Transcript Will the last poor person turn the light off please?

Will the last poor person turn the
light off please?
Proposals to make a change
Disadvantaged Communities
• No real engagement in policy, scientific or
philosophical debates around climate
change
• Often passive recipients of poor policy and
delivery
• Often using disproportionate amounts of
disposal income to pay for utilities
We can make a difference by:
• raising communities' awareness of climate change and giving
them power
• By for example using community engagement in green spaces to
raise awareness about climatic change and the role individuals can
play - e.g. reducing energy waste, water use, offsetting. Activity
and events in urban green spaces could be used to educate and
convey information about climatic change which could result in
changes in behaviour.
• This is not about the science, the philosophy or what appear to
many in poor urban areas spurious debates about “was the world
hot in 1760 and it’s just a cycle” It is based on some basic agreed
principles:
What we know……
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We use too much
We throw away too much
We don’t use what we throw away well
Energy is increasingly expensive
Water is increasingly scarce
The most disadvantaged are disproportionately affected
by climate change
• We appear to apply environmental standards to all that is
new (build, location, design) but most of us live in places
that are old, inefficient and make up the vast proportion
of the challenges we are facing – let’s do something
about that……….
We can make a difference by:
• raising communities' capacity to respond to the challenge of
climate change by helping shift peoples' behaviour, and also to
strengthen the voice of communities who may be disproportionately
affected by climate change. Introducing the concept of
environmental justice.
• support people to change their lifestyles to become more
environmentally friendly (e.g. through Every Action Counts, Carbon
Crime Stoppers);
• providing a forum for activity to help people improve their local
environment (e.g. through working on environmental regeneration
projects with local organisations);
We can make a difference by:
• influencing and improving the quality of the public realm
Working with people in their area to ensure they are well-planned,
safe and appealing could encourage people to walk or cycle rather
than use cars for short journeys. This would help reduce carbon
emissions. Similarly use of allotments and community gardens to
grow fruit and vegetables could help reduce food miles, albeit on a
relatively modest scale. Greening the local environment will also
help communities to cope with the likely effects of climate change,
by providing shade, urban cooling, water management, absorption
of pollutants, combined heat and power and recreational
opportunities. The activity also builds community.
It doesn’t have to be a history of
HEMP!
• On the other side of
community activity there
is social enterprise
• It can be green and of
quality
• It can be entrepreneurial
and support communities
• It can be innovative and
creative
• It can effect change
London’s first Eco Restaurant
• Sustainable
• Ethical
• Driven by the Third
Sector
• Changing the way the
industry works
• Winner Observer
Monthly Award “Best
Newcomer 2007
What Next in Shoreditch?
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A climate Change Community
Development of CHP
Earth sheltered swimming pool
Community Land Trust
A green laundry
A green street market
Acorn House
Orsman Road Café
A smoke free Shoreditch
Lights out over Shoreditch
Green procurement guide
Car Sharing Scheme
A zero carbon Shoreditch?
Adopt “Carbon Crime Stoppers”
initiative