I find it increasingly strange, and frankly disturbing, how we’re being conned by politicians, much of the media, and mega-corporations. From birth, we’re bombarded by advertising designed to shape our thinking; by MPs who chase votes with half-truths, misdirection, or outright lies; and now by social media echo chambers that trap us in a cycle of misinformation.
As a Green Party member, I find it refreshing to have leadership that isn’t afraid to tell the truth. As a district councillor, I can vote in the best interests of my constituents – and with my conscience – rather than following the orders of a party whip. Zack Polanski’s election as Green Party leader, by a huge majority, has brought articulate and intelligent debate to the forefront again – on immigration, the climate crisis, renewable energy, and human rights. His policies on taxing the super-rich (the top 1%), reforming the private rental sector, renationalising water companies, and providing universal free childcare are resonating deeply with people across the country.
Green Party membership is now over 140,000, making us the UK’s third-largest political party. Polls put us around 15% of the vote, level with the Lib Dems and closing in on Labour and the Conservatives. Reform UK may be polling slightly higher, but perhaps that’s unsurprising when they’re not bound by things like telling the truth, or avoiding donations from dubious sources. People are joining the Greens in their thousands because we’re the only party that speaks plainly, answers questions directly, and puts people before profit.
Why don’t other political parties do the same? Surely an MP’s job is to represent their constituents – and by acting in their best interests, you’d think re-election would follow naturally. But that’s not how it works. Other parties are deeply influenced by corporate lobbying. Labour, for instance, met oil and gas company representatives over 500 times in their first year of power – that’s an average of two meetings every working day between ministers and fossil fuel lobbyists. Meanwhile, the Conservatives, Labour, and Reform continue to accept large donations from oil and gas interests, climate denial think tanks, and polluting industries. Is it any wonder, then, that their policies serve those industries – while the public is distracted with talk of immigration and welfare spending?
There’s a growing frustration with politicians who dodge questions or distort the truth. Brexit was, in part, a reaction to this. Westminster has become synonymous with elitism, corruption, and detachment from reality. It’s not even a criminal offence to lie in the House of Commons. Again and again, politicians mislead the public with impunity, aided by a media that too often fails to hold them accountable—especially those on the right.
Why isn’t Nigel Farage grilled about the £350 million-a-week NHS pledge that vanished after Brexit? Or challenged on the fact that immigration is essential to sustain our NHS, care sector, farms, and schools, as well as to support an ageing population and pensions system? Why aren’t we hearing that renewable energy is cheaper, faster to build, and infinitely safer than oil and gas?
In 2008, I was fortunate enough to visit the Great Barrier Reef on my honeymoon and swam among the coral and turtles – a breathtaking experience. Last week, I read that we’ve passed the planet’s first major climate tipping point: warm-water coral reefs are dying and will soon disappear. Hundreds of millions of people depend on them for food and livelihoods. Other tipping points – Amazon rainforest dieback, ocean current collapse, permafrost melt, and ice sheet loss – are not far behind. Each accelerates the next, creating feedback loops that speed up climate breakdown.
Then, this morning, I received an email from the Government responding to a petition to halt airport expansion. Part of it read:
“The Government therefore supports airport expansion where proposals contribute to economic growth, can be delivered in line with the UK’s legally binding climate change commitments, and meet strict environmental requirements on air quality and noise pollution.”
The list of planned expansions – Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, and beyond – was all about “economic growth” and maintaining the status quo. But if we don’t act decisively to cut emissions, climate breakdown will destroy any chance of growth – and in some regions, any chance of survival.
Carbon dioxide levels are still rising. Meanwhile, the fossil fuel industry funds anti–net zero campaigns and uses politicians as mouthpieces to protect their profits. Green energy offers a massive opportunity: it can create jobs, cut bills, and reduce emissions. We could lower bills immediately by cutting the link between electricity and gas prices, but that would hurt oil and gas profits, so it doesn’t happen. These same companies continue to receive huge public subsidies that dwarf support for renewables.
Airport expansion is simply incompatible with our climate goals. No amount of greenwashing through “sustainable aviation fuel” or dodgy carbon offsetting schemes will change that.
If we’re serious about telling the truth, we need to be honest about green energy too: why we need to decarbonise, why solar panels (covering just 0.7% of UK land – less than golf courses) can help power our future, and why upgrading the grid and installing battery storage is essential – even if that sometimes means projects are built near where we live. Time and money are tight, and we don’t have time to always wait for the perfect solution.
The clock is ticking. Hundreds of millions in the Global South are already dying from floods, fires, famine, and disease linked to climate breakdown. We’re not immune here either: UK farmers face failing harvests, rising food prices, and more frequent flooding. Some truths will be uncomfortable and require lifestyle changes – but that’s a small price to pay compared with a world of famine, fire, and forced migration.
Scientists and even insurance companies are warning us. The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) recently projected global GDP losses of up to 50% between 2070 and 2090 and warned that a +3°C world – possible as soon as 2050 – could cause over four billion deaths, social collapse, and mass extinction events. GDP loss seems almost trivial in comparison.
The Green Party tells it like it is – guided by science, compassion, and a commitment to act in the best interests of the majority, not a privileged few. Our membership continues to grow rapidly. We’re out on the streets, talking to people, telling the truth, and offering real solutions not tainted by corruption or corporate influence.
The good news? If we act now, we can still build a fairer, healthier, and more hopeful future – for ourselves, our children, and the countless other species we share this planet with.
Come join us – and let’s make hope normal again.
Promoted by James Harvey on behalf of Broadland Green Party, a constituent party of the Green Party of England & Wales PO Box 78066, London, SE16 9GQ
An existential threat looms over us — one that grows stronger every day.
The world is being divided, conquered, and exploited by arrogant men — mostly, though not exclusively, old and white — and by their allies. Trump in America, Netanyahu in Israel, Putin in Russia, Orbán in Hungary, Xi Jinping in China, Lukashenko in Belarus, and Milei in Argentina to name a few. They are supported by political movements rapidly gaining power and influence: Reform in the UK, National Rally (Rassemblement National) in France, and the AfD (Alternative for Germany) in Germany.
The institutions and laws that were created after the Second World War to safeguard peace, democracy, and justice are being eroded, undermined, and dismantled — and they were built for a reason.
The Institutions Under Attack
These include the Council of Europe, of which the UK was a founding member — a leading human rights organisation. European integration, beginning with the European Economic Community, built prosperity and trust between nations. NATO, designed as a deterrent to aggression from Russia, China, and North Korea — though critics argue it has also been provocative. The European Union, founded to promote peace and democracy, from which the UK was misled into withdrawing.
There are also critical human rights protections: the European Convention on Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Convention Against Torture, the Human Rights Act, the Equality Act, and the fundamental right to peaceful protest. Yet these cornerstones of democracy are being chipped away by successive laws restricting free speech and dissent — the very essence of a free society.
The Authoritarian Playbook
The first step for those who seek authoritarianism — and in some cases outright fascism — is clear: dismantle or discredit the institutions that oppose them. Then exploit public anger over poverty and inequality to consolidate power. The irony, of course, is that these same leaders are the ones perpetuating that poverty and inequality. They are taking us for a ride.
Trump appears intent on destabilising Europe and the United Nations, whether by design or through alignment with Putin. Both support Germany’s AfD — a direct threat to European unity and stability. Empowering the AfD is like planting dynamite beneath the foundations of peace and democracy that have protected Europe for decades.
Trump knows exactly what he’s doing. As a narcissist, he believes his actions are justified. In the U.S., he governs by emergency decree, steadily eliminating opposition. ICE agents patrol the streets, spreading fear; the National Guard is deployed to American cities under the guise of quelling “violence.” Trump describes Portland as “war-ravaged” — yet people there post pictures of peaceful parks, open cafés, and calm streets. He claims “It’s anarchy,” though he clearly has no idea what that word means.
Trump has even pardoned far-right rioters convicted of violence during the January 6th insurrection — an armed attempt to overturn a legitimate election. If you’re violent but pro-Trump, it seems that’s acceptable. If you care about honesty, equality, and justice, you’re branded as “woke.”
The Fragility of Freedom
Everything we now take for granted — our freedoms, comfort, and relative stability — could vanish in an instant. Trump is normalising military presence on American streets, perhaps laying the groundwork to declare sweeping emergency powers, suspend elections, or bypass democratic oversight. If not him, then perhaps Vance or another successor will.
Meanwhile, in Europe, governments are suppressing protest, increasing military budgets, and pandering to Trump’s ego. China grows more assertive. Russia, vast and patient, plays the long game. The world risks being carved up by the U.S. and its allies, by China and Russia, while nations in the Global South may only influence outcomes at the margins. Africa, rich in resources, remains exploited by all — Europe, China, Russia, and the U.S.
Over it all looms the climate and biodiversity crises, driving food shortages, violent weather, floods, fires, and mass migration. These may soon eclipse every political crisis — or accelerate our slide into protectionism and authoritarianism.
Choosing Courage Over Fear
The world feels increasingly frightening – and it’s okay to be afraid. What matters is how we respond to that fear.
Do we stay silent as freedom of speech and the right to protest are eroded? As citizens are arrested for demanding an end to genocide, or for calling for urgent action on the climate and nature emergencies?
Or do we stand up? Do we engage in protest and nonviolent resistance, call out hate and lies, and demand that our politicians act? Do we build a more tolerant, inclusive, and equal society — one that dares to reform the systems that no longer serve the people?
Recently, a video surfaced of a lone woman on the Norfolk coast confronting a group erecting nationalist flags. It was a small but courageous act, especially when others have been harassed or attacked for similar resistance. She refused to be a bystander. We all must do the same.
Resistance Begins with Us
We are being manipulated — by politicians, by media, by the ultra-wealthy, and by the far right’s lies and division. Patriarchy and privilege still dominate the stage. We are told what to think, who to blame, and which words are now forbidden. Migrants are scapegoated for problems created by the powerful.
We must rebuild from the ground up — stronger local communities, solidarity, and hope. Stop consuming the propaganda of our supposed leaders. Deploy hope, not hate.
What’s published in the media on climate collapse isn’t usually the full view of scientists, not as bad as they think the situation really is. If you talk to climate scientists you’ll largely find them depressed, sick of not being heard, of being ignored by politicians. They have to ensure the information they publish is backed by facts, by peer reviews, but in private they’ll tell you it’s probably a lot worse than that, we just can’t prove it yet.
It is hard to compute. Our brains don’t want to think about it. We are averse to thinking about our own demise. It has got me thinking about it all again this evening.
The Mediterranean Sea is apparently 28oC in some places. It’s like walking into a hot bath. This is incredibly bad for habitats and wildlife.
Temperatures records are being broken year on year, month on month, and sometimes day on day. We’ve just seen the wettest 18 months on record. Wildfires have burnt down half of Jasper in Canada and threaten Athens, California ablaze, similar in parts of Russia and South America: Patagonia, the Patanal in Brazil which is the world’s largest wetland, Venezuela and Chile. And in Australia, South Africa, Turkey, Cyprus, the list goes on, hardly anywhere is left untouched. We have field fires in Norfolk too, where I live.
Norfolk straw fire 15 August (source EDP)Norfolk field fire 15 August (source EDP)
Heatwaves in India approaching wet bulb mass mortality range. Tasmanian and Boreal (northern) forests dying. Harvests failing; Norfolk farmers had a hell of a time of it earlier this year, due to flooding, when they couldn’t plant crops or graze livestock. Italian and Swiss villages destroyed by floods, similar in Germany. 20,000 washed out to sea in Libya. 2022 floods in Pakistan impacting 33 million people. Sea level rise threatening low lying island states already. Amazon not absorbing carbon dioxide anymore and at risk of turning into desert. Bats and birds dropping out of the sky due to heat stroke. Caribbean islands being hit by record hurricanes which have destroyed all the buildings in some places, leaving women to give birth in the dirt. Devastating famine and water shortages in Africa. Water is now monetised, it’s being bought and sold to the highest bidders, traded on the stock market.
We’re on track for +2.7oC global heating, above pre-industrial averages, by end of century. It’ll probably be more than that due to the acceleration we’re seeing and tipping points being crossed such as the loss of albedo, meaning less of the sun’s radiation is reflected back into space, and methane being released from the permafrost. And the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is still going up.
What does this mean? It equals food shortages, the mass migration of 1 billion people by 2050, if not earlier as it’s happening now, more wars for remaining resources which means more emissions, pollution and death. More holidays to places that are too hot to live in, or on fire, or flooding, or where the native populations are being made homeless or starving. It means economies will crash, people will lose their jobs, their pensions, their savings, their houses. There will be more civil unrest as people feel failed by the system. It means the rise of the far right, again already happening, which occurs when people are scared and need someone to blame; we know this from history. The breakdown of law and order follows, disease, pandemics and health service failure. Then, eventual societal collapse and the death of billions.
It’s not me saying this, it’s not my cause, it’s not Just Stop Oil or Extinction Rebellion’s cause either. It’s what climate scientists are stating, 99.9% of whom say we’re in big trouble due to global heating caused by our carbon emissions.
It’s what the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, who is advised by climate scientists and the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) is saying; “we’re on the highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator“. The IPCC itself has said “the world is facing a “rapidly closing window of opportunity” to secure a sustainable future.” This window of opportunity is only a few years long, perhaps by the end of this decade, if not sooner.
And if you don’t believe them, or the International Energy Agency, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth or the Red Cross, maybe you’ll believe Sir David Attenborough who said, amongst many other powerful things:
“Climate change is also really important. You can wreck one rainforest then move, drain one area of resources and move onto another, but climate change is global. If my grandchildren were to look at me and say, ‘You were aware species were disappearing and you did nothing, you said nothing’, that I think is culpable.“
Small communities might survive by the end of the century, in Northern territories, but they could all be screwed too if AMOC (Atlantic Meridian Overturning Circlation) stops. If that stops all bets are off, people could be squeezed into a very narrow habitation zone, where they’ll no doubt fight to survive. Here’s what Laura Jackson, a scientist from the MET office had to say on it. Her view is perhaps a moderate one, with other scientists saying the collapse of AMOC could come a lot quicker. We just don’t know for sure.
Some, if not all of this, is locked in. But we can still try to stop making it worse. We can come together, stop emissions that are causing global heating, stop burning oil and gas for energy, change the way we live (recycling just doesn’t cut it), grow food locally, stop eating so much meat, build resilient and well connected communities, reject consumerism and infinite growth, adopt doughnut economics. We can accelerate the transition to renewable energy, equitably across the globe, stick solar panels on every roof, paint stuff white to reflect solar radiation back into the atmosphere. We can stop building new roads, stop building houses in areas at risk of flooding or which include important wildlife habitats, preserve and restore nature, reuse and yes, recycle.
We could tax the super rich and use funds to build renewables and for adaptation. Tax the fossil fuel companies and put their execs on trial for genocide by oblique intent (see Rome statutes). Prosecute the media for spreading lies and half truths which have led so many astray. Prosecute corrupt politicians and business persons who have done the same and profited from it. Set up legally binding Citizens’ Assemblies to decide what we need to do. Change the whole system. If we do all this we might stand a fraction of a chance. We might not die.
At the moment though governments, the oil and gas industry, some banks and a lot of the media seem intent on waging war on humanity. We are being led astray by people we are told we should trust. I find it devastating when I hear people planning for 10, 20, 30 years in the future, for their kids futures, when the world is already on fire or flooding. What do you think our children are going to face in 10 years time, let alone by the time they are 50?
I’m not doom-mongering, I refuse to be complicit, even though we’re all trapped by the system we’re in and hypocrites to one degree or another. I refuse to stick my head in the sand and wait for someone else to sort it out. I refuse to be a bystander whilst millions die; that’s happening right now. I’m not being self righteous, or virtue signally, I’m panicking, I’m scared, I’m raging at a system which thinks we can just carry on as normal, and spends billions of dollars trying to convince everyone we can. More recently I’m massively saddened to see rampant racism and hate out on the UK streets, with young kids being swept up by it, I’m anxious due to receiving telephone threats from far right thugs after I attended counter protests. But I have to carry on, taking action is the only thing that gives me hope when I lie awake thinking how the lives of my niece and nephew, my godchildren, all children can and are being cut short. And that’s hard to write.
I will no doubt perish far sooner than my Mum. She lived to 83. I won’t.
But, I, along with thousands of other ordinary people will try to make a difference by taking non-violent direct action. I hope you do too.
Couldn’t leave without a picture of Gideon, he is judging you, are you culpable?
Judgemental Cat
Feel free to message me if you would like further information on how to take action with Just Stop Oil or Extinction Rebellion, or with local ’causes’ in Norwich and Norfolk. I am growing to hate that word…’causes’.
Our illustrious Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, laughed or maybe giggled nervously yesterday when asked when the General Election will be. The BBC presenter asked him why he was laughing.
It’s not a joke you horribly out-of-touch person. You already had a green card to live in the US, and clearly want to go back there, so please just get on with it and leave. The Conservatives have had 14 years in power and I’m struggling to think of anything that’s improved. I quite like the fact bus fares are capped at £2, but it’s hardly game changing. A lot of people can’t even get a bus because they don’t run through their villages.
I started to make a list of reasons not to vote Tory. I expect some of these will be the same when Labour get into power too, but they can’t do a worse job can they? Surely not. Unfortunately, with our first past the post voting system it’s only ever going to be a two party race. Neither party is brave enough to bring in proportional representation. As the Green Party peer Natalie Bennett said on a recent visit to Norwich, we don’t really live in a democracy. No wonder so many people don’t vote. We need to change the system, it’s corrupt and broken.
Here’s my list of reasons not to vote Tory, in no particular order.
The destruction of the NHS: This really is unforgivable. They’ve privatised parts of it, made ludicrous contracts with Private Finance Initiatives, poor management, over-worked an underpaid staff. Not sure where to stop. People have and will continue to suffer and die because of Tory neglect and ineptitude.
Dentists and GP Surgeries: Getting an appointment ain’t exactly easy is it? I don’t exactly blame doctors for moving abroad to work.
Licensing of North Sea Oil and Gas: Driving climate breakdown and ecological destruction. Licensing Rosebank/Cambo. No energy security, no new jobs, and no cheaper bills. More death and suffering due to climate breakdown, whilst they are at the same time degrading the NHS to the point it won’t be able to cope. Also means we won’t hit our emissions targets; they lie about our carbon emissions anyway as they don’t include goods produced abroad which we consume, or aviation, or shipping.
Energy company profits: Tied to the above, during a cost of living crisis with a bogus windfall tax that has too many loopholes. The oil and gas companies are making billions at our expense, and still don’t think they are making enough money.
Lack of investment into green energy: No new onshore wind, solar panels still aren’t mandatory on new builds, behind on targets for heat pump installation, behind on training skilled workers in the industry.
Subsidies for oil and gas companies: The Government subsidises the oil and gas industry to the tune of about £236m a week, that’s billions more than it subsidises the Green energy industry. Why are we subsidising an industry that is wrecking our lives and the planet, especially when they’re making grotesque profits?
Lack of investment in public and active transport: We are so far behind many European countries. Very little in the way of segregated cycle lanes. So much remains car centric. Why is it often more expensive to take a train than it is to fly? Underinvestment and mismanagement of our railways and rail stock. Lack of active transport options puts more strain on our NHS too.
Brexit lies: We were lied to. Where is the extra £350m a week for the NHS? Where are the amazing trade agreements? It’s now harder to trade with Europe, harder to travel, and prices have gone up. Immigration has gone up. Nothing is better. Why aren’t the Tory politicians that lied to us in jail? And oh good, I have a blue passport.
Failure to support farmers post Brexit: They’ve been hit by more regulations, a failure to deliver promised subsidies, and no benefits. Look at the poor mental health and suicide rate amongst famers; I read an article suggesting 3 suicides a week amongst agricultural workers.
Politics by division: That’s how they are desperately trying to cling on to power, by wedge politics, dividing the country on issues such as Brexit, stirring up hatred, lying, profiting from conflict. Look at the hatred and language used around immigration such as ‘invasion’, and the de-humanising, whilst refugees fleeing persecution die in small boats or commit suicide on the Bibby Stockholm.
No team work or statesmanship: Division within the cabinet, fighting and one-upmanship rather than working together. No continuity, roles change to often, and no long term strategy or vision.
Water companies: Shit in our rivers. Pollution in our lakes and coastal waters. Our water infrastructure is so poorly maintained we’re losing millions or litres of water in leaks. No new reservoirs despite water shortages. And all the time they’re paying out millions to shareholders, and bonuses to their executives, and saying they’re going to put our bills up. All started by the Conservatives privatising the water industry. Enough is enough, renationalise them now. Hold the execs to account with criminal trials. Get our money and our clean rivers back.
COVID: Tories partying whilst ordinary people couldn’t visit their relatives in care homes, or when they were dying in hospital. The Queen sitting alone at her husband’s funeral, whilst Boris partied in Number 10, and then lied about it. PPE scandals, with contracts worth millions given to friends of the conservatives that then failed to deliver – Baroness Michelle Mone and £200m springs to mind. We will not forget, we will not forgive. You should all stand trial.
Truss mini-budget: Truss was only PM for 50 days, the lettuce lasted longer. Her ‘mini’ budget with Quarteng cost the economy billions, and hiked interest rates. It meant many people couldn’t retire as their pension funds took a massive tumble. It meant lots of peoples mortgage repayments went up, including mine by £200 a month. She added to the cost of living crisis, and has the audacity to still show her face in public. Shame on you.
Trickle down economics: Well, something is trickling down, but it ain’t wealth.
Taxcon: Trying to con the electorate with tax/national insurance cuts that aren’t really tax cuts. They’ve frozen thresholds and allowances rather than lift them in line with earnings or inflation, which is in fact a massive tax rise. We are not stupid. And what about a wealth tax, and closing down tax loopholes, and chasing companies that operate here but fail to pay tax?
HS2: Billions of pounds into a railway few will use, which has destroyed large swathes of countryside and farmland and doesn’t even go all the way into London. This is not levelling up, it’s a scandal.
House building: Massively behind plan, and not social/affordable housing or building in the right places – more brown field sites needed. People paying rent have to pay more than people paying mortgages, with little in the way of security, or a chance of getting on the housing ladder.
Stifling freedom of speech and the right to protest: A new raft of anti-protest laws including the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, and the Public Order Act. Peaceful protest is part of true democracy, even if you don’t agree with the cause. Peaceful protesters are now being arrested in ever greater numbers, and even thinking about taking action can land you in hot water; the Thought Police are coming.
Corrupting the judiciary/legal system: Allowing private companies to take out injunctions – money driving laws. Silencing defendants, and not allowing juries to make decisions based on conscience. Judge Silas Reid is prime example of this. If the Tories don’t like the Legal system they just try and change the law – see next point on Rwanda.
The Rwanda Billand immigation: The Tories want to send 300 people to Rwanda. How is that going to discourage people from trying to get into the UK, often when they are fleeing persecution? The courts said this wasn’t legal, so the Tories try to change the law. They think they are above the law. It was always a stupid idea and besides, we’re going to need immigrants to pay for pensions because we’re having less children. Plus we have a massive number of job vacancies that need filling. And I’ve just read that Sunak is hinting we might leave the European Convention on Human Rights if the Rwanda Plan is blocked; pretty sure most of the UK population will be appalled if this happens.
Gaza: Labour are just as guilty here, for not calling for an immediate ceasefire, and continuing to sell arms to Israel that are killing civilians and aid workers. Collective punishment is a war crime. The Tories have massively misjudged the public mood on this, as have Labour, and they will both suffer for it in the polls; allowed George Galloway to become an MP again.
The Climate and Ecological Crises: Failure to give the Climate and Ecological Crises the priority they need, putting us and future generations in peril. Doing the opposite of what is needed, often for profit and short term gain. The UK is the most nature denuded country in Europe.
The three-line whip system: Alright, this one isn’t just the Tories either. It means MPs often can’t vote in line with their constituents wishes, or with their conscience, like on Gaza. It’s corrupt and undemocratic, and should be banned or severely restricted to issues of national security.
Lobbyists: Again, not strictly just the Tories, but why are they so influenced by the right wing media, oil and gas companies, the building industry, all giving them money in the hope of influencing policy and decisions. It’s corrupt. I’d be up on criminal charges for such behaviour in my job.
Tory donors: Why are Tory donors given peerages in the House of Lords? In fact, why do we allow private individuals to give money to political parties for their campaigns? Wouldn’t a central fund of some sort make more sense, and be much fairer?
GB News: Why are Tory MPs allowed to use GB News to promote their agendas, whilst also failing to be impartial when reporting the news; as stated by Ofcom in the case of Jacob Rees Mogg. This news channel is toxic, tells lies, and promotes a nasty right wing agenda. I’ve had the ‘pleasure’ of doing interviews with them just so they can say they give a balanced view. They’re rubbish, and thankfully losing millions of pounds a year, but their owner doesn’t care about that.
Homelessness: Is on the rise, despite Tory pledges to end it by 2024. I certainly see more rough sleeping in Norwich. We have more billionaires in the world than we have ever had, yet we can’t give people basic food and shelter. Redistribution of wealth please.
Food banks: Why are nurses and other essential workers having to use food banks. More and more people are being forced to because of the cost of living crisis caused in a large part by Tory policy. You can’t blame it all on the conflict in the Ukraine, or COVID, or Brexit. Other countries are doing far better than we are. Even Russia’s economy is growing faster than ours.
Inflation: I am sick of hearing the Tories talk about cutting inflation. It doesn’t make prices go down. They are already high and still going up. Get real, please.
Road building: They want to build new roads, but can’t even maintain our existing ones, with a pandemic of potholes across the country. We don’t need new roads, we need better public transport; bus and rail. New roads means more traffic, more emissions, and more opening up of our already denuded countryside to more unwanted development.
New coal mines: Nearly forgot about this one. They want to build a new coal mine in Cumbria, even though the steel industry has told them it’s the wrong type of coal for coking. I think they want to take us back to the Victorian age, and increase carbon emissions whilst they’re at it.
Drax: Have you heard about the Drax power plant. It burns wood chips from prime untouched forest in Canada, and claims to be carbon neutral. What utter nonsense. Destroying nature, burning it, with the associated carbon emissions. And stop peddling the lies about carbon capture and storage technology which is unproven at scale. And stop giving them subsidies.
They are unkind: We need politicians that are kind, that have some empathy. Not the likes of Braverman or Patel, Sunak, Johnson, Baker, Coffey etc. Please can we have some kindness from politicians?
I am sure there are lots more reasons to vote for someone other than the Tories, I might add to the list over the next few days. They are degrading the UK, dividing society, destroying our public services, making us poorer, and both mentally and physically sicker. We’re still supposed to be the 6th biggest economy in the world, how can you have made such a complete mess of things? Do the right thing and call a General Election now, then go off and sort yourselves out.
That being said, the current political system and main political parties just aren’t fit for purpose for the challenges ahead. We can’t reform what is fundamentally broken. We need a revolution. Visit https://umbrella-org.com/
I think I might take a leaf out of Gideon’s book and just sleep a lot more.
A friend messaged me last week asking if I wanted to join them for a foray up to the North Norfolk coast, for an overnight campout on the beach. Initially my head was full of excuses as to why I couldn’t possibly join them; too much work, catching up on activism stuff, garden needs attention, cat would be very disappointed with my service levels, and a host of other nonsense. I thought about it for 10 minutes and realised this is exactly the sort of thing I should be doing, getting away for a short break to de-frag, reset, and enjoy myself. I’ve realised that if I don’t do different things during the course of the year time passes even more quickly, and everything becomes a blur until it’s Christmas again, then New Year, and time to start again.
I broke the news to Gideon gently in the garden whilst he was hunting butterflies. He’s not very successful at hunting butterflies cos of the whole one eye thing, but he loves pouncing round the grass and hiding, ready to spring an ambush.
Explaining to Gideon I’m going on an adventure, without himUnimpressed cat retreats to the long grassGrumpy face
After finishing work on Friday I threw some kit in a bag and headed up to the North Norfolk coast, initially to Cley next the Sea to meet up for a pint, then on to Well-next-the-Sea. I don’t know why some villages in Norfolk use the ‘next the sea’ description, seems quite obvious to me, or why ‘Cley next the Sea’ isn’t hyphenated like ‘Wells-next-the-Sea’, must be one of those crazy Norfolk things. There are lots of interesting spellings of town and village names in Norfolk too, many of which aren’t pronounced as they’re spelt. I still don’t know how to say Stiffkey properly, I think it might be ‘Stukey’, and Happisburgh and Wymondham are a constant struggle for visitors; ‘Hazeborough’ and ‘Windham’ respectively.
We arrived in Wells and had dinner in a pub, which as one would expect was pretty expensive, the sea-side town being a popular holiday resort. It was worth it though, and I really did feel like I was on a proper holiday.
Wells-next-the-Sea harbourLots of crabbing boatsNorth Norfolk sky amazing at sunset
It was great sitting on the quay watching the sunset. The fish and chip shops along the seafront must make a fortune at this time of year; long queues of tourists from all over the country and abroad, judging from the accents and languages.
What is this life if, full of careWe have no time to stand and stare.Wells-next-the-sea at dusk
I think Wells has a pirate festival at some point in the year, but sadly no pirates were in evidence during our stay. We spotted a potential pirate ship, but there was no rum or pillaging going on. Our attempts to find a discotheque were also a failure; not sure Wells has that sort of thing, or that it would have been a good idea. After a few pints of ale we walked up to the beach, then along the dunes and cut into the forest to find a place to sleep for the night; no tents, just a roll mat, bivvy bag and sleeping bag. The Perseid meteor shower was happening and we managed to glimpse a few through the tree canopy before falling asleep. I slept pretty well, but might have snored a bit; I’m told I did, scandalous lies.
Waking up in the morning when wild camping is always a delight, especially when you’ve pitched up in the dark and don’t know what everything is going to look like. The forest and dunes did not disappoint.
Waking up at sunriseIn the pines, in the pinesBit nervous about velociraptors in the long grass Hammocks for the winSun rises over the dunesThere were quite a few people sleeping in the Marram Grass
An initial explore down to the beach revealed other people waking up in the dunes. I suspect many a had come to watch the Perseids. I wonder if they all bedded down completely unaware there were other like-minded people not very far away at all.
Quite a way to the seaNot looking too dishevelledBack in the forest, staying alert for dinosaurs
I did think about going for a morning swim, however apparently there has been a lot of sewage released into the sea at Wells recently, after the rain storms. I really wish water companies would get their act together and fix things, rather than paying massive profits to shareholders and big bonuses to executives; criminals. Come on Anglia Water, sort it out. We should nationalise all critical service companies to stop this sort of thing from happening. Anyway, breathe, I was on holiday and I’m trying not to rant about things.
Pines, bracken and spiderwebs in the morning sunForest meets dunesA trek back towards WellsA natural sundialWells harbour in the morning
After exploring the woods down to Holkam, and trying unsuccessfully to get the Jurassic Park theme tune out of my head, we headed back to Wells for a cup of tea, stopping for a swift peanut butter sandwich and fruit breakfast on the way. I had a second breakfast of croissant in a lovely bakery cafe on the sea front.
There concluded a thoroughly enjoyable micro-adventure to Wells, with no trace left of our sleep-over other than a bit more money in the coffers of local merchants.
My weekend of fun was not however, over. On getting back to Norwich, and after a siesta, I loaded up my touring bike (Smaug) and headed down to Whitlingham Broad to meet friends. This involved some further negotiation with Gideon who was a bit peeved but is really bad at staying aloof and annoyed for any length of time; bribery with cat treats also helps.
Touring bike loaded up
It’s been quite a while since I put all my panniers onto my bike and pedalled somewhere to camp. It really made me think about going on another cycle tour, even if it’s only a short one. Cycle touring is such a low impact way to travel, and a great way of meeting people and seeing the world. I loved my tour round the coast of Britain in 2013, and round Europe in 2015. It’s been too long since I’ve done something similar; doing the coast of Britain again is very tempting, I wonder if Gideon would be okay in a basket.
Camping in the top field, Whitlingham BroadWhitlingham Campsite
Whitlingham Campsite is excellent. I’d not been there before despite cycling past it for years on my way to and from work. It’s relatively small, family run, allows fire pits, has a small shop and very decent wash-block. I’d definitely recommend it, especially with the Broad on your doorstep for canoeing, kayaking, SUP’ing etc. There’s also a decent pub within walking or kayaking distance.
Sunset – sky on fireWondrous clouds hiding dragonsFire pit to sit around
In this instance I stayed at the campsite and relaxed, chatting with friends. The sunset was very dramatic; it looked like Norwich was on fire (it wasn’t thankfully), and provided a good backdrop for a pretty murderous game of Werewolf; the werewolf’s won, however I was slain. I was a werewolf so it was probably fair, I’d eaten quite a few villagers by that point.
After a late night catching up with old and dear friends, then a good sleep in tent this time, I pedalled home in the morning. I’m definitely going to have to do more micro-adventures; I was reminded today, by some sad news, how important it is to make the most of the time one has. I’ll just make sure I find the time between everything else; it’ll help stop me going flabby – see this Alastair Humphries, which really resonated with me –> https://alastairhumphreys.com/flabbiness-2/
Final thoughts for the day. I don’t eat beans on toast enough. It’s such a magnificent meal, and healthy (please don’t tell me it isn’t). I’m going to be really upset when there aren’t things like baked beans, and Colman’s mustard, due to the climate crisis and everything going wrong.
Beans on toast, a modern wonder of the world
Thoughts are with the people of Maui, who have either been killed, displaced, or otherwise horribly impacted by the wildfires, which are being made so much more frequent and worse by the climate crisis, which is caused by us. We need to stop new oil and gas, and stop our criminal politicians like Sunak, Shapps and Braverman who think opening new oil and gas fields is a good idea.
It feels to me like we’re stuck. The current political system and western society we live in isn’t fit for purpose in terms of making the difficult decisions needed to secure a liveable future. We are too trapped by corrupt politicians, climate change denying corporations, and a way of life we don’t want to compromise.
We may go down in history as the first civilisation to end itself because it wasn’t deemed economically viable or politically popular to make the changes needed to survive. We won’t save ourselves or most of the species we share the planet with because it’s too expensive, and politicians are worried they might lose an election over it. Sounds crazy, but that’s what seems to be happening. Sunak announced approval of over 100 new oil and gas projects in the North Sea last week, which flies in the face of what climate scientists, the UN, the Government’s own Climate Change Committee, the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, the International Energy Association and many other organisations are saying.
Economically, socially, and politically, are we really set up to deal effectively with the challenges happening now, let alone the challenges that are going to happen next year, in 10 years, in 50 years, due to the climate and ecological crises? Are we emotionally ready for it, or even awake to the fact radical change has to happen if we want our society to survive?
Churchill said “democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried.”
It’s very debatable as to whether we live in a true democracy in this country; we don’t have proportional representation. There are perhaps 2 other countries in Europe that have first past the post systems. I posit this is one of the reasons UK society is increasingly divided, and as to why decisions being made in Westminster make no sense to the majority of the rest of the country and are driving us further towards civilisational collapse.
Would another form of Government be better placed to save us from the mass migration, war, famine, drought, ocean death, food system collapse, economic breakdown, health service demise, panic and societal collapse we’re facing? I don’t know the answer to that question, but the Tory party are really making me start to wonder if we ought to try something else.
And sod the criticism we keep getting about using alarmist language. Have the critics actually looked at what’s happening right now? Wildfires in Canada and across Southern Europe, massive floods in China and the Philippines, harvest failures becoming increasingly frequent, ocean heatwaves killing millions of fish, and temperature records broken on a monthly basis. Let’s not even get started on how species extinction rates are way above the natural baseline. These are not just due to ‘seasonal changes’ or ‘a natural cycle’, this is proven beyond doubt to be down to human caused ‘global boiling’, quoting Antonio Guterres, caused by us burning fossil fuels. Anyone denying this needs to get their heads out of their posteriors, and have motivations thoroughly examined. Criminal charges need to, and no doubt will be made in many cases against politicians, media and journalists deliberately misleading the public, banks like Barclays and JP Morgan financing fossil fuel companies, oil and gas lobbyists and execs, and climate change denying think tanks.
Earth Hour – Texas Public Radio – The Voice
Last week I was interviewed on Texas Public Radio on a show called The Source. I was nervous about being interviewed in my role as a Just Stop Oil spokesperson by the US State built on oil and gas. But…it was a really good experience, with lots of great questions and points from callers. One of the comments made was that the system of Government in the US isn’t fit for purpose either. Generally people get it, they get we’re in a crisis. We turn to our Governments for protection and solutions and they don’t seem to understand, and instead make things worse.
Why did Sunak announce the approval of over 100 new oil and gas projects in the North Sea? Profit? Energy security? Bowing to pressure from the likes of Murdoch and oil and gas companies? By the way this was shortly after his wife’s family business, InfoSys, signed a massive deal worth a reported $1.5bn with BP. I’m sure there is no connection.
It’s worth noting that new North Sea oil and gas:
Won’t come online for decades, in many cases beyond the Government’s net zero target of 2050, which will be blown by these new fields
Does nothing in terms of UK energy security; we don’t own it. BP, Shell etc own it and will sell it to the highest bidder
Is more expensive than renewable energy which is cheaper and quicker to build, but far less profitable for the monsters making billions at our expense
Will increase emissions which can’t be countered by carbon capture and storage; this is unproven at scale and mostly a way of excusing the stranded assets that stopping new oil and gas will cause, funny that
I love this world, the biodiversity, the people, the cultures, the amazing ecosystems we have that are a result of billions of years of evolution. Are we really going to destroy it all, in a matter of a few hundred years, to make the super-rich even richer, and to preserve a completely unsustainable way of life for people who mostly live in the Global North? The super-rich will only be richer for a short period of time, before the pitchforks arrive at their gated communities demanding justice.
We’re being betrayed by our politicians, much of the media, and by huge corporations, all of whom have been told what will happen if we continue on our current trajectory. The Government and politicians in general seem completely unable to face the truth and do something about it, which can only be because they’re afraid it will lose them the next election, as well impact the profits of vested interests, mixed in with a fair dose of denialism. This seems like madness to me, there won’t be elections or economics if society breaks down. As has been the case for too long it’s all about short term politics and short term decisions when in fact the choice is clear: Change or Die, millions are already dying because of the climate crisis.
What are the difficult decisions I’m talking about? Here are some I think about a lot.
Telling the truth: People deserve to know exactly how dire the crises impacting us are. I’d love to see the same amount of money spent on advertising and greenwashing by fossil fuel companies, and on fossil fuel lobbyists, instead spent on educating the public on the latest science and solutions. Did you know that there were more fossil fuel lobbyists than representatives of the ten nations most impacted by the climate crisis registered to attend COP27; around 636 lobbyists in total. And between January and March this year Government ministers met with oil and gas representatives 54 times. Is it any wonder their priorities aren’t in our best interests? Why isn’t the truth a priority? Because it would cut into profits and would be viewed as unpopular without the right education. Politicians don’t dare tell the truth, they’d be called out, hung, drawn and quartered, and lose the backing of their donors.
Stopping new oil, gas and coal projects: We have around 7 years of reserves in existing oil and gas fields to keep the lights on whilst we transition to a more sustainable way of living using renewables. We don’t need to open new fields if we invest in solar, tidal and wind, including onshore wind which is currently effectively banned in England; Ukraine built more onshore wind-farms than we did (we built 2) in the last few years, and they’re at war. Instead of subsidising fossil fuel companies to the tune of £236m a week, why don’t we direct that money towards renewables which are cheaper and quicker to build, and would create thousands of new jobs? Seems like a sensible decision to me, however that would disrupt the status quo and shift power away from those that currently have it.
Invest in the grid: To get the electricity from where it’s produced from renewable sources we need massive investment in our energy grid and storage. This would counter the argument of not having a reliable and resilient baseline power supply. This would be another decision viewed as unpopular by some, because of unsightly pylons, or trenches being dug for power cables. Again I think this comes down to education; what would people rather have, unsightly power lines or societal collapse? We should have started this decades ago, with a joined up plan, but of course that didn’t happen because it was too difficult, and the Tories would lose votes if they built pylons through the countryside. Oil and Gas mega-corporations would also oppose such developments; I heard recently that the objectives of companies like Shell are to survive for as long as possible versus their competitors, and to maximise their profits.
Insulate and retrofit houses: We need to stop poking round the edges and properly commit to insulating our existing housing stock, before retrofitting air source heat pumps to replace gas boilers. It’s not happening fast enough and there isn’t enough investment. If we implemented a proper windfall tax on energy companies, without loopholes they can offset against, we could fund things like this. It needs a big training programme to produce the skilled workers required, which would mean more jobs. We also need to make sure developers do a better job on new builds with insulation, solar panels made mandatory, and phasing away from gas boilers. This is all pretty difficult if you’re a politician worrying about an election in a few years time; no motivation to do the right thing.
Public Transport expansion and Electric Vehicles: I’m really sorry, we’re being sold a lie that swapping your petrol or diesel car for an electric one will make things better. Electric Vehicles are heavier, have a large carbon footprint when they’re constructed, and are not without particulate emissions which increase air pollution. Their weight makes them more dangerous, and could mean some structures such as multi-storey carparks and bridges aren’t suitable anymore. I’m also not entirely sure what’s going to happen to all the batteries when they reach the end of their useful life, although they’re improving all the time. I like electric vehicles, and think electric bikes are brilliant, but we can’t just swap one bad thing for another to keep the car industry and economy afloat; and where are all those rare earth minerals going to come from exactly? Invest instead in better public transport; trains, buses and trams. Invest in more cycle and foot paths (active transport). Introduce more clean air zones which in turn will mean less deaths from air pollution. Another difficult decision for those in power as in the short term it would no doubt be incredibly unpopular to tell people the age of personal car ownership is over. Just look at the reaction to ULEZ.
Consume less and change the economic model: Our emissions per capita (per the average person) are much higher in the UK and other westernised countries (the Global North) compared with the Global South. We consume far more in terms of single use products, meat, fast fashion and goods produced from fossil fuels. We also travel more, especially by plane. This is a massive privilege and not accounted for in UK emissions a lot of the time, as the goods are produced abroad and emission statistics don’t include shipping or aviation. This is one of the reasons the ‘UK is only responsible for 1% of global emissions, go and protest in China’ argument is so infuriating. It’s based on yet another lie. Selling the idea that we need to buy less stuff, eat less meat, and not go on holiday by plane as much is going to be a tough sell for politicians, so let’s strike this one off the list straightaway. It will however happen of its own accord if we don’t make the changes needed; not having a viable society equals lack of shops, food, and holidays.
On the economic model front we need to stop basing success on GDP (Gross Domestic Product = a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced in a specific time period by a country or countries). Instead we could move to doughnut economics to ensure that “no one is left falling short on life’s essentials, and an ecological ceiling, to ensure that humanity does not collectively overshoot the planetary boundaries that protect Earth’s life-supporting systems.” Read Kate Raworth’s book for more information. The current economic model seems to rely on the fiction that our planet has infinite resources, which it doesn’t. We’ve got to move to a sustainable model or we’re just going to burn out; countries in the Global South are already quite literally burning out due to our addiction to GDP.
Sadly changing our economy would upset a lot of rich people, and those in power, and wouldn’t be painless for a lot of the population in the short term. But the long term benefits, and the fact it would help us survive seem, to me, to outweigh that. It would take a pretty charismatic and courageous politician to sell that though.
Refugees: You know how angry people are getting about thousands of migrants and refugees trying to get into the UK? It’s going to get a lot worse as parts of the world become uninhabitable, which is already happening. In the meantime the UK is cutting overseas aid budgets and pulling up the drawbridge. Shouldn’t we be doing all we can to help these people? A lot of the impacts being felt in places like Africa and India, and small island nations, are a result of our colonialist policies of the past, and the fact we’ve been burning fossil fuels for centuries. The people least responsible for the climate crisis are suffering the worst, and are the least able to mitigate and adapt to it. I get people have concerns about how much room we have, and our public services and infrastructure being overwhelmed, however surely we have a duty of care due to our past and present actions? The least we could do is increase our aid budget and cut emissions to give these people a chance in their own countries; they don’t want to have to move, we’re forcing them to. This is a political hot topic and it appears those in power, or aspiring to form the next Government, have decided it would be political suicide to help refugees. History will judge us, if we have one.
Protect our remaining wild spaces and seas, and re-wild: I really don’t get why this isn’t happening. Most of the public clearly support it and it would win votes. Yet we consistently cut down woodland to build houses and industry, ignore protected zones in our seas, and continue to pollute our landscapes, persecute wildlife, and destroy rare habitats. The UK is the most nature-denuded country in Europe. Our national parks are ecological wastelands most of the time. Insect populations are plummeting, an estimated decline of 64% between 2004 and 2022 due to the continued overuse of pesticides. Our waterways are full of sewage, and our fields and ground water full of excess fertiliser and animal faeces from agriculture. We’ve been getting it so wrong. Thankfully there are efforts to stop and reverse the destruction and pollution, and to rewild across large parts of the country. There are some brilliant efforts being made by farmers to change their practices, use less chemicals and not just grow monocultures. However they’re up against greedy developers, a Government that still wants to trash our countryside with new roads, and a general public misconception about what nature looks like and how it should be managed; see national parks comment. And of course big-pharma who really don’t want us to stop using all those nice chemicals they make for fertilisers and pesticides, and who rubbish and persecute soil scientists trying to convince us otherwise.
New roads: The Welsh Government has very sensibly said no to new road building, however we’re still ploughing ahead with it in England. New dual carriageways, bypasses and link road plans abound. I could write an entire post just about this, and how new roads equals more traffic (induced traffic demand) and more emissions, not too mention how the emissions from building them will contribute to breaking our net-zero targets. This is a sensitive issue in Norfolk, where I live, where there are several schemes going through at the moment including the Norwich Western Link road. The link road will destroy rare chalk stream habitat, cost a fortune, increase emissions, air, light and water pollution, all for the sake of cutting minutes of a car journey. Again, we need to stop our car-centric view of the world and invest in public and active transport, then we wouldn’t need all these new roads. This is another political hot potato, with pro-road campaigners and politicians accusing anti-road campaigners of being anti-growth, and not being in line with ordinary working class people. It’s a back and forth argument, however most politicians in England are still on the side for new roads for economic growth.
I really wish we had more joined up thinking across all these challenges. Why can’t politicians see we’re shooting ourselves in the foot? There are no doubt more examples of difficult decisions politicians won’t make, however maybe you could suggest some in the comments. I’m starting to feel a bit burned out about it all.
It does indeed feel a bit hopeless when you look at what we’re up against. How can we hope that any politicians that want to get elected are going to make these difficult decisions? But they could do, if they explained why they’re needed truthfully, why it is 100% necessary for survival, and that it could result in a better way of life after perhaps a tough transition period. We really need to move onto a global war footing to start solving these challenges, with daily updates similar to those we had during the COVID pandemic.
The benefits of all these changes will be massive when they happen. I say when they happen, because they have to happen if we want to survive. Better physical and mental health, more joined up communities supporting one another, and an appreciation of what’s really important in life. And the great news, we can still have things like the internet and lots of the stuff we enjoy today, but in a sustainable and balanced fashion with the rest of the world’s inhabitants, without breaking through ecological ceilings. I dream of nature being allowed to regenerate, clean air and water, thriving habitats and healthy soil, and of species currently struggling or nearing extinction making a comeback. I really believe that one of the reasons so many people are ill at the moment, both mentally and physically, is because we’re totally out of balance with nature. At a subconscious level I think we all know it. We’re all fundamentally a part of nature, not apart from it.
The longer we maintain our current destructive way of life the more difficult and expensive it will get to change things, and the more people and animals across the planet are going to suffer and die. I know we’ve locked in a lot of climate change impacts now as greenhouse gas emissions stay in the atmosphere for so long, but we need to fight against every fraction of a degree in temperature rise, and against every ecological tipping point being reached.
Why is Sunak, who appears to be spineless, so willing to go along with this countdown to extinction? I’m pretty sure his daughters don’t agree. Kudos to the Greenpeace supporters that climbed on one of his houses this week to call him out; they knew he and his family weren’t there, and knew how to climb the building safely. Feels like he’s a child trying to survive politics in an aquarium full of sharks, and he’s hiding in the coral which incidentally is dying due to yes, you guessed it, the climate and ecological crises. Sadly I don’t think Starmer will be much better. He’s already said he will keep the new oil and gas licenses the Tories have approved, and he seems pro most other things that will make matters worse, whilst supporting legislation to silence ordinary people protesting about it. We’re up against huge vested interests, worth billions of pounds, whilst activists only have a fraction of the resources.
That was a heavy but I hope informative stream of consciousness, and I’d love to hear what you think about it all. By way of light relief here are some pictures of Gideon being his usual self, and of a hedgehog that’s visiting me each night.
Arrives most nights, about 11pmVisiting hedgehog having a drinkHiding in the brassicasIn the brassicas againHunting butterflies, I tried explaining about insect number declinesApparently rain water in a bucket is bestPropping up sunflower due to high windGideon supervising gardening
Finally, just to acknowledge the passing of Sinead O’Connor. Here’s one of my favourite songs of hers. What a powerful voice, full of emotion and conviction. Such a loss. And such a travesty that she was hounded by so many for speaking the truth.
I know I post about the the Climate Crisis a lot. I know that it might bore some people. But this week has seen complete madness from our Government. And now this, and it’s not an April Fools.
Tax Cuts on Domestic Flights…lunacy
France has banned short-haul domestic flights to cut emissions, we on the other hand appear to be encouraging them, rather than investing in trains, buses and active transport. Apparently flight bookings have surged since this announcement
This week the Government were originally going to have a ‘Green Day’, instead it turned out to be a day of investing further in fossil fuels; an ‘Energy Security Day’. They want to open over 100 new oil and gas fields in the North Sea, a new coal mine, and claim that unproven carbon capture technology will make it alright; would you bet your future on a three legged horse? They won’t even end routine oil and gas flaring by 2025, a key recommendation.
The carbon capture thing just isn’t proven at scale, and is motivated by politicians and companies like BP, Shell and Exxon (climate criminals) wanting to make as much profit out of oil and gas, whilst the world burns. I strongly suspect carbon sequestration is also an attempt to not make loads of oil and gas infrastructure redundant, which would leave a massive stranded asset. They probably think they can make loads of cash off Europe by trying to store carbon under the North Sea, but it’s just gambling with our future. Money Money Money, Growth Growth Growth = Death Death Death.
People are already dying in their thousands from the Climate Crisis. One person every 36 seconds in East Africa due to climate induced drought/famine. Island nations such as Vanuatu and the Marshall Islands will cease to exist soon, and the Maldives where people love to fly to, ironically, on their holidays.
And the Government are worried about refugees and migrants. Well, we’re going to have billions of climate refugees soon, which will make the ‘small boat crisis’ seem like child’s-play. Millions will be displaced from Africa alone by 2050 – estimates range from 86 million upwards.
Our Government are failing to invest sufficiently in renewables, they won’t back onshore wind, they won’t make solar panels mandatory on new builds, they won’t prioritise improvements to the power grid to make renewable energy work better, they won’t prioritise insulating people’s homes sufficiently. Instead they subsidise the fossil fuel industry to the tune of £236m a week (£11bn a year), oh, and they do this whilst accepting donations from oil and gas companies and climate sceptics, but I’m sure there’s no connection. They’re homicidal maniacs.
The latest IPCC report says ‘There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.’ They’re talking a few years. Government policy is a death sentence for future generations.
We’re not going to meet our emissions targets; 68% cut by 2030 and net zero by 2050. The UN say we need to bring the net zero target forward by 10 years anyway. The target to keep temperature increases to 1.5C above pre-industrial averages is blown; we’re on target for +2.7C by 2100, which will be disastrous. Chris Skidmore MP, Chair of the Net Zero Review, has told the Government that any investment in new oil and gas means we won’t hit targets. The UN, IPCC, International Energy Association, thousands of climate scientists, all say no new oil and gas.
We have enough reserves to last us 7+ years whilst we transition to renewables, which incidentally are 9 times cheaper than fossil fuels, and far quicker to come online (months not years). What the hell are the Government doing aside from lining their own pockets, and supporting the billionaires running the fossil fuel industry and right wing press? It’s all short term profit for a few, over people and planet, and during a cost of living crisis.
They are breaking their own laws on meeting targets. This was demonstrated last year when Friends of the Earth took them to the High Court, who deemed the Government’s Net Zero Strategy unlawful on the grounds that they didn’t forecast the emissions impact of its policies, and that third-party forecasts put the impact far short of what would be needed for the UK to meet its legally binding climate targets.
They lie, misdirect, and cheat. If I hear one more claim that we’re ‘world leading’ I might just explode. Do they really think we’re that stupid? The stats might have shown a reduction in emissions but that’s because we’ve outsourced the production of so much we consume to places like China and India, which those stats don’t include, not to mention the transportation of those goods (aviation or shipping).
Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General, says ‘We’re on the highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.’
The Conservative Government are criminals, they are knowingly committing murder. They are killing people in the Global South now with their policies, and wiping out our children’s futures. This is a strong word, but really it’s an act of genocide being committed by our Government and Governments around the world, especially in the Global North, for failing to act decisively on the climate crisis whilst actively investing in the root causes. All the science says we shouldn’t invest in new oil and gas. What else would you call it? They know what will happen but are choosing to ignore it in favour of profit.
Who do you trust? It’s time to pick a side. I am incensed, grieving, sickened. All the solutions are there but the Government are choosing to do the opposite of what’s needed. We can’t go on like this, but we can come together, work together, and force the changes needed. We have to unite to survive.
If you’ve read this far, thank you. It was meant to be a short blog on the short haul flight thing, but there’s so much idiocy from our Government it turned into something far longer.
I, and thousands of other ordinary people, are in rebellion against our criminal Government. We’re aiming to get 100,000 people outside Parliament from 21 to 24 April, to send a message they can’t ignore to those in power. The Big One is being organised by Extinction Rebellion, with supporters such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Earthday, Global Justice Now and many others.
If you can’t do anything else, then please join us for ‘The Big One’. And drop me a message if you want some ideas on how you can get involved by joining 1000’s of others in taking action on the climate and ecological crisis.
I’ve not even mentioned new road building, HS2, that we’re the most nature denuded country in Europe, the indigenous climate protestors being killed for taking action, that water companies are making massive profits whilst polluting our rivers and on and on and on. I think I’d better go outside and take some deep breaths.
One other bit of news this week. Gideon has been quite poorly. I had to take him to the vets for an emergency procedure on Tuesday for a blocked urethra. Apparently this isn’t uncommon in male cats, especially when the seasons change. The procedure was successful, and he had a very long wee afterwards. There is a risk it will block again so he’s got to take medicine for a while, which he hates, and has to have special urinary cat food now. Fingers crossed he’ll be alright but I’m having to keep a close eye to make sure he can wee, poor thing. Here he is, convalescing.
He needs lots of attentionGideon convalescingSleeping even more that usualHe had to have some fur shaved off his leg. Not impressed.
As we say when we sign off in Extinction Rebellion, Love and Rage.
I thought I’d share the response from my MP, Jerome Mayhew, to the email I sent him last Friday off the back of his newsletter. It was a little bit infuriating, and didn’t really address a lot of the points from my email, but credit where credit’s due to responding in a timely fashion.
If you are able to contribute to the most excellent Legal challenge to the Western Link and other new roads in Norfolk, please check out Dr Andrew Boswell’s page here. Andrew has worked very hard on this, and any donations are greatly appreciated: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-road-building-wrecking-climate-nature/
I’ve also included my response to Mr Mayhew’s response, further down this post, as I felt I had to challenge his claim that the Norwich Western Link will reduce carbon emissions. Firstly, here are some daffodils from my lunchtime walk, just to ease us in. There are a couple of ‘quiz’ photos later on.
Daffodils – a sunny disposition
Mr Mayhew’s email from 06 March 2023:
Dear Mr Harvey,
Thank you for your email.
Voter ID:
Voter ID is a policy that has been implemented by many countries across the world. It is pretty standard, including in parts of the European Union. In 2010, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe carried out a review of the elections in the United Kingdom at that point and it was clear that there was a weakness in our system around ensuring that identification was provided.
You ask about oyster cards and over 60 passes. It is extremely simple to answer that question. I would encourage you to go and look at the eligibility for 18-year-old Oyster cards and at the eligibility for 60+ Oyster cards. They are different. The eligibility for the 60+ card involves significantly more requirements, including a passport or a driving licence.
Having sat on the Bill Committee during the Election Bill’s Committee Stage I followed the progress of the Elections Act 2022 closely, so do please forgive me for the length of my reply. The Elections Act 2022 was introduced to the House of Commons in July 2021 and received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022.
Voter ID is not new. Northern Ireland has required paper ID at polling stations since 1985, and photo ID since 2003. It has proved to be effective at tackling fraud and has not curtailed election turnout. Identification to vote has been backed by the Electoral Commission and international election watchdogs. At present, it is harder to take out a library book or collect a parcel at a post office than it is to vote in someone else’s name. As in Northern Ireland, where electoral participation has not been curtailed, a free Voter Card will be available, for those voters who do not hold one of the approved forms of photo identification, when the scheme is rolled out across Great Britain. Under the Government’s proposals, anyone without an ID will be able to apply for a new free one – meaning that not a single voter will be disenfranchised.
In pilot schemes in 2019 and 2018, the overwhelming majority of people cast their vote without a problem and the success of the pilots proves that this is a reasonable and proportionate measure to take, and there was no notable adverse effect on turnout. Under the Government’s proposals, anyone without an ID will be able to apply for a new free one – meaning that not a single voter will be disenfranchised
Research has found that 98 per cent of the population as a whole and 99 per cent of those from ethnic minorities have some form of photo identification. Again anyone without an ID will be able to apply for a new free one – meaning that not a single voter will be disenfranchised.
The Act sets out a wide range of photo ID which can be used to vote at the polling station. This includes a UK passport or a passport issued by an EEA state or a Commonwealth country. A driving licence or provisional driving licence granted in Great Britain or Northern Ireland will also be accepted. Expired forms of identification will also be accepted as long as the photograph is a good enough likeness.
Again, anyone who does not possess one of these forms of photo ID will be able to apply for free for a Voter Authority Certificate from their local authority – either online, by post or in person. Both our local district councils, North Norfolk and Broadland, have already put information up on their websites advising how to apply for a free ID card: https://www.north-norfolk.gov.uk/tasks/electoral-services/elections-act-2022/ andhttps://www.southnorfolkandbroadland.gov.uk/news/article/277/residents-need-photo-id-to-vote-at-elections-in-may.
Sir Eric, now Lord, Pickles’ independent review into electoral fraud raised a number of concerns and made recommendations on the role of the Electoral Commission and the current system of its oversight. The Pickles report also drew attention to the corruption that took place in the Tower Hamlets elections in 2014. It is for these reasons that the Government is placing a greater emphasis on the need to tackle and prevent electoral fraud. Additionally, the Pickles report criticised that the Electoral Commission gave Tower Hamlets a gold-star rating for electoral integrity in its inspection reports before the 2014 elections. It also noted that after the 2015 election court case, the Electoral Commission’s corporate plan and annual report both made no substantive reference to this major case or learning the lessons from it. Only last year the Electoral Commission was criticised for failing to provide any clear guidance on so-called ‘family voting’ – the unacceptable practice of men directing women how to vote inside polling stations in Tower Hamlets.
Norwich Western Link:
When you take into account the emissions associated with the construction of the Norwich Western Link, together with the reduction in emissions from vehicles that will use the route once built, modelling shows that there is likely to be an overall reduction in carbon emissions. A climate resilience assessment will also be prepared to look at current and future climatic factors, such as temperature, storms, wind, and rainfall and how that might impact the Norwich Western Link. The carbon assessment based on the proposals that will be put forward in the planning application will be included in the planning application documents.
We also need physical access to markets. I disagree with the CPRE about the NWL. We have created, essentially, an orbital route around Norwich, but rather like the situation with the M25 and the Thames, we have decided not to build the bridge. It is very damaging to connectivity, particularly for the north-east of the county getting access to the physical markets in the rest of the country. A consultation was undertaken and, taking that into account, the best route was reached. It deals with a huge amount of rat-running and links north Norfolk to the rest of the country.
As for the number of people contacting me to oppose the NWL, so far this year you are the only constituent to write to be to object. Whereas when I am out on the doorstep knocking on people’s doors the support is overwhelming,
I am afraid we are going to have to agree to disagree as I strongly support the NWL and will not be with drawing my support.
Ambulances:
When we look at queues in A&E we all generally think it is the front door of the hospital that is the problem i.e. getting people into A&E—but when I spoke to the Chief Executive of the Norfolk and Norwich, he told me that it is overwhelmingly the back door that is the problem, by which I mean people leaving the hospital. Consequently, this means ambulances are left waiting at hospitals for a bed to become available for their patient in the back. This is a point I have raised in Parliament, which you can see here: https://www.jeromemayhew.org.uk/news/contribution-debate-ambulance-waiting-times.
The Chancellor made a number of spending commitments at the Autumn Statement to put the adult social care system in England on a stronger financial footing and improve the quality of and access to care for many of the most vulnerable in our society. The Government will make available up to £2.8 billion in 2023-24 in England and £4.7 billion in 2024-25 to help support adult social care and discharge. This includes £1 billion of new grant funding in 2023-24 and £1.7 billion in 2024-25, further flexibility for local authorities on council tax and, having heard the concerns of local government, delaying the rollout of adult social care charging reform until October 2025.
£600 million will be distributed in 2023-24 and £1 billion in 2024-25 through the Better Care Fund to get people out of hospital on time into care settings, freeing up NHS beds for those that need them. A further £1.3 billion in 2023-24 and £1.9 billion in 2024-25 will be distributed to local authorities through the Social Care Grant for adult and children’s social care. Finally, £400 million in 2023-24 and £680 million in 2024-25 will be distributed through a grant ringfenced for adult social care which will also help to support discharge.
More locally I met the Chief Executive of the East of England Ambulance Service earlier this year and he told me that he is recruiting more clinicians in 999 control rooms so they can better triage patients and make sure they get the right support at the right time to patients in a clinically prioritised manner, particularly for cases which are more difficult to triage such as falls and to pass patients who perhaps do not need an ambulance to alternative services which can better meet their needs. Additionally, our local ambulance service is:
Getting more ambulances on the road through additional recruitment, they now have 10% more ambulances on the road today than they did in October 2022.
Working with NHS community services such as SWIFT to pass over clinically appropriate calls to them, and working with them to increase their capacity so that they can take patients and respond in a timely way to them.
They are also changing they train their call handlers to make sure they can give better support and advice to patients when they call 999.
The East of England Ambulance has also opened a new handover unit at the James Paget Hospital and have taken over some space at the NNUH to help look after patients before they can be transferred into A&E departments.
Yours sincerely,
Jerome Mayhew MP
Photo break – some blossom, but I’m still trying to work out what tree it is; Sycamore? Lime? Please can someone put me out of my misery?
Mysterious blossom, maybe an Acer? Still trying to work it out
Rather than analyse Mr Mayhew’s points, and the way he really didn’t answer my question on ambulance response times. Here’ my reply to him.
Dear Mr Mayhew,
Thank you as always for your prompt and detailed reply. I hope you’ll forgive the length of my response, however there’s a lot to cover.
On voter ID I still think this disadvantages the young, and those not able to afford a passport. Plus I don’t think the changes are necessary given we have very low electoral fraud. I guess we’ll see what the voting demographics look like in May and beyond.
With regards to ambulances, your response is interesting, but that wasn’t my question. I was challenging the claim that the Norwich Western Link (NWL) will cut 20 mins of ambulance response times, as this appears very spurious for the reasons I stated.
I want to provide a more detailed response to your explanation of how the NWL will reduce carbon emissions. I just don’t think this is true, and at a time when we’re facing increased drought, wildfires and harvest failures just in Norfolk, not to mention the impacts of the climate crisis world-wide, we have to start facing up to reality. It simply isn’t fair to be burdening the younger generation with environmental debt, as well as the increased risk of severe impacts from climate change, because we want to build new roads for the benefit and profit of a few.
I believe the modelling you’re referring to has been done by the County Council, to show a drop in emissions. I wonder if this makes an assumption that vehicles will be converting to electric? If so, that really isn’t relevant in terms of emissions reduction from building the road. When we look at the carbon cost from building the road, along with the increased number of cars from induced traffic, emissions can only go up. This coupled with the ecological cost means it’s inexcusable to be considering building new roads at this juncture; a conclusion the Welsh Government recently reached themselves.
We’re in a climate and ecological emergency, our house is literally on fire. Antonio Guterres has told us we’re on the highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator. We have reports from IPCC, the International Energy Association, the Government’s own Climate Change Committee and thousands of climate scientists saying we need to cut emissions now, and preserve nature; we’re the most nature denuded country in Europe and we want to irreparably damage a site of special scientific interest and a conservation area (The Wensum Valley)? Feels like the wrong thing to do to me. The UN says we have to halve emissions in the next decade to meet our obligations from the Paris agreement, and UK/Norfolk targets.
More detail below.
Emissions from Construction
The planned Western Link Road has an estimated carbon cost of 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. When combined with the other carbon costs from road building in Norfolk in 2024 and 2025, we get to a figure of 250,000 tonnes. That’s 7% of the Norfolk Local Transport Plan carbon budget for those years meaning that unless cuts were made elsewhere (very unlikely) Norfolk won’t meet it’s targets, which would also impact the UK’s overall target. This is without taking into account the carbon that would be released from destroying semi-ancient woodland, and soil structure/plants/animals which sequester huge amounts of carbon. All that concrete, steel and tarmac comes at a cost.
Emissions from traffic
As I mentioned in my original email, increasing road capacity increases the number of cars on the roads, as proven by induced traffic effect studies. The Western Link, if built, will do exactly this. This traffic will emit more carbon dioxide until it is all electrified, which probably won’t be until at least 2050. The increased emissions will contribute to taking us beyond Norfolk and UK’s carbon budget. Traffic modelling by the council has shown that carbon emissions in the area from the road won’t reduce in line with Government projections for the Net Zero Strategy, as well as projections in the Local Transport Plan.
Wildlife
The Wensum Valley is the last green corridor into Norwich. I think of it as the lungs of the city. The corridor allows wildlife to move around and nature to thrive. The Government is targeting 2042 to halt the decline in our wildlife populations, in the Environment Act, and NWL isn’t compatible with this. The Wensum Valley is a rare and protected landscape, with many endangered species including the Barbastelle Bat. It really needs to be conserved to meet our targets, and for the sakes of current and future generations.
Net Zero Strategy and the Legal Implications
Finally a note on the Net Zero Strategy. The building of this road will impact the UK’s Net Zero Target, which is already too far into the future to stop many of the severe impacts from climate change. I do not believe the council has properly assessed this impact, or the impact from other road building in Norfolk. I believe there is already a legal challenge about this. The High Court, in 2022, already told us the Net Zero Strategy is at risk. The Climate Change Committee is saying the same thing. We need to be looking at the cumulative impact on emissions, as well as other environmental factors, of building this road, per the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017.
There are already lawsuits being brought against Governments and Fossil Fuel Companies across the Globe for inaction on the climate crisis, and for deliberately making things worse; we have a duty to not sell ourselves and future generations down the river. This generation risks being labelled as climate criminals, and facing lawsuits for inaction or culpability in the disruption and deaths of thousands locally, and millions worldwide.
Conclusions
This may sounds dramatic, but the climate crisis is happening now. Millions are being impacted and are dying right now; 1 person every 36 seconds in East Africa due to famine and drought caused by the climate crisis. 33 million people displaced in Pakistan due to flooding. Over 3,000 deaths cause by the heatwave in the UK last year alone.
Inaction on the climate and ecological crisis, as well as greenwashing, false accounting for carbon emissions, putting profit before planet and people is really impacting many people’s, including myself, mental and physical health. It seems completely hopeless when the evidence is ignored and we press ahead with ecocidal road schemes, as well as new oil, gas and now coal projects in the UK. The impacts from the climate and ecological emergency are increasing at an alarming rate, with more wildfires, drought, famine, floods and extreme weather, as well as increased risks in this country from diseases, ocean acidification, and rising ocean levels – if the Thwaites Glacier goes then that’s London and many other coastal cities around the world at risk or submerged, leading to the displacement of millions.
I know you’re likely to say we’re world leading at cutting emissions, and that we have a plan to get to net zero by 2050. 2050 is too late, and we’re not world leading, especially when we’re opening new coal mines, building new roads, and aiming to grant over 100 new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea. Our carbon accounting also doesn’t include emissions from goods we import from overseas, plus the shipping or aviation costs. We need to take into account our historic emissions; we’re world leading on that having started the industrial revolution. We simply don’t have any carbon budget left if we want to give developing countries a chance to catch up, or do we just not care about them? And the argument about China and the US needing to do more, whilst valid, doesn’t really take into account individual carbon footprints; the average UK person’s carbon footprint is massively higher than most people’s in the Global South.
Locally, rather that investing in new roads including the NWL, please can we invest in public and active transport (active transport would help the NHS too by making people healthier), as well as conserving and regenerating nature. Let’s invest in renewables and make Norfolk and East Anglia truly UK leading, and possibly world leading, on renewable energy, sustainability, responsible farming practices and Green technology. That would be something to be very proud of.
I hope some of this has been useful, and as before I would welcome the opportunity to speak to you about this at on of your surgeries.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Yours sincerely,
James Harvey
I really don’t know if I’ll get a reply to this, we’ll see. In closing here’s a deer track I found in the woods the other day. I’d seen Red Deer, Roe Deer and Muntjac Deer that day. Which do you think made this track? I think Roe Deer as it was in a deer couch.
Deer track – probably Roe, but let me know what you think
I think this has been brewing since Christmas, however a few things have happened today which made me really want to write it. If you don’t want to read this in its entirety then please skip to the end, there are a couple of call-to-actions I implore you to consider. And when I say you, I mean all my friends in Norwich and around the country, my family, people I’ve met on my travels; please consider taking some sort of action to get us out of the mess we’re in. There will probably be some swearing in this post, and it’s quite raw. I might forget to include asterisks.
Here’s a picture of Gideon being judgemental, to ease things in. But we will be judged by future generations for not doing enough, of that I have no doubt. We’re being judged by the current younger generation. Gideon reminds me that we are very much a part of nature, not apart from it or above it. When nature dies, we do too. He is wise (but sometimes quite stupid like when he thinks the weather will be better through the back door compared to the front door).
Judgemental Gideon
I was in an online meeting earlier which included several young supporters of Just Stop Oil, people who have also taken action with Extinction Rebellion and other environmental campaign groups. I was listening to their personal stories, what they are feeling, what they’ve gone through, what motivates them to take action. Some of them have only just turned 20 and are terrified about the future, about what is happening right now. These are extraordinary individuals, they are my friends, I love them all. I was immensely moved by some of the accounts they shared, I could feel my eyes tearing up and that big lump in my stomach and heart I get when I feel emotional and anxious.
Why the f*ck have we allowed this to happen? What are we doing to ourselves? Why are these young adults so afraid for their futures? Why am I worrying about asterisks in swear words when the situation is so awful? My friends don’t dare consider having children, and long term plans are a luxury they don’t risk dreaming about.
I take action on the spokesperson team for Just Stop Oil, as well as Extinction Rebellion sometimes. I watched this interview on Good Morning Britain again earlier. I’m sorry, Richard Madeley is a bastard. He treated Miranda with utter contempt, and was a patronising fool. Miranda was excellent, intelligent, thoughtful, passionate (although I hate that word), and clearly understands how dire a situation we’re in far better than anyone else there. How dare they and other journalists accuse young people of taking action to boost their egos? How fucking dare they sit there being anything but journalists telling the truth and going after the real criminals, when ordinary people are suffering and dying all around the world whilst they sit in their comfortable, privileged seats paid for in the most part by historical colonialism. It fills me with rage, grief and a fair amount of despair, but I can use that. I can definitely use that; hope may be lost but love and rage drives action.
Here is the interview on GMB, watch it and tell me you think Madeley or the other guest they have on should be given any more airtime?
I am not doing enough. I take action with Just Stop Oil (JSO) and Extinction Rebellion. I have joined the Green Party and am going to stand as a district councillor to try to make things better for local people. I still sign petitions although I don’t know why, they don’t seem to do anything. I still write to my MP, I did so earlier this week about the abhorrent profits Shell and now BP have made off the back of the energy crisis, whilst we’re in a cost of living crisis. I’ve stood and sat in roads with placards, filmed and live-streamed countless actions, banged drums, put up posters, handed out fliers, helped with talks, been to picket lines, spray painted protest artwork. Not been arrested but that seems inevitable now the Government have brought in, and are trying to bring in more draconian anti protest and anti freedom of speech laws. It’s like the V for Vendetta film but this isn’t a fantasy, it’s actually happening; ordinary people are being arrested in their homes for doing nothing but exercising their democratic right to freedom of speech and freedom to protest. The police have arrested journalists for fucks sake. Do we actually live in a democracy, I don’t think so, although it’s still just about ahead of the likes of Russia and Syria. It’s getting very like 1930’s Germany, have politicians, media and business not studied history? Have we learned nothing?
I’m not doing enough though. And this isn’t ego talking. I wake up every day, and often during the night, thinking I’ve got to do more. Why am I bothering thinking about a pension, my job, about saving to buy stuff I don’t actually need when the world might be unliveable in many places within the next 50 years; it’s already starting to happen now with 1 person dying every 36 seconds from climate induced drought/famine in parts of Africa.
I have a niece who is 9, a nephew 11, god children who range from 5 to 12. I am terribly afraid they won’t live to my age. I’m 47. How can I protect them from what’s coming? Food and water shortages, extreme weather, war caused by mass migration and battle for remaining resources, I could go on but it makes me want to cry, again. I wish I was being sensationalist but scientists are telling us, via peer reviewed studies, just how bad things are and how much worse they’re going to get. But the Government and media just seem to ignore it, and as a consequence the general public seem to mostly ignore it too.
Okay, photo break. Well done and gratitude if you got this far. I wish I could describe better the emotional state I’m in; guilt, sadness, grief for sure, and massive amounts of rage. It doesn’t have to bloody be this way but the system we’re in seems incapable of realising where we’re at and what we need to do.
A world within a worldGideon loungingA time to reflectEverything is fine
Consulting notes I made earlier. I don’t want to write an essay on this, so I’m going to summarise why I’m really scared, sad, depressed, anxious, fucked off, desperate, angry, so concerned for people that are being utterly mislead or suffering right now. Here goes (list not exhaustive and if I was more talented I’d turn it into a poem).
Bee killing pesticides the Government keep licensing, plus Glyphosate use. Dumping sewage in rivers – Government voted to say that’s fine. HS2 – costing billions and report out today says it’s destroying nature. Licensing new oil and gas fields, and opening new coal mines – Tories are doing it when every other political party, climate scientists (other scientists too), Antonio Guterres etc say no. Building new roads – we don’t have the carbon budget for them and they destroy ancient woodland/habitat – local Western Link Road plans for example. Fucking grouse shooting and moorlands – urgh. Fixation on growth and GDP – it’s killing us, other models of existence are available and more promising in terms of the existence bit. Freedom of speech. Freedom to Protest. Actual democracy. Media ineptitude (although a few local journo’s have been great) and failure to tell the truth. Refugee crisis and our failure to take responsibility and be welcoming. Intolerance. Racism. Sexism. Transphobia – extreme right wing in Norwich have been at it recently. Insect numbers plummeting (this is really serious, think windscreens and bugs). Artic/Antarctic ice melt. Glacier ice melt. Greenland ice sheets disappearing. Amazon rainforest tipping point. Electric vehicles being hailed as the solution. Ocean acidification. Ocean over-fishing. Global North just keep on consuming (buying stuff). Global South just keep on dying as a result. Institutional police racism, misogyny, sexism – no wonder a lot of people don’t feel safe to protest – sort your own house out before you arrest anyone. Hurricanes. Rain bombs. Drought. Famine. Air pollution. Flooding. Wildfires. People striking for fair pay, terms and support – NHS, teachers, railway workers, ambulance drivers etc
These things are all happening right now. And are going to get worse. I need to do more.
It feels like we’re going backwards with the current Government, and big businesses. The BP boss Bernard Looney has said he’s gonna invest more in oil and less in renewables for Christ’s sake (other gods are available to profane). Shell and BP have announced record profits, billions of pounds, profiteering off the back of a war and putting us into a cost of living crisis.
Why on Earth do we think this is all acceptable? There are other ways of living that would bring us closer together as people, communities, faiths. We could be happier and healthier, yet the current system is driving us into an existential crisis; repeat, young ones today won’t live to my age if this continues, and thousands are dying right now because of our greed, ineptitude, ignorance and unwillingness to change. It’s so frustrating because it could all be so much better.
Please help. I and many others are sick, quite literally, of trying to change things. And I count us lucky as we’re not the ones suffering and dying from drought, famine, or fighting for resources. My home isn’t being flooded or burnt as many people’s are round the world, or even here in the UK.
Join Just Stop Oil. Join Extinction Rebellion. Join Friends of the Earth. Join Greenpeace – checkout their current oil rig occupation. Join Stand Up to Racism, ACORN, a Union, anything that makes a difference. Take some sort of action; yeah, write some letters, sign petitions, join digital storms on Twitter, Insta and Facebook. Just do something whilst we still have time (1.5C target is blown by the way).
And don’t let the Government and Oil/Gas companies get away with Greenwashing or blaming individuals. We can only do so much with recycling, stopping flying, stopping buying, or moving to a vegetable diet. We need SYSTEM CHANGE, otherwise we’re trapped.
As promised. Links to stuff you can do.
Join Extinction Rebellion and many other organisations in London on 21 April. Thousands will be gathering. Police won’t arrest you. Peaceful protest that won’t disrupt the public. Find out more and sign up here – I’m gonna repeat my plea to friends, family and colleagues at this point – https://extinctionrebellion.uk/ – IF YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING ELSE THEN PLEASE JUST COME TO THIS (sorry for shouting)
Come to a Just Stop Oil talk about Our Responsibilities At This Time. Learn that it’s totally possible for you to make a difference, and meet like-minded people that stop you feeling so alone – https://juststopoil.org/events/
Stay safe my friends. Stay in contact. Hug your loved ones. Keep learning, reading, communicating, organising and taking action ✊
Oh, and vote Green, we can win, and it’ll make a hell of a difference.
Today was one of those glorious Autumn days, cold and bright, with a lovely fresh smell in the air. For a while now I’ve been wondering how many trees the council planted alongside the new dual carriageway near me have actually survived, so I thought I go take a look. Short answer from the small survey of 216 trees on one particular stretch: 16% have died.
Sun low at this time of yearCherry Tree reaching for the skyTree survey alongside the NDRTree ID in progress
The Northern Distributor Road (NDR) has been open for a few years now, and had lots of trees planted alongside it to try to restore the damage done by the road. We’re supposed to call it the Broadland Northway now; I think this is probably an effort by Norfolk County Council to disguise the fact that its purpose is to open up the countryside to more development, distributing traffic to new parts of the county.
Unfortunately, many of the trees planted have died due to the extreme weather we’ve been having. It’s just been too hot and dry, and they haven’t been watered sufficiently. A plethora of plastic tree guards now stand empty in many places, grave markers for the saplings that have sadly perished. It was good to see so many other plants growing in the verge alongside the road, however I’m sure Yarrow shouldn’t be flowering at this time of year; I guess that’s because of how warm it’s been.
ComfreyRibwort Plantain – Plantago lanceolataYarrow – good medicineYarrow still flowering
My plant ID skills aren’t brilliant, but I saw Comfrey, Yarrow, Ribwort and Greater Plantain, as well as thistles, Red Campion, Hogweed, Common Mugwort in abundance, Oxeye Daisies and Buttercups. There were loads of other species however I’ll have to take along a guide to ID them next time. Roadside verges can contain lots of biodiversity, I’ve seen hares feeding alongside the cycle path, kestrels hunting, and lots of insects in the summer. However, I don’t think the verges really make up for the swathe of destruction caused when the road was built.
Today was an exploratory visit. I counted trees on a hundred metre stretch not far from the Plumsteads, noting down species as well as dead or missing trees. I concentrated on the eastern side of the bank built up next to the dual carriageway, which is more shaded. The western side looked to have more empty tree guards, however it’ll need a return visit to confirm this. Results of this initial exploratory survey below.
Species
Count
Pecentage
Dead/missing
35
16.20%
Hawthorn
49
22.69%
Field Maple
56
25.93%
Oak (English)
23
10.65%
Dog Rose
7
3.24%
Cherry
7
3.24%
Dogwood
6
2.78%
Apple
3
1.39%
Blackthorn
26
12.04%
Spindle
4
1.85%
Total
216
TREE SURVEY 25 NOV 2022
Here’s a pie chart of the results.
Field Maple came our top, followed by Hawthorn, however it was good to see other species mixed in such as Cherry, Spindle, a good number of English Oaks, Dogwood and Blackthorn. Lots of good species for wildlife to use. Unfortunately 16% of the tree guards were either standing empty, or had dead saplings inside them. I suspect the percentage is in fact a bit higher than this as some tree guards have either been removed or have blown away. I think the western side of the bank will have a bigger percentage of dead trees, and I know other stretches have been impacted to a greater or lesser degree. I’ll have to get out and do other surveys in different locations.
Oak Apples (galls)Dogwood – Cornus sanguineaField Maple bark – crocodile skinHawthorn – Crataegus monogyna
I believe around 6,000 trees were cut down to build the NDR, a road that cost £205m to build. It was reported in October last year that around 3,500 of the trees planted to replace those lost when the road was built have died. Norfolk County Council pledged to plant 5 trees for every 1 they cut down, 30,000 in total. They must be a long way off this target, especially as many more trees and shrubs, lots of them replacement replacements, perished during the heatwave this summer.
It’s frustrating that Norfolk County Council think you can just replace mature trees and habitat, destroyed to make way for road building, with saplings that will take decades to do anything meaningful in terms of carbon sequestration. It will also take centuries for the soil to recover, species to translocate, and for any sort of mature woodland landscape to settle back in. The Council are planning the same with the Northern Distributor Road; it just doesn’t add up when we’re in a climate and ecological emergency, not to mention the impact it has on local communities, flood mitigation, and local wildlife. It’s also frustrating to see so many empty plastic tree guards littering parts of the landscape next to the NDR.
Holly berries aboundMe next to NDR drainage pondEmpty plastic tree guards
I hope to get out for further surveys over the coming weeks so I can report back findings to Broadland Green Party, who will be able to raise this with Broadland District Council. Tree ID gets a bit trickier as they lose their leaves, so I’ll have to put my winter buds knowledge to use.
No pictures of Gideon on this blog post I’m afraid, he’s hiding somewhere after having an argument with one of the neighbour’s cats. I’ll leave you with some pictures of a glorious Norfolk sunset from the other evening.
Sunset 1 – all a bit yellowSunset 2Sunset 3 – redSunset 4 – owls are out
Self Propelled 