Report of the Week: Eating up the Amazon

Shortly after the release of "Up in Smoke: Latin America and the Carribean" by the woring group on climate change and development, Greenpeace releases its report on deforestation and its drivers in Brazil.

This report "Eating up the Amazon" explains the links between Mc Donalds and deforestation, via Soya farming and the agribusiness giant Cargill.

‘A smoky haze blurs the frontier between the world’s mightiest forest and
its biggest threat: the humble soya bean. The four-month burning season in the
Amazon is when the giant trees felled to make space for crops are reduced to
ashes. Even after being slashed and burned, the trunks of the tauari and
maçaranduba are so huge that their embers glow for more than two years… Brazil’s boom crop and [the world’s] growing appetite are clearing more forest than logging, cattle farming and mining… Brazil is rapidly becoming the takeaway for the workforce of the world.’

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Climate Sciece Distortion Cartoons

To vote o these and others go here. I hope you like these climate change cartoons as much as I do. The censor-matic is my favourite. Bet you £20 it wins..!

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Al Gore Interview with the Guardian (50Min)

Al Gore Interview with the Guardian (50Min)

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Website of the Week: The Progress Project

I just found a great website with an archive of videos on various social/environmental issues.

Amongst others it has a webcast by Amory and on Natural Capital.

Dr. Amory Lovins is Vice President, CFO, and Director of Research of the
Rocky Mountain Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to the efficient
and sustainable use of resources as a path to global security. He has worked as
a consultant and an experimental physicist. A MacArthur Fellow, he has held a
variety of visiting academic chairs, published many books and papers, lectured
widely, and served on the U.S. Department of Energy's senior advisory
board.

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EXXON: Stop Funding Pseudoscience plea by Royal Society

The Royal Society (Britians leading scientific organisation) has just written a letter to Exxon Mobil asking it to cease its activities in funding junk science.

This is the first time in its hundereds of years of existance that the royal society has written to a company about its activities. This step was taken because as the Bob Ward of the royal society states:

"It is now more crucial than ever that we have a debate which is
properlyinformed by the science. For people to be still producing information
thatmisleads people about climate change is unhelpful. The next IPCC
reportshould give people the final push that they need to take action and we
can'thave people trying to undermine it."

The article from the guardian is here, the letter here.

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Video of the Week: Eileen Claussen (Pew Centre President)

Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Centre for Global Climate Change talks about climate change, the rate of action required, the prospects for progress in the US, some key technologies and a plan of action launched at by the pew centre at COP11.

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Clinton Initiative (Briefings on Climate and Energy)

I have just come across the work of Bill Clinton in the form of the Clinton Initiative. Here are the selection of background papers on the website.

Solving the Climate Problem
Robert Socolow, Roberta Hotinski, Jeffery B. Greenblatt, and Stephen Pacala (Stanford)

Climate Change: Defining Technological Opportunities and Spreading Innovation
R K Pachauri (Director-General, The Energy & Resources Institute, TERI)

Stabilising Climate
Lester Brown (President, Earth Policy Institute)

Global Clean Energy Investment Overview
New Energy Finance

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The Meaning of 21st Century: Talks by James Martin

I just recieved an email about a short series of talks by James Martin. James is a major donor to the James Martin institute in oxford UK:

“The James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization will identify science
and technology issues critical in shaping the future of world civilization. It
will conduct research to help humanity to shape a brighter future for itself and
the natural environment on which it depends. It will influence the course of
technological and social change through the engagement of highest quality
scholarship with key decision makers in business, government, and civil society.
Its fellowship programme will bring together leading scholars and practitioners
around the world. Its symposium will become a world forum on science and
civilization. Its teaching programme will train future generations of world
leaders.”

His new book is out soon and the details of his first few speeking dates are bellow, I will be doing a review shortly.



The launch for ‘The Meaning of the 21st Century’ is to be held at the House of Lords on 28th September, hosted by Baroness Greenfield.

James Martin will be speaking with Baroness Greenfield at The Congress Centre, 28 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LF on 28th September at 7pm. To book tickets, call Foyles on 0870 420 2777.

He will be speaking at Borders in Oxford on 3 October and Bristol on 26 September.

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Climate Change and Dar Fur (Conflict and Drought)

Climate change and poverty in Africa, two key foci of Tony Blair during last July's G8 meeting. Two foci, but one issue according to economicst Jeffery Sachs, head of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

According to Sachs, a peace settlement in Dar Fur is dependant not primarily on political manovering but on measures being taken to secure water supplies.

"In general, crises like these are viewed through the optic of
geopolitics and the military,"

"But when you are dealing with very hungry people and desperately poor
people, unless you also put forward a realistic and viable development option,
you can't make peace."

He told reporters that the international community would need to come up with a global framework for dealing with growing migration caused by droughts, floods and other disasters linked to climate change.

"The world needs a better response than locked gates, barbed wire and
shooting people. The political challenge is enormous and governments need to get
serious about addressing it,"

With the current situation deteriorating by the day little mention is being made of the climate, such avoidance of the truth is damaging for action on climate change and therefore damaging to our prospects of avoiding many more such situations in the future.

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Review of the Economics of Climate Change by Nicholas Stern

I picked this story up from the BBC a few days back, it seems a lot of people are speculating about the upcoming stern review.

The Chancellor announced on 19 July 2005 that he had asked Sir Nick Stern to
lead a major review of the economics of climate change, to understand more
comprehensively the nature of the economic challenges and how they can be met,
in the UK and globally. The review will be taken forward jointly by the Cabinet
Office and HMTreasury, and will report to the Prime Minister and Chancellor by
Autumn 2006.It takes place within the context of existing national and
international climatechange policy.

Some responses by key organisations including the sdc, tyndall centre, nerc etc., can be found
here.

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EPA back in court again for not protecting the planet...

Is climate change dangerous? The EPA claim that we just don't know...

EPA lawyers counter that the health impacts of climate change are
uncertain and that there’s no way to differentiate between the effects
of human activity and natural climatic cycles. Meanwhile, the Bush
administration has refused to mandate any greenhouse gas emission curbs
due to the impact it would have on the U.S. economy.

The lying bastards, the scumbags the evil denialists!

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Book Review: Just One Planet--Poverty, Justice and Climate Change

For those of us working on climate change, it is often apparent that a surreal disconnect exists between our perceptions of the risks we face and the actions of those in wider society.

How often have you walked out of a conference—where the deadly effects of climate change have been eloquently outlined—and looked around in amazement at the ungrounded masses? Planes fly off to the USA for weekend breaks, 4x4's drive by on the two mile school run, people appear oblivious to the impending climate crisis. In reality this disconnect is untenable because climate change won't only affect environmentalists, we have Just One Planet and we all have to do our part to avoid destroying it.



Marks book 'Just One World—Poverty, Justice and Climate Change' covers basic climate science, adaptation strategies and policy frameworks for dealing with problem in a just manner. Whilst the introduction to climate science is reasonable it isn't anything new for people with a interest in climate change. The real strengths of the book are in it's examination of vulnerabilities, its explanation of adaptation strategies (particularly how these can be synergistic with development), and it's look at international climate policy.

The danger represented by climate change varies depending on location, the key factors being the physical impacts of climate change and the ability of the local populous to adapt. The worst impacts of climate change will be felt in sub-Saharan Africa and in parts of Asia. It therefore looks likely that in many cases the physical impacts will be heaped on the most vulnerable.



Vulnerability of a society is not simply dependant on its degree of wealth but also on how its industries will be impacted. In developing countries such as Tanzania, Bangladesh the primary industries are agriculture, forestry and fishing, constituting 44% and 23% of revenues respectively. In the developed world, even where agricultural activity is significant its input in terms of GDP is not, in the USA and the UK levels are 1.5 and 1% respectively. This disproportionate vulnerability is a key problem for climate negotiations , particularly when paired with the fact that the wealthiest 20% of the world are responsible for 63% of historic emissions and the lowest 20% just 3%.

Mark goes on to explain that not only is adaptation later likely to be hugely more expensive than mitigation now but that there is a real injustice in how many developed countries are approaching this question. Looking at what the most economical course of action is not only disregards the inherent value in our planets biological heritage but also skews analysis overwhelmingly towards considering the developed economies. Where are the needs of the poor considered in an economic analysis?

But far from being simply a record of climate injustice and its institutionalisation Just One Planet goes on to elaborate on how mitigation, adaptation and development can all be effectively integrated in the developing world. With a focus primarily on the LDCs and with significant reference to the work of Practical Action (ITDG), Just One Planet makes some genuinely important remarks on the real threat to humanity that climate change presents us with.

We can't fail in our fight against climate change as to do so would be to abandon billions to the long term poverty, the mellenium development goals are nothing but pipe dreams if we don't take rapid mitigation and adaptation seriously. Currently the adaptation funds have been pledged less than half a billion dollars, considering that for example protecting the coast of Tanzania will cost 15 billion, these pledges are utterly disproportionate with the severity of the situation.


For anyone with an interest in climate policy, development work or campaigning I can thoroughly recommend this book. From a personal perspective I found the chapter on international policy offered the greatest selection of ideas that where new to me, particularly the malfunctioning of the CDM, the arbitrary basis for the three adaptation funds and the barriers that prevent proper integration of adaptation and development.

D Mark Smith, October 2006 ISBN 1-85339-643-5; £14.95, $21.95, €28.95
Published By ITDG (Practical Action) more Info on Development Books
Available in the USA through Stylus Publishing

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Website of the Week: CITRIS Smart Energy Research

Centre for Information Technology Research in the Interests of Society

The first public-private partnership created to use IT in this way, CITRIS
partners more than 300 faculty and thousands of students from myriad departments at four UC campuses (Berkeley, Davis, Merced and Santa Cruz) with industrial researchers from over 60 corporations. Together they are thinking about IT in ways that have not been thought of before. They see solutions to many of the concerns that face all of us today, from the environment and finding viable
sustainable energy alternatives to healthcare delivery and developing secure
electronic medical records and remote diagnosis, ultimately boosting economic
productivity. CITRIS represents a bold and exciting vision that is leveraging
one of the top university systems in the world with highly successful corporate
partners and government resources.

Smart meetering, flexible pricing and demand side management are all covored. Video presentations explain the topics with background notes.

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Just One Planet: Poverty, Justice and Climate Change

Just a quick post to say thanks to Martina at ITDG publishing for sending me a copy of

"Just One Planet: Poverty, Justice and Climate Change" by D. Mark Smith

I've only read the first couple of chapters today, a review wil go up as soon as I have finished it.

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The Economist: The Heat is On (Climate Change Special)

Economist climate change special.

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Energy Payback Time for PV and Wind

Energy Payback Time for PV and Wind (life cycle analysis / embodied energy)

I`m pissed. The ammount of junk information that gets thrown my way is realy starting to get on my nerves. I mean, it's going to happen from the typical sources, from the insane neo-libs, the pro-fossil fuel lobby etc. But when it comes from fellow environmentalists and people with a stated interest in energy it just plain pisses me off!

As i have my own views on things--I have my own world view--and as I realise that world views are personal things, I don't like to dismiss claims without direct reference to evidence. The reason I get pissed with people throwing junk info my way when they should know better is because I have to do the leg work that they should have done.

And breathe...

When i was at the climate camp recently I went to a fairly impractical workshop on practical off-grid living. It was interesting up to a point, it became instantly less interesting when the guy giving the workshop started talking bollocks...and not clarifying what he was talking bollocks about!

He stated that solar PV was basically energy neutral (co2 pay off roughly within its life time).

First off, this is wrong. Secondly even if it was right he should be inspiring not making us feel hopeless...he could have empahsised other technologies. Thirdly he didn't clarify that he was talking about monocrystaline solar PV rather than amorphous or solar warter heating.

And relax...

When checking these facts I always look for an academic source/govornment advisory group not a business report/thinktank.

Here are some reports on the topic:
1. Report by Tyndall Centre for Global Climate Change (UK Research Centre)
2. Report by ECI (Oxford University, UK)
3. Report by House of Lords Science and Technology Committe (Cross Party Advisory Board)

"The semiconductor materials currently in volume production are monocrystalline silicon (crystalline), poly-crystalline silicon (crystalline), amorphous silicon (thin film), and cadmium telluride (thin film). Systems are expected to have a lifetime of at least 25 years, with low maintenance requirements.

...Depending on technology and solar radiation, the energy pay-back period
canbe between 2.5 and 4 years."

Bellow is a table with wind power payback times in terms of carbon, and bear in mind this is from 4 years ago, before the dramatic scale up and therefore lowering of carbon intensiy per unit energy of generation capacity.

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Report of the week (#2): Up in smoke? Latin America and the Caribbean

Up in smoke? Latin America and the Caribbean
The threat from climate change to the environment and human development




So generally with a report of the week there should be one per week. I get that.

Seems simple, unless you are sent links to two reports and they both seem worthy of attention.

This report 'Up in Smoke? Latin America and the Caribbean' is the followup to 'Up in Smoke? Africa', the conference for the launch of which had a huge influence on me last year.

The people producing these reports know what they are talking about, if you want a good description of the varous issues relating climate change and development then I highly reccomend this report.
In Peru...forced migration is a problem.
In Honduras...the weather isn't just changing its becoming erratic.

In Mexico...the fertility of the land is under threat along with the biodiversiy of the region.

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Megawatts...Don't be daft we need Negawatts!

Yesterday I mentioned a free magazine entitled cogeneration and on site power. From the latest edition here is a summary of my favorite article.

As has been repeatedly found the cheapest form of energy is wasted energy. It is far cheaper to increase the efficiency of the grid and modify the load than to keep building more power stations to compensate for erratic power demand fluctuations.

Strategically saved energy, Negawatts, are the power source of the future...and of the present in some parts of the US! As fuel prices continue to rise, infrastructure planning and building costs increase and public antipathy builds, the whispers of demand side management are starting to be heard, not as incoherent ramblings but as a clarion call. Fully realised smart grids may be some way off but technology is already available for a much more flexible system of power management.

Indeed such a flexible system may be your only option if there is a supply shortage coming your way and there is nomotivation for electricity companies to build new generation or even a chance of clearing the necessary regulatory barriers in time. Negawatts are easily acquired and don't involved huge infrastructure projects.

Powerplants generate Megawatts but what assets generate Negawatts? Anything that uses or produces electricity and isn't owned by the grid company: lights, motors, cpu's, distributed generators are some good examples. All of these applications can be linked up to the now ubiquitous broadband communications network. The communication between these applications and the grid is a hugely useful dialogue due to the diversity in the system and the rapid response that can be elicited.

The Negawatt network has the following characteristics:

1. The entire network is as diverse as possible. It ranges from the control of centralised air conditioners in homes to dimming lights in grocery stores to turning on back-up generators at data-centers and turning off water heaters.
2. This whole resource can be fully functional within 30 minutes with much of it up and running within a couple of minutes. The network is effectively a single 'easy-button' to remove huge amounts of power from the grid when demand reaches dangerous peaks.
3. A given amount of Negawatt power e.g 500NW is actually worth about 10% more than the MW value! This is because of transmission losses that are saved.
4. In Connecticut where a 500MW system was developed in under two years 7% of the peak load is now part of the Negawatt system and can be used to ameliorate surges in demand giving the whole system greater ability to operate reliably with less backup wattage and therefore less ghg emissions.

So smarter grids are possible now, isn't it time these ideas where adopted on a larger scale? A look at how this works in practice...

1. hundreds of grocery stores participate in the Connecticut scheme by allowing remote control of heating and lighting systems. Ultimate control is still in the hands of the supermarket but overwhelmingly a large amount of load can be shed...turning heating off for half an hour is rarely an issue, likewise with freezers, lower light levels would be depressing all day but are hardly noticeable for short periods. On average 75kW can be shed per store. In store devices can be controlled using existing wiring or wireless routers.
2. Many large scale manufacturing processes can delay certain steps until off peak times and gain financially from this. This enables them to export the onsite generation capacity they have.
3. Many telecommunications switching centers can start to run on backup generation.

In the future homes may also be adapted to take advantage of these signals, with simple technology heating/refridgeration may be turned off for short periods. Alternatively by simply providing information to consumers on easily accessible power meters they can--and have been proven to--simply defer using large amounts of energy until low demand/price periods.

Finally, despite the fact that Negawatt networks have been developed from purely economic motives they have proved to be a great educational tool.

"Perhaps most importantly , from and end user perspective, participating in demand response and being part of the Negawatt network raises the awareness of energy management and savings opportunities that lay in fallow"

Many companies have found that 25% savings are easily achievable, these savings represent additional function beyond principle function of load shifting from peak to off peak for the demand. The scheme educates and the abiity to make income as part of the system serves as a motive for energy reduction so as to enable further export.

Finally, shoutout to Amory Lovins of RMI who coined 'Negawatt' back in 1989.

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Report of the week: Solar Generation

Solar power can deliver electricity to more than 2 billion people and provide more than 2 million jobs with an annual investment of 113 billion Euros by 2025

So says a joint report by Greenpeace and the European Photovoltaics Association

The aim has been to examine how solar electricity will be perceived from both the consumer and the business point of view within the timescale of one single generation. The report highlights the benefits which solar energy offers to the world -- for the climate and environment, for social development, for economy and supply as well as for industry and employment.

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Free Magazines on Renewable Energy, Cogeneration and On Site Power

Hello all,

Just discovered a couple of great magazines for getting a bit more information about renewable energy developments, policy and technology.

The first one, which I now have a FREE subscription to is Cogeneration & On-Site Power. Basically go to the website, fill out the form and give them some details that make you look like the sort of person who could buy a small generating unit...and away you go :-)

The list of feature articles are bellow, some good stuff.

Cool technologies - integrating district cooling and thermal energy storage with on-site power
District cooling is a well established technology in North America and is growing fast in other parts of the world too. It is often enhanced with thermal energy storage, which acts to smooth energy loads.
By John Andrepont

At a crossroads - on-site energy in South Korea
Restructuring of South Korea's electricity industry from 2001 has unlocked the door to on-site power. Another CHP driver is a bottleneck in the electricity grid between the main metropolitan areas and the region where many nuclear and coal-fired power stations are located.
By Kwanghoon Seok

Defined by the heat balance - HRSG design is crucial to overall efficiency
Heat-recovery steam generators recover energy from the waste heat from gas turbines and use this energy to generate steam. Engineers must pay close attention to some design aspects not only to optimize the thermal efficiency, but also to protect equipment.
By David Flin

UK decentralized - applying the WADE economic model
What would happen to UK power prices and emissions of carbon dioxide if all the new electricity generating capacity installed over the next 20 years was decentralized energy? The WADE economic model answers this and other questions.
By Sytze Dijkstra

Engine-based CHP - new opportunities for applications with smaller heat loads
With other economic, environmental and power quality advantages available, large extended heating loads are no longer essential to the application of CHP in on-site power.
By Michael A. Devine

Building Romania's hothouse - district heating has immense potential for expansion
Romania has a well developed district heating sector, much of it incorporating cogeneration plants. However, many systems are old and highly inefficient, and there has been a trend for buildings to disconnect in favour of individual heating systems.
By Ionut Purica and Eberhart George

There is also a 'sister' magazine called Renewable Energy World that is focused on solar/wind/biomass etc. rather than efficient fossil fuel usage.

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California Passes Law to Cap CO2 Emissions

On August 31, the California legislature passed a bill establishing the most extensive carbon dioxide (CO2) emission controls yet in the United States. The law requires a 25 percent reduction in state CO2 emissions by 2020, with the first major controls taking effect in 2012.

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Pope: Christians Should Unite to Care for Creation, Poor

In his August 27 sermon from his summer residence south of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI warned that, “damage to the environment makes the life of the poor…particularly unbearable.” He called on Christians to unite to care for the Earth and expressed support for the Italian church’s “day for the safeguarding of Creation,” a September 1 event when parishes across Italy ask believers to meditate on ecological damage. Catholic congregations share the celebration with the Greek Orthodox Church, which in 1990 declared its Ecclesiastical New Year, September 1, a day dedicated to celebration and protection of the environment.

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Save The Teshekpuk Lake region

Hello all I just recieved this email from the wilerness society and thought the issue was important enough to pass on to my American readers, perticularly as this sale is all in the name of oil and gas exploration. So please spend a couple of minutes and save this pristine landscape form exploitation.

As soon as September 27, a very special wild place could be sold to the oil and gas industry – unless we act now!

The Teshekpuk Lake region, one of the most important and remarkable wetlands on the planet, is essential habitat for millions of birds and tens of thousands of caribou. It is also a stunning sweep of landscape, remarkable even in Alaska where a grand scale is the only scale.

Together, we can get the Interior Department to do the only sensible thing: cancel the September 27 sale of this precious public land.

The sale is imminent! Act quickly before it’s too late!

Native people, conservation groups, scientists, sportsmen’s groups, and the general public strongly oppose the drilling plan. Will you join the chorus?

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Free DVD update

Just a quick update for those of you who have requested a free dvd. I have been away for the past week, now i`m back and I have a significant number of requests for dvd's. I`m going to start sending them out in about a week, its easier for me to do this in batches, hence the delay.

Also, i`m trying to work out the costs, I don't have a job at the moment (i`m volunteering full time with ccc) so ideally i don't want to lose to much cash on this. As the internet is rife with scams i think the best thing is if I send the dvd's with a note of the cost to me for the postage, packaging and the dvdr. Hopefully most people will then send be a cheque for this cost and everything will work out. If it does I will extend the offer, if not I won't.

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Newsletter of the Week: E-carbon news

As alway e-carbon news has more interesting infor than i can posibly summarise so have a look at the whole newsletter. My pick of the news is bellow. I may pick a few more tomorrow, truly a great news letter.








1. 280th mayor signs up to action on climate change.

By becoming the first Idaho mayor but the 280th in the United States to sign
the US Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement, Boise Mayor Dave Bieter committed Boise to meet or beat the targets of the Kyoto Protocol. Boise goals are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7 per cent from 1990 levels by 2012, to urge state and federal governments to meet a similar goal, and to advocate a federal emissions-trading system.16 August Idaho Statesman

2. Legislation on c02 to spur economic growth.

"On the day that UC Berkeley issued a study concluding that tighter
greenhouse gas emissions legislation in California would spur billions in
economic activity and create thousands of jobs as companies invest in new energy
technology, a prominent venture capitalist broke with business critics of the
legislation and said laws to reduce emissions would spur a new wave of clean
energy, with entrepreneurs going out to "compete and innovate to bring enormous solutions to the market"

3. In the US federal regulation of emmissions is comming.

The President of the American Public Power Association, Alan Richardson,
representing 15 per cent of United States power generation, is convinced that
federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions is coming and that emitters need
to get ready for it. "The issue is no longer whether there is a human
contribution to global warming but the extent of that contribution," he said.
There is, he added, "an emerging public consensus and a building political
directive that inaction is not a viable strategy

4. New UNFCC head

Dutch climate expert Yvo de Boer has been appointed Executive Secretary of
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

5. Biofuels could have opposite of intended effects.

Biofuels could mean increases in fuel prices passed on to drivers, and
the rush to plant more crops for biofuels could result in burning swathes of
virgin forest cleared for cultivation. Compared to conventional fuels,
biofuels are still uneconomic in developed countries unless they have
favourable tax treatments.

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Contraction and Convergence a Brief Update

Aubrey's latest update on C&C covers tory policy, NGO mincing and the severity of the situation as it stands.

A little logic would go a long way in the fatalistic world of climate policy where considering caps on global co2 conentrations is dangerous talk and realistic levels of action to save us are Utopian!

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Climate Camp Review

I thought it would be good to review what I got up to at the climate camp and share some of the interesting things that went on there.



What I got out of the camp.

I arrived Saturday evening with Phil from CCC and helped to erect the stall before helping to burry a few of the water pipes under the fire lanes.

I then sampled the delights of Vegan cooking that where imposed upon the whole camp...something seemed not quite just about this but the food was pretty good.

I went to the main entertainment tent that evening, as I did most evenings and drank organic cider, a man of habit, I stuck to cider and apple juice the whole week!

The next few days I attended a range of workshops and short films, suprisingly my favorite workshop was run by someone I already know (Almuth Ernsting) who setup biofuel watch. I may well be involved with this nascent organization more over the coming months. Another workshop that was very good was that given by Mark Lynas on 6 degrees of climate change and what this would mean for the planet.

I also attended a workshop on social change which, due to the political inclination of the camps participants, ended up being a discussion of what sort of co-operative we should have in the future and how the hedgemony of the nation state can be overthrown. But in any discussion of matters which are usually not talked about in society as a whole usually throws up some good points. In this case I was left with the impression that education is over emphasized as a catalyst for change and that what is really needed is some of the routes of power that we where given in the camp to be taken to broader society. I don't however think that these societal level changes are going to power action on climate change although they may well grow as concern for the climate does. I differ from many of my peers in being pragmatic in this regard, I'm interested in finding ways to influence cooperation's to become more sustainable not just to overthrow them!

Shout Outs



Hello to all the great people I met on the camp and to all the people who I already knew but who where there. Particularly the +10 CCC people there; Poppy; Jay, Adam and Rosie; also a big shut out to indymedia who had an onsite internet cafe and the various talented open mic participants.


Climate Camp Philosophy



I want draw attention to one of the interesting aspects of the camp, namely that it was run based ostensibly on anarchist principles (look up anarchy if you think it means chaos, it doesn't!). The camp was hugely well organised and very cheap to live on for a week, this is possible because anarchy stresses involvement of all, stressed best during the introduction to the camp where we where assured that 'we are all crew'. There where overheads for parts of infrastructure such as marquees and these where covered largely by donations. Most of the camps facilities/services where built/run on-site, its amazing what you can do when 500 people are working together.

In relation to how the camp was run I`d say the most interesting aspect was the ability of consensus decisions to be pretty good decisions, and for people to feel much more involved than when meetings are lead by one or a few people. The functioning of an anarchist commuity has some real advantages over a liberal democracy. Unlike the real world, everyone is part of a community, a strong community where resources aren't just shared but where skills, time are also shared. The problem with consensus meetings is that they are slow, and sometimes really slow!

There are a few important caveats to my largely positive thoughts on the camp. I was talking to one of my friends who had been helping to promote the camp and he pointed out two things:
1. There are sometimes pre-meeting meetings to set the agenda--is any system ever going to be free back room intervention?
2. The tranquility team (security) where backed up with a collection of rough and ready types--fluffy with a hard backbone.
3. There was a wide range of involvement, some people did a hell of a lot, some relatively little.

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Negative feedbacks set to reverse.

Climate change may cause the worlds soils to change from being net carbon sinks to becoming net sources of carbon dioxide. The effect is due to increasing rates of resperation of microbes as the planet warms.

This is another worrying piece of work by Peter Cox, who works on climateic feedbacks with the Met Office in Exeter.

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Climate Change Action: A Resource for Undercover Police?

Ok so now I know the purpose of this blog...to give undercover police something to mindfuck me with!

Ok so brief recap, I was just off at the camp for climate action, not everything that happened at the camp was strichtly legal. For this reason, and other more philisophical ones, some people where uneasy with the prospect of having police on the site. The police weren't entirely happy with having an autonous region within the UK whatever the motivation for this autonomy. This discontent manifested itself as a 6ft3, shaved head police officer claiming links to rising tide london and campaign against climate change.

Superficially he wasn't likely to be just another activist because of:
1. The fact he arrived after the action; why oh why would you do that?
2. The fact that he didn't fit any hippy stereotypes and was actually at the other end of several spectra of attitude/appearence.

More direct problems:
1. He didn't seem to have a purpose on site.
2. He didn't know anyone (most of use mix in smallish circles and know >12 people)
3. He claimed involvement in rising tide, rising tide people denied this.
4. He claimed that he helped steward a meeting that i was involved with on june 3rd he named the speakers at the meeting this must have been off this blog...the only other steward at the meeting that i chaired was Sarah J.

Hello to the Met, get yourself a more convincing undercover officer!

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