Our climate action group is disbanding after almost a year. I knew we would.
What stymied things for me was our chosen title - climate action. From the array of books I have looked at over the past year (especially Chris Goodall's prizewinning How to live a Low Carbon Life), I discovered that in order to avert disastrous climate change, we each need to reduce our carbon footprint to around three tonnes a year.
In other words, if we truly want to act on the climate, we must all make radical reductions in our carbon emissions. For me, the climate action group was the root of that process.
For others, there was no such agenda. Victoria felt very attached to her six-tonne a year emitting Aga; Ron would prefer to share his gas-guzzling people-carrier rather than sell it to someone who cares not a jot about reducing emissions. No one except for Maz is prepared to completely give up travelling by plane - it's cheap and it's convenient.
Things in the group have probably got too personal, sitting round a table sharing matters of conscience. I think we did our best not to criticise one another, but passions quickly rose. How easy is it for someone as passionately committed to vegetarianism as Maz to discuss food production with an out-and-out carnivore like Ron? Especially when ultimately the subject concerns the survival of the human race.
We didn't do badly on sharing information. Quite a few of us have used Dave the insulation guru to block up gaps in our doors and windows over the past year. We must have saved several tonnes of CO2 that way. If we didn't have them before, we now all have economy light bulbs and compost bins. Though the car pool didn't work out within the group, I have discovered a family down the road prepared to share my scuffed and smelly automobile. That should save a load of cash. Solar panels are the same - as fuel prices keep rising, they are going to start popping up on everybody's rooftop.
Some members of our now defunct group want to set up new groups; others want to do more campaigning and try to get our government acting on the really big issues. The rest of us depart with an enriched carbon-conscience and relief that we are still friends.
