Rhetoric Versus Reality

Rhetoric vs reality

Posted by bex — 24 September 2008 at 10:44am - Comments

Yesterday: "I want British companies and British workers to seize the opportunity and lead the world in the transformation to a low carbon economy and I believe that we can create in modern green manufacturing and service one million new jobs" - Gordon Brown.

Today: British Energy is sold to French nuclear company EDF for £12.5 billion, exporting thousands of potential UK jobs to France, dealing a hammer blow to our chances of meeting our legally binding Renewables Obligation. 

Article tagged as: climate change, EDF, jobs, nuclear power, rhetoric versus reality

Evasion and newspeak: government action vs ecological reality

Posted by bex — 11 March 2008 at 6:37pm - Comments

Alex Steffen of Worldchanging recently wrote an excellent piece called Who Will Tell the People? And How? about the yawning chasm between the reality of climate change and the failure of government to bring in the massive changes needed. Talking about US emissions cuts, he writes:

We're running into a situation here where the acceptable political action is to move from A to C, but where realism demands that - if we want to dodge a catastrophic collision with ecological reality - we move from A to say Q. And that gap, between C and Q, is large enough to lose a future in.

As you're reading this blog, you probably don't need reminding about the catastrophic collision with ecological reality Steffen mentions. With stakes this high, the changes needed (Steffen's A to Q) are profound, fundamental and cross all facets of human existence - from our energy and transport systems to, dare I say it, our social and economic systems.

Article tagged as: climate change, decentralised energy, government, rhetoric versus reality

A nice bit of schadenfreude in the morning

Posted by bex — 14 December 2007 at 2:47pm - Comments

For environmentalists partial to a mild bit of schadenfreude over their tea and toast, this morning's Today Programme was a treat. You can listen to it here, if you're quick (Fiona and farnishk, I think you'll like John Humphreys' stance).

Environment minister Hilary Benn was invited on to talk about how things have been going in Bali (not so well). As Benn waxed lyrical about the urgent need for action to reduce emissions, Humphreys pulled him up on the yawning gap between the government's rhetoric and reality, what with the government wanting to build new runways and all. Then he pulled him up again. And again. And again. And again. It was a little like listening to a kitten being mauled by a teddy bear.

Article tagged as: airport expansion, aviation, climate change, heathrow, rhetoric versus reality

Weasel words and hot air

Posted by bex — 7 June 2007 at 5:24pm - Comments

Flooding is amongst the impacts of climate change

It was a bad day for the fight against climate change. The G8 has met and published their deal (pdf) and, despite the spin, it wasn't the deal the world needs.

Article tagged as: climate change, g8, george bush, rhetoric versus reality

Why we no longer trust Blair on climate

Posted by bex — 19 November 2004 at 9:00am - Comments
Tony Blair

Tony Blair

At regular intervals over the last few years, Tony Blair has given strong speeches on the importance and urgency of tackling climate change. He has told us that this is the single greatest challenge facing the international community, and that the scientific evidence is alarming. He is certainly right about that. He has also said that he is personally passionate about solving the problem.

Greenpeace has been sharply critical of Blair on other issues - on GM, nuclear power and, above all, Iraq. But on climate we have tried to believe in his sincerity. We need politicians to take the lead, and we need to support them when they do. It's not our style to ask automatically, as Jeremy Paxman does, "why is this bastard lying to me?"

Article tagged as: CBI, climate change, government, kyoto protocol, renewable energy, rhetoric versus reality, tony blair, transport, UK policy
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