We certainly live in ‘interesting’ times, and September was no exception. Thankfully there were some positive events in Dorset, of which more in a moment. On the down side, we saw yet more record-breaking weather. Remember that heatwave at the beginning of the month? As I write we see another weekend of unseasonally warm temperatures on the forecast.
In spite of all the warning signs of our changing climate, the government chose this month to begin rowing back on its previous net zero pledges. It even claimed to be fighting against a completely bogus ‘war on motorists’, which looks like a desperate effort to drag itself back up the polls by appealing to the minority of the population who still think global warming is someone else’s problem to deal with.
Dorset goodness
Putting such madness to one side for the moment, happily there were two really positive environmental events here in Dorset. On 9th September a Conference of the Parties (COP) was held in Dorchester’s historic Corn Exchange, making Dorset the first county to hold such an event. Something to be proud of – and let’s hope others will follow us. Three of Dorset’s leading climate and environmental action groups joined forces to organise the event – Zero Carbon Dorset, Dorset Climate Action Network (Dorset CAN) and Sustainable Dorset.
The conference echoed the annual international COPs, where representatives of world governments seek to address the critical issues of climate change and the environment.
The objective was to inform, engage and galvanise Dorset residents into greater action to tackle the issues around climate change and the environment. The day was packed with excellent sessions and the crowded venue buzzed with enthusiastic attendees all day. If you’re sad to have missed it, you can catch up via YouTube here as the live sessions were recorded.
The other inspiring event this month was the ten-day Planet Purbeck Festival from 15th to 24th September.
There was a huge range of activities, too many to list here, so see for yourself on the Planet Purbeck website.
Again, the enthusiasm of presenters and attendees was heartwarming. Everyone was committed to learning from one another and eager to work together to find the solutions we so urgently need.
If only our government was so inclined, instead of focusing on division and delay.
- Ken Huggins,
North Dorset Green Party