Malcolm Allison
Secretary to CAWT
I trained to teach but despite submitting more than 20 applications, I did not even get an interview. I
applied to Glaxo Pharmaceuticals and became a sales representative. My career took us to the USA,
and then to Europe, where I experienced the efficient and precise recycling and public transport of Basel, in Switzerland. It was a shock to come back to England, where the push to recycle is a long way behind, and where public transport is for most a last resort. It was also a shock to realise how different life is, when you are not making 100 flights a year. And something clicked, when I did the
maths.
My own debt is enough to make me anxious about how much damage my generation has done to the environment and determined to make a difference. My encounter with CAWT happened at the end of a meeting about Hampden Fields. I have little faith in large organisations like Government, because they are so focused on the short term. So Climate Action Weston Turville is the perfect fit. We may not influence Government, but we are independent, unfunded and unelected. So we can think a little further ahead, and plan for changes that will make a difference in our own corner of the world. And if enough groups, in enough corners of the world, make their own commitment, we will manage change regardless of politics. Transport obviously interests me, but sustainable housing is something where we can make a big and permanent difference. I am watching house builders, to see if they understand this! So watch this space.