Power In Our Hands
Conversation 5
A St Johns Society event on 8th July 2024.
- David Holloway chaired the session. He set up Power In Our Hands after working with XR.
- David said "we knocked on doors and expected abuse. We got none. 95% said they were really concerned about climate and asked what could they do about it. Walthamstow and other places were taking action and we noticed how little is going on in Lewisham."
- Amelia Kent is Outreach Officer at SELCE (South East London Community Energy)
- "I was a research chemist but left academia because I saw some amazing science but very little action...."
- "At present, home energy usage accounts for around half of Lewisham's emissions. We work with communities to put Lewisham's net-zero mission into practice. We used to assume that we'd have to promote our services by focusing on the cost saving. We found that people mainly wanted warm, comfortable homes."
- Phuong Kovgaard is an entrepreneur helping companies to promote green issues.
- She noticed that "although the prices of solar energy systems have plummeted people have not been made unaware of the benefits, and so are not encouraged to invest. One of the key attractors is familiarity - say, when your neighbour invests. Our product range starts with very inexpensive solar panels, such as novelty toys and portable systems that are sufficient for running a local office."
- Dorothy Stein is a local green activist and journalist who is launching Salamander News - a local online newspaper.
- She reminded the audience that "Local news completely collapsed when the internet killed its advertising revenues." After paying tribute to the St Johns Society's website she told us that "Lewisham has officially been declared a 'news desert'. Also, social media is prone to disinformation, often by covert interest groups." She gave the example of how, during the London mayoral elections the ULEZ issue was turned into a fake controversy by what she called 'astroturf' lobbyists.