Green Thought for the Day

An Open Letter of Petition
to Mark Damazer, the Controller of BBC Radio 4.

From
Sheepdrove Organic Farm
Lambourn, Berkshire
www.sheepdrove.com

PETITION: Green Thought for the Day

Please could we have a daily slot dedicated to the growing momentum of British people doing their bit for the planet?

We, the electronically undersigned, ask BBC Radio Four to begin a new four-minute slot each weekday to focus on environmental issues, what ordinary people are doing about their environmental impact, and practical ideas for action ordinary people can take.
~~~~~

Dear Mr Damazer,

The famous daily editions of Thought for the Day broadcast on the Today programme usually take a moral standpoint on various issues, and it seems that increasingly often the message is about our impact on the planet.

It is no coincidence that the Environment is such a frequent topic for the speakers. It is relevant to how each of us leads our lives and the view we take of the world.

Day after day we hear reports on Radio 4 about the degradation of our world’s natural resources and how urgent the need is for action in our everyday lives. Indeed most people recognise they must take steps and in recent years there has been a huge popular shift to all sorts of planet-friendly activity such as organic gardening, growing your own food, buying local, recycling, adopting renewable energy and cutting your carbon footprint.

However, concern can lead to apathy or a sense of hopelessness if there is no clear route to meaningful action. We think many listeners would be glad of a little encouragement and constructive guidance.

We propose that BBC Radio 4 should start a new mini-programme called “Green Thought for the Day”.
It would aim to provoke greener lifestyles and reflect on the personal scale of the rather formidable topic of environmentalism, with its challenge to ‘do your bit’ in the face of problems which can be of a global scale.

GTFTD would feature ordinary people doing something – however small – about their environmental impact, and would provide practical ideas for action that the listeners can take.

Programmes about the natural world and green issues such as Climate Change currently thrive on BBC Radio 4. Green Thought for the Day would complement what is often in-depth or science-based journalism, with something informal, inclusive and interactive.

We hope you like the idea, and look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Jason Ball
Manager for Biodiversity and Alternative Energy
Sheepdrove Organic Farm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Readers - to electronically add your name to the petition, please add a comment below with your name and email address.  Short link = http://wp.me/p6cni-me

Tags: BBC, BBC Radio Four, eco, environmentalist, green thought for the day, letter of petition, Mark Damazer, thought for the day