Transition Island Blog

Osborne Middle school  has received a new award as the first Climate Champion School.

First in the World!

Today (Friday 4/4/08) Dame Ellen MacArthur presented this Award, which sprang from inspiration in local company Vestas, the world’s leading supplier of wind power solutions. They are challenging schools to achieve three targets.

Firstly, to install sustainable energy equipment. Osborne Middle got a PhotoVoltaic (PV) panel via a grant from Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream, matched with the same from the Low Carbon Buildings programme.

Second, they raised enough funds to install a PV panel on the roof of a school in India. That school is in a village which has no electricity at all. The PV electricity will give them lighting this year, and then power computers next year.

Third, they have jointly developed (with Vestas) a lesson on Climate Change and Sustainability, which will be presented at both schools.

and more!

Also nice about this is that whole thing helps the FairTrade Agreement that Ben and Jerrys have with their workforce in the Vanilla plantation in India. And more, the PV cells were installed by a local Island company Engenius.

opinion

Vav Simon, leader of Transition Island said “I am amazed that the Island is so forward-thinking about these things. This is a great initiative, and it is wonderful that an Island school has got the first Award. Also, it is very pleasing that the new Climate Change and Sustainability lesson plan was developed here.”

action

Get your school involved!

I found a wonderful idea that brings the global problems home to each of us.   

Climate Change seems almost to be a global Act of God - a natural event, not preventable by any human action - even though we know we have caused some global warming and have in place the Kyoto Agreement, etc.

Peak Oil describes the oil-based lifestyle as addictive - this idea goes beyond that. It’s more like we’ve all caught a psychiatric illness.

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An Open Food Co-op is a partnership of people who like locally-sourced, high quality food and deliberately build a sustainable supply-and-communications network.

It builds on what is there now: existing producer’s co-ops, farms and farmers’ markets, processors (bakers, cheesemakers, etc), distributors, shops, box schemes, regional support groups.

It adds new local food clubs.

It adds food-related social events.

It links them with an innovative communication & information management system.

This idea comes from Gary Alexander, author of eGaia, Growing a peaceful, sustainable Earth through communications.

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Man inhabits two worlds.

“One is the natural world of plants and animals, of soils and airs and waters which preceded him by billions of years and of which he is a part.

“The other is the world of social institutions and artefacts he builds for himself, using his tools and engines, his science and his dreams to fashion an environment obedient to human purpose and direction.

human experience

“The search for a better-managed human society is as old as man himself. It is rooted in the nature of human experience. Men believe they can be happy. They experience comfort, security, joyful participation, mental vigour, intellectual discovery, poetic insights, peace of soul, bodily rest. They seek to embody them in their human environment.

cramped & haunted 

“But the actual life of most of mankind has been cramped with back-breaking labour, exposed to deadly or debilitating disease, prey to wars and famines, haunted by the loss of children, filled with fear and the ignorance that breeds more fear. At the end, for everyone, stands dreaded unknown death. To long for joy, support and comfort, to react violently against fear and anguish is quite simply the human condition.” (page 35)

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“TIGER, tiger, burning bright 
In the forests of the night…”      

William Blake’s oft-quoted poem ’The Tiger’ was published in 1789, when the tigers were mysterious and the population was uncounted.

In 1920s a hunt could still kill over 100 tigers a day. BUT NOW TIGERS ARE DISAPPEARING.

The world’s tiger population may have halved in the last 25 years. And at least one of the remaining five sub-species is in danger of becoming extinct, World Wildlife Fund conservation experts said recently. [more]

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Civilisation aims to protect us from the extremes of nature through a system of cooperation, mostly invisible (taken for granted) these days. Research indicates that the more ‘civilised’ we are, the less worried we are.

Civilisation is designed to reduce our need to worry about our environment.
We can worry about entertainment rather than food.
We can concern ourselves with philosophy instead of shelter.

warnings ignored

“For decades, scientists in the US had pointed out that New Orleans was a disaster waiting to happen.

The city lies in an area that is prone to annual hurricanes, half the city is below sea level, and a force 5 hurricane was bound to hit the city, so drastic measures had to be implemented immediately to avoid disaster.

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Supermarkets, the original source of free plastic carrier bags, are now moving towards a greener approach.

green buildings

ASDA’s latest high efficiency store in Bootle, Merseyside is due to open in November 2008. The timber-framed store has many sustainable features, including recycled bricks, a recycled aluminium roof, rainwater harvesting and natural lighting. All this will help the store become 50% more energy efficient than a typical ASDA store.

Other supermarkets are also going the same route - eg Marks & Spencer’s first eco-store, opened late last year, uses 55% less power and is powered by turbine.

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U.S. investors have filed a record 54 shareholder resolutions, asking companies act to reduce risks of climate change on the bottom line.

The number of resolutions was nearly double the amount filed in 2006.

Investors clearly feel that companies in every industry, especially energy sectors, should be acting now to assess and reduce climate change risks.

Shareholder resolutions on climate are most often voted down. But they do raise awareness of potential business impacts of emissions of gases scientists blame for warming the planet.

Fourteen of the 54 resolutions were withdrawn by investors after the companies agreed to disclose potential impacts from emerging climate regulations and strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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Market prices for wheat have doubled in the last year. Market speculation is partly to blame.

Spreading fears of a recession make food commodities seem a safe bet because they will always be needed. But when they are needed most, this speculation makes them most expensive.

Global stocks of wheat have fallen to their lowest point in thirty years because of poor harvests caused by drought or flooding, population growth and increased wealth in developing countries and to ensure food supplies, rising transport costs because of fuel costs, and farmers are switching to growing bio-fuels. Many governments have placed restrictions on wheat exports.

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This exchange scheme is the best holiday-and-learning-experience in organics that you can get! 

Learn about growing, farming, rural issues, farm life, and more… and have fun for the cheapest ‘hotel’ you could find.

In return for your help on organic farm, gardens and smallholdings, you receive meals (usually organic!), accommodation and learning opportunities.

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