Local Issues

[coming soon]

The Wider World

The big issue simply has to be climate-change:  that our current way of life is unsustainable, and leading to environmental damage – some of which is more-or-less irreversible.  And as usual it will be the poorest members of the human family who will suffer most.  Some facts & figures are available from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).

What we can do

Have you considered your “ecological footprint” – the amount of land and resorces needed to support your lifestyle?  If everyone in the world lived at the European average consumption of resources, we’d need two additional planets to support us!  A site with more details is “Ecological Footprint”, and you can find a simple calculator at “Best Foot Forward”.

One of the single most significant things we can do to make the planet a better place is to drive less.  I’m a great armchair cyclist:  I can sit in front of a computer screen and visit bicycle-sites with great pleasure.  I even belong to the Woking Cycle Users’ Group – so perhaps I should cycle more.  Need convincing?  Try “Why Cycle?”

And how about a Travel Calculator, to give the true cost of your journey?  Public Transport Information is available in a variety of places, of course – but one of the best places to start looking for it is the UK Public Transport Information site.  It helps of course if, like me, you find using public transport (especially trains) to be a pleasure rather than a chore.

Other

On the subject of transport, have you visited the Sustrans (Sustainable Transport) site yet?  It’s a must.  As is Transport 2000.  And I like TravelWise’s approach too.

Our son James is a particular zealot for the “Stop Esso” campaign.  And how about the Green Party?

John’s Homepage         John & Liz’s Welcome Page

page revised January 2003