Gardens - revisited

A few months ago I blogged about a forthcoming new attraction in Singapore—the Gardens by the Bay—a biodiversity exhibition under domes such as those that have become familiar through the UK’s Eden Project. The expansive confidence of the enterprise in Singapore’s downtown is undeniable, including a cloud dome and a flower garden boasting blooms from every continent.  Just opened now, I have been able to walk around the first phase and wonder at the engineering feats as well as the splendour of the natural flora on show.

The striking centre-piece of the gardens are some false super-trees constructed out of steel, like something from a fantasy movie and intertwined with a variety of real trees and saprophytes. The engineering is awesome, just as the giant framework of the skeletal domes also stretch into the sky. They seem to be straining at the very limit of human endeavour, holding up immense structures that protect the biospheres.  It is a metaphor, I thought, for the decisions we are making right now about sustainability. Either we are straining at the edges but will be able to extend technology so that it can protect and enhance the environment or we have reached the limits of what is humanly possible (typified by these super-rich city states of Singapore and the Gulf) and will find ourselves soon falling back, overcome by the strain. I wonder which it will be?

The really interesting aspect of the Gardens is the highly educational presentations and displays that every visitor has to pass through setting out the facts of global warming and explaining what each person can do. I did not know, for example, that human beings breath in 0.8 kg of oxygen per day on average, while we breathe out 1 kg of carbon dioxide per day—so we are on a losing wicket right from the start! While nature’s carbon cycles potentially balance out, man’s additions to greenhouse gasses could add up to 5'C this century cumulatively and exponentially. We can argue projections but there’s no doubting the power of the overall story being told.

Great efforts have been made to make these gardens carbon neutral (let’s not ask about the embedded carbon in the physical structures) but like our planet, what we do next and how the many thousands of visitors respond make the difference to the outcome, or at least the next pages, of that crucial story.

David Jackman

The uneven space of green ideas

When visiting friends or relatives, one notices much more little qualities of everyday life. The water can be harder, the house hotter or colder, and all the kitchen utensils are in the wrong place! But, of course, these qualities become familiar and eventually comforting. There is one difference, however, which is becoming more and more marked – the local recycling customs. In rural Cumbria, you can bung your empty cans and jars into a crate by the road and think little more of it. When visiting London, I’m almost surprised that councils don’t provide on-call chemists to ascertain whether the empty bag of Weetos goes in the bin for biodegradable/compostable packaging or “General Waste” (who I like to think is ranked below Field Marshal Rubbish but above Colonel Littering). The serious point here is that green solutions to potential environmental problems differ widely between different areas, which can limit the effectiveness of central policies. Indeed, delegating such solutions as recycling and limiting emissions to councils suggests the government is not particularly interested in a centralised approach, or in making environmental concern a common theme in its policy more generally.

This too is a microcosm of environmental policy on a global scale. Consider, for example, the failure of the summits at Kyoto and Copenhagen to deliver unified and powerful environmental policy with global influence. Emissions targets are all very well, but there must either be apparatus to enforce targets (a solution which seems too unilateral), or a process to educate people, councils and governments to secure and apply useful ideas consistently.

Paralympics – a great inspiration

We are now being treated to the second half of a great summer of sport. The Paralympics, which has its origins in Stoke Mandeville in the UK and the previous London Games of 1948, has started with the same enthusiasm and support experienced for the London 2012 Olympics a few weeks ago. London 2012 I am sure will be remembered as much for raising levels of admiration for those with disability, as much as celebrating the triumphs of the able bodied Games.

Both sets of Games are united by the same aims of common endeavour and striving for excellence, and both rebuild our confidence in human achievement and the human spirit. But the Paralympics has an extra special dimension, of battling against the odds, of overcoming often immense obstacles and demonstrating tremendous determination. The backstories of some of the athletes are truly amazing.

The Paralympics tells us a lot about sustainability. It’s a showcase of the resilience and adaptability right at the heart of the sustainability theme. Individuals and families, often caught unaware, have had to cope with difficulties and limitations. They have had to find ways round what must seem like huge blocks in the road and have come out with something hugely positive.

Technology has played its part in liberating many participants, providing them with a mechanism to take part or improve their performance. Not all countries are equally advanced, but there is a sense of sharing expertise to raise the overall level. This is how sustainable development works – or should work – the sharing of ideas, pushing back boundaries, reducing limitations and finding innovative and imaginative solutions together. 

The Paralympics opening ceremony was as instructive as Danny Boyle’s awe-inspiring Olympic opener. The Paralympics’ curtain-raiser focused on enlightenment, enterprise, scientific advance and sensitive creativity. We all learnt something. We learnt that disability is a part of the rich diversity of human experience; we learn more about what success looks like, we learnt more about the world this generation and subsequent generations might try to create and we learnt a lot more about the power of the human spirit.

I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel very optimistic and more motivated to pass on a world in as good a condition as possible. Sustainability could do with being and appearing to be more positive, less grumpy. And it is a wonder how empowering putting so-called ‘disability’ centre-stage can be!

David Jackman

How green a Games?

We have seen the ‘greatest show on earth’ – the Olympics. Usain bolted, world records crashed, Ennis and Farrah became new national heroes and everyone had an exceedingly good time. The sun even shone (most of the time)!

But did London 2012 live up to its aim to be the greenest Games ever?

I was lucky enough to get tickets to go on one day, to see the Hockey on the first day the Olympic Park was in full use. It was amazing! Just to be inside the Park was enough. The crowds of people thronging down the walkways and the cheers echoing from the stadium - I shall never forget.

Whether the thousands there were aware that monumental efforts had been made to reduce the carbon footprint, many structures being built in a deliberately low intensity, demountable way, I am not sure.  The low-carbon energy centre was clearly evident but there was, perhaps, little ‘education’ about the innovative way this was running.

Recycling was very much in focus; however, the choices of bins seemed confusing to some. By the end of the day I suspect most ‘got it’- and that was the point.  The extensive planting of the site was extraordinary and was missed by no-one, I expect. The comments I heard about the wild meadows full of flowers and trees were legion.

Having spent nearly seven years preparing for these two weeks and as a member of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, which is the sustainability assurance body overseeing the event, all our efforts were worthwhile and made a real contribution. This set a new benchmark for events of this scale, including the upcoming Paralympic Games. We are now working on the vital legacy of establishing a new community and economic hub in once run-down east London.

But the real success was something else that perhaps no-one really expected. It was the tremendous spirit and goodwill generated by the Games. The volunteers, who noticeably got the biggest cheers in the closing ceremony, were also the stars with their humour, cheerfulness and sheer commitment.  It was infectious. Now we have to nurture that collective spirit, enthusiasm and moral legacy. We have to talk about the sustainability of community spirit which goes far beyond buildings and carbon footprint. This is a new kind of ‘green’ and in this we did very well indeed.

David Jackman

Member of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012

Quick fixes

A helicopter is bearing down on me, not 100 feet above my head! The noise is deafening. From below is slung a large bag bulging and swinging worryingly. The helicopter now turns and deposits its load just behind our house on the mountain side and without a pause returns to the far mountain from where it came to be loaded up once more.

It does this time and time again. A never ending circuit, that’s been going on for at least the last 3-4 hours.

The heavy cargoes suspended below the helicopters are stones, slates and rocks; they are being dropped in massive canvas bags on the popular mountain path above us. Later National Park wardens will lay these to strengthen the path, make it safe and mitigate the effects of severe path erosion from the hundreds of tourists and walkers who climb here every week. It is particularly busy (although not today, obviously) as it forms part of the increasingly  popular  ‘coast to coast ‘ long distance path that allows you to walk across the UK at one of its narrowest points through some of our loveliest scenery.

This work in progress is the local ‘fix-the-fells’ programme in action. It’s now our turn. The money to pay for this needy work is raised by voluntary donation, partly an optional £1 per night levy on hotel guests in the area.

It makes me think that many must be aware of the possibility of environmental damage and are prepared to share some responsibility, however small, when they come to such a beautiful but pressured place. Surely the principle extends further, and we have responsibility for many other actions in our lives, not just on holiday. The challenge which fix the fells has cracked is to make that responsibility real and secondly to make a way of contributing practical and easy to do. This is what green24 is helping to do as well. Help all of us to see our responsibilities and also show us ways of dealing with the consequences. Big business has long been in the frame and can always do more but it is a responsibility of each and every one to be involved at an individual level.

If we don’t we will soon find that delightful places that we all take for granted will no longer be so accessible or pleasant and other elements of our environment will give way just as fast.

David Jackman

Jubilee weekend

In the UK and across the Commonwealth, we are celebrating the Queen’s 60-year reign. In our village we are having a big lunch, races for the children, the service of thanksgiving and a drama performance. The highlight will be the lighting of beacons across the mountains which will be visible from miles away!

In London of course, there will be a pageant of over 1000 boats on the river, a procession and a concert starring, amongst others, Paul McCartney, Jesse J, Take That and Tom Jones (an event that I am sure the Queen will enjoy!)

It is good to have moments to mark the passing of time and to reflect.  If you look back over this second Elizabethan age, so much has changed. I recall my parents telling me that they, like many others, bought their first television to watch the coronation, now many will be watching the jubilee online. Many have enjoyed relative prosperity, while for others, inequalities seem to have increased.  Mass consumption has placed great pressure on resources; we have been labelled a throwaway generation. We have reached the Moon, but managed to confuse the climate. 

How much have we actually ‘grown up’ in the last 60 years? Are we more responsible, or just taking anything on offer? I’d like to think that we have in recent decades been able to think beyond ourselves, and nation, and to have some responsibility for the wider community and environment. We are more equipped to deal with complex and interconnected problems, and have achieved great progress in combating poverty and the abuse of human rights, although there is still much to be done.

Sustainable development is a great expression of this progress and shows how having an eye to the common good can be achieved without creating havoc in economic terms. The emergence of public support for sustainability shows that individuals and companies are getting involved without top down direction. However, the green agenda needs to expand in order to reflect and engage with wider interests involving social progress. The emergence and continuation of sustainable development is an important initiative that should be implemented during what will hopefully be many more years of Elizabethan reign.

                                                                                                              

David Jackman

Gardens by the Bay

It’s surprising the assumptions we make sometimes. Recently, I was lecturing to a group of young professionals and asked how many of them knew what sustainability was. Incredibly none had a clue. The closest we got was the sustainability of a business in financial terms, not exactly what I had in mind.

Maybe it is different terminology. It seemed that while sustainable development was not a familiar term, corporate social responsibility (CSR) was. But they are not the same in most accepted definitions and the environmental angle of sustainability need not be prominent in CSR.

This apparent gap in mutual understanding is all the more surprising as it is in Singapore, a first world developed state, where everyone talks about the weather and climate change is openly accepted as the reason for the quirks experienced here, such as the lack of rain in the last two weeks! So the symptoms are familiar enough and being ‘green’ is commonly discussed. And to cap it all, this is a country that is about to open its spectacular ‘Gardens by the Bay’, a recreated tropical paradise, in the heart of the city. This Asian version of the UK’s Eden Project is designed to bring awareness of the balances of nature into a rapidly growing and teeming hub of urban living.

What was evident, when we had explained each other’s versions of ‘green’ was the absence of a sense that there was much that any individual or company could usefully do, or any strong sense of responsibility. This could be a bit of an unfair summary, and may be the result of being a small country in a highly competitive region, but the disconnection was clear.

green24 is a way of re-connecting people and companies to a larger framework and set of ideas. Employees and customers must become aware of what it means to be green and how they can contribute to this initiative. Overall, it is about disseminating more information, because greater awareness creates more options. Also, creating more discussion breaks down misconceptions and builds common understanding. Maybe at the end of our discussion in Singapore some eyes were opened. Building understanding, responsibility and environmental education, or whatever we wish to call it, is a large project in which each of us can play a part. The advent of internet technology gives us all the opportunity to spread awareness through information services like green24 and demonstrate – dare I say – sustainable commitment.

David Jackman