The BNP list

I've seen the BNP list. God bless America. Whilst the UK media remain cryptic about where it is available, US newspapers openly provided links.


What value to the debate can I add with this posting? Well, it seems that Suffolk has plenty of BNP supporters and by that list its numbers are concentrated in Ipswich, Lowestoft, Haverhill and none are recorded in Southwold and Aldeburgh but there are two in the Halesworth area. In my opinion, that apparently follows the economic advantage within these communities too.

I once interviewed Nick Griffin and had to go through a very tiresome interview with his spokesman to do so. I asked him about growing up in his former home of Halesworth and given his ties to the area, I'm not surprised that a BNP 'activist' is reputedly still living here.

I know there are also plenty of ultra-green and ultra-left political activists around these same towns and this need not concern our guardians of the peace. I doubt anyone will be torching cars in Suffolk because of politics.

Like Voltaire (supposedly), I don't agree with their politics myself but I must defend their freedom to engage in politics without fear of anything more than heckling.

Some bloggers suggested that the leak was orchestrated by the BNP to gain sympathy for the party to show it's not a bunch of skinheads. It appears now it was by disgruntled ex-members but Nick Griffin acknowledged there were some benefits to the party's reputation from it happening.

It's an invasion of privacy and as much as I support free speech, I can't support anyone having the right to steal such lists and put them on the internet but I think it's also well deserved poetic justice.

For years some people in the far right have maintained their own lists of 'enemies' on the internet. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3544095.stm The host domain of 'Redwatch' was registered to the National Front and you get into a quagmire of political history whether the NF is the same as the BNP.

I know people who are willing to document the activities of right-wing political parties are on them and have had to take security precautions ever since as a consequence of threats from that quarter.

I guess, in time, the results of any investigation will be buried under attention another story and the matter will blow over. Or not.

Please don’t print this posting

Did you know that one piece of office paper, for example 80gsm A4, uses 600ml water and creates 34g of CO2 and 2.4g landfill waste in its lifetime?

That figure is pretty hard to come by which is part of the problem.

My figures came from Australia and when I looked into others from the USA, the claim for another paper was for 8g carbon per letter sheet.

I suppose Australia has to import more of its wood pulp and it depends on where you're counting, whether at the mill or when delivered to the user as all those miles on trucks must make a difference and stuff like bond for letterheads must take more energy to make than plain copier paper.

Let's just go with the high figure for now as I hope to show it's not just the CO2 that matters. If each sheet of plain copier paper represents seven times its weight in carbon emissions, that means every 500 sheets of plain white paper is 17 kg of CO2.

Now add to that, that over its lifetime, the manufacture of a typical office printer and its consumables creates 110 kg of CO2 per year. A big photocopier/network printer creates vastly more but is hopefully more efficient per page.

The electricity used by a small office printer on standby (mine at least) emits at least another 200 kg CO2 per year.

In the USA the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper per year.

Combined with envelopes, that could be a tonne (1000kg) of carbon emissions per worker, per year.

One of my employers has measured the carbon emissions from the office lighting and heating alone at 350 tonnes per year. They haven’t counted the paper use yet but we're going to and it could be very scary. Lots of organisations like ours admit in their public carbon reports that it is very hard to do this and depends wholly on the suppliers' estimates. Addendum: our main copier paper is Evolve Office 80gsm which is 100% recycled and the data from the mill (in Kent) says the CO2 emission in its production is 728kg per tonne. I reckon that's 3.64g per sheet but then there's the shipping to the warehouse and delivery too.

"But we use recycled paper in our copier and for all our literature" I hear the MD chime in. Not that they need to defend the organisation as it has just installed a biomass boiler and committed to a whole list of actions after a Carbon Trust audit. We didn't do that just for the brownie points, although there are some, but because it saves money. Large organisations are being required to establish their carbon baselines by 2012 so everyone's getting quite interested in carbon accounting now, at least I hope so. If they can find their carbon footprint now they'll know what kind of target reduction is possible and what it will cost when they are forced to act.

But when all that's done, where's the next round of carbon reduction going to come from? Then I think it's going to get really interesting. I think managers would rather install a fancy thermostat at twice the price of enforcing changes in employee behaviour because a thermostat doesn't complain when told what to do.

Using recycled paper is a good thing. Recycled paper saves trees but carbon is still emitted from the energy required to process it. A tonne of virgin pulp creates roughly 2.1 tonnes of CO2 emission. One tonne of recycled pulp causes 1.86 tonnes of CO2 emission. But everyone must cut consumption as well as recycle. Paper is the third greatest source of industrial carbon emissions.

My employer hasn't measured the cost and volume of the paper it uses yet because that requires data entry from stacks of invoices by hand but it's working on getting it done. Maybe suppliers could help by formatting their invoices better to enable that?

Apart from the carbon issue, our paper use is a high priority because the cost of paper these days gives enough incentive. Although everyone wants to reduce the charity's carbon footprint, allocating resources to do that has to be considered mostly on a financial basis. Our new heating controls will cost £8000 to install and will save 30 tonnes of CO2 annually but businesses will only do such things - until there are carbon quotas - because the cost can be paid back in energy savings in 2.5 years.

My low-end guestimate puts providing my co-workers' paper and electricity and printers at around 6 pence a sheet. There's a handy bit of software by which you can log network printing and charge it to clients called Papercut* (and it's free for up to five users) which can count the paper and printers used and so you can count the carbon value of your printing.

If everyone where I work reduced their paper consumption by 1000 copies, I reckon the bottom line would be improved by enough to raise wages 1%. That's a pretty good incentive besides the carbon impact.

Saving paper saves the bottom line which also means for grant supported organisations like mine that jobs can be funded for longer. So save paper = save the planet = save your job.

Some habits that can reduce the waste of office paper:

• Learn how to use the network dialogue box to send jobs to the most efficient printer.
  
• Have another person check a big mail-merge document for typos before you hit print.
  
• Always check in your printer dialog box that you are printing only the pages you want. This especially applies to printing off stuff on the web or emails.


• Don’t print in colour unless there’s a very compelling reason.


• Use a printer with two or more feed trays and load once-used paper in one tray or keep a letter tray beside the printer for print 'boo boos' and load this paper in when printing drafts.


• Make sure you have a printer than accepts used paper without grumbling. If your printer can't, save your ‘boo boo’ paper to put in a printer that does.


• Try to keep waste paper (once printed both sides) out of recycling collection. Think of ways to reuse it. You can shred it and use it for packaging or put it in chicken coops or horse stables then add it to compost. You can also mix it with starch or PVA to make things like seedtrays, egg boxes or carnival costumes.

*note to Papercut: Wouldn't it be great if there was a widget in your printer dialogue box that popped up and said "you are about to emit .... kg of CO2. Do you really need to do this?"

Further reading:

Paper http://www.edf.org/papercalculator/

HP Printers http://www.hp.com/large/ipg/ecological-printing-solutions/carbon-footprint-calc.html

Xerox http://www.consulting.xerox.com/flash/thoughtleaders/suscalc/xeroxCalc.html

Papercut http://www.papercut.com/

A great explanation of the production cycle http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Suffolk & Celebrities

My little corner of Suffolk never seems to be out of the papers for very long. What with Gordon Brown lately spending his holidays in Wangford and Bernard Matthews in Holton getting bird flu.

Like the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano, I don't consider spring to have really come until I see the first story of the year about the price of beach huts in Southwold.

I have developed a theory how this story is a perennial. It's because when journalists visit Suffolk at half-term with their families, they need an expedient excuse to claim some travel expenses so they file this story. Or they need something they can file quickly so they can fill their column and have more time with their families instead of digging (metaphorically) for something substantial. It's easy story to do, you only need look in the estate agent's shop window and there's no end of people willing to supply a quote for a plug. Cynical perhaps but then I've done it myself. Every time the story never fails to mention the celebrities that populate the area.

And lately, even though this autumn feels like its winter already, there's been no shortage of celebrity sightings. Just before bonfire night I saw Richard Curtis on his bike in Southwold High Street and walking along the seafront at Southwold, who should emerge from the grey mist but Will Self and his dogs.

These names aren't secrets, anyone could find these out on Google and no particular order, these are the celebrities most frequently associated with this part of north east Suffolk:

Paul Heiney & Libby Purves - Westleton
Peter Purves - Sibton
Bill Nighy & Diana Quick - Middleton (now apparently seperated)
Paul Greengrass - Walberswick
Emma Freud & Richard Curtis - Walberswick
Esther Freud & David Morrissey - Walberswick
Clement Freud & Jill Freud - Walberswick
P D James - Southwold
Geoffrey Palmer - Southwold
Bernard Hill - Southwold
Griff Rhys-Jones - Woodbridge
Terry Waite - Southwold
Ronald Blythe - Wormingford
Lex Shrapnel - Wattisfield
Ralph, Joseph & Martha Fiennes - Walpole

There are plenty more associated with Aldeburgh too.

Further afield

Claudia Schiffer & Matthew Vaughan - Shimpling
Bill Wyman - Shimpling
Louis De Bernieres - Bungay
Elizabeth Jane Howard - Bungay
Myleen Klass - Gorleston
Justin Hawkins, Dan Hawkins, Ed Graham (The Darkness) - Lowestoft
Charlie Simpson - Framlingham

Trevor Nunn was born in Ipswich but I don't know if he's ever come back.

Not living or second-homing in Suffolk (to my knowledge) but often seen:

Chris Evans & Billie Piper (together and individually)

Michael Palin

Will Self

Child cyclist in RTA

Following on from my rant about bicycle helmets and my son's school being totally ineffectual at supporting a helmet policy, comes news of an accident outside his school today beside the police station.

Details are sketchy but the grapevine is buzzing. I'm sure all will be known tommorrow. My thoughts are with the child, their parents and the driver. All must be feeling pain of some sort.

View Larger Map

Blyth Valley Cycle Path

In recent times there have been proposals to revive the narrow gauge Southwold Railway in Suffolk which has been disused since 1929. As a homeowner adjacent to the original route, I have many objections to it. The idea is not without merits but I think it is misguided to attract many more visitors to the area who would use cars to visit what is - despite the claims otherwise - a noisy, diesel powered tourist attraction. Diesel is still oily, sooty, smelly, asthma inducing diesel, regardless of its source being mineral or vegetable. Then the requirements of todays HSE regulations for a huge swath to be set aside along the length of the route is too much of an intrusion into the beauty of the Blyth Valley.

UPDATE: This proposal has been shelved for now, since the Southwold Railway Trust have passed the first hurdle of getting a steam park approved on the site of the scrap yard at Southwold. No doubt they will be devoted to getting this project going for a while but once the track and the engines are running profitably around their park, perhaps there will be renewed efforts (armed with any evidence of viability) to connect the steam park to the rail infrastructure along the old railway line once again. In principle I support the idea of the steam park. Although if successful it would give the SRT some ammunition for their cause, it will also give me some for mine.

I could consider a railway if the trackway was only as wide as the original and the train was powered by wind or solar energy, an idea I think has some merits under the circumstances. If it has been shown that a solar powered taxicab can work in autumnal New York City, given the great motive efficiency of trains, why haven't proposals been made for solar or wind generated electric light rail?

But, given the proposal for yet another tourist attraction in Southwold, I would like to propose an alternative; that the right of way - if it exists - should be developed into a cycle path to link the towns of Halesworth and Southwold and the communities of Holton, Blyford, Wenhaston, Blythburgh and Walberswick in-between with a fast, safe and green transport system separated from the hazards of the B1123 main road. A cycle path east of Blythburgh would also enable access to the natural amenities of the Blyth estuary for recreation with little environmental impact.

The railway supporters said their plans may also include a cycle path and footpath so a win-win, no? I expect those promises will vanish as soon as costs escalate and I'm afraid I can't be bought off with MAY. Also, too many of the cycle paths I ride on at present are not suitable for sustained travel at speed when shared with pedestrians. Most are afterthoughts and have constant interuptions, such as gates and barriers, which render them inefficient except for recreational use. I'm proposing a dedicated cycle only path with 'flyovers' or underpasses at the roads. Now given the plans to abandon flood defences in the Blyth Valley to the forces of nature, it may be the only infrastructure resistant to and remaining viable after flooding ans so be a lifeline to the scattered population living there.

Living in Holton, our family already cycle frequently for local transport such as the school run to Wenhaston and our shopping in Halesworth and I frequently cycle the 15 miles to work at Snape along the terrifying A12 but I am discouraged from riding with my children by the dangers of the twisting and narrow B1123 and even the back roads can be hazardous and thus it is necessary to ride on the few stretches of pavement and this in turn presents a hazard to pedestrians. The safety of the rider is often cited as the main barrier to the more widespread adoption of cycling so riding on a dedicated path would be a great attraction to a wide range of cyclists.

The former railway line is a more direct route than the B1123 and the distance of nine miles (or eighteen round trip) is manageable and in comparison to the road, it would be a safe, enjoyable and manageable for the recreational user. Several cycling holiday brochures cite 25 miles as a daily itinerary.

Besides the benefits of zero emissions and negligible road congestion, greater use of bicycles would help improve the health of the population, reduce obesity in children and so lower the cost to the National Health Service and so I hope support for such schemes is available from the national Government.

Suffolk¹s popularity for cycling holidays in its quiet country lanes is well established. Building upon that and the national cycle route passing through the area and the bicycle hire facilities at the rail/road interchange at Darsham; the provision of the route to Southwold and cycle hire in Halesworth could establish Halesworth and the Blyth Valley as a leading centre for bicycle tourism. This would add value to the local amenities and provide more custom for accommodation, restaurants and the local shops and services.

Imagine if you would that visitors could come by train to Halesworth and rent bicycles to cycle along the length of the scenic Blyth Valley. There are public houses at Holton, Blyford, Wenhaston, Blythburgh, Walberswick and Southwold to stop at for refreshment, the Wenhaston Doom and the Blythburgh Church and numerous small businesses and artisans to visit, the views of the estuary and its wildlife and the facilities of the major seaside resort of Southwold at the end of the journey. With such a renowned choice of activities and accommodation in the area, a whole variety of routes and itineraries would be possible for cyclists of all ages and interests, ensuring repeat business year after year.

The deliberate attraction of cyclists for holidays in the Blyth Valley would extend the tourist season and would attract more visitors without attracting more cars as, with the support of the railway operating companies, the green-minded tourist can arrive by train. The provision of cycle hire in Halesworth would sustain or provide new employment and position Halesworth as the gateway to the Blyth Valley and a cycle path system integrated with other cycle-tourism facilities in the Suffolk AONB such as those around Dunwich and Minsmere.

But rather than seeing the cycle path for the tourist's benefit, it should be considered - like the railway was - as part of the overall transport infrastructure. A fit cyclist can easily maintain 15 mph so the proposed path could be traversed in 3/4 hour so it would be a viable means for outlying communities to access the facilities of the linked towns without relying on their cars. The route would also serve schoolchildren and commuters linking to the trains and and would be a healthy alternative to using a car that is greener and more convenient than relying on the infrequent rural buses. There is plenty of room for expansion westwards and branches linking other communities using quiet back roads as part of an overall transport strategy.

According to the Southwold Railway Society there are still sections of track visible in various places along the line which is walkable from Blythburgh to Southwold. The conversion of rail tracks to cycle paths is well established and so there is expertise around on the costing and implementation. I would suggest that the feasibility of this proposal is investigated further by those better qualified than I am. Firstly by examining the status of the right of way of the old railway or, lacking that, the adaptation of the existing footpaths. Of course there will be objections from landowners and complaints at the cost from Government but having discussed it informally with many local residents, I have found there is widespread support to the idea in theory and so it is time to make literally concrete proposals.