Green Hero - Linda Johnson
"We are in the grip of climate change which is escalating out of control. The Tories don’t seem to be bothered, backtracking on when the sale of fossil-fuelled cars should be phased out and Labour removing their climate change £28m annual pledge. Batten down the hatches - vote for Tories or Labour and we are on our own."
08/02/2024
Greening her council
Cllr Linda Johnson is our (Green) Liberal Democrat candidate for the consituency of West Hull and Haltemprice in the East Riding of Yorkshire in the Yorkshire and the Humber region. She is an elected member of East Riding of Yorkshire Council for St Mary’s Ward and the Liberal Democrat Environmental Spokesperson. She also sits on Beverly Town Council and is an executive member of the Green Liberal Democrats.
Linda has brought a "Ban Glyphosate' motion to council and seconded a 'Climate Emergency' motion. She is currently preparing evidence to bring a 'divestment from fossil fuels' motion to the council.
Linda was disappointed that the Climate Emergency motion she brought to the Council was defeated but delighted when public criticism encouraged the Council to announce it would review its environmental and climate change policies. The council already diverts 95% of its waste away from landfill, recycles extensively and composts all food and green waste. She will encourage the review to show leadership in other areas such as retrofitting insulation to older buildings, improving the EPC of new-builds to level B minimum and working with community transport providers to improve rural bus services.
"Not only do we need to make cars more environmentally friendly, but we actually need
to reduce the numbers of cars on the roads, so improving local bus services in rural areas
is an imprtant step in the right direction"
Quoted in HullLive she said:
“Green issues are key. We need to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions to slow global heating, improve air quality and promote renewable sources of energy like wind and solar.
"We need to ban toxic pesticides and herbicides which enter the food chain we humans depend on, and promote more sustainable methods of food production but this government shows no genuine interest in saving the planet."
Living an Eco-Conscious Life
Linda has been a passionate advocate for sustainable living since she was a young girl. She saved milk-bottle tops and newspapers, made rag rugs from old clothes and would wear an extra jumper instead of turning up the thermostat. She takes a pride in keeping her carbon footprint as low as possible by following a vegan diet, using a plug-in hybrid car, generating electricity with solar panels and storing what isn't used immediately in a 13.5kW battery for later use such as charging the car. The picture shows Linda making an Ecobrick - a sustainable method of using non-biodegradeable, non-recyclable film, plastic and wrappers. The bricks can be used to make furniture, walls, roads, even buildings. Find out more about Ecobricks at www.ecobricks.org
She has been demanding practical and urgent action on climate issues and has heavily criticised Rishi Sunak and the conservative government's abandonment of environmental issues and overall inadequacy when it comes to facing a world which is burning.
How to go Greener
Linda ran her own 'How to Go Greener Day' in 2019 in Beverley, attended by over 100 people, to encourage attendees to think how they could tread more lightly on the earth. She spoke to the Beverley 6th Form Climate Strikers on their action day when they (and other climate activists) marched through Beverley, wearing her Green Liberal Democrats t-shirt!
She is a member of several environmental charities, including Green Christian and CER and buys organic, local and fairly-traded wherever she can.
Criticising Conservative and Labour Climate Shortfalls
"We are in the grip of climate change which is escalating out of control. The Tories don’t seem to be bothered, backtracking on when the sale of fossil-fuelled cars should be phased out and Labour removing their climate change £28m annual pledge. Batten down the hatches - vote for Tories or Labour and we are on our own."
Linda has also criticised Labour's U-turn on investing into insulation for homes. On Facebook she has said:
"One of the best ways of reducing our need for fuel to heat our homes is to insulate buildings more effectively - it also helps people save money and reduces C02 emissions. For many suffering from the cost of living crisis, spending less on heating their homes is a really positive thing. To admit you are scaling back on helping your traditional voters is really surprising."
Making Change Happen
Linda Johnson is a key member of our Green Liberal Democrats team which can,
together, make environmental change happen in Parliament, so we'll be doing all we can to help get her elected. Will you join us?
For more Green Heroes go to the Green Heroes front page here >>> https://greenlibdems.org.uk/en/page/green-heroes