March 2008 Archives

Tonight there will be a film screening of End of Suburbia at Alexanders Jazz Bar, Rufus Court, Chester (8pm). This is your chance to come along and find out more about the concept of Transition Towns, watch a great film meet interesting people and get involved in future events (if you wish).

For more details you can email transitionchester@yahoo.co.uk

This came yesterday, should be very useful

Dear Sir/Madam,

Are you concerned about Climate Change and the actions we can take to reduce carbon emissions? If so you should be interested in a new Cheshire Project which is being developed to help individuals and community groups to make effective and long lasting changes which will help to reduce your impact on our climate and the environment.

As part of a regional effort to raise awareness of climate change issues, Energy Projects Plus and the University of Chester are co-developing a project named Practical Action on Climate Change, which will help communities assess their carbon footprint and offer guidance on how to reduce it.

We wish to involve as many people as possible, so if you belong to a community group, or you are just a concerned individual, please come along to one of our events so that we can tell you more. Whether we take giant leaps or incremental steps, every change is important to enable a cleaner and better future for everyone.

Practical Action on Climate Change for Cheshire will be delivered as a multimedia toolkit, containing information on the key themes of carbon footprinting, energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies, transport, and reuse/recycling. The carbon footprinting section will contain a basic questionnaire for use in local surveys.

The results from the survey can then be used to calculate the carbon footprint of community lifestyles, with feedback and advice tailored to the participant's response.

This response may be in the form of lifestyle or behavioural change, or in the investment in low carbon technologies such as renewables and energy efficiency. Whichever steps you wish to take, Energy Projects Plus can offer guidance and support every step of the way.

In order to further demonstrate the benefits in participating, we wish to invite representatives from your group to attend a consultation session. Details of the events can be seen below; if you are interested in attending, or have any questions, please respond to Michael.flood@epplus.org.uk, or to my office address shown above.

Northwich Memorial Hall: Tuesday 8th April 2008 , 4pm-7pm
Chesterway, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 5QJ

Chester Guild Hall: Wednesday 23rd April 2008, 4pm-7pm
Watergate St, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 2LA

We look forward to hearing from you.
Kind Regards,
Michael Flood

In April 2007 Chester played host to the UK's first conference on Carbon Neutrality for grass roots communities.

Funded through DEFRA's Climate Challenge fund, delegates from all over the UK spent the day sharing experiences of the challenges we all face in trying to reduce our carbon footprint.

Organised by Ashton Hayes, it soon became apparent that although this small village in Cheshire had received world wide coverage of the Parish Council's aim to be the first carbon neutral village in England, it was by no means the first group to be established and many of us from the village left the conference enthused and inspired by the people we had met.

In the following months several low carbon groups in the Chester area joined Ashton Hayes and began to find ways to engage the community in energy reduction activities. Cheshire's Year of Action on Climate Change highlighted the work and events of many groups and the debate has slowly moved on.

At the start of 2008 the topic of discussion among my neighbours isn't about whether human activity contributes to climate change but how we can all reduce our impact on the planet by making simple changes in our lifestyles. I have witnessed several neighbours installing solar thermal panels to heat hot water and seen more children walking to the village school.

My own family's low impact lifestyle was first featured in the Chronicle in January 2006 and we have continued to make changes, such as the recent installation of a wood burning stove. We know our carbon footprint could be even lower, but at least we are trying and have proved that such a life doesn't have to be about discomfort and self denial.

I've been an active environmental campaigner since the 1970's and have seen first hand what a powerful force for change individuals can be when they join together to act on an issue (witness the campaign to ban ozone damaging chemicals in aerosols). Over the past 12 months I've visited low carbon community groups all over the UK and there is a definite feeling that the climate movement is growing.

Very soon our elected representatives will have to sit up and take notice of the growing demands of consumers to make a low carbon lifestyle easier and more affordable. Over the coming months this blog will share the experiences of the many low carbon groups in the Chester area, I urge you all to join in and share your own stories as we travel this journey to a low carbon future together.