Age of Stupid

November 28, 2009 Andy 1 Comments

Espe and I finally got around to watching the Age of Stupid on Saturday which is a pretty hard hitting film about climate change (not an uplifting weekend film wise, we’d been shocked and saddened the previous night by a Swedish film Lilja 4 Ever which deals with the horrific subject of the sex trafficking trade).

Seeing Age of Stupid renewed my interest in alternative energies (something that dates back to Geography and Science lessons as school), and served to remind Espe and I that we need to do more to combat climate change. The little things we can around the home to save on energy consumption may not have much overall effect, but imagine half the people in the country did the same.

One of several things that stood out during the film was mention that a Government is only as good as its people, and will only act on something if enough people push for change.

I had spotted The Wave through the Sustrans gumph I get through the post and of particular interest was the Bristol Blue Wave, a cycle ride from Bristol to London as a feeder event.

The Wave aims to be the UKs biggest climate change march and will take place ahead of the crucial UN climate summit in Copenhagen:

“Part of a global series of public actions, The Wave will call on world leaders to take urgent action to secure a fair international deal to stop global warming exceeding the danger threshold of 2 degrees C.”

Find out more at www.the-wave.org.uk.

I considered the ride when I first heard about it, then dismissed it when I thought about the distance, the cold, the rain and a huge work party that takes place the same day. By the time I’d finished watching the Age of Stupid, I knew I was going to take part in both the march and the 2 day ride.

I’ve never taken part in any processions before so it will be a pretty new experience. Having been studying the 150 mile route for the ride I’m pretty excited about that too. Although only allowing myself two weeks to get fit doesn’t bode well.

The main aim of the ride and the march, is to raise awareness of the climate change issues, show the UK government how seriously many people take this and encourage them to take a lead in Copenhagen.

On top of this I will be raising money for the UKs leading sustainable transport charity, Sustrans. They work on practical projects to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport in order to reduce motor traffic and its adverse effects. Read all about them at www.sustrans.org.uk.

I’ll probably regret this, but I will be matching whatever you donate, so please generously, if nothing else, to stitch me up.

There will be about 50 of use setting of from Bristol, being joined by more in Swindon. There are many other rides setting off for London from Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and Cambridge, to name but a few, so if you see a whole load of soaking wet cyclists dressed in blue, towards the end of this week, now you know what it is all about. Wish us luck…

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