Heroes and villains in Copenhagen, and beyond

Heroes and villains in Copenhagen, and beyond

by | Jan 5, 2010 | All Posts, Climate Change, Cultural stories, Favourite posts, Politics

We’ve all seen Hollywood movies in which humanity is threatened by an unstoppable force, powerful beyond comprehension, which is eventually, in the final climax, held back and thwarted by our hero straining every sinew and pushing really hard…

Over recent weeks I have been in two meetings with Ed Miliband, our Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change — one just before the Copenhagen COP15 climate summit, and one just after. At the earlier meeting he told us to judge him on the results of Copenhagen, and (despite my previous comments, and the fact that the UK is one of the minority of countries who have not endorsed a 350ppm target) I do believe that he tried everything he knew to be that hero and bring back a passable agreement.

Lazy politics?

Lazy politics?

by | Jun 22, 2008 | All Posts, Favourite posts, Peak Oil, Politics

I find myself wondering if our current political system (like so much else in our modern culture) might be partially a product of the bonanza of abundant cheap energy we have been enjoying for the last century or two. Have we been so comfortable that the pressure has...