Bill Clinton On Letterman Talks About a Low Carbon Future

It's Also Low Carbon...




Bill clinton explains what we have to gain from a low carbon economy.

1. We don't destroy the planet.
2. We create millions of high paying jobs.
3. We decrease dependance on middle east oil.
4. We decentralise political and economic power.

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Well that explains it...

The calculated efforts to discredit gore when he spoke to political leaders on Capitol Hill recently have confused many people. Why the vitriol.

The suspicion has to be that the fossil fuel industry led Bush administration is feeling the heat.

This video clip gives an idea of some of the support that Gore is getting, queuing up around the block for a book signing. Elsewhere, gore managed to sell out a 10'000 seat venue quicker than Elton John who was performing the next day. In fact we would do well to remember that, as gore stated, the media are so scientifically illiterate and corporate owned that the only real way to engage with people is to talk to them directly, hence his presentation that he has given to hundreds of organisations.

As Gore is generally uninterested in fighting through the media he is not diverting precious time away from his work, and whatever noise surrounds one event, he will be on the attack again in another. He is training thousands to give his slide show, he is helping to plan Live Earth, he is working with investors to come up with relevant metrics for sustainable business choices, he made a film...it won an Oscar. Every time another project is developed and every time further endorsements are garnered from businesses, scientists and his growing band of fans he makes the climate crisis more difficult to ignore and makes inaction ever less feasible.

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Betrayed by corporate america and the media they control.

In a weird way I think that corporate America has shot itself in the foot. While climate change was seen as something that they could inhibit action on and not have to face for some time they distorted science, funded skeptics and pursued there anti mitigation agenda through the media. Now, the public have taken on much of this disinformation and businesses are starting to realise the importance of a stringent and well implemented national climate mitigation strategy. It is difficult to manipulate people on one issue to often, will this uncertainty recede as the media begin to cover the issue appropriately?



David Suzuki speaking on corporate lobbying and the lack of prime time science programing in the US.

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International Polar Year Webcast

The 3rd International Polar Year runs from March 1st 2007 . A webcast of the launch is available here.


The webcast is hosted by the Arctic Portal. Coverage of the IPY is primarily through there own website that has a range of blogs, news and announcements. Another interesting and educational website is IGLO.

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Renewable Energy in Spain

One region of spain is moving ahead with renewable energy at a rapid rate, and the local govornment are hoping to make this renewable energy frontier a cleantech investment dream.

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Climate Change: Strategic national security threat?

This morning I recieved an email about a conference soon to be held in London on the security implications of climate change. Usually I`m pleased to hear of a new sector of society taking climate change seriously, but in this case no comfort is brought to me by the fact that the military are starting to see an emerging global threat. This is perticularly the case since that threat is drawn from the expectation of hundereds of millions of newly dispossesed and poverty stricken environmental refugees.

As the military establishment studies this impending tidal wave of desperate humanity, we stand so near yet so far from a global agreement that holds a chance of mitigating the worst of these possible scenarios. So near in that global awareness has never been higher, we have the technologies we know the policies required; so far, in that even suggesting the measures a the low end of what is required will have you labelled an extremist.

I decided to have a look and see how seriously this was being taken, the links bellow constitute the most interesting results from a short perod of web searching, there seems to be plenty of activity!


Websites:
Global Environmental Change and Human Security
Institute for Environmental Strategy
Woodrow Wilson Environmental Change and Security Program

Upcoming Conferences:
Royal United Services Institute, April 24th 2007 "Climate Security in Asia"
Strategic Studies Institute of the Army War College, March 30-31 2007 "National Security Implications of Global Climate Change"

Newsletter:
Global Environmental Change and Human Security

Reports:
US Department of Defence, Abrupt Climate Change
Tyndall Centre, Security and Climate Change
Nigerian Institute for Social And Economic Research, Climate Change, Population Drift and Violent Conflict Over Land Resources in North Eastern Nigeria
University of Kent, Stones in a greenhouse?--Global and regional conflicts over climate change
Department of Sociology and Political Science Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Climate Conflict: Common Sense or Nonsense?
Institute for Environmental Security Adelphi Research, Forum & Exhibition on Environment, Conflict and Cooperation

Video
Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, Climate-Security Connections: An Empirical Approach to Risk Assessment

On A Lighter Note!

All of this reminded me of a superb website where "The Yes Men" masquerading as Haliburton representatives invited a wide range of high profile guests to a very posh hotel to see there new invention for a conflict ridden future.

"The SurvivaBall is designed to protect the corporate manager no matter what Mother Nature throws his or her way,"

said Fred Wolf, a Halliburton representative who spoke today at the Catastrophic Loss conference held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Amelia Island, Florida.

"This technology is the only rational response to abrupt climate change,"

he said to an attentive and appreciative audience.

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George Monbiot: We need a five-year freeze on biofuels

According to a recent article by George Monbiot we need a freeze on biofuels. Biofuelwatch work consistantly to highlight this issue and there site is certainly worth a visit.

A taste of the strong passions that biofuels attract:

So what's wrong with these programmes? Only that they are a formula for environmental and humanitarian disaster. In 2004 I warned, on these pages, that biofuels would set up a competition for food between cars and people. The people would necessarily lose: those who can afford to drive are richer than those who are in danger of starvation. It would also lead to the destruction of rainforests and other important habitats. I received more abuse than I've had for any other column - except for when I attacked the 9/11 conspiracists. I was told my claims were ridiculous, laughable, impossible. Well in one respect I was wrong. I thought these effects wouldn't materialise for many years. They are happening already.

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Climate Change is A Problem...So We Need Nuclear Power?

The UK government has talked tough and done little on climate change. Now it seems determined to ramrod through a new generation of nuclear power plants, does this mean that it is finally getting serious or that it continues to ignore the advice of energy analysts on how we can affordably build a low carbon energy system in the UK?

Nuclear power is such an emotive topic that it is very difficult to find information that you can trust. It seems likely to me that Greenpeace and other environmental groups would be dead against it from the start, it also seems obvious that the nuclear power industry would be funding it's own research with its own frames for reference.

Perhaps the business community and academia can be of assistance, particularly those concerned with energy policy and therefore independent, rather than those doing nuclear power research and therefore often funded by nuclear power industries.

In this video Warwick Business School host a discussion of nuclear power, government climate policy and the UK energy system.




Further Reading:

Sustainable Deelopment Commission:
Position Paper + Various Bakground Papers on Crucuial Points in the Debate

Tyndall Centre
2050 Energy Scenarios + Govornment Policy Critique

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Local voices, global choices: Encouraging debate about climate change in the South

Panos London promotes media coverage of development issues in the global south. Of particular interest to this website is there work reporting issues relating to COP 12 in Nairobi. Melting Point is the name of this project. The website is here.

A webcast presenting the work they do can be found here, report here.

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African Youth Initiaitve on Climate Change: AYICC

The Nairobi Climate Conference video archives are full of fascinating testimonies on the reality of climate change and the various projects, organisation and coalitions working to address climate change. One very interesting, and positive organisation is an African youth movement working to heighten awareness of climate change both within the African continent and internationally; after all Africa stands to be hard hit by climate change so these are voices that desperately need to be heard.

"We are asking everyone, especially world leaders to note that climate change is happening, and we are feeling it already" Sena Alouka (Togo)

African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC) represents a start of the climate action movement on the African continent.

This coalition will connect African youth organizations and youth oriented organizations working on climate change issues. The coalition will seek to optimise climate change action by African youth and will be spearheaded by youth leaders from across Africa.

"Africa is shedding tears due to climate change" Issa Hussein (Kenya)

Webcast from Montreal here.
Presentation here.

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Energy 2.0: Solving Tomorrow's Energy Challenges

- Biofuels Futures
- The Nuclear Renaissance
- The Solar Panel
- Clean Carbon - Building Efficiency
- Transportation in 2020
- MIT Technology Showcase
- Entrepreneurs in Energy

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A musical interlude (as seen on Celsias)

Step it up 2007 is building momentum.

In no small part this is due to a number of interesting ways that they are promoting the day (April 14th) with videos and music.

They are also working with songwriters,or anyone willing to give it a shot, in order to build a collection of climate protest songs. Something any self respecting movement needs!

This song bellow is 'Step It Up' by The Gallerists.

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Acting on climate change is bad for the economy...or is it?

Some of the innovative businesses that are making money by reducing ghg emissions. Why do we talk of a penalty for first actors not a reward?

Denmark is certainly doing well from it's early adoption and promotion of wind.

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A few positive thoughts from the president of AAAS

John Holdren, president of the American Academy for the Advancedment of Science has this to say on climate change...

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Confronting Climate Change: A Scientifc Expert Panel Report

The New York Academy of Sciences hosted the launch of a UN Foundation sponsored report entitled "Confronting Climate Change: Avoiding the Unmanageable, Managing the Unavoidable".

The panel presentation is here, Q&A here and report here.

The key finding are:

	Climate change is reality and some of its results are now inevitable, but a new report offers a road map for mitigating and adapting to its effects.
	Allowing the global average surface temperature to rise more than 2°C to 2.5°C over the next 100 years would sharply increase the risk of catastrophic events. Greenhouse gases now in the atmosphere have already committed the planet to a rise of about 1.5°C.
	Climate change will lead to major crop failures, more extreme weather events, and make environmental refugees of tens of millions.
	Responding to climate change requires intelligent policy making and sustained investment in appropriate technology, both of which could help avert disasters resulting from climate change while simultaneously boosting living standards worldwide.

The really dismal science.
Peter Raven on the connection between climate change and sustainability.

Climate change may be the most media-unfriendly topic scientists have ever studied. It focuses on phenomena that are so gradual and insidious that they are virtually impossible to film; its conclusions reveal the terribly disturbing truth that the comfortable standard of living to which most of the world aspires is, in fact, destroying the planet; and its celebrity spokesman is Al Gore.

How, then, does one explain the current moment?

"Who would have thought that a singer singing a song about global climate change in a movie called An Inconvenient Truth would win an Academy Award for the best song in any movie in the United States in the past year? This gives you an idea of the situation that we've gotten to," says Peter Raven, director of the Missouri Botanical Garden...

...The meeting at the Academy was the first opportunity for the scientific community to learn about and respond to the report, and followed a meeting between the report's lead authors and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon earlier that day...

Keeping our cool.
John Holdren on necessary steps for mitigating the effects of climate change.

The new report, written by an international panel of 18 scientists at the behest of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, complements the series of reports now being published by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). "It differs from the IPCC report in that we have selected between possible reactions to climate change and provided a road map," says Raven, the Sigma Xi report's lead author.

Besides being more prescriptive, the Sigma Xi report is also more blunt than most politically vetted climate change assessments. The authors used similarly direct language in their presentations at the Academy. "Global climate change is real, it is primarily caused by human activities ... [and] it is accelerating," says John Holdren, director of the Woods Hole Research Institute.

Indeed, the evidence for human-driven climate change has become overwhelming in recent years. "The incidence of extreme weather events ... has been going up, sea level rise has been accelerating, sea ice is melting, glaciers are retreating, permafrost is thawing, boundaries of ecosystems are moving," says Holdren.

Researchers have linked the accelerating changes with the gigatons of carbon dioxide, methane, and other "greenhouse" gases emitted by human activities every year. By causing the atmosphere to retain more of the sun's heat, these emissions are driving the global average surface temperature inexorably upward.

Worse, the accumulating evidence suggests that climate change may not remain gradual. Several major "tipping points," such as the collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet, major melting of the Greenland ice cap, desertification of the Amazon rainforest, and changes in the frequency of strong El Niño oscillations could cause sudden and catastrophic changes over the course of a few years rather than a few centuries. Climate change may be hard to sell, but it's become even harder to ignore.

The Sigma Xi panel concluded that allowing the global average surface temperature to rise more than 2°C to 2.5°C over the next 100 years would sharply increase the risk of these catastrophic impacts. Greenhouse gases now in the atmosphere have already committed the planet to a rise of about 1.5°C.

To stay within the recommended range, the researchers assert that human greenhouse gas emissions must stabilize not much above current levels no later than 2015, then decline to no more than one third of current emissions by 2100. Compounding the problem, these reductions must occur right when the world's poorest countries are making the transition to modernity—in other words, at the very moment when global energy demand is about to skyrocket.

Conceding that cutting emissions while raising living standards will be an immense job, Holdren is nonetheless optimistic: "It is a challenge to which we believe society can rise," he says. In order to meet it, the panel outlined a series of recommendations, highlighting the "win-win" solutions that cut energy demand while boosting economic growth.

Unfortunately, win-win solutions, such as increasing vehicle fuel economy and providing incentives for cleaning up power plants, will not be enough. The report admits that achieving long-term emissions reductions will also require "win-lose" solutions, such as a carbon tax or a "cap-and-trade" system of emissions permits.

Besides choosing the right solutions, policymakers will need to implement them properly. Picking one topical example, Holdren explains that "in the transport sector, we should be increasing the use of biofuels to replace oil, [but] we cannot do that witlessly, because expanding biofuels witlessly will pose serious problems of competition with food production ... environmental destruction, [and] loss of biodiversity."

Jousting the four horsemen.
Rosina Bierbaum on ways to adapt to inevitable climate change.

Food production and biodiversity were also major topics for Rosina Bierbaum, dean of environmental and natural resource policy and management at the University of Michigan, who spoke after Holdren. Using a pair of world maps, Bierbaum showed the group's projections of future ecosystem upheavals and crop failures.

Even if governments follow the panel's recommendations to mitigate climate change, some of these events are probably inevitable. "Adaptation to climate change can't any longer be seen as sort of a cop-out; it's not instead of mitigation, but it's needed in addition to mitigation," says Bierbaum.

In a generation, Mississippi may be growing coconut palms instead of loblolly pine lumber, and Vermonters' maple syrup might come from northern Canada. More ominously, major crop failures in the tropics could cause widespread famines in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, rising ocean temperatures and sea levels will likely increase extreme weather events and displace entire communities from coastlines. "There will be tens of millions of environmental refugees that the world will need to deal with," says Bierbaum.

Michael MacCracken on how climate change is affecting the biosphere.

The most vulnerable countries are those in which agriculture accounts for more than 5% of GDP, and at least one important crop will be jeopardized by climate change. Among these countries are many that are already poor and underdeveloped.

But like the mitigation measures, many of the report's adaptation recommendations are easier said than done. During the question session after the presentations, for example, an audience member asked about the depressingly instructive case of New Orleans, where a multi-billion-dollar rebuilding effort is now underway on land that is infamously below sea level.

Raven concedes that the outlook is grim. "It's a lot easier to explain the problem than to forge a solution," he says, adding that "if we can't really address the problem of New Orleans in an intelligent and adaptive way, and the signs are relatively few that we will, how do we get together and address the problem of Bangladesh?"

The challenge goes well beyond building codes. "The wetlands that are south of New Orleans have been the shock absorber for hurricanes for a very long time, and they've been losing for the last 50 years about 25 square miles per year," says Michael MacCracken of the Climate Institute. MacCracken adds that "no matter what they do to New Orleans, if they don't recover the wetlands, they're going to get inundated [again]." The same is true for many other low-lying regions around the world.

Richard Moss on the international response to sustainable development.

Framing the issue more optimistically, Richard Moss, senior director of climate and energy at the UN Foundation, says that humanity still has the opportunity to choose between two futures. "The path that we're currently on ... involves increasingly serious climate change impacts," he says. In the alternative future, however, intelligent policy making and sustained investment in appropriate technology could help avert the climate change disaster while simultaneously boosting living standards worldwide. "We must act collectively and urgently to change our course through the leadership at all levels of society. There really is no more time for delay," says Moss.

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Architechture 2030: The 2010 Imperative

Architechture 2030, has launched The 2010 Imperative; a venture being sponsored by The American Institute of Architects (AIA), The Home Depot Foundation, US Green Building Council (USGBC) and New York Academy of Sciences.

A facinating project with an impresive launch...

Tens of thousands of people from all over the world gathered here on February 20, 2007 to participate in the Global Emergency Teach-in conducted by Architecture 2030. During this interactive webcast, 2030 issued The 2030 Challenge and The 2010 Imperative, specific achievable strategies to transform the built environment. These strategies are designed to immediately stabilize emissions in the Building Sector, and then reverse them to acceptable levels over the next ten years.

Presentations at the launch where given by James Hansen, head of NASA's Goddard Space Insitute; one of the worlds leading atmospheric modeling centres. Also by Edward Mazria, founder of Architechture 2030 and Chris Luebkeman senior fellow of the Design Futures Council.

Presentations by:

• James Hansen
• Chris Luebkeman
• Edward Mazria
  

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Architecture 2030

I`ve been doing quite a bit of reading about building movements, and messaging, one interesting if unsprising commonality of largescale movements is the involvement of wider constituancies. For example outspoken scientist and business leaders in the case of the clean air act. It is these non-traditional activists that really signal a movement has a chance. In the UK I have been interested in how active MedAct has become on climate change, development charity ChristianAid has likewise become involved in climate change. Bellow is an editorial from Architechture 2030, a growing organisation of Architechts who are taking measure to lower the carbon footprints of buildings. I find this kind of thing very encouraging.

Architechture 2030 Update.

"Over the past several months Architecture 2030 has been busier than ever. We set some very challenging goals for ourselves, and with enormous support and commitment, we achieved much of what we set out to accomplish. Our team, accompanied by four very influential speakers, joined forces with some of the most powerful names in the industry to produce a live web-cast that would inform more students, professionals and community leaders than we could reach in a lifetime by traveling and lecturing.

On February 20, 2007, Architecture 2030 hosted the 2010 Imperative Global Emergency Teach-in, which was sponsored by the Home Depot Foundation, American Institute of Architects, US Green Building Council, New York Academy of Sciences and many other generous supporters. The event, web-cast live from New York City for three and a half hours, reached over a quarter of a million participants from 47 countries worldwide. Over 1200 AIA members participated for continuing education credit and hundreds of universities across the globe hosted exciting events with remarkable turnouts.

Now the word is out: Global warming is happening and the educational and design communities have an obligation to join others worldwide in the battle against catastrophic climate change. The 2010 Imperative offers students, faculty and administrators a historic opportunity to lead our nation in this time of crisis, and The 2030 ˚Challenge offers professionals and policymakers a simple, achievable strategy to reduce fossil-fuel consumption and the carbon emissions that are currently a by-product of the built environment."

To recieve regular updates from Architechture 2030 go here.

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I`m probably not going to get bored of fox news and climate change...

From fox news, honestly...

We're starting a brand new feature for the end of the week: the Friday Final, a listing of winners and losers for the week.

Here are the winners, and here's why.

Al Gore. Face it, he's got a fish-in-the-barrel issue. Who's going to argue with big Al when he's saving cute polar bears and you are doing terrible things to them?

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Step it Up 2007: More Than 1000 Rallies Planned For April 14th

More than 1000 events are so far planed for April 14th in the US for
a national day of action!(via Itsgettinghotinhere) Check out Step it Up 2007 fo your nearest action or to set up one of your own.



The video bellow can be used to promote the day...please do!

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Al Gore's Top 10 Policy Tips To House of Representatives

Al Gore's Testimony before the House of Representatives energy and science committee has been described in some detail by Dave Roberts over at Grist.

1. An immediate "carbon freeze" that would cap U.S. CO2 emissions at current levels, followed by a program to generate 90% reductions by 2050.
2. Start a long-term tax shift to reduce payroll taxes and increase taxes on CO2 emissions.
3. Put aside a portion of carbon tax revenues to help low-income people make the transition.
4. Create a strong international treaty by working toward "de facto compliance with Kyoto" and moving up the start date for Kyoto's successor from 2012 to 2010.
5. Implement a moratorium on construction of new coal-fired power plants that are not compatible with carbon capture and sequestration.
6. Create an "ELECTRANET" -- a smart electricity grid that allows individuals and businesses to feed power back in at prevailing market rates.
7. Raise CAFE standards.
8. Set a date for a ban on incandescent light bulbs.
9. Create "Connie Mae," a carbon-neutral mortgage association, to help defray the upfront costs of energy-efficient building.
10. Have the SEC require disclosure of carbon emissions in corporate reporting, as a relevant "material risk."

Dave also provides a link to the video on Youtube of the entire testiomy, along with a breakdown of Al's recommendations. Which are bellow. Basically, i nicked Dave's post...err thanks dave! Please check out grist if you haven't already, great green mag.

Al gore's presentation that has been turned into An Inconvenient Truth can be found here in full.

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Al Gore on Capitol Hill for Senate Hearings

For those of us convinced about the need to act on climate change, and that's a pretty broad swathe of humanity--including Fox News' very own John O'riely--this was a very positive day. and a welcome incident of truth finally being explained to Congress: a definite improvement on right wing think tanks voicing oil funded agendas!

Al gore today visited Capitol Hill and...


Testified to the Environmental and Public Works Committee (Testimony + Webcast)

Testified to the Committee on Science and Technology (Testimony + Webcast)

For those of you uncertain about Climate Change due to the fact that Al Gore has been promoting it and he is a politician, bellow are some references on the science.

December 2004 Article in the journal Science.

The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change

Naomi Oreskes

Policy-makers and the media, particularly in the United States, frequently assert that climate science is highly uncertain. Some have used this as an argument against adopting strong measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For example, while discussing a major U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report on the risks of climate change, then-EPA administrator Christine Whitman argued, "As [the report] went through review, there was less consensus on the science and conclusions on climate change" (1). Some corporations whose revenues might be adversely affected by controls on carbon dioxide emissions have also alleged major uncertainties in the science (2). Such statements suggest that there might be substantive disagreement in the scientific community about the reality of anthropogenic climate change. This is not the case.

The scientific consensus is clearly expressed in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Created in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environmental Programme, IPCC's purpose is to evaluate the state of climate science as a basis for informed policy action, primarily on the basis of peer-reviewed and published scientific literature (3). In its most recent assessment, IPCC states unequivocally that the consensus of scientific opinion is that Earth's climate is being affected by human activities: "Human activities ... are modifying the concentration of atmospheric constituents ... that absorb or scatter radiant energy. ... [M]ost of the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations" [p. 21 in (4)].

IPCC is not alone in its conclusions. In recent years, all major scientific bodies in the United States whose members' expertise bears directly on the matter have issued similar statements. For example, the National Academy of Sciences report, Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions, begins: "Greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth's atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise" [p. 1 in (5)]. The report explicitly asks whether the IPCC assessment is a fair summary of professional scientific thinking, and answers yes: "The IPCC's conclusion that most of the observed warming of the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations accurately reflects the current thinking of the scientific community on this issue" [p. 3 in (5)].

Others agree. The American Meteorological Society (6), the American Geophysical Union (7), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) all have issued statements in recent years concluding that the evidence for human modification of climate is compelling (8).

The drafting of such reports and statements involves many opportunities for comment, criticism, and revision, and it is not likely that they would diverge greatly from the opinions of the societies' members. Nevertheless, they might downplay legitimate dissenting opinions. That hypothesis was tested by analyzing 928 abstracts, published in refereed scientific journals between 1993 and 2003, and listed in the ISI database with the keywords "climate change" (9).

The 928 papers were divided into six categories: explicit endorsement of the consensus position, evaluation of impacts, mitigation proposals, methods, paleoclimate analysis, and rejection of the consensus position. Of all the papers, 75% fell into the first three categories, either explicitly or implicitly accepting the consensus view; 25% dealt with methods or paleoclimate, taking no position on current anthropogenic climate change. Remarkably, none of the papers disagreed with the consensus position.

Admittedly, authors evaluating impacts, developing methods, or studying paleoclimatic change might believe that current climate change is natural. However, none of these papers argued that point.

This analysis shows that scientists publishing in the peer-reviewed literature agree with IPCC, the National Academy of Sciences, and the public statements of their professional societies. Politicians, economists, journalists, and others may have the impression of confusion, disagreement, or discord among climate scientists, but that impression is incorrect.

The scientific consensus might, of course, be wrong. If the history of science teaches anything, it is humility, and no one can be faulted for failing to act on what is not known. But our grandchildren will surely blame us if they find that we understood the reality of anthropogenic climate change and failed to do anything about it.

Many details about climate interactions are not well understood, and there are ample grounds for continued research to provide a better basis for understanding climate dynamics. The question of what to do about climate change is also still open. But there is a scientific consensus on the reality of anthropogenic climate change. Climate scientists have repeatedly tried to make this clear. It is time for the rest of us to listen.

References and Notes

1. A. C. Revkin, K. Q. Seelye, New York Times, 19 June 2003, A1.
2. S. van den Hove, M. Le Menestrel, H.-C. de Bettignies, Climate Policy 2 (1), 3 (2003).
3. See www.ipcc.ch/about/about.htm.
4. J. J. McCarthy et al., Eds., Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2001).
5. National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Science of Climate Change, Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions (National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 2001).
6. American Meteorological Society, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 84, 508 (2003).
7. American Geophysical Union, Eos 84 (51), 574 (2003).
8. See www.ourplanet.com/aaas/pages/atmos02.html.
9. The first year for which the database consistently published abstracts was 1993. Some abstracts were deleted from our analysis because, although the authors had put "climate change" in their key words, the paper was not about climate change.
10. This essay is excerpted from the 2004 George Sarton Memorial Lecture, "Consensus in science: How do we know we're not wrong," presented at the AAAS meeting on 13 February 2004. I am grateful to AAAS and the History of Science Society for their support of this lectureship; to my research assistants S. Luis and G. Law; and to D. C. Agnew, K. Belitz, J. R. Fleming, M. T. Greene, H. Leifert, and R. C. J. Somerville for helpful discussions.

Further Reading:
What Do Top Climate Scientists think of An Inconvenient Truth? (RealClimate)
How Strong is The Consensus on Human Cause Climate Change? (National Academies of Science)
Views of NASA's Top Climate Scientist (Columbia University)

Al Gore's Slideshow:
The presentation on which 'An Inconvenient Truth' is based. (Climate Change Action)

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UK Environmental Audit Comittee: Pre–Budget 2006 and Stern Review

The Environmental Audit Committee is a cross-party group of MP's setup to ensure government policy on issues 'environmental' are held to account. In this particular case the arbitrary nature of 'environmental' as a label is particularly evident as testimony is taken from amongst other Sir Nicholas Stern, indicating environmental policies are inextricably linked to economic policies.

The latest report is available here, note, these reports based on parliamentary accountability may sound dull but they can be utterly scathing; i usually enjoy them, particularly when government policy (or lack thereof) on aviation is brought up!

Background to the Environmental Audit Committee:

1. Since its inception in 1997 the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has held annual inquiries into the Treasury’s Pre-Budget Reports. In these inquiries our core objective is to review the annual progress made by the Treasury in placing environmental protection at the heart of its tax and spending policies. In addition, we usually choose one or more topical developments or more specific areas of Treasury policy to focus on.

As is usually the case the EAC move straight past government rhetoric and look to where it's greatest failures are...worth a read if you aren't British and you would like to see how green or otherwise Blair and the labour government are.

2. In reviewing the Treasury’s overall momentum in building environmental objectives into the heart of its policies, in recent years we (and, in the last Parliament, our predecessor Committee) have expressed a mounting frustration with what has appeared to be a dwindling of action. Last year we concluded: “PBR 2005 signifies a continued slowing down of the Treasury’s momentum in turning its rhetoric on the environment into action.” Reflecting this growing frustration, we took the unusual step in October of writing to the Chancellor prior to publication of Pre-Budget Report 2006 (PBR 2006), to highlight a number of our more recent findings and recommendations, and to urge him to make this PBR more ambitious than those of recent years. Following the main themes pursued in this letter to the Chancellor, and reflecting the memos we received for this inquiry, in this report we focus in particular on the ambition of the PBR’s fiscal policy announcements in four areas—aviation, motoring, waste, and energy.

Stern was groundbreaking, of monumental importance etc...well in fact this is the case if only because of how seriously it has been taken by the business community internationally, but is the exchequer paying attention?

3. Our major additional—indeed, owing to its importance, our primary—focus in this year’s report is the Stern Review,3 the much anticipated report on the economics of climate change published last autumn. Its importance was underlined by the remarks made at its launch on 30 October, the Chancellor describing it as “the most comprehensive analysis yet done of not just the challenges, but the opportunities from climate change”,4 while the Prime Minister remarking that it had “demolished the last remaining argument for inaction in the face of climate change.” In our report last year, we looked forward to the Stern Review’s publication, voicing some of our hopes and concerns as to its findings. Notably, one concern was that it should focus primarily on achieving safe limits to greenhouse gases and only secondarily on the cost of these reductions, while another related to its possible use of cost-benefit analysis, given the intrinsic difficulties in placing monetary values on the effects of climate change. We concluded by suggesting: “We may review the Stern Review’s final report once this is published, to examine the extent to which it takes these […] points on board, […] in our inquiry into Pre-Budget 2006.” We do that here in the next chapter. Beyond this, throughout the report we focus on the extent to which Stern’s conclusions are reflected in Pre-Budget 2006, and make recommendations as to how they ought to be reflected in future PBRs.

Reporting of environmental impacts is one of the basic building blocks of a more sustainable green growth. How have the government done on this essential foundation legislation?

4. We also return to a theme we examined last year, statutory reporting by listed
companies of their environmental impacts. Our report last year dealt with the abolition at short notice of proposals to require listed companies to publish annual Operation and Financial Reviews, which would have included requirements to publish audited information on environmental factors affecting companies’ businesses. In that report we noted that the Government had at the time issued renewed consultation on the form in which business reporting on environmental factors should take; and concluded that: “We may return to these Business Reviews, and the form they finally take, in our inquiry into next year’s Pre-Budget Report”. The outcome of that consultation was seen in the Companies Act 2006, receiving Royal Assent on 8 November 2006. In this report we review the reporting requirements as finally established and contained in the Act.

Evidence was taken from:

5. In our inquiry we received memoranda from 21 organisations, and took evidence from Sir Nick Stern, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Green Alliance, the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP), Biffa Waste Services, and the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, John Healey MP. We thank them all for their assistance.

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Spurt Aviation: Screw Africa, Screw The Planet, Let's Fly!

In recognition of the few who fly for the many, Sir Montgomery Cecil, Chairman of Spurt
Aviation, has today unveiled a motivational billboard en-route from Paddington to Heathrow
Airport.

Now those aboard the Heathrow Express train, on the way to catch their plane, can ponder
the magnificent contribution they are making.
Sir Monty said:

"Britain's frequent flyers are now at war with the climate change fundamentalists. The last great war was won from planes and this one will be too! Even if this great island of ours ends up underwater, Spurt Aviation will be the first to fly people to safety. It's a win-win situation. Those Brits worth saving have got a second home somewhere else anyway. In fact, they're our best customers.”

“As for the rest, sod them, let's fly.”

Sir Montgomery Cecil - Chairman
http://www.spurt-aviation.com

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Oil in Nigeria

Nigeria has huge reserves of oil: these reserves are strategically important for the US they are also a curse upon the Nigerian people.

A recent radio show on Nigerian oil can be found on the WBUR website.

"Nigeria is rich with oil, producing more than Iraq and Kuwait combined. The country is the fifth-largest supplier of oil to the United States. And it's "light sweet crude," ...a dreamy kind of oil that needs little refinement. But, the communities closest to the drills and platforms -- the people of the Niger Delta -- live in poverty. Without clean drinking water. Without schools. Without jobs. Frustrated by their situation, local men are taking matters into their own hands. They're forming militias, taking hostages, and disrupting oil flow. Journalist Sebastian Junger went deep into the mangroves and creeks of the Niger Delta. He emerged with a chilling story of violence and despair..."

You might think that this situation is awful but beyond your control. This is untrue, apart from contributing to campaigns that aim to pressure oil companies to abide by Nigerian law and act in line with there CSR policies there are important consumer choices to be made.

Do you have a Royal Bank of Scotland bank account? A recent Report from London Platform exposes the activites of the self described oil and gas bank. Many of these investment are found made within the Niger delta region of Nigeria. Perhaps you should change your bank account to a company with an ethical investment policy such as the cooperative bank.

Do you buy oil from Shell? Can you avoid it, perhaps you should.

Previous articles on nigeria and it's oil can be found here.

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Support for UK wind power.

Wind power, i love it, apparently i`m far from alone...





I think wind has the look of a clean future technology about it. I just hope that more centres like the one in this video take public outreach seriously. The observation tower in the turbine is a great idea. Let people see the technology up close then they can make up there own minds.

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James Hansen Testifies on Political Interference

Jim Hansen's testimony can be found here.

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Convergence of religious group on fighting climate change.

Faith groups are increasingly playing a part in preventing climate change. Weather through the concept of 'creation care' or in terms of the more anthropocentric concept of climate justice.

A recent article on Trehugger finds that Muslims and Christians are already working on climate change and in fact this is a truly grass roots movement.

"Muslim and Christian youth living in the US have found common interest in protecting the environment. According to Eboo Patel, founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, a non-profit dedicated to building a pluralistic society through cooperation between people of all religious backgrounds, as he recently traveled the country visiting college campuses on behalf of his organization after meeting and speaking with the Rev. Richard Cizik, vice-president of the National Association of Evangelicals and a well-known proponent of creation-care, he found that often there were groups of students already organizing Earth Day events with both Muslims and Evangelical youth working side by side to lead the way."

Jews are also participating in the fight, under the rubric of climate justice.

" Justice for poor people who will be most severely impacted by changing weather and rising seas and who have the least capacity to adapt.

Justice for future generations who will inherit an unstable climate and potentially catastrophic rises in sea level, migration of tropical diseases, and disrupted agricultural production.

Justice for all of creation that is threatened by climate change."

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Machiavelli on Change

Just so all of you know; innovating is never easy, climate change mitigation is not unique in this regard.

``It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order, this lukewarmness arising partly from fear of their adversaries, who have the laws in their favour; and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had the actual experience of it.''

Niccolò Machiavelli
The Prince and The Discourses
The Modern Library, Random House, Inc., 1950, Page 21, Chapter VI

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It's Also Low Carbon

It's also low carbon...
I think that "Its Also Low Carbon..." would be a great concept for an organisation promoting sustainable development, low carbon energy and efficiency.

The reason that i think this is such a good concept is that it clearly alludes to the problem of climate change but relies on other primary reasons for doing things. There are so many links between clean development, health, environmental justice, energy security, safer places to live, prosperity and climate change mitigation. Such vision based campaign focus primarily on sound policy but also embrace the concept of 'unite and conquer' as a wide range of such campaig groups could come together on a wide range of environmental, social and economic issues and gain strength through unity in fighting climate change.

(Mountain top removal west virginia.)

One example of a campaign that could use the philosophy of "Its Also Low Carbon..." would be a campaign group promoting energy efficiency and renewables in West Virginia. The campaign could promote such measures on the basis that efficiency saves money, reduces toxic emissions from coal that have health effects, lower the local environmental impact of mountain top clearence and decrease the threat of coal fired power stations that are located near to population centres: such a pro-efficiency policy also fights climate change--it's also low carbon.


The connections between low energy usage, clean energy growth and a wide range of social, economic and environmental are there for all to see. The connections only need to be made.

Apart from the obvious local environmental impact there are also many health impacts of coal fired power stations including increasing rates of asthma and other respiritory illneses. There are many medical studies on this field but 'all politics are local' and local incidences of disease often linked to coal fired power plants would be more useful than national statistics.



In some cases we have more obvious causes of concern, such as the spark for a recent resident led occupation of Govorner Manchin's (WV) office. In this case local residents where joint by climate activists in calling for a new school for the children currently attending Marsh Fork Elementary School. The state mining authorities have just granted permission for the local coal mine to build a second coal silo beside Marsh Fork Elementary School in Sundial...the second silo will add tons of coal dust to the air the kids breathe.

It all makes compact florecent lights, energy efficient products, wind power and solar look good doesnt it?

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Josh Lynch: Climate Activists Occupying Gov. Manchin's Office Right Now

The following is from Josh Lynch at Itsgettinghotinhere. Please email Govorner Manchin and voice your support for the campaign.

Josh:

As I write this my good friends and fellow climate activists, Kim Teplitzky and Liz Veazey are joined with more than 60 students and supporters inside the offices of West Virginia Governor Manchin demanding that he build a safe school for the Marshfork elementary school students, not located 400 yards below a coal sludge dam and 225 feet from a massive coal silo poisoning their future. You can help. Call Governor Manchin RIGHT NOW and ask him to build a safe school for the Marshfork Community! 888-438-2731 Liz and five others are planning to stay in the Governor’s office today, risking arrest, to bring attention to the issue and stand up for the students of Marshfork. The actions come at the height of Mountain Justice Spring Break, a week of trainings and demonstrations in support of justice for Appalachan communities affected by mountain-top removal coal-mining. On Tuesday the scenario for these students got even worse than it already was when the West Virginia Surface Mine Board overturned a WV Dept of Environmental Protection ruling and granted Massey Energy’s application to build a second coal silo beside Marsh Fork Elementary School in Sundial, WV. By Massey’s own determination, the second silo will add tons of coal dust to the air the kids breathe. The children of Marsh Fork Elementary need a new school in their community now more than ever! They are already breathing coal dust that includes toxic chemicals, and it will only get worse with an additional coal silo within 300 feet of the school.

TAKE ACTION! Call Governor Manchin’s office: 1-888-438-2731 (toll free) or 1-304-558-2000.
Send a FAX 1-304-342-7025 - instructions on how to send a free fax from the web below!
Email the Governor’s office: Governor@WVGov.org.

TALKING POINTS
* The kids at Marsh Fork Elementary need a new school in their own community now more than ever. * Every child deserves a safe and healthy school in their own community. * Forget a new silo - build the kids a new school! * Massey’s own air quality permit predicts an increase in the amount of coal dust (3.49 tons per year) emitted by operating a second silo. *Neither the state Department of Education nor the US Environmental Protection Agency determined coal dust levels in the school. The EPA’s test was not done during normal operation of the coal plant. *The state has the money for a new school and the Raleigh County Board of Education is willing to accept it. *The sludge dam just 400 yards above the school holds 20 times the volume of the Buffalo Creek sludge dam disaster that killed 125 people in 1972.

More Background Marsh Fork Elementary School sits just 225 feet from a coal loading silo that releases chemical-laden coal dust and 400 yards from a 385 foot tall leaking sludge dam with a nearly 3 billion gallon capacity. Independent studies have shown the school to be full of coal dust. Massey Energy who owns the coal processing facility has been attempting to build a second coal processing plant near the school for years, but community opposition, action and research led the Department of Environmental Protection to reject Massey’s permit request for the second silo. On Tuesday March 13 the state Surface Mine Board overturned the Department of Environmental Protection order that blocked the silo. Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/ypx39z Community members have been working for years on getting a new school for the children that attend Marsh Fork Elementary in their community so that they don’t have to breathe coal dust and toxic chemicals daily. The grandfather of a recent Marsh Fork graduate walked from West Virginia to DC to raise support for a new school and to meet with Senator Byrd to request a new school in the community. And elementary students around the world have written letters to Governor Manchin and collected pennies to help build a new school.

To send a written fax, go to and fill out the following information.
Free fax via: http://faxzero.com/

Sender Information
Fill out Name: YOURS
Company: Put Anything
Number: 3048549101
Email : YOURS
Receiver Information:
Name: Governor Joe Manchin
Company: People of West Virginia
Fax Number: 3043427025
Fax Information: Type your message or attach a saved document: Include name and address on fax if from WV.

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Tories and Climate Change

Dealing with climate change should not be a partisan issue, in the uk this is starting to become the case. But still climate change in often labeled as an environmental issue (yep i`m guilty of this to) which makes it difficult for tories to be comfortable with. The reasons for this are numerous and complex.

On UK Blog 'Conservative Home' has a selection of articles on climate change that highlight the progressive stance of leadership and the mixture of reactions from Conservative voters.

1. Prince Charles and Daid Cameron
2. Nick Hurd (Conservative Qaulity of Life Comission)
3. Richard Benyson (Climate change is this generations Dunkirk)
4. Nigel Lawson (Adapt don't mitigate)
5. Blue Green Taxes
6. Peter Franklin (Rebutting climate skepticism)
7. Peter Franklin (Why we should tax aviation)
8. Torries prefer motoring to going green.
   

I think that thete are many interesting points to discuss on the ability for tories to reconcile thee pro-business policies with climate change mitigation. This is nothing other than the question on weather sustaiable development is a real possibility or just rhetoric; is captialism able to be reformed in such a way as to enable momentum behind climate change mitigation.

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Report of the Week: The Future of Coal (MIT)

Coal is cheap--if we exclude the cost of carbon emmissions. We therefore need a cost of carbon emissions. We also need to develop the technology that can be applied on a large scale to capture this carbon.

In the developed world energy efficiency and renewables may well be able to provide all the required energy, many reports have shown this as feasible but where energy systems are growing as rapidly as in India and China this is simply not feasible.

CCS is therefore a key technology. This report looks at the current technological and economic situation and looks at the sort of policies that could ensure widespread implementation of CCS.

MIT Report: The Future of Coal
IPCC: Special Report on CCS
Previous Climate Change Action Article


One interesting point about CC is that several large scale CCS plants already exist. This is in stark contrast to the fools at TXU who have claimed that the technology is years off. One example is the Sleipner Field where gas from the North Sea is burned and captured using amines before being pumped under ground to help recover oil. Around one million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year are stored in this way.

A much larger development is currently under way in the UK:

"One such technology is available for implementation now. This is clean coal incorporating carbon capture and storage (CCS). A number of specific projects, including an 800MWe project by Progressive Energy, are already under development. A policy commitment by government is required for this, and similar projects, to proceed. The effect of delay would be for the UK to emit greenhouse gases unnecessarily for the delay period and given the UK’s leadership position in
promoting low carbon strategies worldwide the compounded effect could be very
substantial. The Progressive 800MWe project alone will capture and dispose of 5Mte carbon dioxide per year"

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Green politics and climate impacts in the UK

Green politics and climate change in action now.





The prospect of losing homes and belongings to the sea is plaguing coastal communities around the UK.

The planet's climate is expected to change during the coming years and decades, according to scientists.

But the problem is more immediate for many people living in coastal areas at the mercy of the sea.

Communities facing the greatest risks are those in the east and south coast of England.

For example, 26 houses in Happisburgh, a village in Norfolk, have been abandoned due to the erosion of the cliffs on which they were built.

And Aldeburgh, in Suffolk, could become an island if its crumbling sea defences are not repaired.

Erosion is of particular concern in several parts of Scotland including stretches of the Fife coast, Aberdeen and Kirkcaldy.

In April the Foresight Flood and Coastal Defence Project, which involved 60 experts in climate change, engineering and economics, called for increased spending on flood defences and better planning to avoid more homes being put at risk.

Storm surges

For many, the most distressing forecast in the government report outlined the increasing pace of coastal erosion set to accompany climate change.

Rising sea levels are expected to be accompanied by low-lying shores becoming increasingly vulnerable to storm surges.

The report estimated that, if spending continues at current levels, one out of every three existing coastal defences could be destroyed in coming years, putting large parts of the east coast of England at risk.

Responsibility for the defence of coastlines in the UK falls to Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency.


The overall strategy for combating rising sea levels is drawn up by Defra, which spends an estimated £500m on coastal defences every year.

A Defra spokeswoman told BBC News Online: "The government has no legal obligation to spend money in this way.

"It chooses to do so because it is socially and economically sensible.

"However, the resources are finite. There are several communities around the country who feel they are in need, so we have to prioritise to spend the money effectively."

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Economics of Climate Change: Beyond Stern

Beyond Stern Workshop 19 Feb, City of London. Where does the large investment come from for large-scale mitigation action?'

If society accepts the findings of the Stern report then rapid action on climate change mitigation is an important response to the prospective risks of induced climate change. The possibilities for climate change mitigation through the adoption of low carbon technologies have been widely discussed for several years and there are many realistic possibilities which are now well known, technologically proven and economically costed. The primary issue now is not ‘how much do low carbon technologies cost?’, but ‘how is the massive investment of the next decade to be directed towards low carbon technologies?’ Such investment will be necessary in buildings, transport, industrial processes and energy systems and new thinking will be needed to ensure such investment flows freely in ways that will stimulate innovation and reduce costs, while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Tyndall Centre one-day workshop addressing these questions from a range of business, policy and academic perspectives on the 19th February at the Insurance Hall, City of London., EC2 7HY.


Introduction. Asher Minns, Communications Manager for the Tyndall Centre, Andrew Watkinson Deputy Director and Internal Science Co-ordination for the Tyndall Centre, Terry Barker, Director of the Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research and Chair of Cambridge Econometric. VIDEO

How to finance international low carbon investment. Robert Watson, Chief Scientist and Director for Sustainable Development, World Bank, and Professor elect in the School of Environmental Sciences, UEA. VIDEO SLIDESHOW

What the Stern Review really said. Dimitri Zenghelis, UK Government economic adviser, Stern Review Team, HM Treasury. VIDEO SLIDESHOW


Sources, scale and choice of incentives for financing the Stern global mitigation target. Terry Barker, Director of the Cambridge Centre for Mitigation Research and Chair of Cambridge Econometrics. VIDEO SLIDESHOW

Will the Clean Development Mechanism deliver?. Catrinus P. Jepma, Professor of Environmental Economics, University of Groningen. VIDEO SLIDESHOW

What does business need to direct foreign direct investment and trade to low carbon products? Kirsty Hamilton, Business Council for Sustainable Development.
VIDEO SLIDESHOW

Kate Hampton, Climate Change Capital. VIDEO , SLIDESHOW

Company decision-making for investing in low carbon technologies. Jack Frost, Director, Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells. VIDEO, SLIDESHOW

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FOX News Change Position on Climate Change

After that throughly debunked climate documentary in the UK. It is heartening to see that Ameirca is moving ahead in the discussion on climate change. I feels a bit like a role reversal is going on.

Watch the very conservative (Republican) FOX news and there new editorial angle on climate change...it is no longer in doubt. It makes me smile. Untill recently fox where still flying the standard for oil funded 'climate skeptics'.

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Camp for Climate Action Video

Climate campers are at it again! More than seventy people from around the UK met in Leeds last weekend and decided to organise another Camp for Climate Action this summer from 14th to 21st August. As many of you know, for ten days last August hundreds of people gathered in the shadow of Drax coal-fired power station in Yorkshire to share knowledge and inspiration to tackle the greatest threat to life on Earth, live an example of more just and sustainable alternatives, and confront one of the UK's biggest polluters in a day of mass direct action.

Following on from this success, Camp for Climate Action 2007 will take place near to a target relating to aviation or the coal or oil industries. The location will be chosen over the coming months. Organising outreach, fundraising, site practicalities and workshops is underway. Self managed camping, eating and living neighbourhoods around themes and geographical areas are also being planned, contact details are on the website.

There is loads to do, and everyone is invited to get involved - no experience necessary! The next national planning meeting will be held in Bristol on the 17th and 18th March.

The energy descent is going to take a hell of a lot of energy dissent!





The next planning meeting for this years event is in Bristol on March 17th-18th.

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UK Climate Change Politics: Cameron, Brown and Miliband

Climate change politics is moving apace in the UK.

(Left: Future drought in the UK is a real concern)

The currently ruling Labour* govornment is planning a climate change bill to inshrine in law a 60% cut in ghg emissions (possibly bar aviation and shiping) by 2050. The environment secretary David Miliband talks about this on the today program. Gordon Brown the current chancellor and favourite to be the next prime minister made a speech on the same topic.

The opposition party, the Conservatives, have announced a range of 'green' taxes, emphasising the fact that this is a tax shift...not a tax hike. Party leader David Cameron talks about these proposals, also on the Today Program. The talk he gave a couple of days ago was recieved with much apparent confusion from the righting press, taxes just arent Tory, there is though a realisation within the broadsheets that a repositioning is required for media elites to be cloaser to there political leaders. In some ways this is welcome new but I am still left with the impression that the typical 'man on the street' fails to recognise why the media and politicians are moving. There is still a real need for eduction. The policy document that Cameron bases his speech also now available.

*The govornment is nominally Labour but recently I heard emminent Economist and political activist Milton Friedman wrily state that Blair is 'Blairite in rhetoric but thatcherite in policy'. Friedman was please about this as his laize-faire politico-economic stance was opitimised by Thatcher and Regan and abhored by the traditional left!

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