Christmas shopping delayed

I am now standing as the Green Party candidate for Feltham and Heston and will not be starting my Christmas shopping till after December 15th.  It is a small price to pay, I am very proud to representing the Green Party and hope we get a proper chance to debate the issues!

Grow Heathrow

I cycled to Uxbridge County court on Thursday, 17th November, 2012 to support the grass roots action group Transition Heathrow.  They were threatened with conviction from Grow Heathrow, a derelict piece of land that they are turning into a thriving and productive resource, with new raised beds in the greenhouse, stoves for heating water as well as finding time to grow vegetables and fix bikes. 

I understand Transition Heathrow have the support of the council and their MP.  They needed to remove 30 tonnes of rubbish before they could start and as the land is classified as agricultural there is no chance of development.  I was pleased to hear that they have been granted a reprieve.  Good luck to them in the future!

Making tea at Uxbridge County Court

Shocking Air quality in Chiswick

I didn’t know that there was an Air Quality monitoring unit in Chiswick, outside the George IV. 

The Air Quality Monitoring unit outside George IV

And I didn’t know that the data showed that the average reading for Nitrogen Dioxide, which can lead to reduced lung function, increase asthma in children and contribute to early death was 56 µg/m3, which is more than the EU legal limit and WHO guideline of 40 µg/m3. 

Just as bad are the PM1o reading.  These small particles less than 10 microns which cause cancer, heart and lung diseases and lead to premature death averaged 27 µg/m3, more than WHO guideline of 20 µg/m3.

Full information can be found at the London Air.  Now I don’t want to be alarmist but I would have preferred to have been told this by the council, rather than to have to find it out myself.  Also there should be some way of communicated bad air days (worse than bad hair days), so the inhabitants in Chiswick can avoid exercise.  If we are going to the expense of collecting this data why not put the information on a board outside the monitoring station?

I have written to the council with a list of suggestions to improve Air Quality, and am hoping to meet with Rob Gibson, Head of Environmental Strategy, when he returns from holiday.  Watch the Hounslow Green Party website for the latest information.

Green choices are not a chore!

Eighteen months ago I decided to try and do something to reduce my impact on the environment. So I brought a Brompton folding bicylce and started cycling to Chiswick Park Tube Station from where I caught the tube instead of driving.

It took a while to get used to the change in routine, and at first I was worried that I might have my bicycle stolen, or be late for work. Now, I don’t worry about that, and have found that I have loads to time to rest and read. I even joined the local library and started reading for the first time for a long time.

The journey is a bit longer than my drive but I think it is worth it.