About us.....

Abingdon Carbon Cutters is a Community Action Group formed to help reduce the carbon footprint of Abingdon in response to climate change, and to promote a sustainable and resilient lifestyle for our town as fossil fuel stocks decline. We meet on the third Wednesday of each month at St Ethelwold's House, which is here.

At some meetings, we have guest speakers to present various topics, and at others we discuss our own personal actions to address climate change. The group has a focus on encouragement, both of one another, and of the town community.

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Sunday, November 15, 2009

Some interesting websites...

Browsing my "Good Energy" newsletter I came across a website www.everyactioncounts.org.uk which has a video showing (among others) HEAT - Hungerford Energy Action Team, having a stall in the middle of Hungerford promoting growing your own food! Sadly the DEFRA funding has run out so we can't sign up, but we might get some ideas from it.

Also Good Energy itself has a shop where you can buy energy saving gadgets on-line - www.goodenergyshop.co.uk

It also links to another Good Energy website giving advice on micro-generation - www.generateyourown.co.uk

They are a small firm based in Chippenham, I buy my electricity and gas from them and they pay me for having a solar panel on my roof!
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If Copenhagen can't provide the answer to climate change fears, what can?

Some of you might be interested in the debate on the last part of last Tuesday’s ‘The World Tonight’ on Radio 4 entitled:

‘If Copenhagen can't provide the answer to climate change fears, what can?’


You can listen again for 7 days by clicking here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00nphtp/The_World_Tonight_10_11_2009/
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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Sustainable Construction

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The Oxfordshire Economic Partnership is hosting a Sustainable Construction Conference on Wednesday 18th November 9.30 - 5.30 at the Said Business School (adjacent to Oxford Railway Station). Participants at the event will learn about energy efficient construction, sustainable site waste management and building for climate resilience as well as have the opportunity to meet individuals and organisations working in these fields. This event will be of interest to anyone involved in sustainability and the built environment. Anyone interested in further information or booking a place can contact daniel.dempsey@oxfordshire.gov.uk.

Capture

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Thursday, November 5, 2009

How to enjoy an Eco-Christmas.

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The latest in our series of "How to.." meetings will explore how to have a festive time which doesn't cost the earth. We will look at non-material present ideas, home-made presents and cards, and festive food with low food-miles. Please come prepared to share ideas!

Wednesday November 18th, 7.30pm in St Ethelwolds House, 30 East St Helen Street, Abingdon.

Clicking on the poster above will enlarge it. Can you put one up somewhere prominent?

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Sunday, November 1, 2009

ClimateXchange update #54 - Oct 09

The latest news and upcoming events from ClimateXchangecan be found here.

This update features info on the recent Four degrees and beyond conference held at University of Oxford, a round up of some of the community events, plus more info on the Oxfordshire Big Climate Event on Sat November 7th. This event plus the many street wide demonstrations, will be an opportunity to engage with the ‘road to ... and beyond, Copenhagen

Happy reading, and if you would like to contribute to the next one please email jo@climatex.org by 2nd November
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Triodos bank visit next Tuesday

The Carbon Cutters has recently formed a Food sub Group. The aim of this group is to work towards rebuilding a diverse, resilient local food network by encouraging Abingdon to eat seasonally, grow food and eat it and engage the community in local harvesting schemes and other events.

We thought the first action might be a visit to the Organic Research Centre in Newbury (please see details below). Would anyone like to either join this group and or come to Newbury on Tuesday 10 November 2009 from 9.30am to 12.30pm? If so please let me know.

Susie Howard

susiehoward1@gmail.com

The Organic Research Centre - Elm Farm develops and supports sustainable
land-use, agriculture and food systems, primarily within local economies,
which build on organic principles to ensure the health and well-being of
soil, plant, animal, man and the environment. It has played a central role
in the development of organic methods, research, policy and standards since
1980.

The Centre undertakes an extensive programme of research on crops and
livestock systems, their interactions with each other and with the
environment. As an educational charity the Centre work with local schools,
community and special needs groups and the wider public to help
understanding of food systems and sustainability, as well as advising
farmers and growers by way of conversion planning, farm management plans,
agricultural appraisal and technical advice.

A loan from Triodos Bank has helped the Organic Research Centre to
transform a 17th century Grade ii listed barn into a new, modern Conference
and Educational Centre. The restructuring and refurbishment of the
traditional barn was carried out using state-of-the-art environmental
technologies together with traditional construction methods and materials,
from ground source heating and solar panels to sheep's wool insulation and
rainwater harvesting. The centre will provide a much needed facility for the charity's conferences and events, as well as offering a welcome space for
its partners and local community groups to use.

For further details about The Organic Research Centre please visit
www.organicresearchcentre.com.

The visit will start at 9.30am and finish at 12.30pm and lunch will be
provided. Places on this special visit are free but are limited and allocated on a
first come, first served basis. To reserve your place please e-mail
events@triodos.co.uk or call 0117 980 9631 by Friday 6 November.
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Home energy monitors

There's a review of energy monitors in Ethical Consumer magazine no. 120 for Sept/Oct 2009. There's a range of models on the market, including the OWL. There are different levels of sophistication - some can be connected to a computer for analysis of the data, and some can monitor individual appliances - someone was asking about this at the meeting.

Natural Collection are currently offering the OWL at a reduced price.

Here are the websites and telephone numbers for the various manufacturers:

Owl - www.theowl.com 01256 383430
Eco-eye - www.eco-eye.com 01903 851905
Efergy - www.efergy.com 0845 017 7769
Current Cost - www.currentcost.com 01483 604517
Wattson - www.diykyoto.com 02077 297500

Top of the range is the Wattson, which can monitor individual appliances, has a memory function, can be connected to a computer for recording and analysing data, and can measure home electricity generation as well as consumption. It also works with both single phase and three-phase supplies. It costs around £100.00.

At the other end of the range is the Owl Micro, which simply measures consumption in kw and cost in £. This costs £24.99.

Other models from the above manufacturers cost between £34.95 and £49.99 and have different levels of functionality depending on how much you pay. The Current Cost CC128 Envi can monitor individual appliances and the basic kit costs £39.95, but I think you have to buy additional sensors for each appliance, which obviously increases the cost.
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