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Saturday 1 January 2011

Sustainable Happiness is No Laughing Matter

They make a wilderness and they call it "sustainable."


I live in a city in the UK called 'Brighton and Hove' which is famous for having both a 'green party' Member of Parliament and also a 'green party' local government ("council".) In 2013 this green council officially adopted a policy about "sustainable development' called 'One Planet Brighton'.

This 'One Planet Brighton' policy is a government plan for developing Brighton that intends to REDUCE Brighton by two thirds, a plan that I would like to convince you to disagree with.

What is 'One Planet Brighton?'

'One planet Brighton' is a government plan to DOWNSIZE Brighton by 2/3rds. A plan to reduce Brighton's material standard of living down to 1/3 of what it is now.

The politicians explain that they need to do this because Brighton is currently consuming material resources as if there were three planets-worth available.  Since this is not "sustainable" it must be reduced down to the "sustainable" level of  one planet's worth.


What follows is very relevant to you if you live in Wales ( google "One Planet Wales") or Australia (google "One Planet  Fremantle") or dozens of other places around the world.

Quotes to establish that the Council claims that Brighton today is "three-planets" Brighton.

"Brighton and Hove´s Sustainability Action Plan

Forewords

If everyone on the planet used the same amount of resources as we do in Brighton and Hove, we´d need three and a half Earths to keep going. It´s just not sustainable for us or anyone else on the planet to go on at this rate. "  
"One Planet Living – the case for action

'If everyone lived like we do in the UK we would need more than three planets' 'In Brighton and Hove it´s estimated we live like there are three and a half planets –we have one of the biggest 'ecological footprints' in the country –and hence in the world. "

Some quotes to establish that the Council claims that Brighton needs to be "reduced"

'The 10 principles to reduce our ecological footprint to One Planet level are:"

Other,  relevant quotes from elsewhere:-

"If everyone in the world lived as we do in Europe we would need three planets to support us. Therefore we need to reduce our impact - our ecological footprint by two thirds to a sustainable and globally equitable level"
http://www.brightonhovegreens.org/news/2006/09/21/green-partys-annual-conference-in-hove/
'If everyone lived as we do in the UK we'd need three planets to support us. That's why we need One Planet Living. But the good news is reducing your environmental impact to a sustainable level is possible'
(Written by BioRegional Development Group )
'We need to live as if we have one planet, not three.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/04/carbon-capture-fracking-green-tories
"If everyone in the world consumed as much as we do in the UK, we would need three planets to support us. Of course we only have one. Therefore, we need to reduce our ecological footprint in the UK by two thirds."
http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/what-makes-an-eco-town.pdf
"The thinking behind One Planet Living is simple. If everyone in the world lived like the average European we’d need three planets to support us; if we all lived like the average North American we would need five planets!"
http://www.bioregional.com/take-a-shot-ten-public-photo-commissions-aim-to-bring-one-planet-living-to-life-in-brighton-hove/
"Footprinting figures from WWF’s Living Planet Report suggest that globally we are consuming 30% more than the planet can sustain into the longterm and that since the 1970s, we have been eating into the earth’s natural capital, instead of living off its interest. If everyone in the world lived as we do in Europe we would need three planets to support us.

The three-planet challenge

Therefore, in Europe, we need to reduce our impact - our Ecological Footprint – by two thirds to a sustainable and globally equitable level"

"To achieve this goal over a generation, we will need to reduce by at least two thirds the total resources we currently use to sustain our lifestyles. " 
from:- "One Wales: One Planet, The Sustainable Development Scheme, of the Welsh Assembly Government"


"If everyone on earth consumed as much as the average person in Australia, we would need four planet's worth of resources to support us."
from "Ironbark Sustainability Why One Planet"

"Current Welsh consumption equates to 2½ planet living"

from:- "Ecological and Carbon Footprints of Wales - Update to 2011 - Stockholm Environment Institute and GHD - July 2015"

"Vision of One Planet living

There are two visions of a future where we consume just one planet's worth of resources.

One involves the UK cutting our consumption by a third, expecting other countries to adopt similarly dramatic cuts, and restricting growth from India, China and the developing world.

The other focuses on continuing to consume and develop, but transforming the productivity with which we use natural resources: developing ways of giving people access to light, warmth, mobility, food and water without damaging the environment."

from:- Speech by the Rt Hon David Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) at the WWF One Planet Living Summit, London "One-Planet Security" 27 March 2007

"We are living as if we had three planet's worth of resources to live with rather than just one," he said. "We need to cut by about two thirds our ecological footprint. "

from:- speach by Hon David Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) at the Royal Show July 2006 , "Defra, UK - News stories - 2006 stories - Miliband outlines future of farming.htm"

Average Romanian needs 1.5 planets
Average European needs 3 planets
Average North American needs 5 planets

from:- One Planet Living and The Challenge of Corporate Responsibility - Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud - Head, Business and Industry Relations, WWF International Director, One Planet Living Romania, April 2007

We now know that if everyone on earth consumed as much as the average person in the UK, we would need three planets to support us. So, what we would like to say is that we have got a three-planet lifestyle in the UK and what we need to do is create places where it is easy for people to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and environmental impact as a whole, by two thirds, so we can adopt a one-planet lifestyle. So, that is where the term One Planet Living comes from and that was a term coined originally by BioRegional, which is an environmental charity based in South London

from:- Pooran Desai OBE (One Planet Living Technical Director, BioRegional Quintain)
"London Assembly - Planning and Spatial Development Committee 12 February 2008

“So, put simply, I see Defra's mission as enabling a move toward what the WWF has called one planet living'
and ...
“......, but with a renewed strategic focus on making “one planet living” a reality, I think we can rise to them.”

from:- Environment Secretary David Miliband has set out the Department's priorities in an open letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair. He took the opportunity to explain the key areas of focus for Defra and how it will go about meeting the challenges ahead. Posted on Jul 12, 2006

When did 'One Planet Brighton' start??

Brighton became 'One Planet Brighton' on 2 May 2013

'Brighton and Hove is world's first One Planet Living City'
'Brighton and Hove becomes the world´s first designated One Planet City this Thursday when the city´s Sustainability Action Plan officially receives independent accreditation from BioRegional for its plans to enable residents to live well within a fairer share of the earth´s resources.'
from a Council press release Thursday 2 May 2013 at:-;http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/council-and-democracy/news/brighton-hove-worlds-first-one-planet-living-city

[[ Comment:- see above that 'a fairer share of the earth´s resources' means 2/3 less than we have now – ]]

Sources that elaborate on the above:-
http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/environment/sustainability-city/one-planet-city/
http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/10369792.Brighton_and_Hove_declared_world_s_first_One_Planet_Living_city/
 

"The Plan was first approved by the Chairs on the Brighton and Hove Sustainability Partnership's behalf – as agreed at the last meeting - after unanimous approval by the council’s Policy and Resources Committee.  The Chief Executive of the Council subsequently signed a long-term collaboration agreement with BioRegional’s CEO, Sue Riddlestone."

The Plan is a practical three year programme put together by the council, the city’s partnerships and other leading organisations in the city
http://www.bhconnected.org.uk/sites/bhconnected/files/downloads/bandhsp/lsp_june_2013/BHSP__13__26_One_Planet_Living.pdf

So - to recap :-

1. One of Brighton and Hoves's committee's - The "Policy and Resources" committee  - decided on 21 March 2013 to reduce Brighton by 2/3ds.
"The One Planet Living Sustainability Action Plan is going to Policy and Resources Committee on March 21 (2013).The plan belongs partly to the council and partly to the city´s strategic partnerships"
(sourced from http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/council-sets-out-measures-become-first-one-planet-city.) And - just to restate that - "democratically" elected Councillors in the "Policy and Resources" committee voted to reduce Brighton by 66.6% on 21 March 2013.

2. Then some un-elected corporate executives on the "Strategic Partnership" (also apparently called the "Sustainability Partnership") voted to reduce Brighton by 66.6% on  (some date in 2013)
(More about them http://www.bandhsp.co.uk/index.cfm?request=c1228914)

3. Then, on 2 May 2013, some un-elected "charity" called Bioregional decided to reduce Brighton by 66.6%
'BioRegional is an entrepreneurial charity which initiates practical sustainability solutions
 http://www.ukgbc.org/membership-impact/view-current-members/member-directory/bioregional

[[Comment:- Bioregional is an "entrepreneurial" charity.  Isn't that a charity that makes a profit??  What we have here is an un-elected charity (BioRegional) that has approved a policy of the Council and some corporations, not the other way around!]]

Update:- 2015

The council has again voted to reduce Brighton by 2/3rds -
1/ The first time - as stated above - in 2013

2/ The second time - in October 2015
"The City Sustainability Action Plan 2015-17 for the city and council was unanimously approved by councillors at the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee on 13 October 2015."http://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=823&MId=5629&Ver=4
and
The council pledged to continue the implementation of our City Sustainability Action Plan for the council and the city, in its Corporate Plan for 2015-19 [PDF 2.35mb]

What is the "One Planet Living" approach?


( The following quote is taken from 'Brighton and Hove´s Sustainability Action Plan ' at: http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/sites/brighton-hove.gov.uk/files/PandR%20version%20OPL%20SAP%283%29%20with%20Forewords.pdf

One Planet Brighton is 10 Areas Of Sustainability 'The One Planet approach breaks down sustainability into ten principles, developed by BioRegional with the World Wildlife Fund,  that provide a clear framework for action:-

Zero carbon
Making buildings more energy efficient and delivering all energy with renewable technologies
Zero waste
Reducing waste arisings, reusing where possible, and ultimately sending zero waste to landfill
Sustainable transport
Encouraging low carbon modes of transport to reduce emissions, reducing the need to travel
Sustainable materials
Using sustainable products that have a low embodied energy
Local and sustainable food
Choosing low impact, local, seasonal and organic diets and reducing food waste
Sustainable water
Using water more efficiently in buildings and in the products we buy; tackling local flooding and water course pollution
Land use and wildlife
Protecting and expanding old habitats and creating new space for wildlife
Culture and community
Reviving local identity and wisdom; support for, and participation in, the arts
Equity and local economy
Inclusive, empowering workplaces with equitable pay; support for local communities and fair trade
Health and happiness
Encouraging active, sociable, meaningful lives to promote good health and well being


Sustainable Happiness???

One of the 10 areas of sustainability is HAPPINESS!! Local Government officials have claimed for themselves the right to legally enforce their political dictats about "happiness." They can now legally tell us where and when we can be happy, how happy we can be and what kind of happiness we are allowed to have - it has to be SUSTAINABLE happiness.

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My (The Authors) Summary and Commentary


"One Planet - Not Three" is a claim that - in Brighton - we are living as if we had the resources of three planets although we actually only have the resources of one planet.  So the plan is to reduce the amount of material resources used by Brighton to the correct amount which is one third of what they are now.

To put it another way they want to reduce Brighton's use of resources by two thirds to one third of what they are now. The ambition is to reduce Brighton's material standard of living by 2/3 from what it is today. A 'sustainable' Brighton is two thirds less of a Brighton than it is today.

"One Planet - Not 3" isn't a claim that Brighton is producing three times too much carbon dioxide -  it is a much broader claim - that we are using three times more 'material resources' than we should

10 Areas Of Sustainability


These 10 areas of sustainability are Government Enforced Restrictions on 10 areas of human life

They are:-
  • Enforced FOOD POVERTY,
  • Enforced HOUSING POVERTY AND
  • Enforced TRANSPORT POVERTY etc.
These government enforced restrictions mean that ordinary people will have to go cap-in-hand to the government for water, food, energy, medicine  etc. This is just plain, old slavery.  A totalitarian dictatorship!

Lets examine some of these 10 areas -

HEALTH

One Planet HEALTH must surely be a health system that uses 2/3 less of an 'ecological footprint' - And hence 2/3 less material resources - that must surely mean:-
  • 2/3 less Hospitals,
  • 2/3 less Ambulances,
  • 2/3 less Bandages,
  • 2/3 less pills, potions and lotions (ie medicine) and
  • 2/3 less stainless steel hip replacements.
One Planet Health is a claim that in Brighton we currently have 3 times too many hospitals, 3 times too many ambulances, 3 times too many bandages, 3 times too much medicine and 3 times too many stainless steel hip replacements (etc).

FOOD

One Planet FOOD– is food that has been produced locally - local food.

[[Note:- quotes to show that One Planet food is only local food -

"Local and sustainable food Choosing low impact, local, seasonal and organic diets and reducing food waste. " (Quoted from the "One Planet" table shown above.)

"Choosing local, seasonal and organic diets and reducing food waste." https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/council-sets-out-measures-become-first-one-planet-city
 
end of quotes ]]

The problem with having only 'local' food is that this excludes food that is NON-Local – So that excludes Coffee, because coffee is not grown locally.  It also excludes chocolate, bananas, oranges and tea. These are all non-local foods and therefore not sustainable foods according to the definition given by One Planet Brighton.

One planet Food is no Coffee, no Tea, no Chocolate, no Oranges and no Bananas.

CULTURE

One Planet CULTURE – is presumably as much culture as you can have using 2/3 fewer material resources.  So:-
  • If you are orchestra it is as much music as you make using 2/3 fewer musical instruments.  
  • If you are a guitar player its is as much music as you can produce with 2/3 of your guitar missing.  
Also, right now the tax payer is paying a government official to decide which parts of Brighton's culture are "sustainable" and which are not.  Right now some government official is deciding which of Shakespeare's plays are sustainable and which not!

How can anyone decide which of the Beatles' songs are sustainable and which not? Well - right now - the taxpayer is paying some Council bureaucrat to do so!

The following film almost certainly WILL count as "sustainable culture" as it shows children being executed for being slightly sceptical about man-made global warming.





Another piece of sustainable culture will almost certainly be "The Great Immensity " a musical whose theme is climate change and which cost the US taxpayer around $700,000.







The Great Immensity (a montage of the stageplay.)

Here is a good article about it.

Lamar Smith, a Texas Congressman is (2016) firing off shots over the National Science Foundation’s funding of this MUSICAL!!

The council will probably make attendance at this musical compulsory for adults and a compulsory "science" lesson for schoolchildren. 
Shown below is a piece of culture that probably WONT be "sustainable" culture according to the Council.  It is the "Hide the Decline" satire.









HAPPINESS


One Planet HAPPINESS is presumably however much happiness you can have with 2/3 less material resources:- 2/3 less food, 2/3 less houses, 2/3 less water, 2/3 less medicine, etc

WATER

Local politicians are only pretending that we are so short of water in Brighton and that we have to reduce our consumption by 2/3rds.  They get the water for nothing - it falls out of the sky. They are only pretending that it doesn't rain enough in the UK. I have suggested that they build some reservoirs to store it in and this idea seems to have some popular support.


COMMERCE


Called by the council "equity and local economy." This must surely be the biggie.

The council has voted itself the right to get involved in EVERY fianancial transaction. Everything that is bought and sold in Brighton. - beans, spam, paint, shoelaces, houses. EVERYTHING that is bought and sold, which is near enough EVERYTHING!!!!

The council has voted itself the right to examine every financial transaction, decide whether it is sustainable and, if they decide that it isn't they can ban it!!!

If they decide that it IS sustainable they can use taxpayers money to subsidise and promote it.

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Sustainability is Voluntary Compliance with Artificial Scarcity

Sustainability is poverty and slavery.

"SUSTAINABILITY" is an excuse for totalitarian control.

The

"Climate Con"

is the setup for the

"Sustainability Scam"




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