AP1000 reactor design is dangerous and not fit for purpose
Peter Roche
21st November 2016
Three new reactors are planned for the Moorside site next to Europe's biggest nuclear complex at Sellafield, writes Peter Roche, with a combined capacity of 3.8GW. But a new report for Radiation Free Lakeland shows that the chosen AP1000 reactor design, for all its claimed 'advanced passive' safety features, is not fit for purpose - and should be rejected as unsafe by UK regulators.
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Bring back onshore wind, UK's cheapest green power source!
Max Wakefield
18th November 2016
Onshore wind power is effective, hugely popular, and the UK's cheapest form of new power generation, writes Max Wakefield, already competing against gas turbines in prime locations. So why did Cameron's Government ban it? And what will it take to get Chancellor Philip Hammond to reverse that decision next week?
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No means no! South Australia must dump the nuclear dump
Ian Lowe, Griffith University
16th November 2016
A 350-member Citizens' Jury convened to decide on whether a massive nuclear waste dump would benefit South Australia just gave the plans a big 'No!', writes Ian Lowe. SA Premier Weatherill must drop his attempt to reverse that decision with a referendum, and accept the jury's well informed, democratic verdict.
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After Trump, no place for climate optimism
James Dyke, University of Southampton
15th November 2016
With the election of a 'climate hoaxer' to the US presidency James Dyke's normal optimism that we will deal with climate change in time to avoid the most catastrophic impacts has run out. Now his fears are compounded by the likely appointment of the US's leading climate change denier to run the EPA.
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Don't despair about Trump and climate change!
Joe Ware
14th November 2016
The Trump Presidency may not be the climate disaster that many fear, writes Joe Ware. The transition to clean energy is increasingly driven by technology and economics, not politics. it was Obama's 'all of the above' energy policy that enabled the fracking revolution. And pro-fossil fuel measures instituted by Trump will now galvanise massive domestic and international opposition.
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Ask not at whom Trump's finger points. It points at thee.
Pete Dolack
11th November 2016
Progressives must begin organizing now, writes Pete Dolack, before Trump takes office and command of the world's most deadly security apparatus. We must demonstrate strong resolve against the right-wing authoritarian rule to come, as a Trump White House will unleash repression on a scale not seen in decades.
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American liberals unleashed the Trump monster
Jonathan Cook
9th November 2016
Trump is heading to the Oval Office thanks to the rampant corruption of the US liberal establishment exemplified by Hillary Clinton, the electoral fraud that deprived Bernie Sanders of victory in Democratic primary, and President Obama's failure to deliver his promised 'hope and change' to the millions who elected him.
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Dakota Access Pipeline: Native American religion matters!
Rosalyn R. LaPier, Harvard University
8th November 2016
The intimate connection between landscape and religion is at the center of Native American societies, writes Rosalyn R. LaPier, and a key reason why thousands of Native Americans and Indigenous peoples from around the world have traveled to the windswept prairies of North Dakota. There is no excuse for the ignorance and disrespect of corporations, and government.
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It will take much more than renewable energy to stop global warming
Steffen Böhm, University of Exeter
7th November 2016
Renewable energy may play a huge part in helping to achieve the ambitions of the Paris Agreement, now in force and under discussion at COP22 climate talks in Marrakesh, writes Steffen Böhm. But it can never be the whole story, and nor does it relieve the need for deeper changes in how the world works.
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Leading Climate Change: The Need for Better Dialogue
Sarah Rozenthuler
3rd November, 2016
With COP22 on the horizon, it is a critical moment for better dialogue and an unparalleled opportunity to maintain the momentum generated in Paris. Protecting the planet from climate change calls for unprecedented levels of collaboration across countries and a new focus on both the big picture and the longer-term. Given how difficult it can be to talk together about tough issues, what can be done to enable better dialogue asks Leadership Consultant SARAH ROZENTHULER
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Plan to save Mexico's vaquita porpoise won't work without fishers' engagement
Andrew Frederick Johnson, University of California, San Diego
1st November 2016
The exclusion of fishers from the design of management plans for the vaquita, driven by conservation groups and implemented by the government, has led to polarized opinions and a large divide between communities and conservation agencies, writes Andrew Frederick Johnson. To save the vaquita, this needs to be replaced with a close collaboration.
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A Living Planet? Or endless population growth? We can't have both
Alistair Currie
27th October 2016
Today's Living Planet Report details the ongoing destruction of our natural environment, writes Alistair Currie. One solution that is necessary, realistic, ethical and ultimately unavoidable is to reduce the pressure on our planet caused by population growth.
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Hypernormalised? Heathrow plan is proof we exist in a catastrophic fantasyland
Matthew Adams, University of Brighton
26th October 2016
In one reality, the government recognises climate change, signs the Paris agreement, and commits to its 1.5C target, writes Matthew Adams. In another, it promises a new London runway that's predicated on sending aviation emissions soaring for decades to come. Now repeat after me: 'Everything will be fine!'
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No new runways! Not at Heathrow, not at Gatwick!
Keith Taylor MEP
24th October 2016
Should it be Heathrow or Gatwick? The answer, writes Keith Taylor, is neither. For climate and pollution reasons alone the UK should be scaling back on aviation, and in any case projections of future demand have been monstrously exaggerated. Step 1: a 'frequent flyer' tax on the 15% of people who take 70% of flights.
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Wales demands 'objective evidence' before killing badgers. Whatever next?
Lesley Docksey
21st October 2016
Wales has achieved enviable success in reducing bovine TB in its cattle herds without killing badgers, writes Lesley Docksey. The farming lobby is still demanding an England-style cull, but the Welsh government's 'refreshed' policy on bTB remains firmly science-based and no badgers will be killed without 'objective evidence' of infection.
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The future of our food depends on small farmers and well cared-for livestock
Philip Lymbery / CIWF
19th October 2016
Abusive farming of animals in factory farms is one of the great cruelties of the modern age, writes Philip Lymbery. While some may justify it as necessary to 'feed the world', it is no such thing. The answer lies in supporting small scale traditional farmers, and respecting the livestock that are intrinsic to sustainable agriculture across the planet.
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Canada-EU 'TTIP' trade deal, CETA, down - but not out
Nick Dearden
18th October 2016
The EU Council today blocked the progress of CETA, the Canada-EU trade deal, writes Nick Dearden. It's a dramatic reversal for the transatlantic 'free trade' agenda, with the unpopular TTIP US-EU agreement already close to death. But negotiators aren't giving up on their aim to push CETA through, no matter what. Our fight goes on!
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Paris talks, Montreal delivers! Kigali's massive climate victory
Nigel Paul
17th October 2016
The 'Kigali Amendment' agreed this weekend to control HFC gases thousands of times more powerful than CO2 is the first major step in delivering the goals of the Paris agreement, writes Nigel Paul - and a second huge success for the Montreal Protocol, originally agreed to save the ozone layer from destruction by CFCs.
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Agroecology cools the planet - so why are Governments backing agribusiness?
Kirtana Chandrasekaran
14th October 2016
It' a perfect win-win solution for World Food Day, writes Kirtana Chandrasekaran: agroecology that sequesters carbon into soils, making them more fertile, productive and resilient, while also supporting sustainable livelihoods and tackling climate change. But instead governments are desperately trying to attract agribusiness investment that does the precise opposite.
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Monsanto on trial? Or 21st century capitalism?
Pete Dolack
13th October 2016
The organizers of tomorrow's International Monsanto Tribunal describe it as a 'moral trial', while the company dismisses it as a 'mock trial' and 'stunt'. The truth, writes Pete Dolack, is that it's about much more than this one company. On trial is the entire neoliberal system of 'free market' finance and monopoly capitalism.
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Is it time to change 20th century economic paradigms?
Richard Heinberg
5th February, 2009
A hundred years ago, markets ruled: fortunes were made, workers abused, bubbles blown. The Austrian School of economists, led by Ludwig von Mises, said this was fine: despite temporary messiness, the market knows best.
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Goodbye to growth
Richard Heinberg
7th January, 2009
The contraction of the global economic system bodes nothing but good for global ecosystems. Growth is dead – long live sustainability
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High-altitude windpower: pie-in-the-sky or sound science?
Jim Thomas
1st May 2009
Since we don’t have enough land for the renewable technologies we need let’s go stratospheric instead, with a high-altitude solution…
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What technologies for solving environmental problems will we see in 2009?
Jim Thomas
23rd April, 2009
Somebody somewhere has to have a cunning plan to fix our environmental problems and save the world – right? Jim Thomas sorts through the big tech ideas you’ll be reading about this year
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Miliband's leadership on climate is tested
Joss Garman
19th June 2009
The climate secretary has been lauded for his coal-fired proposals, but beyond the smokescreen it’s business as usual says Joss Garman
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European elections - will Brussels go Green?
Joss Garman
3rd June, 2009
It probably isn’t too much of an exaggeration to suggest that most people are hard pushed to name a politician they really admire. In Britain, however, one name will come up time and again.
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Forget the 'big society'; we just need a co-operative one
Molly Scott Cato
16th August, 2010
Claims that we need a 'big society' to fix our 'broken' one are just Victorian throwbacks - we have the business tools to survive; we just need a co-operative attitude to go with them
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We scare people off by talking about 'degrowth'
Molly Scott Cato
14th July, 2010
The French have a much better word for it: 'decroissance'. Using ugly and frightening terms like 'degrowth' won't help pave the way for a new and exciting economics
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Tom Hodgkinson: spare a moment for the bang bang men of Chongquing...
29th October, 2010
Although the rise of mega-cities raises disturbing questions about living standards and livelihoods, the spread of city living is not all bad, says Tom Hodgkinson
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Starting a business has never been so liberating...
Tom Hodgkinson
25 August 2010
Find the hidden entrepreneur in you to free yourself from slavery to corporate and state authority, says Tom Hodgkinson
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Mr Cameron: will it be heating or eating this winter?
John Sinfield
12th November 2013
The MD of Britain's largest insulation company demands: back warm, efficient homes now, or condemn millions to cold, damp and sky-rocketting fuel bills.
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Peak soil: act now or the very ground beneath us will die
8th November, 2013
Helen Browning
The health of our soils is more important now than ever, says the Soil Association’s Helen Browning - especially with the challenges that climate change will bring ...
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When will Australia 'get' climate change? And will it be too late?
Dan Box
19th July, 2010
The upcoming Australian elections will see yet another tussle between industry-supporting climate sceptics, and politicians trying to nudge their electorate towards the real world
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Will putting a price on nature put environmentalists out of a job?
Dan Box
5th July, 2010
The launch of the massive economic ecosystem assessment, TEEB, will help force the natural world onto the corporate balance sheet. It's a step forward. But how will protesters react to the ground shifting under their feet?
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Bibi van der Zee: Government 'no more in touch with the countryside than Labour'
Bibi van der Zee
10th March, 2011
Continuing her exclusive series - Coalition Green Watch - Bibi van der Zee further assesses David Cameron's pledge to head the 'greenest government in history' and, whilst the jury may still be out, finds alarming cause for concern...
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Climate Week is trying to galvanise the green movement – but it is splitting it
Bibi van der Zee
3rd March, 2011
The backing of Cameron, Clegg and Kofi Annan isn't enough, say Climate Week's critics, it is blinkered – and RBS-sponsored. Bibi van der Zee reports
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Keeping Up America’s Reputation in the World
by Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra asks whether the American dream is tainted by current day trends in U.S. politics and society.......
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A New Year Message - Be The Change ...
January 3rd, 2012
Satish Kumar
Don’t look at a society and think it is so big, so complex, that nothing can change. Don’t think: “I am one single person, what can I do?” That, says Satish Kumar, is despondency; that is pessimism. Instead, whatever you can do, do it. Step by step.
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Soil, Soul and Society
December 7th, 2012
by Satish Kumar
Environmentalist and Humanitarian, Satish Kumar introduces the new trinity that he believes captures the essence of his ecophilosophy - one that cares about and for all life
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Safety as Freedom
February 21st, 2013
by Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva challenges the violence against people and Nature in the name of progress
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Intellectual Rigidity
March 28th, 2013
by The Interdisciplinary Research Society UEA
Would changes to academic structures help towards solving complex societal problems?
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Global Extinction Within One Lifetime?
Michael Brown
July 16th, 2012
Environmental chemistry student Michael Brown evaluates how seriously recent claims that global extinction could occur within our lifetime should be taken....
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Counting the Consequences
January 14th, 2013
by Tony Juniper
We need ideas as compelling as those that embarked the world on its current competition-driven ‘free’ markets spree. We need to ignite a revolution that big, but one based on sustainability, writes Tony Juniper
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