AGM on Thursday 25th March at 7.30pm in the Friends Meeting House.
Capel Goes Green warmly invites you to join them for their Annual General Meeting and viewing of In Transition.
They shall conduct the usual business (review of the past year, election of officers) briskly and then enjoy the screening of a film In Transition which tells the story of the rapidly growing movement across the world, in both towns and villages, to develop resilience in local communities and to cut back on energy use. The film is particularly dramatic is showing our profligate use of oil.
The film will be followed by refreshments and discussion of the film.
They shall then develop a programme of events for the coming year. So far there have been ideas for a vegetarian lunch, a visit to the Mole Valley recyling depot, a Green Gazebo at the Horticultural Show in August (instead of a separate Green Fair in September). You may have some splendid suggestions to add to these.
Meanwhile the Temple Lane Allotments Society is meeting regularly as a separate body, putting in applications for grants, completing planning permission documents and getting estimates for fencing, car parking hard-standing, and a multi-purpose shed with lockable storage, social area and even a composting or camping toilet!
On the morning of 
Saturday 16th the Green Mole Forum was present at Bookham Vision's Volunteers fair.
It was an event to enable the many people who ticked the box in the village plan survey indicating they were interested in volunteering to meet groups they might be able to help.
More than 100 people who filled in the survey also indicated they would be interested in joining a Transition Towns initiative for Bookham - Transition Bookham - an initiative which the Green Mole Forum is helping to support. Not sure what the Transition Town initiative is about? Then click here. The Green Mole Forum has already helped Transition Dorking and Transition Ashtead get going. With your help we can start Transition Bookham and make it a success.
What you can do if you are interested in taking part:
And we will let you know. For more articles on Transition initiatives click here.
We also had a great response to our Energy Monitor scheme. What's this? Simply: we can lend you whole-house energy monitors to help you easily identify where you can save money by not accidentally leaving energy-sapping appliances turned on.
Over 50,000 people, including members of The GMF, attended The Wave this Saturday (5th December 2009), with Climate Marches being held in London, Glasgow and Belfast.
Such was the turnout that even the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, ended up inviting 24 supporters to 10 Downing Street afterwards, to hear their concerns.
This Saturday (5th December 2009), ahead of the Copenhagen climate talks, people will be converging on London for the National Climate March. At noon there will be a Climate Emergency Rally in Speakers' Corner, Hyde Park (bring a picnic!), followed by the march at 1pm leaving Grosvenor Square to surround Parliament and ending with 'The Wave' at 3pm.
Residents of Mole Valley will be present, including members of The Green Mole Forum who will be catching the following train - 10.26am from Dorking Station (mainline) to London Victoria, calling at Leatherhead 10.33am, Ashtead 10.37am and Epsom 10.41am. Look out for people wearing a lot of blue! For more information you can email rally@greenmoleforum.org
Firstly, RIGHT NOW!, sign the UN Climate Petition, which will be handed to delegates at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December, and secondly go and watch the movie 'The Age of Stupid', if you haven't done so already!
Having seen the film at Croydon's Eco Veggie Fayre, I'm now on a mission to get EVERYONE to see it! It just makes so much sense! If you haven't seen it and can't find it 'locally' (low 'movie miles' please!), email me richardm@greenmoleforum.org with the subject line 'The Age of Stupid'... once I've got enough interest I'll try to arrange a screening in Leatherhead or Dorking.
On the 15th July 2009 the Government published its energy white paper... the previous day TV presenter Kevin McCloud, spokesperson for the Grand Designs Great British Refurb Campaign, had built his own model home, outside the Houses of Parliament, to show MPs what can be done to insulate existing properties. It's estimated that by retrofitting our current housing stock, over 26 million homes (accounting for around 27% of the country's man-made CO2), nine
million tonnes of CO2 could be cut, equivalent to the
average output of over 1.5 million homes a year.
On the 16th the campaign handed in an 8,000 signature petition to 10 Downing Street, calling on the Government to help householders to play
their part. Energy efficiency is the best way to minimise the
costs of a low carbon future and it needs to act now if it wants us to reduce our carbon output by 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. Given that the majority of these homes will still be standing, it's a hopelessly unrealistic target, unless we can improve their eco-credentials.
For more information on the campaign and how you can help check out their website.
You may have read on this site before about DEFRA's proposals to introduce a charge to register to be exempt from certain forthcoming composting regulations (?!)
Well, DEFRA have had so many responses to this and to other proposals that they've had to postpone their conclusions from October 2009 to April 2010. Almost all are against the proposal. Well done everyone who wrote in, and thanks.
(The comment deadline was Thursday 23 October 2008. Comments were to be sent exemptions@defra.gsi.gov.uk. Perhaps they will still accept comments becuase of their extension, who knows...)
They have published a summary of responses (here).
Here are some excepts of the excepts:
3.6 Proposal 6 – To introduce a charge for the registration of all registerable exemptions
- 'Unlike most other proposals, the vast majority of respondents to proposal six did not agree with the proposal'
- 'Many suggested that the introduction of a fee for registration would be to the detriment of the environment as many of the activities currently in operation which work to the benefit of the environment (e.g. community composting activities) would be forced to stop, or would not start in the first place.'
- 'LARAC is concerned about the effect of the introduction of charges on charitable organisations and community organisations, including community composting projects'
- 'The overwhelming response from these groups [Individuals and the Community and Third Sector] was to reject proposal six. Almost unanimous opposition for the proposal was received, with only two respondents supporting the proposal'
- 'Respondents highlighted the disparity in Government policy, whereby on one hand, they are being encouraged to recycle, and on the other hand, with this proposal, the Government wishes to impose new charges on the activities which they seek to promote. One respondent stated: “I have recently heard of the proposal to charge schools and charities an exemption fee of £50 if they wish to have a compost heap. I understand the need to control the collection and disposal of waste and can accept that industrial scale composting operations require control. However, to charge schools for the privilege of educating children in caring for the environment seems ludicrous and, I am sure, contrary to information from other sections of government.”'
- 'We cannot express strongly enough the impact that the introduction of a charge for charities and not-for-profit organisations will have, however even further the impact this would have on the number of schools composting. There are various Government supported projects that are encouraging schools to grow their own and make children see the connection between what they grow and what they eat, and compost is an essential ingredient to help the growing process. Yet DEFRA‟s suggestion of charging a £50 registration fee would be a disincentive to start or potentially continue composting. Schools often operate this type of activity on a seriously stretched budget, and if the charge was introduced, this would be a reason not to even start composting. As CCN have stated “introducing a charge for a no-risk to very low risk activity seems to go against the „polluter pays‟ principle, as there is no pollution or environmental risk to pay for.'
Transition Ashtead is now getting into its stride. We've had two meetings and have decided that between us we've got enough people and commitment to have a real go at making Ashtead a Transition Initiative. Our group has therefore applied to formally become the Transition Ashtead Initiating Group and we have appointed a Chair (Barry Smale), Secretary (Derek Smith) and Treasurer (Tony Cooper). We have agreed a set of aims and principles, and should soon have a constitution, bank account and logo sorted out. Once these boring but important tasks have been done, we will set about the real job of spreading awareness and organising events in Ashtead. If you are interested in learning more, please ring me on 01372-378914 or email us using the 'Contact' button on the Green Mole Forum home page.
Derek Smith
How much could you save?
This year, National liftshare Day (NLSD) takes place on Tuesday 9 June. The popular event aims to raise the profile of car-sharing and encourage and enable more people give it a try.
And in view of the economic climate, the focus this year is on the many hundreds of pounds that regular car-sharers can save every year. How much could you save?
Read on for ideas and inspiration!