News
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
What will it take to make everyone wake up to the damage we are all doing to our planet? Allowing one of the worlds more irresponsible oil corporations to sponsor a wildlife photography competition is definitely a step in the wrong direction. It allows Shell, the company in question, to glow in a greenwashy appearance of caring about the environment, diverting attention from its illegal and destructive activities in Nigeria and elsewhere. BBC wildlife, the Bristol Museum, and Bristol City Council have so far ignored the protests raised. Today a polar bear visited the Broadmead Headquarters of BBC Wildlife to deliver a speech about the sad and dangerous irony of accepting a sponsorship deal with Shell. If you feel the same way do attend the peaceful protest on Saturday 15 Dec outside Bristol Museum at noon.
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Monday, December 10th, 2007
‘How to tackle global warming and still keep the lights on’ – there will be a talk by Sir David King, Government Chief Scientist, followed by questions and a panel discussion, featuring Sarah Pugh (Transition Bristol), Vala Ragnarsdottir (Bristol Uni Earth Sciences) and Chris Preist (HP Labs Climate Futures). This is part of Bristol’s Festival of Ideas. The venue is Bristol City Council House, College Green, Bristol. Entry is free but you need to book a place by emailing ideas@businesswest.co.uk
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Tuesday, December 4th, 2007
In November six days of work by climate scientists meeting in Valencia culminated in a new, succinct report . International leaders are now meeting in Bali to try and agree a new way forward. In addition to news coverage in the usual channels, the editors of both the British Medical Journal and the Lancet have come together to emphasise the severity of the problems and the need for everyone to take action. Does this mean people are really waking up?
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Tuesday, November 27th, 2007
The Council House in Bristol was packed on Sunday 25 November, with 300 plus people up bright and early to hear Richard Hienberg’s talk which started off the packed day. Between stalls, major talks, and smaller workshop-type events there was masses to take in. A film crew from Barcelona came to Bristol for several days to chart the stories of several ordinary folk involved in the Transition movement, and to cover the event. They came and did some filming in Redland, and we got the impression that they had expected to find that Bristol was a ‘green city’. We had to explain to them that the reason we need a Transition movement is because Bristol is so far from being a green city.
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Sunday, November 4th, 2007
An award winning exhibition capturing climate change in our own backyard opens on 10 November at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. For some preview photos and info click here.
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Wednesday, October 31st, 2007
You can now buy locally made furniture made from locally grown timber, and you can walk to the showroom at 56 Hampton Road. All furniture is handmade in the UK, ethically sourced, and the business is linked to the Forest of Avon woodland scheme
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Tuesday, October 30th, 2007
Mainstream medical journals have given serious coverage to the global and local problems facing the planet, so it’s perhaps no surprise that the Royal College of Physicians (hardly a hotbed of radical extremists) is devoting a whole conference to the matter in January 2008.
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Saturday, October 20th, 2007
About four hundred people filled the Broadmead Baptist church on October 18 for a meeting hosted as part of the COIN/Agora speaker series in partnership with Oxfam. This was an important coming together, of agencies concerned with adaptation in countries that will be most affected by climate change, and mitigation in those countries most responsible. The moral obligation of those of us who have enjoyed the benefits of carbon intensive lifestyles were very clear. The main messages? Cut your own consumption, support agencies that are helping in the developing world, and make your voice heard through letter writing and campaigning. Oh, and George Monbiot said we should all be starting CRAG’s – like we have in Redland.
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Saturday, October 13th, 2007
The Wildlife Trusts are pushing for enactment of a Marine Bill to reverse some of the severe damage inflicted by human activities on our marine ecosystems. If we could only see what has happened beneath the ocean’s surface there would be far greater public concern for such measures. The Government appears to have lessened its commitment to the timetable for progress on this Bill. The Wildlife Trusts are asking for more people to write to their MPs, or sign the online petition.
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Friday, October 12th, 2007
A Judicial Review, requested by a school parent governor with links to the New Party and funding from ..(erm he declined to say when questioned on the BBC), was held in the High Court this month. The parent governor who sought the review claimed that it would be unlawful to show Al Gore’s documentary film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ in secondary schools. The Judge concluded that the film could lawfully be shown, provided it was accompanied by written information to teachers explaining that on nine specific points more balance was needed. The Judge concluded that the the overall message of the film – “that climate change is mainly attributable to man-made emissions of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide… that it will cause serious damage if left unchecked, and that it is entirely possible for governments and individuals to reduce its impacts” – was accurate. Unsurprisingly, the spin given to this story depends very much on which newspaper you read. Most of the online comments simply confirm that it is a bad idea to read online comments. For the New Scientist blog click here.
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