KNEBWORTH ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP
Support the local community and help save the planet
This month the country celebrates the Coronation of King Charles III. Charles has of course been frequently mocked in the press over his stand on the environment. Well, they are not mocking him on this subject any more as time has shown him to have had it right. Even talking to plants has been shown to have scientific backing. Plants of course convert CO2 into food and oxygen and at slightly elevated levels (as occurs if you talk closely to them) they do indeed grow better. Unfortunately, we could all talk to our house plants all day long without making any significant impact on the global warming effect of us pumping too much CO2 into the atmosphere. Now that Charles is King, he is likely to have to make his campaigning low key to keep the monarchy out of politics but that does not stop us from helping our King protect the environment.
What is the recent news regarding the environment: The United Nations body for assessing the science on climate change (known as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or IPCC) recently issued their sixth report. This report has several important messages, the most important being that we can still keep this planet habitable if we work together. The longer we leave making substantial changes the more difficult it will be and time is running out. Current world pledges to reduce emissions are not sufficient and make it almost certain that the global temperature will rise more than 1.5°C and it will be hard to keep the change below 2°C.
What is needed: We need to increase biodiversity, cut emissions and most importantly we must act now not tomorrow.
An example of what we can do: In early April Knebworth Primary school set about enhancing their grounds, including the planting of trees and a “bee corridor”. Again, we have to congratulate our youngest for showing us what we can do and taking an active stance that King Charles would surely approve of. We may not all have space for new trees which provide cooling shade in summer and soak up water in winter reducing flooding risks. Shrubs and hedges also provide wildlife habitats, as do wildflower borders in gardens which also provide food for our endangered pollinators as well as absorbing CO2.
What does our government plan: The government introduced a legally binding target for 2035 emission reductions. But these are empty words unless there is a credible plan and action. The government was taken to court for having no credible plan and was found guilty. They have recently
issued a new plan which you will have seen ridiculed by environmentalists as insufficient. The government’s own advisers have announced that the government has not achieved any of its targets, needs a step change in policy to avoid loss of life and is not taking climate change seriously.
Come and see us: At the Knebworth Festival. Tuesday 13th June at the village hall 7:30pm Climate and ecological breakdown, Listen to Kimberley Hare of HEART community group, entrance free. Saturday 17th June Fun Day on the Rec.
To find out more visit our website (https://e-voice.org.uk/knebworthenvironmentalgroup/) where there is more information and some useful links to other sites.
Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/knebworthenvironmentalgroup). You can also contact us via email to Kristin at knebworthenvironmentalgroup@gmail.com.