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The aim of
this web site is to explore an alternative view of life and how to become more sustainable by looking at the role of energy
in our existence flowing from the eternal
through people and their activities and some of
their places. We live in a creation that is
constantly being renewed by the flow of energy forming infinitely new patterns
and we have the choice to make a positive contribution to change. This approach
to life and our environment has been inspired by personal experience (some of
which is summarised in the notes on the author’s
career) and the insight of family, friends and colleagues but it is
something everyone who wants to can enjoy.
The
I know that I
am not alone in feeling that some issues are given the wrong priority. The
positions taken by nations over the decisions reached at the Climate Change talks in South Africa seem
to me to be of greater long term significance than arguments between members of
the European Union about self-inflicted financial concerns. To encourage an
alternative view about real worth, I offer some thoughts on Treasure here and now.
This autumn has been exceptionally mild and so, as several people have said to me recently, it was a shock to the system when the weather turned more seasonal in December, officially the first of the three winter months. There has even been snow in the Peak District (although nothing compared to this time last year). Yet when my wife and I walked the length of the Dove Valley over two days at the end of September and the beginning of October it was hot enough to have been mid-summer. Even though this beautiful part of England is a short drive from our home, it had been more than thirty years since we had walked the whole of this popular tourist attraction. It was interesting to compare it to the Manifold Valley, which we had completed in three stages a couple of years ago. The big difference is that the Dove track is continuous between Ilam and Hartington, whereas only parts of the Manifold are publicly accessible.
Because of the weather, the birds that usually migrate to Britain from their breeding grounds further north were still in the process of arriving when we visited the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Reserve at Martin Mere in mid-November as part of a two day break in Southport during which we also walked another part of the Sefton Sands trail (new photographs attached). On our way home we took the dramatic front page picture of the winter sun from the promenade at Hoylake on the Wirral peninsular.
As we approach the Solstice and are faced with predictions about a new year of economic hardship, I chose to be contrary and wish everyone peace and joy in what can be a momentous 2012.
Paul Newman
December 2011
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
The River Manifold in the Staffordshire Peak District
A trip on the River
Avon to Stratford
Front Page | Eternal | Sustainable | People | Places | Contact email