Rupert's Read

  As world leaders gather for the G20 Summit in London on April 2nd, the Green Party is renewing calls for action, not more fine words, to deliver the Green New Deal.   Governments are increasingly accepting the benefits of a major investment plan to help bring the world out of recession and tackle the looming threat of dangerous climate change. The Green Party believes that Eastern England could be in the front line of a green energy revolution if the political will is there to make it a reality.    The Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband recently said (BBC News) that it was important for the G20 to make commitments on helping the environment as well as the economy. He said   "There are some people who will say you can either tackle the economic crisis or the climate crisis.   "But the truth is that both come together with this idea of a Green New Deal , of investing in the jobs of the future, which are going ...

Every existing town should make the transition to being an eco-town, not just a handful of new towns - which may be far less green than they at first appear.   One of the Government's planned 'eco-towns' is on the outskirts of Norwich. The plans are generally quite good, mostly on a brownfield site - but the scheme as it stands is dependent upon building a massive new dual-carriageway road around the north side of Norwich, if it is to work.   This is completely ridiculous - you cannot have a genuinely eco -town that is highly dependent upon a major road-building scheme. By definition, a true eco-town should be designed to maximise the use of public transport, cycling etc, as are the existing eco-towns in other countries that provided the original inspiration for Britain's 'eco-town' plans.

Still no prosecution of Tom Wise, one of the two UKIP members of the Euro-Parl elected in 2004, whose seat [the 2nd UKIP seat] I aim to take at these elections: http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/news/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=News&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=xDefault&itemid=IPED30%20Mar%202009%2011%3A04%3A34%3A777

  At the start of April the Green Party campaign to win a seat in the European Parliament is going up a gear. Lead candidate Rupert Read is embarking on a whistle-stop tour of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, in order to listen to his prospective constituents and to offer the Green Party's distinctive solution to the credit crunch: the Green New Deal.   Rupert Read said   "Europe needs change and if enough people in Eastern England get behind the Green Party, we can help make that change happen. The Green New Deal aims to create 5 million jobs across the continent, including a million here in Britain, and at least 100,000 in Eastern England.   "The Green New Deal is a way to combat dangerous climate change and help end the recession at the same time. It would set the European economy on a sustainable path and place Europe at the forefront of the Green industrial revolution. For a greener economy and a cleaner politics, there...

According to scientific experts, we have less than 94 months left in which to begin to dramatically reduce our carbon emissions, if we are not to go down in history as the age of stupid... Here in East Anglia , we only have 2 months left to take the first major step, and elect another Green Party MEP, this Region's first. Time is precious. We need to act NOW! Just think for a minute of the signal benefits to our country and Europe that has come from us having Jean Lambert and Caroline Lucas in the European Parliament. With long summer evenings coming, we have the opportunity to canvass [and leaflet] like we've never done before: and get a Green MEP elected here too, on June 4th. Be a part of it! Help make history now, in 2009…

1. Everyone in the UK can vote Green in June. 2. A Green vote in June is the only way to send a clear message from the ballot box to our National leaders to behave in Copenhagen - all other parties greenwash but are compromised by (e.g.) wanting to bring back economic growth. 3. Whether nationally you are Yellow, Red, or Blue or indifferent the only way to be green in June is to vote Green - which won't hurt your favoured party's national chances but will make a big difference for Copenhagen - imagine the effect if Greens polled 20% in June! 4. The EU will play a major role in December in Copenhagen (even if it 'plays its role' by remaining silent). 5. Greens can win seats in the Euro Election in the UK (it is proportional) - and a Green MEP or two from your region will help make Copenhagen work... [Thanks to Roger Creagh-Osborne for inspiring this post]

I promised the occasional philosophical reflection on this blog. Here's one: If I 'travel' 'back' into the past, then I am there in the past. BUT, in my past, an older version of me wasn't present, anywhere. Therefore, one cannot travel back into the past: for, if one travels back into the past, IT IS NO LONGER ONE'S PAST that one is travelling back into...

http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/content/news/storyrss.aspx?brand=ENOnline&category=News&tBrand=ENOnline&tCategory=News&itemid=NOED27%20Mar%202009%2010%3A13%3A01%3A140 It will be interesting to see how Labour try to live this one down... What disgraceful remarks... Unbelievable really that this guy was our Deputy Prime Minister, a heartbeat away from no.10...

Green Party Councillors are asking Norwich City Council to oppose the Government's plans to merge the fire control services of Norfolk and other counties in East Anglia into a regional control centre which would receive emergency calls and manage the fire service response.  The councillors say the plan, known as FireControl, lacks the confidence of firefighting professionals who are worried that regional centres would lack sufficent call handling capacity and local knowledge.    Norwich Green Party councillor, Adrian Holmes is submitting a motion to the City Council's next meeting, on Tuesday 31st March, urging the council to voice opposition and press the government to rethink its plan.   Councillor Holmes said   "Norfolk has one of the best fire services in the country and this plan will do nothing to improve it and may even damage its capacity to deal with incidents. Responses to incidents in Nor...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p002h943/Matthew_Gudgin_25_03_2009/ Go 2 hrs 10 mins in to listen to hear me debating for 45 minutes live on Radio Norfolk, on issues from the Commonwealth and dangerous climate change to relationships education and Jade Goody...

(please click on the image below to enlarge it) I'm looking forward to attending my good friend Deepak Rughani's presentation on Biofuels next week.  Deepak is a powerful and knowledgeable speaker and his events are not to be missed.  Hopefully I'll see plenty of familiar faces there! 

Ever thought of becoming a local councillor? Perhaps you’re already involved in local affairs and want to take the next step? Or perhaps you just like the idea of doing something worthwhile and rewarding to help your community. Most people stand for election as councillors under the banner of the three largest political parties: Conservative, Labour or Liberal Democrat. However, there is also a strong tradition of local councillors working as Independents, or as representatives of political parties and groups other than the three largest political parties, such as the Green Party. If you want to be a councillor, but not representing the Conservative, Liberal Democrat or Labour parties, this guide is for you... http://public.easterngreenparty.fastmail.fm/Be%20a%20%20Councillor

...Closures "must cease immediately"   Eastern Region Green Party has conducted a survey over recent months of local post offices in the region.   Sub Postmasters and Postmistresses were contacted about the service they currently provide, what they could provide in the future and how important they considered Post Offices are to the local community (1). 98% felt it was important that their particular Post Office remained open, citing 11 different reasons as to why they felt this way. Many replied that they could provide a public and social service and that they were the eyes and ears of the community. They helped to combat fraud and would know if someone was having health or domestic difficulties and therefore could alert neighbours.   81% agreed strongly that the local sub Post Office provide a hub for the local community and 91% disagreed that the Main Post Offices are more convenient. 71% disagreed that Main Post...

    First they sold us agrofuels: palm oil from felled and drained tropical peat forest continues to be mixed into UK diesel, leaving an 800-year carbon debt behind.      Now industrial biomass and agrochar [its advocates call it 'biochar', because that sounds nicer than what it really is] are coming of age.   Widely touted as the most promising geo-engineering 'solution', agrochar - industrialised agricultural turning of forests into charcoal which is then 'planted' in the soil - actually threatens to commit us to worsening dangerous climate change, bringing chaos to planetary life support systems including the rainfall cycle upon which global crop production depends.   However, this is an extraordinary week for those concerned that 'false solutions' are exacerbating manmade climate change.   ...

  I welcome reports that management at Archant has reduced the number of jobs it is intending to cut in Norfolk from 54 to 34. But I hope that Archant executives will  try to further reduce this, to protect the quality of local newspapers.   'It is good news that Archant executives have revised their plans for redundancies in Norfolk, but 34 job losses would still be a massive cutback of editorial staff. It would raise serious doubts about the capacity of local papers to provide a quality news service.   The recession is no doubt affecting advertising revenues but the company has recently anounced £22m profits.  I urge Archant to continue talking with unions and to look for every opportunity to save further jobs.

http://tinyurl.com/d5x9cj   Me on investing in transport for a better life, on Radio 2 yesterday. Go to 1.09

  ...Green Party Councillors back CPRE report   Green Party Councillors in Eastern Region are backing a CPRE report (1) released earlier today which shows that the majority of regional transport funding is going on roads, and will be for years to come, and that road traffic levels have risen sharply over the last 2 decades.   Although it is not possible to separate out entirely the different types of transport funded in each region, CPRE have estimated the Eastern Region proportion spent on roads at 60%.   In the period 1993 to 2007, traffic (measured as million vehicle kilometers) rose by 29% over the six counties of Eastern Region, the equal second highest rise in England and with only the East Midlands being higher.   Figures from the Government (DEFRA) reveal that increasing greenhouse gas emissions from transport are cancelling out reductions in other sectors. Ministers claim that the UK can meet ambitious targets for r...

http://metapsychology.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=book&id=4668 A nice review that I've just found of my PHILOSOPHY FOR LIFE...

Here's the first explicit media endorsement of the Greens for a long time from one Jonathon Porritt; watch the BBC news report here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0KeyT6GZqk&eurl=http://southwest.greenparty.org.uk/region/southwest

Franny Armstrong, writer/director of the Age of Stupid , is calling for a Green government, according to Alistair Campbell's blog this morning...   This, with the climate crisis underlying other more apparent crises (such as the ongoing economic meltdown), is indeed an epochal moment in human history; it calls precisely for a sudden mass political switch to the Green Party, much as in earlier generations the Labour Party (before it became corrupted by New Labour etc.) sprang onto the Parliamentary scene from almost nowhere, and ended up giving us good things like the NHS. It's worth bearing in mind that the next big elections are the Euro-elections, in June: and these are by proportional representation. A great opportunity for the Green Party to get voted in...

Green Party Euro Election lead candidate Rupert Read is coming to Manningtree this Thursday as part of his ongoing 'listening tour' of East Anglia .  Rupert is hoping to meet members of the local Transition Town group who are developing responses to the need for a low carbon economy to combat dangerous climate change. Rupert said "This part of Essex has many green sympathisers; I am excited to have the chance to talk to some of them and answer any questions on Green Pary policy.  Issues that are close to my heart are; creating 'green' jobs which help the local community as well as the environment, and boosting the stock of affordable housing for first time buyers and the less well off." Rupert said: "I am looking forward a great deal to hearing about the experiences of Manningtree people at this time of economic downturn and wider uncertainty." Rupert will be in Manningtree from 9.20 to 12.00 on Thursday 19 th and w...

I visited two "green" businesses in Attleborough last Wednesday 11 March.   I visited 'Graham Hughes Organics' at the Rookery Farm Industrial Estate (in Besthorpe) in the morning. This is a local family business run by organic pioneer Graham Hughes who has been growing and selling organic produce for over 20 years.  It was great to meet Graham Hughes. Graham and his family have been leading the way with organic produce for more than two decades.   Later, I met the management of Liftshare at their national Headquarters in Attleborough. Liftshare is a 'web-based' company that specialises in finding car sharing arrangements for commuters all around the UK .  It is an oft-cited misconception that we in the Green Party are 'anti-car'.  In fact, the real message that we promote is asking ourselves if our trip by car is necessary.  'Must I drive a quarter of a mile to the local shop and back or could I walk or cycle it? ...

  The Green Party is extremely concerned at the 3-year jail sentence that has just been handed down to Muntadar Al-Zaidi, for throwing his shoes at Former-U.S.-President George Bush.   Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner and Oxford East Parliamentary candidate for the Green Party, explained why the Party is backing the shoe-thrower:   "Mr al-Zaidi's protest was a courageous, symbolic gesture to challenge the US President's illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, the mass civilian casualties caused by the war, the use of torture by US military forces and the US attempt to rip off Iraq's oil wealth.   "His heroic action was in the fine traditions of the young men who burned their draft cards to protest against the US war in Vietnam and of the Black Power salutes by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico Olympics in protest at the racist discrimination suffered by African-Americans.   "Mr al-Zaidi's action did no...

Sir Jonathan Porritt, chairman of the UK's Sustainable Development Commission - the most influential and best-known green in Britain - told journalists today that British politicians were "in a state of cognitive dissonance" over the ecological crisis. Cognitive dissonance is the psychologists' term for an inability to make rational decisions despite being able to clearly see the evidence. The Green Party, on the other hand, has been right all along, Sir Jonathan continued. Speaking in Bristol at the launch of the South West Green Party campaign for the European Parliament elections, Sir Jonathan said that he fully supported the Green Party and had been a member continuously since its founding. Sir Jonathan, who was director of Friends of the Earth before taking the top UK sustainable development job, told his audience about a recent analysis he had carried out on the 1979 election manifesto of the Ecology Party, the former name of the Green Party. It showed that 65% ...

Click on the link to read the latest issue of my monthly e-Newsletter: http://public.easterngreenparty.fastmail.fm/RR%20-%20March%202009%20Newsletter.pdf Previous issues can be accessed via the links on the left hand side of the blog!

  http://www.bloomberg.com:80/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=arJ05GgRfjPU&refer=uk   'Green New Deal' Fails to Get Funding in Britain, Lawmakers Say   By Alex Morales March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Britain's spending on public transportation and home insulation falls short of a "Green New Deal" needed to forge environmentally friendly growth, a committee of lawmakers said. A 535-million-pound ($750 million) " green stimulus " announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling in November includes only 100 million pounds of new funds, the Environmental Audit Committee said in a report today critical of the plan. Most of the funds are merely accelerated spending on railways and energy efficiency already pledged in future budgets. "Taking money out of a budget two years down the road and bringing it forward to this year doesn't really count as a 'green new deal' at all," said committee Chairman Tim Yeo , in...

This montage seems to work as an apt metaphor for the banking crisis. Seems particularly apt when considering the "rescue" of HBOS by Lloyds. To see the full sequence you need to click on this: http://blogs.ft.com/westminster/files/2009/03/tarp_visualization.pdf

  Press Notice from Eastern Region Green Party   Monday 16th March 2009 Leading Green Party MEP candidate to speak at Southend Central Library against Southend Airport expansion plans - Thursday 26th March   Leading Green Party candidate for the European Elections, Cllr. Rupert Read, will be speaking at Southend Library on Thursday 26th March 2009 against plans to expand Southend airport.   The Green Party is opposing expansion at Southend and other airports across the region because of the adverse impacts on the health and well-being of local communities, the impacts on the local environment and the additional climate-changing emissions from ever more aircraft in our skies.   Cllr. Read will offer  alternatives for a sustainable transport policy that will enable people to travel in a way that does not endanger the well-being of others or of the environment.   Cllr. Read said,   "The Green Party would use money ...

Europe needs change and we need your voice to make that change happen. Lets create 5 million jobs – Europe needs a Green New Deal! There is a way to combat climate change, and there is an answer to the economic crisis. Introducing a Green New Deal we can fight both at the same time. We need policies which will: create green collar jobs for five million Europeans within 5 years mobilise a cohesive strategy for private and public investment in the green economy  that amounts to 500 billion Euros  over the next five years (0,75% of the GDP of the EU)  keep energy affordable help to fight climate change and green the European economy The Green New Deal will set the European economy on a sustainable path and place Europe at the forefront of the Green industrial revolution. SIGN THE PETITION, AND JOIN THE GROWING CALL FOR A REAL GREEN NEW DEAL: http://europeangreens.eu:80/petition/

Click on the link below to see my profile in the latest edition of Green World: http://www.greenworld.org.uk/page131/page140/page140.html

A guest post by James Abbott, GP national climate change spokesman. [Sorry, can't get the links to work... ;-( ]: Melting ice sheets could raise sea levels high enough to flood coastal areas around the globe by the end of the century, according to scientists gathering in Denmark for a three-day climate-change conference. The phenomenon could affect regions including Florida, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, and the Maldives, the British Guardian newspaper reports . The meeting , which brings 2,000 scientists to Copenhagen, is a run-up to December's international climate talks, where officials are set to draft a successor to the Kyoto treaty to limit carbon dioxide emissions. Experts will also update the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which released its findings on global warming two years ago. Some of that new information centers on the effects of glacier melts in Greenland and Antarctica . Not only are ice sheets in Greenland a...

In the immediate aftermath of September 11 2001, a scandal broke in this country after Jo Moore, a new Labour special adviser to then secretary of state for transport Stephen Byers, sent an email to colleagues suggesting this was "a very good day to get out anything we want to bury."  Her logic was that, when a mammoth news story breaks, the government has a window of opportunity through which to shunt into a black hole any news that would otherwise make the government more unpopular.  This was classic new Labour news management - completely immoral, but effective. And we've seen similar behaviour over more recent scandals. The Treasury recently announced that it would insure £325 billion of toxic assets from Royal Bank of Scotland while pumping an extra £13 billion into the loss-making bank.  After bailing out the banks in October with £500 billion of taxpayers' money, these developments must have worried the government.  Would the public be prepared...

I'm calling today for a further legal review of the Stansted airport decision announced today at the High Court, following a four day hearing held at the end of February, the first day of which I attended the court. The hearing considered a challenge by Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) to the Government's decision to allow expansion to 35 million passengers per year.   In handing down his judgement, Justice Sir Thane Forbes dismissed the three grounds for Appeal by SSE but also appeared to agree with them that their arguments were justified; ie that issues they appealed on were legitimate areas for consideration in planning terms, including noise impacts.   SSE are now seeking a further Appeal as this judgement appears confusing.   The judge appears to be saying that noise is a legitimate area for consideration but then goes on to throw out the Appeal which was based on just such concerns. If this expansion goes ahead, or worse still a new ...

A Norfolk cinema will be one of a few exclusive locations hosting the satelite linked launch of the climate crisis film 'Age of Stupid, at 6pm on Sunday 15 March.  The film is being launched at a solar powered cinema tent in Leicester Square, London and beamed to 80 UK wide locations including the Eden Project in Cornwall, and Cinema City in Norwich.   Norwich Green Party City Councillor, Rupert Read helped arrange the Norwich showing. Many local community leaders and politicians have been invited to the premier.   The film stars Oscar nominated Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking at old footage from  2008 and asking 'why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?'. All profits from the venture will go the 'Not stupid' campaign which aims to turn 250 million viewers into activists focussed on the Copenahagen international climate negotiations i...

As you may know Archant Norfolk is looking to shed 54 journalist jobs from its newsrooms - around a 1/3 of staff. I believe that this will seriously impact the coverage which the EDP and Evening News and the weekly papers such as the Lowestoft Journal will be able to provide. To show your support, please sign the Downing Street petition below: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Archantnorfolk/

Worried about what the extension at Southend Airport could mean for South East Essex? Want to hear about the alternatives for a sustainable transport policy that will enable people to travel in a way that does not endanger the well-being of others or the environment? Come to Southend Library on Thursday 26th March 2009 at 7:30 p.m! Key speakers: Cllr. Rupert Read - Green Party’s lead candidate for the Eastern Region in the European Elections Kiti Theobald - Chair, Stop Airport Expansion Now

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/features/a_goodwin_way_to_bury_bad_news Penned by your's truly! :-)

By one of our Region's main political commentators, Graham Dines: http://www.eadt.co.uk:80/content/eadt/politics/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=GrahamDines&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=zpolitics&itemid=IPED10%20Mar%202009%2009%3A30%3A06%3A473  

I will be going to Hadleigh Green Fair this coming Saturday afternoon. Join me there!! Here is a write-up of it in advance from Ipswich Green Party:   Green Party Members See Green Shoots of Recovery No, not the economy… Spring is coming! Bulbs are sprouting and bushes are beginning to bud. The snowdrops are fading and daffodils are taking their place. Walking in the parks and fields, with the sun shining and birds singing, its difficult not to feel a sense of optimism, and the Hadleigh Green Fair next Saturday (14 th ) should be a   great way to get outside and enjoy the new season.   With the new surge of energy in the natural world I feel a new sense of urgency about the pressing problems we face. According to the new economics foundation we have used 7 of our 100 months to save the planet from catastrophic warming. . . So let's think global and do something local:     Hadleigh Green Fair 14 th March The Hadleigh Green Fair promises...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nJ7LM3iyNg&feature=related This is fascinating and seems prescient. But he is wrong to talk about buying gold, I suspect. The crisis that we are now in is moving more toward survival than toward pointless luxury bits of metal. Buy renewables, maybe?

Goto http://tinyurl.com/c3vs8w ; 47 minutes in is my '1 minute manifesto' for Euro-09!

   Nicholas Stern has famous remarked that 'climate change is the greatest market failure the world has ever seen'. But this increasingly-popular dictum is quite mistaken.  Dangerous climate change is a result of markets working well : because, when markets work well , what they do is ruthlessly exclude 'externalities'. The brutality, 'efficiency' and amorality of the market mechanism is precisely that: sell what can be sold, and grab for free whatever is 'common' to all...  Manmade climate change is the greatest 'success' of the untrammelled free market the world has ever seen. So much the worse, obviously, for the free market...  We need a new paradigm, if we are to save our common future. A judicious mix of strong government intervention and regulation, rationing (e.g. of carbon), and localisation , is the way forward - not the neoliberal nonsense peddled still by Stern and so many others.  Without such a new green economics,...

Here is my excellent green economist colleague Molly Scott Cato, on 'quantitative easing':   'In Japan the government sent money created in this way to citizens, who are likely to spend it and stimulate the economy directly. Here the government buys the worthless assets of bankrupt financial institutions. Since UK plc is not in its entirety worth even a fraction of the debts that were incurred during the decade of asset bingeing this is a policy of despair that cannot work and will do nothing to help us avoid the looming Depression.   'The Green Party has had a policy of Citizens' Income for about 30 years. This would be an ideal way to put more money into the economy, especially since the poorest would benefit most and are the most likely to spend rather than saving. Money created by the public should be invested for the public good. Other alternatives would be spend the money on building hospitals, school and our rail network.   'Let's ...

http://www.shropshirestar.com/2009/03/05/green-protestors-target-rbs/ Wish Shropshire was in Eastern Region! ...  ;-)

A message from my anti-airport expansion colleague, Anne-Marie Griffin: "The Thames Estuary Airport proposal was mentioned in the environmental questions the other night - but Boris ducked out of addressing that particular issue: this would be a good one to push him on in the future. Particularly if they think they can expand Southend/Stansted at the same time. Where do they propose to put the flights? "Boris got very rattled when asked about his double standards in regard to airports and London City: it was the only question he did get very rattled about and I think that was a good sign for us to continue to pursue and push him to re-think his mad plans for aviation in the east." Anne-Marie Griffin Chair, Fight The Flights http://londoncityairportfighttheflights.blogspot.com/