Intro Reference List Update
Intro
Community response to Climate Change and Peak oil for a happier sustainable future
What can we do individually and together in our community?
Some ideas on how you can be a part of the change and secure a brighter future
The more the merrier!
General
- Recycling starts at home. If you get some bins, you can separate paper/cardboard, plastics, cans, tetra pak, glass, compost and regular rubbish. It’s all about getting into the habit.
- Know where your local recycling sites are, check out the internet http://www.recycle-more.co.uk http://www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk/locator.asp these web-sites have a lot of great information.
Or contact Nottingham Council: Rubbish, Waste and Recycling Team – 0115 915 2000.
- Campaign for your area to be included in the kerbside recycling scheme.
- Pick up or pass on items through the internet sites: Freecycle and Realcycle
- Pass on your unwanted clothes to a clothing bank or a charity shop
- Arrange a Clothing Swap Party. Hints and tips www.greenusesforwaste.co.uk
Food
o Eat more plant food and less meat – Visit Forest Field local shop, Screaming Carrot, 42 Foxhall Rd, for vegetarian/vegan groceries and bakery. It’s delicious.
o Support local food production – buy UK produce and cut down on food miles
o Sign up for a local organic seasonal veg box:
o www.ecoworks.org.uk – 0115 9622200 or www.screamingcarrot.co.uk – 0115 9103013
o Choose fresh fruit and vegetables from local shops – avoid highly packaged processed foods, as these have required a large amount of energy to produce and import.
o Eat more raw food to cut down on cooking – saves energy and can be more nutritional
Grow some food
- Suggest a suitable site to plant a fruit and nut tree through www.fruitandnotts.weebly.com
- Grow vegetables, salads and fruit in your backyard, see the Transition website for ideas on how and what to grow www.transitionff.co.uk – see the notes from Ecoworks workshop.
- Take or share an allotment.
- Save money by looking out for seed and plant swap days at: The Sumac Centre www.sumac.org.uk , other Nottingham Transition Groups www.transitionnottingham.org.uk/ or Nottingham Organic Gardeners www.nogs.btik.com
- Get a compost bin. Make one from material you find, look in skips etc. Alternatively get one from the: City Council: http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1296 that web site also gives good advice on what you can put in your compost.
Sustainable Energy
o Change to low energy light bulbs
o Don’t leave electrical equipment, e.g. TV, DVD, computer on standby. Unplug chargers such as mobile chargers.
o Change to a green supplier www.energylinx.co.uk explains well the different suppliers and what sort of renewable energy they can supply. ‘Good Energy’ supplies 100% renewable energy.
o Campaign for more wind turbines and solar panels, such as those at Elliot Durham Comprehensive School
o Ask about the City Council’s Housing Energy Team’s initiatives to promote energy efficient.
Sustainable Travel
- Do more walking and cycling and help make the street more ‘people friendly’
- What about your bus services? Campaign for new or more frequent services, bigger buses etc
- Join Nottingham’s Critical Mass Bike Ride – ”We are not blocking the traffic – We are Traffic!” www.criticalmassrides.info/nottingham
- Find out more about cycling in the area through Pedals www.pedals.org.uk
- If you need help learning to ride a bike contact www.ridewise.org.uk
Sharing Skills
o Swap skills through The Skills Exchange, 47 Gregory Boulevard www.skills2exchange.wordpress.com 0115 9708200
o Attend a skills share work shop at The Sumac Centre, 245 Gladstone Street www.sumac.org.uk 0115 9608254
Local Economy
- Look at different approaches to local economic development www.pluggingtheleaks.org
- Consider alternative currencies www.totnes.transitionnetwork.org/totnespound/home
For more information
Books
o The Party’s Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Society – Richard Heinberg
o Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-carbon Society – Richard Heinberg
o The Last Oil Shock: A Survival Guide to the Imminent Extinction of Petroleum Man – David Strahan
o The End of Oil: The Decline of the Petroleum Economy and the Rise of a New Energy Order – Paul Roberts
o The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to local Resilience – Rob Hopkins
o Do Good Lives Have to Cost the Earth? – Andrew Simms
Websites on Peak Oil
- Oil Depletion Analysis Centre (ODAC) www.odac-info.org
- Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas www.peakoil.net
- PowerSwitch www.powerswitch.org.uk
- The Oil Drum www.theoildrum.com
DVDs to watch
o Garbage Warrior (available at the library)
o Our Daily Bread (available at the library)
o Earthlings (free to download)
o The 11th Hour (available at the library)
o Age of Stupid (being shown nationwide at the moment but will be available to borrow from Transition later)
o The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard (free to download)
o Power of Community (get in touch with Transition to borrow a copy)
o The world according to Monsanto (free to download)
o Black Gold (available to download )
o The Corporation ( available to download)
o The money as debt (available to download)
o Wal Mart – The High Cost Of Low Prices (available to download)
o The Hemp Revolution (available to download)
o The War on Democracy (available to download)
o Slavery: a global investigation (available to download)
Websites on Transition
o Transition Towns and the Transition Network www.transitiontowns.org
o Rob Hoskins’ Blog www.transitionculture.org
o Transition Nottingham www.transitionnottingham.org.uk/
To join Transition Forest Fields, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group.transitionff/
