Links Links and More Links!

Firstly apologies for being silent for a while. I'm fast learning that trying to co-ordinate Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogger and live a life is sometimes more than my limited brain capacity can cope with. While I've been away I've been heavily involved in the new Public Health agenda trying to make sense of how it might work. In doing that I've never been more aware of what people call the silo mentality. Inherently over the last couple of decades health has been dominated by doctors, an obvious statement you might think. After all health is all about making sick people well isn't it? Well yes and no is the answer to that, yes people get ill and need treatment but no in that health is also about stopping people getting ill in the first place. Access to green spaces, a healthy diet, exercise etc all play their part. So why am I telling you this on what is labelled a sustainability blog? Well that really is the point as sustainability and health are inextricably linked. Why are we trying to be sustainable so we can enjoy a better quality of life in the future. I've attended so many seminars, meetings, where the focus has been on low carbon technology, fitting wind turbines, recycling, while at others I've been taken through the perils of obesity, excess winter deaths and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Rarely though have I been anywhere that's linked the lot together. For me Health = Sustainable and vice versa. Hopefully as I continue my work on Public Health I can try to spread the message and link these two vital areas together. Not that I'm a pioneer in this at all have a look at http://www.warmerhealthyhomes.org.uk/index.php which is a great example of where both worlds collide. A few more projects like this and we could really change things.  

The Sun Goes Down on Solar Energy?

If they had a radio on in the offices of DECC lets hope it had Elton John's 70's classic "Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me" blasting out loud and clear. Things started brightly for the solar industry with a wapping 41.3p feed in tariff provided by the previous government. For a while it seemed that the coalition had overlooked this little financial time bomb but finally they've cottoned on and are about to severely damage and industry that has grown rapidly in the last couple of years. Lets face it had you ever seen a Solar PVR or heard anyone talking about them in the pub before the Feed in Tariff came about? Yes it may have cost but it certainly raised interest. Unfortunately that interest is now likely to be consigned to the recycling bin of history as the tariff is further reduced to cut the budget deficit. Well there can't be any other reason as it was a great success. The excuse is the costs to the industry of producing panels has decreased so the rewards for production should decrease accordingly. An argument that holds as much water as a sieve. Yes costs have gone down but not by over 60%. Sadly all that will happen now is there will be a glut of installers trying to get people signed up before the money runs out serving to land another blow to the solar industry. Pushy salesmen cut price deals, ring any bells, yes double glazing and we all know the reputation that trade still suffers from. Topical as well that Chris Huhne's departure is locked up in there somewhere. Greenest government ever..don't make me laugh!

Obama Plays Keystone Cop

Ever since I saw a documentary on the Alberta tar sands I'd wondered why no one appeared to be standing up to the oil moguls. While Calgary has become a boom town the devastation to the landscape has been unbelievable. But all in the name of oil it was allowed to continue. At least now President Obama has fired a mild warning shot to try to get things under control. I do fear though that whilst environmentalists celebrate this is just one more small battle in the war. I love Canada having been there often to visit friends over the years but from an environmentally conscious nation it seems to have old its soul over oil. All Prime Minister Stephen Harper could do was tell the US they'd be selling more to Asia if the pipeline remains blocked. So much for an environmental conscience. If you haven't caught up with the tar sands project which has sent thousands of Canadians flocking to what was when I first visited the sleepy town of Calgary have a look at http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/stop-the-tar-sands/ it gives you a good introduction to what's going on. So at least for now its hats off to Obama but as another another great american once said "it ain't over till its over." 

Feed in Tariff Too Hungry!

The government announced today they are going to appeal against the ruling that found the proposal to cut the feed in tariff legally flawed. The argument relates to section 41 of the Energy Act 2008 which they say gives the Secretary of State the power to decide what measures are taken to encourage the generation of small scale low carbon electricity. Without being a lawyer who of course are the only ones that win out of such an argument I have no idea whether they have a case or not. That though is surely not the argument. There are two aspects to this in my mind. The first is the government had no idea how popular the scheme would become despite it being a pretty good deal. Secondly they didn't see the commercial advantages to companies who were waiting to jump on the bandwagon and start renting roofs for a big profit. I know personally of a number of public bodies who have let their roofs to private companies without a thought for the long term financial outcome. The schemes get them plenty of initial brownie points and because not enough people understand how things work the fact that they are sacrificing millions of pounds in lost revenue goes unnoticed.

Now the cat is out of the bag the government are back pedalling fast to try to stop the whole affair being dragged into disrepute. If they'd seen this coming it could have been so much different. Why didn't they give the money directly to public bodies to invest in the infrastructure which would have provided tenants with free electricity and saved a whole load of CO2 along the way? Once again though a good idea has been mismanaged and the money that could have given us a real boost in fighting Fuel Poverty has been snatched up by the private sector leaving us back at square one!  

Give us a Chance!

Fuel Poverty is a big issue that's increasing all the time. Depending on where you get your statistics as many as 1 in 4 households could be considered fuel poor. The definition of Fuel Poverty covers those who spend more than 10% of their income on fuel, yes try working that out! Without accurate financial information that a lot of people quite rightly don't want to divulge its almost impossible. So we are left to guess and try to identify those people who really need help. The Department of Health have just offered up a few million to local authorities in their Warmer Homes Healthy Lives scheme aimed at trying to solve the problem. On first glance that would seem a good thing to do particularly in the current financial crisis. The only problem is the money needs to be spent by March! That has left LA's racing around over Christmas trying to find some way of spending their money. Understandably under those circumstances any scheme is going to be hit and miss and I fear in my area it will be more miss than hit. Surely the way to approach this is to look at long term solutions. Insulation, ensuring the correct tariffs apply trying to stop energy companies profiteering on pre payment meters etc not applying a quick band aid this year which will be nowhere to be seen in 12 months time. As the saying goes "give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day give him a fishing rod teach him how to fish and you could feed him for life." Here's hoping one day our politicians and civil servants will wake up and take note.

Here's To The Future

So that was 2011 a strange year in many ways but the one that decided my immediate future. If you'd told me 12 months ago I'd be facing a cut in hours to 3 days a week in 2012 and then a new career in 2013 I'd have told you you'd had too much Christmas spirit. But that's exactly what the future holds.

After over 30 years in Environmental Health its time to finally spread my wings. To be fair the profession I entered in 1978 is certainly not the one I will leave in 2013. The world has changed a great deal and so has Local Government. Always ticking away in the background though has been an environmental time bomb. The excesses of the 1980's led us to believe there would be a plentiful supply of everything for as long as we wanted. The 90's hardly did anything to disillusion us. It's only really been in the last few years that the fact that we have been taking our ecosystem for granted has finally landed in our thoughts. Climate Change was the headline getter but really its only another symptom of the whole disease. I suppose sustainability although to be honest I find it an ugly word is the best we have to describe where we should be heading. Even then what does it really mean? Well we could get technical or we could take the straight forward approach which says sustainability is "not screwing up the planet for our kids." Yes its a little blunt but I'm a firm believer if we are going to achieve anything then there's a place for a variety of approaches. We should be happy to talk climate science with climatologists but we should be equally adept at communicating with the man and woman in the pub. That's really what this blog is all about and what I want to do with the rest of my career. cards on the table I need some employment in the next few years but I also want to make sure the skills I've acquired and my passion for the subject don't go to waste. I believe we can make a difference even at this late stage.

As an example how many of us dutifully sorted our rubbish and filled the appropriate recycling boxes this Christmas? How many did the same thing only 5 years ago? Its all about approach and communication which is the whole purpose of 400ppm. Over time I hope you'll stick with the Blog, the Twitter feed and the Facebook page, you'll tell me when you think we're talking rubbish and you'll contribute to the debate. We got ourselves into this mess so we are equally capable of getting ourselves out of it. Here's to the future!