Grants for your home / Low Carbon Buildings Programme - Phase 1 / UK Home - Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Grants for your home / Low Carbon Buildings Programme - Phase 1 / UK Home - Low Carbon Buildings Programme

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34&0

Can I reclaim my heritage?
Is it worth reclaiming ?
I have been alive and consent since 1975. Have you?

I meet many people; everyday -
do these people - need saving?

IF, the future is what we make it; are we a part of it?
Are we worth saving?
and if so? at what level?
One or the One?

That's It. So Mote It Be.
Thank You. Everyone!

Blessed Be.
Ad.xx

Climate Agendas and Fixed Points in Time

Today (28/09/2009)

theARCproject has a home!

As of Thursday 1st October 2009, our new office will be:

Unit7e,
Tafarnaubach Industrial Estate,
Tredegar,
Blaenau Gwent,
South Wales, UK.
NP22 3AA

We also have a 'hotdesk' at:

Sundance Renewables
Excal House,
Capel Hendre Industrial Estate,
Ammanford, Carmarthenshire. SA18 3SJ
http://www.sundancerenewables.org.uk

thearcproject@live.co.uk
http://www.thearcproject.co.uk

google ~ skype ~ twitter : thearcproject

Coal for Carmarthenshire?

Carmarthenshire County Council

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This is very worrying indeed!
We need to STOP this NOW.

There is a lot to read through, so if anyone wants to help...feel free.

There is a public meeting, organised by MP Nia Griffiths, about the
proposed open cast mine at Pentremawr (between Pontyberem and Ponthenri).

The meeting is on Thursday 24th September at 7pm in Ponthenri Community
Hall, Bargoed Terrace, Ponthenri.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=Bargoed%20Terrace%2C%20Pont%20Henri

Please let anyone else who might be interested know about it too.

For those that are interested, the full planning application can be
found here: http://tiny.cc/Pentremawr

The project managers appear to be: http://www.bhpdevelop.co.uk

Ffos-y-fran - the largest open cast mine in Europe and the location of Climate Camp Cymru 2009

1906081_222a_for_james_heather_medium.jpg (1024×683)

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Meet Gyy, The First Solar Powered Netbook

Meet Gyy, The First Solar Powered Netbook

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DIY - how to build your own Polytunnel

Please follow this link to see design brief and instructions
Alan and Kathryn's Allotments and Chickens | Polytunnels, Allotments, Chickens.

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Bordeaux Resolution Penderfyniad Bordeaux October 2008

Bordeaux Resolution

At its annual plenary session held at Bordeaux in October 2008, a group of representatives of national environmental and sustainable development councils, acting under the umbrella of the EEAC, created the following resolution. This resolution is aimed at the European Council of Ministers, the European Commission, as well as for EEAC member councils to take to their national governments.

We sympathise that the EU as a whole is facing an unprecedented financial crisis, which is almost certain to turn into a deepening and profound economic recession. By any standards, this is a situation that requires bold and decisive action which nevertheless must be set within a long-term policy perspective. We firmly believe that the principles and practices of sustainable development must be placed at the heart of any package of solutions. Unsustainable growth in resource consumption has contributed to the current situation and has resulted in the rising – and currently highly unstable – prices of basic commodities of energy, food and water. These price impacts fall especially harshly on the poor.

It would be very dangerous to the reliability of any future economy for sustainable development to be put onto the back burner whilst addressing the immediate issues. The assets of the planet are the lifeblood of the human race, those alive today and those to be born in the future. There is an overwhelming case for addressing the causes and consequences of climate change, which is indisputably caused by the human hand. At this critical time in the affairs of government, the reconstruction of our economic system provides a golden opportunity to ensure that the new financial order embraces the well-being of both the present and future global populations. We therefore urge that:

1. 
   

   Any temptation to abandon or dilute the European Union Climate and Energy Package is strongly and comprehensively resisted, as this would lead to more of the very economic and social instabilities which are currently being addressed. The Stern Report has shown that the costs of trying to adapt too late to the consequences of climate change far exceed the costs of early mitigation.
   
   
   

   
   
2. 
   

   This vital package is delivered in time, so as to offer a credible European basis for the post-Kyoto Agreement negotiations to be held in Copenhagen next year. In addition, the risk of carbon leakage needs careful assessment in order to limit any such leakage to vital areas of social and economic fairness. Even then, the appropriate measures must be sought to address and minimise carbon leakage.
   
   
   

   
   
3. 
   

   In seeking to restore the basic functions of the financial markets and the revitalisation of the economy, the EU and its member states grasp the opportunity of stimulating innovation, environmentally-sound technology and new sustainability-promoting enterprises, so that a wide range of new jobs and skills are created, together with the supporting training opportunities. This is particularly important to ensure that there is reliable growth that provides opportunities for those otherwise impoverished by the present crises to gain a safe means of living.
   
   
   

   
   
4. 
   

   Recognition is given to the finite limits of the earth’s natural resources through the development of fiscal policies and incentives that ensure that their depletion is increasingly offset through reuse, recycling and the adoption of more efficient production methods.

We will, through our member councils, engage with all governments, the business community and civil society throughout Europe, in working towards practicable and immediate solutions that place the European Union as a whole on a reliable pathway to sustainable development.

Penderfyniad Bordeaux

Yn ei sesiwn flynyddol lawn a gynhaliwyd yn Bordeaux ym mis Hydref 2008, crëwyd y penderfyniad canlynol gan grŵp o gynrychiolwyr o gynghorau amgylcheddol a datblygu cynaliadwy cenedlaethol, yn gweithredu o dan adain y Pwyllgor Materion Ewropeaidd ac Allanol (EEAC). Anelir y penderfyniad hwn at Gyngor Gweinidogion Ewrop, y Comisiwn Ewropeaidd, yn ogystal ag i aelod gynghorau’r EEAC ei ddwyn gerbron eu llywodraethau gwladol.

Rydym yn cydymdeimlo â’r ffaith fod yr Undeb Ewropeaidd drwyddi draw yn wynebu argyfwng ariannol heb ei debyg o’r blaen, sydd bron yn sicr o droi’n ddirwasgiad economaidd mwy a mwy dwfn. Yn ddi-os, mae hon yn sefyllfa sy’n gofyn am weithredu dewr a phendant ond gweithredu serch hynny gyda golwg ar bolisi tymor-hir. Credwn yn gryf fod yn rhaid gosod egwyddorion ac arferion datblygu cynaliadwy wrth wraidd unrhyw becyn o atebion. Mae twf anghynaliadwy mewn adnoddau traul wedi cyfrannu at y sefyllfa bresennol ac wedi arwain at y codiad - ansefydlog iawn ar hyn o bryd - mewn prisiau nwyddau sylfaenol fel ynni, bwyd a dŵr. Mae effeithiau’r prisiau yma’n disgyn yn galed ar y tlawd.

Byddai’n beryglus iawn i ddibynadwyedd unrhyw economi yn y dyfodol pe bai datblygu cynaliadwy yn cael ei roi o’r neilltu tra bod y problemau brys yn cael eu trafod. Asedau’r blaned yw anadl einioes dynolryw, y rhai sy’n byw heddiw a chenedlaethau’r dyfodol. Mae yna reswm anorchfygol dros fynd i’r afael ag achosion a chanlyniadau’r newid yn yr hinsawdd, a achoswyd yn ddiamau gan law dyn. Ar yr amser tyngedfennol hwn ym materion llywodraeth, mae ailadeiladu’n system economaidd yn cynnig cyfle euraid i sicrhau fod y drefn ariannol newydd yn gwarchod lles poblogaethau’r byd yn awr ac yn y dyfodol. Rydym yn cymell felly:

1. Fod unrhyw demtasiwn i adael neu wanhau Pecyn Hinsawdd ac Ynni’r Undeb Ewropeaidd yn cael ei ailystyried yn bendant ac yn gynhwysfawr, gan y byddai hyn yn arwain at ragor o’r union ansefydlogrwydd economaidd a chymdeithasol sy’n ceisio cael ei ddatrys ar hyn o bryd. Dangosodd Adroddiad Stern fod costau ceisio addasu’n rhy hwyr i ganlyniadau newid yn yr hinsawdd yn llawer uwch na chostau eu lliniaru’n gynnar.

2. Rhaid i’r pecyn hanfodol hwn gael ei gyflwyno mewn pryd, er mwyn cynnig sail Ewropeaidd credadwy i’r trafodaethau ôl-Kyoto sydd i’w cynnal yn Copenhagen y flwyddyn nesaf. Yn ogystal â hyn, mae angen asesu’n ofalus y risg o ollyngiadau carbon er mwyn cyfyngu gollyngiad o’r fath i feysydd tegwch cymdeithasol ac economaidd hanfodol. Hyd yn oed wedyn, dylid ceisio cael mesurau priodol i fynd i’r afael â gollyngiad carbon a’i leihau.

3. Wrth geisio adfer swyddogaethau sylfaenol ei farchnadoedd ariannol ac ailfywhau’r economi, mae’n rhaid i’r UE a’i aelod-wladwriaethau fachu ar y cyfle i ddefnyddio technoleg arloesol sy’n driw i’r amgylchedd a mentrau newydd sy’n hyrwyddo cynaliadwyedd, fel bod ystod eang o swyddi a sgiliau newydd yn cael eu creu, ynghyd â’r cyfleoedd hyfforddi cefnogol. Mae hyn yn arbennig o bwysig er mwyn sicrhau bod yna dwf dibynadwy sy’n darparu cyfleoedd i’r rheiny sydd fel arall wedi’u tlodi gan yr argyfyngau presennol i ennill bywoliaeth ddiogel.

4. Dylid sylweddoli nad yw adnoddau naturiol y ddaear yn ddi-ben-draw drwy ddatblygu polisïau a chymhelliannau ariannol sy’n sicrhau bod eu disbyddiad yn cael ei unioni fwy a mwy drwy ailddefnyddio, ailgylchu a mabwysiadu dulliau cynhyrchu mwy effeithiol.

Drwy’n cyngor aelodau, byddwn yn ymgysylltu â phob llywodraeth, y gymuned fusnes a chymdeithas ddinesig ledled Ewrop, i weithio tuag at ddatrysiadau ymarferol a sydyn a fydd yn rhoi’r Undeb Ewropeaidd drwyddi draw ar lwybr dibynadwy i ddatblygu cynaliadwy.

 

Google Docs in Plain English

In an attempt to remove micro$oft from our lives, we are trying this tool as part of Google Apps account for theARCproject.

Open source, online software - accessible anywhere!
http://partnerpage.google.com/thearcproject.co.cc
http://thearcproject.co.cc

wikis, wastes and wind

a strange conundrum, i know!

modern technology is expanding and developing at a mind-bending rate, 50 years ago we would not have considered speaking to anyone, anywhere and at anytime we choose!

'But let us not forget that computers are ONLY tools'. The same way we use a spanner to tighten a nut or a spade to dig a hole, we use a computer for what it is...this is part of the problem, at least as far as theARCproject sees it!

We update technology at a staggering pace, we tend not to consider what will happen to our 'outdated equipment' once it is carted away!

"My dad had a wonderful hammer, he had it 40 years, he replaced the handle 20 times and the head twice!, he loved it from new."

Valuable resources are being wasted every day, most of this ICT is still perfectly functional and useable by others.

'But what of the cost?', by working with Collaborative Communities (CC) across the globe, Open-Source Technology (OST) is being developed that will run ICT simply and efficiently at low cost. Making 'obsolete' machinery - RE-USE-ABLE.

Online storage and file management systems allow for 'FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION' wherever and whenever you need it, reducing demands on hard-drive capacity and memory functions of the ICT equipment.

This same technology can be applied to mobile phones, pda units and laptop computers!

Here in a modern Wales, despite strong findings to the contrary, the public enquiry for Betws Wind Farm, is going ahead! (surprised?) 15 turbines, well okay!

What is the community benefit?

Here's a cranky idea!!

FREEenergy - A wireless network operating across the Amman Valley. Free to use for everyone. No service charge, no fees, just a high level wireless broadband signal.

By allowing free access to information you can empower all aspects of community development at all levels of participation. Think Globally, Act Locally.

Get Involved.

http://thearcproject.co.cc

http://www.thearcproject.co.uk

+44(0)7092 275563

Film Premiere

22~05~09
FRIDAY 22ND MAY 2009

at
GELLI AUR CHURCH HALL


19:00 ~ £3/£2/FREE ~ REFRESHMENTS



PUBLIC FILM PREMIERE



A discussion will follow the screening,
we encourage everyone to get involved!

http://notstupid.org/

Stupid? or Not Stupid?

You decide...

I have just attended Gwanwyn Gwyrdd, (Plaid Cymru Spring Conference)
at the National Botanical Gardens of Wales.

Many interesting speakers, delegates and exhibitors (of which I was one!!)

theARCproject is a non-party political organisation.
The only fundamental principle we subscribe to is from:

Agenda Resolution 42/187.  Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development

"Meeting the needs of the present, without compromising the abilities of future generations to meet their own needs."
Defined, globally as the Rio Earth Summit, 1992

It is now 2009, seventeen years have passed, as has so  much rhetoric and inaction. 

First from the Tories (Conservative) and then eventually from our current administration of New Labour Government, not to be confused with Old Labour (Socialist)!?!

While you might have thought all those years ago, that the Green party or maybe the Liberal Democrats (Liberals/Democrats....etc) may have been the best party to take this 'ethos' forward into a 21st Century, we now find ourselves as People & Planet, staring down the barrel of a very large and fully loaded gun!

Not the one about Global Terrorism that Messrs. Bush & Blair have proliferated on for almost a decade but a much more severe, immanent and present danger. Our Earth; Our Planet; Our Land.

Maybe it was the bright lights and shiny dollar signs of globalisation that blinded us for a generation? Perhaps, it was the much loved 'Ostrich Syndrome' that has blighted the 'Stay at Home' lifestyle that has been created and manufactured for us?

Anyway, in an attempt to market, promote and raise support for theARCproject and the work we wish to undertake within Dinefwr - I compiled an exhibition/display of the policies and initiatives for the organisation.

* I am more than happy to attend, display or present at any discussion, meeting or conference (that is relevant to the memorandum, articles and principle agenda of theARCproject). Please get in touch!

The response was favourable, while I knew some faces and names it was good to meet up in a mutually beneficial environment. A fabulous venue for a Sustainability Conference! I will post News on the website with some pictures in the next few days.

It was certainly very refreshing to hear speakers and politicians voicing their concerns publically regarding the state of the earth and the problems we all face and must overcome together. 

When the internet takes over the world!

Welcome to PocketSurfer2 : Request_form

I have just sent the following request to Datawind UK Ltd. as I am interested to see their response.

Dear Sirs,

I am very interested in utilising this product as an ICT solution for a Community Interest Company in Sustainable Waste Management located within Dinefwr, Cymru. 

Specifically for the use of members and volunteers when 'out on the road', during collections and when travelling to meetings. I am currently developing an online office system and use both Windows Office Live and Google Apps.  I would be interested to know the compatibility with .doc, .docx, .ppt etc.  While I have seen many videos on YouTube and the like, I would be very grateful if I could see, feel, interact with a working model to test functionality and synchronisation ability.

theARCproject aims to develop low-impact solutions for energy descent and seek to develop,improve and rebuild community education, training and skills across the third sector.

Therefore, I would be grateful if someone could contact me in relation to this matter.  I look forward to further communication.

Sincerely yours,

Adam S. Margetts Esq. BA

Co-ordinator, theARCproject

+447857705655

To me, this seems like a wonderful low-cost system for mobile internet access – while apparently not having any audio or video functions built into the device – it appears to have the written word functionality you would wish for a virtual office on the move, as much administration and correspondence are now being done online. [a great way to reduce paper!]

Video trailers for this device also show the ability for GPS mapping to be used via Google Maps.  This is extremely useful when collecting or delivering items, especially in rural areas.

 

I have for a long time been searching for a low cost integrated telecommunications system and while this device does not ANY have mobile phone application – it may not need to.

Thinking in relation to the relative affordability of SIM cards and old mobile phones the audio communication may be better focussed this way.

As theARCproject now has a SKYPE account, and as SKYPE offer IM service for free (as do Google and others), any online user is able to simply text messages across the network.

Through either the Google Apps account or Windows Office Live account, emails, documents and files can be uploaded, altered or downloaded from online members.

 

Number Crunching

Sounds, expensive!

Well lets see…

Brand New In the Box Approx. £139-189

‘Off eBay’ Approx. £50-90

elsewhere ????

Okay, so we have a DataWind PocketSurfer2!

What’s the monthly cost? Well, if you stay under 20 hours per week IT’S FREE! for 12 months. Anymore you can pay £5 per month for UNLIMITED use.  (No apparent FAIR USE POLICY applies.)

Next year’s cost for 12 months free internet access is £40.

So, we have a device that can give you 2 years internet access for less than £200

There has got to be a catch!?! Let’s see what happens….

Home Growing

As the great Welsh weather warms again, I am thinking about my garden - both from an aesthetic appreciation and practically from what we can achieve in the time available.

Having been in this property for almost five years now, we have spent very little productive time in our outdoor space. No longer the jungle of dandelions and couch grasses that it has been in previous years, the skeleton of the garden is once again visable. It is now our plan to put into practise some of the self-sufficient theories I have been researching and archiving for many years!

While the land we have is not large (in respect to the local landscape of farming and agriculture. - but still approxiamtely 100ft length by 20ft wide. When considering what we are able to do, we must take into account the other facilities and resources we have and need on our land.
1. Hounds - A Rhodesian Ridgeback x English Mastiff and a Golden Labrador x Bull Terrier
2. Two Cats
3. Two Rabbits
4. Fire-pit and communal area.
5. An area for chickens

We have currently split the garden into three or four areas.
1. Backdoor Area - hardstanding, shed.
2. Raised Seating Area - herb beds, fire-pit, benches and tables
3. Lower Grass/Soil Area -

(Archive material 2011/12)

Real Alternatives?

Over the last few weeks I have been investigating some alternative and complimentary solutions for energy independence.

*NB: This is by no means a complete A-Z listing of "everything you need to know", it is only specific to my requirements and interests!!

Vehicles and their reliance on oil.

It is obvious to most, that there are a huge number of cars, vans, lorries, buses and the like on our road networks, this number is still increasing!  While the motor manufacturing industry is 'attempting' to find ways to improve the efficiency of new vehicles produced, there still remains the problem of what to do with the old ones?

I was pointed in the direction of Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology by a friend recently, who had read an article about fuel consumption.  I duly investigated.

What seems interesting surfing through internet videos and articles, is the general simplicity of small scale HHO production.  Having been scientifically conditioned in school that Hydrogen was a 'tad dangerous', my scepticism was obvious.   I will not techie this blog but suffice it to say that on a micro level this technology seems relatively easy to manufacture and the initial results appear extremely promising.  I suggest of course you draw your own conclusions!!

I am looking at various ways to 'retro-fit' the following vehicles with an HHO supply:  

• 1984 Yamaha SR250 SE Petrol Motorcycle
• 1994 Vauxhall Frontera Sport 2.0i Petrol 4x4
• 1982 Freight Rover Sherpa 2.3 Diesel Motorhome*

*The Freight Rover already runs on Biodiesel and has almost zero carbon emmisions via tailpipe.

Many 'DIY kits' are available over internet, some can be found on ebay and many more desgins, schematics and how-to guides are scattered across the world wide web.  It is these such 'home improvements' I am investigating and how they can be constructed and fitted locally using recyclable materials and in a manner that is safe and sustainable.

The Goods Life

Affluenza, n.

1. A painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. 2. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth.

An overwhelming feeling that we have become:

• Too materialistic;
  
• Too greedy;
  
• Too selfish;
• Too self-absorbed;
  

And that we need to bring back into balance the enduring values that have supported this society for generations, particularly during 'hard' and 'troubled' times.

We have been producing and consuming beyond the limits of natural repair and replenishment. We have created a disease of consumerism that has spread around the world - we must begin to alter our patterns of consumption before the infection becomes an epidemic.

"Waste not Want not" said Benjamin Franklin.

Simplicity, the Greeks believed was a mid-point between luxury and deprivation; The Middle Way.

Consume, v.

1. to destroy or expend by use; use up.  2. to eat or drink up; devour.  3. to destroy, as by decomposition or burning: Fire consumed the forest.  4. to spend (money, time, etc.) wastefully.  5. to absorb; engross: consumed with curiosity. 6. to undergo destruction; waste away.  7. to use or use up consumer goods.

"Don't Get the Bug, Power Down for Energy Decent"

Growing Resolutions...

More than a few of us probably received a gift basket or two this year.

After eating the plastic-wrapped foods and confectionery or restocking the bathroom with soaps, shampoos and bath bombs, we do our best to recycle the packaging until all that remains is the basket that the gifts once lived in, so what do we do with it?

In these modern times, we don’t really have much need for a basket, do we?

Maybe you’ve already converted one old basket into a sewing kit, another holds clothes pegs or collects unused screws, nails and spider webs in the shed or garage.

Here’s an interesting idea for using your newest basket!

What You’ll Need:

• A Basket
• Soil
• A Plastic Carrier Bag
• Seeds
• A Knife

Step 1
Take the basket and put the old carrier bag on the bottom, poking a few small holes in the plastic.

Step 2
Fill the basket with soil. Use some of that compost you've been saving all year!

Step 3
Plant seeds.

It’s that easy!

Make sure to water daily and you’ll be enjoying natural homegrown and healthy herbs with your meals in no time and with no cost to you or the environment.

[Adapted from a post by - Josh Peterson, Los Angeles, CA, January 2009]

Hippy 2009

From its humble beginnings in the peace and love generation of Woodstock and flower-power, to the controlled anarchy of the non-violent direct action that has become commonplace throughout much of the last two decades, the ideology has remained constant. Protect this planet and love everyone equally.

Many see this as 'odd', a bunch of crusty smelly folk with long hair and no jobs whinging about the state of the world, when in fact they should have a bath, cut their hair, get a life and join the system.

Personally, I have no wish or desire to see this planet go up in smoke! from the continued raping and decimation of our earth's natural resources, nor do I wish to be spoonfed consumerism by a corporate nanny state, intent on serving only the best interests of global capitalism and personal greed, at any cost.

However, I must stress that having experienced both sides of this coin, from the muddy protest sites to the shiny boardrooms I feel I am able to better share the wealth and knowledge of each extreme. I want only to use my skills to help build a better future for us all.

Over the next year, theARCproject will launch new and innovative approaches to reduce our impact and power down our reliance on non-renewable resources. With our Resolution No.1 being "to meet the needs of the present without compromising the abilities of future generations to meet their own needs."

As a certain advertisement once said, "the future is bright", however in the case of this Not-For-Profit Social Enterprise and Community Interest Company, the future is Green.