events

Nick, in a survival suit. © Will Rose / Greenpeace

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I'm not sure where to start. In the past 24 hours, I've watched senior advisers to the shadow cabinet take a ride in one of our inflatable boats (wearing Greenpeace-branded dry suits); mopped, swept and wiped all manner of surfaces; talked to artists, designers and film producers about our work and the coal campaign; learned how to coil rope properly; donned a survival suit during safety training (see the picture of Nick, resplendent in similar garb, above); helped to take down a giant banner; eavesdropped on energy policy discussions with advisers at the heart of Labour's government; and cleaned a lot of toilets.

I think I'd better start with the Tories, who visited the Warrior this afternoon. They were here not to have the mickey taken out of them as they got into the inflatable boat ("when we get to parliament, you three unfurl that banner and the rest of you storm past the guards" etc) but to talk about energy policy with our chief scientist, energy campaigners and policy wonks - just as Labour advisers did this morning.

Special Conference on July 26th 

In recent news: The Arctic sea ice melt began significantly earlier this year than last year. UK's CO2 emissions higher than official figures, government admits. CO2 emissions up by nearly a fifth in 12 years. Avoiding climate change is affordable, says PWC.

And yet, still, the government plans to build new coal plants and, of course, new runways.

Just a quick reminder to everyone who's been supporting the Stop Heathrow expansion campaign - don't forget to come along and add your voice at the Make a NOise carnival this Saturday. Decision time is fast approaching for the government - and they need a major reminder that if they are serious about tackling climate change, then 'NO' is the only sensible answer to the aviation industry's plans for unfettered airport expansion.

Help create the biggest and loudest NO the world has ever seen!

The campaign against Heathrow expansion is already huge; there've been rallies, direct actions, flash mobs and an incredible 70,000 responses to the consultation (more on that shortly).

But an agenda for colossal airport expansion and colossal climate change demands a colossal response, and we want to make sure the plans to expand Heathrow receive the biggest and loudest NO the world's ever seen. Literally. A great big NO spelt out by human bodies, which we'd like to set a new world record as the biggest and loudest NO in the world.

With the climate conference rumbling on in Bali, the time is ripe for people around the world to stand up, be counted and demand tough action to prevent climate change. Time, in fact, for the Global Day of Action, which this year falls on Saturday 8 December so there's just a few days to go.

Update (15/10/2007): Our video interview with Pete Bradshaw of Man City FC is now included:

And there's a podcast from the event on BusinessAssurance.com.

I've been an avid (my friends might say evangelical) fan of decentralised energy ever since I first got my head around it. When I started working for Greenpeace, the organisation was in full swing on a decentralised energy campaign and part of my job was to communicate what it is and why it can do so much more than nuclear to combat climate change.

There have followed 20 months (for me) of virtual shouting from the rooftops. Films have been produced; countless blogs have been written; submissions have been made to energy reviews and audit committees; our campaigners and policy boffins have met with government representatives; dozens of volunteers have visited MPs; many thousands more have written to theirs.