RIP in PVC

Poem for Scope Cymru

RIP in PVC by Robert Minhinnick

Sustainable Living, sustainable development

There are literally millions of websites devoted to defining and describing ‘sustainable development’. Our view is that sustainable development is the only process we can follow that might keep humankind, its cultures, and the planet’s ecological systems from catastrophe. Sustainable development means different things to different people, but the most frequently quoted definition is from the report Our Common Future (also known as the Brundtland Report):

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

*Sustainable development focuses on improving the quality of life for all of the Earth’s citizens without increasing the use of natural resources beyond the capacity of the environment to supply them indefinitely. It requires an understanding that inaction has consequences and that we must find innovative ways to change institutional structures and influence individual behaviour. It is about taking action, changing policy and practice at all levels, from the individual to the international.

Sustainable development is not a new idea. Many cultures over the course of human history have recognized the need for harmony between the environment, society and economy. What is new is an articulation of these ideas in the context of a global industrial and information society.

Progress on developing the concepts of sustainable development has been rapid since the 1980s. In 1992 leaders at the Earth Summit built upon the framework of Brundtland Report to create agreements and conventions on critical issues such as climate change, desertification and deforestation. They also drafted a broad action strategy—Agenda 21—as the workplan for environment and development issues for the coming decades. Throughout the rest of the 1990s, regional and sectoral sustainability plans have been developed. A wide variety of groups—ranging from businesses to municipal governments to international organizations such as the World Bank—have adopted the concept and given it their own particular interpretations. These initiatives have increased our understanding of what sustainable development means within many different contexts. Unfortunately, as the Earth Summit +5 review process demonstrated in 1997, progress on implementing sustainable development plans has been slow.

(*World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Our common future. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987 p. 43.)

Sustainability is as much cultural as environmental.

This means, remembering local traditions, heritage and roots as well as appreciating new aspects of the culture. We should support our community by attending local events, purchasing local products and getting involved in community activities. 

Entertainment – support local theatres, cinemas, museums, galleries, schools and churches.

Music/Art – find out who the local talent is with regard to singers/bands/writers/painters/dancers.

Food and Drink– shop locally, try local produce and cuisine and support local restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs!

Sport – Join your local sports club and/or support the local teams

Heritage – Use your Welsh, no matter how little it is. Give your house a Welsh name, learn the historic names for fields, hills, streams and any other local topographical features, use bilingual signage and letterheads and sign up to any of your local council’s promotions of bilingualism. 

Quality of life

Cultural diversity – riverside market 

By the way…Bhutan don’t have gdp they have gross domestic happiness.

Power to the People!

Sustainable Wales to organise a new Bridgend based group.

‘Power to the People’ supports the introduction to households of free PV solar panels and offers a funding stream to charities/social enterprises who get involved.

Climate change threatens the basic elements of life and the people most affected will be those that are already the most vulnerable around the world. Average global temperature could increase by 4 degrees Celsius in the next eighty years. Energy and electricity prices are also set to increase dramatically. As such this is as much a social issue as an environmental one.

Sustainable Wales is currently working alongside a new consortium G- Cell of social enterprises across S Wales whom are expecting to offer households in their boroughs free pv solar panels and up to £150 free electricity annually. Our ambition for phase one is to help 5000 south-facing low-income households install maintenance-free, pv solar panels. We need a group of people who are willing to help develop this ambitious project. What are you waiting for?