result of the film, which is a great result.  (http://nz.nielsen.com/news/GlobalWarming_Jul07.shtml )

“I look around and look for really meaningful signs that we are about to really change...I don’t see it right now...” (Al Gore, 2006)



Thursday, 18 November 2010

Assessment Blog Two - How Sustainable is my Community

I have never really thought about how sustainable where I live is. I live in a village called Flackwell Heath which is a large village on the outskirts of High Wycombe and has a population of around 6000 people. Flackwell Heath falls in the Super Output Area Wycombe 018.

According to DEFRA, a sustainable community should be:
·         Active, Inclusive and Safe
·         Well Run
·         Environmentally Sensitive
·         Well Designed and Built
·         Well Connected
·         Thriving
·         Fair for everyone

High Wycombe and the surrounding villages (including Flackwell) are quite popular for people who commute into London to work. High Wycombe is just 29 miles from Charing Cross. Because of this there are quite a lot of cars moving around the village. There are also 3 schools, so during rush hour the village can get very congested. This doesn’t make the village very sustainable.

There is also no major supermarket in the village. The nearest supermarket is in the next village, roughly a 5-10 minute drive away. There is a local Budgens located at the centre of the village, but as the village is so large, many people choose to drive to it rather than walk, particularly in cold weather. Again, not a very sustainable way of life.

However, one thing I can think of that is sustainable has to do with one of the primary schools. In July 2005, Carrington Junior School unveiled its new addition to the school, a wind turbine. The new wind turbine takes pride of place on the school field, and generates one third of the schools energy

According to 2001 census data, Flackwell Heath/SAO Wycombe 018 had a population of 5874 and a total area of 435 hectares. These figures meant that the area has a population density of 13.51.

On the Office National Statistics website, there is a tool you can use to look at postcode specific statistics within your Super Output Area. There is a tab showing details for: People, Health, Business, Work, Education, Crime and Environment and a summary, showing your neighbourhoods rank of total deprivation.  I used this tool for my postcode. It came back showing the total deprivation at 18064th out of all 32428 neighbourhoods in England (the most deprived coming in at 1). [taken from indices of deprivation 2007]


The neighbourhood statistics show the table below with the consumption of energy for my postcode. As you can see the consumption figures in my area is higher than both Wycombe’s and England’s, suggesting that people are not using energy in a sustainable manner.
Domestic energy consumption, 2008

Your area
Wycombe
England
Average consumption of ordinary domestic electricity
K/watt hours
4,779
4,468
3,800
Average consumption of economy 7 domestic electricity
K/watt hours
7,935
7,070
5,789
Average consumption of domestic gas
K/watt hours
22,492
19,603
16,799


On the other hand, according to the data, there are no empty homes (2008). Another good aspect of the village is from April 05-May 06 there were no serious reported crimes in the SOA Wycombe 018.

I definitely feel that Flackwell Heath could definitely be more sustainable. The wind turbine was certainly a step in the right direction, however as far as I’m aware there hasn’t been any more progress to become a more sustainable community. Since the end of 2009/beginning of 2010, some new houses have been built on a plot of land where a pub used to be. The plans for these could have incorporated some ideas like solar panels to help better the villages image as a sustainable community.  

Thursday, 14 October 2010

Assessment Blog One - How Sustainable am I?

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”  World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future (1987).

I feel that everybody would like to think of their lifestyle as being sustainable. I certainly would like to believe that I was doing my bit to help save the planet. If somebody was to ask me in the street if I felt I was leading a sustainable lifestyle, my initial answer would probably be yes. However, upon further reflection I would have to say that my life is probably not as sustainable as I would like it to be. I now recycle most materials that can be, thanks to all of the recycling boxes and bins introduced by the government. However I would say that most of the things I do that I would say help make me more sustainable are small acts that are more common sense than me thinking about the environment. For example, showering rather than taking baths, only using a washing machine and dishwasher when they are full, turning off lights behind me when I leave the room and not leaving things on stand-by. 
          

  I do own a car, and honestly, I use my car as my main mode of transport. During university term time, I live in a small village, and commute to university daily, which takes  around  20-25 minutes. I know that I should opt for public transport, however buses are very infrequent (Maybe one bus an hour) and would have to then swap buses around 3 times just to get to either campus. So I drive to university, and to most other places, out of convenience.

The department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA, 2009) states that “The past 20 years have seen a growing realisation that the current model of development is unsustainable. In other words, we are living beyond our means. From the loss of biodiversity with the felling of rainforests or over fishing to the negative effect our consumption patterns are having on the environment and the climate. Our way of life is placing an increasing burden on the planet.”  It is the understanding of a statement like this that has urged people to do something to help on an international scale spanning right down to an individual one. One of the main themes of the London 2012 Olympics is ‘Sustainability’ - http://www.london2012.com/making-it-happen/sustainability/index.php



Defra also has a complete website completely devoted to sustainable development, http://www.defra.gov.uk/sustainable/government/ . The website includes a page on what sustainable development is, and what you can do to make your own life more sustainable. This, I feel plays a vital role in helping the public understand the ideas behind sustainable development, and how they can alter their own lives to become more sustainable.

On reflection of everything I have said above, under the circumstances surrounding my lifestyle, I feel that I am doing as much as I can, nonetheless I would still like to be able to say I am doing more.