What will be the likely consequences of climate change in London? We hear about rising sea levels, increasing temperatures and the possibility of more extreme weather which may affect us in many different ways. How serious are these threats? Can we do anything to reduce the risk or to reduce the impacts? And specifically, what do the government, Wandsworth Council, and the public utilities need to do in order to protect us?
We have lined up a group of speakers and panellists to answer some of these questions, and hopefully spark debate, at a joint public meeting between the Putney Society and Wandsworth Friends of the Earth. All are welcome to this free event, to be held on Thursday at the Brewer Building, St Mary's Church, Putney from 7.30pm.
Speakers:
Tony Bosworth, national climate change campaigner at Friends of the Earth, on the big picture in the wake of the Copenhagen Conference fiasco last December: What is Government doing? Do "climate sceptics" have a point? What difference could the General Election make?
Mandy King, until recently Wandsworth’s Senior Policy Analyst (Sustainability), on the Council’s commitment -- and concrete actions -- to cut its own carbon emissions, and its newly adopted Environmental Policy.
Kate Lawrence, Wandsworth Friends of the Earth, on the local FoE’s suggestions for the Council to take faster and more ambitious action, including accepting responsibility, as an increasing number of Councils are doing, to encourage the whole Wandsworth community – business, public authorities and home owners and tenants – to take serious action to reduce our impact on climate change.
Following short talks and brief questions for each speaker, Councillor Sarah McDermott, executive member for Environment on Wandsworth Council, will join the panel as they answer wider questions from the audience. We look forward to a lively discussion between all our panellists and the audience on what practical, realistic steps can be taken locally.
The meeting is open to all, and refreshments will be available in the coffee bar. The event will end at 9pm, though all are welcome to continue the debate over drinks afterwards.
All this from a Tory Council! We're not all dinosaurs after all. They've even got a "Senior Policy Analyst (Sustainability)" and a "newly adopted Environmental Policy."
Wandsworth is not too badly effected by rising sea levels. An area between Battersea Park Road and Wandsworth Road will flood at 5m rise with the whole area between Wandsworth Road and the river going under at 7m together with a small area around King George's Park; quite a small proportion of the borough.
kenneal wrote:Wandsworth is not too badly effected by rising sea levels. An area between Battersea Park Road and Wandsworth Road will flood at 5m rise with the whole area between Wandsworth Road and the river going under at 7m together with a small area around King George's Park; quite a small proportion of the borough.
If floods were the only thing to worry about...
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
kenneal wrote:Wandsworth is not too badly effected by rising sea levels. An area between Battersea Park Road and Wandsworth Road will flood at 5m rise with the whole area between Wandsworth Road and the river going under at 7m together with a small area around King George's Park; quite a small proportion of the borough.
If floods were the only thing to worry about...
There's GW to add to the "heat island effect." Food shortages, etc, and so on... .
No Chris. I hadn't seen your blog. I had discounted the small area alongside the river as fairly obviously in danger.
With the new knowledge about tropical water arriving at Greenland, do you think that we will have to wait till 2100 for 2 to 5m sea level rise? Things seem to be changing at Chris Martenson's exponential rate.
