My ‘mentors’ at the Westmorland Gazette, Kate Whiteside and Andrew Thomas made contact with me last week, politely inquiring why my ‘Down to Earth’ blog contributions to ‘Going Green’ had come to a stand-still. I replied that I was having trouble putting together some positive, encouraging ‘green’ ideas and thoughts when so much doom and gloom reporting was hurting my head, making me want to hide away. In denial, in effect!

The worst reaction of all – but a natural reaction methinks to the apparent reluctance of our local/global society to respond to the very frightening implications for all of us, and all other species, if the global warming scenario really lifts off. Scientists say we have to adjust our approach to life and living by staying within a 2degreesC rise in temperature. Above such rise we may well loose control of our ability to safeguard the living well being of Planet Earth.

All of this is spelled out in Mark Lynas’s book ‘Six Degrees.’ The hyper-doom-and –gloom bit, in a worst-case scenario reveals that the Western US, Southern Europe, and Australia are likely to become uninhabitable! The book outlines how to avoid such extreme impact, but they are radical measures – the ultimate test of our species to get real about going green. Now at this point it is a common reaction to hide one’s head in the sand (pointless) or, alternatively, take a deep breath and face the challenge (hurrah!) and get on with the radical fix required in order to bring a possible running out of control scenario back under control.

This neatly brings me back to the ‘Big Ask.’ Why are we apparently in denial as individuals, at local, national and international government level in really discussing the scale of change required to stabilise the well being of the biosphere?

I jumped for joy when Gordon Brown announced raising the nation’s Carbon Dioxide reductions to 80% by 2050, in recognition of the seriousness of global warming. Two days later I was shocked to the core when it was indicated that a third runway at Heathrow would double up the capacity of air flights in and out of London. Joined up thinking? I think not! An environmental contradiction? I think so! What I call curdled thinking.

I would like to think that my concerns expressed here might stimulate a more sophisticated dialogue between us all so as to move much more speedily into a credible approach to the future, where living within environmental and resource constraints are properly taken on board.

This will involve asking some painful yet pertinent questions. For example – Can ‘Economic Growth’ be the long-term mantra to secure prosperity whilst at the same time fully respecting environmental and finite resource considerations?

Here’s another – Can the current highly mechanised agricultural practice, with a great emphasis on meat and dairy products, that employs only 1% of this country’s professional work force be maintained, or should the whole approach be hiked up via organic horticulture, sourcing people in a local context, which would bring many more people back into the countryside?

Here’s another – Should all individuals be allocated a sustainable quota of finite resources (this is the carbon footprint stuff) within sustainability limits – via a carbon plastic card system? That’s enough questions for the moment!

It would be good to raise the profile of this sort of key and I accept controversial dialogue to help escape from current municipal apathy and denial and move towards a much more grounded design framework for the future.

I’m prepared to be part of such a ‘behind-the-scenes’ exchange of thoughts on all of this in the hope that by doing so it might spill over into our established democratic local culture.

I just want to get this green blog up ands running again, and in doing so, begin to help promote some exciting, fun, uplifting, fulfilling local initiatives that, hopefully, may act as positive triggers for practical action all over the place!

I’ve got lots of ideas, and I know so have many other people, but feel that stage one is just to open the door, in the hope that in doing so, a sort of positive contagion of reaction will follow that will get the green snow ball rolling and gathering momentum at last!