Rohit says: the EU should take action about pollution, carbon emissions, and the protection of rare species; whilst actions like recycling can be encouragedRohit says: the EU should take action about pollution, carbon emissions, and the protection of rare species; whilst actions like recycling can be encouraged by member states, countries don’t necessarily want to encourage reduction in carbon emissions because they want to boost their own economy. The EU should be able to take sanctions against member states who don’t take action in these areas, as an incentive.
Lisa says: the EU should make policies on issues like carbon emissions, pollution, and protection of natural habitats, and take action against member states which don’t abide by these policies. But she says that poorer countries should be supported with these issues because they may not have in place the infrastructure to tackle them.(more)(less)
Harsheek says: it’s really difficult to find out about sustainable living; when I decided to become vegan I had to do a lot of research and wouldn’tHarsheek says: it’s really difficult to find out about sustainable living; when I decided to become vegan I had to do a lot of research and wouldn’t expect everyone else to do the same. There needs to be information that people can find more easily; especially since we are bombarded by the media with important issues of the day which makes it difficult to distinguish the really important ones, which leaves people confused. We need an independent body to provide factual information which is backed by the scientific community.
Lisa says: there is a lot of information out there but it can be difficult to access and quite confusing; this is because the issues are tied up with commerce, and companies and governments don’t want to tell the truth because they are afraid about the impact on profits and the economy. There should be funding for non-governmental bodies to promote sustainability issues, which are not connected to for profit organisations.(more)(less)
Rohit says: what’s sustainable is really common sense on the whole; for example I can make the choice to take a train or plane to Glasgow, it’s commonRohit says: what’s sustainable is really common sense on the whole; for example I can make the choice to take a train or plane to Glasgow, it’s common sense that it’s more environmentally friendly to take the train. But other things aren’t so obvious such as being vegetarian, because you’re not part of the massive resources being used to feed cattle.
Mike says: at the moment it’s difficult to know what’s sustainable and what not – mainly because of ‘greenwash’: companies using pretend green policies as a marketing tool. Carbon offsetting is a good example – this is an idea where companies basically pay someone else to save energy on their behalf eg giving away low energy lightbulbs, while they continue to pollute as much as they want. We need legislation to hold companies to account for this kind of misinformation, with an independent body to impose fines.(more)(less)
Harsheek says: sometimes a do feel a bit disheartened when I see other people not making an effort to live in a more sustainable way when I am; but I’mHarsheek says: sometimes a do feel a bit disheartened when I see other people not making an effort to live in a more sustainable way when I am; but I’m not going to stop, because the way I live my life is about my core beliefs. Hopefully I can lead by example and influence the community around me, for example to ride a bike or recycle; I believe it’s a form of direct action that everyone can take.
Lisa says: I’m lucky that a lot of people I know are interested in lessening the impact they have on the environment; but if I was the only one I’d feel quite disheartened, like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. It’s really important that there are a lot of people around who are interested in the same thing.
Rohit says: when I see myself recycling and other people don't, I think what’s the point, it’s not going to make any major change; but then I think if everyone had this attitude the environment would be in an even worse state. So I carry on, because it raises awareness, and even a small change has to be a good one.
Mike says: I do feel a bit disheartened when I see that other people aren’t making the same effort as I am about sustainability; but I still keep on with these small changes because it sets a good example. If everyone thought ‘nobody else is doing it so I won’t’, where would we be?(more)(less)
Mike says: I’d have a policy of distributed power generation; at the moment power is generated centrally using high-density carbon methods; but if weMike says: I’d have a policy of distributed power generation; at the moment power is generated centrally using high-density carbon methods; but if we had a sustainable low/no carbon method distributed at local level e.g. cities, towns, villages, you could get people involved in local power generation. This would produce jobs as well, boosting local economies, and would make people more aware of the threat we’re facing from climate change, make people feel more responsible, and give them an opportunity to participate if they want to. This would promote awareness and personal responsibility.
Harsheek says: we need to make things more fun, and more accessible to people; at the moment it’s marketed a serious issue – which of course it is – but I think it turns a lot of people off. It makes people feel quite helpless when the message is about global warming, climate change – like the world’s going to end. Small actions like riding a bike, being vegetarian, recycling; these promote people’s awareness and reduce the carbon footprint on the earth, but also can create more of a community; it would be very empowering to get people involved and working together to do these things.(more)(less)
Rohit says: it is difficult to get people to participate in sustainable development, because most of us have had a human-centred viewpoint ingrained inRohit says: it is difficult to get people to participate in sustainable development, because most of us have had a human-centred viewpoint ingrained in us, i.e. we see ourselves as separate from the environment; you can see this in the fact that sustainable development is seen in terms of looking after future generations when we should be looking after the environment now. So it needs to be done at a young age, having in schools something like ‘sustainable development studies’, so that young people now have an understanding of the need to protect the environment in the present.
Lisa says: it’s important to help people to feel empowered rather than frightened of the issue; to get people to feel excited about sustainability and about the benefits of it. There needs to be a culture of participation from early childhood, in educational institutions, as well as in businesses, to make things like recycling an everyday occurrence. By doing this, it will hopefully filter into people's home life and they will continue to do it in the future.(more)(less)
Imagine the hundreds of thousands of computers which are discarded every year across the EU – technology changes so fast that we are constantly gettingImagine the hundreds of thousands of computers which are discarded every year across the EU – technology changes so fast that we are constantly getting new ones………………………….how can we deal with this problem in a sustainable way? This video shows an innovative programme in the UK; they are developing a venue for live music and art space, and are taking old computers from businesses to re-use them in their project for creative purposes.
What else can we do across the EU? And what about the mobile phones, TVs, DVD players…………(more)(less)
Matthew is a volunteer at GOFA – ‘Good Old Furniture Available’, a project which refurbishes unwanted furniture and redistributes it to people inMatthew is a volunteer at GOFA – ‘Good Old Furniture Available’, a project which refurbishes unwanted furniture and redistributes it to people in the community who need it, for example people on low incomes, so it doesn’t end up as landfill waste. Matthew got involved in the project because he was struggling in his life, and needed something positive to do; with the help of his social worker he started working as a volunteer in collecting and delivering the furniture, and helping in the furniture warehouse. He feels that this experience has improved his self-confidence and helped get him back to work. He thinks volunteering like this for young people is character building, gives them something constructive to do, and is a good introduction to work; it provides opportunities and has social benefits as well as helping the environment. He thinks the EU should encourage the involvement of volunteer schemes and promote projects like this, to inspire others to do the same.(more)(less)
Justin Olusunde works for an organisation called ReZolve, which runs sustainability projects that have not only environmental objectives, but encompassJustin Olusunde works for an organisation called ReZolve, which runs sustainability projects that have not only environmental objectives, but encompass economic and social sustainability goals as well - the projects offer young people opportunities for training, voluntary work, and paid employment. Young people are an essential part of what the organisation does. Justin says that young people’s involvement is important because they represent the future of the environment, and they are keen to become involved because they are committed to it. He says that Third Sector organisations have a crucial role to play in building bridges between young people and environmental concerns across Europe, because it offers a unique experience and is very successful in reaching young people who are disaffected from governmental bodies.(more)(less)
So says Guy, from Cornwall Waste Action; Guy’s main concern is how to get young people involved in the management of waste action projects, as well asSo says Guy, from Cornwall Waste Action; Guy’s main concern is how to get young people involved in the management of waste action projects, as well as at a practical level; in the UK, this means working as part of a volunteer Board of Trustees to develop and oversee the work of organisations and develop projects. Many of these Boards have only older people, but young people’s involvement is essential for taking these initiatives forward into the future. He also says that more networking is needed between UK and EU projects with similar objectives; similar initiatives are in very different situations across the EU – quite strong in the UK but not everywhere. He describes one local project for developing community composting schemes, which has sister projects in some other EU member states; the UK partner has just received European Compost Demonstration Status because of the success of its social outcomes. But more partnership work is needed.(more)(less)
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