Talks, Blogs & Action

Temperature Changes around the World 1901 - 2018

Temperature Changes around the World 1901 – 2018 (thanks to Ed Hawkins & Reading University)

Since my childhood in the 1950’s 60’s and 70’s I’ve been very concerned about a lot of environmental and social issues. I was, and remain, convinced that humanity could and should do a whole lot of things differently, and that by doing so we could all live more happily. I gave my first talk to my school sixth form assembly in 1972, and it was about climate change and other planetary scale problems, and possible solutions. Over the following decades I read a lot, volunteered with various environmental groups, visited experimental projects, joined the Green Party and attended numerous demonstrations. Over the years we won lots of small victories, but we failed to turn the global economy around. Carbon emissions, species extinctions, soil depletion, economic inequality and other key indicators continued to get worse.

Now a new generation of activists have emerged who give me hope. Greta Thunberg and the School Strikes movement I find absolutely inspiring. So too Extinction Rebellion. Maybe, just maybe, we can turn this whole thing around. We don’t have long.

I’ve been wondering about my own personal contribution. Over the last couple of years other aspects of life have demanded my attention. I’ve not given a single talk in over two years and didn’t get to nearly as many actions I wanted to. Now I am keen to return to the fray: to develop this blog, to do more talks, join actions and participate in projects that can really make a difference.

At 7.30 pm on Wednesday 24th July I’ll be giving a talk at De Koffie Pot in Hereford. The evening will have two aspects. Firstly I want to present some ideas about how humanity could get to net zero carbon emissions as fast as possible. That implies some very large changes to the nature of the global economy. Essentially everything needs to change, so let’s explore how it could be changed in ways that maximize ecological restoration and human wellbeing. I’ll talk a bit about how trillions of pounds/Euros/dollars might be raised and invested.

Secondly, I’d like to use the evening to explore how best to develop my own work and how I can best support the work of others. I’d like feedback and guidance from people involved in diverse aspects of change from young school strikers, old time activists from Friends of the Earth to the new Extinction Rebellion members, from engaged faith groups such as the Quakers, from people active in political parties and local governance to entrepreneurs and engineers active in the Cleantech revolution. Please all come along and bring your friends. If you can make it to Hereford on Wednesday 24th July I’ll see you then, and if you’d like me to do a talk elsewhere then do please e-mail me.

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