Earlier this month my friend/former flatmate Craig traveled down to the capital to receive ‘The Future vision award 2009’ in the category ‘Future Green Thinking Winner’. The award covers a variety of issues from climate change to innovative new transport schemes. Who knows we might see their ideas come to life in the not so distant future?

Here is Craig’s winning entry which focuses on the idea of ‘environment watch schemes’ to monitor carbon levels and ultimately, make improvements in other areas.

“The answer to reducing climate change is simple, there must be a massive reduction in carbon output throughout the world. However, as most of us have come to rely heavily on the utilisation of carbon to make our lives easier, through driving cars and powering our houses, the implementation of this simple idea is much more difficult. I believe that the most successful way to implement carbon reduction is using a bottom up method where local residents are responsible for monitoring, controlling and educating the environmental activities of their neighbours. The scheme could take a similar form to the successful neighbourhood watch scheme in the 1980’s that was set up to reduce crime and make communities safer. “Environmental watch groups” would meet regularly to discuss ways in which they could reduce emissions in the community, this would result in schemes and ideas to reduce emissions that are appropriate to the community instead of generic schemes laid out by higher authorities that may be less appropriate. The scheme would also tackle inequalities that arise with conventional carbon budgeting by allocating a better share of carbon budgets to vulnerable people such as the elderly or disabled who rely on it more. Environmental watch groups can also educate people in communities how to reduce carbon at home through methods that would be otherwise unknown to them, they could also foster a new community spirit which in modern times is a lost element within neighbourhoods. Other roles of environmental watch groups could consist of, monitoring biodiversity within the area, waste management and various other proactive environmental activities. Ultimately however, environmental watch groups would aid in the challenge of reducing carbon emissions and the difficult changes in lifestyle that carbon reduction brings with it.”

For more information on the competition visit the website:

http://www.futurevisionaward.com/winners-2009/Default.aspx