PEB - Screening Summary

We held a screening of the People's Emergency Briefing on 30 September.

Attendees were asked to list three words they felt immediately after seeing the film. These have been summarised into themes:

I didn’t realise the scale of the problem - Confused, Curious, Overwhelmed, Shocked,and Surprised.

I didn’t realise it was so bad - Afraid, Disturbed, Fearful, Frightened, Scared, Terrified, and Worried.

It is very worrying - Annoyed, Angry, Alarmed, Anxious, Cross, Furious, Glum, Pessimistic, Sombre, Sad, and Upset.

And it’s Our Fault - Concerned, Disgusted, Disappointed, Frustrated, Guilty, and Helpless.

But there is hope - Determined, Engaged, Empowered, Hopeful, Interested, Inspired, Motivated, Optimistic, and Passion.

Personal Climate Action Plan

In the spirit of hope, everyone agreed to take home small actions they could carry out themselves. In this case, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Small actions taken by all of us can make a difference. It is up to each of us to play a part. Can you pick three of the actions suggested to create your own Personal Climate Action Plan.

Eat less meat - You don’t need to become vegetarian, cutting out some meat will have an impact. 85% of the agricultural land in the UK is used for animal products. You can feed many more people per hectare on a plant rich diet. If we moved to a more plant based diet we could become more self sufficient, improve our food security, and it is more healthy.

Monitor and reduce food waste – This could be an easy one to fulfil. South Norfolk Council are rolling out a food waste collection service. You could monitor the amount of waste you produce each week and act to reduce the volume. You may be surprised and alarmed by your first few weeks wasted food. More help can be found at: https://www.ournaturerecovery.org.uk/post/reduce-food-waste

Convert to an electric car - This one is a much more expensive commitment and any environmental impact of reducing the use of fossil fuel should be offset against the carbon footprint involved in the production of a new car.

Spread the word - Everyone who takes small actions increases the size of the whole and loudness of the message. Maybe start by telling others about the PEB, encourage them to watch it and create their Personal Climate Action Plan. You could even just direct them to this page.

Use less water – We may be upset by the amount of water lost through a poorly maintained pipe network and the money paid as bonuses and dividends by water companies. But we cannot simply sit back, complain, and do nothing. Could you capture rainwater in a water butt, reuse some of your grey water in the garden, switch from a bath to a shower? Using less water will also reduce your bills if you have metered water. More help can be found at: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-conserve-water

Lobby your MP – There is a call for people across the country to ask their MPs to put their name to a petition to request a public screening of the People's Emergency Briefing. Check if your MP has signed the petition: https://www.nebriefing.org/take-action and if not ask them to add their name. A letter template can be found at: https://www.nebriefing.org/write-to-mp

Install solar panels and a heat pump – This is another one with a high cost and a long payback time, but makes a huge difference.

Walk more, drive less – This one is also good for your health. Look at your car journeys and find ones where you could walk instead of driving. Are there some short trips that you could do on foot?

Shop and eat local – The UK once produced most of the food we ate. We now import more than we grow. Look to your eating habits and consider whether you could eat seasonally using locally grown foods. Home grown asparagus from April to June is a wonderful treat, could you set that as something on your calendar instead of buying asparagus imported from Peru and Mexico all year around? Think of the carbon footprint of a vegetable, travelling all that way just for your dinner. Imagine if we had food miles on labels and menus and not just calories.

Reuse and recycle - Recycle, upcycle - and make do and mend! Production of household waste needs to decrease by 33% by 2037 to reach recommended emissions targets. So get out that needle and thread! More details can be found at: https://www.ournaturerecovery.org.uk/post/recycle-and-reuse

Make your own Compost - We discard lots food waste every year. This ends up in landfill, where it takes many years to completely degrade and, while they do break down, they emit methane into the atmosphere. We should look to our food consumption to reduce waste. Freeze your leftovers for another day. Plan meals and write a shopping list, only buy what is needed. Then compost unavoidable food waste like vegetable cuttings. More details can be found at: https://www.ournaturerecovery.org.uk/post/make-your-own-compost

Get involved in local projects working together – This one can both deliver outcomes and enhance wellbeing by connecting people with common aims. Nature Recovery in Harleston is a community initiative to encourage everyone to play a part in conserving and enhancing our natural environment. You can find out more at: naturerecoveryinharleston.org.uk and get in touch at contact@naturerecoveryinharleston.org.uk. There is a project to manage a pocket of land off Rushall Road for nature, you can find out more at harlestongreenspace.org.uk and get in touch at: contact@harlestongreenspace.org.uk. There are opportunities to create more public greenspaces for nature if there is a desire. Get in touch with Nature Recovery in Harleston.

Now it is up to you. Create your Personal Climate Action Plan today and play your part in addressing the climate emergency.