Sustainable Community: A community which uses its resources to meet current needs while ensuring that adequate resources are available for future generations. Such a community seeks improved public health and better quality of life for all its residents by limiting waste, preventing pollution, maximizing conservation and promoting efficiency, and developing local resources to enhance the local economy'.

- http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/fgils/agencies/sust/gloss.html

I live in a small town in Essex called Billericay. When looking at how closely my home area fits in with the definition of Sustainable community and the extent this definition is put into action, it is important to take into account that Billericay comes under the area of Basildon District Council who are responsible for local services.

First of all, Billericay is home to its very own Nature reserve, Norsey Woods. Norsey Woods is a mixed coppice woodland covering an area of 65ha and is managed by 3 groups; Voluntary, Weekly and survey group. Coppicing of the woodland has been carried out for 1000's of years and is considered as a sustainable woodland management technique. Closely linked in with Norsey woods is a Country Park in Basildon known as Wat Tyler. The Wat Tyler Project is a project that has been put on to improve the Sustainability of the park, in doing this it means the park can be a place where people and families can relax, play and learn. habitat management has been enhanced so that a greater biodiversity can be created 'The project is an exemplar of sustainable technology, with the refurbishment of several buildings achieving carbon neutral status'.

In the 1980's a development was made to an area in Billericay called Queens Park. This resulted in a housing development for the local people and the production of a new woodland called Queens Park Country Park, with further management of the area to ensure future management over time being considered. Already it is evident that the local citizens of Billericay are interested in the Wildlife and natural conservation of the area is apparent, therefore showing a part of sustainability and the interesting in active citizenship

In Billericay, Recycling is a process that has been on going for years which includes the recycling of Garden waster, plastics, card and glass where it then gets taken to Barleylands recycle depot and then redistrubted to a local recycling centre.

Basildon Council has provided a video of recycling on their website 'Your Pink Sack Journey' to encourage recycling.

Click here for video link ----> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDtaiGpx6MI

Basildon Council state that the film is used to teach school children across the Basildon District about the benefits of recycling and to help schools achieve eco-schools status and having just watched this video myself, i found it very interesting and also i feel that it was a good idea by the council and will promote a sustainable community.

A new development in Basildon has raised some questions by the locals to the 'waste' of money achieved by the council.

The sign that is shown at the top of this blog is part of a £400,000 project commissioned by Basildon Council to boost the local economy. however many argue that the sign is a waste of money and should have been spent on something else. it is also said the project money came from the Thames gateway programme.

and the cash will also be used to create new road signs, roadside lighting and entrance signs to the district.

one person said this about the sign 'This is possibly the most stupid idea I've ever heard and unfortunately the whole country is going to be laughing.

however even though this is the case, the sign was put up to improve the status of Basildon and trade with other areas and is seen as a positive aspects by the business part of Basildon.

It has defianatly made it more well known. but in my opinion it has done no justice to improving the local economy and therefore the sustainability to the area.

Apart from the controversy of the sign recently erected by the council, i feel my local community is sustainable with active citizens that care for the next generations and aim at improving the living for those around them.

References;

http://www.basildon.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1

http://www.wattylercountrypark.org.uk/heritage/the-wat-tyler-project/

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/5422205.Welcome_to_Basilwood_

The constituency in which you live: Billericay and district
Your local MP (name, party): John Baron - conservative
The name of your local council: Basildon District Council
Which political party dominates your local council: Labour

2010 is election year.
What is your attitude concerning people who are not planning to vote in the general election?
What main concerns do you have that may influence your vote

Personally, I find the thought of the elections and voting extremely confusing and I am one of those people who don't vote. I do not feel that i have enough knowledge on the political parties to make a judgemental choice on who to vote for, therefore my attitude concerning those who are not planning to vote in the general election is minimal. I feel that if someone doesn't want to vote, then that's up to them, however when it comes down to it, if they aren't happy with the way the country is being run then they have no right to complain as they could have voted.

i understand that those who do vote feel very strongly about the parties they vote for and would do anything to make sure they get in, those people would also argue that those who don't vote are wasting an opportunity to have their say and get their opinion across, which is a fair argument when those who don't vote complain. However if MP's wanted to encourage those people who don't vote to make a choice, then they should inform those areas of the community that don't vote as to why they need their vote and what their policies are.

Politics is something you either have an interest in or you don't, as for me I don't. I have learnt from experience, not to say the reason I don't vote is because it 'doesn't affect me', as it does just not directly, if you say that to someone who does vote, it is almost an insult as they feel very concerned with the running of our country and there are alot of people like me, mainly young people, which the general elections probably affect the most.

As I do not vote I couldn't argue as to what affects my vote the most therefore i did my research and it appears that the main things that affect peoples choice of voting is, healthcare, education and taxation.

Is there really a transport problem? Do the benefits of motorized transport outweigh the costs? Are there any minor (or perhaps major) changes you personally feel could make our present transport system more sustainable?

Transport is something that in the UK we rely on to benefit our lifestyles, so to ask if there is a transport problem is a question that can be taken in many ways. Some would argue, relating to climate change there is, with C02 emissions being emitted everyday due to the increasing use of road transport, however others would say that, with out of town shopping centres, supermarkets and schools, how can you stop people using their cars to get to these places. This is where car share plans come into place an idea set about to reduce emissions by sharing cars when making out of town journeys to places such as the ones listed.

Personally I feel that there is a problem with the pollution caused by many forms of transport however, its not easy to ask people to change their lifestyle because of long term predictions made. For example, as a personal experience, the advert launched by the Department for transport in November last year, asked us to driver 3miles less each day this was because Car travel is the single biggest source of household and individual CO2 emissions in the UK. If all UK drivers reduced their driving by 5 miles a week we could save 2.7 million tonnes of CO2 per year, i agreed with this advert and felt that if i could make the change i would but out of frustration, my dad replied 'well now im going to drive 3 miles extra', because he doesn't feel that he can make that change to his lifestyle due to accessibility.My dad doesn't have the knowledge on sustainability that i do, therefore doesn't necessarily understand that consequences of all the emissions that are polluted into the atmosphere.

The benefits of motorized transport are important as they help build and keep a strong infrastructure to the country without motorized transport alot of businesses and tourism would suffer, affecting the economy and damaging the infrastructure. the costs are long term and not yet as evident as the benefits therefore I feel that the benefits do outweigh them at the moment as we live in a demanding society of wanting now and paying later.

Many changes have been set about by the department of transport to reduce emissions produce by our transport, even though it appears to that cars are the ones in the limelight for all this pollution. the Department of transport have set about plans for other forms of transport such as full railway electrification from June last year and the push for manufacturers to bring technological improvements that increase fuel efficiency and decrease environmental impacts made by shipping.

all of which can be found on;

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/carbonreduction/

What do you think? Is christmas sustainable? how would it work in a changed world?

Or should all our 'do-gooders' leave our festivals alone!!!



I feel that it depends on how you look at it. theres alot to our daily lives that are not sustainable, so to high light christmas as a particularly un sustainable festival is not neccessarily a bad thing. In my opion it is a long lived tradition that we enjoy and has not done us harm yet. You can argue that christmas has definatly lost its religious value and meaning, with the 'Santa Claus' figure replacing the birth of christ which is in reality what christmas is all about.


I have never heard of christmas as a sustainability issue, i dont think it is sustainable but in my opinion i dont feel this is a bad thing. there are many other issues that we should be more concerned about such as our carbon footprint, recycling and other things that concern the well being for future generations. to say its defined by 'excess and waste...lights, fireworks, over packing, excess spending, over eating and embarressing self indulge'' poses christmas in a negative light as each of these descriptions are factors that affect our sustainability and yes maybe it is true that we do all these things at christmas, but dont we do this throughout the year to, there is no change, some societies over spend, over eat or even produce alot of waste. So what makes christmas any different?

I think in years to come, christmas still wont be much of an issue. It is a Festival and a tradition, the only issue i think it could possibly pose would be due to the amount of electricity it consumes with countless amounts of fairy lights but knowing our society bans or limits would probably be put in place to prevent this.

Those 'do-gooders' that see christmas as a threat, do have their a right to express their opinions, it is clear that they are concerned about the future, but i dont really feel that they need to be putting all their attention to whether or not we can make christmas more sustainable, it is a time where we can let go, have fun and be with our families.

To what extent do the best selling UK newspapers cover stories related to serious issues? To what extent do you think it is their role to do so? In your opinion does the tabloid media and 'low budget entertainment' (reality shows, soaps) have too much power and influence in this country?

The Media has alot of power in this country, It has the ability to guide, scare and comfort the nation. Newpapers being on the main sources of media produce, alot of information on various articles that can be considered important(serious) or in some cases a waste.

When i read the blogprompt, i wasnt to sure how to answer as im not really one for reading newspapers, so i took it upon me to do a little research on the internet.
The blogprompt stated that the Sun is the top selling newspaper and that there was only one Broadsheet in the top 6. So i therefore looked at 'The Sun' homepage and 'The daily telegraph' as it was 4th.
On The Sun's homepage, i found that the top stories include 'JLS wear Jedwrads Trainers' 'Jordan uncensored' and 'david beckham secretly smoking', on the otherhand those on The Daily Telegraphs homepage include 'Uni of East Anglia accused of manipulating climate change data' and 'Underperforming issue', there were other stories which could be considered of an insignificance as X-factor was also on their homepage. Just from looking at these two Newspapers homepages, allthough being a snapshot of what they produce, you can see that there is a clear difference in what both exhibit.

Although i dont read many newspapers i know that there is a difference in what the two different types produce, therefore i feel that those top selling newspapers do not cover serious issues to the extent that they should. They base the majority of their stories on sport and celeberity lifes. where as those that are infact broadsheet do produce information on issues such as climate change and politics.

I feel that it is their role to produce more information on serious issues, such as Sustainability and healthcare which from recent articles are clearly both an issue that needs to be dealt with.
The issue is, that each newspaper designs itself towards its target market, therefore if it was changed then it would lose out. If The Sun changes so it gives information on serious issues, the majority of people that buy The Sun, buy it for what stories it produces, they may not have any interest in climate change or sustainability, therefore will simply stop buying.

However we all know that Tabloids are extremely good in Scaring the nation, you dont even need to read newspapers to know, Their headlines say enough, therefore if they were to change would it be a good or bad thing. As they will catch the nations eye and get us thinking, but at the same time they do give the extreme.

Almost everyone has a T.V in their house and spent a good part of the day/evening watching it. The mainstream channels 1,2,3 and 4 mainly show soaps and reality T.V including X-factor, Hollyoaks, Eastenders and Im a celebrity,Get me out of here. i feel that there should be more documentarys on serious issues. We need to be informed on what is happening in the world and it shouldnt be down to the news to do this. Every now and the Channel 4 or BBc 1/2 will show a short series on an issue such as climate change, but is this enough?

Low budget entertainment definatly has too much power in this country.

To What extent do you think that it is your duty as a citizen to be 'informed'? Are you informed? How do you get to be informed about serious issues? To what extent do you think that you should leave the complicated decisions up to others?

I feel that sustainable development is an issue thats important. Everyone should be informed and educated on the subject. However i also feel that it is those who, like me are interested and possibibly studying it as a module, have more availability to resources and information on the issue.

Some people don't understand the concept of Sustainable development and global warming and just dont see it as a big issue, they therefore do not feel they need to change their lifestyle. One main attribute to sustainable development is most probably recycling.
Over the years Recycling has improved greatly showing an increase in us as citizens being informed.. However some would argue that we are not being informed and we are literally being handed recycling bins, bags and bottle banks and simply being told to fill them with the correct Waste. I personally feel that we are being informed on the consequences, possibilities and improvements but in a very basic and 'bland' way and i only understand because like i said previously, i show an interest in this area therefore i study it. But many of us dont.

I feel that i am informed of sustainable development due to various reasons, The main reason being Through education. Local Councils are the ones that tend to inform the community on recycling but they could possibly do a litttle more to educate us in why we are doing this, using Al gore's film as an example.

One of the main points, that i am going to repeat and already have throughout this blog is that; The more of an interest you have in Sustainable development, the easier it is to access resources and the easier you pick up on it in the News. Therefore alot of the sustainable lifestyles are learnt behaviours such a recycling, Eco Friendly resources such as cars and packaging that is already of a bio degradable nature. As all of these are introduced and have became a way of life without stressing why certain materials have been made the way that they have.

By Watching the News regularly, reading broadsheet newspapers and using the internet, can inform you on what the important facts of Sustainable development. i feel that tabloid newspapers are to be avoided as they are skeptical and tend to use scare tactics when writing about subjects such as global warming.

Lastly i feel that The 'complicated' decisions should definatly be left to those who are studying into this area of work. However when concerning politicians who tend to get side tracked into political debates, should, in my eye not be responsible for decisions on the welfare of humanity, in terms of Global warming without research backed up by scientists.

Al Gore (and the IPCC) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 (BBC 2007) largely for the production of the film 'An Inconvenient Truth'
The committee cited "their efforts to build up and disseminate knowledge about man-made climate change".

To what extent do you think this was deserved? Having watched this film in class did you feel that your opinion (or perhaps the opinion of others) to the issue of climate change could be positively influenced? What did you think of this film? Was it effective?

In the production of the film 'an inconveniet truth' Al Gore put across alot of Shocking statistics against global warming The Film was designed around a powerpoint presentation carried out by himself. Al gore put across his point powerfully therefore i feel that the Nobel peace prize he won was well deserved as he opened up our eyes to the realities of what will happen if we carry on.

Al Gore used clever tactics in getting the audience interested in what he was talking about. He kept them hooked by using humour and also shock Tactics. Many pictures he used as evidence of what global warming is doing to our planet (As stated by him). For example, Al gore showed Countless pictures of Glaciers retreating Due to a rise in temperature. He Stated that if Antartica melted, Global Sea level would rise by 20ft and there is already evidence of 20ft of an ice shelf melting in 31days. Many skeptics would argue that this is an extreme and not reality. Which Al Gore took into account when giving his presentation. He Definatly influence my perception on Global warming by doing this, as he covered many areas and took into account many ideas of a variety of people.

An example being that The global Temperature rises and cools through spring too autumm and that C02 levels rise as temperature rises and fall in relation to this, which when this is explained can be a very valid point. However, Al Gore explains that in the 10 hottest years record have been in the last 14 years and C02 levels haven risen greatly (above 300parts per million). Surely thats way above average and even if global warming is not completely to blame, it is apart to blame.

My opinion of the film is that it was incredibly effective, it was interesting and full of facts and figures to back up evidence given. One of the most Valid points i feel Al Gore came up with, was that of Winston Churchill. He Warned that 'we are Entering a period of Consequences'.

I Feel that those consequences are starting to show. Evidence of Horrendous Hurricanes/Tornadoes in America are an example of these consequences. Hurricane Katrina Started as a Category 1 in florida and as it moved across America, hitting warmer air temperatures causing it to speed up and become more dangerous resulted in many deaths and thousands of Dollers worth of damage, which previously before Global warming affects may not have happened. Disease due to Warmth as mosquitos are moving into areas of Africa (Nirobi)spreading malaria and a lack of water such as Lake Chad which was one of africas largest lakes has dried up were examples of many that were shown in the film.

All of this can be prevented and to a certain extent reversed. Which is what Al Gore was trying to say, i feel that it can happen, he proved that it can happen. its just Everyone needs to co operate as it is the Future generations that will suffer greatly.