One World Column

How to take care of our children's children...

2012-01-22T16:25:00.007Z

By Rupert ReadLast week, the new ‘Green House’ thinktank launched, at Parliament, a new report that I’ve written about how to restructure democratic institutions, to take care of the people of our kingdom who are not here yet: future people.Here are some pictures of the event. Have a butchers!The starting point of my thinking on all this is this question:‘Democracy’ means ‘government by the

ONEWORLD NEWS: Welcome to 2012!

2012-01-07T07:52:00.033Z

Today's post looks at some of the subjects we will continue to report and reflect on during this crucial year. As the struggle for global resources - energy, minerals, agricultural land, water - increases we'll look at the widespread pressure for social justice and protection of the earth. As the corporate control of the world tightens (1%), we'll reflect on the collective movement for democratic

Trust Us, We're the Experts

2012-01-02T13:13:00.004Z

By Marguerite Finn According to a confident statement by the Director General of the

Eat, Drink and be Merry

2011-12-24T17:00:00.009Z

By Mark Crutchley Christmas is a great time for sitting back, spending time with friends and family, and doing nothing. Eat drink and be merry as the saying goes and who am I to disagree with that. But once the season is over doing nothing ceases to be a positive course, because the problems which we face in both the environment and financial system mean that doing nothing is the worst possible

A burning issue: ‘embodied emissions’

2011-12-10T11:51:00.003Z

By Rupert ReadI recently submitted evidence to a key Parliamentary Select Committee on a key issue of our time: the huge increase in carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels relatively inefficiently in parts of the world which have low levels of state regulation (e.g. China). This ‘outsourcing’ or ‘offshoring’ of emissions completely undermines Britain’s supposed reduction in carbon

Occupying the Conversation

2011-12-03T17:32:00.011Z

This week's column is cross-posted from the Transition Norwich blog, This Low Carbon Life and is an on-site report of a local march and rally for the public sector workers' strike on Wednesday, organised by Lowestoft Against the Cuts (for a video of the Norwich 'Fair Pensions for All' March and Rally by former teacher Ken Hunn see end of post)Wednesday 30th November, Lowestoft I've just got back

Next Stop Africa

2011-11-27T11:43:00.007Z

By Mark Crutchley This time last year I wrote a column expressing a pessimistic view of what was likely to be achieved at the forthcoming climate conference in Cancun. Little did indeed emerge from that event, though at least the main parties continued to talk to each other and adhere to the idea that we need a new agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Now with Kyoto the verge of expiring

‘Now the crimson poppy – now the white’

2011-11-20T23:19:00.002Z

By Marguerite Finn The ceremonies surrounding Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday have been laid to rest for another year but reverberations linger on in letters and articles in the media. Apparently this year was a record year for the

On a friday night in Norwich, November 2011

2011-11-05T05:11:00.019Z

By Charlotte Du CannIt's nine o'clock and eleven of us are discussing climate change. So far we have agreed that in order to mitigate the effects of modern civilisation on the planet's atmosphere we have to powerdown to a low-carbon economy, de-industrialise our agricultural system and bring equality to bear in all aspects of the human world. You might think this is taking place in a warm

Tipping Points

2011-10-29T15:57:00.011+01:00

By Mark Crutchley The evidence is beginning to mount that the developed world may be close to reaching a tipping point beyond which nothing we know will ever be the same again. Most people are probably aware of the concept of tipping points, having come across them in association with environmental effects. So the threat of an ice free Arctic in the Summer, irreversible melting of the Greenland

War By Remote Control

2011-10-24T23:08:00.005+01:00

By Marguerite Finn The military-industrial complex is never idle. War is big business and the US is engaged in developing a new and more lethal generation of weapons. The most widely known of these weapons is the drone or ‘unmanned aerial vehicle’ (UAV). These drones enable targeted killings

ONEWORLDNEWS: Biofuels Protest - 23 October

2011-10-18T10:04:00.018+01:00

That is a good question to ask on the eve of UN International Peace Day. It could be that the questioner has in mind the saying: Si vis pacem, para bellum – If you want peace, prepare for war. This is usually interpreted as meaning ‘peace through strength’ – a strong society being less likely to be attacked by enemies. It is

Are we a consumerist society - or a 'producerist' society?

2011-09-12T11:21:00.003+01:00

By Rupert ReadWe are thoroughly used now to thinking of our society as a ‘consumerist’ society, and of ourselves as, above all, ‘consumers’. This seems to many of us now quite simply an obvious truth, and in some ways a good truth: think of ‘consumer protection’ and ‘consumer rights’ organisations, from Ralph Nader to Which? Think of ‘ethical consumerism’.But: what if this self-image were in fact

Putting Ourselves on the Line

2011-09-03T14:39:00.026+01:00

By Charlotte Du Cann This column is usually reflective of world events. We talk about the big subjects – Libya, the London riots, nuclear fallout in Japan, global peak oil and environmental degradation - but we also record the stories we come across as citizen journalists, as activists and writers within an international progressive culture. We do this is because amongst the constant chatter

Row, Row, Row the Boat

2011-08-29T11:53:00.007+01:00

By Mark Crutchley A news item on the BBC website caught my eye the other day and I had to read it again to convince myself that it was really true. A British team has rowed to the North Pole – yes rowed, in a boat! Now admittedly it was the magnetic North Pole which is a long way from being at the very top of the planet, but despite that it is still a very long way North and should by all rights

Who is for Humanitarian Intervention?

2011-08-20T12:24:00.004+01:00

By Marguerite Finn Yesterday (19th August) was World Humanitarian Day – not that you would know from the lack of coverage given to it in the media. World Humanitarian Day is a celebration of people helping people. The day recognises the sacrifices and contributions of those who risk their lives to give others help and hope. It is also

The ignored report sitting on the Met’s website that indicates the possible consequences of Operation Trident: why these riots are really happening…

2011-08-14T11:11:00.008+01:00

By Rupert Read