University of Southampton is working on many areas of sustainable lifestyles.
Amazingly 23% of the eco footprint of the Isle of Wight is related to transportation. Luckily this is one area that the Uni is putting a lot of research into.
Three project were covered.
Intelligent transport – enabling the requesting of public transport.
So pleased to hear that there’s research occurring in this area – we’d been pondering on this for a while. Given the dispersed nature of the Island and the frequent need to travel, it seemed ideal.
iConnect – the impact on cycling and walking on the carbon footprint. Futures – might be able to direct buses to pick people up, when they need
Green Logistics – many trucks on the road don’t carry things eg. 20% of containers at Southampton docks are returned empty from the UK.
Wave Power
Potential of wave power for the Isle of Wight is considerable as the tides are so strong. Initial calculation indicate that the Island could become a net exporter of energy based on this.
Rise of sea level
1 – 5m rise in sea levels are possible by 2050 – leading to THREE Isle’s of Wight, with the land being split due to water rises.
Island cliff retreat by 2080 – an project map was show and there’s pretty significant erosion in the West as indicated. We can say goodbye to the current Military Road.
Questions – Reinstate the railways – Prof – Yes, it’s would be a very good idea.
