February 2009 Archives

There are so many ways in which almost all of us can have a positive effect on the future of the planet. Some of the decisions we make are harder than others and are affected by our occupation, our income, our health and our age.

I find it easy to live without a car, choosing between riding a bike, using public transport and very occasionally hiring a car for the journeys I chose to take.

I avoid wasting food, but I would find it difficult to eat a totally vegan diet, though I realise that a vegan diet involves the least waste and would make my carbon footprint much lighter.

I have a solar panel which provides hot water and saves fossil fuels, but I live in a house with solid walls and I can't face the disruption of insulating them.

The experiences of other people are very different so, starting next week, I have invited seven "guests" to describe their experience of living with lighter footprints.

John Newson from the "Old Home Super Home" initiative will be the first guest, followed by Graham Hankins from Pushbikes, the Birmingham Cycling Campaign Group. There will be two contributors who are members of SusMo (Sustainable Moseley - Cutting CO₂) and three from the Northfield Ecocentre.

I look forward to reading about their experiences.

I heard the term "scratch cooking" for the first time this week. This is apparently a new experience for some people: selecting and preparing ingredients before putting the dish in the oven. I thought that is what "cooking" means, and that providing a salad with a bought quiche and oven chips was just "serving" food after warming it up. I obviously have a lot to learn (and snobbery to stamp out in myself).

The good news is that people who are buying more "scratch" ingredients to prepare their own meals, due to reducing household budgets and rising prices, not only appreciate the results but also greatly reduce food waste. Cooks can choose how much to cook, rather than buying multiples for two or four people.

The number of cooks who have creative ways of using up leftovers is growing - check out the "love food hate waste" website if you haven't joined them yet.

Another reduction in waste is the reduction in packaging. Prepared foods need much more protection than basic ingredients. This week there was also news of a survey which ranked supermarkets in the amount of packaging used for their goods, and the proportion of the packaging that could be recycled.

Farmers Markets use the least packaging, and the award winning Moseley Farmers' Market encourages and enables the use of recycled carrier bags as well. Join us on Saturday February 22nd and every fourth Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

If the recent snowfalls have indicated that your home needs more insulation, you may like to seek advice from the Northfield Ecocentre.

The official opening is on March 20th but committee members and the two part-time co-ordinators, Dave and Georgia, have begun their work with the community, to find practical ways to live better and protect the environment.

At the Ecocentre homeowners, businesses and tenants can receive advice, information and support to help cut energy consumption, carbon emissions - and SAVE MONEY.

If you can't wait until 20th March to see the building, there are two public preview sessions. These are drop in sessions, so come for 5 minutes or the full 3 hours.

The dates for the public previews are:
Saturday 28th February, 10am to 1pm
Thursday 5th March, 3pm to 6pm
The address is Northfield Ecocentre, 53 Church Road, Birmingham B31 2LB

Facebook users are encouraged to join the Facebook group "Northfield Ecocentre".

The following is an extract from the Ecocentre Newsletter:
Exciting Volunteer Opportunities
Are you passionate about the environment? Do you have great ideas on how we can all live more sustainably? Do you want to get some experience working in the local community?

We have some great opportunities for volunteers including:
• Media & Communications Assistant
• Creative Design Assistant
• Community Assistant
• Visitor Assistants
Please get in touch if you would like more information & an application form.

Can you help us out on stalls?
If you can't offer a regular commitment but want to get involved can you help us run some stalls? If you can spare a couple of hours on the following dates please let us know.

Northfield Town Centre Partnership shop: Wednesday 4th March
Northfield Shopping Centre: Saturday 7th March / Saturday 14th March

Home Energy Group
Have you already taken steps to make your house more energy efficient? Have you saved money as a result? Are you considering doing something to your house soon?
We are setting up a group for people to come together & share their experiences of cutting the carbon in their homes. If you would be interested in getting involved in an informal group such as this please let us know.

Newsletter
If you would like to receive news, events & opportunities, please send your details and we will add you to the mailing list.

Georgia & Dave, Ecocentre Coordinators
Georgia@northfieldecocentre.org
Dave@northfieldecocentre.org
Phone: 0121 448 0119

Insulating your roof to reduce heat loss is a major way in which you can lighten your footprint, and help Birmingham, or wherever you live, reach its targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Following the snow fall, this is an ideal time to check the heat loss from your property. Snow will remain longest on the roof of the occupied property with the best insulation in your road - it should match the roofs of unoccupied properties.

In 2002 Birmingham City Council commissioned aerial photography to record heat loss from properties in Birmingham - SusMo has a copy of the map of Moseley. They will be carrying out another thermal imagery survey in the next few weeks.

We can complement this survey by checking how long the snow remains on our roof, and other roofs in our street.

If the snow remains longer on the roofs of other houses nearby, and the houses are occupied, it is worth investigating how this has been achieved, and if you could make similar improvements.

If the snow remains longer on your roof, you could point this out to your neighbours, and recommend that they seek advice to improve their insulation.

Birmingham residents can contact the West Midlands Energy Saving Trust Advice Centre, phone number 0800 512012.