The Stansted protesters have had their day in court. Most of the 22 campaigners, who are members of the group Plane Stupid, were ordered to do between 50 and 90 hours community service after admitting aggravated trespass. The incident closed the airport in Essex for...
The Poorly Physician in a Huff
Just over a year ago, we picked up on a post at the miserablist blog, Grist, by Professor Andrew Dessler, former scientific advisor to the Clinton administration. Dessler had compared the planet's 'suffering' from climate change to a child with cancer. 'Who are his...
Prosperous New Fear
Before we get stuck into 2009, we missed a spillage from the festive period that needs mopping up... In a remarkably gullible news item, the BBC covered a new report revealing that 2008 was a 'Huge year for natural disasters': The past year has been one of the most...
A Notional Trust
Two articles in the Guardian/Observer this weekend seem to have stretched reports produced by conservationists to effect the maximum possible alarm. On Saturday, the Guardian reported that the National Trust had produced an audit of climate change effects on wildlife...
Observing the Observer
The Observer (the Sunday Guardian) welcomes the appointment of a Gaia-botherer to Obama's team. The decision by Barack Obama to appoint John Holdren as his chief scientific adviser deserves widespread welcome. The Harvard academic and former energy expert at the...
A Peak Peak-Oil-Theory Theory
Five months is a long time in climate politics. The arguments change with the seasons. Back in the hazy days of July and August, the eco-newswires were dominated by stories about ‘record-breaking’ arctic ice extent – even though it wasn’t record-breaking, and the...
Last BBC Show Standing?
Even the curmudgeonliest of climate realists need a break from complaining once in a while. So, no moaning about how BBC2 somehow managed to force a lesson in sustainability into a documentary about the behaviour of pygmy marmosets. No grumbling about how BBC R4's PM...
unthreaded
This post is a spillover from the discussion on a recent post which lost its direction.
The Completely Cuckoo Climate Change Cyberspace Conspiracy Conspiracy
How long has it been since we last mentioned George Monbiot? The truth is that we simply got bored of his predictable column in the Guardian. Furthermore, we aren’t convinced that anyone actually takes him at all seriously, apart from the people who book him for media...
Plane Selfish
Ridiculous, self-indulgent, self-absorbed, self-righteous, and self-important protest outfit, Plane Stupid broke into Stansted Airport today, to delay the reopening of a runway. The group's website quotes one of their number, 21 year old Tilly, "We're here because our...