Challenge to save the planet

The latest report from the International Panel on Climate Change warned that there are 12 years to save the world from the catastrophe of climate change – the challenge is urgent.

The response in Wanstead has been the launch of the Environmental Charter, which seeks to address climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity. The official launch takes place on Thursday 2 May.

There are five themed areas through which we are seeking to meet this challenge – cleaner journeys, more energy efficiency, creating less litter and recycling more, improving biodiversity and living more sustainably as individuals.

None of this will work if people don’t come forward to join the process. The council, local businesses, schools, civil society and individuals all have a role to play. So far there has been a positive response.

The council is looking at how pollution can be cut. The issue has been out to consultation, with Redbridge already announcing exclusion zones around some schools. Cycling is being encouraged with residents free to request cycle hangars in the road. The roads should be being made safer as well, so encouraging more people to get out on their bikes.

The biodiversity strand is being pursued by groups like the community gardeners and Wild Wanstead, however, this is a particular area where people need to act individually in their own homes. Do something to improve biodiversity in the garden. If you have concrete drives, make space for some plants.

Snaresbrook Primary school has developed an edible garden, whereby the children are learning all about growing their own food. More such ventures in local schools would be welcome.

There is a petition calling on local businesses to ban single use plastics. The hope is that Wanstead High Street will become a single plastic use free zone.

The litter pickers go from strength to strength, with the well attended session last month drawing in many people of all ages to clear up our area.

So things are beginning to happen to attain those greater goals of a more sustainable way of life. But there is still a long way to go. Small changes are good but if climate change, pollution and biodiversity are really to be tackled there needs to be a whole shift of culture.

The Mayor’s target of 80% of journeys being by foot, cycle of public transport by 2041 must be hit. New buildings should all be zero carbon or even carbon positive. There also needs to be a lot of retrofitting of existing stocks to make that energy efficient. Biodiversity needs to increase, with again more green spaces – there must be mass tree planting sessions – as well as the creation of new features like hedges and green walls. And with regards to waste and recycling, yes we need to clean up but the greater challenge is not to create the mess in the first place.

So there is much to be done but an encouraging start has been made to make Wanstead a cleaner, greener place.

West Ham fans left dreaming of VAR, after being denied three points for the second week running

West Ham 2-2 Leicester City

Honours finished even in this hard fought contest between West Ham United and Leicester City, though home manager Manuel Pellegrini thought his side were again denied the points by poor refereeing decisions.

"We have now lost five points in two big games with such big mistakes,"said Pellegrini,referring to the game last week against Man United and to a Lucas Perez goal wrongly disallowed for offside.

West Ham dominated for long spells in this match twice going in front but two lapses of concentration cost them dear.
West Ham's main attacking threat Michail Antonio was rewarded in the 37th minute when he headed home a cross in from Mark Noble.

But the ever present threat of the counter attack from Leicester came to fruition 20 minutes into the second half, when Harry Maguire put Ben Chilwell away down the left. His cross saw Jamie Vardy get ahead of Fabian Balbuena to slot home.

West Ham thought they were home and dry when a Pedro Obiang shot from outside the area came back off a post into tbe path of substitute Lucas Perez who duly converted.

Then came the controversy, when Perez, put through by Obiang, rounded the keeper to score his second. The linesman wrongly waved for offside.

Leicester though weren't done, with Youri Tielemans putting substitute Harvey Barnes through in the 92nd minute to drive home the equaliser.

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers acknowledged that a good goal had been disallowed and quipped that it's lucky we don't have VAR.

"It was a good point for us in the end, " said Rodgers, who praised Barnes for taking his chance and "adapting well " to the situation.

Real danger of going backwards to living conditions of yesteryear

There was a recent programme on TV looking back to the days of the Edwardians.

The programme covered the first 20 years of the 20^th century. The grainy coloured films showed children with rickets. Crowded, bustling streets and waterways.

It was not a particularly nostalgic look back, despite the references to empire - Britain being the richest country in the world at that time.

A closer look, revealed poverty amongst the people and a real law of the jungle type existence. People worked 60 hr plus weeks. Weekends as such did not exist. Things like football matches at the weekend came in after this time because then working people simply did not have the spare time to even attend a game.

The fledgling beginnings of the Welfare State were introduced in 1911 by the then Liberal Government. This included things like a very basic pension starting at 70.

Move forward 100 years to today, the changes have been huge. People now have holidays, sick pay, a welfare state, including the NHS. The weekend has been an established part of people lives for many decades. To a large degree, the mass of people have been able to flourish.

Most of this change came about through the struggle of ordinary people, mainly through the trade union movement and Labour Party. The welfare reforms, including the NHS, of the 1945 Labour Government set the blueprint for much of what we have today. It was built upon by future governments.

Popular support for the unions and Labour Party were key to making these achievements happen. At the most basic level, it was the vote that underpinned these changes.

There have been efforts over recent years to unpick the huge advances made since those stark Edwardian times. The trade unions have become weaker. Employment rights have been eroded. Membership of the EU has helped prop up the most basic rights. The NHS has been attacked and undermined. The retirement age gets ever closer to the 70 set back in 1911.

It is a sobering thought that we now live in a country that in absolute terms is richer than it has ever been. A country of 150 plus billionaires, with more than one million people going to foodbanks. A country that cannot provide a roof over everyones head, with rough sleeping growing on the streets. These are the deliberate acts of those in government now, who, under labels like austerity, seek to turn the clock back to those Edwardian days of children with rickets and 60 hour working weeks.

The weekend has been incredibly eroded over recent years with the two days increasingly seen as ordinary working days for much of the population.

People need to remember that the transformation of life from those Edwardian days to the relative comfort of recent years resulted from the struggle of working people. It was not the result of some benevolent act of the rich.

Today, we need to realise how important the vote is. It is one of the few levers that working people have in deciding their own destinies. We also need to be aware as to how the improvements since Edwardian days came about and how easy it would be to drift backwards.

News that life expectancy is now dropping maybe good for the insurance industry but what about the rest of us?

The recent news that life expectancy has stopped rising in the UK hardly got a mention in a news agenda dominated by Brexit.

The news should not come as a total surprise, given that there have been widening geographical life expectancy differences for some time. So for example, a person living in London or the South East will on average live several years longer than someone living in North East.

These figures have been largely ignored by government, which has used the mantra that everyone is living longer to extend the retirement age and attack pensions.

The news is good for the insurance industry, with companies who have sold annuities to people now reaping the harvest of early deaths. It is predicted that the insurance companies will make billions from this change in life expectancy – funds that they will give back to shareholders.

No one seems to be totally sure as to why there has been the change in life expectancy. Austerity policies have played a part, forcing more people into poverty and reducing support services.

Lifestyle must also be key. Today people live much more sedentary existences. The growing role of computers means much more work is stationary in nature.

The obesity epidemic is likely to be contributing to life expectancy falling. Some of the statistics of obesity among the young are truly shocking. In parts of Redbridge, one in four children are obese by the time they reach year 6.

Lack of exercise no doubt contributes to obesity, as does bad diets. Despite the nations seeming fascination with cookery programmes on TV, vast swathes of the country seem to have forgotten (or never learned) how to cook. Fast food abounds.

If we continue to move down the present path, life expectancy is going to drop downwards. The idea that everyone was living longer has been largely based on the immediate post war generations. They tended to have balanced diets, took exercise and grew up in a time when supports, like the health service, were growing. Work was also more physically active over those years.

If we are to reverse the downward trend on life expectancy there needs to be real change. This must involve moves to address things like the obesity epidemic, redistribute wealth across the country and relearn the skills of balanced diets. The support network provided by the welfare state, including the NHS, also needs to increase. We need to relearn how to cook and perhaps also grow our own food. Failure to act now will see life expectancy levels plummet.

 

See:paulfdonovan.blogspot.com  

Bioblitz coming to Wanstead

The bluebells coming out in Wanstead Park are a sight to lift the spirits of all who come to enjoy this fantastic space.

The blooming bluebells are a real sign that spring has sprung, with the cold, dark days of winter truly behind us.

The splendour of the bluebells should this year be extended throughout Wanstead by the work of the community gardeners and Wild Wanstead. The community gardeners keep the beds in the high street around the station looking resplendent throughout the year but particularly stunning in Spring. It is quite some challenge to turn some of these settings into oasis of colour in the way that the gardeners do.

Wild Wanstead has been the driving force behind the planting of the tree pits and bringing some areas back to a more wild state to encourage wildlife. The last time some tree pits were planted it provided a magnificent sea of colour on the roads concerned. This time there are more roads planted so the town should really come alive.

The areas allowed to grow rather than being cut are on George Green, Christchurch Green and Nutter Lane, so please enjoy these spaces. Also, remember this is a deliberate policy, it is not a case of the council failing to cut the grass. It will be great to see all these initiatives extended over the coming months.

There are though other challenges on the biodiversity front. We do seem to be getting an increasing occurrence of people concreting over their gardens. This practice is the exact opposite of promoting biodiversity. It is also counter productive, with efforts to make the community spaces in the area more biodiverse, whilst parts of the privately owned land are doing the exact opposite.

Concreting over gardens is destructive to the environment, it also increases the overall flood  threat. As a recent Environment Agency presentation  on the river Roding illustrated, the less land space there is for water to flow away the more it will put pressure on existing drainage systems and rivers - increasing flood risk.

It would be great to not only see a halt to concreting over front and back gardens but also see some being taken back to green space.

We also need to do more in this area to promote trees. A number of residents have noted trees being cut off. The council will only be taking such action if trees are diseased or there is another good reason. Vandalism could be another cause.

The council have undertaken that felled trees will be replaced in the next financial year. This is likely to see replanting at the end of this year stretching into next year.

However, we do need to do more to increase the number of trees in the area, as well as other climate positive moves like bringing in green walls and hedgerows. Please come forward with ideas as to how to further green our area. There is much that needs to be done but as the initial positive response to the idea of an environmental charter for Wanstead has shown the will is definitely there to go further.   

published - Wanstead & Woodford Guardian - 4/4/2019 - paper
                                                                             - 6/4/2019 - online