Apologies for any cross postings. NB Transition Towns meeting 2nd October – see below.
First of our new monthly newsletters..
News from the Turn Lyme Green HQ.
From the top..
You may think we’ve gone quiet over the summer, but lots has been going on behind the scenes. Our "Welcome to Lyme Regis" animation film - made by St. Michael’s Primary school - was shown throughout the holidays at the Regent Cinema, and we’ve entered it for a Green Campaigner Award.
We’ve been short-listed for Dorset Pride of Place Award – which would enable us to create public artwork to engage people in environmental issues. We’ve got plans for action on Recycling, Packaging and Home composting, and also on supporting our local economy.
We have ideas for lecture series on Climate Change and low carbon lifestyles…, and much much more!.“
Recycling
One of TLG's 2008/09 initiatives is to improve the local recycling facilities - One way or another! This is not just about kerbside collections or the (over-successful) green bins on the seafront. It is about getting a co-ordinated approach, so that as much as possible from is recycled and therefore not dumped in landfill.
Authorities have been making efforts, and we applaud this, but we believe WDDC have a responsibility to provide adequate recycling facilities. Local people are clearly demonstrating their willingness to do their part and bring their recycling to the appropriate place.
To suggest that the public are at fault by overfilling bins on occasion, shows a significant misunderstanding of the mood of local people and visitors alike. Since we started the TLG campaign we have seen a huge shift in public opinion. The public have clearly embraced this idea and it’s now up to the district council to take a lead, to accept the reality of the situation and provide adequate facilities. TLG will continue to lobby, organise and plan..
Farmer's Market
As the shops in Lyme Regis selling fresh local produce reduce to well... one(?) we have noticed a pent-up demand for a Farmer's market. Advantages are:
Low Food Miles.
80% of the money spent stays within the area
New producers encouraged to start up - and therefore provide emplyment opportunities for local people.
High Class food, reasonably priced
A more diverse range of produce
Another reason for visitors to ... visit.
To this end, TLG is working on a location, and a schedule for a Market within Lyme. Lots of support, and we await an announcement...
Transition Towns
There are moves afoot locally to explore becoming involved in the Transition Town movement.
There is an open meeting, supported by TLG on the 2nd of October (some local papers have this printed wrongly) at 7pm in the Marine Theatre.
NOTE. This meeting is organised By Fran Fleming (Tel 445078).
There will be a short film with plenty of time to discuss the issues and understand some of the solutions.
You can also read a description of the key points by reading below, or clicking
THIS LINK.
Peak Oil Awareness. (from the Transition Website)
World discovery of oil peaked in 1964 and has been declining ever since, despite considerable improvements in technology, and there is no prospect of any significant new large discoveries. We are currently consuming more than 4 barrels of oil for every one discovered.
It is widely believed that we are now approaching World Oil Peak .
Does this mean that the world is running out of oil? Not exactly. Globally, it is thought that approximately half of all oil that was laid down in the earth has been extracted. We have currently used about 1Trillion barrels of the 2Trillion barrels that was the legacy from geological events of over 90million years ago.
So what’s the problem? If it has taken us 150 years to burn the first Trillion barrels, we have plenty left for at least a couple of generations- right?
It is true that there is still a lot of oil left. The problem is really that we are running out of cheap oil. We have used the easily accessible, high grade stuff first and both the quality and accessibility of the remaining oil is declining- fast. The light sweet oil that was near the surface has been largely exhausted , as have the more accessible oil fields. Oil companies are starting to look in ever-more inhospitable environments such as the Arctic , Antarctic and deep seas in the quest for more oil. Drilling in these locations presents extraordinary technical and other difficulties, and we can be sure they would not be there unless there was nowhere else to go.
So when is the world Oil Peak expected?
According to the Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO) world oil peak is likely to occur sometime between 2008 and 2010.
Transition (energy Descent) Awareness.
The term ‘descent’ is used as the least loaded word that honestly conveys the inevitable, radical reduction of material consumption and/or human numbers that will characterise the declining decades and centuries of fossil fuel abundance and availability.
It has been refined and promoted by subsequent authors to describe a period of contracting energy supply. This website defines energy descent as; >“the continual decline in net energy supporting humanity, a decline which mirrors the ascent in net energy that has taken place since the Industrial Revolution. It also refers to a future scenario in which humanity has successfully adapted to the declining net energy availability and has become more localised and self-reliant. It is a term favoured by people looking towards energy peak as an opportunity for positive change rather than an inevitable disaster.
Check the Website.As always, there is lots more information on the website, and a chance to leave your feedback on the items raised in this month's newsletter.
See you at the Transition Meeting on the 2nd October!
Regards
Mark Jenkin
Turn Lyme Green.
