I think we are all guilty of living unsustainably and, therefore, threatening all life support systems on earth. The size of our homes and gardens, the size of our families, the kind of commuting and consuming we do and the holidays we take, all contribute to resource depletion, especially of finite fossil fuels and, highly dangerous greenhouse gases to bring climate catastrophe to end all life on earth.
I am very guilty of all this. My land take and lifestyle mean that if everyone lived like I do we would need three or four planets! I’ll work it out from
In fact, I need 2.1 planets and my overshoot day is 24 June. I’ve probably biased it in my favour!
To compensate, I cycle instead of the car whenever I can; and, I used the bike for commuting and work visits before retirement. I drive to 70 mpg, cut down on meat and dairy and v nearly never go abroad and certainly don’t fly - a big blown raspberry for that one.
To compensate, I am writing and working to open our English and Welsh 19th century railway network for trains or, as cycle-walkways. I am working to maintain our footpaths in our 32 sq Kms Golden Green Triangle, bounded by M5, A456 and A491. I continue to ask for it to be the first area to go in the 2019 announced W Mids National Park to prevent any built development on fresh land. Land that must go only for farming and for recreation, as we are doing in lockdown. I am trying to win over all our wonderful farmers/landowners not to sell their land for the false, fools gold of concrete, brick and tarmac. Especially at Tack Farm that is so near to the bypass boundary that must not be breached. But farmer Charles Bibbey has had enough of farming and wants his farm land for housing.
Lockdown for all slashed the world’s greenhouse gases. I think, to achieve the same bliss but to help those who suffered, governments have, as their first duty, the defence of the realm from civil unrest by protecting the worst off with:
a Basic Income scheme for all to cover food, clothing and shelter;
East Europe’s Fare Free Public Transport for all and not just for the disabled and over 60s, like me;
Carbon allowance for all to start rationing the calamitous burning of finite fossil fuels.
Learn from the UK’s disastrous laid back approach to the virus and prepare now for the inevitable Really Big Crisis we have been warned about for decades.
We cut economic activity to kill the virus. We must now continue the good work of minimum economic activity in order to leave the planet’s life support systems able to support our descendants.
Join the buy less crew and don’t head out to the shops. Feet first to our footpath network, instead and lower your eco footprint!
Tim Weller 17 June 2020
