Open House

Open house

No Stafford eco-party this year,

but let this be the substitute!

Come and talk about your issues and concerns.

Sadly John Gale won’t be there – a big hole in proceedings –

but at least you’ll be able to get a word in edgeways. 

It's been marvellous to hear about all the support

which the green network has been giving John.

Bill Waller, Biodiversity Officer for Stafford Borough

Wherever we stand on the ‘earth first’/’people first’ spectrum,

we all recognise the crucial importance of maintaining and enhancing biodiversity at all levels.

Bill Waller, Biodiversity Officer for Stafford Borough,

will lead a discussion on what is needed and what is possible in Stafford Borough.

What do we mean by sustainability?

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SUSTAINABILITY?

Do we mean sustaining our lives as we currently live them, or just sustaining life on the planet in its most basic way?  Do we mean continuing economic growth? Do we mean something in the gaps between these things ... or something else entirely?

 

Sustainability as a word has been used, re-used, appropriated and re-appropriated by many sections of society.  What does this mean to us, and should we be concerned about the semantics of it?

 

Doug (a welcome new voice on the Stafford scene!) will lead a discussion on this issue, which is at the core of our concerns.

Can we meet our energy needs via new technolgies?

Can we meet our energy needs via new technolgies?

Some countries look to thorium as a safer, less expensive, and simpler form

of energy generation than uranium reactors. What do we make of the evidence?

What of the wider context?  What are our energy ‘needs’? 

How shall we meet them?

There will be no formal input at this session. 

You are invited to read the attached sources on thorium

and pool ideas at the meeting on this specfic issue and on the wider context.

Hunger and Famine

Hunger and famine

- shortage of food or production for profit?

Tony will lead a discussion on this theme.

How do people acquire their attitudes to the environment?

How do people acquire their attitudes to the environment?

 

Carl will start a discussion on this topic, one we need to grapple with if we are to campaign effectively.    He is a PhD student at the Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development. He is studying environmental psychology and social networks, seeking to understand individual attitudes towards the natural environment, and how these attitudes are affected by social context.

What sort of Stafford do we want? how do we get it?

WHAT SORT OF STAFFORD DO WE WANT?

HOW DO WE GET IT?

 

Big developers are creating a Stafford about which many of us are at least sceptical.

 

·                    Bovis have destroyed many trees at the St George’s site to prepare the way for new roads and houses.

·                    The proposed Riverside and Kingsmead developments will have a huge ecological impact.

·                    The Local Development Plan is preparing for massive new housing developments.

·                    The Western Link Road , seemingly off the agenda after a big local campaign, was mentioned again in this week’s papers.

·                    There are many other issues which concern our groups.

 

What improvements or alternatives do we propose? 

How do we achieve them?