Where my family home is, is in Devon. We live in Exeter and in an area of Exeter called Exwick. Exwick is a relatively new area of Exeter, having joined the City boundaries a lot later than many of the other boroughs (Pinhoe and Wonford for example have been part of Exeter since soon after the Romans left).
The area isn’t a ‘poor’ area but it’s also not the most affluent area in the City, being almost 3 miles from the City centre doesn’t help but it does reside near a small shopping centre. The sustainability of the area is pretty good, according to the data collected from the website, there are few families with more than 2 cars and there are many people within walking distance from their place of work, however there are 13 people who work over 60km away from their home, meaning their carbon footprint is bigger than average. There is also a good percentage of people using a car share scheme to get to and from work in Exwick (6%). This makes sense to me as having lived there all my life, i know for a fact that a lot of people work in and around Exwick and hence walk to work, also Exwick was one of the trial areas (in Exeter) for green, recycling bins. Further enhancing Exwick’s status as a sustainable area.
The air cleanliness scores a 0.86 out of 1 meaning that it is one of the cleanest areas in Exeter (if not one of the cleanest suburbs in the country?) and has a low level of air pollutants. Exwick has over 81 thousand sq meters of Greenland and from memory there are almost 9 football and rugby pitches in the area as well as many places of land for walks and recreational use.
Overall Exwick is (in my opinion) an area with a high level of sustainability. People walk to and from work on the whole and although there are a few families/people who’s carbon footprint is higher than average, that can be said about almost any area in the country, if not the world.
http://nile.northampton.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_4_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_4755_1%26url%3D
Thursday, 25 March 2010
blogg #8
The constituency I live in is called Exwick & St Thomas and the size of the
electorate is 11,305
My local MP is a man called Ben Bradshaw and he represents the labour party.
The name of the local council is the Exwick & St Thomas borough council
The local area is a typically Labour dominated area but over the last few elections it is slowly returning more conservative votes.
2010 is an election year and I believe that it is your right as a citizen to have a vote and make your voice heard. Over the past 150 years people have died and been imprisioned just so people can have a vote, in secret and without pressure from others to vote a certain way. When people do not vote they show a lack of respect. I can understand when people say that they don’t believe that any of the (major) parties don’t seem to hold any of their interests, but thats why people ALSO have to right to soil their ballot paper. I know it’s a waste of a vote to do, but it is showing your opinion in another way.
If people don’t want to vote for a particular party, they should simply not show up. Active abstaining is better than just not voting.
The main things that may influence my vote include how the political parties act up to the election. Labour (as of the time of writing) seem like a moribund party, almost resigned to defeat, but i think this will change in the months and weeks leading up to election day. The tories on the other hand, have possibly the best chance of winning since John Major was put in charge. They are showing a confidence that has been drawn from the demise of the Labour party. However, i do still think that Labour will come out on top.
http://www.devon.gov.uk/text/membersguidedivision-13.pdf
electorate is 11,305
My local MP is a man called Ben Bradshaw and he represents the labour party.
The name of the local council is the Exwick & St Thomas borough council
The local area is a typically Labour dominated area but over the last few elections it is slowly returning more conservative votes.
2010 is an election year and I believe that it is your right as a citizen to have a vote and make your voice heard. Over the past 150 years people have died and been imprisioned just so people can have a vote, in secret and without pressure from others to vote a certain way. When people do not vote they show a lack of respect. I can understand when people say that they don’t believe that any of the (major) parties don’t seem to hold any of their interests, but thats why people ALSO have to right to soil their ballot paper. I know it’s a waste of a vote to do, but it is showing your opinion in another way.
If people don’t want to vote for a particular party, they should simply not show up. Active abstaining is better than just not voting.
The main things that may influence my vote include how the political parties act up to the election. Labour (as of the time of writing) seem like a moribund party, almost resigned to defeat, but i think this will change in the months and weeks leading up to election day. The tories on the other hand, have possibly the best chance of winning since John Major was put in charge. They are showing a confidence that has been drawn from the demise of the Labour party. However, i do still think that Labour will come out on top.
http://www.devon.gov.uk/text/membersguidedivision-13.pdf
Sunday, 7 March 2010
blogg #6/7
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?
POSTED BY ENV1017 AT 12:46 AM
Travel is vital, everyone uses one form of travel at some point and it’s always a hot topic when talking about sustainability and being ‘eco friendly’. People have all sorts of different views on travel and travel is a major talking point. From the cycling Dutch to the Americans who use their 10 miles to the gallon ‘gas guzzlers’, everywhere everyone uses travel.
Basic travel isn’t sustainable. One person, driving to and from work every day will used fuel, the world only had about 20 years worth of natural gas left. Sustainable travel includes car sharing, catching the bus or train or cycling. The only problem with these things are that on a train it’s often crowded and too busy and loud, the same as on a bus. People like their personal space, which they can get in their own car, where they can listen to their own music and don’t have to share their space.
In Holland and the low countries of Europe, a vast majority of the population cycle to work, to school and to wherever they need to go.
Motorized transports do have their advantage. They’re quicker, they’re more personal and they have sentimental value to people (i.e. people get attached to cars and motorbikes) however, they’re not the most sustainable way to travel. Also, they are a major contributor to the fact that the population as a whole are growing more obese.
The changes that could be made on a local scale include, days where everyone has to either take the bus or train, or even a national cycle week. This would encourage and show that people can easily use sustainable travel options.
In conclusion, travel should be made sustainable and for the most part, many countries and communities are doing their bit to aid and develop sustainable travel.
From cycling days/weeks, encouraging bus or train taking or even just simple car sharing sustainable travel is easy to do. Personally, I try to car share as much as possible, I walk a lot and I used o cycle to work. If I can do these easy, small little changes, then the world could and should be able to do so as well, and reap the benefits in the future.
POSTED BY ENV1017 AT 12:46 AM
Travel is vital, everyone uses one form of travel at some point and it’s always a hot topic when talking about sustainability and being ‘eco friendly’. People have all sorts of different views on travel and travel is a major talking point. From the cycling Dutch to the Americans who use their 10 miles to the gallon ‘gas guzzlers’, everywhere everyone uses travel.
Basic travel isn’t sustainable. One person, driving to and from work every day will used fuel, the world only had about 20 years worth of natural gas left. Sustainable travel includes car sharing, catching the bus or train or cycling. The only problem with these things are that on a train it’s often crowded and too busy and loud, the same as on a bus. People like their personal space, which they can get in their own car, where they can listen to their own music and don’t have to share their space.
In Holland and the low countries of Europe, a vast majority of the population cycle to work, to school and to wherever they need to go.
Motorized transports do have their advantage. They’re quicker, they’re more personal and they have sentimental value to people (i.e. people get attached to cars and motorbikes) however, they’re not the most sustainable way to travel. Also, they are a major contributor to the fact that the population as a whole are growing more obese.
The changes that could be made on a local scale include, days where everyone has to either take the bus or train, or even a national cycle week. This would encourage and show that people can easily use sustainable travel options.
In conclusion, travel should be made sustainable and for the most part, many countries and communities are doing their bit to aid and develop sustainable travel.
From cycling days/weeks, encouraging bus or train taking or even just simple car sharing sustainable travel is easy to do. Personally, I try to car share as much as possible, I walk a lot and I used o cycle to work. If I can do these easy, small little changes, then the world could and should be able to do so as well, and reap the benefits in the future.
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