Saturday, December 16, 2006

Ethan Greenhart

Just a word up for spiked's new columnist, providing ethical advice to readers on the big issues of the day. If, in passing, his tone borders on parody... well, that's hardly his fault for being so earnest, is it?

Ask Ethan

Friday, December 15, 2006

David Attenborough's war stories

Natural history film-maker and TV producer David Attenborough says we need a 'moral change' to combat climate change. He claims we need a 'general moral view that wasting energy is wrong'.

Giving evidence to the House of Commons select committee on the environment, the 80-year old Attenborough told them young 'uns what it was like in his day: 'I grew up during the war and during the war it was a common view that wasting anything was wrong. It wasn't that we thought we were going to defeat Hitler by eating a lot of gristle in our meat but it was actually wrong not to eat our food.'

He's obviously been listening to former environment minister and green maverick Michael Meacher. (Meacher's website is subtitled 'Labour's Future' - it's not clear whether he thinks that refers to him.) He told GMTV in November, 'This is the one over-riding overall political issue which challenges the future of the human species on this planet. We are very good in this country at getting behind a collective cause which we all know has to be absolutely hugely overridingly important, as we did in 1939. I think we are at war over climate change and I think we can lead the country.'

Even if global warming turns out to be the problem that Attenborough and Meacher claim it is, the solution will not be found in turning your TV or lights off, or turning down the boiler by one degree. But a little bit of 'moral change' might be just the ticket for a society which is relatively well-off but devoid of any sense of direction. However, it's hardly a rosy vision of the future if you have to hark back to the 'good old days' when we were living through the bloodiest conflict in human history - a comparison which actually puts the problems that might be caused by a gradually warming planet into some serious perspective.

Attenborough urges 'moral change', BBC News, 13 December 2006

Britain 'at war' on climate change, Ananova

Monday, December 11, 2006

Climate change blackmail

Mary Robinson, former Irish president and ex-UN commissioner for human rights, will make a speech this evening at London's Chatham House discussing how climate change has become an issue of global justice.

'We can no longer think of climate change as an issue where we the rich give charity to the poor to help them cope,' she is expected to say. 'Climate change has already begun to affect the fulfilment of human rights and our shared human rights framework entitles and empowers developing countries and impoverished communities to claim protection of these rights.' The theme of how global warming is really a problem of equity between rich and poor countries is becoming a more common one. The argument is that changing weather patterns have a disproportionate impact on developing nations while being caused by developed industrialised countries.

There are parallels in the tactics behind this discussion with the debate about passive smoking. When the argument was about the health of smokers themselves, or people who chose to drink in smokey pubs, those lobbying for a change in the law seemed to make limited headway. However, when the health of service-sector workers like bar staff and waiters became the issue, the argument was made that this was unfair, that such workers didn't have a choice and needed to be protected. The same technique is now being applied in relation to climate change: we may not want to change our affluent lifestyles, but think about the poor people in Africa when the rains don't come (or when the floods do). Unable to convince us that we have a material interest in accepting their initiatives, campaigners and leaders blackmail us about the harm we do to others.

Calculated those these arguments may be, they ignore a very obvious point. The reason that rich nations are relatively untroubled by the prospect of climate change is precisely because they are rich. As such, they have the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances. People living in subsistence, on the other hand, are vulnerable to change from weather, disease or crop failure. Which begs the question: why have the likes of Mary Robinson so clearly given up on development in favour of lecturing relatively affluent countries about their wicked ways?

Rights focus sought over climate, BBC News, 11 December 2006

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Mobile phones don’t cause cancer

A new study from Denmark has shown that mobile phones do not increase the risk of cancer in the head or neck. The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute looked at data as far back as 1982 when the first mobile phones were introduced. Examining the call records (and not just the recollections) of 420,000 people - including 56,000 who have been using mobile phones for over 10 years - the researchers found no increase in the incidence of tumours in the brain, eye, salivary gland or leukaemia.

However, just because yet another study has found no link between phones and ill-health does not mean that fears relating to phones, and phone masts, will go away. The idea of invisible radiation messing with the sensitive workings of our bodies blends fears of technology with an increasing obsession with our health as the one last thing we can rely on in this messed-up world. In fact, the signs are that such fears are spreading to other technologies like wi-fi (see Don't panic: wi-fi fears).

In relation to the panic about phones, the precautionary nature of government advice tends to undermine the clear evidence that phones are both harmless and extremely useful. In Britain, the Stewart report found no reason to worry about mobile use - then foolishly suggested that children should limit their use just in case. While factual rebuttals of scare stories are very important, it is crucial for those in positions of leadership to be clear and unequivocal in their advice at a time when other trends in society tend to magnify risks and exaggerate our vulnerability.

Read on:

spiked-issue: Mobile phones

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Back to the moon

NASA has published plans for a return to the moon, over 30 years after Apollo 11's historic journey. But this time, the plan is to stay.

The US space agency plans to build a base at one of the poles with people spending up to six months at a time at the base. Eventually, the moon may be used as a starting point for a mission to Mars, both physically and technically. NASA sees other advantages to be gained from such a base: the possibility of eventual settlement; the pursuit of scientific activities that address fundamental questions about the history of Earth and the solar system; provide a challenging, shared and peaceful activity that unites nations in pursuit of common objectives; expand Earth's economic sphere; and engage the public, inspiring a new generation of high-tech workers.

At a time when there has been much gloom and doom about space travel, following the Challenger and Columbia disasters, simply putting manned spaceflight firmly back on the agenda is a positive thing. While many will be itching for something a little more ambitious - and a trip to Mars would certainly be an enormous challenge - this is, at least, a start. It's a shame that it has taken so long. Let's hope these plans survive our risk-averse, anti-science, planet-not-people times.

The end of the space race?, by Sandy Starr

Monday, December 04, 2006

There's brass in school dinners, 'appen

The pub that featured in Jamie's Return to School Dinners, providing food to local schools but pulling out cos they were losing money, have now gone into the school food business full time. Apparently, they were losing money as a pub hand over fist...

Chef inspires couple to move into school dinners business full-time, Yorkshire Today

'An intellectual Rocky'

In 1977, David Frost pulled off a remarkable coup for someone who had hitherto been regarded as a lightweight, playboy chatshow host. He landed the biggest political interview of them all. In the face of fierce competition from the US networks, Frost persuaded former US President Richard Nixon to discuss his life, presidency – and Watergate. The motivations of the two men, and the relationship between them, provide perfect material for Peter Morgan’s first stage play, Frost/Nixon.

Read on...

Friday, December 01, 2006

Still not ethical after all these years

It was widely reported this week that ethical consumerism has gone mainstream, following revelations that spending in Britain on ‘ethical’ products now outstrips retail sales of alcohol and cigarettes. The facts tell a different story. What is really striking is just how irrelevant ethical consumerism remains, despite ever-increasing media hype and the enthusiasm of retailers.

Read on...