Biodiversity, pollution and CO2 decreasing in lockdown

Great news on the Grow Zones initiative, with Thames Water agreeing to create 3400 sq metres of wild flower meadows around the pumping station, near Redbridge roundabout.

This move will really increase the biodiversity of the area.

Thames Water are the latest public body to join the Grow Zone project, being championed by Wild Wanstead, Vision and Redbridge Council. We have already seen wild flower areas being developed on George Green and Christchurch Green and other locations around Wanstead.

There have also been the growing number of tree pits adopted by residents, which has transformed biodiversity in many streets.

The challenge though moving forward is to not only extend the biodiversity in the public sphere  but also the private. So, this can involve increasing the biodiversity in our own homes – extending gardens, cutting back on hard coverings, such as driveways for cars.

There has been something of a rush for all things green over the period of the pandemic, with seeds disappearing out of shops, almost as soon as they have been put on display. Bags of compost, plants and garden tools have all been in demand. Hopefully, this welcome new found appetite for growing things will be more easily met with the reopening of garden centres.

There is much that can be done in our own homes and as part of the community. In my own road, people have been exchanging plants (and much else) as part of Whatsapp groups. The products of people’s growing efforts can also be put on offer.

One area where there could be more co-operation is composting. Compost heaps are simple to create and maintain. They take care of much of the green waste, as well as producing a product that helps grow more plants. It really is a win win.

People can create their own compost heaps or there can be a coming together, where one or two people might decide to collect green material for the compost heap from their road. They then can compost the materials and distribute the finished product back out to the donors. So a virtuous circular process is created – not for everyone but certainly something that has many benefits.  

There is some excellent guidance about composting and how to get started at the Redbridge Council website - www.redbridge.gov.uk/bins-waste-and-recycling/garden-waste/home- composting. There are also details of compost bins that can be purchased for around £20.

The present crisis is a time of great change, when other emergencies can be addressed as part of the demands being created by the pandemic. Biodiversity can be increased, as well as CO2 emissions and pollution being cut. These changes are beginning to happen, particularly in our own Wanstead community – long may it continue.

More cycle and pedestrian ways are the first steps toward a brave new sustainable way of living

The news that government and councils are looking to extend cycle lanes and walkways in order to help people get to work is welcome news.

Less encouraging is that an increase in the cars on the road also seems likely as part of the effort to ensure that people travel in ways that can ensure social distancing is inculcated as part of transport modes.

The sight of individuals sat in their cars with a mask on thereby protecting themselves from Corona virus but merrily pumping out pollution, sure to damage everyone outside that vehicle summarises some of the contradictions that have been thrown up over this period of crisis.

So first the good news, that cycle and pedestrian routes are to be enhanced in order that more people can get about via these means. The London Mayor has set his target of 80% of all journeys to be via such means plus public transport by 2041. So this leap forward, must be welcomed.

Though maybe it is less of a leap, than a step, given that the use of public transport is to be restricted due to the social distancing requirements that need to be in operation to keep us all safe.

On the broader canvass of how society is reconstituted as we come out of lockdown and hopefully move toward a normalisation of life post virus, there are many issues up for debate.

There are those who just want to get back to how things were. They see lost months of production that have to be made up. This group prioritise the needs of business at all costs, even people’s health in some cases. The concern is that if this group get their way that there will be a doubling down on the polluting emitting processes that caused climate change in the first instance.

One of the few gains of this crisis has been a reduction in the level of emissions going into the atmosphere. These gains need to be built upon, not thrown away in a mad dash for growth.

This crisis has provided a space to take stock of the way we live. It has been found wanting in so many ways. The way in which the virus has hit the poorest, elderly and vulnerable members of our society hardest. These inequalities together with the need to address that other great ongoing crisis – climate change – should be at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts coming out of this situation.

It is a sobering thought that in China, there were 3,500 deaths caused by the virus but 70,000 deaths avoided due to a reduction in pollution.

So going forward to a brave new world, we need to seize the opportunity that this crisis has offered. Recognise that a society as unequal and unjust as this one cannot be sustained. We must seek to redress these balances but also build on the gains made in areas like the environment. This is not a time to dash back to the old polluting dangerous ways in some ill thought out dash for growth.

Teachers and their unions are right to be wary of government given their track record during the crisis

Teachers and their union representatives have every right to be wary of government efforts to get them back into the classroom without due attention to their safety. 

Many are no doubt looking at the total failure to exercise a duty of care toward health and care workers.

Teachers in state schools also must wonder why,  if it is so safe to return, their counterparts in the public schools are not doing so till September.

Yes, children do need to get back to school, being locked at home, often in cramped conditions, is no good for anyone. But staff and children can only go back when it is demonstrably safe to do so and not as part of some behavioural science experiment.

 

published - Independent - 17/5/2020

Coronation Street and Eastenders provide welcome expose, as domestic abuse levels soar in the real world under lockdown

Charities involved with domestic abuse have reported a sharp increase in cases over the weeks of the lockdown.

Government has provided extra funding to the charities so that they can address this growing demand.

The subject received a welcome public airing recently on the soap Coronation Street at the height of the lockdown period.

Both Coronation Street and Eastenders have been running plot lines looking at domestic abuse and coercive control.

The Eastenders case has seen lawyer Gray periodically beating up his wife Chantelle behind closed doors at home. Outwardly, they are the model, couple the envy of everyone else on the fictional Albert Square. Behind the scenes the Gray character loses control on a regular basis, causing injuries that are hidden and then disguised.

However, the Coronation Street plot line, involving characters Yasmeen Nazir (Shelley King) and Geoff Metcalfe (Ian Bartholomew), reached its climax in the middle of the lockdown period.

 

Both plot lines have been well written and researched and brilliantly acted. The  attack on the Geoff character comes after months of demeaning and undermining of Yasmeen – publically and at home. He has installed a secret CCTV system, so he can see everything she does. He turns her against her grandaugher, when she tries to help.

 

The story reaches a climax after it is revealed that Yazmeen has contracted a sexually transmitted disease from Geoff. He even manages to turn this against her, accusing her of being unclean, when he knows he is the source, having been using prostitutes.

 

Both soaps have made for harrowing watching at times. The final scenes of the Geoff/Yasmeen story came at the height of the Corona virus lockdown. ITV deserve credit for running such an important story at such a sensitive time.

 

No doubt the helpline put up at the end of each episode has received many contacts from people caught in a similar situation.

 

Whilst they are fictional drama, the soaps do seem to have a unique power to convey important topics like domestic abuse in a way that really resonates with victims. There have been many stories down the years, starting with aids, running through a whole myriad of abuse plot lines, including rape and child abuse. Some are better done than others but what is not in doubt is the way in which such stories can help bring forward victims in the real world.

 

Domestic abuse is an appalling feature of life today. Women (in the main) caught in abusive relationships and often unable to break out. The malicious ways used by the abusers to play to insecurities, undermine and prey on victims is horrendous to behold.

 

Refuges have provided an important place where the victims can escape from abusive partners. There, they get space and the support needed.

 

However, despite the growing demand, refuges have been hit hard by austerity cuts over recent years - with a number forced to close. These cuts need to be reversed.

 

It must also be hoped that the present Domestic abuse legislation on its way through Parliament helps provide the means to really tackle the problem.

 

The alarming levels of domestic abuse seen during the lockdown prove only that this is not something that is going to go away. Refuges need full funding, whilst the police must prosecute cases where coercive control has occurred. No doubt also the inequality in so many relationships also contribute to the cocktail of problems that fuel such abuse.

 

If anything positive can come from the present crisis then it must be a greater awareness of the scourge of domestic abuse in our society and the need to tackle the problem at its very root.

Tragedy of social care in the Corona crisis must see change in the future

The social care sector has been hard hit by the Corona virus, exposing the inadequacy of the system and the appalling way that the workers have been treated.

Whilst deaths in hospitals have been a daily feature of media coverage of the pandemic, the same figures hae only recently been provided for those dying in care homes or the community.

The care sector, like the NHS, has lacked the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for staff, which has caused real concerns. Care provision companies have struggled to get supplies.

A poll conducted by Survation on behalf of the GMB union for ITV news found  that 85% of care workers felt their health was being put at risk due to lack of Personal Protective Equipment, with 99% not being tested.

One in five of care workers were found to have considered quitting over lack of PPE.

Some 50% of the care workforce are on zero hours contracts, paid the minimum wage.

The dangers of spreading infection due partly to the contractual arrangement were obvious.

Under zero hours contracts if a worker does not come to work they do not get paid. Their hours are also subject to the whim of the employer so failure to be available can also result in hours being reduced.

Hardly surprising then to find in another poll conducted for Unison in the North West that care workers were not self-isolating, for fear of not being paid.

The loved ones of those in care homes and receiving care in the community have rightly become increasingly alarmed by the situation.

There is now more light being thrown on the situation in the care sector, so hopefully things will improve. However, going forward there needs to be fundamental reform of social care. As former Labour health secretary and now Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham has highlighted, social care needs to be brought up on a par with the NHS.

At present it is very much the poor relation. Health and social care need to be seen as the one service, interlinked and funded by general taxation. The sector needs to cease to be an area where workers are exploited, with proper terms of employment and pay being provided.

Social care is an area that successive governments have promised to fix but never got round to. Now the Corona pandemic has laid bare the weaknesses, with patients suffering and dying, whilst poorly paid staff go to work for fear of their lives. This has to change, moving to a properly funded and valued care service in the future.

Time to take a serious look at Universal Basic Income

The idea of paying a Universal Basic Income (UBI) to all citizens is something that has been gaining support over recent years.

The UBI has been mentioned a number of times in relation to the present crisis caused by the Corona virus. Many have argued it would be far easier if the government just handed out a basic amount of money to everyone, rather than go through the system of delays and obfuscation that seems to be attached to the Universal Credit system and other schemes.

Afterall, this was what happened at the time of the financial crisis of 2008, the government handed out money to banks and the like in the form of schemes like quantative easing. The banks then used this money to prop up their balance sheets. Company directors also used the largesse to buy back shares in their own companies. The quantative easing approach did not mean the money was put out intothe economy so that ordinary people could use it go buy goods and keep the system moving.

The idea of a universal basis income has received support from both right and left of the political spectrum, The Left see UBI as a way to cut poverty, providing a floor under which no one should fall and can survive. It would also give people time for education and developing new skills. Quality of family life could also improve providing the space to  spend more time together etc.

The Right's view UBI as a way to cut welfare costs. The amount would be paid but in exchange, welfare and health support would be reduced – it should all be covered by the UBI.

Funding of UBI would come from general taxation.

The present economic system with its growing inequalities certainly needs something like UBI to stimulate demand. The polarisation between a small group of people having most of the wealth, whilst the mass have very little is not sustainable. The people that hold the mass of wealth put it away or lend it out to others. They are not out spending the money in the market place, creating the demand for goods. If people all have a basic amount of money they will spend.

A number of places have trialed UBI, including Canada, Finland and India. There are projects planned here in Sheffield and Glasgow.

In Alaska, they have had UBI for many years, provided by the wealth that came into the state from the oil industry. It is regarded as a fundamental right in Alaska, set each year, though there have been arguments about levels and the effect the UBI has on other services.

What does seem clear from examples of UBI around the world is that it has not resulted in stopping people from wanting to work. The UBI provides a basis subsistence level income, people still continue to want to work. It does though help cut poverty and stimulate the economy.

There would ofcourse be potential problems over what level the UBI was set at each year but this would be a matter for negotiation, In the short to medium term it would provide a simple way of getting money out to people in order that they can survive as well as getting  the ecomomy going.   

published - Wanstead and Woodford Guardian - 30/4/2020

Lockdown strategy please

The government seems to have a total blind spot regarding the damage being done by lockdown – the effects on mental health, the rising levels of domestic and other forms of abuse.  

Then there is the future of the economy, the longer we remain locked down, the higher will be the cost in terms of job losses etc.

Finally, the lockdown policy has worked so well because people have followed the advice, practically to the letter. Failure to be seen to be moving the country out of lockdown risks the government losing its authority. The lockdown may then just crumble, with people going back to work and coming out regardless. What will the government do in response, arrest everyone and put them in those already overcrowded and Covid -19 vulnerable prisons?

No, the time has come for some grown up politics – treat the people as adults, stop the silly militaristic language of conflicts and outline the way forward out of lockdown.

 

Published – 30/4/2020 - Independent