I came to the "Horatio Hornblower" books only when I was 18, sadly - too much bloody ropey Doctor Who in my youth. So it goes. There's one of these stories, set during the Napoleonic wars that comes to mind every-so-often. Hornblower is a midshipman and the ship he is serving on captures a bunch... Continue Reading →
Rochdale Council’s idea of improving nature
This is a couple of weeks back, but I realised I am probably gonna use it again and again, so want to put it somewhere it can be found. Rochdale Council deleted the tweet, and the Twitter monkey responsible probably got sent for re-education. You can DO these things of course, but you're not supposed... Continue Reading →
No numbers, no infrastructure, no clue – the death of XR
Various people have called me several shades of cunt for my take on XR. They either ignore, or never bothered to find out, that back in 2019, when it was kicking off, I conducted and posted interviews with participants on Manchester Climate Monthly, offered to put together a private event with old and new activists... Continue Reading →
Big Brother is talking to you…
States don't just create external boundaries. As per Cesaire, the technologies are being brought into the metropole.
Academia making me angry for the right reasons! Energy technology innovation #EpicFail #SpeciesBeDoomed
I often rant, sorry, "offer calm, considered and reasoned critiques" about academics who study nonsense badlystudy important things badlystudy important things well but write in turgid academese These things make me angry. But for once, I am angry after reading an academic paper, not about any of the above (because it is paper which studies... Continue Reading →
On the rebound… #recycling #JevonsParadox
Here's a lovely demonstration of how recycling and return schemes don't necessarily provide ALL the "savings" you might hope for. "We" are not going to get out of this with just "efficiency." But then, "we" are not going to get out of this at all, are we?
Fear, “apathy” and self-cauterisation around #climate change
So the obvious question is why aren't tens of thousands of people involved in the "Just Stop Oil" actions? There are loads of different answers to this question, that will convince different people. I don't think it is as simple as "people think climate change isn't a big deal" or "people don't like to Get... Continue Reading →
Lee Marvin, the volcano and climate catastrophe The ironic smile – or am I just striking a pose? (Spoiler – yes)
The latest IPCC report (working group 3 - the "what to do" one) has sunk without trace - too much else going on, it's an old story, there's no new news. Here's the front page of the Grauniad website this morning- And this, after one of their journos, Fiona Harvey, had worried publicly that the... Continue Reading →
The only thing we learn from history…
is that we learn nothing from history. That's not mine, btw - I filched it from Georgie Hegel. Am thinking at the moment about one of my favourite themes - how little we (e.g. me) learn from our mistakes, how resistant we (e.g. me) can be to robust and would-be-if-we-took-it helpful feedback (whether that is... Continue Reading →
What responsibilities in times of abeyance? Je ne sais “re-Greta” rien.
When will the next Greta Thunberg hit the stage? I know I am a stuck record, but (I think) this is important. a)"We" are leaving/have left a period where climate change was relatively high up the political agenda b) We are leaving/have left a period where small (but non-trivial) numbers of people were willing to... Continue Reading →