THE UNSEEN practical help at last for climate emergency key workers
If you’ve come to be reading this, you will probably be doing so in the expectation that I will be writing about climate change, The Carbon Buddy Manual, and propagation. So, I need to ask you to stick with me while I appear to wander off target initially. Be assured, I’ll get there in the end!
Before I officially became classified as “elderly” I used to ply my profession as an organisational psychologist. Given that most people rarely if ever come across the breed, I’m often asked “what on earth did you actually DO”. I reply cryptically with something like “I made the invisible visible”. What I mean by this is that it is not always obvious why things are not working. All I and my clients knew was that the organisation, or team, or boss and staff member were not functioning effectively. Worse, they couldn’t seem to find a way to improve things. They were stuck.
Sallie Eden’s Interview with Colin during Lockdown
I am chuffed to have been “interviewed remotely” by Sallie Eden about The Carbon Buddy Manual. Sallie has chalked up a wide range of life experience, from farming and the environment, to the corridors of power in Whitehall and Brussels, and chairing charities and editorial boards. She brings all this experience to bear in her current journalistic writing which includes regular book reviews.
Here is what Sallie had to say about The Carbon Buddy Project.
Carbon Buddy Project: time for a pause
The Carbon Buddy Project website went live in early March and The Carbon Buddy Manual was launched, not by a talk here in Cornwall as originally planned , but online via Zoom last Friday. I and the team have had wonderful feedback so far. Thanks so much to all of you who have been in touch. Sadly though, we need to press the pause button for a while. My main focus over the next few weeks is to keep the embers glowing as best I can and to prepare for that moment (which will come) when we can begin to fan the flames of the Carbon Buddy Project once again.
Reducing our carbon footprint (Phase Two)
The next big trigger was the release of what is called the IPCC SR15 report in October 2018. This really shocked us into looking at areas we had perhaps been avoiding.
Matt, our son, suggested we start by measuring our carbon footprints using an online tool. We did that. It was an eye opener. Over many years we had enjoyed having a ‘practical car’ (4x4) and a ‘beautiful’ sports/fun car. I’ve always been a bit of a petrolhead and loved scouring car magazines and websites so I decided to hunt for ‘the perfect’ car formula.
Reducing our carbon footprint (Phase One)
My wife Helen and I have spent many hours working together on the various plans and challenges involved in tackling our carbon footprint. Frequently we would comment how good it was to have two brains to help us understand the complexities and the pair of us working together to provide support and challenge through the various ups and downs of the process. Helen was (still is) the first Carbon Buddy.