Village conversation sparked by People's Emergency Briefing
Action is the antidote to anxiety
United Kingdom (UK)
On 3 June 2026, Long Crendon library filled with people to watch the People's Emergency Briefing and discuss actions being taken locally on the climate and nature crises. The film is hard-hitting, condensing the science and impacts of the climate crisis into one 50 minute punch to the gut. Even for those of us steeped in climate science, it somehow got under the skin. But people left the event feeling oddly hopeful, having seen how many other people care, the range of activity being undertaken locally and the visions we have for how this region could be an even better place to live if we took various more actions to counter the crises.
Some of our take-aways from the film:
- Physics doesn’t care about politics. The more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the hotter the average temperatures get, the more volatile the climate. What is politically feasible is of no concern to the climate, it will change regardless.
- The weather we have now is the least extreme it will be for the rest of our lives.
- If you’re hearing loud voices arguing against action on climate change, ask yourself: who has the most to lose by acting to avert it? Those benefiting the most from the fossil fuel economy are spending huge amounts of money muddying the waters, spreading disinformation and lobbying politicians.
- The chances of the AMOC (the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, which helps maintain the UK's temperate climate) turning off in our current children's lifetimes is shockingly high -- anywhere from 25% (under low-emissions scenarios) to 75% (high emissions). That switch makes the UK unliveable — it would result in temperatures of -20C in the south of England and -30C in Scotland for 4-6 months of the year, summers hotter than ours today, and not enough rain to make agriculture possible. This is an apocalyptic scenario, one which all of us need to be working to avert. That we are allowing it to be even remotely feasible, let alone quite possible, boggles the mind.
- It wasn't all bad news! The economist Angela Francis outlined that the energy transition has become 75% cheaper than initial projections (made in the 2010s), as the cost of renewables has dropped so significantly. She pointed out that inflation over the last few years would have been 11% lower had we already taken the measures we need to take; those changes will have a real, beneficial impact on cost of living over time.
- And while the AMOC switching off is an example of a negative (terrifying) tipping point, beyond which there is no return, positive tipping points are also possible, and that's what action by all of us can help lead us towards. For anyone made anxious by the points raised above, remember that action is the antidote to anxiety!
After the film we discussed the actions that people are already taking locally and which others can get involved in:
- Helen of the Long Crendon Parish Council updated the attendees that the village Emergency Plan is currently being revised. They welcome input from villagers on all aspects of it.
- Hazel let us know that the Thame WI are campaigning for the health of the River Thame (goal: make it swimmable again 🏊). There will be an event with South Oxfordshire MP Freddie van Mierlo on September 29th this year on the old Long Crendon Road bridge, over the River Thame. She will circulate an invitation to join closer to the time.
- Sara of Renewed Eco-Shop in Long Crendon explained (in absentia) that she’s leading the campaign to make Long Crendon a Plastic Free Community, an initiative run by Surfers Against Sewage. She asked for volunteers and also for local businesses and organisations to back the initiative.
- Miles and other parents are working on a project to see if solar panels and other sustainability initiatives can be put in place at Long Crendon School. He asked for pointers and suggestions re best practice to get funding for the panels and would welcome others to get involved.
- Miles was immediately connected to Bill, Ben and Harriet at Phoenix Energy Community, a volunteer-led organisation run by people from Long Crendon, Haddenham, Thame and beyond. They are working towards the vision of reducing energy consumption while ramping up renewable energy locally by creating community-owned initiatives that generate income for a community energy fund. They are currently running a feasibility study to understand how a community battery could be used alongside new or existing renewable energy installations for community benefit. They welcome new volunteers! Contact hello@phoenixec.org.uk if you are interested.
- Tracy from Bucksum let everyone know about the Growing More Growers project, created by local regenerative farmers who realised we need more market growers to meet local food demand. This pilot project matches four new market growers with four local farms and offers them mentorship. The farms being used are: Rectory Farm, Lopemede, HerLand and a fourth location that will be finalised shortly.
- Rose at Manor Farm in Chearsley also spoke about the efforts they are making to restore soil (including microbiota and the soil's water holding capacity), habitat and biodiversity whilst growing healthy food in a low fossil-fuel system. Support local farms!
- Wendy talked about the work to ensure St Mary's Church in Long Crendon adheres to the practices promoted by the Sustainable Church Flowers initiative, i.e. that arrangements are plastic-free and locally-sourced where possible, not imported thousands of miles or sprayed with toxic chemicals.
- Wendy also talked about Long Crendon's brilliant Library of Things which is hosted at Church House. From there you can (for the price of a donation to a local charity) rent anything you might need for an event or party, from place settings to garden games.
- Finally, Caoilfhionn let everyone know about Greener Crendon, a local group of volunteers who want to create a greener, more sustainable and climate resilient village. It’s an informal group that meets every two months, where members update each other on their green projects and ask for support from each other when needed. These projects include many of the above and more, including Little Free Libraries, Greener Crendon Clothes Swap, Village Wombling, Future Crendon, and others. Greener Crendon welcomes volunteers, there’s no formal commitment involved and you are free to join existing projects or to create your own. The next meeting is on the 21st of July at The Pavilion on The Recreation Ground in Long Crendon. All are welcome!
We finished the meeting visioning what we'd love to see happen in Long Crendon if money was no object. Ideas included:
🌱 All new housing developments required to have solar panels, heat pumps, hedgehog highways, swift boxes, local plants and to be nature friendly
🚴🏽♀️ Cycle paths placed behind the hedges connecting all the villages
🏊🏻♀️ All of our rivers formally designated as a community swimming spots so that they need to undergo water quality monitoring and meet the relevant water quality standards
🌞 Solar panels on existing roofs (Long Crendon Library is already looking into this)
🌳 Common land purchased across Long Crendon by the community to create a semi-circle of greenery around the village, filled with trees and plants
🌼 Wildflower strips placed along the roadside in the village and towards the village
🔥 Putting a ground source heat pump under the Rec to provide heat for many Long Crendon homes at once
Wouldn't it be great to see some of this come to life!
Impact / Outcome
Various people have since joined Greener Crendon. We hope people will feel empowered to get on with important projects, and not wait for permission. Several of us wrote to our MP, Greg Smith, to request that a) he sees the film, and b) he puts his name to a call to have a national televised emergency briefing.
Lessons Learned
Ensuring we had a conversation about actions already happening as well as our visions for a better future was a good counter-balance to the anxiety-inducing nature of the film.