ISREC newsletter January 2012

ISREC Newsletter 02a - January 2012

Isles of Scilly Renewable Energy Coop

ISREC now has a Facebook page that is the best way to keep up to date
with news and developments:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Isles-of-Scilly-Renewable-Energy-Cooperative/127744047343915

Who killed economic growth?

Protecting yourself from the Banking Crisis - urgent advice

Mike Haywood is an independent financial analyst who carefully studies the financial and economic systems, with a view to informing people about the impending state of financial collapse globally, and how best to respond. He regularly talks to Transition groups, companies and organisations. This week he's issues this email in response to, what he believes to be, an impending Eurozone collapse. It will affect all of us!!

Yesterday the Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, announced that they were making contingency plans in the event of a break up of the Eurozone. When asked what those plans were, he declined to comment, implying that discussion of the plans would precipitate a banking crisis. Because of the interconnectivity of the Global Banking system, UK banks would be severely affected by a Eurozone collapse. The situation is extremely precarious and could change at any moment. Just remember how fast the collapse of Northern Rock happened. Do not expect any leadership from our politicians prior to the collapse. The Government has also made contingency plans as well but are keeping quiet about them.

 

It would be prudent for all UK citizens to make their own personal contingency plans sooner rather than later and I would recommend the following

 

1) A banking collapse would mean the suspension of full banking activity for days with no or limited withdrawals from cash machines. Credit/debit cards won’t work.  You should keep at least enough cash at home to cover your family’s expenses for a week.

 

2) People will start to hoard essential items once the collapse starts. To pre-empt this, you should keep at least enough food and essentials at home to cover you and your family for a week.

 

3) Keep your car fuel tank topped up to full so that you will have transport.

 

Kind regards

 

Mike Haywood

P.S. You can sign up to Mike Haywood's free weekly digest of the global banking crisis by emailing him at mike@mikehaywoodart.co.uk

Thickness and area of Arctic sea ice

"LARGELY UNNOTICED, a silent drama has been unfolding over the past weeks in the Arctic. The long-term consequences will far outstrip those of the international debt crisis or the demise of the Libyan dictatorship, the news stories now commanding media attention. The drama - more accurately, a tragedy - playing out in the North is the rapid disappearance of the polar ice cap, the Arctic Ocean's defining feature."

http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/10/25/3344289.htm

ISREC open day

The Isles of Scilly Renewable Energy Co-operative (ISREC) are holing an open day on Thursday 20th Oct from 11am until 2pm in the Methodist Hall on St Mary's. Feel free to drop in at any time.

ISREC is focussing on solar PV systems and how residents of Scilly can gain maximum benefit from renewable energy. Come along and find out more on Thursday.

--
Transition Scilly
Web: www.transitionscilly.org.uk
Email: enquiries@transitionscilly.org.uk
Positive solutions to peak oil and climate change
Check our blog www.transitionscilly.blogspot.com for regular news and event updates

Rivers of ice

Recent photos of glaciers in the Himalayas, directly comparing sites photographed 80 years ago show a stunning loss of ice over that period.

The cause, a warming climate, is evident but the effects on the hundreds of millions of people that rely on melt water for all their water are not immediately so obvious...yet equally as frightening in its impact.

Watch this wonderful narrated slideshow here.

Five Mile Meal

St Mary's Hall Hotel are hosting another Five Mile Meal this year. The majority of ingredients for the meal have to come from Scilly, with an added twist of it being a competition between two chefs.

It takes place on Sunday 2nd October and there's a special rate for locals. See poster for details. You can see a report of last year's event here. Promises to be a great meal!
Five Mile Meal Poster 2011

Harvest festivals and apple pressing

It's the time of year again to celebrate the annual harvest and once again Transition Scilly has teamed up with the AONB to co-ordinate some events happening on the Islands to celebrate our local food culture.

On Sunday 25th September, right after the harvest festival in St Mary's Parish Church, will be an apple pressing session on the lawn of the garden pavilion on St Mary's, from 12.00-2.00. Please bring along any excess apples (or other fruit) that you may have, plus some empty containers and take home some freshly pressed juice! If you don't have fruit to bring you're still welcome to come along.

If there is demand we'll run another pressing session in October - please get in touch if you're interested in a session next month.

Isles of Scilly local food events 2011

TRESOC and ISREC

TRESOC is not a typo for the second largest island on Scilly, it stands for the Totnes Renewable Energy Society and is an offshoot of Transition Town Totnes. Their aim is to engage with individuals and businesses to increase the amount of renewable energy generated in the South Hams area of Devon.

This blog is a really interesting and honest take on the vision, practice, highs, lows and direction of such a project:

http://transitionculture.org/2011/07/06/hard-work-vision-kilowatts-a-story-about-the-totnes-renewable-energy-society-tresoc/

The reason why this is so appropriate to us at Transition Scilly is that we are setting up ISREC, Isles of Scilly Renewable Energy Co-operative. The aim of this will also be to increase the amount of solar PV installed on homes and businesses across the Islands.

We are doing more and more preparation for a public launch this autumn and hope to be offering exciting projects that people can invest in that will be generating both energy and wider benefits to the community. More on this before long...