November 2010 Archives

I was really pleased to read, in the Birmingham Post this week, that John Christophers' Zero Carbon House, in Tindal Street, Balsall Heath has won an
RIBA award as Best Building of the Year.

I mentioned the Zero Carbon House in blogs on March 23rd this year, and November 14th last year. Each time I have visited the house, first during the building works and a couple of times since completion, I have been impressed by the simple effectiveness of the design and the quality of the craftwork. I am now equally impressed that the Royal Institute of British Architects, which gives awards to well designed and well built buildings, recognises that this simple effective design makes the Zero Carbon House a building of the year, rather than the usual, high profile, high cost buildings.

John Christophers has demonstrated that high energy efficiency can be achieved in a brick house built in 1840 with solid walls, as well as in the imaginative extension - please check the links to see photos and read more about it.

John has given helpful advice to SusMo and St Mary's Church, about ways of overcoming objections to the installation of PV panels on the nave roof of St Mary's. I have mentioned this project many times in this blog in the past year. We have hoped, a couple of times, that the last hurdle has been overcome, that instructions for the installation of the panels can be given, but each time another hurdle has grown.

I wrote, on October 31st, that the Chancellor had allowed 21 days for formal objections to be submitted and would then hold a Consistory Court to hear the objections. 21 days passed by without a formal objection being submitted.

Many days later I phoned the Chancellor's office to find out how soon the Chancellor would resolve this matter. I was surprised to hear that the Chancellor has now written to another body, the Church Buildings Council - an amenity society based in London - giving them 21 days to reply with their comments.

I hope that this will be the last delay caused by the Diocese for the installation of panels which will create, not only free electricity for the church, but also income both to keep the church in good repair plus a contribution to the local community for further community projects creating renewable energy.

When permission has been granted by the Chancellor, the church still has to raise about £20,000 as the grant from the British Gas Green Street award does not cover the full cost, and fundraising cannot begin until permission has been granted and British Gas finalises the design and the costs.

Updates will be given on the Moseley Forum website.

The Climate Talks start on November 29th in Cancun, Mexico. MPs were lobbied last weekend to ensure that Chris Huhne takes four requests with him to the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

There is still time to write to your MP, or directly to Chris Huhne, to give your support for the four requests which Oxfam and Stop Climate Chaos are campaigning on, or to give your personal views about what needs to be changed to tackle climate change and prolong the life of our planet

These are the four requests:

POWER
A large investment programme is needed for renewable power. Great potential exists in the UK. It won't do to say that the technology is not ready yet. It needs investment to become ready.

Nuclear power competes directly with renewable power as once it is there it has to be on all the time to be efficient. In contrast renewables tend to vary in output and are difficult to predict over the long term. Central planning and consultation are essential. Simply putting power stations out to tender will not suffice.

There needs to be a cap and trade system. This will provide financial incentives for energy companies to provide such temporary measures as carbon capture. Stop Climate Chaos is asking for an Emissions Performance Standard for power stations of 350g of CO₂ per kWh by 2020. (It is currently around 8-900g.)

HOMES
Homes are generally poorly insulated, wasting up to 25% of their heat. Stop Climate Chaos is asking for minimum efficiency standards on rented homes by 2015 and on all houses by 2020.

FINANCE
The establishment of a Green Investment Bank would allow transition to a low carbon but well-developed economy and would ensure the funding needed for the necessary investment.

INTERNATIONAL ACTION
Within the EU: a cap and trade system, joint investment and a European Grid System would enable the 30% cut in carbon emissions called for by Stop Climate Chaos and others by 2020, whilst keeping the lights on.

In the wider Global Community: a binding treaty similar to the Montreal Accord on CFC's is needed.

The rich must provide funds to poorer countries to develop into low-carbon economies and adapt to Climate Change. The Pakistan Floods is an example. Deforestation must be tackled urgently.

I was interested to read in the Friend this week, that staff at Friends House, the headquarters of Quakers in Britain (opposite Euston Station) in their commitment to reduce carbon emissions in accordance with 10:10 targets, are signing pledges to use lifts less, among other carbon-saving steps.

Using the stairs instead of the lift is not just about carbon-saving, it is also about improving your health. I heard this week, from a neighbour who works for a big law firm in Birmingham, that the lawyers who are members of local gyms and go there regularly, always use the lift and not the stairs, even when going up, or down, one floor.

I cycled for an appointment at the Primary Care Centre in Winson Green yesterday, and asked at the desk for directions to the clinic. I was instructed to use the lift to the first floor in the two-storey building. I must find time to write to the Health Authority about that.

Using stairs instead of the lift, walking short distances instead of driving, are actions that we all need to build into our lives. People who use their limited resources, both of cash and time, on gym membership may well find that their health and well-being are improved without a need for visits to the gym. I also recommend riding a bike for medium distances.

Both walking and cycling have great benefits for well-being, as well as having health and carbon-saving benefits. You can stop easily for a chat with people you know, you exchange smiles and brief words with people with whom you have a passing acquaintance, and the number of passing acquaintances grows daily.

I'm about to run up the gentle hill to Moseley (my daily workout) to do my weekend shopping. I can ask for free delivery from the supermarket if I buy more than I wish to carry.

Improve your health, improve your life and, smiling as you go, help to tackle climate change.