Baby and Bathwater?
July 21st, 2010 by Sustainable Witney 3 comments »
Or is there simply no place for a commission that openly questioned unfettered growth? We couldn’t really let this pass unnoticed, the Sustainable Development Commission is after all a national body with a similar purpose to our own…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/20/sustainability-watchdog-axed-cuts
A letter to your MP?
In the engineering world everyone’s familiar with the cartoon showing designer, project manager and customer sat around the table discussing the product spec. They’re all nodding away in agreement while their thought bubbles show completely different interpretations of the product.
Perhaps some “SUSTAINABLE” flashcards and a cartoonist would be enlightening…
Well Oiled
July 16th, 2010 by Sustainable Witney 2 comments »
Finally some good news from the Gulf of Mexico – BP have managed to stem the flow of oil for the first time. It’s not clear if it’s a permanent solution yet, but if it is then a line can drawn on the balance sheet and the total cost calculated.
The Greenpeace alternative logo competition is open for voting. Sustainable Witney didn’t submit an entry in the competition, but should we have?
Has the situation in the gulf got anything to do with us?
Answers in the comment box below…
Rain at last! and other vegetable growing matters
July 15th, 2010 by Miranda Hodgson 4 comments »
Rain! We’ve finally had some rain. Every day, for weeks, I’ve been checking the forecasts. Mostly they’ve said ‘hot and dry’ and sometimes they’ve shown rain in three or four day’s time, but that’s where it’s stayed, until today when a gentle, soaking rain started in the early hours. The RHS reckons we are now five inches short of rain and that will take some making up, so don’t let up on the watering as the plants need all they can get. Give priority to plants in flower so they get what they need to form pods or fruit.
Watering late in the evening or early in the morning is best as this means the plants get what they need before the moisture evaporates. If you are troubled by slugs and snails, water in the morning so that the soil is dryer over night and less comfortable for them to slither across.
» Read more: Rain at last! and other vegetable growing matters
Rob the Meter Reader
July 13th, 2010 by Sustainable Witney 1 comment »
Nothing on electricity for ages and then two companies turn up at once!
Rob the Meter Reader worked with the Challenge North Leigh project that successfully reduced the village’s electricity consumption by over 10%.
Following that success Southern Electric have decided to base Rob in Witney to give impartial advice on reducing electricity bills, and hence emissions, to anyone that wants it – not just Southern Electric customers.
We’re not sure exactly where Rob’s drop-in advice centre will be yet – we’ll post that as soon as we know – in the meantime you can contact Rob by telephone or email…
T: 08450 760528 M: 07747 559330 E: robert.pritchard@sse.com
There’s no plan at present to set a target of reducing Witney’s electricity consumption by 10%, but it seems a logical next step. What do you think? Is it achievable? Is it a challenge you would accept in your home/office?
Ecotricity – Change your supplier & help support Sustainable Witney
June 29th, 2010 by Sally No comments »(Make a note of this code: SUSW1)
Are you considering switching your Energy Supplier to one with a green tariff? Or starting to wonder whether your existing supplier is really as “Green” as you thought it was?
From my own research, one of the best suppliers is Ecotricity, who are based in Stroud. See Kate’s earlier blog about her experience of switching to them. Many other suppliers offer a green tariff option but are also still heavily involved with dirtier methods of energy development & production in the main parts of their business. So for my money, Ecotricity offers not only a competitive & green tariff but, perhaps more importantly, their supply business is focussed solely on developing renewable sources of energy.
They currently offer 2 different tariff options:
» Read more: Ecotricity – Change your supplier & help support Sustainable Witney
5 steps to improving your train journeys
June 25th, 2010 by J-P 11 comments »Travelling by train in the UK is an unpredictable experience, and one that some people understandably begrudge paying for. The cost of private transport has fallen faster than any other form of transport, dropping 13% in real terms since 1997 and leaving train and coach fares relatively much more expensive.
But your next train journey—to London, elsewhere in the UK, or even Europe—could be made cheaper, less stressful, more comfortable and easier to organize if you follow any one of these five simple steps.
On My Way To The Forum
June 24th, 2010 by Sustainable Witney No comments »
In anticipation of reaching critical mass sometime soon, and the ensuing deluge of posts, we have upgraded the Forum to make it more user friendly.
You’ll find a new forum group ‘Website Support’ to resolve problems you come across and provide tips in using it; the first two are on inserting pictures and email reminders. We’ve also moved the noticeboard there too.
Let us know via the forum if there’s anything that doesn’t work for you, or that you can’t figure out how to do, and we’ll see if we can crack it and post the answer.
The ‘Groups’ section is still under development, but if you have a group that’s too small to justify its own website and forum but think you might benefit from having one then get in touch. Groups with a sustainable agenda are welcome to have their own section in the forum.
So what did you think of the budget? [Add Topic]
Local Transport – Time To Choose (3)
June 20th, 2010 by Kevin No comments »
My, doesn’t time fly! Deadline for the consultation is TODAY, so do register and submit a response before you go to bed tonight.
After much thought I’ve responded to the Large Towns section of the Scenarios consultation as follows…
Scenario A – Promoting Lower Emissions
For your chosen scenaro, are there any additional types of schemes that you would wish to see added?
- Slower speeds are essential to high quality walking and cycling.
- Walking and cycling needs high quality public transport in settlements and between settlements: better cycle provision; buses with comfortable suspension; buses driven at comfortable speeds.
- Road infrastructure improvements and restrictions where they reduce motorised traffic volumes in settlements, particularly HGVs, hence enhancing walking and cycling. An example would be A40 junction changes at Shores Green and Downs Road in Witney along with restrictions within the town.
And They’re Off!
June 19th, 2010 by Sustainable Witney 2 comments »
Bike Week 2010 got off to a popular start on Church Green this morning with a ride to Aston Pottery. Members of Witney Mountain Bike Club, CTC Witney, WitneyBUG, Velo Specialist Cycles and others gathered at the start to hear the Deputy Mayor officially open Bike Week in Witney.
Describing himself as an occasional cyclist, Councillor Harry Eaglestone wished 30+ cyclists “an enjoyable week of events promoting everyday cycling for everyone”.
Today also marks the official release of the Witney Cycle Map, unfurled here for the first time by the Deputy Mayor and the well drilled Mountain Bike Club.
A joint collaboration between WitneyBUG and West Oxon District Council, the map is one in a series of projects to provide bicycle users with the information and the infrastructure they need.
Witney’s Bike Week Events continue throughout the week including an exhibition in Witney Library.
Greener energy is just five minutes away
June 17th, 2010 by Kate Griffin 2 comments »Switching energy supplier is like getting fit or sorting out the loft: you wish you’d already done it, you have vague plans to do it, but you don’t know how to start – and you suspect it’s going to be a giant pain in the backside.
Personally, I’ve been putting it off for about five years with excuses like “I’m too busy” and “We’ll be moving house soon anyway”. But I had a day off on Monday and decided that the big scary process had to start some time. Little did I know that the first step was pretty much the only step.
I phoned Ecotricity free on 08000 302 302 and asked how I should go about switching to them. The answer? “Give us your name and address; we’ll do the rest.” They will contact our existing supplier and handle the switch. It will all be sorted in a couple of weeks. They’ll ring me on the day of switching to ask for final readings, and that’s all I have to do.
Local Transport – Time To Choose (2)
June 16th, 2010 by Kevin 1 comment »
Fortunately, a very nice chap at the county has produced a pdf of the posters exhibited at the Local Transport Plan drop in sessions. These summaries make it very much easier to make an informed choice of which scenario you would prefer to see implemented from those offered.
The summary gives the top three objectives, the three scenarios being considered to meet those objectives, a comparison of where the investment goes for each scenario, and a comparison of the impacts – green for positive, blue for neutral and red for negative.
Here’s the summary for Witney.
Investment in walking and cycling, low emission vehicles and alternative fuels is high in scenario A, Promoting Lower Emissions, but low or non-existent in B and C. The impacts of scenarios B and C are considered to be negative for the natural and human environment, and mostly neutral for the other categories including access by cycle and foot, climate change and air quality. Whereas scenario A is positive for all of these. As a group whose raison d’etre is sustainability, option A is clearly a no-brainer.
Now we could leave it there, and many of you might be quite happy with what’s being proposed, but along with other groups in the county we feel there are a couple of things missing.
Bike Week
June 15th, 2010 by Kevin No comments »
If you’re not a regular bicycle user now’s the time to get the bike out, check the tyres, try the gears and oil the chain. The first Bike Week event starts at 10am in Witney this Saturday.
Bike Week isn’t limited to these organised events. It’s a chance to try riding to work, to the shops, to the pub or just for the pleasure and the exercise; personal sustainable transport can work for us all.
What to do in the vegetable garden in June
June 11th, 2010 by Miranda Hodgson No comments »
Now that much of the vegetable planting and sowing has been done, there is a change from the planting frenzy of spring to that of constant weeding and watering. Although we had a lot of rain during the first part of June, brighter weather is in the forecast here and there so watering may be necessary. You can see the forecast for the rest of the month on the Met Office site.
The Meteo website also has a rain radar showing rain over the Witney and the UK, which is useful for planning gardening days and watering.
Vegetables to plant out
Artichokes, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflower, celeriac, Kohl rabi, leeks, lettuce, peas, potatoes, rhubarb.
Whilst peppers and tomatoes can be grown in the ground, I prefer to keep them in pots in case the weather changes and I need to bring them under cover. I made this decision after last year’s ‘barbecue summer’ forecast. Feeling optimistic, I planted out a lot of peppers and tomatoes only for the next six weeks to bring torrential rain. The peppers in the ground had little fruit and all the tomatoes in the ground got blight. Not getting caught out like that again!
Local Transport – Time To Choose
May 20th, 2010 by Kevin No comments »
The mammoth consultation on the 20 year Local Transport Plan, 2011-2030, isn’t for the faint hearted, but for those of us that have stuck the course it’s thrown up some real hope of a sea change in transport planning. The 20 year timescale was chosen to link the transport plan to the county’s Sustainable Community Strategy, 2030, in order to support it – so far so good.
» Read more: Local Transport – Time To Choose
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