Idea:
One Week encourages UK citizens to collectively pull up their sleeves, make some sacrifices and focus their efforts en masse to a range of the most pressing issues we face today. Cohesive or unified action is a powerful thing and it's something we need now more than ever.
Without the sense that other people are working towards the same goal, whether that be environmental, financial, community-based or else, it can be difficult for us all to motivate ourselves to do what we know is right; as if our contribution will make no difference.
With One Week, a designated seven days in which everyone makes some relatively simple changes to their daily lives, the collective impact could be massive. If everyone knows and feels as if they are part of something bigger, their efforts no longer feel useless.
Periodic 'One Week' events have the potential to be of benefit to any number of the issues our country faces but for its first time out, the focus will be on energy usage. With threats of power blackouts during the coldest, darkest days of winter, the aim for seven days will be to limit as much as possible. If every household turned one 50W light bulb off for 4 hours every day for seven days, this would save 34.5 million kWH of power - equivalent to 55,328 barrels of oil.
The solutions are never going to come from those who lead us. In fact, those very solutions are right under our very noses and meaningful change is in our own actions. It just needs a bit of coordination.
What the project needs:
The beauty of this idea is that we don't need much to make it work. All we need is awareness and enthusiasm. To that end, the funding page has been set up to raise funds to create a high-end 5 minute promotional video (think whiteboard explainer) the preliminary script of which can be found at the bottom. To make a really effective one, this will likely cost approximately £1000.
In addition, further funding will be useful in paying for advertising both on social media and even, if we can get hit or surpass our targets, for television advertising.
About me:
I am one person who just came up with an idea that I thought was too good to leave. I work by day as a GP.
Video script (early version):
Have you ever wondered why groups of bad guys always attack one by one? So timid, so ineffective. Individually of course, none of them are a match for the hero. If only someone would point out to them the fact that, if they all just made their move at the same time, with a bit of co-ordination they’d probably come out on top.
Cohesive action. That’s what that’s called. It can be applied to almost any situation, as long as everyone agrees on the end goal. It relies on people working together. Obviously.
And let’s face it, that’s what we all need now more than ever. With the cost of living issues we face, threats of power blackouts this coming winter and only chaos coming from those who are supposed to be in charge, it’s time the UK people did something for themselves. Acting constructively and cohesively to tackle to the challenges we face will hopefully, by the end of this video, seem like a no brainer. After-all, we actually know what we should be doing, we just need to pull up our sleeves and get on with it.
Granted, sometimes without the sense that everyone else is working towards the same goal, it can feel as if our individual effort is a mere a drop in the ocean. As if our contribution will make no difference. So, it can be difficult to motivate ourselves to do the things that we know are right. Afterall, if everyone’s getting takeaway it’s hard to avoid doing the same, even if the trousers are feeling a bit tight.
Let’s think about our current issues. There are a lot of small collective changes that we can be making to our everyday lives that can make a big difference. Relative luxuries that we could do without for a bit. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve become a bit spoilt. We take things for granted and have perhaps lost a bit of perspective. That’s only natural. But it does mean we have become wildly inefficient.
Much of our modern lives revolve around technologies and materials that we use just because they’re there. We run the tap for a bit to get the perfect temperature, we turn extra lamps on to create a nice ambience and we throw away food like there’s no tomorrow. Every year in the UK, 9.5 million tonnes of food is wasted. It’s worth noting that all the while 8.4 million people live in food poverty.
It’s also worth noting, as already mentioned, the possibility of power blackouts during the coldest days of this winter. As I’m sure you’re aware, all to do with a shortage of gas. Now around 40% of Britain’s electricity is from gas-fired power stations and gas heats most of the UK’s homes so the impending shortage of gas obviously presents a problem. But let’s remember, the UK has faced much darker times in the past. During the war our ancestors prevailed for the simple reason that they were able to overcome differences and pull together in common sacrifice. It seems time has made us forget these hardships.
Our situation now is nothing like as dire. And the solutions to many of our problems are right under our noses. Often they are ones of our own making even. The screens we leave on at work, the buildings we leave illuminated at night, the lamps we switch on at home. We don’t need them.
Take a single light bulb. If every UK household turned a single 50W light bulb off for 4 hours longer than usual every day for 7 days, this would save 34.5 million kWH of power, something that would save 55,328 barrels of oil. That’s just one light bulb per household.
Think of the impact we can make if we were able to co-ordinate and align such an action. That is where One Week comes in. One Week during which we as a population roll up our sleeves and make some sacrifices en masse.
With energy in mind, our very first One Week will focus on limiting our energy usage and ensuring those blackouts are no longer necessary. Many of us will be doing this anyway out of financial necessity but there is always an extra step we can take to make a difference. Think switching off those lights unless absolutely necessary. Think turning off electrical appliances at the wall. Think cold meals. Dare I say it, think cold showers! It might be a stretch to expect people to do this indefinitely, but for just seven days – well I don’t think that’s much to ask is it? With One Week, we can solve our own problems without waiting for someone else to do it for us.
So on Sunday 20th November, from 6pm onwards, for seven days, this campaign asks every person, every business, every household, to join in with One Week in whatever way they can. Let Britain go dark – on our own terms. Through cohesive action – a short, sharp and powerful collective action - we can achieve more in a single week than we can in even one year. And with it we can show the rest of the world how it’s done.
Find us at www.oneweekuk.co.uk, follow us and share your support for us on twitter and most importantly share this video - spread the word far and wide. Sunday 20th November. One week. Endless potential.