Nominated for County Environmental hero award

It was very nice to be surprised this last week by news that I had been nominated for the Environmental section of the County's Pride of Gloucestershire Community award. However the article that covered the story made quite a few mistakes - I note some of those mistakes in brackets in green in the article which is printed below - but first I want to return to the whole issue of 'environmental heroes'.....

Many will remember the criticisms and pages of press coverage over Al Gore and Jonathon Porritts' air miles. It is easy to shoot down a 'green hero'. To me, as I said at the time, such debates are a distraction from focusing on the real need ie that our Government must grasp the urgency and need for radical changes.

I said in one news release: "Green campaigners constantly risk accusations of being hypocrites. Yet life is full of grey areas and being pure and virtuous is never as easy, nor perhaps even as desirable, as it might appear. We have seen climate change campaigners like Ken Livingstone and Al Gore similarly have their CO2 emissions challenged. It seems that if you can smear the person, then you can also undermine the message. Such smears can damage: prominent people who might support green causes don't speak out for fear of having their supermarket bills fished out of their bin. Indeed every time a 'green hero' is shot down in flames, we all feel that little bit more cynical about our politicians and leaders. Meanwhile greenhouse gas emissions continue to soar. As Climate Change author Mark Lynas wrote: 'Being a purist may be comforting, but it is unlikely to change the world.'"

I have said before that I could be living a greener lifestyle, but this misses a key point. For me, individual actions to tackle climate change are great but will never go far enough. We must have government action to help us change behaviours and ensure those on lower incomes don't loose out. Yes of course people need to take responsibility - but it is the Government that must take a real lead. Individual actions to tackle climate change are great but will never go far enough. The present rate of growth in air traffic is unsustainable - hence Green challenges to airport expansions like at Staverton and Bristol. The truth of it is that we must cancel all airport expansions: individuals stopping flying is great but will not be enough - but by stopping flying they are at least raising awareness.....we urgently need laws that make the polluter pay for their damage and 'green' choices to be made easier: travelling the same journey by train would have meant 17 times fewer CO2 emissions than flying. A weekend in Prague should not be cheaper than a weekend in Bournemouth.

As the IPCC and others have said we have only a matter of a handful of years in which to act. We need radical changes. All credit to Jonathan Porritt, Al Gore and others who are trying to get the message across to us. We can still avoid catastrophic climate change - but as I've said before this is a time for all of us to be heros. It's possible for each of us to dramatically reduce the emissions for which we are responsible without massively reducing our quality of life - indeed see my post earlier this morning that points out that it is our economic growth that is making us more unhealthy.

Here's something I wrote before: "What is needed is for individuals and communities to decide to act on the advice that is available and get the politicians to act as well. We need emissions cuts of 90 per cent by 2030, yet our emissions are still rising, £30 billion is being spent on more roads, aviation subsidises continue and massive airport expansions are planned. We can create a green, fairer future of greater employment, healthier food, stronger communities, warmer homes from better insulation and self-sufficiency in energy instead of fossil fuels from unstable countries. We must tackle climate change but also build resilient communities that will cope with the coming challenges. If enough people lead the way then the politicians will be forced to follow."

03 April 2008 The Citizen PHILIP'S A MAN WHO REALLY CARES ABOUT OUR ENVIRONMENT

When it comes to environment issues Philip Booth really puts his heart and soul into the matter. And now the Stroud district councillor and head of the local Green Party (I used to be leader of the District Council group but Cllr Sarah Lunnon has taken over after my work commitments meant a squeeze on time), has been nominated for a Pride of Gloucestershire Community award. Stroud parish councillor Jane Godsell has nominated Philip for an award in the environmental hero category which is sponsored by Cory Environmental and recognises people who work to change the damage caused to the environment by our modern society. Mrs Godsell said: "He is a real environmental hero!"

Originally a member of the Gloucester Airport Action Group (I wrote a letter protesting at the Airport expansion 5 years ago and have campaigned since then but it is only in the last year that this Gloucestershire Airport campaign has got off the ground and while I have supported the campaign there are many others who deserve mention re the Airport) which aimed to reduce air pollution, Philip has continued to dedicate himself for many years now to the environmental campaign. (Not sure why they lead with the Airport that is just one campaign - they could equally have mentioned others like the Safe Water Campaign, Shut Oldbury, ID cards or whatever)

Mrs Godsell said: "Philip has done an amazing amount in the district to encourage environmental awareness, both as an individual and as district councillor."

Philip aims to set a good personal example by walking (Not sure where that came from - yes I do walk a bit and more recently since my health has improved but I would not list this as the main example). He said: "We could all do more but we first need political change in order to make it easier for us to take individual action."

In this regard he has campaigned extensively for lower speed limits, better public transport systems and cleaner streams. And his tireless work has paid off. The Ruscombe Brook Action Group, which works in conjunction with Severn Trent Water, has dramatically reduced the incidents of sewage in the brook.

Philip has also raised the profile of local environmental concerns by putting up daily posts on his online blog. The blog now has more than 2,000 visitors a month. Mrs Godsell added: "He e-mails residents with information which he thinks may be of interest to them and is always willing to take up an environmental issue on behalf of residents."

Con Booth is currently promoting a 'Shared Spaces Scheme' which encourages car sharing in order to cut road congestion. He said: "There is a long way to go but the dramatic shift towards more environmentally friendly attitudes over the past two years is encouraging."