When it comes down to us being sustainable and meeting sustainable development goals it’s harder than first thought. Its easy to say I’m going to be more sustainable by driving more eco friendly or maybe even give up the car, have a composter, recycle, use less water and electricity ect. But the fact is we don’t all stick to these goals. For example some people might give up the car and use public transport. But then they discover how much a train ticket and bus fair can cost, and the added time to there journey. So they give up using public transport and go back to using the car as it’s a lot more convenient and can even work out cheaper.
People who start recycling and get composter may think they are being sustainable and help the environment. But then when the cold weather comes along on its dark and raining heavy, they think twice about going outside to the composter, and just but the waste in the normal household bin.
But then we are told to cut down on the amount of electricity and water we use. But come to think of it, cutting back isn’t going to make hardly any difference at all, as thousands of new homes are being built each year to accommodate for the increasing population in the UK, and in fact the increasing population around the world which is even worse for the environment. So we are not being given much motivation to be more sustainable because we might be able to reduce carbon emissions in the UK, but then in developing countries the carbon emissions are being dramatically increased and they are developing e.g. China. And then we get even less motivation for being more sustainable by looking at America, which are doing practically nothing to be kinder for the environment.
So overall I think the main threats to sustainable development in this country are people’s attitude, motivation and not really seeing the benefits of being sustainable. Also when it comes to transport and cutting down on private car use, people are not really being encouraged to use public transport, or decide against it, as in my opinion its far too expensive and inconvenient.
Thursday, 26 March 2009
Thursday, 5 March 2009
sustainable community
I live in a village called Cosby in south Leicestershire. I think my village very much meets the needs of a “sustainable community” as it has job opportunities, within the village, with local businesses such as coats, and Cosby Suppliers. Also there are job opportunities available in Leicester which is about 7miles. There is a high employment rate, as only 1% are job seekers.
There is good public transport into Leicester, with public buses coming every 30mins. The roads to the city centre are good as well, as there is a main road leading there, and by passes that go around other villages on the way.
There is a wide variety of houses in the village ranging from housing estates that have big 5-6 bedroom detached housing, to smaller housing estates that semi detached housing, and there are a few terrace houses in the village centre.
30% of houses are detached, and 60% are semi-detached. 90% of the houses are owner occupied.
It has a lot of open space, as the village is surrounded by fields, and in the middle of the village there is a large park with a children’s play area, a cricket pitch, two football pitches, and a rugby pitch, which people in the community are allowed to use.
The village is environmentally friendly as well, as there is a brook that runs through the village, which is well looked after and therefore attracts wildlife, such as ducks.
There is good public transport into Leicester, with public buses coming every 30mins. The roads to the city centre are good as well, as there is a main road leading there, and by passes that go around other villages on the way.
There is a wide variety of houses in the village ranging from housing estates that have big 5-6 bedroom detached housing, to smaller housing estates that semi detached housing, and there are a few terrace houses in the village centre.
30% of houses are detached, and 60% are semi-detached. 90% of the houses are owner occupied.
It has a lot of open space, as the village is surrounded by fields, and in the middle of the village there is a large park with a children’s play area, a cricket pitch, two football pitches, and a rugby pitch, which people in the community are allowed to use.
The village is environmentally friendly as well, as there is a brook that runs through the village, which is well looked after and therefore attracts wildlife, such as ducks.
http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/ i used this website to get some SOA's for my village.
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Sustainable Development
I think that education on sustainable development is great, but why is it only on the curriculum for geography?
I know that it has nothing to do with some subjects like training to become a nurse, but it does with some other subjects like, for example, business. In business you could learn about how businesses can be sustainable, like ways to cut down on waste and increase recycling.
I suppose that it is a good thing that that people are learning about it, as after all we are the next generation, and we are learning about sustainability issues that arise in everyday life, that will be useful knowledge when making everyday decisions, and learning about the consequences and effects of those decisions.
But it should be on the curriculum for students in high school, as sustainable development is a big issue at the moment, with global warming and landfill sites over flowing. But why stop at just educating young people about it? Older people who are not in education can be taught about it as well. Maybe they can be sent leaflets or e-mails on sustainable development, or maybe there could more TV programs on it.
Having studied the module “Learning for sustainable development” my feelings about it are it is a very useful module to study, as the issues that arrive in it are becoming important issues within today’s society. For example, learning about various methods of transport, and the ways people get about. Currently I am doing a project on how students get to park campus, and I have found out that the majority of students get here by travelling in a private car on there own. Researching into this means officials can do more to promote more sustainable ways of travelling to the campus.
So overall I think learning about sustainable development is a good thing as it is going to help save our planet, as people become more aware of certain issues, and learn about ways they can reduce there carbon footprint.
I know that it has nothing to do with some subjects like training to become a nurse, but it does with some other subjects like, for example, business. In business you could learn about how businesses can be sustainable, like ways to cut down on waste and increase recycling.
I suppose that it is a good thing that that people are learning about it, as after all we are the next generation, and we are learning about sustainability issues that arise in everyday life, that will be useful knowledge when making everyday decisions, and learning about the consequences and effects of those decisions.
But it should be on the curriculum for students in high school, as sustainable development is a big issue at the moment, with global warming and landfill sites over flowing. But why stop at just educating young people about it? Older people who are not in education can be taught about it as well. Maybe they can be sent leaflets or e-mails on sustainable development, or maybe there could more TV programs on it.
Having studied the module “Learning for sustainable development” my feelings about it are it is a very useful module to study, as the issues that arrive in it are becoming important issues within today’s society. For example, learning about various methods of transport, and the ways people get about. Currently I am doing a project on how students get to park campus, and I have found out that the majority of students get here by travelling in a private car on there own. Researching into this means officials can do more to promote more sustainable ways of travelling to the campus.
So overall I think learning about sustainable development is a good thing as it is going to help save our planet, as people become more aware of certain issues, and learn about ways they can reduce there carbon footprint.
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
bad crunch good crunch?
I think that good things can come from this recession. The world as a whole is using a lot less oil which is good because it means reduced co2 emissions, which will reduce global warming. Also because we are using less oil, there is less demand for it and therefore the price of it decreases. This is good for motorists as petrol and diesel prices drop, which helps motorists out who are struggling financially during these difficult times.
Oil is currently below $30 a barrel where during the summer it was around $130 a barrel.
But there are a lot of bad things that have happened during the credit crunch, and I think the negatives definitely out weight the positives. The unemployment rate for the UK is increasing. It was 1.92 million between September and November 2008, which was up by 131,000 from the previous three months. This is the highest level of unemployment in the UK since September 1997. This doesn’t help getting the country out of recession as people won’t have much disposable income which means they won’t spend as much therefore contributing to more redundancies.
The exchange rate for the sterling is decreasing, both the euro and American dollar has dropped. The exchange rate in the summer was £1=$2, but now £1= $1.4. This is also bad for the economy as it will cost more to import goods, therefore increasing the prices of the goods.
So overall I think that the credit crunch is a good thing for the environment. As we are using less fossil fuel, as manufacturing has decreased, and less lorries are on the road transporting these manufactured goods. But it is a bad thing for the population, as there are redundancies, which means there are people out there who cant afford to pay the rent, mortgage and bills, and even provide food for there family. Even though the credit crunch hasn’t affected me, I think the sooner we come out of it the better.
Oil is currently below $30 a barrel where during the summer it was around $130 a barrel.
But there are a lot of bad things that have happened during the credit crunch, and I think the negatives definitely out weight the positives. The unemployment rate for the UK is increasing. It was 1.92 million between September and November 2008, which was up by 131,000 from the previous three months. This is the highest level of unemployment in the UK since September 1997. This doesn’t help getting the country out of recession as people won’t have much disposable income which means they won’t spend as much therefore contributing to more redundancies.
The exchange rate for the sterling is decreasing, both the euro and American dollar has dropped. The exchange rate in the summer was £1=$2, but now £1= $1.4. This is also bad for the economy as it will cost more to import goods, therefore increasing the prices of the goods.
So overall I think that the credit crunch is a good thing for the environment. As we are using less fossil fuel, as manufacturing has decreased, and less lorries are on the road transporting these manufactured goods. But it is a bad thing for the population, as there are redundancies, which means there are people out there who cant afford to pay the rent, mortgage and bills, and even provide food for there family. Even though the credit crunch hasn’t affected me, I think the sooner we come out of it the better.
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Travel Survey
Joint blog- Adam and Faye
As a group in class, we planned what was to be included in the survey and how the traffic count data was to be collected.
Our group split up and two of us did the traffic count and the other two asked people the surveys. The two counting the traffic stood by the barriers at the entrance of the main student car park at Park campus. However due to our specific aims- only students’ cars were included in the count and lectures cars were distinguished by white permits. This was fairly difficult to do as the stickers were sometimes unable to be seen.
Some of the results may not be accurate as visitors may have been included in the traffic count and therefore not necessarily students.
The traffic count did not surprise me as not that many people car share- they seemed to travel alone. Also the time of day may have influenced peoples' decisions to arrive about half an hour prior to a lecture. For example someone may decide to arrive earlier to avoid rush hour and allow plenty of time for traffic or any incidents that may occur.
The surveys were quite conclusive about the fact people didn't think that students should have to pay to park during the day or night at Park campus.
However it did surprise me that more people commuted a further distance to the campus than was previously anticipated.
Another surprise from the surveys is that very few people that lived on campus parked cars in the car park- and in fact didn't even have one.
When we asked about the frequency of peoples methods of transport to the campus, car was an unsurprising winner however bus ranked highly among the results. This may be because bus fairs are subsidised when a student shows their student card.
As a group in class, we planned what was to be included in the survey and how the traffic count data was to be collected.
Our group split up and two of us did the traffic count and the other two asked people the surveys. The two counting the traffic stood by the barriers at the entrance of the main student car park at Park campus. However due to our specific aims- only students’ cars were included in the count and lectures cars were distinguished by white permits. This was fairly difficult to do as the stickers were sometimes unable to be seen.
Some of the results may not be accurate as visitors may have been included in the traffic count and therefore not necessarily students.
The traffic count did not surprise me as not that many people car share- they seemed to travel alone. Also the time of day may have influenced peoples' decisions to arrive about half an hour prior to a lecture. For example someone may decide to arrive earlier to avoid rush hour and allow plenty of time for traffic or any incidents that may occur.
The surveys were quite conclusive about the fact people didn't think that students should have to pay to park during the day or night at Park campus.
However it did surprise me that more people commuted a further distance to the campus than was previously anticipated.
Another surprise from the surveys is that very few people that lived on campus parked cars in the car park- and in fact didn't even have one.
When we asked about the frequency of peoples methods of transport to the campus, car was an unsurprising winner however bus ranked highly among the results. This may be because bus fairs are subsidised when a student shows their student card.
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
United Nations blog
Me and my partner Katy represented South Africa in the united nations conference. We found some useful information on the internet about sustainable development in South Africa. I found out that they were doing quite a lot to help towards sustainable development, and this surprised me a little as I thought they would rather spend money on just generally trying to develop as a county, and not bother so much about being sustainable. For example on the website http://www.southafrica.info/about/sustainable/ I found out that they were spending money on replacing street lights bulbs with energy efficient ones. Then listening to the other countries presentations I discovered that almost every country was doing quite a lot towards sustainable development. But during Americas presentation they said they would use the UN’s money to improve there military. I do no agree with this as America already has the best military in the world and it doesn’t need improving. They also said that they would use the money on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. But I feel that enough money has already been spent on the war and trying to sort out the issues in both of the countries. I think its time they just left the countries alone and let them solve there own problems.
I think our presentation went well, I got straight to the point, and highlighted key point to read out, instead of reading everything out like some other countries did.
I liked doing the exercise as it was something different. I learnt that it isn’t just the MEDC’s that are spending money towards sustainable development, its LEDC’s as well, which is a good thing because we don’t want LEDC’s to develop the same way as we did, because the way we did it was using lots of raw materials and non renewable recourses.
I think our presentation went well, I got straight to the point, and highlighted key point to read out, instead of reading everything out like some other countries did.
I liked doing the exercise as it was something different. I learnt that it isn’t just the MEDC’s that are spending money towards sustainable development, its LEDC’s as well, which is a good thing because we don’t want LEDC’s to develop the same way as we did, because the way we did it was using lots of raw materials and non renewable recourses.
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
The recycling rates that are given on the Northamptonshire council website are going vary between each authority due to a number of factors. Firstly the average size the houses in each district will effect the figures. For example an inner city district may have a high number of terrace housing, which only occupy 1-2 people, so therefore their will be less household waste produced compared to a larger house in a district on the suburbs of the Northampton, where up to 4-5 people may live. Also the bigger housing on the suburbs may have bigger gardens, so therefore more garden waste will be produced.
Secondary the rates might also vary due to peoples attitude. Some people may not be bothered about doing there bit for the environment, so they don’t bother to recycle. Also the recycling bins are kept outside, so if the weather is bad, some people might not be bothered to take the waste outside, so they will just simply but it in the bin full of household waste.
Things that could be done to improve the recycling rates are to increase the number collections. Instead of collecting the recyclable waste one every two weeks, collect it once a week because in the space of two weeks, the bins provided might get very full, so people will have no choice but to but the recyclable waste into a household waste bin. However you could also overcome this problem by providing larger bins for the houses that need them.
Also businesses and schools need to do more to recycle. At the moment most schools and businesses don’t recycle due to the costs involved. So to get them to recycle, the government could do incentives to encourage them to do so.
Secondary the rates might also vary due to peoples attitude. Some people may not be bothered about doing there bit for the environment, so they don’t bother to recycle. Also the recycling bins are kept outside, so if the weather is bad, some people might not be bothered to take the waste outside, so they will just simply but it in the bin full of household waste.
Things that could be done to improve the recycling rates are to increase the number collections. Instead of collecting the recyclable waste one every two weeks, collect it once a week because in the space of two weeks, the bins provided might get very full, so people will have no choice but to but the recyclable waste into a household waste bin. However you could also overcome this problem by providing larger bins for the houses that need them.
Also businesses and schools need to do more to recycle. At the moment most schools and businesses don’t recycle due to the costs involved. So to get them to recycle, the government could do incentives to encourage them to do so.
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