The first OFF-GRID eco festival combined with ‘an intimate, family focussed camp’ took place from 20th-23rd August, and was a big success, according to co-organiser Dan Hurring.
It was a small camp size of up to 500 people, on a hill-top field between Shepton Mallet and Dinder.
Organised by Natural Communities CIC, who run the popular Sunrise festivals, Off-Grid potentially could have increased its demand, when organisers offered stranded ticket holders of the cancelled Big Green Gathering the option to spend their tickets at this event. However, the effect was less than organisers expected.
Attractions included great music, circus, walk about acts, games, dance, workshops, talks, tented stalls and organic cafes, but also the focus was about learning. “This is ultimately an educational experience, it’s a community networking event, it’s a place for skills and knowledge sharing,” said Dan Hurring.
Entertainments were powered by all sorts of micro generators, but mainly wind turbines and solar photovoltaic sources, which managed to keep most of the show going over its four days.
“It’s been DIY, more so than most of our events in the past, we even ran out of power for our production office computers and phones, but there’s been a lot of working together among the solar power providers here, with lots of borrowing and fixing bits together, and we’ve had some amazing technical geniuses working on-site,” explained Dan.
In a small but significant way, Off-Grid proves it is possible to run an outdoor event of this kind without noisy generators or mains electricity, both of which add to carbon dioxide emissions.
Dan Hurring thinks they are pointing the way forward to a future for festivals that can do more in this direction.
“There’s a lot of challenges ahead for festivals and we’re entering a time when fossil fuels are likely to become a lot more expensive, when climate change means we need to take a lot more care in what we are consuming, and so I think festivals are facing a transition from the very oil-based set up to something new, which events like this can point the way to...
“Saying that, there’s a long way to go – even here there’s a lot of learning for us – such as in sustainable transport, which we didn’t really achieve, and also there’s not enough solar provision available in the UK at this time to power a bigger festival even a one quarter of the size of Glastonbury Festival,” he said.
There are many eco challenges still facing festivals, admits Dan, but he believes there are people with the minds and skills to do what’s needed, since it’s inevitable that all festivals will need to be greener in the future.
Ticket holders of the cancelled Big Green Gathering, who made use of the offer to exchange their tickets for entry to Off-Grid also voiced their anger and disappointment about the loss of an important ‘green cultural event,’ but others had optimism that it might result in more smaller events – like Off-Grid – taking place in future.
Paul Lund (25.8.09)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
It is not easy being green these days
These days “the greens,” as the media likes to call us, have a lot to contend with. Living a green life is now more popular than ever, but with it comes an awareness of the enormous problems facing our living world.
In the past being green was a more simple affair, as much about encouraging wildlife, enlisting children in junior branches of conservation charities, as it was about a range of practical measures like save, sew and make-do at home. That was how I remember my own childhood, along with my mission of helping save giant pandas, tigers and other threatened species – carried out by saving up the pennies and converting them into postal orders to send to the World Wildlife Fund, the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society, and other such organisations.
Now, being green encompasses so much more than it did. The amount of greenness has expanded and now includes alternative green choices for every aspect of daily life, including expanding our knowledge about renewable energy and the science of climate change.
Every decade has its environmental challenges, but not every problem has been solved. From the 1960s we had to worry about pesticides, pollution and rapidly increasing loss of habitats. The early alerts about global warming came in the 1970’s and I certainly remember how the Shell and BP 16mm environmental films – making the rounds among natural history societies – illustrated how bad water and air pollution had become. In the 1980s we saw recycling issues rise as the mountains of waste sent to landfill would out-fill the holes available. The 1990s were the dawn of sustainability, the rise of renewable energy, holes in the ozone layer and dramatic news about biodiversity loss world-wide.
‘Green’ had become not just conservation of wildlife and self-sufficiency, but representative of a whole new spectrum of eco lifestyle choices. As this first decade of the 21st Century has progressed, society has been confronted by the scientific reality about climate change. It was now serious and a threat to life around the planet.
‘The 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1995’ * Met Office
In case we doubted the scientists, newspaper and TV reporters began bringing the evidence to us from around the world. Views of melting ancient glaciers, sea level rise starting to affect some Pacific islands, species threatened with extinction, freak weather patterns becoming common, plus our gardens showing signs of plant stress. Though the economy and Afghanistan have been leading stories in the media this year, the climate change drama hasn’t stopped but has revealed more issues from around the world.
We have all learnt much more about our climate, power savings and polluting gases than we knew before. Many energy and climate phrases have entered into common usage, such as the ubiquitous Peak Oil or the Climate Tipping Point – a time of climate change that would tip us past a point of no return. This point is predicted to arrive sometime over the next few decades, unless we can make huge and drastic changes to stop spoiling or polluting the Earth’s atmosphere with greenhouse gasses. Carbon dioxide being the main culpable gas, released from burning fossil fuels. If optimum volume oil extraction has passed its peak, energy companies will still find enough oil to drain down through the next few decades, even assuming the rising demand is met with faster supply.
‘Sea levels have risen 10cm around the UK since 1900’ * Met Office
By no means is it certain mankind can make amends – either because we humans simply can’t comprehend the world is really changing that much, or because we are too far wedded to consumerism and dependency on carbon fuel and oil based lifestyles.
However, the urgency to do something has spread among nations around the world. As individuals, or small groups here in the South West, we are doing as much as we can to lessen our personal impacts on the environment, but at the same time looking for positive leadership and direction from the ‘authorities’ including government. Our popular iconic figures, from Tony Blair, Prince Charles, Sir Richard Branson, Dame Vivienne Westwood to Sir David Attenborough, all agree and applaud us to make the necessary changes now.
As the issues become more complex – we, as concerned citizens, need to understand something of the science and reasons for the environmental damage we are causing. As eco activists we must also keep pace with climate news and technological developments, or we will not be able to encourage fellow citizens of the necessity to join the greener cause – and do more than the simplest eco actions.
‘Arctic summer sea ice has shrunk 20% in the last 30 years’ * Met Office
Knowing the importance of the melting ice caps, or the reason for preserving the Greenland ice shelf is part of today’s new Green Crusade to save not the pandas but the planet. In fact Polar bears have replaced pandas in the nation’s hearts, as have the penguin chicks freezing to death because it was raining not snowing.
The effect of losing tropical rain forest on climate change is another example of a process we should understand, if only to ask for FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) approved garden furniture without adding to the trade in logging of prime forest habitats and its further impact on the climate. By knowing about warming of the world’s oceans, leading to death of marine animals like corals, we can see how another indirect cause of man’s carbon dioxide emissions is leading to further problems. As reefs disappear coastal habitation is affected. These are just two more examples out of the many, but without passing on this understanding I don’t see how people can feel involved and asked to help.
Like me, maybe you have wondered about such odd things as cigarette packets that warn smokers of the damage their contents will cause, but we don’t see any warnings from the aviation companies or coal-fired power stations compelling their users and consumers of the damage caused to the environment through flying or using electricity from non-renewable (clean) sources.
Maybe death on a huge scale, caused by climate change disasters, is not seen as attributable to a purchase in the same way, but industries have been held to account in the past and slowly the moral ethic is taking precedence. The Aviation Global Deal Group is the industry’s own response to taking action on emissions and will be part of the Global Climate Change Deal to be agreed at the Copenhagen summit in December.
‘Powered by barely eight watts of electricity... [new LED light bulbs] emit more light and less heat than a 60 watt incandescent bulb’ Energy for Tomorrow by National Geographic, 2009
Taxes on rubbish disposal are set to rise in the future and perhaps we will see more and higher green taxes applied to damaging industries, if that is what it takes to change people’s minds.
We can speculate about such outcomes in the next decade or two, but it is clear mankind must act decisively. Public understanding of the issues is a key factor, as is determined and trusted leadership that enables real progress and willingness for nations and society to change.
‘In any given hour, more energy from the sun reaches the Earth than is used by the whole human population in any given year’ National Geographic, June 2009
US President Barack Obama is credited with the ability to drive America into a new green age, but politics and industrial interests have already reduced his effectiveness to go further in protecting the environment than any federal leader has done so far. Will the UK fare any better when it comes to making hard decisions and seeing them through to legislation?
The Copenhagen Summit this December will be significant and prove how committed the nations of the world really are in making cuts in carbon emissions. The consequences of continuing down our carbon fuelled road are clear, but the magnitude of commercial interests and investments seeking the maximum return seem impossible to stop.
Meanwhile, we will continue to play our part as conscientious “greenies” and eco practitioners and campaigners in our communities across the South West.
Paul Lund
24 August 2009
References:
Helpful information about climate change is available at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/ *
In the past being green was a more simple affair, as much about encouraging wildlife, enlisting children in junior branches of conservation charities, as it was about a range of practical measures like save, sew and make-do at home. That was how I remember my own childhood, along with my mission of helping save giant pandas, tigers and other threatened species – carried out by saving up the pennies and converting them into postal orders to send to the World Wildlife Fund, the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society, and other such organisations.
Now, being green encompasses so much more than it did. The amount of greenness has expanded and now includes alternative green choices for every aspect of daily life, including expanding our knowledge about renewable energy and the science of climate change.
Every decade has its environmental challenges, but not every problem has been solved. From the 1960s we had to worry about pesticides, pollution and rapidly increasing loss of habitats. The early alerts about global warming came in the 1970’s and I certainly remember how the Shell and BP 16mm environmental films – making the rounds among natural history societies – illustrated how bad water and air pollution had become. In the 1980s we saw recycling issues rise as the mountains of waste sent to landfill would out-fill the holes available. The 1990s were the dawn of sustainability, the rise of renewable energy, holes in the ozone layer and dramatic news about biodiversity loss world-wide.
‘Green’ had become not just conservation of wildlife and self-sufficiency, but representative of a whole new spectrum of eco lifestyle choices. As this first decade of the 21st Century has progressed, society has been confronted by the scientific reality about climate change. It was now serious and a threat to life around the planet.
‘The 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1995’ * Met Office
In case we doubted the scientists, newspaper and TV reporters began bringing the evidence to us from around the world. Views of melting ancient glaciers, sea level rise starting to affect some Pacific islands, species threatened with extinction, freak weather patterns becoming common, plus our gardens showing signs of plant stress. Though the economy and Afghanistan have been leading stories in the media this year, the climate change drama hasn’t stopped but has revealed more issues from around the world.
We have all learnt much more about our climate, power savings and polluting gases than we knew before. Many energy and climate phrases have entered into common usage, such as the ubiquitous Peak Oil or the Climate Tipping Point – a time of climate change that would tip us past a point of no return. This point is predicted to arrive sometime over the next few decades, unless we can make huge and drastic changes to stop spoiling or polluting the Earth’s atmosphere with greenhouse gasses. Carbon dioxide being the main culpable gas, released from burning fossil fuels. If optimum volume oil extraction has passed its peak, energy companies will still find enough oil to drain down through the next few decades, even assuming the rising demand is met with faster supply.
‘Sea levels have risen 10cm around the UK since 1900’ * Met Office
By no means is it certain mankind can make amends – either because we humans simply can’t comprehend the world is really changing that much, or because we are too far wedded to consumerism and dependency on carbon fuel and oil based lifestyles.
However, the urgency to do something has spread among nations around the world. As individuals, or small groups here in the South West, we are doing as much as we can to lessen our personal impacts on the environment, but at the same time looking for positive leadership and direction from the ‘authorities’ including government. Our popular iconic figures, from Tony Blair, Prince Charles, Sir Richard Branson, Dame Vivienne Westwood to Sir David Attenborough, all agree and applaud us to make the necessary changes now.
As the issues become more complex – we, as concerned citizens, need to understand something of the science and reasons for the environmental damage we are causing. As eco activists we must also keep pace with climate news and technological developments, or we will not be able to encourage fellow citizens of the necessity to join the greener cause – and do more than the simplest eco actions.
‘Arctic summer sea ice has shrunk 20% in the last 30 years’ * Met Office
Knowing the importance of the melting ice caps, or the reason for preserving the Greenland ice shelf is part of today’s new Green Crusade to save not the pandas but the planet. In fact Polar bears have replaced pandas in the nation’s hearts, as have the penguin chicks freezing to death because it was raining not snowing.
The effect of losing tropical rain forest on climate change is another example of a process we should understand, if only to ask for FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) approved garden furniture without adding to the trade in logging of prime forest habitats and its further impact on the climate. By knowing about warming of the world’s oceans, leading to death of marine animals like corals, we can see how another indirect cause of man’s carbon dioxide emissions is leading to further problems. As reefs disappear coastal habitation is affected. These are just two more examples out of the many, but without passing on this understanding I don’t see how people can feel involved and asked to help.
Like me, maybe you have wondered about such odd things as cigarette packets that warn smokers of the damage their contents will cause, but we don’t see any warnings from the aviation companies or coal-fired power stations compelling their users and consumers of the damage caused to the environment through flying or using electricity from non-renewable (clean) sources.
Maybe death on a huge scale, caused by climate change disasters, is not seen as attributable to a purchase in the same way, but industries have been held to account in the past and slowly the moral ethic is taking precedence. The Aviation Global Deal Group is the industry’s own response to taking action on emissions and will be part of the Global Climate Change Deal to be agreed at the Copenhagen summit in December.
‘Powered by barely eight watts of electricity... [new LED light bulbs] emit more light and less heat than a 60 watt incandescent bulb’ Energy for Tomorrow by National Geographic, 2009
Taxes on rubbish disposal are set to rise in the future and perhaps we will see more and higher green taxes applied to damaging industries, if that is what it takes to change people’s minds.
We can speculate about such outcomes in the next decade or two, but it is clear mankind must act decisively. Public understanding of the issues is a key factor, as is determined and trusted leadership that enables real progress and willingness for nations and society to change.
‘In any given hour, more energy from the sun reaches the Earth than is used by the whole human population in any given year’ National Geographic, June 2009
US President Barack Obama is credited with the ability to drive America into a new green age, but politics and industrial interests have already reduced his effectiveness to go further in protecting the environment than any federal leader has done so far. Will the UK fare any better when it comes to making hard decisions and seeing them through to legislation?
The Copenhagen Summit this December will be significant and prove how committed the nations of the world really are in making cuts in carbon emissions. The consequences of continuing down our carbon fuelled road are clear, but the magnitude of commercial interests and investments seeking the maximum return seem impossible to stop.
Meanwhile, we will continue to play our part as conscientious “greenies” and eco practitioners and campaigners in our communities across the South West.
Paul Lund
24 August 2009
References:
Helpful information about climate change is available at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/ *
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