www.greenspirit.org.uk/risingwater
Many of us have heard about the science of climate change.
How climate change brings with it turbulent weather
conditions, particularly flooding.
What can we do about this? And how can we inspire change?
This project is about hearing people's personal stories of
flooding produced by turbulent weather conditions. And how,
by listening to people's experiences, we become aware that
the problem of climate change is immediate, affecting us
today.
Also, by listening to people's positive experiences of
downshifting, we can learn that combating climate change
can be a rewarding experience, leading to a more fulfilled life.
This is because downshifting (reducing your income or
circumstances to a lifestyle that is more fulfilling) can result in
reduced carbon emissions and therefore a lifestyle that has
less impact on the climate.
Go to the website (URL at the top of this page) for more
information about the project.
Ian Mowll
Book
A book containing 4 experiences of people who
have been flooded. And 4 experiences of people
who have downshifted is being developed.
It will be available for free online (as a .pdf file)
and a print version will also be produced.
The books availability will be announced on the
GreenSpirit email list and on the project website
at:
www.greenspirit.org.uk/risingwater
Wizzafest
The Rising Water Project was at Wizzafest - a
music festival near Birmingham. At the festival,
children drew pictures about flooding and we did
some voice recordings from the children - some of
which are on the website at:
www.greenspirit.org.uk/risingwater
(go to ‘events’ and then ‘wizzafest’)
Whilst the adults at the festival gave a wide range
of views about climate change (from disbelief to
active concern), the children all knew about climate
change and many did things about it - such as
turning off lights when they can.
Lynne Jones
Hazel Beck
Flooded in November 2009 in Keswick
Flooded in July 2007 in Felton, Northumberland
An exert from her contribution to the book
An exert from her contribution to the book
The situation continued to deteriorate. The Met Office issued a flood
warning and the Environment Agency predicted a flood at midday on
the Thursday. ... I was really concerned and so I got up several times
during the night to check the situation, looking at the internet and
going across the road to the river bend where the marker on the wall
showed the number of centimetres the river was rising. It was
approximately 20 cm per hour, at times the increase was visible as I
watched for a while in torchlight.
The land around us was already saturated because we did not have a
good summer. And it seemed as if it was raining non-stop for days and
days....The water finally peaked at about 11:00pm on the Saturday
night. When we came back to the house the next day, the water had
gone. Everything downstairs including the kitchen, conservatory, living
room and bathroom had been affected.
On the Thursday morning the last email I sent out was at 10:30am:
“Now we are cut off I am taking computer upstairs so lap top will not
work. Hospital field filling up, I think it is spilling over by Brewery lane
and into park. River about on the wall. Glug glug”.
I am always worried about it happening again. When it rains heavily I
wake up. I’ve even been down to the stream with a torch when it has
rained a lot. I’m not a hysterical type of person but that’s what I do
now. I wonder if the next house I will live in will have will be on top of a
hill.
Jane Faith
Marian Van Eyk McCain
Downshifting
Downshifting - The Long Journey Home
An exert from her contribution to the book
Since leaving London I have not had a fridge or a washing machine. I
have never missed a fridge: although I like to have stores of dried
beans, porridge, sugar for jam-making etc and put a lot of thought into
preserving apples, strings of onions, potatoes etc that we grow, I truly
prefer to keep the spare packet of butter or bacon in our small clay pot
on the earth floor. Fresh fish has to eaten the same day. Yoghurt
keeps fine for several. I really don’t like it when I open a city fridge full
of multiple choices of food, all seeming to me half dead in their state of
suspended animation. So that bit of downshifting was easy for both me
and my husband. We didn’t have fridges when we were children either
and don’t like the noises they make. I hate the noise of washing
machines too, but did miss one at first, when my children were still at
home.
An exert from her contribution to the book
I was just three years old when World War Two began, and living in
Plymouth, which was one of the most heavily-blitzed cities in
England. There was no TV in those days, no Internet, jet travel or
microwaving. We had no telephone or central heating in our house
and nobody we knew owned a fridge or a car. Washing machines
were still in the future....Almost everybody’s eco-footprint was small,
back then.
But over the next two decades, without noticing it, most people
began subtly upshifting, including me. As my wages improved, I
bought more stuff. Returning from my first overseas holiday, I
brought home four pairs of new Italian shoes yet thought nothing of
it. We were all like sleepwalkers, walking through a process that
hadn’t yet reached our conscious awareness. Gradually, without
noticing what was happening, we were being seduced into believing
that the more ‘stuff’ we had the happier we would be.
Downshifting means reducing your income or circumstances to a lifestyle that
is more fulfilling.
Have you downshifted and are you in the UK? By downshifting have you
reduced your carbon emissions? Can you write a story or poem about your
experience? Or can you write a fictional piece, story or poem about
downshifting?
The best 3 contributions which, in the judge's opinion, will inspire other people
to downshift will receive a free copy of 'The Lilypad List: 7 steps to the simple
life' by Marian Van Eyk McCain.
We are pleased that Zog, the Intergalactic Traveller, will be
with us at this Annual Gathering. Zog has just arrived on
planet Earth and is amazed that not enough is being done
about climate change. He can’t understand it.
He has a voice recorder and will be asking people for short
interviews. The edited results of which will be put on the
Rising Water website. He will be asking the following types of
questions:
* Do you think that flooding will happen in your area?
* Do you think that climate change is happening and causing
more flooding?
* Are you doing anything to combat climate change?
What are your views about flooding, climate change and
downshifting?
Please provide your contribution by email (not hand written). There is no
upper or lower limit on the number of words in the submission. The deadline
is 20th November 2011.
Any suitable and notable material will be put on the website.
If you are interested, email Ian Mowll at:
[email protected]
with your contribution or speak to him at this Annual Gathering.
Maybe you would like to write a short story, poem or haiku that
we can display here? A haiku is a poem of seventeen
syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five syllables.
There are pens and paper below for you to write your
contribution. You might want to ‘perform’ your contribution at
the Saturday evening entertainment - if time allows.