Went do a corking seminar this afternoon, at the end (well, middle) of a corking day (more on that another time). It was by Gitanjali Pyndiah, a third year PhD student at Goldsmith's University (scene of a crime against academia and activism 10 days ago, but I digress). She's looking at how 'we' (people from... Continue Reading →
My latest piece, for the Conversation, is out. Here’s a scene that will be familiar to anyone who has watched media coverage of a major geopolitical summit: By mid-morning the main entrance to the UN’s Palais de Congres, and its side entrances, were ringed by Swiss and German citizens, chained together. The blockade was total,... Continue Reading →
Yesterday I posted a piece on Shell's beautiful (in a Leni Riefenstahl kind of way) new advert in which two vegan, pierced women act as spokespeople for the exploration, extraction and burning of natural gas. I should have pointed out that this advert is also an appropriation of the whole "we need more women in... Continue Reading →
The oil major Shell has a blisteringly slick and seductive new advert that extols the virtues of gas as a ‘transition fuel’ (which it isn't). As a piece of propaganda, it would make Donna Haraway guffaw with delight. It’s 80 seconds of ‘Jenna and Cory’ who live together extolling the virtues of hybridity. They are 'alternative'... Continue Reading →
Nature as redeemer, nature as escape, nature as the solace for our "gridded, controlled, mannered urban lives." So far so romantic. Well, nature is on the road, and she’s gunning for the lot of us. We’ve poked the beast, and now it really is waking up. On a quiet day, you could hear it snoring.... Continue Reading →
Jean-Francois Mouhot who wrote an article Past connections and present similarities in slave ownership and fossil fuel usage published in Climatic Change in 2011, He also makes the point that The history of slavery and its abolition shows how blurred the frontier between what is considered good and evil can be, and how quickly it... Continue Reading →
The Manchester Evening News has a letter today that slams Kate Chappell, the Executive Member for the Environment for a broken promise (she said she would set up a blog, never did so). The letter (written by some Moss Side malcontent) also points out that the so-called and needs-to-be-killed-off "Stakeholder Steering Group" won't even allow... Continue Reading →
The seminar itself is excellent, with good questions (and answers) about a call for a moratorium on the construction of new coal mines. But nonetheless, apologies for rubbish quality of footage.
Climate change is going to be an unmitigated disaster. It already is, in fact. But for all the talk of solar panels from 3-D printers this, and Paris that, we miss the big picture. The big picture is that we are screwed, more and more people know that we are screwed, and that it won't... Continue Reading →
“By their fruit ye shall know them.” Since September 7th 2013 Tony Abbott has done his best to undermine Australia’s response to climate change. Here’s a guide to the ruins, under the following headings Opposing robust climate action Attacking green groups In favour of coal Undermining renewables Symbolic action [If I've missed anything, please let me know!... Continue Reading →
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