People Power
It’s amazing how much can happen when you take time out and don’t watch the news! I came back to find Iceland on the brink of financial crisis, the recession being openly talked about as a planned event, and the political slanging match raked up a few notches. What a time to try and budget for the Olympics!
But I very much enjoyed reading Lord Puttnam’s article in the BBC Green Room yesterday. The title “People Power Can Beat Climate Change” naturally caught my eye. After all, that’s what this web site is all about. If people are involved in their local community then change will happen. What’s more it will be manageable and effective. What the government needs to do is support local projects rather than look for some national solution which, generally, involves destroying swathes of the country side.
One thing I have learned about being human is that each of us need to be responsible for our own lives. Once we hand over this power to someone else, we lose part of what we are.
In the past 100 years we have become an irresponsible society! All we have to do is pay a bill and someone else provides the heat for our homes, the water for our taps, the food for our plates, disposes of our waste, provides fuel for our personal transport… we have handed over our power and, as a result, we are left floundering and frustrated that we can do nothing to solve the crisis. We made it someone else’s problem and put our trust in the machine. It’s time we took it back!
All ove the UK groups are gathering to do just this. Here in Chesham, we have a Transition Town group who are keen to take back the power and make Chesham a sustainable place to live.
The UK has always been a breeding place the the quirky inventor. I’ve lost count of the number of good ideas and wonderful inventions that get swept away by big enterprise because the money isn’t quite right. Well, Quirky Inventor (*QI for short), your time has come. The People of Great Britain are taking back their power and we need you. Let the QI flow!
*Qi or chi = energy. (This was amusingly accidental – but then again, I don’t believe in coincidence!)