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Category: Human Nurture
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Somebody Else’s Problem
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Some people appear to be incensed that Thames Water have declared a drought in the South East of England and called for a hosepipe ban.
Others, more pragmatic. There are still commentators who are convinced that the drought problem should be addressed by Thames Water – that the problem would be solved if Thames Water fixed leaking mains water pipes. Most people, however, appear to accept that the low water availability is being caused by factors beyond the control of Thames Water. |
| Thames Water appear to be acting, and they are asking their consumers to act as well.
This is a situation that appears to be in deep contrast to the climate change issue. All the public information leads to calls for action directed towards the ordinary citizen householder, and there is no call for a word of commitment from the major energy producers. When governments and campaigners call on ordinary energy billpayers to “cut the carbon”, the energy industry just made climate change Somebody Else’s Problem. Let’s try to gauge the emotional reaction to this evasion of responsibility by looking at a couple of advertisements from London Transport. |
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Advancing Africa Advertise Freely Alchemical Animal Kingdoom Bee Prepared Behaviour Changeling Big Picture Big Society Biofools Climate Damages Corporate Pressure Dead Zone Demoticratica Direction of Travel Droughtbowl Eating & Drinking Emissions Impossible Environmental Howzat Extreme Weather Faithful God Feed the World Feel Gooder Food Insecurity Foreign Investment Forestkillers Fossilised Fuels Freemarketeering Freshwater Stress Genetic Muddyfixation Geogingerneering Growth Paradigm Health Impacts Human Nurture Low Carbon Life Major Shift Marvellous Wonderful Media Nudge & Budge Oil Change Paradigm Shapeshifter Peak Emissions Peak Energy Peak Natural Gas Public Relations Social Change Solution City Sustainable Deferment Technological Fallacy Technological Sideshow Technomess Toxic Hazard Tree Family Ungreen Development Virtually Vegan Water Wars
Living Life and LOAFing It
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CHRISTIAN ECOLOGY LINK PRESS RELEASE Living Life and LOAFing It – Green Christians ask churches to “Use your LOAF !” on sourcing sustainable food In the run up to Easter, Christian Ecology Link is asking supporters to think and act on how they source food for their church communities, with the aim of reducing the impact of unsustainable agriculture on their local area, and the wider world. |
| CEL have launched a new colour leaflet on the LOAF programme principles in time for Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras), or Pancake Day, on 21st February 2012. | |
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Advertise Freely Assets not Liabilities Be Prepared Behaviour Changeling Big Society Burning Money Carbon Army Contraction & Convergence Cost Effective Demoticratica Direction of Travel Eating & Drinking Efficiency is King Energy Autonomy Energy Change Faithful God Feel Gooder Fossilised Fuels Gamechanger Green Investment Human Nurture Low Carbon Life Major Shift Marvellous Wonderful Media Money Sings National Power Nudge & Budge Paradigm Shapeshifter Peak Emissions Peak Energy Price Control Public Relations Social Capital Solution City Stirring Stuff The Power of Intention Voluntary Behaviour Change Wasted Resource
Carbon Detox 2012
 | PRESS RELEASE
Carbon Detox 2012 : Shed Unwanted Pounds With Our Unique Formulation George Marshall, well-known sustainable living guru, will be asking us to challenge ourselves, our routines and bad habits, and make a 2012 all-year resolution to shed the excess carbon from our lives. On 21st January 2012 at a convenient central London location, he will ask us to take action to get control of our personal energy, and add vitality to our lives with new aims and goals. |
| The aim of the event is to help us acquire the psychological tools we need to lead slimmer, healthier and more ethically satisfying lifestyles.
Speaking from the experience gained from his decades of research and practice in the field, and giving tips and tricks from his bestseller “Carbon Detox“, George will be guiding us expertly through the carbon counting maze. One of our leaner life activities group said : “Cutting down has been hard work, but has become much more fun now I am involved in my local group. I am looking forward to meeting my buddies on Saturday.” Tony Emerson, the coordinator for the ecocell 2 programme said : “In three years our household has managed to halve the amount of greenhouse gases we produce – by topping up loft insulation, converting to double glazing, installing a wood stove and learning how to best use it, new heavier curtains, wall insulation, changing to a green electricity supplier, continued monitoring of timings and temperature of the central heating – and of course taking part in the ecocell 2 programme. However we still have further to go and I am looking forward to hear what George Marshall has to say. One way we are encouraging people in ecocell 2 is to have a buddy system, whereby people pair up, or group up, by phone, so that people with similar houses can support each other.” To register for this free, all day event, including a selection of facilitated workshops and to receive your take-home worksheet pack, please email Tony at ecocell@christian-ecology.org.uk For photographs of the day’s events, and feedback from the workshops, please contact Jo on 0845 45 98 46 0 ENDS NOTES FOR EDITORS a. Climate change activist and author George Marshall will be addressing green Christians during an all-day conference on Saturday 21st January 2012 in Central London. b. The Christian Ecology Link ecocell project team will facilitate workshops on “living the truly sustainable life” at the Magdalen Centre, St Mary’s Church, Eversholt Street near Euston train station between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm [1] c. George Marshall, author of the easy-to-read book “Carbon Detox : Your step-by-step guide to getting real about climate change” will be offering his fact-packed and lighthearted insights into action on climate change, drawn from his experience of over a decade of community and policy work. [2] d. The event will be suitable for anybody already taking part in the ecocell project, or anybody interested in starting. The workshops on the day will be pitched at several levels. e. The ecocell-1 workshop group will look at the introductory programme to help your family or church group take their first steps to reducing their impact on the environment. [3] f. The ecocell-2 workshop will look at the more in-depth project, to provide mutual support for those who want to reduce their carbon emissions to sustainable levels within five years. [4] REFERENCES [1] The Magdalen Centre, St Mary’s Church, Eversholt Street, London NW1 1BN is located about 7 minutes’ walk north of Euston train station. [2] https://www.carbondetox.org/ [3] https://www.greenchristian.org.uk/ecocell [4] https://www.greenchristian.org.uk/ecocell [5] https://www.greenchristian.org.uk/archives/1537 CONTACT For details of Christian Ecology Link, please phone Jo on 0845 45 98 46 0 or email info@christian-ecology.org.uk | |
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Babykillers Climate Change Climate Damages Coal Hell Conflict of Interest Corporate Pressure Dead Zone Demoticratica Divide & Rule Dreamworld Economics Droughtbowl Eating & Drinking Emissions Impossible Energy Autonomy Energy Change Energy Denial Energy Insecurity Energy Revival Evil Opposition Extreme Weather Faithful God Feed the World Financiers of the Apocalypse Floodstorm Food Insecurity Fossilised Fuels Freemarketeering Human Nurture Hydrocarbon Hegemony Incalculable Disaster Major Shift Military Invention Money Sings National Energy National Power Neverending Disaster No Blood For Oil Not In My Name Paradigm Shapeshifter Peace not War Peak Coal Peak Emissions Peak Energy Peak Natural Gas Peak Oil Stop War Wasted Resource Western Hedge
The Last Battle
The “Statue of Liberty” or Saint John’s Lamb of God ? | Britain’s real enemy is not Iran.
The real enemy is the mismanagement of the Earth’s energy resources. The last battle is to overcome the misdeeds of those who have commandeered and wasted the Earth’s energy resources – and that includes ourselves. It should not be a violent dispute, for aggression and the use of weapons are morally unjustifiable. But all the same, it will be a genuine, Titanic, struggle. |
| As C. S. Lewis portrays with so much resonance, it matters little under which flag or title we serve or belong – what matters is our allegiance to the precepts of divine honour, holy devotion and right dealings with other people :-
“Why did the faithful Taarkan end up getting to come into Narnia ? Usually Lewis writes allegorically so is he trying to tell us something when a worshipper of Tash is allowed to enter the new Narnia ? Any thoughts ? …It wasn’t the name that mattered, but rather the conduct of the Taarkan and how he chose to see and do things. He didn’t believe in the cruelty and underhanded ways his countryman were doing things, but rather in honour and a code of conduct. So even though the Taarkan thought he was worshipping Tash, the whole time he was actually worshipping Aslan [Turkish for “Lion”] through his thoughts and deeds. So when the time came for the end of the world and judgement, he was placed where his heart had always led him.” For those who recognise the twin threats from climate change and energy depletion, we realise that there is hard work ahead. Our natural aim is to protect ourselves; and the moral consequence is that we are obliged to protect the other – because both climate change and energy depletion are global problems. Climate change hits the poorest the hardest – already, significant changes in rainfall and weather patterns have created long-term drought, encroaching coastal and inland inundation, crop losses and enforced migration. And it’s only going to get worse. It’s so terrible we could not even wish it on our enemies – it teaches us that nobody is an enemy. To solve climate change, we need to change our energy systems. Some hail the depletion of hydrocarbon and coal energy resources as a gift that will help us resolve the emissions problem and prevent dangerous climate change, by making a virtue of necessity – but the situation is not that simple. The reaction of the world’s authorities, wealth controllers and corporate proprietors to the winding down of fossil fuel energy resources has so far been complex, and there are many indications that warfare, both military and economic, has been conducted in order to secure access to energy. This may be the way of the lion in us all, but it is not the way of The Lamb. The Lamb sacrifices all that others value so that he is qualified to bring about a new universal regime of peace and responsible autonomy – a kingdom of priests, pastors with mutual respect. We are called to become good stewards of each other and the Earth. The gentle Lamb of God will judge our hearts. The Book of the Revelation to Saint John the Divine, Chapter 4 :- “…I looked and saw a door that opened into heaven. Then the voice that had spoken to me at first and that sounded like a trumpet said, “Come up here ! I will show you what must happen next.” Right then the Spirit took control of me, and there in heaven I saw a throne and someone sitting on it. The one who was sitting there sparkled like precious stones of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow that looked like an emerald surrounded the throne. Twenty-four other thrones were in a circle around that throne. And on each of these thrones there was an elder dressed in white clothes and wearing a gold crown. Flashes of lightning and roars of thunder came out from the throne in the center of the circle. Seven torches, which are the seven spirits of God, were burning in front of the throne. Also in front of the throne was something that looked like a glass sea, clear as crystal…And as they worshiped the one who lives forever, they placed their crowns in front of the throne and said, “Our Lord and God, you are worthy to receive glory, honour, and power. You created all things, and by your decision [and for your pleasure] they are and were created…” The Book of the Revelation to Saint John the Devine, Chapter 5 “In the right hand of the one sitting on the throne I saw a scroll that had writing on the inside and on the outside. And it was sealed in seven places. I saw a mighty angel ask with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals ?” No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or see inside it. I cried hard because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or see inside it. Then one of the elders said to me, “Stop crying and look ! The one who is called both the `Lion from the Tribe of Judah’ and `King David’s Great Descendant’ has won the victory. He will open the book and its seven seals.” Then I looked and saw a Lamb standing in the center of the throne…The Lamb looked as if it had once been killed. It had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out to all the earth. The Lamb went over and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who sat on the throne. After he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders knelt down before him. Each of them had a harp and a gold bowl full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. Then they sang a new song, “You are worthy to receive the scroll and open its seals, because you were killed. And with your own blood you bought for God people from every tribe, language, nation, and race. You let them become kings and serve God as priests, and they will rule on earth.”” Leaders of the powerful nations – put aside your death-hastening technology. Let there be a low carbon energy peace on a climate-stable Earth. Additional Readings https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%203:7-9&version=NIV “…Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles [non-Jewish people] by faith, and announced the gospel [good news of God’s love and forgiveness] in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith…” https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%203:26-29&version=NIV “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized [ritual bathing] into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile [non-Jewish person], neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be_Thou_My_Vision “Thy love in my soul and in my heart – O King of the seven heavens grant me this – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Spirits_of_God
[ UPDATE : No, I have not taken leave of any of my senses. I was in church, All Saints in Highams Park, London E4, and many thoughts arose as I contemplated the stained glass window, with its Suffering Servant Messenger King/Lord/Master, rainbow, Alpha, Omega, Noah’s dove with the sprig of olive; and listened to the reading from Revelations 4; and sang “Be Thou My Vision” with the congregation; and considered what Epiphany the world needs at this time of intense war propaganda. There are those who declare themselves as Christian who claim that war with Iran is prophesied. This may be a fringe view, but the narrative infects major political discussion in the United States of America : “The problem, of course, is that rhetoric can have political effects that narrow the options available to decisionmakers. If you’ve publicly declared Iran’s nuclear program sufficiently threatening to warrant initiating a potentially catastrophic war and then sanctions fail to achieve their defined goal, you may have a hard time walking back from that threat.” ]
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Advancing Africa Alchemical Be Prepared Behaviour Changeling Climate Change Dead End Design Matters Direction of Travel Disturbing Trends Feel Gooder Human Nurture Low Carbon Life Major Shift Marvellous Wonderful Optimistic Generation Paradigm Shapeshifter Public Relations Solution City Transport of Delight Tree Family Voluntary Behaviour Change
Feet in first
 | My lovely friends.
I received a wonderful gift over Christmas – bamboo socks. The gift of socks is a massive present cliche – often a “faux pas”. Describing a gift of foot socks as a “faux pas” is highly amusing, because that expression is French for “false step(s)”. |
| But this particular present of footwear was not embarrassing or laughable in the slightest.
It was extremely well thought out – inspiring, Zeitgeistian, educational, novel and fun – it even came in a bright orange pouch. In Summer, by chance I was at an event where I heard the outlines and some conclusions of Lucy Siegle’s research into clothing fabrics. Essentially, cotton is under threat worldwide – if you buy anything made from cotton, you should perhaps consider it an investment and hold onto it as long as you can. It could become quite irreplaceable. There are solutions, even in a climate changed world – bamboo and hemp being two avenues for sourcing sustainable clothing fibres. Fabric made from bamboo is soft and comforting, and in this particular case, quite, quite funky. I have the obvious criticism of the use of retail – that we cannot expect to green up our lives purely through shopping – because consumerism is part of the climate change and energy crisis. But I think that something functional like organic and recycled clothing can come into the category of truly green spending – after all, we do need to replace our clothes from time to time. To cap it all, the socks had green stripes ! So top marks to my clever friend for cracking a superb seasonal joke and demonstrating the future of fabrics at the same time. Raising a toast to a Sustainable 2012. | |
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Assets not Liabilities Babykillers Burning Money Carbon Commodities Demoticratica Efficiency is King Emissions Impossible Energy Revival Engineering Marvel Environmental Howzat Evil Opposition Foreign Interference Fossilised Fuels Freshwater Stress Green Investment Green Power Human Nurture Hydrocarbon Hegemony Low Carbon Life Major Shift Military Invention National Energy National Power Not In My Name Optimistic Generation Peace not War Renewable Resource Resource Curse Resource Wards Solution City Stop War The Power of Intention Tree Family Ungreen Development Wasted Resource Water Wars Western Hedge
2012 : Greenier and Peace-ier
 | My dear family.
They think I’m an environmentalist, a bit radical, a bit confrontational. So for a fun wintertime gift they bought me this lovely cloth tote(m) bag for grocery shopping. I think I might have failed to communicate myself clearly enough. Although I try to be frugal and efficient in my way of life, recycling is not my central agenda. |
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I studied physics, but I don’t have a laboratory. The things that I believe need to be developed are technologies in the field of clean, green energy. I am an engineer without a workshop – although my home is now a power station. Recycling is important, but reducing the use of resource materials is far more important. Recycling is important, but energy waste is far more important. Digging things out of the ground and burning them in order to keep civilisation moving is the ultimate misuse of natural resources. Recycling is important, but so are international relations, especially around the sourcing of commodities such as fossil fuels, rare metals, timber and freshwater. The world needs to work together – to make friends, not invent enemies – even more so when those so-called opponents sit on vital energy resources. May you have a year that is greener and has more peace. | |
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Advent Joy : Christmas Rose
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Audete, Gaudete ! Christus est natus Ex Maria Virgine, Gaudete ! Tempus adest gratiae, Deus homo factus est, |
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Welcome, little Christmas rose, into a big and troubled world. We are so happy you’ve made your journey safely, we could sing heartily. The world is no closer to a binding, enactable accord on preventing catastrophic climate change, but at least the Durban United Nations conference is over, and many are therefore sleepily rejoicing. |
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Bad Science Bait & Switch Conflict of Interest Cost Effective Dead End Delay and Deny Demoticratica Direction of Travel Disturbing Trends Divide & Rule Fair Balance Freak Science Global Heating Global Singeing Global Warming Human Nurture Libertarian Liberalism Mass Propaganda Media Money Sings Non-Science Nudge & Budge Policy Warfare Political Nightmare Public Relations Pure Hollywood Science Rules Scientific Fallacy Social Capital Social Change Social Chaos Sustainable Deferment The Data The War on Error Unqualified Opinion
Everyone’s Entitled to their Opinion
Yes, indeed they are. Everyone is entitled to hold their own particular opinion. In this democracy of ideas, every longshot, wingnut, bonehead, rogue, charlatan, conspiracy theorist, crank, crony and astroturfer should be permitted access to the microphone on the stage. If we hold a public meeting about immigration, we should, of course, invite a white supremicist, a member of the British National Party, and a Daily Mail journalist to offer us their wise words. If we hold a sociological symposium on the Second World War, we should of course invite a Holocaust-denier. If an engineering conference, a cold fusion-in-a-test-tube enthusiast. Of course we should provide balance, as much balance as possible, and offer wisdom, insight and rant from all ends of all spectra. It’s only reasonable.
It therefore goes without question that somebody from the Global Warming Policy Foundation “think tank”, so copiously and generously sponsored by a person or persons unknown, should be invited to speak on the platform, or in a panel, at a well-funded quasi-establishment meeting on Climate Change. Regardless of a complete lack of training in atmospheric physics, or even knowledge of the span of the last five years in the science of global warming, naturally, a GWPF man must be invited by GovToday to a presitigious conference to be held on 29th November 2011 in the City of London grandly entitled “2011 Carbon Reduction : The Transition to a Low Carbon Economy”.
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Rooftop Solar : Summer Highs
Image Credit : Intelligence Squared |
George Monbiot is right about a lot of things, but on rooftop solar power, I believe he is wrong.
Yes, he’s right that solar photovoltaic systems are being incentivised more than other micro-generation, but there are several good reasons for that. For a first, the unit price of an adequate rooftop solar power system is in the region of the price of a car. Most people use finance schemes to purchase cars, with monthly charges for example. |
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Similar schemes are not available for solar PV, where you have to borrow the whole amount for the system up-front – or take it from a savings account if you’re lucky enough to have one. It is the sheer size of the cost of home solar that means that people won’t do it without subsidy. The one overriding concern of people when I ask them about what green energy they could consider buying, is the size of the initial outgoings. |
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Advancing Africa Bad Science Bait & Switch Be Prepared Behaviour Changeling Big Picture Burning Money Carbon Army Carbon Capture Carbon Commodities Carbon Taxatious Climate Change Conflict of Interest Corporate Pressure Cost Effective Delay and Deny Demoticratica Direction of Travel Droughtbowl Eating & Drinking Economic Implosion Efficiency is King Emissions Impossible Energy Change Energy Insecurity Evil Opposition Faithful God Feed the World Financiers of the Apocalypse Food Insecurity Foreign Interference Foreign Investment Fossilised Fuels Freak Science Freemarketeering Geogingerneering Global Warming Green Investment Human Nurture Hydrocarbon Hegemony Low Carbon Life Major Shift Mass Propaganda Media Military Invention Money Sings Neverending Disaster No Blood For Oil Non-Science Not In My Name Nudge & Budge Oil Change Peace not War Peak Emissions Peak Energy Peak Oil Petrolheads Policy Warfare Political Nightmare Public Relations Realistic Models Regulatory Ultimatum Science Rules Scientific Fallacy Social Capital Social Change Solution City Stop War Sustainable Deferment Technofix Technological Fallacy Technological Sideshow Technomess The Data The Myth of Innovation The War on Error Unqualified Opinion Unsolicited Advice & Guidance Unutterably Useless Utter Futility Vain Hope Voluntary Behaviour Change Wasted Resource
The Problem of Powerlessness #2
| On Wednesday, I received a telephone call from an Information Technology recruitment consultancy. They wanted to know if I would be prepared to provide computer systems programming services for NATO.
Detecting that I was speaking with a native French-speaker, I slipped into my rather unpracticed second language to explain that I could not countenance working with the militaries, because I disagree with their strategy of repeated aggression. |
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| I explained I was critical of the possibility that the air strikes in Libya were being conducted in order to establish an occupation of North Africa by Western forces, to protect oil and gas interests in the region. The recruitment agent agreed with me that the Americans were the driving force behind NATO, and that they were being too warlike.
Whoops, there goes another great opportunity to make a huge pile of cash, contracting for warmongers ! Sometimes you just have to kiss a career goodbye. IT consultancy has many ethical pitfalls. Time to reinvent myself. I’ve been “back to school” for the second university degree, and now I’m supposed to submit myself to the “third degree” – go out and get me a job. The paucity of available positions due to the poor economic climate notwithstanding, the possibility of ending up in an unsuitable role fills me with dread. One of these days I might try to write about my experiences of having to endure several kinds of abuse whilst engaged in paid employment : suffice it to say, workplace inhumanity can be unbearable, some people don’t know what ethical behaviour means, and Human Resources departments always take sides, especially with vindictive, manipulative, micro-managers. I know what it’s like to be powerless. |
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Babykillers Big Picture Big Society Corporate Pressure Demoticratica Disturbing Trends Energy Disenfranchisement Energy Insecurity Evil Opposition Foreign Interference Fossilised Fuels Gamechanger Health Impacts Human Nurture Hydrocarbon Hegemony Major Shift Marine Gas Mass Propaganda Military Invention Money Sings National Energy No Blood For Oil Not In My Name Peace not War Political Nightmare Protest & Survive Resource Curse Resource Wards Stop War The War on Error Unconventional Foul Unnatural Gas Water Wars
Natural Gaza (4)
What’s wrong with this map ? Yes, the same old question. And the answer is again the same – the lack of geographical accuracy in the map reflects the lack of legal accuracy on the part of Israel in appropriating marine Natural Gas that belongs to the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
The map is taken from a new research paper by Brenda Shaffer, of the School of Political Sciences at the University of Haifa, which has been accepted for publication in Energy Policy at some point in the near future :-
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421511004113
“Energy Policy : Article in Press, Corrected Proof : doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2011.05.026 : Israel – New natural gas producer in the Mediterranean : Brenda Shaffer : Received 7 November 2010; accepted 16 May 2011. Available online 2 June 2011”
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Be Prepared Big Picture Big Society Dead End Deal Breakers Demoticratica Economic Implosion Efficiency is King Energy Change Energy Disenfranchisement Energy Insecurity Energy Revival Fossilised Fuels Fuel Poverty Green Investment Green Power Growth Paradigm Human Nurture Hydrocarbon Hegemony Low Carbon Life Major Shift Media National Energy Oil Change Optimistic Generation Political Nightmare Regulatory Ultimatum Renewable Resource Social Change Social Chaos Solar Sunrise Solution City Stirring Stuff Sustainable Deferment Unutterably Useless Utter Futility Vain Hope Vote Loser Wind of Fortune
The Dearth of Sense
While everybody’s busy discussing ethics in the media, today’s been a great day to bury bad news – the shelving of the Energy Bill – and with it the Green Deal, the only hope Britain had left of economic recovery in the short-term.
And what of the Electricity Market Reform white paper and the National Policy Statements on energy ? Into the round wastepaper-bin-shaped recycling receptacle, possibly.
What next ? The revocation of the Climate Change Act and the dissolution of the Committee on Climate Change ?
I don’t know whether I should make overt political statements, but I think this news sugar ices the brioche, so I will : David Cameron’s “greenest government ever” has failed.
We need Van Jones, right here, right now.
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Bait & Switch Big Picture Biofools British Biogas Conflict of Interest Corporate Pressure Dead End Design Matters Direction of Travel Drive Train Efficiency is King Energy Change Energy Insecurity Energy Revival Energy Socialism Engineering Marvel Freemarketeering Human Nurture Incalculable Disaster Libertarian Liberalism Low Carbon Life Major Shift Mass Propaganda National Energy Neverending Disaster Non-Science Nuclear Nuisance Nuclear Shambles Nudge & Budge Oil Change Optimistic Generation Policy Warfare Political Nightmare Public Relations Realistic Models Renewable Gas Science Rules Scientific Fallacy Social Change Solar Sunrise Technofix Technological Fallacy Technological Sideshow Technomess The Myth of Innovation The Power of Intention The War on Error Transport of Delight Unutterably Useless Utter Futility Vain Hope Vote Loser Wind of Fortune
George Monbiot : New Clear
It is a newer, clearer tone that George Monbiot uses in his piece “The nuclear industry stinks. But that is not a reason to ditch nuclear power“. He seems to have lost his dirty annoyance with filthy anti-nuclear activists and moved onto a higher plane of moral certitude, where the air is cleaner and more refined.
He is pro-technology, but anti-industry. For him, the privately owned enterprises of atomic energy are the central problem that has led to accidents both of a radioactive and an accountancy nature. “Corporate power ?”, he asks, “No thanks.” The trouble is, you can’t really separate the failings of nuclear power from the failings of human power. It’s such a large, complex and dangerous enterprise that inevitably, human power systems compromise the use of the technology, regardless of whether they are publicly or privately owned. For a small amount of evidence, just look at the history of publicly-managed nuclear power in the United Kingdom. Not exactly peachy. And as for those who claimed that a “free” market approach to managing nuclear power would improve matters – how wrong they were. In my view, on the basis of the evidence so far, nobody can claim that nuclear power can be run as an efficient, safe, profit-making venture.
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Advancing Africa Animal Kingdoom Bad Science Bait & Switch Big Society Dead End Demoticratica Design Matters Divide & Rule Engineering Marvel Environmental Howzat Evil Opposition Foreign Interference Foreign Investment Freak Science Genetic Modification Human Nurture Libertarian Liberalism Mass Propaganda Media Non-Science Pure Hollywood Resource Curse Scientific Fallacy The War on Error Unqualified Opinion Unutterably Useless Utter Futility
Adam Curtis : Daft Punk
[ UPDATE : BRILLIANT DECONSTRUCTION OF ADAM CURTIS’ WORK FROM BEN WOODHAMS ]
The final part (I really hope it is the final part) of Adam Curtis’ trilogy on “Evil” Computers and “Devillish” Enviromentalists – “All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace” – a title drawn from a poem written by what would appear to be a madman – has now been uploaded to YouTube, allowing me to view it without taking part in the memory-eating public monitoring disappointment that is BBC iPlayer :-
Adam Curtis certainly reveals himself as a little monkeyish in this episode, throwing overarm and underhand javelins at “liberals” of all hues and cries, particularly environmental ones; and throwing in liberal references to primates wherever he can, seemingly to suggest that mankind has un- or de-evolved by adopting computing tools and studying the natural world.
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Animal Kingdoom Bad Science Big Picture Climate Change Climate Chaos Climate Damages Demoticratica Direction of Travel Extreme Weather Fair Balance Feel Gooder Freshwater Stress Gamechanger Global Heating Global Singeing Global Warming Heatwave Human Nurture Incalculable Disaster Media Optimistic Generation Peace not War Political Nightmare Protest & Survive Rainstorm Scientific Fallacy Social Capital Social Change Social Chaos Stirring Stuff The War on Error Wildfire
Adam Curtis : Chaotically Unstable
I’m looking quizzical, rubbing my chin. Adam Curtis appears to have lost control of his mind, or at the very least, is showing signs of unhealthy self contradiction. Where are the checks and balances ?
At the start of Part 2 of “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace”, he unpicks, and, I would suggest, stamps on, the idea that ecosystems are networks of feedback loops, tending to re-balance. And then at the end of the same presentation, he asserts that human revolutions fail, and society folds in on itself and returns to the state of power and control it was in before. Now which is it to be, Adam Curtis ? Self-correcting stability or non-correcting ebbs, flows and shifting sands ?
From the consistent and unrelenting rise in global carbon dioxide emissions, you would never have guessed that there’d been a downturn. But that’s because energy is cheap, and easily substitutes for economic production, labour and resources – within limits.
Fiona Harvey has gathered and presents some astonishing admissions from various key speakers on the issue of emissions, ahead of the annual mid-year United Nations climate change talks in Bonn :-
https://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/29/carbon-emissions-nuclearpower
“Worst ever carbon emissions leave climate on the brink : Exclusive: Record rise, despite recession, means 2C target almost out of reach : Fiona Harvey, Environment correspondent, guardian.co.uk, Sunday 29 May 2011 : Greenhouse gas emissions increased by a record amount last year, to the highest carbon output in history, putting hopes of holding global warming to safe levels all but out of reach, according to unpublished estimates from the International Energy Agency. The shock rise means the goal of preventing a temperature rise of more than 2 degrees Celsius – which scientists say is the threshold for potentially “dangerous climate change” – is likely to be just “a nice Utopia”, according to Fatih Birol, chief economist of the IEA. It also shows the most serious global recession for 80 years has had only a minimal effect on emissions, contrary to some predictions…”
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Adam Curtis : Against Nature
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz2j3BhL47c
I was encouraged to take in the audiovisual presentation of “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace”, wherein Adam Curtis demonstrates what appears to be a lack of understanding regarding failure in the financial markets. Most foundational year ecologists can tell you that systems are self-correcting, that virtual bubbles get popped, that hubris gets torn down, that over-population gets underfed. Rabbits and foxes. Owls and mice. George Monbiot’s “War On Slugs” because of missing hedgehogs and thrushes. It all depends on the natural resources available to feed the participants in the game. The global economy can only accelerate growth so much before it implodes. There are Limits to Growth. Curtis could be said to be expressing his suspicions that the fake “Knowledge Economy”, the Asian “Shock Doctrine” and the Property Crash were an artefact of a secret evil cabal formed from the vaguely impressed followers of Ayn Rand – but the rest of us all know that’s silly. She was a lovely, sensitive, principled woman, although she could have done with a little more kindness in her life to inspire altruism in her worldview.