Randwick, Whiteshill and Ruscombe News from your District Councillor

I've just started delivering my latest news letter - the contents of which are below - apols for delay - I usually try to get it out in January but due to a twisted ankle and the snow it has been delayed. Please also use the 'labels' or the search engine on this blog to find out more about my activities.

Dear Resident,

I feel very fortunate to live in and be part of these lively communities. We have a great village shop, schools, churches, clubs and pubs, plus many wonderful local events like street parties, the Randwick Wap, pancake races, art exhibitions, theatre and more. These all go a long way towards strengthening our communities - something that is close to my heart.

As residents will know, I have nearly completed four years as the local District Councillor. I would be proud to serve a further term and I hope you will consider voting for me this May.

This newsletter gives a taste of some of my recent actions and projects. As I hope it shows, I remain passionate about social and environmental justice and am committed to working with others to achieve the changes we need.

I would like to thank all those who have supported me and the local Green Party for funding this annual newsletter.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Councillor for Randwick, Whiteshill and Ruscombe ward

Want to talk to Philip?

Philip would love to hear your views, answer your questions or try to help with local problems. Email Philip on philip.booth2@virgin.net or phone 01453755451 or write to: 2 The Laurels, Bread Street, Ruscombe, Stroud GL66EL.

Some recent successes

Philip has:

• Led a successful campaign to get a bus shelter at Stratford
• Set up the Stroud Valleys Water Forum that is taking a lead in developing an effective flood policy for the District
• Initiated a Countywide scheme for libraries to loan out energy monitors to help people cut their energy use
• Supported residents who have had problems with planning issues
• Helped get a new culvert and grill at Acres Place, Puckshole, to reduce flooding
• Worked with Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish Council to establish allotments in the area Road
  

Some recent actions by your councillor:

Seeking more accountability at the Council

I have joined other Greens in calling for:

• Councillor expenses to be published fully
• Ending the extra cash paid to councillors who use larger cars
• More openness around decisions to close joint-use sports centres
• The Council to apologise to tenants for the damning report on our Council housing stock (with the exception of two other councillors, all refused to make an apology)

Working for better planning

• I continue to oppose development on the Ruscombe Valley fields and at other key local sites that are currently threatened
• I have been one of four councillors on an extensive inquiry into the planning process which has made key recommendations for improvements

Pressing for transport improvements

• I have helped to gain the '20 is Plenty' traffic calming signs. I oppose County Council measures to remove these.
• I continue to seek other local traffic calming measures (not humps and bumps)
• I continue to work for 20mph speed limits in residential areas to reduce casualties and encourage more walking and cycling
• I want to see a proper bus station in Stroud and improvements to cycle facilities

Protecting our wildlife and environment

• I have been involved in projects locally such as clearing the local brook, supporting the local Hedgehog Hospital and helping develop the Stroud-based Global Bee Project to protect solitary bees
• I have sought improvements to local grit bins and road gullies
• I helped ensure that Severn Trent has taken action on sewage systems locally. This has led to a significant reduction in sewage incidents

Open Homes Success

• I initiated and help organise the hugely popular Eco-renovation Open Homes weekend each September. This involves local homes with renewable energy and energy efficiency measures opening to the public and local renewable energy installers promoting their products

Tackling fuel poverty, energy security and climate change

• I chaired a scrutiny inquiry that has made recommendations for financing energy efficiency and renewable measures
• I am seeking opportunities for the Council to invest and make serious financial returns on investments in renewable energy

Working on your behalf

• Opposing a large incinerator at Javelin Park near Stonehouse or elsewhere in the County
• Actively working to ensure our waste management is more sustainable and cost effective
• Initiated a wood fuel project in local woods
• Raised key issues as Stroud’s representative on the Wessex Water Customer Liaison Panel
• Sought improvements to services at Stratford Park Leisure Centre including measures to improve cleanliness and energy efficiency
• Supported others to successfully oppose large cuts in funding to arts

See last years report here.

Scrutiny: Joint Use sports centres, energy efficiency and disabled facilities grants

Last week I had a couple of Scrutiny meetings - one on financing climate change measures - well our report is nearly out so I wont cover that here - the other was the evening Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee and a look at the budget.

Photo: Ebley Mill viewed through trees from Randwick

Well again I can't cover all that here but several key issues I raised are covered below. I also sought information on the savings from posts not being filled - this can have a huge impact on remaining staff workloads and I am already aware that some have very high workloads. Many other issues were covered including news that Iceland money may not come back although the Cabinet member remains 'cautiously optimistic'.

Money for household energy efficiency and climate change

I made the point that this was welcomed as one of the only growth areas however it is small fry - just £100,000 next year with no more for the next 5 years! How can this possibly tackle the huge and growing problem of fuel poverty.

Many in the chamber were sympathetic but no more money available. I hope when the initial recommendations of the Scrutiny inquiry come to light we will be able to tackle this issue more. We must find a way forward - indeed had a useful discussion last week about what the blocks are to borrowing money to pay for such measures - pretty well none was the answer - in my view we need to move towards developing the Council's own renewable energy through an ESCo - borrowing then in some years we would have an income stream. It makes economic, environmental and moral sense......

Disabled facilities grants

The situation is getting worse - 12 to 15 month waiting lists for disabled people and longer waits forecast. This is not acceptable - nobody in the chamber was happy about it. SDC already work in partnership with Occupational Therapists, but I asked whether more could be done? It was a gloomy picture as even with more money the contractor could not take on more work. I still think we need to look at alternatives and will be asking more re this.

Joint Use centres to close?

On 30th November Stroud District Council issued a press release. In it the Council's Deputy Leader, Councillor Keith Pearson, is quoted as saying: "It is regrettable that we have to look at reducing the number of sports centres we manage but the bare facts show that not enough people use them. We have to be responsible with how we spend taxpayers' money and councils are under more and more pressure to show value for money".

At the 10 December 2009 Cabinet meeting. Agenda Item 10 titled, 'The General Fund Revenue Budget 2010/2011' states in paragraph 6 said: “This efficiency process ( the Medium Term Financial Plan) has included a decision to hand back two joint use sites namely Vale of Berkeley College, Nailsworth Primary School and Wotton Pool, the savings from which will be realised in the 2011/2012 budget”.

But now a consultation has been launched and we are having a special cabinet meeting on 28th Jan to discuss this ‘consultation’. I asked about why can we not have greater clarity of process here? It would appear that these proposals just came out of nowhere with no consultation? How fair is it to cut service from 3 centres without discussing it fully with local people?

As I have noted before there appears to be no strategic plan for leisure services (see here). This appears to be just cost-cutting without proper consideration. It is claimed that services are not providing ‘value’ so plans are made to cut the service rather than evaluating what value is and how we might seek it. This is not in my view the way to go about business. However I am encouraged that a more proper consultation has now been launched - however it still looks likely to lead to closure of some or all of the six joint use centres.

I recognise savings need to be made but as the Mayor of Nailsworth, Norman Kay points out in his report looking specifically at the centre in Nailsworth: "A 'reasonable' local authority would be expected to use such evidence, together with an assessment of resources available, to devise a comprehensive vision and plan for the Leisure Service, which addresses these considerations within the plan...SDC may, having done this, still decide on withdrawing from the NRC, but importantly, the decision would be based on evidence which could be used to demonstrate the comprehensiveness and efficiency of the service provided by reference to demonstrable need and resources...Financial savings may still be made, but the absence of a review of the Leisure Service, and the Council's apparent interpretation of an 'efficient' service as being entirely in financial terms, has appeared to rule out any meaningful discussions of other options....Service operation is limited from the information on the Council's website. It seems to have been underpublicised for some time. It is sensible for a Leisure Service to promote and encourage use. It is good practice for any public service to encourage participation through clear and easy ways to join, access, shape and influence the service....Service Delivery - Usage and Capacity. No evidence was put before Cabinet members to show what (if any) information the Council considered regarding usage patterns, or whether any other evidence was drawn on to guide the decision on withdrawing from the provision of the service at the NRC....Satisfaction with the service and links with other services/partners. There is no information on the satisfaction of users and ways in which the NRC facilities have been promoted to potential users, through for example, corporate membership for local employers; or how the Council is assisting/enabling the National Health Service through the PCT to obtain maximum benefit for its clients....The absence of a strategic plan or a development plan for the Leisure service, based on an assessment of need and a contemporaneous review of the service, completely hinders the Council being able to describe how its plans will meet the needs of, and have due regard for, the exercise and sports needs of those who live and work in Nailsworth."

I understand a large report will soon be available to those on request that hopefully will answer some of the concerns re lack of strategy. I await with interest.

Win on boiler scrappage

The Government has announced the formation of a £50 million greener boiler incentive to upgrade the boilers of 125 000 households. This incentive, to be launched in 2010, will help householders reduce their emissions by upgrading their old boilers to the latest efficient models.

Photo: Christmas Fairy cake sold for the Gloucestershire Chest Fund on Goodwill evening

This is good news - it was Green party London Mayoral candidate Sian Berry who helped launch the campaign for a gas boiler scrappage scheme - this is basically a short-term anti-recession measure to bring forward some overdue savings by replacing old equipment now and help small businesses.

Of course we can have greener boilers, but unless this is part of a mass insulation programme, lifestyle shift and renewables installation, there will be a tendency of replacing old boilers with new ones that are more efficient but just as big. This would be like campaigning against 4x4s - and just arguing for new, more fuel efficient 4x4's instead. Research has shown that by saving money on the new boiler without accompanying measures we will just heat our homes warmer. New boilers should be smaller as well as more efficient. So some caution!!

Mick Williams, a plumbers’ merchant based in Hampshire, had the idea for a boiler scrappage scheme. He argued that small businesses need a boost right now far more than banks and giant corporations. And, with lower bills and added carbon savings, the scheme would bring real green benefits as well. Mick started an online Downing Street petition after being inspired by the absurd car scrappage scheme, and could see that boiler scrappage would be far better for carbon savings.

According to the campaign website, www.reheatbritain.org.uk, the benefits of a boiler scrappage scheme would include:
- Reduced carbon dioxide emissions
- Boilers account for around 60% of the carbon dioxide emissions in a gas heated home. By replacing an old G rated boiler with a new high efficiency condensing boiler and improved heating controls, emissions can be cut by as much as a quarter (see figures here).
- Lower bills for many householders
- Savings in carbon translate into reduced gas bills, with the average home saving up to £200 per year with a new condensing boiler (see figures here).
- A boost to businesses involved in plumbing, building and related industries These businesses are largely sole traders and small companies, whose profits benefit local communities much more than those of the car and banking industries.
- A boost to British manufacturing
- A large proportion of gas boilers are still made here in the UK, so a boiler scrappage scheme would benefit many thousands of other workers here, not just plumbers and builders.

To read the full story, see pages 115 and 132 in section seven of the pre-budget report at: http://ow.ly/MHBI

Thermal Imaging Houses project to cut heat loss

I previously mentioned my uncle's involvement in a project looking at Thermal Imaging (see here) as a way of raising awareness about heat loss - well below are some of the notes he has gained from experiences of five communities (not in Gloucestershire). Big thanks to him for sharing them here.

Photos: Pics from appendix A below of the report - see there for more details - apols for quality - I couldn't get them to reproduce in a jpeg so ended up photographing the photos on the screen - hence the terrible quality!!
Picture one is south elevation and front of a village hall - you can see radiators (red) have been heating the uninsulated wall. Picture two - north elevation shows insulated extension compared with poorly insulated main walls and roof - lower windows and doors double glazes but it was warmer inside there. Picture three - south elevation with heat escaping from open door - the white spot is a direct view of the hall radiator.

This Thermal Imaging Project is an exciting and very visual way to highlight heat loss - seeing the results are a clear way to motivate behaviour change - but it isn't easy as the report shows. Indeed behaviour change is tough stuff - there are those motivated to change - and projects like the energy monitors in libraries locally (see here) are great for that - but then how do we engage wider populations? This is the challenge.

A recent tenants energy group at the District Council couldn't get enough members to keep going and a local Transition Stroud Carbon Reduction Action Group (CRAG) folded due to not enough interest.....even free insulation often isn't enough to make people accept it - changing behaviours is hard - but clearly rising fuel prices will impact and encourage change - Ofgem say we can see 60% fuel price rises within next 5 years - some say they could be higher.

For me there are very real concerns re fuel poverty - and of course climate change - as noted before I am chairing a District Council inquiry into funding of this issue - we only just started but a report should be out by our February Scrutiny meeting - I completed the first draft earlier this week - yet without serious investment we cannot hope to tackle these issues. Anyhow I'll leave you for mo with this report....

Thermal Imaging Houses – Some Conclusions

Based on experiences of 5 communities using infra-red photos to highlight houses’ heat loss.

The Good News & the Bad News

The Bad News
- Thermal imaging is not so easy.
- Interpreting results needs training, care & experience.
- Normally it needs to be done in cold weather when neither the sun
nor rain has fallen on the house being imaged. This and the need for discussion with householders mean that it takes more time than one expects to image a number of properties.

The Good News

- It fulfils its main function in being absolutely intriguing, raising interest and awareness.
- It makes people think they should do something to save energy.
- Householders are pleased and enjoy having it done. They can recognize and confirm what they see in the images.

Gathering initial support & involvement

It was important to advertise the project beforehand and seek committed team members and individuals interested in having their properties imaged. This can be done via personal contact and suitable local publications.

It is necessary to made clear that no images will be taken of properties without the householders’ permission.

The Team

Team structure and the choice of committed individuals is important. Obviously the choice can be approached in different ways, but certain key characteristics are required:-

Someone to set out & coordinate the imaging program (i.e. Project Director / Leader).

Someone with good contacts & knowledge of the community is needed to facilitate communication & identification of individuals.

Imagers who have training / experience specifically in operating the infrared camera. Experience with normal digital photography is useful but not enough.

Those downloading the digital thermal image data onto computers, processing it and probably printing it will need suitable computer skills.

Someone, presumably one of those involved above, to keep track of the rather large amounts of data collected.

Camera Use

Thermal imaging is different to normal digital photography. Using the camera & putting in the appropriate settings is not straightforward. Training, practising & understanding beforehand is essential.

Imaging glass windows can be affected by reflection. Even the heat from the imager’s body can be reflected. So the angle and what might be reflected needs care in image taking & interpretation. For example, shiny surfaces and roofs imaged at an angle can give distorted temperature readings.

Other equipment

Although not essential, a tripod & thermometer can be useful. For image interpretation it helps to know the temperatures inside & outside the property being imaged. The camera itself does measure ambient temperature, but takes some time to respond. Some hand held thermometers are quicker.

Weather

A temperature differential between inside & outside of at least 10ºC is needed for good results.

Solar gain is another problem. Sun on one side of a building, even hours earlier, can seriously distort the thermal imaging results.

A wet surface, such a brick after rain, can also be a problem.

Thus winter evenings after overcast skies without rain give the best results.

A local weather forecasting website, such as www.metcheck.com, can help in organizing imaging dates.

Time needed

Imaging a number of properties takes longer than expected. This is largely due to weather uncertainties and the establishment of coincident availability dates for householders & imagers. Contacting householders & imagers and programming imaging dates is essential.

Good organisation is key! One community was assigned the camera for only a short time and yet thermally imaged 18 properties in only 4 evenings. This is the best time performance to date from any of our communities.

Having the camera allocated for an extended period seems good but a shorter period a say of ~2 weeks can concentrate the mind and give better use of time if well organised (& given suitable weather). Also imaging sessions seem better fitted in after evening meals rather than before.

Organisation

The team organisation needs to be set up beforehand with individual roles defined. Once the camera collection date is known, a date for training the team members needs to be established. Training needs adequate time, and more than one training session may be needed.

The most usual operating teams consist of 2 ‘imagers’ one of whom concentrates on operating the camera and the other on the essential note taking. A third, a director/‘imager’ may be added to help coordination.

Note taking

Image interpretation is not straightforward. One cannot stress enough the need for careful notes of the weather, building structures & any anomalies found.

Anomalies to keep an eye open for are unexpected colours / temperatures in the image. Then it’s best to try to establish & note the possible explanation. The householder’s explanation / opinion is likely to help. Knowing the weather conditions & building structure (e.g. insulation already installed etc.) helps with image interpretation.

Field Note Taking is helped by having pre prepared forms for the imagers to complete on site whilst out imaging.

Downloading, Processing Images & Producing Reports

This can take longer per property than the imaging itself. But for maximum impact the results should be fed back to the householder fairly quickly, say within a month.

Before starting report production it is necessary to decide the nature of the reports to be produced, the colour palette for the images, the software to use (this can be camera software alone or in combination with other software e.g. JPEG & MS Word), and how they will be conveyed to householders.

Some opt for reports of several pages using camera software, incorporating not only Red-Blue palette thermal images, but added normal digital images of the properties as well.

Some used the camera software to process the thermal images, but produced their 1 or 2 page reports with JPEG images using MS Word (see example Appendix A below).

One community opted to save paper by circulating images via email and only printing images for householders without computers.

All the communities managed to get example results in village & local publications & on display boards at local events, all of which helps to convey the message.

Reactions

Our community projects have been well received. Thermal imaging is fascinating. People were very interested to see the results and pleased to have the images and analyses. Sometimes it did not tell them much they did not suspect or know, but it emphasised their energy loss and added to motivation.

As with most motivational projects continued follow-up & varied approaches are needed.
Perhaps the most difficult aspect is getting people to act on the information received and to spend their hard earned cash on energy saving improvements.

One suggestion is for a suitable member of the team to return to the householder say about one or not more than two weeks after they have received the thermal image results to discuss possibilities. For this it is helpful to have details / publications on energy saving and its costs & returns produced by organisations such as the local Energy Centre and the Energy Saving Trust.

However, energy prices are going to rise further and people will start to see an even stronger need for making the necessary savings in the home.

Conclusion

Good - Planning, Organisation, Team Selection, Training, Communication & Commitment are the keys to success.


APPENDIX A: Thermal Imaging Study

Date: 8.3.08 Time: 10.00
Inside: 10 º C Temperatures: Outside: 7 º C
Build Date: c1871
Householder: The Village
Image Address: Village Hall
Wall Structures: Solid brick main building & cavity in extensions
Window Types: Upper single glazed & double glazed in extensions
Roof: Tile non insulated.

Photos: see above for a brief description of each of the pics.

Pay As You Save energy scheme pilot

Around 50 homes in Stroud will be testing out new ways to finance whole house energy makeovers under the Government's Pay As You Save scheme. Following an open competition, Stroud District Council has been chosen to deliver one of the first ever UK trials along with Birmingham City Council, Gentoo Sunderland, British Gas and B&Q.

This is great news - I've had various reports on how this bid was going through the Scrutiny inquiry into financing domestic energy efficiency measures - Officers and Severn Wye Energy Agency are to be applauded for their hard work in making this happen.

The Home Energy Pay As You Save pilots will basically give households the opportunity to invest in energy efficiency and microgeneration technologies in their homes with no upfront cost. Householders will make repayments spread over a long enough period so that repayments are lower than their predicted energy bill savings, meaning financial and carbon savings are made from day one. The scheme will involve some 500 homes across England in the trial which will provide evidence of how to foot the bill for the Great British Refurb – the Government’s plan to make the 22 million existing homes in the UK more energy efficient.

Of course 500 homes is barely a drop in the ocean of 22 million and one could despair that we are not moving fast enough - indeed I do - but this is a start all be it a very small one - and research shows that schemes like this encourage householders to take up micro-generation. Indeed the Energy Savings Trust have shown that if householders knew that they would get a fair pay-back for the extra energy they produce for the grid then 43 per cent would be more likely to want to install micro-generation (ICM on-line survey June 09).

Indeed the Energy Savings Trust have said previously: "With the right incentives, up to 2 million micro-generation units - solar thermal, PV, heat pumps, wind, micro CHP and some biomass - could be installed by 2020. By 2030 this would save up to 30 million tonnes of CO2, or 5% UK's carbon emmissions. That's the equivalent of having 3 million fewer cars on the UK's roads, and saving the same amount of CO2 as is currently produced by 1.9 million households - which is around 7 per cent of all UK homes, the same as all the households in the East Midlands."

I am delighted by this move as it moves us in the direction Greens locally have been pushing - I have sought, for example, that the Council looks at introducing a ‘ReCharge’ scheme along the lines piloted by Kirklees Council since April 2008. This scheme provides householders with a £10,000 interest-free loan to install specific renewable technologies in their homes (the interest is paid by the Council). The loans are secured against the property and must be re-paid when the property is sold.

Since homes are sold, on average, every seven years in the UK, the scheme becomes more self-sustaining after that period. Kirklees is investing £3 million in this scheme over three years, 10% of which is ring-fenced to help households in fuel poverty, and expects at least 330 properties to be improved. I am sure if this Pay as You Save scheme is a success then it will be more likely that such schemes get the green light to go-ahead.

Here to finish is what Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said in the official press release: "People in Stroud will be testing out on behalf of the nation how we can finance the more expensive home energy refurbishments. Many householders want to reduce their emissions from their homes, but are put off by the upfront cost of installing insulation, solar panels or ground source heat pumps. Pay As You Save will trial different ways of paying for this work so it's affordable. Increasing the energy efficiency of homes not only helps reduce emissions, but will also help reduce fuel bills. One quarter of the UK's total emissions come from homes, so householders represent a key part of the solution to tackling climate change in the UK. Such strong domestic action shows leadership on an international stage as we enter the global climate talks in Copenhagen this week."

See more here.

The Wave, Cop(out)enhagen, Climategate and Stroud march

Some 50,000 people marched in London from many different organisations - two coaches from Stroud organised by Stroud District Green party went and many others went up on the train - I sadly was unable to go at the last minute but have heard reports from those who went.

Photos: from Liz Hillary and The Wave on Saturday

Gordon Brown has praised the protesters for "propelling" leaders to reach the "first world climate change agreement" - and it wasn't just London - Glasgow saw 7,000 and many other cities had demos and vigils in support - yet still Copenhagen is not looking like it will deliver. We have not taken action sufficiently as a world and as many have said this is really one of our last opportunities to act - a climate change agreement is not only necessary, it's absolutely essential.

On top of all this we have the deniers...not sure if that is really a useful description but certainly the Climate Change deniers have been having 'fun' recently - in our local Stroud News and Journal letters praising the work of Plimer's book have appeared - I was pleased to see the SNJ had this week printed a Green party response - see it here - more on Plimer below - but of much greater concern are the emails from the University of East Anglia climate scientists that were obtained by hackers. This is serious stuff.

The emails reveal the private conversations of scientists who commanded universal respect for their work. There is talk in one email of redefining peer review work to exclude a paper and in another of deleting an unfavourable temperature record from his computer rather than risk it being made public through a Freedom of Information request. Monbiot rightly called for the Head of the unit Phil Jones to resign - indeed many others joined the call and he has now stepped down temporarily.

We await the investigation - but this doesn't invalidate the science that underpins our approach to tackling climate change nor should it change what is needed at Copenhagen. The science has been verified by dozens of independent research establishments.

See Ecologist article on Climategate here and Green comment from Dr Lawson (who has blogged on this issue for the last week or more) on the interview on BBC with Prof Watson here. See Monbiot on it here.

So back to Plimer...

Well a Green colleague highlighted some key points about the book taken from a 38-page critique of Plimer's book by Prof Ian Enting from the University of Melbourne:
- misrepresents the content of IPCC reports on at least 13 occasions, as well as misrepresenting the operation of the IPCC and the authorship of IPCC reports; - has at least 17 other instances of misrepresenting the content of cited sources; - has at least 2 graphs where checks show that the original is a plot of something other than what Plimer claims and many others where data are misrepresented; - has at least 6 cases of mispresenting data records in addition to some instances (included in the the total above) of misrepresenting data from a cited source.

Further comments on Plimer's book can be found by Professor Barry Brook, Director of Climate Science at The Environment Institute, University of Adelaide who comments here. While there are several individuals review the book here.

In the end, this is not an academic debate, because we and our children are part of the experiment. The consensus among scientists (yes, with a few exceptions, as is always the case in science) that we should decarbonise our economy as a matter of urgency.

If we decarbonise our economy, and it turns out that IPCC view is wrong? Well, we will have created hundreds of thousands of jobs in insulation and manufacturing and taken thousands out of fuel poverty. Not bad, but that's not all. We will also have reduced the shock of Peak Oil and Peak Gas. And addressed our energy security problems. And prosperity in hot countries. Not bad.

Say we go the way of the denialists/sceptics? We will have problems with energy security, Peak Oil, Peak Gas, fuel poverty, unemployment, poverty, civil unrest and finally, massive, catastrophic climate disruption from droughts, floods, crop failures, disease, and war. With massive migration caused by environmental collapse. Not good.

I would put my money on decarbonising the global economy.

What are we calling for at the Summit?

Well Green politicians key issues include:

- a much higher level of ambition. At the very least, the summit must provide clear foundations for a global deal: binding emissions reduction targets, uniform rules for measuring emissions, strong compliance mechanisms and common but differentiated responsibility: recognising different historical contributions to environmental degradation, so that fairness is at the heart of any new deal.

- reductions to be made domestically: not ‘outsourced’ to poorer countries through complicated and confusing off-set schemes

- world leaders to establish significant funding for climate mitigation and adaptation in developing countries who bear the cost in loss of life. This could prove to be a real sticking point, as the scale of financing needed for this purpose has so far been vastly underestimated.

- governments to recognise that investing in the alternatives to polluting, finite fossil fuels, together with a shift to a more sustainable economic model, will actually benefit society and the economy as well as the environment – and therefore have the courage to be more ambitious. Nationally this means implementing a Green New Deal with a programme of investment to insulate people's homes, get local renewable energy and public transport infrastructure projects up and running, that use local employment and benefit everyone. If you took away the need to reduce carbon emissions this investment would still improve life in communities across Britain.

As one Green said in response to questioning man-made climate change: "The point to remember is that if we are wrong about man's contribution to climate chaos there are still good reasons to implement our policies. If the climate sceptics are wrong the implications for our children and grandchildren and for all other life on this planet are dangerous, irreversible and we will be to blame. For me this is a moral question. I am joining this march because I know which decision I would rather live with. "

As a last point to finish on it was interesting to see that Stroud is 123rd in the list (out of 646) of highest emissions - see here - the richer areas are also those with the greener ambitions - a certain irony in that as Green policies are about making it fairer for all - indeed the newish Green party slogan is 'Fair is Worth Fighting For'....but that's an issue to return to another day...

Join the local march and vigil

For those Stroud residents who could not be on the march but would like to add their voice to those calling for strong leadership to tackle climate change at Copenhagen, there will be a procession and vigil in Stroud this Saturday 12th December. Starting at 10.30am from the Ram at the top of the High St, this will finish at the Sub Rooms forecourt for activities, message tree and candlelit vigil.

More beehouses being made

You will remember perhaps that we are aiming for 350 beehouses by Saturday - in the Woodcraft Elfin group I run we made over 30 towards the 350 - see here. There have also been bee workshops - see here - I managed to get along to one of those last week - we are now getting very close to 350 - see some of the pics below of the many houses being made in allsorts of styles!

Photo: Russ cartoon - made me smile!

I missed alot of the beehouse making but did have a fascinating time talking to Tony Taylor who is the County Bee Aculeate (see left with Jessie Jowers of the Global Bee Project). He walked into the shop and both Jessie and I talked lots with him - I have to say I didn't even know what an aculeate was or that we had one in the County - see more here - so it was fascinating to learn about this volunteer post who records bees, wasps and more - there was lots of talk about the Global Bee Project and how to develop it more and work together - they are going to meet again.

Anyway to those beehouses - you will see several styles being made - next year there will be trials to test which are more effective - the block ones or the various bamboo and dried cow parsley bundles.

See here on my blog how to make a beehouse.

This time for insulation we were using carpet offcuts - in the workshops children had made many different types and colours - some choosing the brighter colours or like me the more muted to blend in withe the nature when we put them outside.

Anyway more coming on bees soon but folk will be pleased to know we can make the 350 target by Saturday. As noted before we are also planting 350 trees at Thistledown near Nailsworth and a new even in Stroud High Street - see here.

Eco-Renovation Open Homes weekend was a stonking success

Below is some of what we sent to the press regarding the Stroud Eco Renovation Open Homes this last weekend - plus details of talk coming up in October - it really was a great weekend - the weather was wonderful and home owners wonderfully informative - I managed to get around several of the homes - photos enclosed with this blog - more info about the homes on the Open Homes website - I'll do another separate blog re The Exchange.

First two photos: new build in Rodborough with rainwater harvesting, solar and lots more.

Saturday began with helping set up the exhibition at the Exchange - balloons and all - they were from Open Heriatge and sadly not biodegradable but am sure helped people find their way to exhibits. Of course this weekend has been full of other activities like the launch of the Stroud Pound and Fairtrade directory plus Randwick Horticultural Show.

Photos: The Hill - this little bungalow converted into this modern home with sedum roof, aluminum floors, a wonderful balcony plus various eco-measures like the air source heat pump

Helen Royall, Coordinator of the project this year said: "We are delighted by the hugely positive response from visitors to the homes and exhibitions. We had over 20 homes open to show measures like insulation, wood pellet boilers, solar, sedum roofs and rainwater harvesting plus the installers fair."

Helen Royall continued: "I am still collecting info regarding the numbers of visits, but it looks set to be well over 600 plus 200 people going to exhibition at The Exchange. We are also hoping people will switch to local energy company Ecotricity on their green tariff as each time Transition Stroud gets £25 to help fund future low carbon projects like Open Homes (i)."

Photos: Far Westrip farm with solar, a meter that goes backwards, a Greenfuels converter of chipfat to biodiesel and a wood pellet boiler

Philip Booth, who helped organise said: "Helen Royall has organised a resoundingly successful event. Thanks indeed. This is all about giving people the chance to see, touch and hear at first hand from homeowners about their eco-renovations: the highs and the lows, what worked and what didn't. With new feed-in tariffs and rising energy prices there has never been a better time to invest in these measures."

Philip Booth added: "If people missed the event advice from the Energy Savings Trust and SWEA is excellent. There is also the 'Low Carbon Home Show' on Tuesday 6th October in Painswick Town Hall with free advice from experts: booking essential on 01452 835076."

Photo: Wall at Co-Housing in Uplands and view of co-housing

Big Thanks

Philip Booth added: "Big thanks to the many that helped including Debbie Hewitt for organising the walk, Liz Hillary for the website, Graham Stanley from the Gloucestershire Minibus Sharing Scheme, Ecotricity, Stroud District Council, Stroud Town Council, Helen and Peter Nightingale for pizzas, cream teas and cafe, Stroud Valleys Project and Heritage Open Days. Of course special thanks must go to all the homeowners who are so very kindly opening their homes to the public."

Photos: Nightingale pizzas on the Sunday - yum indeed! See my blog from a while ago re how to make one of those ovens here.

For more information on Open Homes call Helen Royall on 755509 or email admin(at)transitionstroud.org

We will be writing a full report of the event in the next weeks but you can see more about the homes and the project at: http://www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk/

Photos: Ecoglass recycled work top in home in Rodborough - made from granite chips and more - looks great! Glos Minibus Sharing Scheme with Graham Stanley.

Notes

(i) Ecotricity is an electricity company with a difference. As green energy pioneers, Ecotricity is dedicated to building new wind turbines to fight climate change. Switching is easy and it's the biggest single step you can take to reduce your emissions and protect the environment. Act now and sign up to Ecotricity at www.ecotricity.co.uk/transtroud or by ringing free on 08000 302302 and quote ‘Transition Stroud’. Transition Stroud receives a kind donation from Ecotricity every time someone makes the switch.

Stroud Eco Renovation Open Homes this weekend

The banners are advertising the Open Homes weekend are now up on the Merrywalks bridge and Waitrose and the press - especially Stroud Life - this week have given this project some space - here is what I wrote as our last news release to get a bit more publicity - I'm looking forward to going around some of the homes myself.

Places left on the Minibus Energy Safari

The Stroud Eco Renovation Open Homes organised by Transition Stroud Energy group weekend returns on September 12th and 13th after last year's huge success that saw over 1,100 visits to homes and the exhibition. This year there will be eco-installer stalls at The Exchange in Brick Row, Stroud on Saturday - the first chance for the public to view the eco-renovation of that building. We also have over 20 homes that will be opening to share their eco-renovations plus we have pizzas, cream teas and the wonderful Nightingale's Cafe.

Our leaflet has details of the event and opening times of the homes: it is available in libraries and many other places plus on our website: www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk. There is no need to book and no charge. It is a great opportunity to see measures like internal and external insulation, wood pellet boilers, air source heat pumps, gas condensing boilers, PV, rainwater harvesting and more. We still have places left on our minibus safaris that take in the homes each day. There is a £5 charge for the safari - details from Graham Stanley on 01453 766882 and £5 tickets from Stroud Tourist Information. Plus a few places left on the eco-walk walk.

This year Transition Stroud have negotiated a deal with local green energy company Ecotricity so that anyone switching to Ecotricity's green tariff will lead to a donation to Transition Stroud getting £25 to help fund future low carbon projects like Open Homes (i). The Open Homes event is also part of the Heritage Open Days weekend: http://www.heritageopendays.org/

We are delighted to have the support of many people and groups including Ecotricity who have sponsored this year's leaflet plus wonderful support from Stroud District Council, Stroud Town Council and Heritage Open Days. Of course special thanks must go to all the homeowners who are so very kindly opening their homes to the public.

For more information on Open Homes call Helen Royall on 01453 755509, Philip Booth on 01453 755451 or email admin(at)transitionstroud.org

See more about the project at:
http://www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk/

Notes
(i) Ecotricity is an electricity company with a difference. As green energy pioneers, Ecotricity is dedicated to building new wind turbines to fight climate change. Switching is easy and it's the biggest single step you can take to reduce your emissions and protect the environment. Act now and sign up to Ecotricity at www.ecotricity.co.uk/transtroud or by ringing free on 08000 302302 and quote ‘Transition Stroud’. Transition Stroud receives a kind donation from Ecotricity every time someone makes the switch.

Eco Renovation Open Homes coming 12th and 13th

Last year 'Eco Renovation Open Homes' launched in Randwick Village Hall with 12 homes - this year it will be the weekend, September 12th and 13th 2009. We are launching in the newly eco-renovated 'The Exchange' in Brick Row, Stroud, where you can see the Eco-Installers Fair and see the eco-renovations - this year we also have an amazing 22 homes to look around (including two in Randwick) showing internal and external insulation, wood pellet boilers, air source heat pumps, gas condensing boilers, rainwater harvesting and more, and we have a range of homes from new build to listed.

Photos: Helen Royall handing out leaflets in Stroud last Saturday - I was delighted that so many people we spoke to were very keen to come along to this event. We may well be out again with leaflets as local press haven't yet given us as much press coverage as I would have hoped!

Stroud District Council has again organised a walk for the Saturday and this year we have a mini bus safari to get you to a selection of the homes on both Saturday and Sunday (tickets from Tourist Information). If you want to make a day of it, several of the homes are providing drinks and a place you can rest and eat your picnic and on Saturday food will be available from the Exchange, provided by Nightingale's Cafe. On Sunday pizzas will be available at lunch time and cream teas in the afternoon at Springhill Co-Housing.

The Randwick Runner kindly circulated the Open Homes leaflet but if you haven't seen one of our leaflets in town then you can see all the details at: http://www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk/

This year we are excited to announce that local company Ecotricity are supporting Transition Stroud - they have paid for the Open Homes leaflet this year and for every customer who swaps to them to buy their electricity they will give Transition Stroud £25 to develop more projects to cut the carbon locally.

All you need is to phone them on 08000 302302 and quote ‘Transition Stroud’. Ecotricity are the only company to spend 100% on building new sources of green energy - literally turning our electricity bills into windmills. I have personally been on a green tariff with a big company and have meant to change to a proper green tariff like Ecotricity for a long time - this affinity offer we've set up is hopefully the final push to help people make the change.

Lastly a big thank you to all who have supported putting on this event again, including particularly wonderful support from Stroud District Council, Stroud Town Council, Heritage Open Days and Ecotricity, but particularly all the homeowners who are so kindly opening their homes to the public.

Eco-Renovation Open Homes returns in September

These last months we have been putting together the next Open Homes weekend - loads of work - Helen Royall has taken over coordinating the event abnd we managed top get some funds to pay her but the project has grown with 22 homes opening and it has taken a while to get the Energy Monitors project off the ground...anyhow today we had a press photo shoot and meeting as the leaflet is due to be launched this weekend...below is the press release we put together and some pics from this morning....

Photo: Chris from Ecotricity, Debbie from Stroud District Council, Nick, the homeowner showing us his solar stuff, Helen the Coordinator this year, me, Emma from Ecotricty's Affinity scheme and Clare from Stroud Valley's Project. Below other pics from the morning.

Launch of new leaflet and affinity Scheme with Ecotricity - Energy Monitors coming to libraries

The Stroud Eco Renovation Open Homes weekend is set to return on September 12th and 13th 2009 after last year's huge success that saw over 1,100 visits to homes and the exhibition. Transition Stroud will be launching their new leaflet next week which has details of the amazing 22 homes that will be opening their homes to share their eco-renovations.

This year Transition Stroud have negotiated a deal with local green energy company Ecotricity so that anyone switching to Ecotricity's green tariff will lead to a donation to Transition Stroud getting £25 to help fund other low carbon projects like Open Homes (i). Transition Stroud are also setting up a project with the libraries service so that from September Energy Monitors will be available to borrow like books.

Helen Royall, Coordinator of this years Open Homes said: "We have a whole range of homes on show this year from new build to listed including internal and external insulation, wood pellet boilers, air source heat pumps, gas condensing boilers, PV, rainwater harvesting and more. We have Pizzas and cream teas plus Nightingale's Cafe at the eco-installers fair at The Exchange which has just had a major eco-renovation - plus we have a walk around some of the homes and a mini bus safari to get you to a selection of the homes on both Saturday and Sunday. Details of booking the walk and safaris are in our leaflet which will be out in cafes, libraries, Tourist Information and more. We also have our website: www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk "

Philip Booth, who is helping this years event said: "We are delighted to have the support of many people and groups including wonderful support from Stroud District Council, the Town Council, Heritage Open Days and Ecotricity who have sponsored this year's leaflet. Of course special thanks must go to all the homeowners who are so very kindly opening their homes to the public. Plus we are delighted to be launching the Energy Monitors project which will allow people to borrow them from several District libraries in the same way that people borrow books and DVDs."

Affinity scheme launched

Philip Booth, who has just swapped to Ecotricity, said: "We are delighted to announce that Ecotricity are supporting Transition Stroud - every customer who swaps to them means £25 for Transition Stroud to develop more projects to cut the carbon locally. All you need is to phone them and quote ‘Transition Stroud’. Ecotricity are the only company to spend 100% on building new sources of green energy - literally turning our electricity bills into windmills. I have been on a green tariff with a big company and have meant to change to a proper green tariff like Ecotricity for a long time - this affinity offer we've set up is the final push I needed to make the change! I am hoping this affinity scheme will also lead to others swapping to green energy."

For more information on Open Homes call Helen Royall on 01453 755509 or email admin@transitionstroud.org

See more about the project at:
http://www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk/
And more about Transition Stroud:
http://www.transitionstroud.org/

Notes

(i) Ecotricity is an electricity company with a difference. As green energy pioneers, Ecotricity is dedicated to building new wind turbines to fight climate change. Switching is easy and it's the biggest single step you can take to reduce your emissions and protect the environment. Act now and sign up to Ecotricity at www.ecotricity.co.uk/transtroud or by ringing free on 08000 302302 and quote ‘Transition Stroud’. Transition Stroud receives a kind donation from Ecotricity every time someone makes the switch.

Loft Lagging Bid initiated by MP

David Drew scheduled this public meeting for last night - 'Stroud Loft Lagging : the next steps' - tennis and the weather I am sure kept many away but nearly 20 of us assembled in The Old Town Hall in Stroud (it's going on again at 10am today at Kingshill House, Dursley).

I hugely applaud David's move on this - far, far too little has been done by the Government and indeed local councils. Part of the meeting was to look at firm action plans 'to ensure that every Stroud loft capable of it is insulated within the next two years'. Fully lagging our lofts is regarded as the simplest and most cost-effective measure we can take to reduce our heating bills and our carbon emissions.

The meeting shared what is happening in other parts of the country, agree an outline way forward for Stroud and appoint a leader to work up a realistic and costed action plan to bring back to you within a realistic time.

The four options discussed:

• the Kirklees Warm Zone model : the council pays for all lofts to be insulated free of charge, irrespective of householder income
• the rebate model : the Council offers a council tax rebate to all households which can show they have insulation in their lofts to the specified standard – Kensington and Chelsea demonstrated the legality of a rebate model this year when they gave a £50 efficiency rebate to all households - although this was not linked to energy efficiency
• the energy company model : for example, in partnership with an energy company, the Council channels a ‘rebate’ from the energy company to all households which the company insulates.
• the Village Greening model : a ‘bottom-up’ community approach to implementing such energy-saving measures within your community (see poster on this blog and link below).

Greening Campaign

One of the speakers was Terena Plowright, the founder and director of the Greening Campaign, and there was also a presentation from Environment Agency spokespeople about the impacts of climate change on Stroud. What I loved about the Greening Campaign was how people were encouraged to take part - a leaflet was delivered with 8 action points - if you took 5 then you put the poster in the window - immediately huge numbers of these posters were put up - the messages were later reinforced by film shows, public meetings and displays in shops, libraries, etc.

The next step of the campaign is then to evaluate its success which is done by a combination of public surveys and card counts. From this information the annual CO2 cut for the community can be estimated and reported in the local paper. For Petersfield the saving was an amazing 23 tons of carbon dioxide ( a single ton of carbon dioxide would be about the size of a four bedroom house).

Next up comes the pack with opportunities - apparently just been produced - in many ways it sounds like many of the things that Transition Towns have been doing - local food projects etc - after that there is a toolkit being compiled to look at adaptation to climate change. Great stuff - if we are to pursue it here in Stroud then we will need to see how we can link to Transition Stroud and others - there is lots of overlap but my feeling is that a Greening Stroud model may reach parts that Transition hasn't...anyhow that is up for further discussion....

Other models

Out of the others my favorite is the Kirklees model - mentioned many times on this blog - itcame about by a Green party amendment and much work to gain cross-party support - locally we have not yet made so much progress in this but I am still hopeful - it was paid for largely by grants from the energy companies - but it also meant the Council borrowing which increased the Council tax by £7 per householder per year for 25 years. To me this is small fry compared to the money saved by householders - often £200 per householder per year and with Peak Oil this will be even higher in the future - plus of course the carbon savings.

In my role on Stroud District Council's Performance Scrutiny committee, we are in the process of launching an inquiry that will be looking into some of this area - plus also recently there was a meeting which I attended to see how SDC can work better with utility companies. I will be watching - and indeed offering support to this latest move which looks set to bid for money to take an innovative approach to cutting carbon.

One of the things we learnt from the Eco-Renovation Open Homes weekend that I organised last year and am planning again for this September, is that people are very enthused and fired up to take action immediately after the event but often it slips and it just doesn't happen as people are busy - we need to explore ways we can really support people to make the changes that are needed.

Another initiative I have just set up is a scheme with Transition Stroud to get energy monitors into libraries - the scheme will now be managed by SWEA and hopefully start in September. This again is a great way to get those already interested involved but how do we reach all the others? Of course there are many different routes - I hope this new bid will allow us to explore more locally - and of course really make a difference in cutting the carbon.

Links no longer work have been removed.

Village Greening Campaign : http://www.greening-campaign.co.uk/