Environment
Ministerial Optimism sees Fracking Stumble Ahead onto Uncharted Paths
Posted on January 23, 2012 by Ric Lander | 1 Comment
In a letter regarding the controversial drilling process Sarah Boyack MSP says regarding the Scottish Government’s position “I am sure that you share my hope that the Minister’s optimism is well-placed” [1]. I do share Sarah’s hope, but optimism is a frivolous commodity when dealing with the regulation of heavy industry. Gas extraction by hydraulic [...]
Greens who oppose HS2 are being short sighted
Posted on January 11, 2012 by Sam Coates | 11 Comments
I must say I’m quite surprised by the enthusiasm for greens opposing HS2, announced to get ahead today. People say the business model doesn’t imply it will cut CO2 and merely increases demand for travel, and that the money would be better spent on improving local services that communities rely on. I can certainly think [...]
Art beyond oil: on Ai Weiwei, Ali Ferzat and Ahmed Bassiouny
Posted on December 17, 2011 by Admin | No Comments
‘Not if but when: Culture Beyond Oil’ is a new publication from PLATFORM, Liberate Tate, and Art Not Oil which sets out to discuss oil sponsorship of the arts. In the excerpt below, Mel Evans from Platform considers the political plight of three artists who in the practice of their work have experienced state-led persecution, [...]
Durban could yet be a chapter in the story of how we stopped climate change
Posted on December 16, 2011 by Ric Lander | 3 Comments
photo courtesy of UNFCCC If a successful campaign needs a story, then since 2009 the global climate movement has been in deep trouble. We certainly started off with a great story. I love to tell it to people all the time. Gather round kids, I say to fresh-faced activists and strangers in pubs, listen up [...]
The world’s scariest news? Methane bubbles from the arctic ocean
Posted on December 13, 2011 by Adam Ramsay | 18 Comments
As the world’s junior ministers touch down from their holiday in Durban, The Independent today has perhaps the scariest story in human history. Perhaps. Russian scientists have observed vast plumes of methane rising in the Arctic Ocean. Now, other than that, we can’t be sure what’s going on. I’m not a geologist, or oceanographer or [...]
Talk of a ‘new climate deal’ is a distraction from inaction
Posted on December 8, 2011 by Murray Worthy | No Comments
Murray Worthy, policy officer at the World Development Movement The main story coming out of the UN climate talks in Durban so far has been whether or not the summit can agree to start negotiations on a new long term deal. The EU doesn’t want to talk about much else, and many media reports are [...]
Don’t be fooled – the UK isn’t trying to save the climate
Posted on November 29, 2011 by Murray Worthy | No Comments
Murray Worthy, policy officer at the World Development Movement writes from the UN climate talks in Durban Cross posted from the World Development Movement’s Durban Watch blog If you have been following the news recently you could be fooled into thinking the politics of the UN negotiations have been turned on their head. It might [...]
DUP Minister Under Pressure As Anti-Fracking Campaign Grows
Posted on November 27, 2011 by Adam McGibbon | No Comments
The issue of hydraulic fracturing – fracking – has been catapulted into mainstream attention in Northern Ireland over the last few weeks. For those not yet in the know, fracking involves pumping high-pressure chemicals (many of them extremely dangerous) into the ground in order to extract natural gas. The 2010 film ‘Gasland’ documents the devastation [...]
The Coalition Axe on feed-in tariffs is a terrible mistake
Posted on November 15, 2011 by Jim Jepps | 7 Comments
In the two weeks since the Coalition announced it was going to slash feed-in tariffs (or FITs) in half there has been real consternation and anger. Feed-in tariffs exist to encourage the installation on new small-scale, low-carbon electricity technologies helping the UK move towards a new model of energy generation. Climate change minister Greg Barker [...]
Drenched in Oil – Ulster Bank, RBS and Ethics for the Belfast Festival
Posted on October 10, 2011 by Adam McGibbon | 1 Comment
What links the suffering of the indigenous Cree Indians of Alberta, Canada, the international arms trade and the President of Belarus to a vibrant cultural event in Belfast, Northern Ireland? The answer is Ulster Bank’s sponsorship of the Belfast Festival at Queen’s; or as it’s now called, the ‘Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s.’ The [...]
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