My Community - A Sustainable Community???

Think about how closely your home area fits in with the definition of a 'sustainable community' To what extent your ward/SOA resembles a 'sustainable community' and what extent you don't think it does?

Sustainable development was originally defined as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”


The Egan Wheel



In 2004 Sir John Egan was asked by the Deputy Prime Minister to examine how communities could be more sustainable. Egan suggests that sustainable communities must meet ‘the diverse needs of existing and future residents, their children and other users’ by offering choice. In order to be sustainable, communities must:
􀂃 Make effective use of natural resources
􀂃 Enhance the environment
􀂃 Promote social cohesion and inclusion and
􀂃 Strengthen economic prosperity.
He introduced what is referred to as the ‘Egan Wheel’ (see above), which can be used as a tool for judging sustainable communities.


I live in Milton Keynes 009B lies within Milton Keynes 009 (Super Output Area Middle Layer).
In 2007 my neighbourhood, Milton Keynes 009B, had an estimated 1,550 residents and 660 dwellings.















I found a questionnaire from www.geography.org.uk/download/GA_PRBSCKentEgan.doc about applying the Egan Wheel to my local community. I have pasted it below, along with my scores.

Applying the Egan Wheel to your Local Community

Name of your community? Milton Keynes

Is it a sustainable community? Ring a score for each of the following:
Score 1 is very good to 6 is very poor.
a) Well run?
People are:
Included in decision-making (1) Not included (6) - 2
Feel responsible (1) Don’t care (6) - 4
Proud of local community (1) Not proud (6) - 3

b) Well-connected?
Getting in/out and around your community:
Excellent bus service (1) Non-existent bus service (6) - 2
Easy access to rail service (1) No access to rail service (6) - 2
Safe local walking routes (1) Lack of safe pathways (6) - 2
Safe local cycle-ways (1) Lack of safe local cycle-ways (6) - 2
Roads clear (1)Roads congested (6) - 2
Off-road parking (1) Parking on roads (6) - 2


c) Well served?
Access to services:
Quality nurseries and/or childcare (1) None (6) - 3
Quality primary school (1) None (6) - 2
Good range of local shops (1) No local shops (6) - 2
Easy to get local information (1) Difficult to get local information (6) - 2


Health services accessible (1) Health services not local (6) - 3
Good range of other services for all groups (1) Limited services for some groups e.g. elderly, youth, family (6) - 3


d) Environmentally sensitive?
The impact the community has on the environment,
people are encouraged to:
Recycle (1) No recycling (3) - 1
Save water (1) Water wasted (3) - 3


Save electricity or use renewable sources (1) No energy saving (3) - 3
Reduce waste (1) Lots of rubbish produced (3) - 2
Use public transport (1) Use cars (3) - 2
Build on brownfield sites (1) Build on Greenfield sites (3) - 2
Reduce litter (1) Litter (3) - 2
Reduce graffiti (1) Graffiti (3) - 2


Keep public spaces pleasant (1) Public spaces unpleasant (3) - 2
Provide wildlife areas (1) No wildlife areas (3) - 2

e) Fair for everyone?
People of all ages, races, cultures, sexes and abilities:
All can access services (1) Some groups cannot get services (3) - 1
All can get jobs (1) Some groups cannot get jobs (3) - 2
All get equal educational opportunities (1) Not everyone is equal (3) - 1


f) Thriving economy?
Standard of living:
Lots of local jobs (1) Few local jobs (3) - 2
Successful local businesses (1) Local businesses struggling (3) - 2
Things are getting better (1) Things are getting worse (3) - 2


g) Well designed and built?
Houses and local buildings are:
attractive (1) unattractive (6) - 2
safe (1) unsafe (6) - 3
useful (1) Derelict (left empty) (6) - 2
Lots of public open space to relax and play (1) Little public open space (6) - 1
Area has ‘character’ and a positive feel (1) Area has little character, dull. (6) - 3


h) Active, inclusive and safe?
Social considerations:
Good community spirit (1) No community spirit (6) - 3
Neighbours look out for one another (1) Neighbours keep themselves to themselves (6) - 3
People respect each other (1) No respect shown (6) - 2
Low levels of crime, drugs and anti-social behaviour (1) High levels of crime, drugs and anti-social behaviour (6) - 2


Friendly effective police (1) No local police (6) - 1
People feel safe (1) People feel unsafe (6) - 2


Which of the aspects a – h above, would you select as being in most need of improvement? … and why?


a - well run?: I am of the opinion that not everyone is very involved in the decision making of what happens/ the future plans of the local community. Although there are meetings, I feel that some people are almost 'scared' of attending not knowing what is expected or scared of becoming too involved and getting 'roped in' when they can not afford the time, so they feel it is better to not get involved at all, almost an easier option.

h - active, inclusive and safe?: I feel that it comparison to many communities, our neighbours keep themselves very much to themselves and little active socialising goes on, only around Christmas time. There are a few social calender events, but I feel as if there should be more and perhaps street parties and things like that would be quite nice.




I have now looked at the 8 key components of the Egan Sustainable Community Wheel and applied each aspect to my community.


Services
According to the Egan Wheel a sustainable community should be ‘well served – with public, private, community & voluntary services that are appropriate to people’s needs and accessible to all’
I believe where I live is well served. We have a relatively large Co-op Store, 1 typically ‘village-style’ pub (which has a friendly atmosphere), a fish & chip/Chinese shop; a pizza/kebab place, an unusual new eastern Bangladeshi style takeaway, restaurant and buffet lunch development (in an old pub building). There is also a church, a memorial/village hall, a Christian fellowship church. By the cricket pitch there is a notice board advertising local events, services and general information for the public, such as toddler groups times/places. These facilities are accessible to all, as they are centrally located with Great Linford and the bus route has plenty of stops along the main road accessing all parts. The bus stops are have high platforms suitable for wheelchair users to go on and off and most buses have designated spaces for those less-abled.



Environmental
According to the Egan Wheel a sustainable community should be ‘environmentally sensitive – providing places for people to live that are considerate of the environment’
There is one close in Great Linford called Solar Court where all the houses have built in solar panels, this is an innovative design which is an environmentally sustainable option as they use sun power for electricity. However, it is only one close with 5 houses! Nevertheless I believe that Great Linford is an environmentally sensitive community in comparison to many SOA of Milton Keynes, for the housing/green space ratio is considerably high. What I like about Great Linford is the way it is laid out, incorporating housing with large green spaces everywhere. The housing density is not high and the estates are not large.

Equity
According to the Egan Wheel a sustainable community should be ‘Fair for everyone – including those in other communities, now and in the future.’
I am not quite sure as to how to interpret this and apply it to where I live. All the same, I believe my community is not quite as socially diverse as other SOA in Milton Keynes. I do know of places whereby streets are made up of one religion or one particular group of ethnic people and there are just facilities for these people e.g. in Oldbrook they have built a modern Mosque! Where I live there are a range of people in terms of age, and we do have 3 old people’s/residential homes. I would regard my area to be fair for everyone, as the local school is a state school and it is not selective in who it takes, only you must live in the catchment area, which is fair enough.

Economy
According to the Egan Wheel a sustainable community should be ‘Thriving - with a flourishing and diverse local economy’
I must admit, that in terms of the local economy where I live, I would not regard it as ‘flourishing’ nor ‘thriving’. The central business area has undergone many changes within the last 5 years and the variety of small shops have changed hands and closed down radically. We use to have a freezer shop, but that closed down, likewise the hair dressers next to the Co-op. The pub, which has very recently been changed to an Eastern Bangladeshi style eatery used to experience many problems, attracting ‘unlikely’ crowds and there was a lot of trouble and conflict at times. This consequently closed down and the building remained vacant for about a year. There was also a video shop, but this experienced many break-ins and robberies that it closed down about 4 years ago. In its place came an Indian Takeaway, but that has since gone – one can only presume business was not successful there either. So on the whole, I would say business have struggled in my local area. However, the Co-op has come up quite a bit and has had a refurbishment, and the pizzeria/kebab shop is very respectable and has been there for a long period of time.

Housing and the built environment
According to the Egan Wheel a sustainable community should be ‘well designed and built – featuring a quality built and natural environment’
I have already touched on this aspect and I strongly believe that my community is very well designed and built – it is not typically grid-road styled as many residential areas in Milton Keynes are. It is formed of many cul-de-sacs dispersed between variety of green and recreational spaces, with parks and plenty of walking areas. I would regard most of the houses to be well built, however, like any area there are ‘good’ parts and ‘bad/’rougher’ parts.

Social and Cultural
According to the Egan Wheel a sustainable community should be ‘Active, inclusive and safe – fair, tolerant and cohesive with a strong local culture and other shared community activities.’
I have already mentioned that I believe my community not to be quite as diverse as others in Milton Keynes. But there is a local Christian Fellowship Church which holds ‘free-for-all’ services on a Sunday, which I can often hear if I go to the co-op, the music is playing and the atmosphere is vibrant and welcoming, everyone is always friendly and sometimes encourage you to come in and join them! There are other shared community activities, weekly, monthly and annually. Something that I feel proud of is the annual ‘Waterside Festival’ that Great Linford holds in the summer. It is a very large event and attracts many people. There are stalls, music/entertainment, local groups perform, canal boat rides, art workshops and all sorts. It is spread over the weekend and there is also a 3 mile run known as the ‘Great Linford Gallop’ whereby many people sponsor run for various charities.

Governance
According to the Egan Wheel a sustainable community should be ‘well run – with effective and inclusive participation, representation and leadership’
I would regard Great Linford community as being well run. Frequent local newsletters and flyers regarding the current affairs in the area, e.g. election polls, events, general news and welfare are posted through the doors regularly. There is the ‘Linford Letters Focus’ is a flyer created by the liberal democrats in North Milton Keynes which provides information about the results from the local elections and the programmes in operation in the area undergone by the liberal democrats. Also there is the ‘News and Views’ magazine produced by Great Linford Parish Council. It claims ‘Great Locality Proud Community’ it provides information about the various Councillers and ‘A day in the life’ of our community’s Parish Manager – Eirwen Tagg. There is information about previous and future consultations and invites people to attend various forums and discussion meetings. The magazine asks for ‘Parish Guardians’ who “give something back” – a group of people (young and old) who are classed as the ‘eyes and ears’ of the parish. This is certainly evidence for inclusive participation and representation within my local community. The Great Linford Parish Council are the leaders but they call upon the local people of Great Linford to help them plan a successful future for our community. I would declare that people in my local community are well informed and educated with how the community is run and are encouraged to be part of the work that is undergone.

Transport and Connectivity
According to the Egan Wheel a sustainable community should be ‘Well connected – with good transport services and communication linking people to jobs, health and other services.’
I believe that Great Linford is relatively well connected, better than many neighbourhoods in Milton Keynes. We have two major bus routes, as part of the MK metro bus service, the number 7 and 7A bus are frequent (working out 6 buses an hour). The benefit of these major routes is that it covers the majority of Milton Keynes and the bus is direct to as far as Bletchley (South Milton Keynes). The whole of the public transport service in Milton Keynes is having a dramatic ‘make-over’ in which improvements to service frequency, buses, bus stops and connectivity’s are being addressed. More recently, the implementation of real-time active time schedules has occurred, however these are not fully up and running yet. In addition, communication is apparent via local newspapers: the MK Citizen (twice weekly) and the MK News (once a week), this provides the people of Great Linford with information about the local services, job advertisement and general local news/events/’going-ons’. In regards to transport service and communication with health, there is a ‘Plus Bus’ service for elderly people, those either 80 years old or with special requirements are entitled to use the free service and it acts similarly to taxi service, to the doctors, the hospital, the town centre and other places of interest. The local doctor surgery has a telephone number/system call, email and fax for communication. I personally believe our doctor’s surgery to be inadequate, but that is only from my experience and other people maybe quite satisfied with the service it provides.





I have now looked at some statistical tables, which I have otained from National Statitistics. These are indicators to see how my local community compares with Milton Keyns & England.


Key Figures for 2001 Census: Census Area Statistics Milton Keynes 009B
Population
2001 Population: All people (Persons, Apr01) 1, 511; 696 males, 854 females


General health: Good (Persons, Apr01)1 65.19% 68.76
People aged 16-74 with: No qualifications (Persons, Apr01)1 24.31 28.85
People aged 16-74: Economically active: Unemployed (Persons, Apr01) 3.72 2.31 3.35
Owner occupied: Owns with a mortgage or loan 42.61 % 38.88%


It can be observed that most people are of 'good' health, and the amount of people with no qualifications is below the rest in England, unemploment rate is higher than other areas in Milton Keynes but above the national averahe, and owner occupied houses are higher than national average.

Diversity:Broad Ethnic Group , Estimated population by broad ethnic group, mid-2007
Your neighbourhood, Milton Keynes, England
White
%
n/a
86.5
88.2
Mixed
%
n/a
2.3
1.7
Asian or Asian British
%
n/a
5.4
5.7
Black or Black British
%
n/a
4.0
2.8
Chinese or Other
%
n/a
1.9
1.5


Religion April 2001
Your neighbourhood, Milton Keynes, England
Christian
%
65.9
65.5
71.7
Buddhist
%
0.5
0.4
0.3
Hindu
%
0.7
1.3
1.1
Jewish
%
1.0
0.2
0.5
Muslim
%
2.3
2.3
3.1
Sikh
%
0.0
0.4
0.7
Other religions
%
0.5
0.4
0.3
No religion
%
20.7
21.6
14.6
Religion not stated
%
8.4
7.9
7.7
Sources: Office for National Statistics

The data shows, that it comparison to the national average, my local community is relatively similar, woth the majority being of Christian religion and white british. However, there are other cultures, ethnicities and religious people within my local community so there is social diversity (an aspect of sustaible communities)

Health
People's health, April 2001
Your neighbourhood, Milton Keynes, England
Good
%
65.2
72.5
68.8
Fairly Good
%
24.2
20.4
22.2
Not Good
%
10.6
7.1
9.0

This data on health shows that my community has a higher than national average percentage of people in not so good health, and in comparison to other communities in Milton Keynes the number of people classed as in 'good' health is lower. I am suprised by this outcome, as I would have expected it to be one of the more 'better' and 'healthier' places to live as it is a relatively pleasant environment compared to many other housing areas. However, looking at the graph below, the highest percentage of the population in my SOA are the elderly - this may account for the health statistics!

Percentage of people in each age band in your neighbourhood, mid-2007


















Work
Labour market, January 2007 - December 2007
Your neighbourhood, Milton Keynes, England
Economic activity rate
%
n/a
84.2
78.6
Employment rate
%
n/a
81.0
74.4
Unemployment rate
%
n/a
4.5
5.4

Unfortunately, data for my SOA is not available, however looking at the statistics for Milton Keynes, employment rates are good, and higher than the national average, I believe this is respective of people's qualifications, and the data below on education is supportive, as education is rather strong in comparison to the national average and my neighbourhood comes out higher than the average in Milton Keynes. There is only 1 private school in my SOA area and the rest are all state schools - so the data is a pretty fair assessment.

Education
At Key Stage 4 it is usual for pupils to take GCSEs (General Certificates of Secondary Education) or equivalent qualifications.
Pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C grade passes, including English and Maths, at GCSE or equivalent, 2007 - 2008
Your neighbourhood , Milton Keynes , England
All pupils
%
56
44
48
Males
%
57
41
44
Females
%
55
47
52

Housing
Housing condition, April 2008
Decent Home Standard (DHS) - each local authority uses this to measure the general standard of its dwelling stock.
Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) Rating - the Government's approved procedure for calculating an energy rating. The measure ranges from 1 (highly inefficient) to 100 (highly efficient).

Your neighbourhood, Milton Keynes , England
Local authority dwellings that fall below the 'Decent Home Standard'
%
n/a
27.4
26.2


Dwellings by tenure, April 2008
Your neighbourhood, Milton Keynes, England
Owner occupied/private rented
%
n/a
80.6
81.8
Local authority
%
n/a
11.8
8.3
Registered social landlord
%
n/a
7.5
9.5
Other public sector
%
n/a
0.0
0.3

The majority of houses in Milton Keyens are privately owned and the condition of the housing stock is relative to that of the national average.

Crime: Recorded crimes, 2008 - 2009
Your neighbourhood , Milton Keynes ,
Violence against the person
Count
n/a
6,015
Wounding or other act endangering life
Count
n/a
30
Other wounding
Count
n/a
2,087
Common assault
Count
n/a
1,554
Robbery
Count
n/a
302
Theft from the person
Count
n/a
398
Burglary in a dwelling
Count
n/a
1,073
Burglary other than a dwelling
Count
n/a
1,179
Theft of a motor vehicle
Count
n/a
782
Theft from a motor vehicle
Count
n/a
2,174
Harassment including penalty notices for disorder
Count
n/a
1,987
Criminal damage including arson
Count
n/a
4,550

There is no data availabel for my SOA but there is data for Milton Keynes, but nothing to compare this with. Interestingly though the most popular crime was violence against others.

Environment
Physical environment: land use, January 2005
Your neighbourhood, Milton Keynes, England
Domestic buildings
%
9.0
2.0
1.1
Non domestic buildings
%
1.1
1.3
0.7
Road
%
10.6
4.1
2.2
Domestic gardens
%
25.6
6.3
4.3
Greenspace
%
44.1
81.2
87.5
Water
%
0.2
1.9
2.6
These are environmental indicators, from these I can learn that the green space % is much lower than the national average, which really suprises me, and the road % is particularly high, however, it appears that houses have bigger gardens than many in Milton Keynes and England as a whole. I must admit I have quite a large garden.

Domestic energy consumption, 2007
Your neighbourhood , Milton Keynes, England
Average consumption of ordinary domestic electricity
K/watt hours
n/a
3,893
3,952
Average consumption of economy 7 domestic electricity
K/watt hours
n/a
5,042
6,104
Average consumption of domestic gas
K/watt hours
n/a
16,982
17,508

This data looks at energy use, and it appears that my community is fairly equal with the national average.

Access to Services

Travel Methods
Milton Keynes 009B, Milton Keynes (Unitary Authority), South East, England
People aged 16-74 who usually travel to work by: Driving a Car or Van (Persons)1
%
59.23
62.91
59.18
54.92

Public transport users in households: With car or van (Persons)1
%
86.49
76.89
81.41
69.00

This data is of interest, it reflects that a higher % of people in my local community use public transport than those in Milton Keynes and England, implying they are satistfied with the service provided. However, car travel is still very dominant form of transport for work and higher than the national average.


Community Well-being/Social Care
Indices of Deprivation 2007 Underlying Indicators: Living Environment
This dataset contains the underlying indicators of the Living Environment domain, one of the seven domains contributing to the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2007 (IMD 2007) that were previously published. The IMD 2007 was produced by the Social Disadvantage Research Centre of the University of Oxford for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG),
Milton Keynes 009B, Milton Keynes (Unitary Authority), South East, England
Combined Living Environment Indicator (Areas)
Score
5.53
..
..
..
Rank of Living Environment Score (Areas)
Rank
28,055
..
..
..
Housing In Poor Condition (Dwellings)
Score
0.21
..
..
..

Road Traffic Accident (Persons)
Rate
0.7
..
..
..
Combined Air Quality Indicator (Areas)
Score
1.27
..
..
..
Combined Air Quality: Nitrogen Dioxide (Pollutant)
Ratio
0.55
..
..
..
Combined Air Quality: Particulates (PM10) (Pollutant)
Ratio
0.59
..
..
..
Combined Air Quality: Sulphur Dioxide (Pollutant)
Ratio
0.08
..
..
..
Combined Air Quality: Benzene (Pollutant)
Ratio
0.05

Unfortuantely, there is no data to compare this with Milton Keynes (unitary authority), South East or England, so it is difficult to draw conclusions from this data to determine how sustainable my local community is.

Housing:Key Figures for Housing
Milton Keynes 009B, Milton Keynes (Unitary Authority), South East, England
Dwelling Stock by Council Tax Band; Band A (Dwellings, Mar08)
%
17.42
15.73
8.77
25.04
Dwelling Stock by Council Tax Band; Band B (Dwellings, Mar08)
%
21.06
27.76
16.56
19.44
Dwelling Stock by Council Tax Band; Band C (Dwellings, Mar08)
%
27.27
26.96
25.83
21.69
Dwelling Stock by Council Tax Band; Band D (Dwellings, Mar08)
%
16.21
11.99
20.08
15.26
Dwelling Stock by Council Tax Band; Band E (Dwellings, Mar08)
%
13.33
9.71
13.34
9.46
Dwelling Stock by Council Tax Band; Band F (Dwellings, Mar08)
%
2.27
5.02
8.07
5.00
Dwelling Stock by Council Tax Band; Band G (Dwellings, Mar08)
%
1.67
2.70
6.45
3.54
Dwelling Stock by Council Tax Band; Band H (Dwellings, Mar08)
%
0.76
0.13
0.90
0.56
All Vacant Dwellings and Second Homes (Dwellings, Mar08)
%
..
..
4.0
4.7
Source: Communities and Local Government

This data implies that in my community there is variety in housing stocks in all Tax bands - this illustrates equity and catering for all on different incomes, most housing lies in Tax Band C, whereas overall in Engalnd the highest percentage is in Band A (Band C is the second highest)

People and Society: Income and Lifestyles
Benefits Data: Summary Statistics (Aug 08)

Jobseekers Allowance Claimants; Total (Persons)
Count: 25
1.61%
Income Support Claimants; Total (Persons)
Count: 55
3.54%

Jobseeker's Allowance is the UK's main unemployment benefit. Trends in the proportion of the working age population claiming the Allowance shows the rise or fall in the number of claimants over time.
At the start of 2008, the number of UK claimants was generally decreasing. From March 2008, the economic downturn started affecting the labour market with the UK claimant count rising. At its lowest, the number of claimants counted was below 800,000. The count passed 1 million in October 2008, and rose to 1.5 million in April 2009.Four other local authorities had claimant proportions exceeding 5 per cent: Birmingham, Tower Hamlets, Wolverhampton and Middlesborough.The highest proportion of claimants was now in Kingston-Upon-Hull with 8.9%. Lowest of 0.5% in Mole Valley

Work Deprivation
Key Figures for Work Deprivation
Milton Keynes 009B , Milton Keynes (Unitary Authority) , South East , England , Economic Activity Rate (Persons, Jan07-Dec07)3 1
%
..
84.2
82.0
78.6
Employment Rate (Persons, Jan07-Dec07)3 1
%
..
81.0
78.4
74.4
Unemployment Rate (Persons, Jan07-Dec07)3 1
%
..
4.5
4.3
5.4
All People of Working Age Claiming a Key Benefit (Persons, Aug07)4 2
%
17
12
10
14
Jobseeker's Allowance Claimants (Persons, Aug07)4 2
%
3
3
1
2
Incapacity Benefits Claimants (Persons, Aug07)4 2
%
7
5
5
7

Source: Office for National Statistics

This is more data regarding social issues of my community, as previously acknowledged employment rates are higher than average, and unemployment rates are lower than average. Interestingly, in general more people are claiming benefits though than the national average! - this comes as a suprise to me, especially as employment and employment opportunities in Milton Keynes are very positive in comparison to places in the North of England were many industrial business have declined and unemployment is considerably higher. It is confusing that many are claiming job seekers allowance in a place where I believe job opportunities are more readily available. However, the overall claimant statistics are much lower than places such as Kingston-Upon-Hole.

To summarise, I personally believe my community to be relatively sustainable in comparison to many, however like everywhere there is always room for improvement. I would like to see improvements in how actively involved citizens of my community are with regards to the governance of my SOA. I feel very satisifed with the built environment however believe there could be many improvements in energy usage and more innovative ways to protect theenvironment, also I believe the members of my community should be educated on wastage of resources such as water, gas, and electricity. Although, recycling is becoming more structured, issues such as water use are not being addressed at all. Incentives in schemes such as re-useable nappy awards and 'cash-fortrash' schemes have proved encouraging, there is always more we could do to become a more sustainable community. I generally feel quite safe where I live, but would not venture far after dark alone. I feel well connected with the rest of Milton Keynes but I believe buses not to be all that reliable, so there is plenty of room for improvements in the field of transport!

Local Political Flyers

Here are some copies of my local 'Linford Letter' all about the Liberal Democrats and what they are doing in my area. Below is another of their flyers which are posted through our door

Education for Citizenship

Education for Citizenship
Education for Sustainable Development also includes making learners aware of their role as 'Active Citizens'. Studies of 'citizenship' are intended to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed for effective and democratic participation. It helps learners become informed, active citizens who have the confidence and conviction to work together to take action in their communities. It is important to know about rights, responsibilities, duties and freedoms and about laws, justice and democracy. Citizenship encourages respect for different national, religious and ethnic identities.

Find Out:
© The constituency in which you live:
There are two parliamentary constituencies for Milton Keynes: Milton Keynes North & Milton Keynes South.
Milton Keynes North is formed from the electoral wards of Bradwell, Campbell Park, Hanslope Park, Linford North, Linford South, Middleton, Newport Pagnell North, Newport Pagnell South, Olney, Sherington, Stantonbury, and Wolverton.
© Your local MP (name, party): Mark Lancaster MP Conservative
© The name of your local council: Milton Keynes Council
© Which political party dominates your local council: Liberal Democrat

2010 is election year.
© What is your attitude concerning people who are not planning to vote in the general election?

If people decide not to vote, then that is entirely up to them, however they are not in a position to then complain if something happens that they don’t like. They have just got to accept that they decided not to actively vote and therefore the decision is out of their hands. I am also a very strong believer that you should only vote if you know what you are voting for and what the arguments for the parties in power. People need to educate themselves on the politics before they can make decisions. It is up to one’s self as to how much they wish to be involved, but it would be hypocritical to complain if you are not actively involved in any decision making, you can not blame people for what is happening, if you have not made your voice be heard, even if just by voting. BUT Be sure of what you are voting for!

© What main concerns do you have that may influence your vote?

My primary concern is equality, however, I strongly believe that at present the ‘working class’ are being given preferential treatment and many take ‘hand-outs’ for granted when they are not necessarily needed them. I am of the opinion that the most needy do not always receive what they should because the less so needy become greedy. It is all to easy to accept handouts rather than do anything about a situation to help themselves. The upper class do not have to worry about any financial constraints, the working class are given a lot of support by the labour party, it is the middle class that seem to be forgotten and then they struggle. This is just a personal opinion and I do not want to offend anybody, as what I speak of is the minority and I do believe there are a lot of people that do receive much needed and deserved support, but there is also a minority that are ‘money grabbing’ and ‘lazy’ or ‘milking situations for all they are worth’. For this reason I am strongly against the labour party as I do not believe that they are willing or wanting to help support everybody equally. A prime example of this, which I experienced at school was EMA. Those children whose parents had an income of less than £30 000 received at least £10 a week to attend school (some up to £30 a week), which is fine with me if it was to be used for transport to-from school or the necessary books and equipment to aid their education, but invariable people at school use it for their social lives and as spending money, they didn’t give it to their parents, or use it for food or anything like that. Whereas my parents would never just give me £10 a week, or £30. In some cases I know children who are using it for their drugs or cigarettes and alcohol, and I think that this is an absurd use of government money (probably my parents taxes!).

Another concern I have that would influence my vote is how the party propose to achieve their plans, or whether they are all talk and no action. I would like to see improvements in sustainability across the board. Environmentally, socially and economically. I would like to see projects underway, transport improvements, community area improvements. I hate it when those in power talk of what they are going to do and never do it! I would like to see them live like you and I, and perhaps visit places and be actively involved in what they are preaching so that they can have hands on experience and can justify their arguments for what they plan to do. Rather than appoint the ‘middle men’ to do work for them.

At the moment the theme in class is sustainable travel. Transport undoubtedly has had a major influence on economic and social development facilitating the movement of goods, people and ideas. Greater accessibility, mobility and communication has shaped the type of global society we live in today.But is there a cost? Environmentalists will emphasize the problems associated with unlimited travel - depletion of fossil fuels, local air pollution, emissions of greenhouse gases, congestion and accidents, destruction of the countryside and the expansion of land under concrete to name but a few. Even our over-reliance on motorized transport has been linked to a general lack of fitness in the population at large.So...what are your views? Is there really a transport problem? Do the benefits of motorized transport outweigh the costs? Are there any minor (or perhaps major) changes you personally feel could make our present transport system more sustainable?

Transport
According to Munbuy (1968) ‘There is no escape from transport’, for it is woven into modern society.
‘Transport hits the core of society’; ‘gives structure to space and our concept of space’; ‘shapes and reflects our way of life and our culture’; ‘the functioning of society, largely depends on the quality and design of the transport system’ (Group Transport 2000 Plus, 1990)
FACT: 3/4 of the world’s motor vehicles are to be found in countries where just 1/6th of its population lives
World car production is steadily rising – 70million a year

The Economic Impact of Transport
Transport continues to be a key component of the modernist project and essential to assist in capitalist accumulation, and the economic impact of transport has been driven by this and globalization.
According to Root (2003) Transport technology has played a crucial role in ‘providing the physical means by which domination has occurred’. It has ensured that humankind has access for exploration and development in every corner of the globe. Improvements in transport and communication technologies has resulted in the ‘time/space compression’ (which is metaphorically speaking the shrinking of time and distance). Undoubtedly transport levels are linked to economic growth and data from DESTR, 2001a there is evidence of a rise in the number of trips when a period of economic growth is occurring.
Roads for Prosperity (The Department of Transport, 1989) acknowledges the link between economic growth and ‘the reliability of road travel’, whereby improvements to road networks reducing travel times and increasing the reliability of road travel will boost British industry therefore improve the country’s economic geography by creating opportunities for growth. Transport has facilitated the growth of trade between localities, opening greater and larger markets globally, personally I am of the opinion that this is a positive impact, however, as with every benefit they is always a hidden cost and the phenonmenon of globalization has major consequences for society in terms of economic and social relations. More recently, we have seen a strong backlash against the excesses of the growth in motorized transport, fuelled initially by environmentalists!

Environmental Impacts of Transport
Environmental Impacts of Transport can be direct (usually visual), indirect (less obvious,ysmore difficult to predict and measure) and cumalitive (caused in different ways and are results of additive effects that lead to serious damages to ecosystaems). Transport related activities have many impacts on the environment and as Transport demand grows the severity and implications of such impacts become increasingly noticeable. Passenger transport demand has grown steadily in the EEA-23 over the past decade, thereby making it increasingly difficult to reduce the environmental impacts of transport. In particular, road transport is responsible for the majority of negative impacts of the transport sector on the environment.
Indicators of the transport and environment reporting mechanism (TERM) help to monitor the progress of the EU's transport and environment integration policies.

Here are some of the environmental impacts caused by transport;
Impacts on Air Qulaity
I believe the most important negative effects are contribution to climate change and to local air
Pollution. Emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) all contribute to air pollution. Transport emissions and greenhouse gases relationship: In the EEA member countries, emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from transport (excluding international air and maritime transport) increased by 27 % between 1990 and 2005. The effects of air pollution include climate change, acidification and urban air pollution.

Natural Resource Depletion
Fossil fuels are the primary energy source for transport. In order to produce transport infrastructure and transport vehicles themselves (metals, plastics) material extraction is required which causes damage to the environment.

Land Use
In the EU, 93% of total land area used for transport belongs to roads. Increased land use for transport infrastructure increases pressures on habitats, effecting biodiversity.

Impacts on Soils
Unfortunately the soil best for building the transport infrastructure is also best for agriculture, because it is stable and flat. Therefore, transport infrastructure uses up valuable agricultural land.

Impacts on Biodiversity
There are three ways in which the transport sector contributes to biodiversity loss: direct damage, fragmentation, and disturbance (EC, 1999).

Impacts of water
Activities caused by the transport sector cause surface and groundwater flow modifications, as well as water quality degradation.

Noise
Excessive noise levels damage people health. Road noise comes from four sources: vehicles;
friction between vehicles and road; driver behavior; and construction (Tsunokawa & Hoban, 1997).

Visual and Aesthetic Impacts
Negative visual and aesthetic impacts of the transport sector are the consequences of
poor planning,
(source: Environmental Impacts of Transport, Central European University
Department of Environmental Sciences & Policy, 2002) http://web.ceu.hu/envsci/sun/EnvImpactsOfTransport.pdf


Transport and Society
In addition, transport infrastructure may significantly affect social and economic factors in local communities and influence people’s health and safety. For example, a positive impact is that transport is a key component in the rebranding and reshaping of urban space. This can be viewed as a benefit of transport. Declining areas can be turned around by greater access and investment potentials (brought by improved transportation). Transport may be the key to breaking the negative cycle of decline faced by inner city areas. Although transport infrastructure intends to connect people and increase communication speed, poor planning can cause the opposite. Giddens (1991) blames transport technologies for the ‘disembedding of social and institutional relations out of their traditional localities’ and ‘reembbeding across great spans of time/space’ by which he means transport technologies has no longer tied people to their traditional localities it has provided such opportunities which can be valued having as both positive and negative impacts. On a positive note, it has provided people with greater opportunities for personal development and employment, but having said this social exclusion is one highly acknowledged topic in connection with transport.

Social exclusion and transport connections
Due to the complexity of transport as a vital ‘tool’ to further other agenda’s, approaches to transport planning and provision must realize the coinciding consequences of any actions. There are often forgotten links between transport and social exclusion. Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions (DETR, 2000a published a report Social Exclusion and the Provision and Avaliability of Public Tansport in which many transport planners refer to for guidance.
The 4 main types of transport social exclusion:
1. Spatial
2. Temporal
3. Financial
4. Personal
Two major studies published in 2000 identified clear connections between social exclusion and transport (DETRA 200a; Jsospeh Rowntree Foundation, 2001). Connections were found among the unemployed, families with young children, the young, those with low incomes & the elderly and particularly there was a very strong relationship between social exclusion and transport in rural areas. Shifts towards investment in more environmental forms of transport, such as heavy and light rail, park and ride, quality bus routes, may not always be appropriate for socially excluded communities. A solution to this serious issue is the direction of new approaches to participative decision-making and consultation needs, to bring excluded groups into the decision-making process.
In addition a study conducted by WHO has shown that road transport is the major source of
human exposure to air pollution and noise (OECD, 2001).

With all these impacts acknowledged the future of transport has changed it’s direction. Now keen to implement various new ideas, systems and schemes. This new outlook is known as sustainable transport.

The New Outlook - Sustainable transport

Sustainable Transport
A transport system which in itself is structurally viable in an economic, environmental and a social sensed and does not impede the achievement of overall sustainability in a society (based on Richardson 2005)

Emerging sustainable development agenda’s has seen pressure applied to authorities to reduce traffic growth and promote less environmentally-damaging modes. For example Ryanair claims to be Europe’s Greenest Airline. (See link:www.ryanair.com/.../ryanair-and-the-environment)

To help measure development of sustainable transport there are various indicators locally, nationally and globally. For example indicators of the transport and environment reporting mechanism (TERM). They help to monitor the progress of the EU's transport and environment integration policies.
Transport emissions and greenhouse gases relationship: In the EEA member countries, emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from transport (excluding international air and maritime transport) increased by 27 % between 1990 and 2005.

Globalistaion and the free-market liberal agenda has made local states look for new ways to attract inward investment – focus on new hi-tech, financial & service industries. This has created opportunities to reduce car dominance and provide high quality transport to new sites of employment. Although a positive idea, practically speaking it has been hindered by insufficient funds to invest in public transport. As a result new partnerships are forming, keen to gain through direct/indirect profits of the improved business opportunities. This creates a social consequence whereby less powerful groups in society are being excluded from the benefits of such schemes.

Sustainable Transport and the UK
The UK faces two transport challenges in particular:
· Economic – the system needs to support economic growth (the movement of both goods and people)
· Environment – ensuring impact on local and globak environment is ‘acceptable’
These challenges have been addressed by the development of travel plans (formerly known as ‘Green Travel Plans’. Which are now incorporated into new development planning application documents.
As stated by DfT (2009a, p.6) “A travel plan sets out to combat over-dependency on cars by boosting all the possible alternatives to single occupancy car use. By reducing car miles it can not only benefit the environment but can produce financial benefits and productivity improvements, saving both the business and its staff money and time.”

Such travel plans focus on numerous benefits on national, local and regional scales:
· Regeneration
· Sustainable economic growth
· Promoting healthy lifestyles
· Reducing single occupancy car use
· Managing travel demands
· Climate change
· Social inclusion
(dfT 2009b, p.4)
In conclusion
I have extensively researched transport and documented various positive aspects of the development in transport, as well as outlining the costs of such rapid changes and the impacts that these have had economically, socially and environmentally.
The costs of the environmental effects of the transport sector are difficult to calculate as they are non-marketable representing externalities. (“…effects where
the profit or usefulness of somebody is affected by the actions of somebody else
without any payment being received by the person who suffers the damage from the
person who causes it.” (Quinet, 1993).) Also another difficulty in calculating the costs of the damage to the environment is a very large span of time over which the environmental effects occur.

It is impossible to estimate the future transport behavior with any certainty as I have discovered that transport policy decisions are often loaded with assumptions and looking towards the future management transport planners, professionals and campaigners need to be more aware of the broader forces shaping the city.

Are there any minor (or perhaps major) changes you personally feel could make our present transport system more sustainable?
On a personal note, there are several adjustments that I could make to my transport behavior. I car share to university (this is really because I can not drive – however if I did drive I would encourage others to travel with me, as it saves money as well as being more environmentally friendly!). I could use public transport more regularly, but to be quite frank public transport in this area is absouetly appalling. It is inadequate and unreliable therefore very inconvient. It is also very costly. In order to get people to use public transport there needs to be radical changes. I learnt about the public transport in Curitiba, we could sure learn some lessons from their planning – it is amazing, futuristic and out of this world. I would have no objection to using their public transport.

Here is the key to their success:

The outcome: social, economic and environmental success.

If only we could learn from others!

Christmas is coming!
Cultural festivals, such as Christmas, are undoubtedly enjoyable and an important time for families and friends to relax together. Many have important religious significance. On the other hand, such events are often defined by excess and waste...lights, fireworks, over-packaging, excessive spending, over-eating and embarrassing self indulgence.
What do you think? Is Christmas sustainable? How would it all work in a changed world?
Or should all the 'do-gooders' leave our festivals alone!!!!


What Christmas means to me
For me Christmas is a special event in which I share quality time with those I love dearly. I can honestly say that now a days is not about presents, but about being together, being with the one's I love most. It is about appreicating one another. I will admit in previous years it was more about the presents and all the 'nice, posh' food. But times change. I have memories of piling up the presents, comparing with my brother and sister, who had the most, or who had the largest. I could never contain myself when my stocking was sat full on the end of my bed, I always had to peek before the morning. I remember being fustrated that we had to wait to open all our presents until everyone had been through the bathroom in the morning and we had had breakfast. Our breaksfasts on Christmas day use to consist of the chocolate in our stockings! - It makes me sad when I look back, those times were so happy. We don't tend to go to Church on Christmas day, but this year we are going to. It is strange what events that happen throughout the year can shape how you spend your time and how you can feel on Christmas Day. This is just about my Christmas Day though, and everyone's is different and has different meanings for each individual.

The True Meaning of Christmas???
The real meaning of Christmas is often forgotten. It has become a non-religious holiday! More children believe in Father Christmas than in Jesus. Christmas Day is a time for eating and drinking too much and watching television.

Please take a look at this link which provides an online video of 'The World to Come' by David C. Pack

http://www.thercg.org/landing/holidays.html?s_kwcid=TC7299the%20meaning%20of%20christmasS3271296331&gclid=CJKtyvyN2Z4CFUgA4wodDzibrQ


I agree that often the true meaning of Christmas is forgotten. From a religious aspect the real Christmas story is found in the Christian Bible. It is told in two different books: Matthew and Luke chapters 1 and 2.


Read the Christmas story from an ancient biographer, Luke (Chapter 2).
Luke's biography records how Mary and her husband Joseph left their home in Nazareth to travel to Joseph's ancestral home, Bethlehem, to enroll in the census ordered by the Roman emperor, Augustus. Finding no room in inns in the town, they set up primitive lodgings in a stable. There Mary gave birth to Jesus in a manger or stall. Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, the home of the house of King David from which Joseph was descended, fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah. This is confirmed to Mary by a visit from angels and shepherds.
Read the Christmas story from an ancient biographer, Matthew (Chapter 1).
Matthew's biography begins by recounting the genealogy and virgin birth of Jesus, and then moves to the coming of the Wise Men from the Orient (likely China) to where Jesus was staying after his birth in Bethlehem. The wise men, or Magi, first arrived in Jerusalem and reported to the king of Judea, Herod the Great, that they had seen a star heralding the birth of a king. Further inquiry led them to Bethlehem of Judea and the location of Mary and Joseph. They presented Jesus with treasures of "gold, frankincense, and myrrh."





It is here that we have developed many Christmas stories and practices, however today the stance of these traditional stories has taken a more modern day approach and diverted from the real teachings.




I believe that children are an important factor for Christmas, they make Christmas magical, and there is nothing so rewarding than to see my little foster sister's eyes light up when she see's Santa and all her Christmas parties! However, I think is also important that children (from a age of about 4 years and upwards) do know to some extent about the background religious story of Christmas and what it means. Sometimes it can be easily forgotten and spoilt children just associate it with presents. Without putting the dampers on such a magical event, this is a link to a website that is well worth a look at, it teaches Children the true meaning of Christmas in a child-friendly way without losing the main meaning http://www.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Xmas/meaning.htm, the most valuable quotation for me personally from this website is “Teach the children! Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that now-a-days Christmas has forgotten”








Blogs on ‘The Meaning of Christmas’
Whilst researching I came across this blog and found it rather interesting, so thought I would include a blog entry in my blog!
‘Here is an interesting exercise, list all the rules Jesus gave his followers. You'll find very few. I am sure you can agree Jesus gave no instruction for exploring space, none for heart surgery and never told anyone how to build a church building (architecture), neither did he say "don't do those things".
Jesus never said "don't celebrate my birth" and he never said "do". No where in the collective works found in the modern bible does it say "don't" or "do". If another religion celebrates an event on one day must I celebrate on another? What would happen if the pagans celebrate on all days, where would be a time for celebrating something else?
The argument "because it was pagan" is weak. Much of our culture, language and behaviors can be traced back to "pagans" and "barbarians" yet we don't throw them out. We use pagan months in our calendar, the stars are named after pagan gods. So If I don't worship the stars or the months or the gods of old or celebrate who the pagans did - how is it I am celebrating a pagan holiday?
Trappings is also a weak argument, it shows me that those who thought of it are put off by comparisons. Yup, there are lots of celebrations in historic and modern religions of renewal and rebirth, the birth of a special god and the creation recycled but that does not mean Jesus was not born, and it does not mean we should not celebrate his birth; it only means there are lots of other uses for December 25th. What would happen if I told your boss at work, you practice pagan rituals in your office during work hours? Oh yes "tapping", "chanting", "reciting the names of the gods"; yet you don't do this as a pagan celebration, you call it typing, memorizing things, and reading a calendar.
Okay I admit, Jesus was likely NOT born on December 25th, the biographers of the day record "shepherds being in the field" and December is too cold for that, so since we celebrate "as often as we do theses things" atonement / Eucharist / communion, which proves you can celebrate something; why cant we celebrate anything we want, whenever we want - make up celebrations we feel good about and worship God with freedom and freedom of criticism and condemnation? Did not the Father celebrate the return of his lost son? The widow the lost coin? Luke 15.
Jesus used these words: "Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the Son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:34-36)
It is not harder then that unless one makes it so.
I will celebrate Jesus birth, I love the idea, and the season. Thank God for it. '






This blog is courtesty of a bloke named Victor Emmanuel - Thankyou Victor!
Source http://www.jesuscentral.com/ji/lands/christmas.php




Studies about Christmas

There have even been studies into questioning 'Should We Celebrate Christmas?' for example
CHRISTMAS: Somebody's Cooked Your Goose! A Study by Tricia Tillin of Banner Ministries. © 1998 Tricia Tillin.written in 1984. I have included an entry from the introduction of this book.



‘It is almost impossible to be impartial about Christmas. So much of the celebration is now fixed for us by popular entertainment, commerce and the Church that the most we can do is to avoid the worst examples of bad taste and put our own particular mark on the food and decorations.

The study looks into media influence; family pressure; the hypocriscy of Christmas; Christmas as a Christain festival and arguments for and against the celebration of Christmas.

Media Influence
I am in agreement with Tricia that the media present Christmas as an idylic day. It becomes almost a crime to mention a mean or selfish act at Christmas. We are taught to believe hostility must be forgotten; goodness and kindness must flourish. The real world no longer seems to exist. But yet, as Tricai reports 'we all know that the usual hooliganism, robbery, drunkenness and vice will soon afterwards be reported, and the figures for suicide and divorce will rocket as ordinary mortals try to reconcile the fantasy with their reality'

Family Pressure
'The enormous pressure on families to spend more than they can afford, coupled with the encouragement to ‘eat, drink and be merry’ at any price, is no part of a genuine Christian festival.'

Hypocritical
Is this not a hypocritical stand to take? We, who are generally so careful to avoid pagan practises, and who pride ourselves in being biblically accurate, somehow switch off our powers of discernment at Christmastime, and "anything goes". The time for such self-indulgence is now over. We MUST now make a stand!

Is Christmas a Christian Festival?
Christmas has become big business, and undoubtedly it is a festival of self-indulgence for many, but, despite this, can Christmas still be a holy festival, full of meaning for those who celebrate it as the birth of the Lord Jesus? Can the religious undertones of crib and carols, nativity plays, candle-lit services and midnight mass raise Christmas to a higher level, above the bleep of electronic toys and the clinking of glasses? Unfortunately not; and this is nothing new, for the Church has been fighting a losing battle against the rites of the Winter Solstice for many centuries.
As we hear yet again the annual lament that the Christian aspects of the festival have taken second place, let us pause to wonder if this is because Christmas is, after all, a pagan festival.

For and Against
Since the beginning of the Church, there has been a sharp division of opinion on the subject of pagan customs, including the festival of ‘Christmas’. On one side were those who wanted to ‘christianise’ the practises in order more easily to win over the heathen as converts, and on the other side were those who abhorred idolatry in all its forms and sought to eliminate the customs root and branch.
For example, Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (339-397) says of December 25th, the Roman Birthday of the Unconquered Sun, "Well do Christian people call this holy day on which our Lord was born, the day of the new sun".


I have only taken the most relevant abstracts from this website, but please feel free to investigate further:
Source http://www.intotruth.org/misc/xmas1.html




Christmas and Sustainability

Western countries celebrate Christmas very differently to less economically developed countries and I would argue it is becoming quite unsustainable. In many countries of the world, the celebration of Christmas on December 25th is a high point of the year. From November onwards, it is impossible to forget that Christmas is coming. Coloured lights decorate many town centres and shops, along with shiny decorations, and artificial snow painted on shop windows. In streets and shops, 'Christmas trees' (real or plastic evergreen 'conifer' trees) will also be decorated with lights and Christmas ornaments. I confess I buy my Christmas presents throughout the year! I do question how sustainable christmas is though. For one factor, most homes will also be decorated with Christmas trees and coloured lights and most homes around where I live have some sort of lighting outside aswell. There is one particular close around the corner, called Summerhayes, which is actually featured on the local news. It is a whole cold-de-sac where every house is covered in lights, singing blown-up santa's, dancing snow men, little runaway trains - it is quite an experience. Every Christmas eve and Christmas Day Evening as a family we walk round there to soak up the atmosphere. When the lights are turned on on the first weekend in December, my brother plays in the local brass band and everyone gathers for mulled wine and mince-pies, it is very much a community event. However, I admit until recently I had not even considered the electricity so many lights use for this display and even though money is raised for the local Willen Hospice Charity, the whole thing must be unsustainable! These days, so many more people decorate garden trees or house walls with coloured electric lights - just think of the electricty.


Then there is the issue of Christmas Cards! In UK this year, the British Post Office expects to handle over 100 million cards EACH DAY, in the three weeks before Christmas. The custom of sending Christmas cards started in Britain in 1840 when the first 'Penny Post' public postal deliveries began. (Helped by the new railway system, the public postal service was the 19th century's communication revolution, just as email is for us today.) Traditionally, Christmas cards showed religious pictures - Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, or other parts of the Christmas story. Today, pictures are often jokes, winter pictures, Father Christmas, or romantic scenes of life in past times. I am beginning to object to Christmas cards! I hate writing so many, I hate recieving so many (where to we put them all!) We hang ours using ribbon and then they all fall down and it gets so fustrating as we have to keep hanging them up, then we run out of room to hang them! - All the same I do recycle my Christmas cards, we is more to say that the majority of people!



Here are a few interesting facts to think about:

• In Britain we create over two million tonnes of waste at Christmas. Once the presents have been unwrapped, we dispose of five and a half million Christmas trees, over 20 million bottles, over two million aluminium cans and over 80 square kilometres of wrapping paper!!
• In the UK over the Christmas period we consume 5.5 million jars of mincemeat, 12 million jars of pickles and 6.5 million jars of cranberry.Thinking about a sustainable Christmas?

Enjoying a sustainable Christmas doesn’t mean you have to miss out on anything - all you need to do is have a think about your actions, and perhaps change a few basic things. Local governments have published useful guides about how to celebrate the Christmas season most sutainably.

Ideas prior to Christmas,

• when buying wrapping paper, look for recycled paper or save your paper from the year before.

On Christmas Day itself

• With extra visitors and extra cooking your home will feel warmer, why not turn your thermostat down by 1degree. Maintain this temperature throughout the year and by next Christmas you could have saved around £30.00 on your energy bills.
• Decorative lights in your home and on your tree - Lessen the impact on energy use by turning off more lights elsewhere – you will get a lovely atmosphere as well.

After Christmas

• how many items you can recycle

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas! - Twelve ways for a sustainable Christmas
Penrith City Council’s Dreaming of a Green Christmas campaign celebrates the fun and festive aspects of Christmas while encouraging people to think about ways to make it more sustainable, this is Penrith City Council's guide for 12 ways for a sustainable christmas

Source http://www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au/index.asp?id=2833

1. Shop locally

2.Shop with companies with a fair trade ethic

3. Buy sustainable gifts

4.Give a gift that keeps on giving

5.Wrap presents with recycled paper

6.Turn Christmas lights off overnight

7.Spend lots of time with family and friends

8.Buy locally-grown or organic produce for your Christmas lunch

9.Give charity, recycled or e-cards

10. Make a donation to a good cause

11. Buy Green Power for your Christmas event

12.Pool your Christmas shopping into fewer bags

I guess Christmas could be made more sustainable that it already is, however I do question to what extent it can ever be regarded as a sustainable event. And I predict in the years to come it will become more and more unsustainable as we as humans are becoming more and more unsustainable!


My Conclusion to Christmas
To conclude Christmas in my opinion is a time for celebration, giving and spending time with family and friends. For most, it is a positive time, but it can also be a time of great stress, loneliness and expense. For many it has religious meaning; the Birth of Jesus, but sadly it has equally become for a large proportion of people now-a-days a day of greed and selfish celebrations. As previously mentioned I don't believe Christmas can ever be regarded as sustainable, however I am of the opinion that we can change small practices to make the event a little less unsustainable, as the future looks bleak in terms of sustainability if we continue the path we are currently taking. I don't want to be a scrooge, so I think individuals should take their own responsible steps. I think 'do-gooders' take things to the extreme and if they are hell bent on celebrating their Christmas' differently then that is up to them, but they should not ruin it for others. Equally, at the other end of the spectrum, those that are obsessively greedy and selfish should consider how they are ruining the Christmas celebrations for others.

I have expressed my own thoughts about Christmas but Christmas has 1001 different meanings to so many people, it is not for me to judge or comment on the outlook of Christmas for the world as a whole. I shall leave it up to you to draw your own conclusions.

Apologies, but I can't seem to put this images where I want!

Most newspapers sold in the United Kingdom are tabloids. Only one broadsheet features in the top six selling newspapers of January 2009 (Audit Bureau of Circulations 2009).
1. The Sun 3,146,000
2. The Daily Mail 2,200,398
3. The Daily Mirror 1,366,891
4. The Daily Telegraph 783,210
5. The Daily Star 768,534
6. The Daily Mirror 736,340

The most watched television programmes in the United Kingdom have limited history of dealing with serious issues!
/e 8 Nov 2009
000's
1
THE X FACTOR RESULTS (SUN 1959)
15,003
2
THE X FACTOR (SAT 2000)
13,051
3
CORONATION STREET (MON 1932)
10,851
4
CORONATION STREET (MON 2029)
10,542
5
DOC MARTIN (SUN 2102)
10,285
6
CORONATION STREET (FRI 2029)
9,459
7
CORONATION STREET (FRI 1932)
9,164
8
CORONATION STREET (THU 2031)
8,601
9
EMMERDALE (MON 1900)
7,456
10
EMMERDALE (THU 2000)
7,379
so....To what extent do the best selling UK newspapers cover stories related to serious issues? To what extent would you think that it is their role to do so? In your opinion does the tabloid media and 'low budget entertainment' (reality shows, soaps) have too much power and influence in this country?

Firstly - What is considered a serious issue? This is a highly opinionated question in itself. For my little foster sister a ‘serious issue’ would be the fact that ‘Iggly-Piggle & Upsy Daisy soft toys’ have been recalled and are off the shelves due to the health and safety concerns of the buttons on their outfits, so she won’t be getting that for Christmas! Whereas for my dad a serious issue may be the falling interests rates of HSBC bank. When reading my thoughts about UK newspapers, media coverage, tabloids and TV please consider whether you have the same perception as me, because this is a highly controversial and opinionated subject in study.

The media is highly influential and has gained more power as it has become more established. According to McQuail (1969:2)’mass communications comprise the institutions and techniques by which specialized groups employ technological devices (press, radio, films, etc.) to disseminate symbolic content to large, heterogeneous, and widely dispersed audiences’. The mass media – particularly television – have become ‘the cultural epicentre’ of our world (Castells, 1996:336, 333). It has become part of our daily rountine to encounter the media and media production is now one of the largest and most lucrative industrial sectors in the global economy. Connel (1988) says media, particularly the TV have been credited with ‘fabulous’ powers to change people and have been blamed for contributing to most social ills. This fact does not bode well especially as the most newspapers sold in the United Kingdom are tabloid, commonly know for not being compiled of intellectual discourse!


Below is a list of what Wikipedia claim to be Newspapers focused on serious journalism
Broadsheet format
Daily
The Daily Telegraph (est. 1855) – owned by David and Frederick Barclay – Conservative
Financial Times (est. 1888) – owned by Pearson PLC. A business-oriented daily. Economically liberal.
Sunday
The Sunday Telegraph (est. 1961) – owned by David and Frederick Barclay – Conservative
The Sunday Times (est. 1822) – owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Centre-Right.
Berliner format
Daily
The Guardian (est. 1821) — owned by the Scott Trust; The Guardian switched to Berliner size on 12 September 2005. Left-of-centre, socially liberal
Sunday
The Observer (est. 1791) — owned by the Scott Trust; switched to Berliner size on 8 January 2006. Left-of-centre, socially liberal
Compact format
Daily
The Independent (est. 1986) – Daily compact from May 2004. Centre-left, liberal views.
The Times (est. 1785) – Daily compact from November 2004. Owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Centre-right, Conservative.
Sunday
Independent on Sunday (est. 1990) – Sunday paper compact from October 2005. Centre-left, liberal views.

But these papers are not the commonly read in the UK – tabloids are! The Sun itself even advertises its content as ‘Get the latest news and features at The Sun - Showbiz, TV, babes, celebrities, sport and racing, national and international news’ – in which news is mentioned last!

According to the Guardian – ‘Politicians should stop sucking up to the tabloids It makes them look unprincipled and probably won't help them win elections either’
– is this just bitterness and rivalry between newspapers?

In addition, analysis of the media power focuses on the growing popularity of the TV. The UK the average daily TV viewing time is 3 hours, according to OECD's “Communications Outlook 2007”, but this sounds a little unrealistic to me!- I double checked this with National statistics.gov.uk and they are coming up with complimentary figures, so I guess it must be right!

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=602

(sorry tried to include table from Office for National Statistics about Figures show the average time spent watching the television, video and DVD. but for some reason wouldn't let me copy and paste - if you are interested please find it on this website)

http://http//www.longcountdown.com/2008/05/24/tv-viewing-figures-vs-iq-ranking-by-country/

Looking at the graph (at top of blog entry!) – us Brits don’t seem as much as a ‘couch potato’ as the US!

Unfortunately a great proportion of viewing time is of ‘social’ programmes and not informative channels, such as documentaries. Which leads onto my next example:
X Factor viewing figures to top 12 million? The number of viewings reflects the popularity of the show, and then all the press afterwards shows its influence!

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/shelleyvision/x-factor/

Tabloids and ‘low budget entertainment closely link their work, it could be considered collaborative media coverage. This way the public get ‘double wammy’ and both succeed in gaining greater power and influence of our society.

Here is more food for thought:
The tabloids are highly influential, but to want extent are they telling us the truth? Typically the media, any form of media have an agenda; some social commentators have an agenda and pursue their agendas regardless of facts. In her article Demonised by the tabloid media, Terence Grange discusses the true agenda’s behind tabloids. (http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/about/CI/CP/the_edge/issue24/demonised.aspx)
“The tabloid newspapers and tabloid television and the hunt across TV channels for ever more CCTV footage demonstrating the fecklessness, violence and anti-social attitudes which prevail are clear evidence of two things; firstly, these things are happening and secondly, the tabloids, both press and media, are only too willing to show them. Is what they show evidence that modern youth has a problem, the problem being that modern youth is as pictured by the press and TV? Or is it evidence that the tabloid media has an obsession and is pursuing that obsession regardless of overwhelming evidence that what they show is the exception rather than the rule?”
Her writing demonstrates the high influence such media has in our country, and how much of it do we take literally and how much should we take with a pinch of salt? In this circumstance I consider the content in discussion, (teenagers in society today) a rather serious issue, but nevertheless is it a justice account that she is anaylsing. When the tabloid do decide to cover more serious issues, I believe they do not do it well, this is probably because they rarely cover ‘serious issues’ (in my eyes) so when they do it is merely their own obscured taking on the matter!

Here are some opinions of the media, taken from Yahoo comments:‘Its never the truth in the media, only what u wanted to hear’
‘The media is just a load of B******KS’
‘I love the media, I love juicy gossip’

Books such as Tabloid Prodigy: Dishing the Dirt, Getting the Gossip, and Selling My Soul in the Cutthroat World of Hollywood Reporting illustrate the role in which Tabloids play and the coverage they consist of. Tabloid press have a lot of power.

Here is another thought and evidence how much influence and the extent to which tabloids will go to to influence us – the death of Princess Diana - at the time tabloids were getting bad press because Princess Diana’s death was as a result of a car accident involving the paparazzi.

To conclude, if tabloids wish to present themselves informing the public of juicy, gossip and latest celeb news then is it their role to cover serious issues? Is this not what broadsheet newspapers and documentaries set out to do. The tabloids are aiming for different markets and if they were to cover serious issues then I believe that respectively their sales would drop! (I know I am being stereotypical – you might have guessed I am not a Sun reader!). Lastly, unfortunately I do believe that the media in general to hold far to much power and influence in this country, and with tabloid and ‘low budget entertainment’ popularity being greatest, the influence is not beneficial in my view. We are educating the people of our country with jargon! And not serious issues at all. However, it is up to the individual to seek their own form of education, and enlight themselves of the news that they wish to receive. It could eb argued that it is for this reason why we live in such an unsustainable, un manageable hooliganism world. However, it is going to take more that tabloid and ‘low budget entertainment’ coverage to change the greater problems that we face.