blogging brings about BBC action network closure

This month the BBC’s action network who previously attempted to get like minded people and groups together, has to admit defeat as bloggers take over. The BBC site has been running for five years but can no longer keep up. It’s nice to know we make a difference. Here’s their goodbye speech.

Dear Action Network members,

We are sorry to announce that the Action Network website will be closing on Wednesday 30 April 2008.

Action Network, which helps people get involved in their neighbourhood, has been running for five years. It was one of the first user-generated websites to embrace online democracy and help people publicise their campaigns and articles online.

But in the last few years blogs have led to a revolution in online publishing. Today there are 71m blogs on the web and more and more of our campaigners are enthusiastically blogging or joining social networking sites to get their message out.

At the same time other fantastic democracy websites have launched, such as TheyWorkForYou and E-Petitions, which are being used by our members along with all the other tools available on the web.

Although we’ve continued to update our site with new features, we now feel that the pace and innovation of online democracy means that our members can access a wider range of web tools, and have more control of their campaigns, outside Action Network.

So, sadly, Action Network will be closed at the end of April, and we will be providing information to our members on how they can find new homes for their campaigns (see the link to FAQs).

However in line with the BBC’s public service remit, we will continue our commitment to help people engage in civic life and national debate with two new initiatives.

The first will be to launch a new service which will give people access to all the BBC’s content across tv, radio and online on a range of topical issues. Many of these topic pages will reflect the same issues that have been central to Action Network, from healthcare and schools, to public transport and policing.

Each topic page will offer the latest news stories on an issue, including TV and radio programmes, while linking to the wider debate through people’s blogs, campaigns and websites.

Many of the Action Network guides and briefings will be moved across to the BBC News Online website and will be found in the new topic pages - and will continue to help people understand how political systems work and how to get involved.

The second is a wider digital democracy broadband project, ultimately aiming to provide video of debates and speeches from our main institutions, information on your local and national representatives, guides to issues and the institutions, and easy ways for anyone to plug in and take part.

For more information on the Action Network closure we have provided a list of FAQs which we hope will answer all your queries.

We wish you the best in your campaigning.

international downshifting week 19 - 25 april

“If you are looking for a little help to slow down your pace and enjoy life more, this is the place for you!

Our campaign was formerly known as ‘National’ Downshifting Week. This year, as a result of the strong support we’ve received from around the globe asking if other countries can officially ‘join in’, we’ve simply decided to rename it
‘InterNational Downshifting Week’!

Now everybody can get involved and form a united and global movement that supports living and working more sustainably and strives for a proper work / life balance!

Our campaign remains packed full of really simple ideas that will help you ’slow down and green up’ and it’s almost time for her 4th outing. I cannot wait to get my teeth into it and this year I’ll be working hard to keep my carbon footprint down to a minimum. I hope to enthuse you with ideas on the many ways you can slow down and green up in your home, community, business and school.

So keep an eye on our website and Green Family Blog for further details and good luck with your own personal downshift!”

Tracey Smith

Creator of InterNational Downshifting Week

Escape the Fantasy April 21 - 27

The idea is simple: take your TV, your DVD player, your video iPod, your XBOX 360, your laptop, your PSP, and say goodbye to them all for seven days. Simple, but not at all easy. Like millions of others before you, you’ll be shocked at just how difficult - yet also how life-changing - a week spent unplugged can really be.

check out the website before next week!!
http://www.adbusters.org/metas/psycho/mdw/

six years of protest

I just wanted to mention meeting Brian Haw, the peace protester, last week who has been protesting outside parliament for the past six years. There is much written about him so I won’t bore you with details. Needless to say he has my full support and represents all of us in our right to free speech and protest.

www.parliament-square.org.uk/

today is buy nothing day

http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/

Saturday November 24h 2007 is Buy Nothing Day (UK), It’s a day where you challenge yourself, your family and friends to switch off from shopping and tune into life. The rules are simple, for 24 hours you will detox from consumerism and live without shopping. Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending!

It’s buy nothing day and I can say that I will not be buying a thing not because i agree with the whole idea but more for the fact that I don’t have a penny!!

cheap school clothes?

So it will be soon time for all the little monsters to go back to school so all us parents realise that in the course of six weeks they have all grown out of everything and everything has a hole in it some how. This can cost a fortune especially when you have a few kids at school age. Most people therefore are pleased to see that many shops and supermarkets are selling school clothes at a record low price £2 £3 for trousers for example.

On the face of it it seems great but at what cost do we benefit from such cheap prices? We save a little cash but on the other side of the world somebody takes home around £18 a month to keep our kids clothed on the cheap. Don’t get me wrong if you are a single parent with kids on benefit you want to get the cheapest clothes possible, even if you are struck by the ethical dilema.

Whats the answer then? Nobody wants to see familys struggle to buy expensive fair trade clothes but we also don’t want to think that somebody is suffering just so we save a few quid. Would it not be better to abolish uniforms altogether? thats not to say that it would solve the problems in the sweat shops of Bangladesh etc. but it might stop supermarket price wars which force lower and lower prices, which is the main problem. Kids might also gain a bit of individuality aswell.

trees for the future

50 Million Trees and Counting: Trees for the Future

National liftshare day

Permaculture video

I’ve been wanting to post some videos on the blog for a while as I still feel that they are a great way of explaining an idea. Next to seeing something first hand a video gives a greater insight into many principals of permaculture.

This one comes from “Peak Moment” a weekly half-hour TV series featuring conversations about local food, renewable energy, transportation alternatives, preparedness, economics and other areas of concern as we move into a period of declinging fossil fuels.

Give it a look and then check out the rest on you tube. This is my favourite as I love the chemistry between the presenter and the guy.

Suburban Renewal - One Backyard at a Time

working class permaculture

The average working person in Britain on one hand is told to use the supermarket less and on the other lives frugally because of a lack of money rather than because of a lifestyle choice. I’m very much working class, well actually I’m one of Margaret Thatcher’s ‘underclass’ ( bless her ) as I don’t have a job at all.

How much of my life is voluntary simplicity and how much is imposed poverty, I could not say, we don’t struggle but we don’t want much. We are not in a position to spend money like water but then I’ve no desire to. We eat well have fun and blow the budget occasionally but the thing we never have to do is worry about money, for that I’m very thankful. When I’ve no money I don’t moan about it.

Some people however don’t have that choice, ethical shoppers or not many people do long hours for little pay, a vast majority of people work in jobs that promote consumerism, un-organic produce and money in favour of people. In reality many people work in supermarkets, where does that leave them? They get discounts on their shopping and are already at work, then some hippy tells them to shop local or buy ethical orgaic meat at twice the price. **** off is most peoples answer and why should they push an already tight budget?

If you can’t afford organic meat and a solar hot water system there’s not need to buy cheap super market shite and leave the hot tap running. Ethics principals and respect don’t cost a penny.

The media has jumped on the band wagon in the last few years, that anything to do with the environment organic food or veg growing is in and we should all be doing it. Just check out magazines and TV listings full of open ended arguments and no real questions, just as ever lifestlye promotion.

” We shop at the local farmers market, it’s all local and organic”
” Yeah, well, I shop at Lidle, it’s foods from a million miles away and the money I save goes to the pub at the weekend to drown my miserable existence and the farmers market is on while I’m at work.”

Remember you don’t need to be seen making a change it’s enough that you know that you’ve made an effort and you have done your bit. You still may drive to work shop at the supermarket and appear to be like all the other sheep but you know that you’ve made the choice to change.

Changing your routine is always difficult but add money, lifestyle and your job and the struggle increases, but hang on. I don’t have alot of money or even a car, how do I manage to be able to choose where I shop and what I do? The answer is simple I make a concious effort, how ever small, I don’t come up with excuses why not to, I think how can I ? I look at my life as a whole not just as a series of actions. Nobody is going to save the world alone.