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.
A communication from Extinction Rebellion today: “If the old ‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win’ is true, we appear to be transitioning from the ridicule stage into the fight.”
If that gives you hope, read this extremely interesting article from Open Democracy.
Effective action from the Extinction Rebellion movement preventing publication of several UK newspapers today.
They say “This country’s news establishment is controlled by ‘climate sceptics’ who consistently downplay the existential threat that is the ecological emergency.
By misleading tens of millions of people about the growing dangers that we face – while exerting unaccountable control over our government – these establishments are undermining our democracy. They want us divided.
Let’s stand together.” Watch the explanatory video here.
Join us on 14 October 2020 for our first TEDx virtual Countdown event!
We’ll be learning more about key areas of climate action and proposing and discussing ways for English language teaching to help tackle the climate crisis.
Further information here.
Congratulations to the Brew Tea Company for their informative recycling information. But how utterly shameful that there is still no legal requirement for all food packaging to carry clear and easily understood recycling information. How are we supposed to make informed, responsible purchase decisions without this?
My advice: if there is no recycling information on the packaging, don’t buy it – see below.
A recent article in The Guardian newspaper strikes a critical tone over the Chinese government’s attempt to control food waste.
But according to Project Drawdown, reduction of food waste is the number one solution to reducing heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, closely followed by health and education, then plant-rich diets.
Rather than criticise, perhaps we should be doing more to encourage less food waste – production, transport and consumption – ourselves.
The very first – Summer 2020 – edition of Bloomberg Green climate magazine aims to chronicle a new era of climate solutions alongside a frank appraisal of climate facts and figures: “The world has been brought low by the Covid-19 pandemic, but it has the means to rebuild itself better. Let’s take this era of climate solutions as seriously as our real fear of reaching a dead end.”
What is the connection between Black Lives Matter, English language teaching and the environment?
This article attempts to join the dots.
A terrific article from the ever interesting Open Democracy website on resisting ‘machine mind’ in creating a better future.
Thank you to ELTfootprint.org for (among other things) the excellent English Teacher’s Climate Crisis Survival Kit.
It’s full of ideas for helping practising English teachers to ‘Make their lessons more focused on the climate emergency and to make their place of work greener and more sustainable.’
Find it here.
If this article is to be believed, the body that regulates advertising in France has a record of protecting corporate interests over the interests of the environment. For example they banned this video promoting electric bikes because images of traffic might create ‘a climate of anxiety’! What’s the answer? Use the power of social media to counter their bias by sharing this video as widely as possible.