We hope you will be able to join us for our forthcoming sustainability-themed pre-election event, which will follow the format of the BBC’s ‘Question Time’. This is a great opportunity to meet your local candidates and find out what they have to say about building a sustainable future in Ealing. We have invited candidates from the main five parties contesting the Ealing Central and Acton constituency, and four of the candidates have already confirmed that they will participate. We are also thrilled that Stephen Sackur, presenter of the BBC’s current affairs show HARDtalk, and Ealing resident, has agreed to chair the event.

We would like to get questions from a wide range of people involved with Ealing Transition, and for these questions to be submitted in advance. It may not be possible to include all the questions submitted, but we will aim to make any selection representative of the issues raised. If you have a question for the event, please send it to steering@ealingtransition.org.uk by this Friday, April 17th. Topics might include (for example):

• Local economic resilience
• Community cohesion
• Energy costs and sustainability
• The relationship between food and health
• Awareness of global responsibilities

The event will take place at St Mary’s Church, St Mary’s Road, Ealing W5 5RH. Entry is free, but any donations to help us cover the cost of staging the event will be most welcome. After the main question and answer session, there will be an opportunity for further discussion over tea, coffee and locally-made cakes.

The Transition Town network is set to be a key focus of Prof Roberts’ free public lecture on April 2nd, and it may prove interesting to those involved with Ealing Transition. Asking ‘Locally “Green”: Does it Make a Difference?’ Prof. Roberts will examine three initiatives that are representative of many schemes to reduce local and global environmental footprints. These are: the Mayor’s annual prize for students to suggest ways of assisting the metropolis to minimise its carbon footprints,: the Transition Town network that facilitates local initiatives, and the National Symbiosis Programme aimed at encouraging businesses to work together, reduce waste, share resources and reuse materials.

Further details can be found at http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/locally-green-does-it-make-a-difference

We are aware that many people involved with Ealing Transition are familiar with Earth Hour, the annual event where people all over the world switch off their lights for one hour to show they care about the planet. If you’re interested in observing Earth Hour in the company of others, you might want to come to the Ealing Quakers Meeting House at 17 Woodville Road this Saturday (28th March).

Ealing Quakers will be opening the meeting house for meditation, switching off all lights between 20:30 and 21:30.

More information is available at: http://www.ealingquakers.org.uk/news.html