Posted on 12/01/2010 at 11:35 by Hazel Dawe
Hazel Dawe looks back over the decade and what it has meant for the environmental movement.
The most important green issue of the noughties has been climate change. At the start of the decade few people were engaging with climate change.
Now most people realise its importance. Don’t believe the Climate Change deniers.
Climate Change is real and urgent and we can and must do something about it. Only 1% of scientists are climate change sceptics and their arguments have been debunked as bad science. It became a local issue in Kent when the Climate Camp moved into Kingsnorth to protest at the plans to build another larger coal fired power station.
That has now been delayed and we can only hope that the economic and political situation will mean that it will no longer be built. We don’t need coal fired power stations.
Renewable energy can provide all our needs. This country has the best wind energy regime in Europe but we only produced 5.6% of our energy through renewables in 2008. We need much more wind, we need solar power and we need tidal and wave power.
The UN Climate Conference at Copenhagen was a grave disappointment. Governments refused to show the leadership needed to prevent dramatic Climate Change. Now it’s up to each and every one of us to do what we can.
Wind farms are a major source of renewable energy and have a substantial role to play in combating climate change. The first wind farm in Kent was the Kentish Flats off Whitstable. In 2009 Little Cheyne Court wind farm on the Romney Marsh was opened.
Thanet offshore wind farm near Margate will be the largest in the world when it starts operations this year, 2010. Even bigger will be London Array wind farm which will generate enough electricity for 750,000 homes –equivalent to all of the homes in Kent and East Sussex. Kent Green Party supported all of these projects.
We also achieved that the power lines at Little Cheyne Court were put underground preserving the Romney Marsh landscape. Both Thanet projects are bringing much needed local jobs as well as making our electricity generation more environmentally friendly.
Kent Green Party would like to see more home insulation and more electricity generation in homes, schools and hospitals. I have solar water heating on my own roof.
Not only does it help the environment but it also reduces my energy bills. I would like solar electricity panels as well. Unfortunately prices are high and that means pay back times are long. However, as energy prices rise this is changing.
Another Green success of the noughties in Kent s farmers’ markets. The first one in Kent started in 2000 in Wye. There are now thirty six markets in Kent.
Unfortunately, only four are FARMA certified (Farmers' Retail & Markets Association). Wye, Rochester, West Malling and Tunbridge Wells. FARMA independently assesses and certifies farmers' markets round the country to make sure they comply with agreed standards.
These state that farmers, growers or producers from a defined local area must be present in person to sell their own produce, direct to the public. All products sold should have been grown, reared, caught, brewed, pickled, baked, smoked or processed by the stallholder.
The rapid expansion is still to be welcomed and shows how Kent people appreciate fresh local produce. Using your local farmers market supports your local community and economy, and helps the environment by reducing food-miles. If your farmers market is not FARMA certified then ask them to apply.
Another way to get fresh local produce and reduce food miles is to grow your own and Kent people are increasing doing so. In August 2009 Kent Green Party called on local councils in Kent to allocate more land, especially on the fringes of towns, to allotments.
Reports in the local press show increased demand for allotments in many areas of Kent and long waiting lists for allotments: demand which is not being met by Councils despite their legal duty to do so. Vegetable seeds are now outselling flower seeds in the UK in a reversal of previous trends.
For your new year’s resolution do something green –get an allotment or dig a vegetable bed in your garden - join your transition town group, or start one – ask your local council about grants for solar water or home insulation - use your farmers’ market – ask your farmers market to register with FARMA if it is not already registered.
Above all, enjoy your fresh locally grown produce, enjoy growing your own veg and enjoy your nicely insulated and warm home. Green living can be good living.
• Hazel Dawe is chair of Kent Green Party