I spend a lot of time staring at monitor screens.

I test software for a living, which means I deal with all kinds of ‘Computer related’ issues. 

PCs consume an inordinate amount of energy.  But we need them!  So how do we use our technology sustainably?

 Not leaving machines on over night (even over weekends…) can help cut down the carbon footprint.  Use of lower energy equipment and recycle as much as possible.

Also manufacturers need to consider disposal of any component that can not be reused.

 Other things that spring to mind are the fact that certain rare metals used in Personal Computer construction come from Central Africa and an ethical import policy is therefore required to ensure the workers in the mines are not exploited.

 But Technology brings great benefits to our society.  And Technology can help in both the battle for Climate stabilisation and the Credit Crunch.   With the use of remote networking technology it is possible for office workers to ‘work from home’  thus reducing the carbon footprint and employers costs. 

And that has to be a good thing…

The little blighters are at it again… relieving themselves in the street…

I am referring to Stroud’s perennial “Pigeon Problem” … The creatures in question lurk under the railway bridge and mess up the walkway.

I have had a few complaints about this issue.  Do not fear this Town Councillor is on the case! (Polite suggestions of what we can do with the Pigeon infestation are welcome…)

Lib Dems want to be upbeat and positive where possible

Nick Clegg has spoken on the subject of encouraging green businesses.  Rather than just taxing bad behaviour which pollutes our environment why not use the powers we have to make it attractive to ‘green’ the workspace.

I believe that the only way to ’save the planet’ (aka ’save our necks!) is to build a cross party/cross community consensus on tackling climatic change.  No one group can do it on their own.  No one party has all the answers…

All of us must be green.

But why?

As the world economy slides towards Recession there are many people in our society (let alone ‘the developing world’) that simply Can not afford to green… Or at least that is the perception.  We must turn the tables on this concept and make the environment an economic asset!

We must wean ourselves off Oil.  We need clean generation of electricity (Radwaste that can kill for thousands of years does not count!) we can use the science and technology and all the imagination of the human mind to overcome the current crisis.  We can do it… but we must be clear that ‘Being green’ isn’t about a ‘Lifestyle choice’ or a ‘fringe movement’ or just something practiced by a few ‘rather weird’ social groups…

I want to see Hydrogen combustion engines in our cars.  We can do that now.  Fuel Cells can follow.

I want to see a decentralised grid with each town or even smaller communities with local clean energy sources.

Yes to tidal, geothermal, wind (offshore, onshore and inland)…

Yes to solar (both photovoltaic cells, solar power stations and water heating)

 Yes to greater recycling, reuse and reduction in waste.

I don’t think this will happen without government intervention but also the power of the market needs to be brought into focus. No command economy will produce these necessary results… Don’t believe me?  Then look at California and tell me if ‘The Governator’ is achieving world leading results by ignoring the Market… I don’t think so.

So lets all be Green.  No matter what party or group you are from. 

Just watched a documentary on China. 

It gives me hope that despite all the evils of the Chinese Communist Party there is new concern for the impact of economic growth on the environment.

Actually not a new concern.  China has a lot of ancient traditions that call for harmony and respect for ‘Nature’

I know they build a coal power station every few days… or something like that!… but they can be part of the solution for climate change.  They have to be…

It strikes me that if we in the western world had a  similar ’single minded’ approach to tackling our worlds problems then we would be vastly better off than we are (In all kind of ways…)

I still hope for a democratic China.  Justice will out…   

Why do we put up with it?

Every Sunday morning when I am in town I see the mess left behind by the previous nights partying.

Unlike some public figures I don’t really blame the staff of the District Council who are ’supposed’ to clean the streets.  They have a difficult enough job without me making political capital out of them.  Their bosses the Tory Councillors who run Ebley Mill are another matter…

No. You can send millions on Street Cleaning but the real problem lies with the throw away culture of modern Britain.  we drink too much alcohol (yes I used to do that) We buy to much ‘junk’ food, with too much packaging, and then throw half of it away uneaten (along with the packaging) justifying it all on the fact that ‘We were drunk!’

I am not going to say that we have too much in the way of fast food outlets or that Alcohol is too cheap and readily available.  I don’t need to say it because it is self evident…

But that aside we need to take more responsibility for our environment and the relationship we have with it and with each other.  We can’t keep throwing our lives away into the gutter. 

And it would be nice to have the streets a little cleaner on Sunday mornings…

Recycling of carboard came up at the ‘Annual Town Meeting’ on 22nd May this year.

 Much was made of the fact that the Cardboard Banks had been moved from Cheapside to Cainscross.  The District Council claim that ‘traders’ had been dumping their waste and it cost too much to keep clearing it up…

I also liked the idea, expressed at the meeting, about residential kerbside collection.  Why not?

Stroud District Council says it costs too much (are we detecting a pattern here?) but it that case it comes down to priorities.  And thats where you come in…. Let me know what you think?

I went to Hawkwood College yesterday.

Very interesting it was.  I liked the idea of processing sewage via reed beds etc… I also liked idea of a ‘community farm’… although not sure how scalable it would be…

Stroud is well known for its ‘Alternative’ Culture.  I am a bit of a ‘green’ at heart too!… but not a all a ‘Green’ if you understand me?… Lib Dems, Socialists and even Tories are starting to ‘implement’ (not just talk about…) ‘green’ ideas…

I said it before but if we wait for the Green Party to come to power before we tackle ‘Global Climate Change’ then we are all doomed.  It will take to long… yes get involved with politics, but be realistic (and pragmatic) in choosing the ‘political vehicle’

I would argue that the Greenish of the 3 main parties is the Liberal Democrats…

There is something quietly satisfying in picking litter… Not sure what it is though!

The Common is a beautiful environment and I hate to see the cans, bottles and junk food (and worse…) scattered around places where children play. 

This litter pick was organised by Rodborough Parish Council and as far as I’m concerned was a great success.  We picked up loads of rubbish and, hopefully, encouraged ‘community spirit’…

and lunch was provided by the WI and very nice it was too!…

As a Liberal Democrat I am very much in support of ‘communty action’, especially when it involves creating a cleaner environment. So Saturday Mornings work was very enjoyable for me.

Maybe we should be doing more of this kind of thing through out the year?  (I have done litter picks before…)

Let me know your thoughts?

Out in the cold and wet again today!… on top of a full day of software Testing, but hey I’m tough!

One person was concerned about lcoal lib dem transport policy.  Can we connect up all the bits and pieces of the various cycle-paths etc… well maybe… I don’t like making promises I can’t keep… yes in principle I like to think cycle networks could be expanded.  I think that pedestrian and cyclists should be able to access the whole of the five valleys safely.

Wallbridge is outside of the Rodborough District Ward but in my Town Ward.  I am very keen to see pedestrian access between Rodborough and Stroud Town as part of the “Canal Quarter” development. 

So thats one thing I’m involved with. 

There will be more lovely leaflets on the way detailing ‘policy’ etc… If you live in my patch that is… and want a good read please do so.

I’m extremely tired and need a nap so that’s it for now from me….

Oh yes, there is plenty of dog mess in Rodborough. 

A resident reminded me of the allay way between Gastrells and Chandos Road. Full of the stuff!  I will attempt to get a dog bin installed.  Atleast then there will be no excuse for leaving poo where children travel every day…

nuff said.

Just heard about the new Lib Dem idea of bringing the government, industry and ordinary people together in a new alliance to tackle social and environmental problems.

This is the sort of ‘big idea’ that brought me into politics in the first place.  Combined with Nick Clegg’s ideas for battle the ‘powers that be’ (my quotation marks) it gives a revolutionary ambiance to the Liberal Democrats.

Climate change needs the estential Liberal approach to international coorperation and also localism.  That said, we have to unlock the powers of Business and the creative energies of the free market if we are to counter the ‘real threats’ our soceity faces.  (And carry the public with us… it really doesn’t work without people voting for it… sort of obvious really!)

So good start, Nick.  Keep up the good work…

Liberal Democrats sometimes like to put policy into nice little boxes, roughly corresponding to government departments.

Other parties do this too, but sometimes it is necessary to ‘think outside the box’ as it were.

With the growing environmental awareness in soceity these days the Party has tried to link its ‘green credentialls’ with the whole gamut of policies.  (From Transport, Crime through to Foreign affairs and many other issues) Its true to say that every part of policy has a envrionmental aspect and it is right for the Lib Dems to recognise this.

One such area is ‘Health.’

The magazine of the ‘Green Liberal Democrats’ produced an article on this subject.  People living near motorways have an increased chance of heart attack.  Modern urban living environments increase stress and poor mental health.

The answer to these problems isn’t Rocket Science. The Netherlands has 600 ‘care farms’, places where sufferers of Depression can recover and feel better.  The mental charity MIND talks about ‘ecotherapy’ 

So being a ‘Green Party’ is not just about Wind Turbines and Solar Heating.  Its a much broader approach… 

I was knocking on doors in Rodborough the other day and a number of residents expressed views on the Canal Restoration.

Most supported the idea.  But some were concerned with the possible loss of habitat for various creatures and the impact of economic development along the ‘Canal Corridor’

I hear what they are saying.  But I don’t necessarily agree with their, genuine, conclusions. 

Done properly the Stroudwater Navigation and the Severn and Thames Canal will be an excellent environment for all kinds of life.  There will be disruption while the Canal is constructed but if the Kennet and Avon Canal (and many other waterways across the country) shows that wildlife quickly return and thrive.

There will be economic benefits to communities along the length of the canal.  It is the responsibility of civic leadership to ensure that the right kind of development occurs and that the opportunity for the stroud area is not missed. 

I am not a great ‘Royalist’ by inclination but today’s speech by Prince Charles gives me hope for the future of the monarchy.

The EU was meant to bring nations and citizens together for the common good and the Prince of Wales is right in saying about climate change “Surely, this is just the moment in history for which the European Union was created?

Internationalist and green… Is Charlie a closet Lib Dem?… Discuss!

One of the things Nick Clegg mentioned during the leadership election was the challenge every ‘green’ politician has with making envrionmental sustainable policies that everyone of which everyone can be part.

The Liberal Democrats are committed to tackling the dangers of the Changing Climate.  We realise that its not just a concern for the ‘Chattering Classes.’ Global Warming is going to hit everyone, rich or poor, ‘Western’ or from the ‘Developing World.

Some would argue that we need to stop the world economy from ‘Growing.’  But that is NOT going to happen folks…. No government is going to vote for permanent Recession.  And where is the justice in denying a Child in Africa the same chances that a child in Europe or America has?  Its not ethical to restrict Growth and it  won’t happen….

We have to ’save the planet’ (well save our civilisation anyway) some other way.  We have to make sure that emerging superpowers like India and China (and Russia maybe?) are fully engaged in the development of ‘Clean Technology’… We need a ‘Green Collar’ economy.  There is serious money to be made in Renewables and Energy efficiency industries.   Use the incredible powers of human ingenuitity and stop pretending we should ’regress’ back to the stone age. 

In this country there is higher levels of poverty and lower social mobility now than in 1997.  Thats an issue just as important as ‘Climate Change’.  I would argue that the whole social justice and environmental reform agenda have to be linked together.  There are considerable numbers of people in my home town who shop at the discount stores and not at posh ’alternative’ shops or ’Marks and Sparks’ type supermarkets. 

Can they, as things stand, afford to go ‘green?’ 

So its 73 Billion Pounds Sterling to decomission the nations existing Nuclear Power Plants…

Does anyone still seriously think a new generation of ‘Radwaste Generators’ is a good idea?  Well not counting Labour Party members that is! 

Come on Gordon do the maths. 

There is no way a private corporation could afford this sort of cost and that means that ordinary taxpayers will foot the bill (just as they already are for the existing piles of toxic waste…)

The Liberal Democrat solution is clean energy. (I define ‘Clean’ as not hazadous to human health or the world envrionment) Wind, Wave, Solar Tidal, Geothermal…. and even Carbon Capture, but no to failed technologies of the 20th century….

We also want to decentralise the Grid.  Too much energy is wasted in generation and transmission.  We want localised power plants.  Combinded Heat and Power, Waste reuse, microgeneration… It doesn’t work well with the old Labour idea of large Centralised grids….

Last but definately not least, we need to be more efficent.  Consevre what we already have and use less.  Not waste valuable time, energy and lots (and lots…!) of money.

No to Nuclear! join the campaign at http://ourcampaign.org.uk/no2nuclear

I first got interested in Politics after the summer of 1988.  At the time the weather was considered to be ‘freak’ but that year awakened my interest in environmental sustainability. 

I wanted to ‘get involved’ and ‘change the world’…. And I knew the best way to do this was through a politcal party. 

I looked around and Neil Kinnock and his friends were way too ‘Totalitarian’ for me.  The culture of the Labour Party at the end of the 80’s (And early 90’s…. indeed even today) was alien to a great deal of what I believed.

Tories?  YUCK!  After Thatcher there was no way I would touch them with a barge pole…

Being born and brought up in Stroud I naturally considered joining up with the Greens.  I seriously considered it until I realised that their strength was only in a few scattered areas.  They were not a national force.  Although I shared many of my principles and beliefs with them I couldn’t see them winning Stroud and no way could they implement their policies at Westminster.

Along comes Mr Ashdown.  Eastbourne Byelection put the ‘Social and Liberal Democrats’ make on the map.  I saw that the Lib Dems had been campaigning for ‘Sustainability’ for years.  In 1991 I went to the Party’s ‘youth conference’  and listen to Simon Highes MP talking about ‘The Polluter Pays Principle’ 

The Lib Dems had campaigned on Environmental issues for years but also they had MPs!  Nineteen members of Parliament when I joined.  Now we have 60+ … the choice was a no-brainer!….  I joined a movement with a desire to implement Social, Environmental and Political Justice in our country and abroad. 

I don’t want to run down the Greens because they are sincere in what they do. I just think every political party needs to be ‘Green’…. It’s essential to build a partnership from every hue and colour of the political spectrum.  That’s grown up politics and that is what I beleive in!