Cruel goodbye, World

Doha?
Mostly "Doh!", not much Ha!

Big deal, getting rich nations to admit/agree they should give poorer nations reparation money for the increasing damage done by climate change. No amount of money will now stop island nations from going under - literally.

Doha saw no Big Deal that actually and practically tackles The Problem.

Instead, we are all - rich, poor and in-between - still ensuring our only message to our planet is "Cruel goodbye, World".

Yesterday people were prepared to occupy Starbucks to protest tax inequity.
But -

• who do you 'occupy' to challenge tar sands in Canada?
• when do you 'occupy' the acidification of our oceans?
• where do you 'occupy' the on-going construction of coal-fired power stations in China?
•  what do you 'occupy' to reduce heat waste?
•  how do you 'occupy' the scandal of billions of women worldwide without the right or the means to control their own fertility?

We won't think globally and act locally, until we've thought locally and acted globally. Luckily, we have the mechanism to think locally - it's called democracy. And fortunately we have a powerful system within that mechanism - it's called politics.

At the moment we have the politics of planetary suicide.

But it doesn't have to be that way.
Labour's red rose has a green stem. It's already 'occupied' with the democratic debate about the who, the when, the where, the how and the what. You can join in.

Let's have less Doh!Ha and more Green Labour.

Let's be clear about drains

A drain doesn't need to be kept clear just because it's a drain. 

Devon County Council, cutting back everywhere, seems to have forgotten that the purpose of keeping a drain clear is to get water off our streets and pavements. Doh!

And - as global warming increases rainfall intensity - we more often need good clear drains to keep water out of our homes and businesses too.

Perhaps I notice more as one of Exeter's many cyclists and walkers, but the last few days have brought us plenty of rain, and too much of it stays around too long.

Puddles turn to pools. Pools turn to lakes. Walking becomes wading.

And as for cycling - some 'lakes' are too large to stop pedaling and coast all the way through. And all that water certainly hides nasty pothole surprises. 

But it's driver behaviour that seems to have become decidedly inconsiderate as drain maintenance gets worse. 

For goodness sake - just drive at 5mph for five seconds when going through undrained pools. Don't fling up water all over nearby walkers and cyclists.