Some guy, I forget who, said that it was the responsibility of intellectuals to expose lies and tell the truth. Meh, as far as it goes, sure. Which truths to who gets more interesting…. If I get shot in the head (and given my deteriorating relationship with Manchester City Council, this is not impossible), and... Continue Reading →
Here comes the “2050” bullshit. Be happy for it. #climate
The future is here, and we are avoiding it. 2020 used to be the target year, by which we had done x and y and z. Sadly, we didn't do those things. A mix of complacency, distraction, stupidity and incompetence mostly explains that. So it goes. But this presents the happy shiny people (HSP) who... Continue Reading →
The “Greenhouse Mafia”, ten years on. #Australia #auspol #climate
Ten years ago today Four Corners broadcast a programme on “the greenhouse mafia”. In hindsight it can be seen as the starting gun for a two year sprint that led to “the first climate change election” It's worth knowing the history and actions of one of the groups revealed by that documentary. The first time... Continue Reading →
Interview with an academic – on “Two Degrees”, Paris, #climate and so on
"The Two Degrees Dangerous Limit for Climate Change: Public understanding and decision making" is a (very) new book by academic Chris Shaw. Here he responds to a series of questions about the two degree limit, the recent Paris conference, and 'what next'. [The book itself is a good 'un - if anyone in Manchester wants... Continue Reading →
Paris changed everything. Erm #climate calamities continue
We'll get to the climate calamity in a second, promise. First, some remedial Greek mythology: Paris was “nice but dim”, and chosen to settle an acrimonious dispute between some powerful actors. He fell head over heels with a rather beautiful creature,full of promise(s). For a little while everything seemed fine, but sadly, relationships broke down,... Continue Reading →
2 beautiful (horrible) metaphors of what is coming #climate
The stories that we tell each other (and ourselves) matter. They frame what we (can) see, and what pictures we make. I remember the moment of 'oh, wow', when, thanks to Noam Chomsky's World Orders, Old and New I figured out that all the individual acts of overthrowing democratically-elected governments (Guatemala 1954, Iran 1953, Chile... Continue Reading →
Why the hype over Paris and #COP21? Politics, psychology and money
An essay on hype, history, denialism and the fossil fuel lobby. I hope I am wrong, and that Paris is indeed the “turning point” it is being hyped as. It won't take us long to find out – two or three years, I reckon. Personally, I think it will run into the sand in much... Continue Reading →
“After sustainability” – good questions…
So, if there were a functioning climate movement in Manchester, it would, imho, be answering some of the questions in bold (scroll down if you want to see them). But there isn't. Ho-hum, #gladtobe45andchildfree. Global Discourse special issue: 'After sustainability - what?' Call for Papers Guest editor: John Foster (j.foster@lancaster.ac.uk) It is no longer... Continue Reading →
Fetish night at Bruntwood: sustainability gets VERY interesting. #Manchester #climate
Cross posted from here. Not that kind of fetish (sorry for the clickbaiting). I mean the original, anthropological meaning of “fetish” - a god that we create, then forget that we created as we come to worship it. That kind of fetish was being discussed tonight at the latest and best-I've-been-to meeting of the excellent... Continue Reading →
