!! Whoopieee !! The Last Blog Of The Year :)

GOING BACK IN TIME

South London was the area where i spent most of my childhood, Peckham, Brixton, Surry Quays all areas back then with high rates of crimes and dangerous outgoing activities. During my stay in South London i spent most of my stay in a sort of council flat and looking back at it now none of the areas fits in the criteria of 'Sustainable Development'. Reasons due to the fact that litter populated the area more than citizens, especially in the area of 'Peckham'. My stay in Peckham is one not to forget as a lot went on, however Peckham is definitely not 'Sustainable'. Especially on every Saturday as there would be a massive 'Market Trading' where everyone will come down on every Saturday in order to purchase items such as fish, meats and everyday food items. These event happening every Saturday means there are more cars coming in and out of town resulting in polluted air etc.

THE HEART OF ESSEX = DAGENHAM TOWN

Dagenham Town is now my 'FAMILY HOME'. Dagenham is where i would be at if not in Northampton. Dagenham is a very nice, bright and quiet town when the youths decides. The area is full of joy which is yet to be revealed as its under a lot of construction. Comparing Dagenham to Northampton, i prefer Dagenham. Dagenham can be seen to have its 'Sustainble' time as more people in the town practice 'Recyling' even I do my part when back home. The recyling back in Dagenham now seems to be a daily routine, compared to my stay in Northampton as i seem never to have time or even to think about it.



EASTBROKE is closer to my house, only 5-7mins walk. The area is owned to the youths of Dagenham as they have populated the area with their silly ignorant acts, and because of their attitude they make Eastbroke not 'Sustainable'. However not to be judgmental its not only the youths to take blame all citizens are too.

Domestic energy consumption, 2007

Your neighborhood Barking and Dagenham England
Average consumption of
ordinary domestic K/watt hours n/a 3,655 3,952
electricity

Average consumption of
economy 7 domestic K/watt hours n/a 5,594 6,104
electricity

Average consumption of
domestic gas K/watt hours n/a 14,232 17,508

Eastbroke not entirely a negative and bad place to live. Although Racism can sometime erupt out of nowhere as the BMP as some local support from most citizen in 'Barking & Dagenham' but mostly Dagenham. However the crime rate is not has bad as other area in London.

Recorded crimes, 2008 - 2009

Your neighbourhood Barking and Dagenham
Violence against the person Count n/a 5,274
Wounding or other act endangering life Count n/a 254
Other wounding Count n/a 1,974
Common assault Count n/a 1,234
Robbery Count n/a 752
Theft from the person Count n/a 300
Burglary in a dwelling Count n/a 1,414
Burglary other than a dwelling Count n/a 647
Theft of a motor vehicle Count n/a 1,034
Theft from a motor vehicle Count n/a 1,565
Harassment including penalty notices for disorder Count n/a 1,428
Criminal damage including arson Count n/a 3,044

As seen above 'Criminal damage including arson' is the most committed crime in my area and reading this is making me nervous and conscious. And because of the high crime rates in Eastbroke (Dagenham) its destroying the chances it has to becoming known as a 'Sustainable' area.

Here are more extra information about the Area i call 'HOME'

Your neighbourhood (Barking and Dagenham 006A) has 1,263 residents and Barking and Dagenham local authority has 166,900 residents (2007 estimates).
Mid-2007 population estimates

Your neighbourhood
All People Count 1,263
Males Count 572
Females Count 691



Estimated population by broad ethnic group, mid-2007

Your neighbourhood Barking and Dagenham England
White % n/a 75.1 88.2
Mixed % n/a 2.7 1.7
Asian or Asian British % n/a 8.3 5.7
Black or Black British % n/a 1.9 2.8
Chinese or Other % n/a 2.0 1.5

Education for Citizenship

The Constitency of Dagenham.

Dagenham Local Mp: Jon Cruddas MP
House of Commons
Westminster
London
SW1A 0AA

Dagenham Constituency serves the following wards:

Alibon
Chadwell Heath
Eastbrook
Heath
Parsloes
(part also in Barking Constituency)
River
(part also in Barking Constituency)
Valence
Village
Whalebone

My local council is named 'London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council' and the main party which dominates my neighborhood is the 'Labor Party'.

Dagenham is mainly dominated by the whites resulting some racial comments and attitudes towards the ethnic minorities, which led to the 'BMP'Party forming. The 'BMP' not only exist in Dagenham they are located across England. The 'BMP' to me are basically about Hating and wanting any ethnic minorities to move out of the sector and back to where they come from originally. Personally Barking and Dagenham shows to some extent diversity. The reason why for this belief is due to the various activities thats been thrown through out the year in Barking and Dagenham. It allows different individuals from different backgrounds with different cultures to engage in different activities at the same time. Activities such as concerts, fun fairs, etc brings people toghether. Although the 'BMP' has some followers, the party does not have enough partnership with all memebers of society to rule dagenham.

'Daggers' which also goes by the name of 'DRFC' is Dagenham and Redbridge Football Club. The club is very popular by all memebers of the society and incresing, although they might not be as good as Chelsea or Arsnel, the club brings excitement to the community as well bringing individuals toghether showing the support they have for their community team.

Dagenham which is located in 'Essex', there are more people are demading to move into Essex sector, and because Essex is big this allows individuals to have various town to choose from. Such as Dagenham, Romford, Chelmsford etc .. One of many reasons why Essex is poplur on demand is due to the housing prices, the masses of rooms each house, but most important is due to the Eduction level. Essex probably has one


What is your attitude concerning people who are not planning to vote in the general election?

My attitude towards those who refuse or are not yet convinced to vote is not negative. I beleieve everyone has their own reasons for their actions so if they refuse to vote can mean they are lazy or they just simply have a different mentallity to all party outlines. However some people just believe that theri vote is just one of many and not neccesary. And i beleieve that all memembers of parliament need to inform individuals on how highly their vote is needed and when they have cast their vote a reward should be given to the individuals secretly in order to prevent individuals just voting for the rewards but voting because they feel passionate about their chosen party and are 100% supporting their party.


What main concerns do you have that may influence your vote?

My main concern that motivates me to vote is to bring shame to the 'BMP'. Their policy might have meaning to themselves, however their party to me is absolutely ridicolous and a waste of time. Their party to me is designed to bring conflict and segration back to the world. And the outcome to this would be extremly dangerous, which may lead to death of innocent lives. Another reason to why i vote is because i personally believe my vote counts and can make a different.

Double Blog Prompt 6 and 7

Is there really a transport problem? Do the benefits of motorized transport outweigh the costs? Are there any minor (or perhaps major) changes you personally feel could make our present transport system more sustainable?


Do I think there's a Transport Problem ?? .....YESS I DO !!

Firstly public transport is absoloutly ridicolous, in certain areas such as Northampton you can not rely on public transport. The bus drivers seem to stop working when they feel like it .. Not considering the public !! For instance last week Thursday [18.02.2010] it decided to snow but buses where still running and i needed to head off to London that evening and all of the sudden no buses came, although on the electronic board it said 10mins and other times the buses would arrive, i stood there for almost 1hour waiting and the bus comapny never thought of informing all passengers. Which I thought was ridicolous. Another problem with Northampton bus service is that there are no 24hour buses which run around Northampton. And this is a bad idea, if there were 24hour bus service running there might be less crimes running as people can get home safe and the latest Rape case might not have happened. The bus service in Northampton is a JOKE ..and does not help the public in anyway.

However one can disagree with my above statement, argueing that Northampton Bus services are doing what the society needed making the society 'SUSTAINABLE'. Northampton in general is a place that needs alot of attention, it needs help immediately. The area is not sustainable whats soo ever. And Maybe the idea that most bus comes every 30mins is a start, and also the idea that theres a last bus which is around 11pm shows the effort they are making in order to making public transport more sustainable. However this can be negatively portraited as more people will start relying on Taxis and encoraging people to start driving.

If you take London as a example, its not a sustainble enviornment. Whereas the bus services run every 5-10mins, resulting to pollutions and esses gas to the air.

And Public Transport so expensive now-a-days that you actually question whether theres a point of it. Northampton Bus service so expensive that it cost £15 a week travel, and most bus service stops running whenever they please actually making you feel that your losing out and not getting your moneys worth.

There nothing I can do in order to make present trasnsport system sustainable. The government who are in charge of the Transportation need to digg in and start a whole new plan. Because the Transport system in certain areas such as Northampton needs alot of help and attention. As for me what i can do is raise this issue so that its known to the local government.

What do you think? Is christmas sustainable? how would it work in a changed world?

Or should all our 'do-gooders' leave our festivals alone!!!



Christmas that i once knew was only about Praising and rejoicing about the Birth Jesus Christ. But over the past years the tradional and meaning of christmas has changed and we use this time of the month for unneccessary buying, large amount of individuals in depth, etc. All which i know makes no difference but some people use this time of month to take advantage of the true religious meaning and just taking time off work and doing nothing but ending up gaining pounds. All which are suppose to be part of Christmas but personally we are forgetting the reasons why Christians and Catholic celebrate christmas.

However the idea that Christmas can be seen has not been sustainable is one issue I do not agree with. The extra lights been displayed shows the interest people have on celebrating christmas but if one ask them why do we celebrate chirstmas they are likely to give you the wrong answer by stating "Because of santa claus". Christmas I believe is all a part of us, no matter if one doesn't understand the true meaning behind the fesitval but we all share something in common. Which is showing care to our loved ones, whole family getting together enjoying each ones company, allowed to eat as much as you please. All attributes which makes Christmas sustainable.

But yes maybe we can cut down the waste lights by switching all decorating lights off when about to go bed and maybe cooking organic food and eating more healthy meals, cutting down deserts. But to me Christmas won't be the same if all this are cut down. However i do beleieve that there's other issue which should be more considerd less sustainable rather than facing Christmas as an issue whuch only occurs once a year whereas other issue such as Cutting down your Carbon footprint which can be changed everyday needs to be highlighted more. But I do understand why christmas is considered as not been sustainable.

In years to come I personally don't think changes will take place in order to make Christmas more sustainable, but I do beleieve that the religious meaning behind what Christmas is will be lost and forgotten about and one will only wana know what present they have under the Christmas tree.

The Do-gooders have their entire rights to express their feelings about Christmas just like everyone else would like their opinions to be acknowledge but I do beleieve that Christmas is one of the festivals Fighting, War and all bad vibes should be left behind. Its a great idea to know that there are people out there that cares so deeply about the Future and our environment passionatly but on Christmas everyone deserves to be with the ones they love and have funn and put on weight if they pleased.

To what extent do the best selling UK newspapers cover stories related to serious issues? To what extent would you think that it is their role to do so? In your opinion does the tabloid media and 'low budget entertainment' (reality shows, soaps) have too much power and influence in this country?


Most newspapers sold in the United Kingdom are tabloids. Only one broadsheet features in the top six selling newspapers of January 2009 (Audit Bureau of Circulations 2009).
1. The Sun 3,146,000
2. The Daily Mail 2,200,398
3. The Daily Mirror 1,366,891
4. The Daily Telegraph 783,210
5. The Daily Star 768,534
6. The Daily Mirror 736,340

Before going deep in the question we truly need to understand the differences between both newspaper type, Tabloids and Broadsheets.


The tabloids
consits numerous newspapers such as
The Sun
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mail
The Daily Star
The Daily Express

Tabloids use lots of pictures
They have short news items.
They write in short sentences - like this.
They focus on celebrity gossip
They give lots of space to scandal and sport
Tabloid newspapers often adopt a written style which is casual and chatty.
They are aimed at a younger audience.
They assume that people know about film and TV stars, sports personalities, and the rich and famous.
They usually illustrate their stories with eye-catching headlines, pictures, and captions.
They are very fond of using Slangs, alliteration and puns in their writing. Here's a typical tabloid headline: 'BOMB BOY BLASTS BEACH BUMS'

BROADSHEETS:

The Guardian
The Times
The Daily Telegraph
The Independent
The Financial Times

Broadsheets use more text than pictures.

Their stories can sometimes be quite long - something they call 'in depth reportage
They treat their subjects more seriously, and they present their information in a style which uses more complex language and longer sentences - like this one
Broadsheet newspapers generally aim to be more factual and objective in the way they cover the news.
They pay more attention to politics, government, and international affairs - rather than to scandal and showbiz news.
However, they usually reflect the views of the people who own them

Now that the difference between both Newspapers are clear, one can start answering the question provided.To be honest I'm not surprised that the best selling Newspapers will be all 5Tabloids, not even one broadsheet. This shows how citizens feel about the society we live in. We all say we care and should be the highly power duty to inform us as citizens any important issue yet we contradict ourselves by giving into the gossip and entertainment world rather finding out what tomorrow brings. To be honest I am not the to criticize others as i also pay very very little attention to Broadsheets and instead sit with a cuppa while reading about Katie Price and Peter Andre relationship status in The Sun.

This is a terrible lifestyle to live, and one shouldn't continue this way as we are not allowing our self to be informed and instead we pay all attention to celebrities lifestyles and what rather wanting to find out what they spent their millions on. Although individuals are not necessary to take all blame, the blame also goes to the Tabloids industry. They have the right to inform us on serious issues, as they seem to do it well when delivering gossips so therefore delivering serious issues such as Climate change and sustainable development shouldn't be difficult. Although people seem to have made it loud and clear that they prefer to read about Jordon's personal outgoings and rather why it will rain snow tomorrow rather than rain seem to bother me slightly and YES i blame the newspapers. I believe the newspapers especially The Sun to use their popularity to their advantage by believing more serious issues to their papers and maybe this will change people attitude to the topic Sustainable Development. This would be a brilliant idea, as readers will still have their gossips to read and at the same time they will have no choice not to avoid serious topics such as climate change etc if it was included in the paper.

However some Tabloids do encourage serious topics in their newspapers but not as much as celebrity lifestyle. And maybe that's why there's a difference between Tabloids and Broadsheet. But realistically you will not catch me buying any BROADSHEET newspaper, NEVER.. maybe when I'm older and rich. [lol]. Exactly my point, due to stereotypically labelling we have labelled who exactly buys broadsheets and Tabloids. Broadsheets are mostly brought by Business woman/man, politicians, rich people etc all which you can judge yourself when sitting on the tube. I believe this had made it more difficult for my age group and myself to go out and buy any Broadsheet newspaper as we don't fall under any of the above. The Sun is probably one of many Tabloid newspaper that's mostly criticised for not relating to serious issues but when it does talk about serious issues the headlines can easily be taken as a joke and readers immediately see a serious issue turn into a joke of a day. This is why some individual are aware of serious issues such as Sustainable Development but rather do nothing about it or they are not well educated on the area to do anything about it. Whereas the The Telegraph on the other hand only contains serious issues/topic that the world is facing allowing its context to be exact, enlightened with in depth information and its headline is no joking matter.

VS The difference is clear as you can see The Sun front page can be taking as a joke whereas The Telegraph is more focusing on a serious issue. As mentioned above I believe all Newspapers should be able to educate their readers on serious issues/topics. We all have the rights to know what tomorrow brings.

In my opinion i believe that the tabloid media and 'low budget entertainment' (reality shows, soaps) do hold power and influence in this country as they are seem to be nothing but distractions to individuals allowing them to be blind on serious issues such as Sustainable development. Nearly everyone owns a TV in their household, might not have Sky, or Virgin or even a free view box but everyone can own a TV and watch TV, paying the pound store and getting Ariel only worth £1 allows anyone to get their hands on TV and are able to access at least Channels one to five, in which you can watch the highly demand TV shows from such as East Enders [Channel 1], X-Factor [ITV 3] etc. My point is due to TV in demand TV producers are been pressured to deliver nothing but the best and only show what will sell. Making a series in East Enders about Phil becoming more sustainable will not make the producers money but instead another TV show will be making more money than them, all this is due to Viewers demand. The viewers have demanded to have more Tabloid media been sold to them and also low budget entertainment to be shown to them.

Yes I believe that there should be more documentary on serious issues such as Sustainable Development and people shouldn't just rely on News. I believe that there's way in which people can get educated and this could be maybe showing short 20seconds series on the way the world is and how it can be sustainable, and within this series it should be interesting and maybe getting highly respected celebrities to get involve. But the question is will this be enough or will this actually work and are people just ignorant and not wanting to know what tomorrow brings.

Yes X-Factor and other Low budget entertainment are almost been transferred to God's and Thrown. Everyone bow down to it and due to high technology you can easily record the show and watch later. This is helping TV producers become highly powered in the TV industry and we are giving them the chance to do so.

To What extent do you think that it is your duty as a citizen to be 'informed'? Are you informed? How do you get to be informed about serious issues? To what extent do you think that you should leave the complicated decisions up to others?

"YESS" I should be informed. I peronally believe that Sustainable Development is a very important issue that should be acknowledged and others should start educating one and other about.

As a citizen it is our duty to be informed on the outgoings actions taking place in the society we live in. We all have the right to know what will occur tomorrow, next week, next month, next year or infact what will happen in the next few hours. Sustainable Development as a issue has been around for quite a while now, and it has informed lots of people through newspapers, tv, radio stations and other media distributions but it has failed to inform everyone such as myself. Although i sometimes see articles about Recylcing and climate change i always seem to look past it and find my attention diverted to Kate and Pete lifestyle. Luckly for the fact that i'm studying Learning for sustainable development as a module i woudn't have been educated deeply as i am now on the importance of Sustainable Development.

To a personal extent i do feel that i am informed on deep and serious issues because i allow myself to be. Watching particular news channel 'Sky News' which i favor greatly only because the news reporters to me seem passionate on delivering the news and not reporting because they are payed to. I tend to read people body laungage and facial expressions and the News reporters on Sky news never seem to fail me on their bubbly characteristics. Sky news is also a great interactive channel were your allowed as an audience to share your own views on a particular topic. I'm also informed through my favourite newspaper 'Metro', not because its a free newspaper but because of its layout the way the information are been allocated specifically. Metro newspaper without a doubt seemed to be the only newspaper were i have gatherd some background knowledge on the issue Sustainable development. Other newspapers seemed to have failed on updating me on the issue of climate change and capture my interest on the topic in whole. However i do believe i am been informed about sustainable development through various methods but the main method that stood out strongly would be through education. Watching Al gore film for an example was the best way to enlighten my interest on the topic although the film can be categorised as been boring i saw the film in a different representation, the film educated me greatly and widen my interest on knowing more about the issue.

Recyling is one of many contributions that citizens can get involve with in helping making the world a more sustainable enevironment. And i believe that citizens are been informed through this way of living on the topic sustainable development. Recyling is not only informed to adults kids from the age of 5 onwards seem to have captured the reasons why Recyling is good. To me this is a good start for the society we live in as the next genereations will hopefully be more sustainable.

However i disagree on the idea that individuals MUST do something in order for a change to take place, I believe that we all have the right to make decisions although actins need to be made i don't believe that we are entirely to blame.

"NO" we should not leave the complicated decisions to others, as a citizens we have the rights to make decisions too. If the issue revolves on our lifestyle then we should be informed first and also be invited on decision making. Only makes the world we live in a better place and forming unity.

! Inconvient Truth !

To what extent do you think this was deserved? Having watched this film in class did you feel that your opinion (or perhaps the opinion of others) to the issue of climate change could be positively influenced? What did you think of this film? Was it effective?

Former Vice President Al Gore is cofounder and Chairman of Generation Investment Management, a firm that is focused on a new approach to Sustainable Investing.Gore is also cofounder and Chairman of Current TV, an independently owned cable and satellite television network for young people based on viewer-created content and citizen journalism. A member of the Board of Directors of Apple Computer, Inc. and a Senior Advisor to Google, Inc. Gore is also Visiting Professor at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Mr. Gore is the author of An Inconvenient Truth, a best-selling book on the threat of and solutions to global warming, and the subject of the movie of the same title, which has already become one of the top documentary films in history. In 2007, An Inconvenient Truth was awarded two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Song.

Since his earliest days in the U. S. Congress 30 years ago, Al Gore has been the leading advocate for confronting the threat of global warming. His pioneering efforts were outlined in his best-selling book Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (1992). He led the Clinton-Gore Administration's efforts to protect the environment in a way that also strengthens the economy.

Al Gore was born on March 31, 1948, the son of former U.S. Senator Albert Gore, Sr. and Pauline Gore. Raised in Carthage, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., he received a degree in government with honors from Harvard University in 1969. After graduation, he volunteered for enlistment in the U.S. Army and served in the Vietnam War. Upon returning from Vietnam, Al Gore became an investigative reporter with the Tennessean in Nashville, where he also attended Vanderbilt University's Divinity School and then Law School. http://www.algore.com/index.htmlm/index.html

Al Gore the man I believed would have made a big difference to the United States Of America if he was crowned 'President' but lost to Mr.George Bush who showed no interest to the topic Climate change or Global warming. However despite the dissapointed news of him not taking on the role Al Gore however showed a lot of interest on how he would have contributed on making United States of America a better place to live and also encouraging citizens the importance of helping America become a sustainable nation as well as keeping the world in whole sustainable. Al gore production on the 'Inconvient Truth' deserves acknowledgement as it was packed with indepth information on human impacts contributed in creating Global warming and the rising of climate change.

Difference in average surface temperature: comparison with 1961-90 average,
Global and Central England, Degrees C

Both local (central England) and global average temperatures have risen with a few fluctuations since the late 19th century.

Average temperatures in Central England rose by about 1°C during the 20th century. The 1990s were exceptionally warm. Four of the five warmest years since records began in 1772 occurred after 1990, and 2004 was the ninth. In 2003 the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK was reached when temperatures peaked at 38.5°C.

Average global surface temperature also increased - by 0.4 to 0.8°C since the late 19th century. All ten of the hottest years on record have occurred since 1990. The warmest year since global records began in 1861 was 1998, 2002 was the second warmest, and 2004 the fourth warmest. Current climate models predict that global temperatures will rise by between 1.4 and 5.80c by the end of the 21st century. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=368

According to the The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) they blame human impacts/activities for the reports in 2001 of the warming over the last 50 years. They expanded their accousations on the involve of emissions of 'greenhouse gases' such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The IPCC 2001 report also suggested that if actions are not taken
global temperatures will rise by 1.4 and 5.8°C by the end of the century, increases in rainfall aswell as the frequency of extreme weather events may occur. They also stated that climate change scenarios for the UK annual temperature could increase by 2 to 3.5°C by the 2080s while winters may become wetter and summers drier. While reading this piece of information i was well educated and left with a brighter knowledge on climate change and global warming, while reminiscing on the terrible event that took place in America 4years ago about Hurricaine Katrina which came unexpected to citizens of New Orlens State came in a hurry and left with millions of damage, Katrina left thousands dead and left thousands homeless. Don't get me mistaken as been heartless but then again one can say that nature was paying back Karma as we treated the earth with no respect and carried on abusing it with our lack of interest in Global warming.

While watching the film i gatherd that Al Gore not been President was very much echoed throughout the film, this shows that Al Gore was truly disapointed and was seemed to only want that position more than anything else. However one can argue that Al Gore interest on Climate Change and Global warming only took place in order to recieve Synmpathy from his fans or only to show that he's still engaged with his nation. This can then be argued saying that Al Gore interest in Global warming is loyal that he had passion for the topic since he was a youth which is evidential in the film. I personally believe the film was a great tool in order to educate the audience as well as setting awareness on what will happen in years to come. The film was also able to persuade and challenege individuals as myself on what we are doing right or wrong as humans on this earth, leaving us to wonder on changes that we'll be making at the end of the film.

In conclusion 'Inconvient Truth' was a door opened to me allowing me to witness the dangers of Climate Change and Global warming thats occuring as you read it also exaggdurate on the fact that 'Climate Change' does exist. WHY? Simply because i gave it an helping hand and so did YOU !