Tonight's training session was on Development and the Environment. Unfortunately, the buffet served beforehand didn't have any chicken nuggets, but the fresh fruit salad was superb.
The presentation was suitably light, but sufficiently informative, and allowed plenty of time at the end for questions and discussion. One of the officers, by cycling, using buses, recycling and composting, avoiding air travel and adjusting his lifestyle in fairly simple ways, has reduced his impact on the environment, he reckons, by about 70%! He produces just one black sack of waste a fortnight for a household of three! An example to us all.
There were no Labour councillors present, with their down-trodden, we've got to do as we're told, attitude. The Conservative and Lib Dem Councillors, in contrast, were full of ideas and idealism. However, it is also clear that new members, for all their enthusiasm, are not convinced that the way the Council is set up, with an over-mighty cabinet and scrutiny committees controlled by the majority group, affords much opportunity for fresh-thinking or to influence the decision-making process.
We shall see how things develop, particularly as the Council's Constitution is rewritten. But if the new constitution merely pays lip-service to the notions of democracy, openness and participation, there will be strong opposition from non-Labour groups within the Council.
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Wow, one black sack a fortnight for a family of three is impressive.
We're down to one to one-and-a-half per week for the four of us, which'll drop when our youngest is out of (biodegradable) nappies. If the kerbside recycling collection included cardboard, we'd be binning a lot less.
We've no car anymore either, and are not flying this year at all.
We get our free cavity wall insulation installed tomorrow, which should reduce our impact further.
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