15 February 2019, Lower Deck Café in Tavistock
28 people gathered for a vegan feast provided by Blue Skies Catering, with Barnaby’s table once again providing the centrepiece. At the back of the room two display boards were set up with string; luggage labels and pens were laid on every table, with paper copies of inspirational ideas including 10:10 Carbon Crush suggestions, BioRegional One Planet principles, the Top 10 from Drawdown.org, and a multitude of pictures. At the start of the meal the hosts declared that they’d like people to think about what a utopia of 2068 might look like, and also what needs to be done by 2030 in the context of our Climate Emergency.
And then people just started talking – and continued to talk until the meal was over and everyone left!
The world you want to see in 2030
- Dramatic increase in the insect world
- End to corruption in public life – especially financial
- Cycling and green transport
- Towns will be easy to travel around using no fossil fuel
- Travel by green train from Tavistock
- Cancel high speed rail
- Cook in a slowcooker/crock pot
- Teach people how to grow food and cook it
- Public transport show be affordable and accessible for all
- Children to be able to eat their produce and learn about nutrition
- Maintain a socialist government after getting rid of the Tories in 2020
- Renewable energy
- Fair rights to food, homes and culture
- More use of brownfield sites where suitable for housing
- Stay home, grow your own
- Fashion industry using recycled fabrics to cut down on carbon emissions
- Local food on lovely pottery and energy from the sun, wind and sea
- Plastic free
- Celebrity-led drive to make conspicuous consumption ‘uncool’, encourage mend, repair and charity shop purchases, designer brands not an aspiration for the young
- Use spare waste patches in towns to grow veg and flowers for local residents – healthy eating for everyone
- Get more and more people involved
- Local infrastructure updated for the smart grid
- Local affordable housing for local people
- Local power generated from renewables
- Local energy plan implemented
- All local travel by EVs
- More provision for self-build
- Making new things with our old things, accessible recycling
The world you want to see in 2068
- Monopolies banned, big business no longer ruling the world
- Climate change has stabilised
- The final destruction of capitalism and inequality
- All new developments community owned, developed and managed
- Communities where people can live and work easily, with efficient and sustainable homes and lots of walking and cycling
- All new houses must have greywater recycling
- An end to homelessness and affordable housing for all
- 100% renewable electricity and heat
- Educate adults, children and grandchildren
- Learn how to reduce your own carbon footprint in your home
- All houses made energy efficient by retrofit or design
- Tavistock has its railway back
- 80% of food produced locally and consumed within the locality – no more food miles
- 100% love
- Everyone has a home and a right to contribute and be valued by society
- Limited production of new goods and reuse/recycling paramount
- Everyone should know where their power comes from
- Education – taking the message to everyone, care for our environment
- 99% recycling
