Fantastic site by The Institute for Figuring - "an organisation dedicated to the poetic and aesthetic dimensions of science, mathematics and the technical arts". Including fractal crochet!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Climate change: little things won't make all the difference
Green tips are all well and good, but are they just a salve for our conscience? Can they really make an appreciable impact on climate change?
No, says George Marshall, an environmental campaigner type who is founder of the Oxford-based Climate Outreach & Information Network.
This is a fantastic article of his about how there can’t be any real action against climate change without political change.
So forget about those top ten eco tips you've been following (or Wandworth Council's top 32).
Forget recycling carrier bags: "Their contribution to climate change is vanishingly small. The average Brit consumes 134 plastic bags a year, resulting in just two kilos of the typical 11 tonnes of carbon dioxide he or she will emit in a year. That is one five thousandth of their overall climate impact," says Marshall.
Or turning TVs off standby: "The electricity to keep a television in standby mode for a whole year leads to 25 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide. It’s more than plastic bags, but still very marginal: one fifth of one percent of average emissions."
Or even boiling the correct amount of water in the kettle: "According to the government’s own figures even if you are constantly boiling full kettles this will save all of 100 kilos of carbon dioxide a year, less than one percent of average emissions."
Well, actually don't forget about doing all these things. But don't expect them to save the world.
And be aware that thinking you are eco-good could allow you to turn a blind eye to the much more carbon-heavy lifestyle choices.
But the point really is that the burden of slowing down carbon consumption cannot be carried by individuals alone. It needs collective action. And what is really sinister about the government offering us "eco tips" is that it gives us the idea that they are proactively helping the environment, when they are actually foisting the blame onto us and sweeping things like aviation taxes back under the carpet.
"No major social or economic change has ever arisen from volunteerism and the suggestion that it can is a deliberate strategy to prevent any real challenge to business as usual."
Links:
* Abolish plastic bags - an admirable aim - plastic bags as rubbish are ugly and the production of a new plastic bag for every time we shop is wasteful but the campaigners energy could be better directed elsewhere, says Marshall. Although I have to admit I'm really attracted by plastic bag crochet. Pretty non-plastic bags that encourage you to shop green by giving you a discount in certain shops.
* Marshall has written a book called Carbon Detox. "Don't despair and don't give up," he concludes as he tries to combat "Eco denial".
* Eco blogs
No, says George Marshall, an environmental campaigner type who is founder of the Oxford-based Climate Outreach & Information Network.
This is a fantastic article of his about how there can’t be any real action against climate change without political change.
So forget about those top ten eco tips you've been following (or Wandworth Council's top 32).
Forget recycling carrier bags: "Their contribution to climate change is vanishingly small. The average Brit consumes 134 plastic bags a year, resulting in just two kilos of the typical 11 tonnes of carbon dioxide he or she will emit in a year. That is one five thousandth of their overall climate impact," says Marshall.
Or turning TVs off standby: "The electricity to keep a television in standby mode for a whole year leads to 25 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide. It’s more than plastic bags, but still very marginal: one fifth of one percent of average emissions."
Or even boiling the correct amount of water in the kettle: "According to the government’s own figures even if you are constantly boiling full kettles this will save all of 100 kilos of carbon dioxide a year, less than one percent of average emissions."
Well, actually don't forget about doing all these things. But don't expect them to save the world.
And be aware that thinking you are eco-good could allow you to turn a blind eye to the much more carbon-heavy lifestyle choices.
But the point really is that the burden of slowing down carbon consumption cannot be carried by individuals alone. It needs collective action. And what is really sinister about the government offering us "eco tips" is that it gives us the idea that they are proactively helping the environment, when they are actually foisting the blame onto us and sweeping things like aviation taxes back under the carpet.
"No major social or economic change has ever arisen from volunteerism and the suggestion that it can is a deliberate strategy to prevent any real challenge to business as usual."
Links:
* Abolish plastic bags - an admirable aim - plastic bags as rubbish are ugly and the production of a new plastic bag for every time we shop is wasteful but the campaigners energy could be better directed elsewhere, says Marshall. Although I have to admit I'm really attracted by plastic bag crochet. Pretty non-plastic bags that encourage you to shop green by giving you a discount in certain shops.
* Marshall has written a book called Carbon Detox. "Don't despair and don't give up," he concludes as he tries to combat "Eco denial".
* Eco blogs
Monday, October 15, 2007
Urban wildlife watching
I went to Clapham Common yesterday and the common-or-garden mallards I saw were outnumbered by: two herons, two cormorants, a solitary moorhen, batches of coots, two Greylag geese, a flock of Canada geese (startling runners by trying to take off in front of them), a jay and a wagtail.
I have re-reminded myself that coots are the ones with a white face and moorhens the ones with red beaks (left). I'm sure I will forget this again instantly.
The angling pond is apparently full of toxic blue-green algae, but it doesn't seem to be doing the birds any bad.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Amy, Amy, Amy
Global warming? David Cameron’s new Conservatives with balls? The deterioration of the social fabric of Britain? No, I’m going to add to the litres of ink already spent over Amy Winehouse.
Firstly, a disclaimer. I think Amy Winehouse is a fantastic musical talent, and if I could listen to Back to Black back to back all day I would.
It’s more-or-less a given that any sensible human being does not want to see someone with so much potential going mad on drugs.
But should we really be so critical of her drug taking when it goes hand in hand with her music? As her friend/producer Mark Ronson was quoted in the press this week: “That's Amy — taking her pain and turmoil and making it into the music we enjoy.”
I can’t stand the Daily Mail-esque moralising over Amy Winehouse. (See this one. Thanks for the marvellous insight that "it would be a tragic waste if her wild lifestyle destroyed a brilliant singing career". Actually I think most right wing commentators would be pleased for another told-you-so lecture on the evils of drugs.)
If her music comes from the same place as her more destructive behaviour then it’s hypocritical to blame her for it.
I think we should leave Amy Winehouse alone, unless we want to produce a million James Blunts. Please no.
We need people to live on the edge and to feel the emotions we are too busy to take notice of. The Amys of this world remind us that there is life outside a cosy suburban workaday existence. But it’s an uncomfortable place that perhaps we don’t want to visit too much. Poor old Amy has to live there all the time.
This article on the Guardian arts blog has come nearest to my thoughts on Amy.
Firstly, a disclaimer. I think Amy Winehouse is a fantastic musical talent, and if I could listen to Back to Black back to back all day I would.
It’s more-or-less a given that any sensible human being does not want to see someone with so much potential going mad on drugs.
But should we really be so critical of her drug taking when it goes hand in hand with her music? As her friend/producer Mark Ronson was quoted in the press this week: “That's Amy — taking her pain and turmoil and making it into the music we enjoy.”
I can’t stand the Daily Mail-esque moralising over Amy Winehouse. (See this one. Thanks for the marvellous insight that "it would be a tragic waste if her wild lifestyle destroyed a brilliant singing career". Actually I think most right wing commentators would be pleased for another told-you-so lecture on the evils of drugs.)
If her music comes from the same place as her more destructive behaviour then it’s hypocritical to blame her for it.
I think we should leave Amy Winehouse alone, unless we want to produce a million James Blunts. Please no.
We need people to live on the edge and to feel the emotions we are too busy to take notice of. The Amys of this world remind us that there is life outside a cosy suburban workaday existence. But it’s an uncomfortable place that perhaps we don’t want to visit too much. Poor old Amy has to live there all the time.
This article on the Guardian arts blog has come nearest to my thoughts on Amy.
"Every culture needs a totemic figure who is prepared to go into the wilder terrain of subtance usage, a place where the rest of us don't want to or don't need to go. And there is something defiantly totemic about (Amy) Winehouse. The tall figure, the tattoos carved into the arms, the boldly painted face, the huge pile of hair - they all resemble some fabulous totem pole.
"And the great, yodelling, soulful voice brings us news of a place we don't want to go to ourselves."
"And the great, yodelling, soulful voice brings us news of a place we don't want to go to ourselves."
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Crazy Catholic ranting
This is really crazy.
Mozambique's Roman Catholic archbishop has accused European condom manufacturers of deliberately infecting their products with HIV "in order to finish quickly the African people".
Some conspiracy theories are easy enough to dismiss, but the ones about HIV can have a far more deadly effect, says Priya Shetty in her Guardian blog. She points out that some HIV conspiracy theorists are key political figures such as Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, South Africa's health minister.
Mozambique's Roman Catholic archbishop has accused European condom manufacturers of deliberately infecting their products with HIV "in order to finish quickly the African people".
Some conspiracy theories are easy enough to dismiss, but the ones about HIV can have a far more deadly effect, says Priya Shetty in her Guardian blog. She points out that some HIV conspiracy theorists are key political figures such as Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, South Africa's health minister.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Proscrastinating
I’m officially “thinking about thinking about” a change of career.
But before I can move onto actually thinking, I have a number of essential tasks I need to get out of the way. Such as:
Defrosting the freezer
Defrosting the fridge
Cleaning the cooker
Cleaning out the grotty trays of bathroom stuff in the bathroom
But damn, I’ve done all of these this weekend. So now I need to move onto the more endless tasks…
Hacking the Triffid-like Wysteria
Putting plants in pots, doing bulbs for spring
Going through ten years worth of photos
Adding all the CDs I own onto iTunes
And if things get really bad:
Putting all my books and CDs into alphabetical order (no I’ll never do that)
Painting – the hallway, the front room, the bedroom, the backroom
Cleaning the carpets, cleaning the rugs
Chucking away old clothes and general rubbish
Finding piles of paper, looking through them, putting them back again
Cutting things out of newspapers, putting them in a new pile, forgetting to read them
Thinking of creative things to do, doing something else
Writing letters to aunties, old friends and school teachers
Baking cookies, making more mess to tidy up later
Treading water
Achieving a Zen-like state through continual housework
I could spend years just writing the list. Who has time to think about the important things in life?
But before I can move onto actually thinking, I have a number of essential tasks I need to get out of the way. Such as:
Defrosting the freezer
Defrosting the fridge
Cleaning the cooker
Cleaning out the grotty trays of bathroom stuff in the bathroom
But damn, I’ve done all of these this weekend. So now I need to move onto the more endless tasks…
Hacking the Triffid-like Wysteria
Putting plants in pots, doing bulbs for spring
Going through ten years worth of photos
Adding all the CDs I own onto iTunes
And if things get really bad:
Putting all my books and CDs into alphabetical order (no I’ll never do that)
Painting – the hallway, the front room, the bedroom, the backroom
Cleaning the carpets, cleaning the rugs
Chucking away old clothes and general rubbish
Finding piles of paper, looking through them, putting them back again
Cutting things out of newspapers, putting them in a new pile, forgetting to read them
Thinking of creative things to do, doing something else
Writing letters to aunties, old friends and school teachers
Baking cookies, making more mess to tidy up later
Treading water
Achieving a Zen-like state through continual housework
I could spend years just writing the list. Who has time to think about the important things in life?
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