QUIT IDLING - a self sufficientish campaign?

[Thomzo]

Guys
Following on from Invisiblepipers thread http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... 99#p125799, I've had some ideas about a campaign. I'm quite happy to co-ordinate this but don't want to hijack it.

There has been quite a lot of research on the subject and it seems to be quite topical. There is a lot of advice out there so I think it's just a case of bringing it together and highlighting the benefits. Whatever we do, the message should be really short and simple.

Personally, I believe that people who genuinely care about the environment would switch their engines off anyway. I think it'd be better to major on the money saving aspects (topical with the credit crunch) and just mention the environmental benefits in passing.

I was thinking that the campaign should consist of a website. This could either be part of the Ssish website or separate. quitidling.com or .org is available at the moment as is switchoffyourengine.com/org. The advantage of a separate website is that we won't attract negative attention to this site and we could run a blog style comments page. This might be useful in building anecdotes for the press and for getting negative reactions to help gauge reaction to the message.

The website could have downloadable leaflets. The only downside with leaflets is that the sort of person who would leave their engine running would probably drop the leaflet on the ground so if you give it be prepared to pick it up.

Perhaps we could also design a viral e-mail campaign - along the lines of "20 reasons to switch your engine off".

A separate website could also have a section for schools with tools to help them run a campaign asking the school-run-mums to switch off.

We could then ask the press to run articles and businesses with fleets of company vehicles to advise drivers.

I'm happy to register the website if we go that way, but it's an awfully long time since I did any website design. Can anyone advise me how to set up the site?

Would anybody be able to translate this into different languages and point me to foreign language advice?

What do you think guys?

Cheers
Zoe

[invisiblepiper]

Hi - found your thread, I have voted for the idea of a campaign - but I can see that it may not be considered a strictly self sufficientish topic as it has a wider environmental impact.
I shall follow up your other threads and wait to see what the concensus is.

[Wombat]

Sounds good to me!

Nev

[Rosendula]

Sounds good as a campaign, but I joined Ish because I am interested in being self-sufficientish, not because I am interested in saving the planet. Don't get me wrong, I am interested in saving the planet, but I feel that the campaign would be better suited to an environmental organization such as Friends of the Earth.

I think if Ish was to run campaigns, they (we) would be better running campaigns such as getting every household in the country to grow at least one thing they can eat, challenging people to see how much money they can save by leaving the car at home, making easter presents instead of buying chocolate eggs, etc., etc. All these have an environmental aspect, but the emphasis is on doing things for yourself, which is what I personally feel self-sufficientish-ism is about.

Just my thoughts

[Decentralist]

I like the idea of the campaign although I must say I don't like the idea of the law. I don't want traffic wardens and the like given even more power. Not that I can actually drive.

[Thomzo]

Thanks for all your input guys. I quite agree that it's more of an environmental campaign than a Ssish one. Will get my thinking cap on.

I, too, think it should be up to the individual to chose to switch off. Some cars don't restart too quickly so it could be dangerous to switch off the engine in a queue of traffic. But then if more did so, they wouldn't have to send in the law.

Zoe

[Big Al]

I like the idea of the campaign although I must say I don't like the idea of the law. I don't want traffic wardens and the like given even more power. Not that I can actually drive.

The idea of the law is to get more stealth taxes out of you and also to get people off the road. As a disabled driver I absolutly need motorised transport or I'm virtually housebound but since August I've had 2 oarking tickets, one for parking in a permit zone and the other for a tyre being 11 mm over a white line thus I was parking out of the white box. Both are being contested but the white line ticket was whilst I was out of the car checking how i'd parked !!!

[invisiblepiper]

Just read that - unbelievable!
Can they not catch the business men/women in their BMW's on double yellows, who have 'just nipped in' for their financial Times?
Prejudice? What prejudice?

[Big Al]

Just read that - unbelievable!
Can they not catch the business men/women in their BMW's on double yellows, who have 'just nipped in' for their financial Times?
Prejudice? What prejudice?

Divin worry Invisible piper they won't get away with it believe me. I know very well how to appeal their decisions and that includes all the legal stuff that they have to conform to and often they don't. Even if they do if you quote certain partagraphs of law at most council officers they run a mile and agree to the appeal just ot get rid of you.