September 2022

5 Buckden Roundabout September 2022 From your District Councillor From your District Councillor General It ’ s been and continues to be so hot!!! Hope that you are all keeping cool and that by the time you read this that it has rained and that our gardens are in better shape. Paxton Pits Nature Reserve among the winners of the Green Flag Award for 2022 Once again, Paxton Pits fly the flag for a fifth successive year. Parks and green spaces across the country are being recog- nised as having great value to local people and will be raising their Green Flag Award 2022 with pride as open spaces. The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, recognises and rewards well - managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for their management across the United Kingdom and around the world. Commenting on the District Council ’ s successes, Green Flag Award Scheme Manager Paul Todd said: “ I would like to con- gratulate everyone involved in making Paxton Pits Nature Re- serve worthy of a Green Flag Award ”. I ’ d like to add my personal thanks to villagers who volunteer or who are involved with Paxton Pits Nature Reserve – it ’ s one of my favourite walking areas. Diddington Solar Farm I attended a briefing at Pathfinder House on the proposed solar farm at Diddington. I was informed that, should the proposal go ahead, the aim is to divert a large proportion of the electric- ity to generation directly, via a cable to Grafham Water. This would mean that Buckden ’ s drinking water, that is pumped to Grafham Water from the Great Ouse River, would be much greener than today because the pumps would be powered by renewable energy. A1 Roundabout Roadworks As I write this article I understand that the roadworks and clo- sures of the roundabout have now been finished. This is a re- lief as I know that many of you have experienced difficulty getting in and out of the village during the closures. Let ’ s hope that we don ’ t have to experience this again in the near future. Feedback on the works completed and impacts should be pro- vided by National Highways at our next meeting with them. Wishing you all well, Martin Hassall District Councillor for Buckden, Diddington and Southoe Executive Councillor for Corporate & Shared Services Phone: 07480 798 342 Letter to the Editor Sir, the recent Parish Council article on “ Help the Planet ” pub- lished in the August Roundabout had some useful suggestions. Our impact (I) comes from the technology we use (T) and the “ stuff ” we have (A) “ affluence. ” Dealing with Climate change requires applying good science. Impact (I) and Affluence (A) are part of a formula I=PAT. P = population numbers. Why is the P of the equation missing in the article? The UK population is set to grow to over 72 million by 2040 (ONS data) causing more climate change factors, more pres- sure on resources and thus increased costs. Suggesting popula- tion increase does not increase climate change is simply not tenable. Each “ saving ”, not eating meat etc is significantly eroded each time we add another person in the UK driving up price rises and costing you more. Adding more people when we have water shortages due to climate change does not make sense. “ We need more people for the economy ”? No. The economy needs “ value added ”. Technology (T) offers the ability to in- crease wealth, maintain and increase standards of living with- out needing so many people. This supports “ levelling up ” for the UK and in poorer countries. An increasing UK population contradicts these aims. “ Mitigation, ” means “ reducing the effect ”. This makes some useful temporary contribution. Putting water into a leaking tank (“ mitigating ” loss) is not offering a sustainable solution. “ Mitigation ” only “ kicks the problem down the road ”, is mis- leading and avoids focusing on the prime causes of climate change. Basic democratic principles, open governance and good sci- ence require that population numbers impact is included in all planning and public advice on “ saving the planet. ” “ A drop in the ocean. ” Helps? A lot of little ’ s are still little and of little overall effect. (Quote from Professor D MacKay, phys- ics lecturer Cambridge University, government advisor and author “ Sustainable Energy without the hot air ”.) Do small things but do not ignore the other bigger issues, as is happen- ing at present. Be practical: What can you do? Solutions available now which tackle climate change at root cause are: 1. Future family size: A two child voluntary limit makes a significant contribution to combatting climate change and lessens pressures on resources. (There should be no retrospective criticism of larger family size.) 2. World population: Check web sites that support family planning in the UK and abroad. 3. Open debate and accountability: Push all local govern- ment officials, from Parish to MP, to fully include in- formed discussion on Population numbers impact in all planning. 4. Balance: Insist on equal space for counter arguments in publications on climate change John Davies, Buckden