Climate week runs from 3rd to 9th March. Here in Hereford we’ve a number of events planned. I’ll be speaking, along with Michael Goodfellow-Smith and Victoria Mason, at an event organised by Concern Universal titled ‘Flooding- The New Normal?’ at 7.00pm on Tuesday 4th March, St John’s Methodist Church Hall, St Owen’s Street, Hereford. There is also an exhibition organized by Climate Action Now in All Saints Church that’ll be running all week, a group of us will be lobbying our MP on Friday 7th and there will be a march on Saturday 8th and a couple of films. For more info see the poster at http://bitz.me.uk/Climate_Week_final_totally_Green_Cumulative_poster.pdf
As part of the display in All Saints I was asked to write a few bullet points for people concerned about climate change, which I’ll paste-in below
Concerned about Climate Change? What you CAN do!
1, Take action politically! Realize you are not alone in caring. Link-up with others and get organised. Join groups such as Climate Action Now, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, your local Transition town or other community based environmental group. Join online activists Avaaz & 350.org. Try and influence your political party to get serious about Climate Change, or join another one that is.
2, Putting your money where your mouth is! Through what we choose to buy and where we choose to put whatever money we have, we do have some influence. Disinvest from any company or organisation that supports the fossil fuel based economy. Bank with an ethical bank and invest in the kind of economy you want to see.
3, Choose how you move! Do you really need to fly? Still own a car? Gradually shifting to a more flexible use of walking, cycling, buses, trains, using the internet to replace journeys and joining a car sharing club for those times when a car really is of use…this mix really is the way to go!
4, Your built environment. Your house, office or school are probably pretty energy inefficient. What practically can you do to improve this? There is a lot of advice and help around (but not of course as much as there should be) to help you draught proof and insulate your house, and by linking up with colleagues you may be able to improve things at school or work.
5, Eating to save the Planet! Try eating a gradually higher proportion of local and organic food, and a lower proportion of meat, especially industrially produced meat. We have lots of good sustainable producers in Herefordshire!
6, Make lifestyle choices! Many of the things that help you cut your carbon footprint will also save you money, and often be more fun than anything the high consumption lifestyle has to offer! Reducing the amount of stuff we buy liberates us. Freedom is often understood to be rooted in letting go of craving and the desire to excessively consume. Improved wellbeing and happiness are at the heart of any vision of a green future.
7, Positive Information. The mainstream media and political parties are trapped in a very negative discourse. There is much going on that is inspiring. Seek out this solution focused thinking and action. Technologically and philosophically there is much to celebrate!