Welsh Green Dragon
tanyamercer
Chris Halpin
helenglaberson
catherinegraham4
alexlodge
deanjpoolmanFiled under: Environment, Flooding | Tags: Cardiff Council, Cockermouth, Environment Agency Wales, Flood Risk Management, Whitchurch Brook
One in nine homes in Wales is at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea.
Whilst the Environment Agency announced plans to extend its flood warning system in Wales last week, we spoke to one man who is calling on Cardiff Council to do more to stop flooding in his area.
37-year old Anthony Cornick’s garden was damaged when Whitchurch Brook, which backs on to the house at Heol Waun Y Nant, broke its banks two weeks ago.
Flood water washed away land at the bottom of Mr Cornick’s garden, dislodging his fence and leaving a seven-foot drop.
Mr Cornick said: “I’m worried about my three children. They enjoy playing in the garden, in the Spring and Summer. But obviously, I don’t allow them to play in the garden at the moment, with the condition it’s in.
“What I want to see is some action. I want to see the land put back, and see someone take responsibility for the land that was there. But I don’t seem to be getting any response from the local authority.”
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Flood defence projects
Cardiff Council has told Mr Cornick that he must repair the damages himself.
A Cardiff Council spokesman said: “Council officers are eager to re-open lines of communication with Mr Cornick in order to work towards a satisfactory conclusion to this issue.
“The council is attempting to find out exactly who is responsible for the piece of land in question, but while this is in progress, we must stress it is Mr Cornick’s responsibility to secure his own ground and fence.”
The council will spend will spend £451,000 on the brook as part of a European scheme supporting eight flood and coastal defence projects in the local area.
Flood Warnings
From March, the number of properties who automatically receive free flood warnings will increase from 47,000 to 90,000.
Eligible homes and businesses will be notified by post, a phone call to their landline or a text to a mobile phone.
Alan Proctor, Flood Risk Manager at Environment Agency Wales said: “Last November’s devastating events in Cockermouth remind us that the dangers of flooding and how being prepared is crucial.”
“We urge everyone to check whether their property is at risk and taking steps to prepare, such as looking at ways to make properties more resistant to floods.”
Filed under: Campaigning, Transport | Tags: Cardiff Bus, Cardiff Central, Councillor Delme Bowen, Gordon Brown, Sustainable Travel City, The Green Party, Welsh Assembly Government
A petition from Save Cardiff Central is going to ten Downing Street asking Gordon Brown to prevent Cardiff Council reducing the city’s bus services.
Campaigners, including the city’s Green party, say the council’s development of Cardiff Central is making it more difficult for people to use public transport in the capital and reducing the city’s main transport hub.
Signatories are calling on the Prime Minister to prevent other local authorities across England and Wales from doing the same.
Matt Townsend, Green party candidate for Cardiff South and Penarth, started the petition. He said: “On a national level the government has been talking about integrated public transport, but if on a local level individual councils are able to take away those facilities or reduce the amount they are used, then that seems inconsistent. And once they’ve been reduced in size I’m worried they’ll never go back to the way they were before.”
Councillor Delme Bowen, Travel and Traffic Executive for Cardiff City Council, said: “The petition fails to see the benefits the changes will bring. We are not reducing the integrated transport hub but modernising it. We will have two hubs – one in St Mary’s street and one at Cardiff Central.”
Sustainable Travel City
The changes were introduced as part of Cardiff Council’s joint Sustainable Travel City initiative with the Welsh Assembly Government. The council hopes the changes will reduce congestion in the city centre and encourage more people to use public transport.
The ‘bus box’
Cardiff bus box
The new bus routes, which were introduced in October last year, mean all the buses now travel in an anti clockwise direction around the city.
Campaigners say this means people have further to walk to get to bus stops and adds considerable time onto people’s travel signs.
Cardiff Central Station
In an attempt to reduce congestion around the bus station, more bus stops have been introduced along St Mary’s Street. Consequently only half the buses now stop at Cardiff Central Station.
Councillor Bowen says this will help keep traffic flowing around the city centre.
But Matt Townsend said: “Nearly all buses used to stop at Cardiff Central, but now many stop away from the station. This means people wanting to make connections with local and national trains and buses have to walk further. This means people will be less inclined to use the buses and those with mobility problems will be particularly affected. If the council wants people to use public tranport they need to make it easier for them, not more difficult.”
Free B bus
Matt Townsend also has concerns about the new Free B bus, which is designed to link up bus stops around the city.
“Because the free bus only runs til about 8pm, it means people have to wait at other bus stops late enough. Although Cardiff Central Station isn’t the safest place, it is busy and people feel safer waiting there.”
There are also complaints from Cardiff residents that people haven’t been told about the free service. Consequently, very few people are using the service.
Councillor Bowen says a new publicty campaign has now started to advertise the new service. There will be a leaflet drop to people’s homes and posters put up around city bus stops.
Future Plans
Save Cardiff Cental campaigners are concerned that the council has not been clear about its longer term plans for Cardiff Central Station and the city’s bus system.
Coucillor Bowen says the plans could take another five years to materialise. He said: “We’re in discussions about a new bus station and new sustainable transport systems such as a tram that can run on the road or on tracks.
“I know we’re going through a transition period now, but we will end up with a much better transport system, with less congestion. Consequently, people will be able to move around the city much more easily.”
Filed under: carbon emissions, Climate Change, Future Thinking, Renewable Energy, Transport | Tags: Bosch, CymruH2Wales, European Regional Development Fund, Honda Clarity, Hydrogen Cars, Jane Davidson (Minister for Environment Sustainability and Housing), University of Glamorgan, University of Glamorgan’s Renewable Hydrogen Research Centre, Welsh Assembly Government
Ambitious new plans to turn the M4 in South Wales into a testing ground for vehicles powered by renewable fuels have been announced by Welsh Secretary of State Peter Hain and Environment Minister Jane Davidson today.
Dubbed the ‘Hydrogen highway’ futuristic filling stations will be installed along the motorway which can fuel electric and hydrogen cars, linking into a larger network across the South west and the Midlands.
A welcome boost to Wales’ Motor Industry
With yesterday’s news that Bosch would definitely close its Miskin plant, these new plans could give a welcome boost to Wales’ struggling motor industry. Building on years of research by the University of Glamorgan’s Renewable Hydrogen Research Centre, the Welsh Assembly Government hope developing the infrastructure will attract international manufacturing companies back to Wales.
£6.6 million pounds of funding has been awarded to the University’s research team to take the first steps into developing the hydrogen fuel technology and how the filling stations can be rolled out up and down the motorway. Some of the funding for the three year research project comes from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Welsh Assembly Government as part of the activities of the Low Carbon Research Institute. Here’s Welsh Secretary Peter Hain’s comments on the scheme.
Reaching a Low Carbon Economy
The plan will also help to meet Wales’ targets to move towards a low carbon economy and to tackle climate change. With fossil fuels running out, Environment Minister Jane Davidson says Wales should be at the forefront of developing alternatives to petrol fuelled cars. She believes hydrogen and electric power vehicles are the way forward and that Wales can be at the forefront of this technology. She also said that whilst carbon emissions from household energy were reducing, Transport emissions were still rising.
Listen to the full interview here.
The technology’s ready but the forecourts are not
Hydrogen fuel is extremely clean emitting only water when used as fuel. So far fuel cell technology has proved expensive, but the new funding will help research how to make the fuel more efficient. The next step is the expansion of the next generation of fuel filling stations. A number of car companies have already designed hydrogen powered cars but fuel station forecourts are not ready for them. Here’s the Honda clarity as reviewed by James May on the BBC’s Top Gear.
It’s hoped that by 2015 hydrogen powered vehicles will become a common sight on our motorways as they’ll be much cheaper to buy and you’ll be able to refuel them. With todays announcement we may be a step closer but there’s still a long wait until such vehicles are likely to be hitting roads near you.
Filed under: Campaigning, Future Thinking, Government | Tags: Bill Nighy, Kirsty Williams AM, Oxfam Cymru, Richard Curtis, Robin Hood Tax
Getting involved is billed as taking part in the ‘Greatest Bank Job Ever’. Loosely based on the Tobin tax, a group of charities have launched a new campaign which proposes to raise money from those notorious misers the bankers through – guess what – the Robin Hood Tax.
Bankers have had a bit of a bashing of late, blamed for the economic meltdown and lets face it, the banker on Noel Edmonds ‘Deal or no Deal’ is a right git.
Today the campaign came to Cardiff and I was there to see what happened.
At one o’clock unsuspecting city centre workers on their lunchbreak were treated to a surprise flash mob of dancing bankers springing into action outside Cardiff Central Library.
As you can see from the film Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams was also there for the photo opportunity to show her party’s support for the scheme.
The idea is to impose a 0.05% tax on transactions over £1000, which could be used closer to home to avoid massive cuts to vital public services like the NHS and help tackle climate change and help end poverty further afield.
The idea was launched yesterday and has already received a massive reaction, with the campaign plastered over Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. This is also thanks to celebrity endorsements from the likes of Richard Curtis and actor turned activist Bill Nighy who made this film.
But will the UK government really impose taxes on the banks? There are some bloggers out there who hope so, and some who do not.
And what do the banks make of all this? I tried getting in touch with a couple this afternoon to get their take on it but no one wanted to talk to me.
Government policy making is about as far removed from dancing flash mobs gyrating to Abba as you can probably get but it’ll surely be interesting to see who jumps on this political bandwagon in the run up to the general election.
Filed under: Climate Change, Conservation, Flooding | Tags: Biodiversity, Newport Wetlands Nature Reserve, RSPB Cymru, World Wetlands Day
Today is World Wetlands Day.
Each year conservationists use the day as an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of unique wetland habitats across the world.
There are many internationally important habitats around the UK and all have a rich array of wildlife.
Conservationists believe that the preservation and creation of wetland ecosystems are important in helping to combat climate change. Reed beds absorb a massive amount of Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere and help to increase biodiversity, something which has recently been heavily critised here in Wales.
They also play an important part in flood protection.
To find out more about wetlands in South Wales, Chris and I went to Newport Wetlands Nature Reserve.
For our the full interview with Gideon Harries of the RSPB, see below.
Filed under: Climate Change, Government, Protest | Tags: al-Qaeda, Climate Camp Cymru, Domestic Extremists, Environmental Extremists, George Bush, Marcus Brigstocke, Ministry of Justice, Osama bin Laden, Terrorism, The Guardian, Wikileaks
Have a watch of the video above. Do these people make you feel threatened? They seem to have the Ministry of Justice worried.
In what seems like further erosion of civil our liberty by the British government, environmental activists or so-called ‘Domestic Extremists’ have now been put in the same classification as al-Qaeda terrorists in terms of their threat to you and I.
From a government document leaked to The Guardian (not however through whistle blowing site Wikileaks as they have run into financial woes), it transpires that people who campaign for a cleaner greener environment are as much a danger to national security as those who wish to commit mass murder.
I followed this story last Friday on our radio production day and interviewed a representative from Climate Camp Cymru. Dai Jones (he asked for a pseudonym) said that when he first read the news he wasnt sure whether to laugh or be alarmed. Here’s the radio piece that made it into the lunchtime bulletin.
He reckons that events like Climate Camp and The Wave have struck a chord with the general public, and that the government are trying to put people off legitimately protesting in what they believe in. In conflating protesting to seem as something more sinister or violently motivated, Dai believes less people will want to be involved and the campaigns will lose momentum.
Such has been the dismay among environmental campaigners of this re-classification, with great ironic timing comes the latest news from the planets most notorious terrorist mastermind.
Osama bin Laden’s audiotape released on the 29th January is yet to be verified, but deplores America for not addressing climate change and George Bush for not signing up to the Kyoto agreement. Views that many climate change activists might share- reckon he’ll show up at climate camp next time round? I’m not even going to attempt a wise crack as Marcus Brigstocke has this one superbly satirically covered. So although the eco warriors do have a lot to grumble about, perhaps idealogically they do have a little more in common with terrorists than they would like to admit!
Filed under: Climate Change, Environment, Future Thinking | Tags: Alternative Fitness, BCTV, Community, Cymtillery Allotments, Volunteering
It’s that time of year again. The excesses of Christmas have caught up with us. Those jeans have either shrunk in the wash or I’ve put on an extra pound or two. Gym membership deals are posted through the letter box and everywhere you turn there’s an advert for some fabulous diet that promises you’ll lose 16lbs in 2 weeks.
But realistically, am I going to stick with the gym? Probably not. I find them incredibly dull, and lycra and me are not a good combination! Similarly, diets are always started with great vigour, but then abandoned by the end of January.
And, just when I was losing hope, I think I’ve found a way to keep fit that challenges, reinvigorates and doesn’t involve running machines or eating solely carrots for a week. Plus it helps the environment.
It’s called the green gym.
It’s a BTCV idea, which hopes to inspire people to improve both their health and the environment.
Experienced leaders guide ‘gym goers’ through a range of practical projects, giving the opportunity to tackle physical jobs in the outdoors – improving strength and stamina, boosting practical skills and confidence and benefitting local green spaces.
To find out more I visited the green gym volunteers at Cymtillery Allotments.
It could just be that this is the type of gym to stick with!
Green gym volunteers
Green gym leader Bryan Brown
The allotment at Cymtillery
Filed under: Environment, Pollution, Waste | Tags: Cardiff City Council, Civic Amenity site, Connect 2 Cardiff, Environment Agency, Fly tipping, Fly Tipping Action Wales, Keep Cardiff Tidy, Prosiect Gwyrdd, SmartWater, South Wales Police, Welsh Assembly Government
Fly-Tipping Action Wales Campaign – Radio Feature
You know what they say, where there’s muck there’s money. However in this case its leaving local authorities in South Wales a deficit to the tune of three million pounds per year, and in the end we’re the one’s who pay through higher council tax bills. Tonnes of illegally dumped rubbish is left at roadsides and wasteland each year, and now there is a new drive to tackle the problem.
The Environment Agency are once more trying to convince businesses and families that fly-tipping is not on, with partnership agencies like Keep Cardiff Tidy and Cardiff City Councils Prosiect Gwyrdd (Project Green) on board.
Notorious areas for fly-tipping are the lanes which run between Caerphilly and St Mellon’s where you can find dozens of dumping grounds. The usual suspects include old furniture, settees and large white goods like fridges and washing machines, but alarmingly also a lot of trade and industrial waste like building materials and toxic asbestos. People may think places like this are out of sight so out of mind, but it causes considerable disruption as many sites block farmer’s gates and of course have a devastating impact on the environment.
Duty of care
The new campaign which is backed by the Welsh Assembly Government is designed to remind homeowners and businesses that it’s their responsibility that waste gets disposed of properly. If you’re using a tradesperson like a builder or plumber you must check that they’re registered with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier.
This latest crackdown has been timed for January as it’s the worst month for illegal dumping when people have their annual new year clear out. Surprisingly almost two-thirds of waste found is actually normal household waste in black bin bags which could be left out for the dustbin man.
Hi-tech police crackdown
As technological advancement races on, South Wales Police are developing cunning ways in which to catch illegal fly-tippers out. Forensic techniques like SmartWater and aerial surveillance are being employed to chart illegal dumping sites and track down the culprits.
With the risk of landing a fine of up to £50,000 or even a prison sentence is it really worth the bother? The scale of the problem is only demonstrated by the fact that out of 55,000 cases between 2008-1009 only 72 arrests and prosecutions were made. Some people argue that the council need to make it easier for people to get rid of waste, especially large electrical items. With the opening of smaller local tips, or Civic Amenity sites like Waungron Road in Fairwater, legimate ways to chuck away waste are being made more accessible – the only stipulation is you can only take waste that will fit in your car; larger vehicles must go to the Recycling site at Lamby Way. Alternatively you can ring Connect 2 Cardiff, Cardiff City Councils helpline and they will arrange collection of larger white goods free of charge. For more information visit the Fly-Tipping Action Wales or Cardiff City Council website.
The root of the problem?
From the people I spoke to it seems part of the problem comes down to disposal cost and people tightening their belts because of the recession. This is especially the case for small tradesmen and businesses disposing of composite or dangerous materials like plasterboard or asbestos. When it comes to waste they often operate at a loss and if they do jump through the right hoops it’s seen by many as a lengthy bureaucratic nightmare. One builder I spoke to challenged me to try and dispose of some asbestos myself, just to see how hard it really is.
This is no justification for flagrant littering, but unfortunately the age-old dilemma rings true once again; the environment is not everyone’s main priority – time and money are more important. Despite the threat of a hefty fine or time behind bars, the blight that fly-tipping causes looks set to stay. One must hope this new campaign attempts to get to the root of why people lack a conscience when it comes to driving out to the middle of nowhere under the cover of darkness and using the countryside as a dumping ground.
Filed under: carbon emissions, Fuel, Future Thinking, Transport | Tags: Car Clubs, Car Pollution, Car sharing, Cardiff County Council, Cardiff's Sustainable Travel Plan, City Car Club, Energy Efficient Mobility, Gwenllian Lansdown, Ieuan Wyn Jones Transport Minister, Plaid Cymru
Cut back on cars, not just carbs this New Year
Cardiff Council plan to introduce car clubs to the city, as part of their strategy to cut down the numbers of cars on the roads.
This is part of Cardiff’s wider Sustainable Travel Plan which, if all goes well, will be implemented in other parts of Wales. The Council has already developed green alternatives that aim to cut down on cars, such as park and ride schemes, improving cycling facilities, and a drive to work car share scheme. They also plan to launch a new car club next year, to encourage people to rent out a vehicle instead of owning their own.
Hopefully the public will be inspired to take up a car diet for their New Years resolution. Less cars will mean a reduction in problems such as traffic, parking and of course the big greasy beast that is pollution, making the city a more sustainable and enjoyable place to live.
Cardiff’s sustainable travel plan
Ieuan Wyn Jones, Transport Minister says, “Commuter levels in and around Cardiff have increased significantly over the past few years. This is an exciting opportunity to develop and implement a range of innovative transport solutions which will benefit the 210,000 people who travel into the city on a daily basis.”
Executive Minister for Transport, Delme Bowen expands on car sharing and car club schemes:
Car Clubs
Cardiff Council is currently in the process of awarding a contract for an operator to run a car club in Cardiff. It is hoped that car clubs will encourage residents to rent instead of buying their own vehicle. ”A car club, along with car sharing, helps to promote choice and the greater use of sustainable modes of travel.” say Cardiff Council.
Car clubs follow a model that has been around since the 1970s in Europe, and is now used in many cities all over the world.
Car clubs are new to Cardiff, but they have been implemented overseas since the 1970s.
Scientific studies and customer surveys have provided substantial evidence that car clubs can help cut down on toxic output. More Options for Energy Efficient Mobility through Car Sharing (MOMO) have provided a paper bursting with the advantages of car hire.
The club scheme does not only yield green benefits – it is also hugely cost-effective for users. People will cut down on the high annual cost of tax and insurance, with the car company responsible for overall maintenance.
“The car sharing scheme is part of the answer to dealing with Cardiff’s congestion problem and provides people living in Cardiff with another option for how they go about their daily business.” says Gwenllian Lansdown, a Plyd Cymru Councillor who backed an 100-strong signature petition last year, urging the city council to support such a car club scheme. “This scheme has proved successful in other cities across the globe and I look forward to it starting in Cardiff” says Landsdown.
Car clubs will reduce congestion in the city.
A chosen car company will operate their rental service on behalf of the Council. If the scheme is successful, the contract will be renewed. Richard Drew, the South West Manager of City Car Club, is currently responsible for the plans in Cardiff.”We’ve been informed that we’ve been the most successful bidder but they haven’t made a final decision to say that we’re definitely going to go ahead yet” he explains.
The clubs would be aimed at people who would consider buying a second car, or those who are not completely dependent on having one. Users would pay a one off membership fee of around £75 and then they would pay around £3 an hour for car hire.
“If all goes well, we’re looking to start the early part of spring next
Feedback has been positive towards car sharing and car clubs.
year.” Drew said last December. Before then, the company will need to decide where to base their cars. Drew explained, “what we’d be looking for in the first instance is people that know the area well that can suggest places where there’s real issues with parking.”
So how is the public responding to the Council’s Sustainable travel plan? “Feedback has been good so far, and car sharing generally is increasing. In Cardiff County Council alone there’s 18,000 people both recycling and car sharing. That’s looking good.” says Delme Bowen.
It looks like car slimming plans are running smoothly. Let’s hope the city won’t crash diet but will maintain a regular slimming regime, with healthy portions of sharing and regular car club rental.
Extreme car sharing:
Filed under: Efficiency, Energy, Fuel, Future Thinking, Renewable Energy | Tags: Energy Circle, First Utility, Google, Google Energy, Google Powermeter, iGoogle, Saving Energy, Smart Meters, Widget
Not intent on being an online ‘power house’, it now seems that Google has its sights on becoming one in a more literal sense.
In what seems a very perceptive move, it’s been reported that Google have applied to create a subsidiary company in the US (imaginatively called ‘Google Energy‘) with which they can start trading energy on the open market. In entering this sector, it seems they are taking the future insecurity of energy supply into their own hands. Some commentators are sceptical that Google Energy is a business move purely for the money, yet Google insist they are doing it for the more philanthropic reason of reaching carbon neutrality. Producing their own energy at their Californian HQ, this move will enable them to trade the excess created and pump it back into the grid. However, future investment in the renewable energy sector clearly makes keen business sense.
In all honesty I’ve been meaning to write this post for a few weeks and was initially going to discuss the role of smart meters and the UK government’s plans to roll these out by 2020. Like the previous post about boilers, smart meter systems are hardly the most glamorous of devices to discuss, so Google’s very recent movements into the energy sector has spiced the whole affair up a bit. This is especially because their innovative technologies make the UK utility companies plans look prehistoric even before the meter fitters have chucked their tools in the back of the van.
You’ve probably heard or seen in the UK media about how ‘smart meters’ are the future. The idea behind them is that in keeping tabs on our daily usage of Electricity or gas, we can curb how much we use and determine when we’re being wasteful. Our currently dubbed ‘dumb meters’ which require that quarterly annoyance of letting in the meter reader (or more often than not when our energy provider spuriously estimate your bill) means that as consumers we’re often paying over the odds for the energy we actually use. Imagine if they applied the same process to a contracted mobile phone – no itemised bill but instead a rough guess on how much you’ve been yapping on the phone for the past 3 months. That doesn’t seem to make any sense does it? Here’s a radio feature created by my colleague Jim Turner just before Christmas on this very subject .
So these so-called ‘smart meters‘ are meant to be the answer, but may not actually be that ‘smart’. They will cost between £85 -£100 for each household and work by sending usage data directly to the power company each day. However the technology they contain is not that up to date at all. They work by sending through how much energy you’ve used by SMS text message to your Utility Company who then use the data to create an itemised monthly bill. This mobile phone technology has been around for almost twenty years and for this reason the Energy sector in UK are having second thoughts on a nationwide meter upgrade. They fear that by the time each and every home has been visited the smart meters will have become obsolete.
And this is where Google comes in hot on their respective heels. Smart meters are old news and now Google Powermeter is being heralded as the next big thing.This is in effect an online power monitoring tool which can be incorporated as a widget as part of your iGoogle home page. Initially developed to work with smart meters, Google have now in fact bypassed the need for them and work through a broadband connection rather than the aforementioned SMS technology. This means you don’t have to wait for your Utility company to process the information; the Google application will do it in near real time and you can check it online whenever you want. Clever eh? Here’s an example of how the data might look:
This is some way off for every customer in Wales though. Currently the only company who offer this service are first:utility and you do need a smart meter installed for it to work.
Being more energy-efficient is obviously inextricably linked to freeing up some more of our incomes. In years to come, if winters look set to be as harsh as this one, then we’re certainly going to have to trim on energy usage to avoid bankrupting ourselves to keep warm and watch the telly. For more tips on how you could save, check out Energy Circle’s 10 big ideas for home energy efficiency in 2010.
