Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2006 | Page 9

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The

Island MP

Andrew Turner
Column

There is something to be said
for the precautionary principle.
A risk-free society is neither
desirable nor achievable, and I
deplore the health and safety
merchants who cost the Island’s
carnivals, regattas and other
traditional events so much in
tick-box
bureaucracy,
yellowcoated stewarding and endless
risk assessments.
But there
is a good case for making an
informed decision on what risks
we do take.
One of those risks is climate
change. While the world’s weather
has always gone in cycles – in the
seventeenth century Christmastide
fairs were held on the frozen
Thames, and there was talk in the
’sixties of a new ice age – there does
seem to be a growing consensus
that sea levels may rise as a result
of global warming. We can ignore
it – or we can respond to it. On
the Island, where many homes are
within six feet of high water mark,
and more could be affected by
coastal erosion if sea levels do rise,
we should take it seriously.
Our response could be, “China’s
carbon emissions are rising so fast
that anything we do is irrelevant.”
But current advice is that we
should, as a country, reduce our
carbon emissions by 70% in the
next 25 years if we are to play our
part in preventing global warming.
And that, as a BBC report showed
recently, is no easy target.
Green energy is one answer. Like
Medina High School, we can install
solar panels or solar roof tiles
and harness ground energy; like
the Medina Valley Centre we can
undertake micro-generation using

small turbines. We can buy green
electricity or more controversially
campaign for nuclear power – or
windfarms!
Another opportunity lies in
reducing consumption.
Using
low-energy lightbulbs, turning off
lights, and turning down the central
heating are relatively simple. But
the average household’s biggest
contribution to global warming
is travel. Selling the car is a major
step, especially in rural areas – but
that, and holidaying without flying,
could make a major contribution to
reducing emissions. However even
all these taken together would only
make a one-third cut.
We live in a globalised society
– mange-tout flown in from Sri
Lanka, asparagus grown under
lights in Zambia and farm animals

transported many miles for
slaughter are classic examples. We
bring from the mainland fossilfuels for transport, bricks for new
buildings and two-thirds of our
water! Some of these we can change
now, buying local goods where
possible, recycling, or making
new houses more energy-efficient.
Others we must plan for – building
an Island abbatoir, and growing
timber for construction and crops
for biofuels.
As a nation we currently consume
three times our fair share of the
earth’s resources.
We can do
something about it – every little
helps, and no contribution is too
small. Let’s play our own part, in
our homes, in the way we wish. But
let’s also prepare as an Island for a
greener future –

Photo: An installation by local firm Solent Solar on the
IW Residential Commission building.

Island Life - www.isleofwight.net

Biggest-ever
gift fair
A unique Christmas gift fair that
began in the late 1980s simply as
a small fundraiser for IW charities
has evolved into a major date on
the Island calendar.
The Isle of Wight Gift Fair began
with just a small group of friends
who held gift-buying events in their
own homes to offer products not
available elsewhere on the Island
- but it proved so popular that it
outgrew even the largest house
it could borrow. First it moved to
Newport football club, then on to
the Royal Yacht Squadron pavilion,
and then last year to its current
venue, Bembridge Sailing Club.
This year’s fair, which will have
25 new stalls, begins on November
30th with a £6.50 reception (5 8.30pm) serving wine and canap