Friday, 21 October 2011

World warms before your eyes - scary

Today's Guardian brings a video showing how the world has grown steadily warmer 

it's part of the paper's report of the most massive global warming study yet to be done - billions of records checked and cross-checked.

Report includes the reaction of Exeter University's leading climate system dynamics expert Peter Cox.

Tuesday, 18 October 2011

Not Scilly to recycle

We're back from a week with friends on the Isles of Scilly.

The stay was as wonderful as ever - but there's a spoiler. 
Apart from glass bottles there's NO recycling of waste. 
Eric Pickles would love it - everything just shoved into one bin. 
By the end of the week it felt like a desecration of the place you admire for its beauty and peacefulness.

It's high time recycling got started.

And I also mean the recycling of Labour ideals and achievement. 
I visited Harold Wilson's grave - saw how lovingly well it is tended.

His legacy contains bold moves and a greatness we need to remind ourselves about. 
  • the Open University
  • comprehensive schools
  • a  welfare state where ordinary families benefitted from his Government's efforts to make British society more equal.- on a scale never seen since
  • not being a yes-sir-USA-poodle for calamitous wars - he resisted huge pressure from the States to take Britain into Viet Nam
  • his government repealed the restrictive laws on homosexuality, censorship and divorce
Harold Wilson inspired everyone with his 1963 conference speech about Britain forging ahead with the 'white heat of technology'. 
We now need to use the 'heat of green technology' to grow strong in the 21st century.
The Labour Party pushes for this progressive future.
The Condems don't.

Thursday, 6 October 2011

Tories fail green-o-meter test

Check this link - see the truth about the Tories
greenometer-interactive-greenest-government?
And the Lib Dems can't counter-act the failure.

Not surprised.
Increasingly infuriated.
We can't afford a Government that sees little 'value' in the environment, biodiversity, nature, wildlife.

We don't want a Government that shows no grasp of the urgency of the biggest issue our planet has ever faced - that one of the species upon it is doing it and every other species massive harm.

Monday, 3 October 2011

Sustrans message gets great response

Ben, Hannah, Sue and I spent a hectic time yesterday at Exeter Uni's main campus. Our Sustrans stall was in the sports hall, though to us Sustrans is about transport rather than sports cycling.
So we split up and took turns covering the rest of the Freshers Day stalls.
As ever, masses of students with ever-growing armfulls/bag-fulls of literature.

And so many of them said "Yes!" and took our cycling leaflets.
Exeter is such a cycling friendly City, it's actually quicker and easier to get to campus by bike than by car.

Sunday, 2 October 2011

Can't praise this company enough.
Seddon Group painters along with Danielle, their Public Relations manager, spent all last Friday and some of Saturday finishing off the painting of the children's play area in  Pinhoe's Arena Park.
They gave their time and materials free.

Exeter City Council's parks maintenance team quickly strimmed away the grass growing at the bottom of the railings and we were off! Residents, volunteers and Seddon's painters enjoying the great sunshine weather as we worked hard.
Thanks also to Jean, the volunteer from Exeter Parks Watch who most often gets stuck in with the residents on local projects.
The children's play area is far more attractive now. There's new play equipment. And with the plans in the pipeline there's more to come.