Green Action ELTCo-Director of ECS - English Country Schools - residential English Language summer courses for children and teenagers. Coordinator of ELT Footprint UK aiming to promote environmental responsibility in UK English Language Teaching.
Starts today. Curious About Our Planet is a 3-day virtual festival by Glasgow Science Centre that celebrates the diversity of the planet and the dangers it faces. There’s a Sustainable Cocktail Making Class (18+) event with music from Tide Lines, on Saturday 20th February at 8pm and many other activities, games, workshops and projects for all ages to enjoy.
‘A Backwards Catastrophe’ is a BBC Radio 4 production that is part polemic, part satire, part lyrical collage.
Beautifully produced, it travels in reverse through the BBC archives to trace some of the present problems and oblique antecedents of the environmental crisis.
The programme rolls along to variations on and reversals of the appropriate Mad World melody. Highly recommended.
The best way to escape for an undisturbed hour and really appreciate the sound experience is by using head phones.
Here’s a really simple and clear explanation about the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill. It’s a great chance to build consensus both inside and outside parliament on a road map to an environmentally sustainable future. In a year when the UK Government seeks to persuade the rest of the world that it is serious about the Climate and Ecological Emergency, the least you can expect from your MP is that they support the bill. Here’s a letter I wrote to mine:
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Dear Laurence Robertson, As one of your constituents I am writing to ask you to support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill – see https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/57374/climate-and-ecological-emergency-bill. Scientists are increasingly sounding the alarm as to the inadequacy of governmental response to this real and urgent problem. I am deeply concerned for the future of our planet and the wellbeing of my children and grandchildren. In a year when the UK Government seeks to show the rest of the world at COP 26 that it is serious about the climate and ecological emergency, the least I can expect from you as my MP is that you support this bill. By so doing you will help to propel action and signal to the increasing number of environmentally concerned people in this constituency that you care about their future. Yours sincerely |
Writing to your MP is easy: just enter your postcode at https://www.writetothem.com/?a=westminstermp then follow the simple instructions. MPs really do listen to this kind of thing, so please take a few minutes out of your day to let your MP know how you feel on this vital issue.
Good news from Cumbria where the local council has said it will reconsider the planning application for a new coal mine – see previous post.
While one can sympathise with the need for employment in the area, new jobs must consider the wider climate change impacts and be environmentally sustainable. Anything else is an abdication of responsibility by the council to the long-term welfare of its residents and us all. And while the potential damage from this mine may look small compared to other mines around the world, its damaging effects will last well into the future.
The time has passed for fudge, compromise and back room deals. Everyone – including local councils – needs to act now to safeguard the future.
You can add your voice by signing the petition here.
Derived from Greek actors who used to ‘interpret from underneath’ a mask, the word hypocrisy today has a more general meaning referring to “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.”
It is the right term to use for a government which, in 2021, seeks to show the rest of the world at COP 26 that it is serious about the climate and ecological emergency while simultaneously allowing the opening of a new coal mine in Cumbria.
The mine is projected to increase UK emissions by 0.4Mt (megatonnes) of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) per year – greater than the level of annual emissions projected from all open UK coal mines to 2050 (by which time the UK government will supposedly have reached net zero carbon emissions) – more info here.
The UK government has the power to stop the mine, but has argued it is a local issue. This is patently absurd as the emissions will form part of the overall production of greenhouse gases which threaten us all. The decision sends a very poor signal at a time when we are all trying to transition to a green economy.
A top climate scientist has today warned that the decision shows “contemptuous disregard for the future of young people”.
If enough people protest this decision, the government will have to listen or risk further accusations of hypocrisy. Please use your voice to ask the government to rethink. Sign the petition here.
Congratulations to the 95 Members of the UK Parliament who have already expressed their support for the UK’s Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill.
This is a cross-party bill written by scientists, lawyers and activists. It aims to persuade government of its overriding responsibility to take action on climate change.
This year the UK government wants to prove its environmental credentials to the world at COP 26 in Glasgow so this is a good time to gather support for real action.
Please tell your MP how important the climate and ecological emergency is to you and ask your MP to support the bill.
Inspired by the iconic London Tube map, a graphic designer has produced a similar map joining London’s parks and nature spots. Greenground Map “aims to change (the) perception of how we see cities, when walking and cycling longer distances become regular ways to get around.”
It’s a great idea that is likely to be adopted by other towns and cities attempting to get people out of their cars and connecting better with nature. Why not ask your students to make a similar green spaces map for where they live?
Read more here.
According to the authors of a recent report, humanity needs to “take a cold shower” about the true scale of the climate and ecological crisis facing us.
Experts need to “tell it like it is.”
‘Anything else is misleading at best, or negligent and potentially lethal for the human enterprise at worst.’ Then we might make the systemic changes that the urgency of the situation demands.
There are signs of progress. And if you are reading this you are probably already doing what you can personally. But do read the report so that you are under no illusions.
Then ask yourself what you can do to help persuade businesses and politicians make those necessary changes.
In these days of Covid-19 it may feel that demands to respond to the climate and ecological crisis are just another burden.
But Covid-19 has also provided us with time and opportunity to consider a better future while many of the solutions to Covid-19 also offer solutions to climate change.
So let’s use this time wisely to make the changes we need to help our industry come out of Covid-19 fit for the future.