[197] Part 1 – Community Energy, solar, air source heat pumps, and more! With Sara Grimes from Bath and West Community Energy
Sustainable(ish)Show Notes
This week's episode is the first ever two parter!This was supposed to be an episode on home retrofit, and I'm chatting to SaraG Grimes from Bath and West Community Energy about some of the brilliant work that they're doing, and what people can do in their own homes.This first part is looking bigger picture and is quite a wide ranging chat! We cover community energy generally, as well as hearing about some of the specific projects that BWCE are working on; solar; heat pumps; the UK government's Warm Homes Plan; and support for renters amongst other things.In the second part (available to listen to now!) we look more specifically at home retrofit and some of the lower cost retrofit measures available, like draught proofing and insulation.I'm very aware that both of those potentially sound more than a little dull and dry as podcast episodes, but I really hope that they're interesting and useful! Do let me know!There we go - I did warn you it was quite a wide ranging chat, but I really hope it was interesting and there were some nuggets there that you can take away.Part 2 is much more focussed on home retrofit, and some of the lower tehc, more affordable options, and should be available to listen to now if you want to dive straight in, or save that particular treat for another day!Thanks so much for listening - do let me know any thoughts, comments or questions from this episode, amd I'll catch up in Pt 2 Sara Grimes
LISTEN...
USEFUL LINKS:Sara Grimes- Linked In Bath and West Community Energy (BWCE)- Website- Community benefit- BWCE home energy plans and surveys (for people in the Bath area)- Green Heritage Homes- Linked In- Facebook- Instagram Community Energy England Community Energy Scotland Community Energy Wales Community Energy Northern Ireland [112] - Community Energy with Brighton Energy Co-op [135 ] - The local electricity bill with Steve Shaw (lots of community energy chat in this episode!) Green Open Homes network Visit a Heat Pump Warm Homes Plan- On the UK government website- Which explainer article Find energy grants for your home (UK gov) Energy grant helpline: 0800 0987950 Boiler upgrade scheme (for heat pumps) Find an energy certificate (EPC) Historic England - Energy efficiency and retrofit in historic buildings Heat Geek Energy Saving Trust Centre for Sustainable Energy Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse - doors opening again soon! Carbon Literacy- Carbon Literacy with me!
More from Sustainable(ish)
I thought I knew a bit about sustainable fashion but this chat, and the book behind it all, Charity Shop World by Tansy Hoskins, blew me away. There’s been quite a bit in the press in recent weeks and months about the impact of Vinted on both overall consumption levels of fast fashion, and on charity shops, but it turns out, that’s just scratching the surface. Listen to hear about the link between charity shops and austerity, the fashion industry and imperialism, how many YEARS of human labour it takes to make one years worth of clothes, how we’re all being expertly manipulated by social media algorithms, and how, as with most (all?) things, it all comes down to industries who have a single goal, of making billionaires even richer.
Today’s guest on the podcast is Damian Hall, ultra-marathon runner, co-founder of The Green Runners, and author of We Can't Run Away from This. If you’re not a runner, don’t turn off! This episode is still for you – I think there are some great takeaways about we can bring sustainability into conversations for the things that we love doing. This example just happens to be running, but will apply to other sports, as well as, I don’t know, singing, or dancing, or even book clubs.
According to climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, the most important thing we can do to fight climate change is talk about it. But the reality, certainly for me, and if attendees on my Carbon Literacy courses are anything to do by, for others too, it isn’t easy. We worry that we don’t know all the facts and stats and maybe we’re going to get stuck in an argument with a climate denier. We worry that people will think we’re judging them, that they will think we’re a hypocrite if we’re not ‘perfect environmentalist’ (side note, there’s no such thing).
A solo episode from me, detailing my recent visit to my MP! I talk about why MP engagement is so important, even if it can feel a teensy bit frustrating; how and why my MP visit came about; what happened during my visit; and my top tips for MP visits (because obviously I'm now officially an expert having done one..!) If you're looking for tips and a bit of gently encouragement to engage with your MP on climate stuff, whether that's off the back of a People's Emergency Briefing, or something else, I hope this is helpful!
In the UK we buy 37 million toys a year! And 80% of them end up in landfill, incinerators, or the oceans.