On 6th March the East Midlands news team descended on Knowleston Gardens, site of the Bentley Brook pumping station. Contrary to local understanding the film crew took evidence from the Environment Agency who confirmed that the November 2019 floods were caused by surface water rather than flooding from the river. The volume of the waterContinue reading “Matlock Floods investigated by East Midlands BBC News”
Category Archives: Climate Change
Higher Education for Sustainability: Seeking Intellectual Independence
Late last year I received the manuscript of a book from a reputable publisher asking for my views on its strengths and weaknesses. I have done several book reviews in recent years, but I must admit this one was both a pleasure and surprise. I had heard of Kerry Shephard from a previous review ofContinue reading “Higher Education for Sustainability: Seeking Intellectual Independence”
DEMOCRACY AND SUSTAINABILITY
CRABBY INCREMENTALISM OR TRANSFORMATION? We face a democratic tipping point in responding to the climate emergency as the choices of business as usual(no change) or incremental change can no longer command majority support. Global tipping points now demand urgent action at scale and urgency. Our systems of governance need to respond in parallel to thisContinue reading “DEMOCRACY AND SUSTAINABILITY”
What is a Climate Emergency?
Many of our governing bodies at both national and local levels are declaring a climate emergency. But what does this mean? Do we carry on as before or are we meant to do something differently? We usually think of an emergency as some event that has happened that requires an urgent need for action toContinue reading “What is a Climate Emergency?”
2020 – TEN YEARS TO SAVE THE PLANET!
This is the front-page headline carried by the Daily Mirror on New Year’s Day. Will this be the year transformative change happens? Or will we face another decade of business as usual? One relatively simple test of our current trends in decarbonising our lifestyles is to ask ourselves this question: How many cars can theContinue reading “2020 – TEN YEARS TO SAVE THE PLANET!”
Climate Change and the proposed housing development on The Wolds Matlock
Can we Safeguard the Future of the Town ? Richard Arkwright and John Smedley(and son) were celebrated Victorian entrepreneurs. Their visionary use of the streams and rivers which are so abundant in the Derwent Valley, led to the development of innovative hydro-engineering systems, which powered the industrial revolution and factory-based cotton textile production in theContinue reading “Climate Change and the proposed housing development on The Wolds Matlock”
The Money Myth
As the party election policy machinations gather pace the media headlines become more and more hyperbolic. One party blames the other that their respective spending plans will bankrupt the country. What do these pontifications mean to us ordinary individuals who know little about the economy? Today’s Daily Mail (10 November) will strike fear into manyContinue reading “The Money Myth”
The Hypocrisy of Academia?
Jonathan Wolff opines that University staff’s carbon use is huge and growing from their international conference travel to almost all parts of the Globe (Guardian What hypocrisy, academics think guiltily.29 October). True, but there is a bigger and more intensely worrying form of hypocrisy because the carbon footprint of the many university campuses here andContinue reading “The Hypocrisy of Academia?”
Storytelling and Climate Change
I am increasingly thinking and indeed currently reading about the myths we are telling ourselves about climate change and the Anthropocene. It’s strange that the word myth is nowadays used to convey a false belief or idea which is somewhat different today than in former times. It used to mean more weighty matters such asContinue reading “Storytelling and Climate Change”
Changing how you look at things changes how you see them!
Put another way, it is crucial that we retain and facilitate the ability to think outside the box and the frame. We need to challenge the way we think about the way we frame questions and possibilities so that we avoid the risks of diminishing our ability to understand and be creative-two key attributes whichContinue reading “Changing how you look at things changes how you see them!”
