SUCCESS?

"We are creating a vast industrial machine, not for living in, but for dying in. It is a war, to be sure, a war that only a few more generations can surely survive.”
—William McDonough

clean - cleaner - the cleanest

95 % of all buildings in Reykjavik are heated with geothermal water. Regarding CO² emissions, Reykjavik is now one of the cleanest cities in the world. quoted after Sustainable Cities

Magic Number

350

350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide--measured in "Parts Per Million" in our atmosphere. 350 PPM--it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.Quoted from 350.org

LIVING EFFICIENCY

The talk with Stephen from the Science Museum went well, my outcome is:
1. there is NO RIGHT ANSWERS to the climate change
2. people living in COMMUNITIES WHICH ARE SUSTAINABLE ARE PRAGMATIC
3. SUCCESS means being living ALONE, NOT SHARING

I find very interesting point number 3. I think that this is part of a problem that being Eco friendly seems like failure to us and because it makes us feel further from a success target.
I want to challenge this success measurement, as I think it is crucial in creating not just energy efficiency.

OWN COMMENT: NOT SHARING MEANS POORER LIFE. ERGO MORE MEANS LESS.

Energy Saving Trust Scary Footprint :(

So, as I was suggested, I looked further at the resources on the Energy Saving Trust Website. I have made a test assessing my carbon footprint. It was considerably high. And I am far too unhappy with it. A lot of that score has to do with the fact that the property I live in is quite old, has single glazing, and drafts are quite common. My appliances are considerably new, but they are small and not really suitable for me and my child. I need a freezer. That means that I do own my personal fridge/freezer and still need to run a little fridge.

My heating is gas and I do not intend to pay myself for insulation in my flat, as it it my landlords job.
I travel by plane and am at my family home at least 4 times a year, which means return journeys.

From the good things I do not own other mean of transport rather than a bike and I use public transport on my longer journeys.

It seems that I consume the energy mainly for my house and using far too much air transport.
It feels trapped. I am not going to be renovating my flat as it is not mine and I can't afford it. I want to be able to see my parents and I would prefer to come over there by train, but at the moment such a journey is not as straightforward as it should be, and takes a lot of time which I do not have.

No matter that, I was given a CO2 emission target plan and I am going to use it, when I can.

Further Contacts

I sent another message to Julia Hailes who is an author of the New Green Consumer Guide, which I find extremely interesting and helpful. I have emailed her and keep my fingers crossed to recive an answer.

As my email to Energy Saving Trust bounced back I have tried another way of getting there, I finally get response to check their website carefully and look at their resources online. I sent a thank you email.

Also another thing is liftshare.org which I am investigating.

"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little" Edmund Burke

OWN STORY 1.
Ages ago, I heard how bad the dispossable nappies are for the environment, and straight away decided that when I will have a child I will use a terry nappies and not add to this massive rubbish production. So when I become a mother I did as planned. It was hard, but could have been easier if I would get more support from my new family. I got a WEIRDO LABEL and people laughed at me behind my back.
I needed a community of people who would be supportive.

OWN STORY 2.
The other day, I met a guy in my part time job, and started a conversation about a plastic bags and the attitude towards geting one or not. He said that he doesn't care and called me a eco warrior. It was not an argument but a discussion about a difference between convinence and a need.

I disliked both experiences and the placement in the eco warriors movement.

I need to use a facility like facebook or a very good emailing system because I want people to create a community within which they could feel that there is more to the issue than their own standby DVD player. I need a website which will gather information and links for organizations which promote not only energy issues but are beginning to be a gate for other Eco friendly initiatives. The system should involve money as that is a key for creating further investment and creating events. It should be speaking to a broader audience than families with children as I guess we are on the same boat.

And also I want to make it less eco looking, more engaging and more interactive. I llive in a society which wants a quick solution, and a very quick result. Laptops have to be finner, internet connection faster, and games more real. I wonder if there is a way of creating a virtual environment constantly showing our future environment, concentrating on a place we live. Your own garden and flat/house.

Creating a connection 1.
1. Poster promoting a new royal mail stamp.
2. Stamp leads to a website where a user can register. Each stamp should have a code which will be used to register on the website and also give them a free gift/envelope or an extra stamp voucher.
3. User is promped to create a profile and answer some questions.
4. Users will also enter their postcode and be able to locate themselves on a map.
5. They would also be told what is the energy effieciency in their neirbourhood. That would be done annonysmouly.
6. There would be a prompt to find users which would agree on that to connect them on facebook and other social sites.

I need to look into Facebook facilities and look into other sites like my space and so on to see how easy is to connect between different platforms.