Key to Urban Design: Sustainable Transportation (VIDEO)

This is a really superb video about urban design, transport and climate change. It takes a few minutes to get going but by 10 minutes in it is very compelling viewing.

Dean Harrison Fraker of the College of Environmental Design, U.C. Berkeley addresses the Meeting of the Minds conference in Oakland, Ca 12 September 2007 on the

"Key to Urban Design: Sustainable Transportation."

For other presentations from the conference by some of the top urban planners and policy makers, visit EVWORLD.COM.

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Climate Change At: Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem Party Conferences

There has been quite a bit of noise in the runup to the various party conferences in the UK. The information of this topic is dispersed all over the web. This is my attempt at bringing
together the relavent publications, websites, audio&vidoe etc...

• Climate Clinic: A Chance for a broad coallition of NGO's to educate and lobby MP's.

• Comment/Blogs:

Plane Stupid where represented at the climate clinic by Joss Garman,  Dr Parr of Greenpeace
was also there making it quite clear that there is no accomidation to be found between rampant
airport growth and serious climate policy. 

Dr Parr accused the aviation industry of not engaging with the challenges posed by climate change, asserting that it was 'rhetorically accepting it, but actually not dealing with it'.

Christain Aid where also in attendence at the conference. In perticular Rosalia, who i met at the Climate Camp, spoke to a group of MP's about climate change in El Salavador.

Gordon Brown told me the UK has set an example in the past with debt cancellation and that his government was aware of the Christian Aid and I Count campaign but he didn’t commit himself beyond that.

Then we had a panel with MPs and activists, chaired by the director of WDM, Benedict Southworth and the chairman of the IPPC, Dr Rajendra Pauchavri.

We shared the experiences of how the poor in Kenya and El Salvador are affected by climate change.

We showed them that climate change is real, it’s really happening; it is the poor of the world, who are the smallest emitters of greenhouse gases, who are the most affected by the carbon pollution of the developed industrialised countries like the UK.

Greenpeace UK's also have posts from the Labour Party Conference. The session with NGO's and the aviation industry together was apparently rather stormy.

In political parlance it was a "full and frank exchange of views!" But don't let me tell you about it, read the write up in the Guardian. They called it: "one of the most fractious fringe event so far." I think I am happy with that. Greenpeace has a reputation for confronting issues head on, and there is no better way to do this than a real political event where temperatures run high and passionate arguments are made.

• Audio:
  

The institute of public policy research has quite a bit of audio, some on climate change, transport etc., from both the Lib Dem and Labour Party conferences.

• Video
  

The Lib Dems are the only ones who have taken climate change on as a central party theme for there conference. For this reason, there is a fair amount of video available with the party leader and other party members discussing the issue as a central part of the conference proceedings.




The main documents to be published prior to the party conferences where the Zerocarbon Britain report by the Lib Dems and the Qaulity of Life Comissions outcomes by the tories. Unless it's passed me by there hasnt been anything significant by Labour.

• Video
  

Conservatives climate change video for the 2007 conference...



Current minister for environment speech (yes thats Labour)



Lib dem video....



Related links:
Labour Party Conference
Lib Dem Party Conference
Conservative Party Conference

 

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you have been framed

Earlier this week finding that I had a couple of hours to spare I asked an autorikshaw to drive me to the US embassy in order to do a recky of the site. I was curious because friends had told me that there was a 500 m exclusion zone and I was keen to see what it looked like. To be honest there were a couple of concrete blocks in the street outside ....nothing too dramatic. Whilst driving past I hastily got out my camera and took a snap or two. Big mistake, in a flash one of the guards was running towards me gesticulating madly with his arms and ordering my driver to stop. O Blimey I hadn't realised that taking a pic. in a restricted area was such a crime. The guards radioed for their supervisor that found it most suspicious that I was not carrying around any form of ID. I had to wait around for ages whilst they took snaps of myself and my driver and phoned the Delhi police to do a search on me. My driver was very scared and was certainly not helping by telling the guards that he had been driving me round all morning and that I had not taken a single snap until we got to the embassy......thanks mate! anyways after the police HQ gave the ok and after having made me delete the offending frames they let me go on my merry way .....I was a little shaken and dying to get home to have a fag but had earlier on in the day promised the driver that I would visit two shops(they get a cut).
These shops are death I mean tourist traps they are large and overpriced and employ hordes of employees that follow your every move and put mountains of pressure on you to bye. I bought some piece of rubbish cos I felt sorry for the driver who was very shaken. He kept repeating "madam I good man no trouble, no trouble want" poor bloke they had taken his number plate and mug shot, I tried to assure him that this was only a formality....anyways back at my hotel I gave him a hefty tip and legged it ....
By the evening I had just about relaxed about the whole episode when I bumped into my friend Mao. I conveyed the days events to him ......"by tomorrow the police will have conducted all the checks on you and once they find out that you are a campaigner they will start watching you and they can hassle you ...". I felt worried for about an hour and then calmed down, I mean it's not as if organising a demo which ends outside the US embassy and where we get to have a pop at Exon is a crime after all India is supposed to be the biggest democracy in the world......is it not?!

Well since my snaps of the US embassy were forcibly removed here is a shot of the Canadian embassy... just so you don't feel you're missing out.... Imagine a couple of barricades in front that should do the trick!

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Man of Action: Ted Glick Fasting (DAY 22!)

A short documentary about a New Jersey activist who is on an open-ended fast to protest the lack of action by the U.S. government in addressing climate change.

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IPPR Warm Words II: Encouraging Behaviour Change (PDF)

The latest publication by IPPR on climate change is just out.

A follow up to 'Warm Words' this report (Warm Words II) studies how the dialogue about climate change is changing. What are the words being used, how is the issue being framed and what are the predominant groupings (Discourses) of language, these are the questions pursued through research on UK media and broader communications materials.

The analysis has been done and the evidence presented, the main use of this for most people is objective three: What do the discourses in the public domain suggest are some considerations for an effective campaign? Good communication is difficult but at least the most obvious pitfalls can be avoided.

The overall objectives of this project were:

1. To map the public discourse of climate change in the UK, especially highlighting what has changed since the work we conducted in 2006. This meant careful mapping of the dominant frames and discourses evidenced in popular print, television, radio and online national media coverage of climate change (for example, newspaper articles/columns, government publicity, influential blogs, material from non-governmental organisations [NGOs]).

2. To look at what characterises climate change discourse at the local level – how local press, local authorities and groups engaged in climate-related activities on the ground construct and talk about the issues and their own actions.

3. To compare these sources and discourses, and suggest implications for national and local communications and activities for all those seeking to change public behaviour on climate change.

Related Post:
I invited Simon Retallack of IPPR to LSE in order to give a presentation on the first Warm Words report, i also invited Chris Rose of Campaign Strategy and Solitare Townsend of sustainable marketing company Futterra. The talks of all three and the 'Warm Words' report can be found here.

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Virginia Tech New Metropolis Lecture Series

I think i prefer listening to podcasts than reading, i linked to the City of Sydney's City Talk Podcasts the other day...particularly a talk by Jan Ghel.

I have just found another great series of podcasts and i`m wondering how many more are out there.

Lectures focus on cutting-edge topics and ideas about metropolitan development in the United States and abroad. Once a month, Virginia Tech invites speakers of broad regional, national and international reputation in scholarship, research, and policy.

My favorite from this series would have to be the following:

August 29, 2007
The Dollars and Sense of Sustainable Development - Ed McMahon, Senior Resident Fellow at the Urban Land Institute.

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ouch that hurt ....

When going to visit the Greenpeace HQ in Delhi you want to watch where you park your motor as the sign above clearly illustrates.....

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I currently reside in this delightful street in Phaharganj sure it's a bit shaby but very colorful and happening never a dull moment as you dodge man vehicle and beast. Within an hour of my arrival I was head butted by a most disgruntled cow. The other day I met with a famous nature documentary maker who had been awarded three green Oscars. He urged me to make a rapid exit fronm the area, according to him the place was rife with people suffering from aids and TB, people are in various states of decay he professed and the water has 200.000 times the safe level of mercury. I left his place a little worried so decided to do some research of my own on the area. Back at my charming hotel I googled "Parhaganj danger" and found this interesting little piece......if any of you can figure out what the hell the guy is saying I will be most impressed!
"Please carefull when you visit in India mostely Railway Station, Airport and another Important tourist Place.You find the Touts like, May i help you, I am belong Goverment of India tourists help, etc. On 11th Feb 2005 happen with my tourist is this. Dear Mr Mahavir , when we were at the station we ask somebody for the entrance you mentioned. Then he saw the telefon number on my paper. He dialed on his mobile phone and gave me the phone. I thougt it was you that I was talking to. Wasn`t it You? ANOTHER Dear Mr. Yadav, I feel very sorry about all that. I thought I know most of the tricks of the people who work with tourists, but this man was very clever. I realy thought that you have annother customer and for this case you work with an office to make shure that I will get another driver. After the travell with the train we were tired and in that moment not very clever. Please write all your custerms when you want to meet them that they shall not go with other people.

Avoid and Don't belive them Please.

when you miss your Resiver on the Railway Station/Airport. Please Dial the number your self or check the number there you want to call or find Relaible Place to confrom for all details otherwise get a problem that is you never have been in your Dream"

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Video: Iranian President's Visit to Columbia University NY

This website is called Climate Change Action. I believe that every post up until this point (several hundred) has been on climate change.

However in the past few weeks the language coming out of the US on relations with Iran has been disturbing. A war looks likely, or at least a distinct possibility. The UN secretary general just days ago warned of the increasing pace of escalation.

The last thing the world needs is another American led invasion in the middle east. This would be a regional disaster and may spread beyond the region. The consequences of having another issue bought on itself would be awful, not least in lost political capital on issues that really matter. Namely, climate change, extreme poverty, environmental degradation, health and global inequity.

This video bellow is of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking in New York today. I am no fan of this man or his regime. But i hope from watching this his western media charachature will be blown away. An i encourage you to read more about Iran, and particularly the non-proliferation treaty that allows all states to have nuclear energy programs and also states that currently nuclear nations should disarm.

This is not a legal issue, it is not even solely an issue of security (deals to address this have be turned down by the US despite European pressure) it is an issue of US hegemony in the middle east.

Do not let Iran become a second Iraq!



[Update] Coverage from independant media. Corporates are selling us another war.

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September 28: Come Spoil Bush's Sham Climate Conference

A worthwhile event if you are based in or around washington DC. The only thing that i know about this event is that the UK arent planning to send a minister, let alone the PM. It looks like a bit of a farce. (Via Climate and Capitalism)

Sponsored by: Chesapeake Climate Action Network, U.S. Climate Emergency Council, Oil Change International, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and U.S. Climate Action Network.

In a clearly manipulative move, George Bush is inviting top leaders from around the world to Washington, D.C. on Sept. 27th and 28th to officially convey his "deep concern" about global warming. His proposed fix: more useless "voluntary" measures and huge subsidies for "clean coal" and nuclear energy. The event is clearly meant to undermine real international efforts now underway to achieve mandatory greenhouse gas cuts under the Kyoto process.

Protest this cynical conference on September 28th from noon-1:00 p.m. in Washington DC.

Top ministers and heads of state from around the world will be attending Bush's conference as well as a great concentration of national and international media. We need to show up and loudly proclaim our own message: George Bush doesn't speak for us! We want real climate action now!

More Information Here organised by updates on climateemergency.org

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Arctic ice melt shatters records...and my nerves.

Recently i've been focusing less on climate impacts and more on solutions/politics here.

There are a lot of climate impacts, and they tend to be depressing and quite scary...depressed and scared people arent really likely to act to improve the situation: that isn't a motivational combination.

However, one recent story really caught my attention...reports are going around that this years arctic ice melt has been the fastest and largest yet, breaking records set just a couple of years ago. Roughly an extra million sqaure miles of ice have melted as compared to the average minimum.

All of which means that there is ohh...some slight measure of urgency in making a rapid international agreement starting at the special UN summit currently underway.

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New equations of living just out...

Love this slide show...(via Treehugger)

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Big and green?

There is a very interesting debate going on over at Grist.

A "speculative 15,000 square foot mansion in Manalapan, Fla., will be the first home of its size to be certified green by the U.S. Green Building Council and the Florida Green Building Council." Is that a good idea for USGBC? That's my question to you. Obviously people are going to build big homes -- and it is better if they have green features. But should USGBC single out such "eco-mansions" for positive recognition?

My response to this is bellow, i agree that a low energy home is better than a high energy one but i think there is a more important argument.

It strikes me that when we talk about many topics such as: 1. Business Energy Usage 2. Green Buildings 3. National 'Intensity' targets. We are talking about emissions relative to the past. We need to talk about emissions relative to our planet, in other words, one big paradigm change of the climate challenge is saying no to relative targets: we dont live a a relative planet the logic dosent work. If we accept relative targets for buildings (90% bigger than that size, when smaller sizes are possible) then why not for businesses? If for businesses then why not for countries? If for countries then why not for the world...answers are all the same.

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NYC Gets It's First Ever Cycleways Seperated from Traffic

New York City has just announced plans (PDF) for its first cycleways, seperated from traffic by a lane of parked cars.



And who do we have to thank for this brilliant idea?

DOT planners consulted with Danish urban designer Jan Gehl on the plan, according to Transportation Alternatives Deputy Director Noah Budnick. "They are drawing from international best-practice and being smart about talking to other engineers and planners who have implemented these types of designs," Budnick said. "They really thought holistically about everything that is going on on the street."

Anyone got that human cloning thing figured out yet? We could do with a few more like Jan.

I have yet to find a good guide to cycleway design in cities but there are a few general points that are fairly obvious...and some cities take these seriously while others simply don't. Jan says that a cycle lane that isn't safe for children, the elderly and those with imperfect motor skills is virtually worthless. Cycle lanes painted onto roads may give cyclists more sense of ownership over the road but they do little to widen the demographic of those who see cycling as a viable alternative to cars or transit.


In Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and a few other true 'cycle cities' watching people on bikes you can see businessmen with brief cases, women in smart dresses, five your old children, young adults...in other words just about every age and economic grouping of people. Is that the same where you live? Without safe cycle lanes the age barriers at both ends of the spectrum are particularly evident.


As an aside: cycling sexy?

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Camp for Climate Action: 2007 Video Summary

I finished this video a while back...hope you enjoy it. It's a few of the highlights from the Camp for Climate Action set to one of my favourite songs on M.I.A's new album, the song is Paper Planes.



This is from my youtube channel, check it out.

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Climate Campaigning in Scotland

It's been quite a productive few days here in Aberdeenshire, although it has to be said, not as glamarous as what 'Honey' is getting up to in India. At our last meeting in Aberdeen we had quite a broad ranging discussion of our plans for the next few months. In perticular we are starting up the Critical Mass again, initially on the rising tide day of action against the Royal Bank of Scotland (which calls itself the oil and gas bank). We also decided to find out more about a joint meeting proposed by several groups and brought to us by Christian Aid. We are keen to help groups lobby local mp's about making the climate bill as strong as possible. Finally, the situation at Aberdeen university seems very interesting, due largely to attempts by a member of shared planet to bring all environmental and ethical organisations together for a joint meeting on Sep 29th; this is a very exciting prospect. There was a good deal of future work to come out of that meeting, but more on that can be read on our website.

Apart from the groups activities in Aberdeen we have also been busy fundraising for the office in London: the base of the Global Climate Campaign . We just had a fundraising event at my parents t-room  and raised nearly 850 pounds. I was very pleased with that...we had a very busy day and quite a few generous customers. Now we have to think bigger and see what else we can do...suggestions for big fundraising idead welcome! In the meantime you can donate here.

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peace is like a cake...

It’s Saturday and it was great to sleep in and not feel guilty about it …Yesterday was world peace day and so I went to a place called the India habitat centre where they were showing some really good films on the subject of peace. All were very moving the first “peace one day” was about a young English guy called Jeremy who had an idea at the Womad music festival.: what if there was one day when the world stopped fighting? A worldwide ceasefire - a non-violence day? A Peace Day?

In 1998, Jeremy began meeting with students, peace negotiators, NGOs, government representatives, heads of state, United Nations' officials,as well as many more eminent people He learned that a UN resolution would be the best way to establish such a day. He filmed all of his travels and meetings and compiled them to create the amazing documentary film Peace One Day. After years of persistence and hard work, Jeremy's dream came true. On 7 September 2001, a United Nations General Assembly Resolution (A/Res/55/282), put forward by the UK and Costa Rican governments, was unanimously adopted by UN member states formally establishing an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on the UN International Day of Peace - Peace Day - fixed in the global calendar on 21 September. Good on you son …….
…….

The following film was called Redifining peace:women lead the way tells the story of women from varying backgrounds they are peasants, lawyers, refugees and doctors; they have ethnic, religious and generational differences, but they share in common a determination to work for peace and justice. Before leaving I approached the organiser in order to ask her whether she had any contacts with environmental grassroots organisations working in India. She was very helpful and told me to return on Monday when there would an open day on the environment and many activists present…..bingo result!

To mark peace day children’s little sayings were displayed on a board here are a couple of their thoughts “Peace is like a cake everyone deserves it “ “we should not just rest in peace but live in peace as well” It made me think of a saying a friend of mine had found scratched into a table which read “bombing for peace is like f*****g for virginity”.

In the evening I was wined and dined by …….a bit of narcissist . “ I feel bad I have spend the entire night talking about me…..so what do you think about me “ recognize the type ?. He is a big importer of the finer things in life like wine and champagne. Funnily enough the other night I met a lovely man who was the first person to import Mango juice to the UK and in doing so had made silly amounts of money had left his family back in Blightey and had moved to Delhi in order fully enjoy the fruits of his labour. It’s quite bizarre to be mixing by night with such a wealthy crowd and being taken to these really glitzy places ….not really my style at all but I suppose it is different and interesting and you never know who you could meet ……could be handy for the campaign!

On Thursday we had a small ramshackle meeting in tiny hotel room. The campaign s main coordinator and two of his helpers made the two hour trip from their home in a suburb of Delhi in order to see me and discuss strategies for DEC. 8th. Travelling in this city is a bloody nightmare I frequently spend a couple of hours in a rickshaw in order to get around. There is an excellent metro system but it s reach is rather restricted at the moment, by the commonwealth games in 2010 the network should be completeted.

We took the decision that we would march on the American embassy in Delhi but it has a 500 metres exclusion zone, paranoid or what!. Well we have “friends in high paces’ and will try and get permission but should we fail we will just try and get as close as possible to it. Apparently the mere fact that we will be in such close proximity will have a huge media impact. Someone came up with the idea of begging in front of the embassy or polishing shoes in order to amass funds in order to send Bush to a mental hospital …..quite an amusing idea apparently the press will love it.

We decided on putting our energies into having demonstrations in four major cities Delhi, Bhopal, Allahabad and Lucknow. These cities are press hubs and focussing on them will apparently have a ripple effect all around India. Our next meeting will be on Thursday and I am hiring a small conference room at the YMCA for this purpose. We also elected a Delhi coordinator the lovely Navim he is a former journalist and now a social activist.
.

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New blogger on Climate Change Action!

There are now two bloggers on Climate Change Action, myself and secret mystery girl Honey Tan Bunzl (that's her porn name).

Honey (I have to abbreviate!) is helping the Global Climate Campaign to build a presence in India. A very important and worthwhile thing to do as i`m sure you will agree.

All her posts will have the label 'indiacampaign' and to view the whole collection you just click that label.

Stay tuned!

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evironmental porn

Nice title don't you think...it's the first thing that sprang to mind as did using my porno name ( remember the name of your first pet followed by your mothers maiden name and hey presto you have a colourful new identity) as my blogging name. Being a bit of a shrinking violet I felt a little more comfortable hiding behind some ridiculous name, that probably explains why actors in the P*** industry go under assumed names, in reality they are really quite shy... Anyways sorry to disappoint you but my blog will be quite a sober read since it will be about helping build for the global day of action in this vast crazy expanse that is India. And this blogging business well it was all Jo's idea....... she reckons it could be helpful to other activists wishing to mobilize people in their respective countries so I'll give it a go. I'm by no means an experienced campaigner but my naivety and a huge amount of luck seemed to have worked quite well for me thus far so lets see what happens.....

So where to start ......well i arrived in Delhi Sat. morning with nine hours delay yes I know some of you will Be horrified that I flew but i could not spare the time to take the train besides with the troubles in the middle east It is not that straight forward. Lying on my bed in my rather dingy hotel room I suddenly got a pang of anxiety .....what the hell am I doing here in this crazy place and then I remembered that wise saying that Dave the carbon coach sent me "in a world this sane I'm proud to be mad" no seriously how on earth was I going to build a climate campaign in India. This country is huge and looking around I think people have more pressing problems like where there next meal is going to come from where to get the money to pay medical bills and send their kids to school etc.... well I was starting to head on a downward spiral so I grabbed some Bach flower remedies had a few squirts did some breathing exercises and promptly fell asleep. A couple of hours later I'd landed at some plush looking hotel and was downing bloody Marie's and the prospects for the campaign looked far rosier....

Nothing could prepare me for exactly how rosy things would turn out. On Monday I met with Mr *>*( I have been advised by my Indian coordinators not to tell anyone who i met because they are so imp. i should not divulge their name, don't quite understand but I will respect their wishes). Apparently he was very taken by me and told my friend that he greatly enjoyed meeting me because despite my position I had retained my simplicity, not sure what I should make of that but I have been assured that it is meant to be a compliment. Well he is a media "big shot" and has been very generous offering us a free office in the city of Bhopal, thank you sir. When I was there he sent me in his car to meet another big shot who then drove me to another big shot and the good news is that they all support the campaign and said they will assist with contacts, publicity, air time; press releases you name it. Well if that happens that will be bloody marvelous.

Today woke up with a throbbing headache and muscular aches all down my side. That must be a combination of the Indian heavy metal club I frequented last night and my dear friend Pradip plying me with alcohol. Last night he told me with a gleaming white grin "I hate your campaign but it is ok" now my theory is that he is trying to sabotage the campaign by taking me out drinking in dubious bars as many times as he can, and thereby killing me softly....Damn another power cut hope I don't loose my posting I'm a ridiculously slow typer ok bye time for curry.

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e-action: Help the WWF pressure for a strong climate bill.

Ask your MP for a Climate Change Bill that works

There are a number of things the Bill must do for it to be effective and perhaps the most important is the UK's overall CO2 emissions reduction target.

The government thinks a 60% reduction by 2050 is a reasonable target, but this is based on old science. The current science tells us that countries like the UK need to cut emissions by at least 80% to deliver our fair share of the carbon clear-up. And WWF research shows that an 80% reduction by 2050 is entirely achievable.

The difference between a 60% and an 80% target is the difference between a Bill which rises to the climate change challenge, and one which simply ducks it. Only with an 80% emissions reduction target can we hope to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

Tell your MP that the Climate Change Bill must be strong enough to be effective.

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Prince Charles and UK Insurers Declare War on Climate Change!

Prince Charles leads insurers to ‘war’ on climate change

Environmental Finance, 13 September 2007 - The UK insurance sector today launched a new initiative to tackle climate change and encourage more climate-friendly behaviour among customers (Video Intro).

ClimateWise, initiated by the Prince of Wales and developed by the Association of British Insurers, has attracted 37 signatories including the UK businesses of Swiss Re, Allianz and Aviva.

They have agreed to six principles (PDF) that will help the insurance sector deal with climate change risk. The companies have pledged to:

* analyse climate risk;
* inform public policy making;
* support climate awareness among customers;
* incorporate climate change into investment strategies;
* reduce the environmental impact of their business; and,
* publish an annual statement on actions taken.

Speaking at the launch in London today, Prince Charles said insurers had a crucial role to play in tackling climate change and applauded the companies for achieving an unprecedented level of co-operation on the issue.

“We have to think of this as if we were in a wartime situation. If you don't believe it, just watch Al Gore's film,” he said.

Coinciding with the launch of ClimateWise asset manager F&C launched a report (PDF), warning that some insurance companies have been slow to act and urgently need to develop climate change strategies.

Insurers must also engage with policy makers and regulators to bring about systemic changes, urged the report, In the Front Line: The Insurance Industry's Response to Climate Change.

Vicki Bakhshi, London-based associate director of governance and sustainable investment at F&C and co-author of the report, said: “Insurers are currently standing at a crossroads. If they don't act they are in real danger of becoming the victims of climate change, subject to ever increasing risks in their investment portfolios and claims that exceed their projections. However, it doesn't have to be like that.”

She warned that traditional risk models, which rely on historic data to price forward-looking risk, are likely to become unreliable owing to climate change. This could significantly affect the profitability of the sector, in which F&C holds investments.

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Urban Management In Asia: Recommended Reading

My interest for the last week or two has been urban planning and sustainable transport. Well, to be honest it was sustainable transport and has broadened out into planning.

In particular i have been reading about bus rapid transit, cycle cities, suburban sprawl, transport and health etc., I have been reading about cases from all over the world but i thought i would be nice to look at what is (or could be) happening is Asia.

The institute for global environmental stratgegies (IGES) has done pioneering research on post-2012 priorities for Asian nations. It does, however, get a touch less theoretical.

There are a great series of report/articles/papers on climate change and urban development on this page. Including entire books for free download!

A few highlights:

'Air pollution control in the transport sector' is a publication most interesting to me for its case studies, which i ususally find to be far more interesting than discussion in the abstract. Atleast for an amateur it is easy to understand the issues through comparison.

The fourth chapter consists of six case studies and one comparative analysis on policies related to transport and environment in Asian cities.

'Urban Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Asian Mega-Cities' is a lot broader than transport policy however it maintains the comparative approach and takes care to analyse the data. If you can see the numbers then there is a good chance you can realistically appraise the issues for yourself. As with many issues related to climate change good data is really the start.

[the report] aims to quantify CO2 emissions from energy use and analyse their driving factors for selected Asian Mega-Cities-Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai.

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Campaign against Climate Change Aberdeen (Minutes)

Minutes from the Sep 3rd campaign against climate change meeting in Aberdeen are here.

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An alternative to segregation and sprawl: New Urbanism

A great series of videos advocating mixed land use and an end to modern day suburbia.

There are better alternatives than the status quo and they are easier, cheaper, mores sustainable and more liveable.

Video 1 (of 9)

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Audio of the week: Jan Ghel on Creating Pedestrian Cities

I just listened to this superb podcast (MP3) about creating cities that people can really live in. Opening up public space into a place for meeting rather than just moving is the basic aim. Very interesting thinking, reminds me of something Amory Lovins said about transport being nessicary only because of bad design...why isnt the thing you want near you? Jan paints such a positive picture of what a city can be that you start to question this whole idea of transport...where exactly are you going; its so nice here!

World-leading Danish Architect Professor Jan Gehl will talk about transforming cities into people friendly spaces at a free City of Sydney City Talk on Tuesday 11 September 6.30 pm at Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay.

Prof Gehl has conducted Public Spaces and Public Life surveys in cities like London, Copenhagen, Wellington and Stockholm in a bid to redistribute the balance between cars and people.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said Prof Gehl is currently finalising a Public Life and Spaces Study for Sydney which is expected to be complete by December as part of the City's Sustainable Sydney 2030 plans.

Via the City Talks podcast.

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e-action: amazonian dam project threatens bolivian biodiversity

Only a few days left for this one...
=========================

Dear Friends

The Brazilian government is planning two huge dams on the Madeira River, principal tributary of the Amazon, and a region of mega-biodiversity, with 750 fish and 800 bird species.

The dams were granted preliminary approval in July by Brazilian environmental authorities, even after technical experts of the Brazilian environmental protection service Ibama recommended against licensing the project without new studies being carried out.

The Bolivian government have protested, and on August 23rd a decision was made to form 3 bi-national working groups to study the dams' potential impacts on Bolivia.

We need your help - visit our website and sign the petition organised by IRN, Friends of the Earth Brazil & Amazonia Brasileira, and let the Brazilian government know that this is a matter of concern to the international community.

Please pass this message on to your contacts.
Thanks for your support.

Debra Broughton
Friends of the Earth International

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Call to prepare a 2008 climate camp in Germany

Call to prepare and organise a climate camp in Germany!

1. The idea
2. How the idea emerged and how where we can go from here
3. Why organise a climate camp?
4. Communication

1. The Idea

Following the model established by the Camp for Climate Action in the UK, which was held for the second time this year, we want to initiate the process of organising a Climate-Action Camp in Germany in 2008. Just like in the UK we want to create links between the exchange of knowledge (in workshops), self-organised living (in the camp) that minimises our ecological footprint, networking and direct action.

The last two camps in the UK specifically targeted particular installations, against which direct or thematically appropriate actions were organised. Last year’s target was the UK’s largest coal-fired power station, while this year the camp drew attention to the aviation industry and the expansion of London’s Heathrow airport. Whether we should also choose such focal points in Germany should be discussed at the preparatory meetings.

2. How the idea emerged and how where we can go from here

This email and initial call emerged from this year’s Camp for Climate Action in the UK, when several German-speaking people met there who had all, independently of each other, had the idea of organising such a camp in Germany. We hope to use a first planning meeting either on the last weekend in October or the first weekend in November (26.-28.10. / 2.-4.11) somewhere in the geographical centre of Germany to decide how to go on from here. If you want to attend the meeting, go to http://www.doodle.de/yu8vxh39em9zh7s7 and enter your preferred date – we can then select the most suitable date (provided it doesn’t clash with local organisation). Both date and location should be agreed on by the end of September.

3. Why organise a Climate-Action Camp

Climate chaos is a reality. And there’s not much time left to limit the damage. Which is exactly why we can’t simply jump into knee-jerk activism that simply reproduces the causes of the problem. Rather, we need to take profound direct action, without of course excluding people. We also need grounded analyses of the fundamental structures that serve to highlight the urgent need for social transformation and can communicate information about the underlying causes to a wider audience.

Climate Change is not only an ecological problem, but also a question of the distribution of its consequences. It thus also poses social questions. This is why we need immediate and direct action. Of course, we also need to discuss many other questions, for example the following (a first rough list compiled by us in the camp):

• How can we act effectively?
• What does a carbon-neutral life look like? What kind of utopias do we need? Which alternatives can we live already now?
• Why are the media suddenly interested in the issue of climate change? Which interests are pushing this? Are these interests also our own?
• Do we trust states and businesses to save us? Or do we create our own solutions?
• How do we judge the climate change policies pursued until now by environmental NGOs? What are their effects?
• Is it possible to protect the climate in the context of the current socio-economic system? Or is there a need for radical social change?
• Who profits from climate change? And what does that mean for our actions?

A climate camp could pursue these and many other questions, inspire people to think and act politico-ecologically, it could be a space for experimentation, think-tank and a space to network further common actions. Of course, we’d first have to decide:

• What could a climate camp in Germany look like?
• How could it be organised?
• Who would join?

4. Communication

For future communication sign up to our email list

http://lists.trilos.net/mailman/listinfo/klimacamp

We are also working on setting up some sort of internet-presence. Details to be decided at our first meeting.

http://www.klimacamp.org/

If you want to get in touch with us directly, let us know via the mailing list. We are from different parts of Germany (e.g. Freiburg, Berlin, Wendland region, Bremen) and can maybe travel to where you are to report back from the Camp with fotos and movies (as motivation in the run-up to the first organisational gathering).

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Conservatives release The Quality of Life Report (PDF)

The other day, to very little adoo the Lib Dems released there Zero Carbon Britain report, explaing how they are going to decarbonise the UK by 2050.

Today, to a slightly higher level of attention, the conservatives are releasing there long awaited Qaulity of Life Group report.

Full Report Download (PDF) (Via Conservative Home)

From what i have heard in the last few days, this is far from an ambitious document. It's importance can however be found by looking at the media reaction.

Skepticism on the left, dispair on the right. Is that to harsh? Perhaps, but there is a good deal of both of these attitudes, the media have been a disgrace. Presenting this in 'story cliche #54: economy vs environment' a case is made that taxes just aren't a conservative thing to do as they mean protecting the environment and damaging the economy.

The fact that this is wrong dosent seem to deter the majority of hacks from this ancient and reliable #54...a nice reliable frame that everyone understands and dosent require to much thought!

Unfortunately this means that the noble idea of stringent cross party policies developing on climate change is scuppered. Cameron is getting so much flack that he cant be blamed for quickly getting his head back down behind the paraphet. This obviouly proves to the left that he was never realy serious, and to the right that this whole saving the planet thing was never a very Tory idea in the first place!

I guess unity in opposition is unexciting, the real story, of an incumbent govornment with its head in the sand, being rapidly outflanked by liberals and conservatives is not discussed.

The general sheepishness about this admirable leap towards sanity on the right can be seen in the first paragraph of the Conservative Home blog's coverage of the report.

Interestingly it doesn't have an executive summary. Reports without executive summaries nearly always - in my experience - don't want to be fully open about what they contain.

Maybe this dosent mean anything but i get the sneeking suspicion that the blue green agenda is going to have a hard time.

===

[UPDATE] The good points according to friends of the earth.

Positive proposals within the Quality of Life report include:

• Moral imperative for developed countries to remain focused on ensuring that global temperatures rise no more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (p366/367). This means the UK must plan for an 80 per cent cut in emissions by 2050 (p370) and include annual milestones in the Climate Change Bill (p372) and include Britain's share of international aviation and shipping emissions in its Climate Change Bill (p370).
• Moving to a low carbon economy is an overriding aim of any responsible government (p264) and is in Britain's national interest (p380).
• Establish sharply decreasing targets to help towards 2050 target (p269).
• Moratorium on airport expansion (p344).
• Redefining the measure of UK's success away from simply measuring GDP and towards a triad of high level indicators capturing economic well-being, societal well-being and environmental well-being (p52).
• * Maintain diversity of retailer outlets (p156) through planning policy (p180).
• * A strengthened legally binding code of practice on supermarkets (p182) and keeping and improving the needs test to control out of town shopping (p184)
• Verification and certification on bio-fuels, including full life-cycle assessment of greenhouse gases (p187) and use of Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) to move from volume based approach to quality based approach (p336).
• Car efficiency targets of 120g CO2 per kilometre by 2012, 80-100g by 2020 through the EU (p331).
• Joint implementation measures and Clean Development Mechanisms (carbon trading) should not be used as a way of avoiding domestic reductions in carbon dioxide (p268).
• A mandatory code for sustainable homes (p281) plus energy performance certificates requiring improvements by landlords (p71) and home owners when major changes are made to a house (p68).
• Financial incentives (e.g. council tax rebates) plus low cost capital to help home-owners improve energy efficiency and (p277/278) renewable heat (p289) and reduced stamp duty for energy efficient homes (p72).
• Feed-in tariffs (a fixed price for selling electricity to the grid) for small-scale low carbon technologies (p283).
• Balance of transport funding weighed towards reducing carbon intensity (p306).
• Purchase tax on cars according to CO2 output (p332).
• Amend VED rates to drive uptake of more efficient cars in used cars market.
• Demand management for aviation (p341), including reformed and annual increases in air passenger duty (p341) and VAT on domestic flights (p342).
• Decouple profits of energy companies from sales volumes (p359).
• Consider developing countries export led agricultural model (p159).
• Government bodies should report on carbon footprint and public building should pioneer in energy efficiency, micro-generation and community scale technologies (p78).
• No tax-payers/government funding for nuclear fission, risks and costs of nuclear borne by the private sector (p287).
• Power station waste heat levy (p288).
• No new electric air conditioning and refrigeration in commercial buildings (p289).
• No new coal stations after 2020 without carbon capture & storage or for existing stations after 2025 (p290).
• Employer parking spaces tax (p303).
• The option to reject a proposal at a public inquiry (p102).
• Set County and Unitary Authority targets for carbon reduction (p89).
• Review how WTO rules bear on climate change (p399).
• Legislation to ensure only legal and sustainable timber products are sold in UK (p401).
• Auctioning of 100 per cent of permits under ETS to utility sector (p403) and aviation (p405).
• Product policy that today's "best standard" should be a minimum requirement within an agreed timeframe (p408).
• Focus on zero waste and emphasis on its benefits for business (p. 246).
• Extending producer responsibility to incorporate all waste streams (p. 250)
• Sectoral targets for resource use (p250).
• Product levies to encourage re-use (250).
• Public procurement strategies for all Government Departments, agencies and local authorities. (p. 252).
• Bans on the land-filling (p257) of recyclable and compostable materials.

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Society of Environmental Journalists Discuss Climate Change: Event Covered by Democracy Now

Climate change was on the agenda as the Society of Environmental Journalists gathered last night at Stanford.

via SusHI

Video coverage of the event by Democracy Now
(Who else?...think that says something about the mainstream!)


Stanford University news service article.

[UPDATE] Unofficial blog of the event.

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Vlog 5: Urban Transport

Just a few thoughts on transport in urban areas.

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Urban Studies and Planning: MIT Courseware

Another interesting site on sustainability and urban transport in its wider planning context is the MIT courseware section on Urban Studies.

Peter Newman of Murdoch University is a leading voice on sustainable urban planning, the Murdoch University website has a fair number of reports on sustainability and transport that are worth reading.

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David Cameron on Aviation

David Cameron on Climate Change

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Global Car Emissions Standards (gCO2/Km)

I thought that this was an interesting chart...at least all you Americans out there can see how stringent those new millage standards you just 'won' are :-)

Saying that, i still think that the EU standards are hardly commensurate with the challenge, they are towards the aggressive end of what we can do with almost normal technology but are only a tiny fraction of what could be done with Rocky Mountain Institute technology or other more radical design ideas.

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Audio of the Week: Former British Antarctic Survey Head On Climate Change

Former head of the British Antarctic Survey and new head of the British Science Museum, Prof. Chris Rapley CBE (bio), speaks about climate change and the likelyhood of real consequence being more severe than IPCC predictions. Personally i always took the IPCC as a conservative baseline but this interview is certainly(MP3) worrying stuff and well worth a listen.


Via Radio Ecoshock

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Sustainable Urban Transport

Sustainable urban transport is an idea that is relevant to so many problems. Dependence on foreign oil, air quality, social inclusion, health and fitness, economic growth...all are positively benefited by a move away from private forms of transport.

Recently i started reading this book on the topic, and ordered this one. I like using a couple of text books to complement recent reports and websites so that i get a good grounding in the issues as well as some of the more interesting new ideas.

In terms of websites, there seems to be quite a variety. The three that i have used a lot so far are
the Institute for Development and Transport Policy and the archieves of the THREBO9 conference and GoBRT a site promoting Bus Rapid Transit.

Other websites that i will be getting into shortly include EMBARQ: The WRI centre for sustainable transport, UrbanPlanet and the New Mobility Agenda.

Mexico city is one of the worlds largest cities and has some of the worlds busiest streets. They are currently embracing Bus Rapid Transit and cycle routes to dramatically improve transport and qaulity of life for the cities citizens.



New York is considering a congestion charge, with revenues being allocated to public transport. Is this a good idea...the case is made.

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Full Page Add In The New Yorker: No More Coal

GLOBAL WARMING

Think You’re Making a Difference?
Think Again.

There are 151 new conventional coal-fired power plants
in various stages of development in the US today.

HOME DEPOT
Home Depot is funding the planting of 300,000 trees in cities across the US to help absorb carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions... The CO2 emissions from only one medium-sized (500 MW) coal-fired power plant,
in just 10 days of operation, will negate this entire effort.

WAL-MART
Wal-Mart is investing a half billion dollars to reduce the energy consumption and CO2 emissions of their
existing buildings by 20% over the next seven years. If every Wal-Mart Supercenter met this target…
The CO2 emissions from only one medium-sized coal-fired power plant, in just one month of
operation each year, would negate this entire effort.

CALIFORNIA
California passed legislation to cut CO2 emissions in new cars by 25% and in SUVs by 18%, starting in 2009.
If every car and SUV sold in California in 2009 met this standard…
The CO2 emissions from only one medium-sized coal-fired power plant, in just eight months of
operation each year, would negate this entire effort.

EVERY HOUSEHOLD
If every household in the US changed a 60-watt incandescent light bulb to a compact fluorescent…
The CO2 emissions from just two medium-sized coal-fired power plants each year would negate this entire effort.

EDUCATION
The Campus Climate Challenge calls for all college campuses in the US to reduce their CO2 emissions to zero.
If every college campus building in the US met this challenge…
The CO2 emissions from just four medium-sized coal-fired power plants each year would negate this entire effort.

NY, ME, VT, NH, MA, CT, RI, PA, NJ, DL, MD
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a cooperative effort by 11 Northeastern and
Mid-Atlantic states to reduce their CO2 emissions to 1990 levels by 2014...
The CO2 emissions from just 13 medium-sized coal-fired power plants each year will negate this entire effort.

CONGRESS
Congress is considering many climate change bills this year to reduce US carbon dioxide emissions...
The CO2 emissions from any new coal-fired power plants work to negate these efforts.


THERE IS A ‘SILVER BULLET’ FOR SOLVING GLOBAL WARMING…
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
NO MORE COAL
Without coal, all the positive efforts underway can make a difference.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Over an 11-year period (1973–1983), the US built approx. 30 billion square feet of new
buildings, added approx. 35 million new vehicles and increased real GDP by one trillion
dollars while decreasing its energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
We don’t need coal, we have what we need: efficient design and proven technologies.

Today, buildings use 76% of all the energy produced at coal plants.

By implementing The 2030 Challenge* to reduce building energy use by a minimum of 50%,
we negate the need for new coal plants.

Make a Difference: Protect Your Efforts.
* Issued by:  2030, Inc./Architecture 2030 • The 2030 Research Center • www.architecture2030.org

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