We are hiring! Please click here to join our growing magazine delivery team in Gloucestershire!

4. Leaflets Distributed with TLA

Protecting our planet

All Areas > Local Information > Leader's Life

Author: Richard Cook, Posted: Monday, 19th October 2020, 09:00

In the latter part of October there has been a magnificent display – Gaia – in the Cathedral. This production of the planet Earth by the artist Luke Jerram shows the blue and white planet which is humanity’s home.

But that home is increasingly fragile. Weather patterns are changing – winters much wetter with increasing risks of flooding; summers much drier, risking the productivity of crops. Melting ice in the Arctic and Antarctic threatening sea level rise and coastal flooding. And we have all seen the increasing problems of wildfires, in Australia last winter and in the Western United States during the summer.

There is an ever increasing urgency about our response on a number of fronts. In Gloucester we are looking to rapidly increase the electricity produced from solar panels, both on public buildings and unused land. We are also looking to increase the supply of gas from composting food, garden waste and other biomass. Electricity is being produced from the Energy from Waste Facility to the south of the city – 100,000mwh since it opened, diverting over 160,000 tonnes of waste from landfill.

Encouraging more cycling

The first lockdown saw a major reduction in air pollution as fewer cars were on the road and more people used their bikes. The City Council has agreed to examine the cycling infra-structure in the city to ensure it provides proper connectivity within the city and outside, and to work with the County Council to deliver improvements to encourage more cycling. If this works, reductions in car use will deliver reductions in production of carbon dioxide and improvements in air quality.

Our city plan looks to deliver improvements in building standards, starting to aim for zero carbon building standards, better insulation, micro energy production, even electric vehicle charging points.
Finally we are looking for people to recycle more, in particular plastic, paper, card, glass, cans, cardboard and especially food waste, which can be collected at kerbside. A recent survey showed that 25% of the contents of our residual waste bins was food waste, and our overall current rate of recycling is just over 47%. In Wales it is over 60%. We can do better.

All of these improvements will make a difference.

Copyright © 2024 The Local Answer Limited.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to The Local Answer Limited and thelocalanswer.co.uk with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

More articles you may be interested in...

The Local Answer. Advertise to more people in Gloucestershire
The Local Answer. More magazines through Gloucestershire doors

© 2024 The Local Answer Limited - Registered in England and Wales - Company No. 06929408
Unit H, Churchill Industrial Estate, Churchill Road, Leckhampton, Cheltenham, GL53 7EG - VAT Registration No. 975613000

Privacy Policy