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Subsidising spills – British public pays BP $300 million to drill and spill
BP came under criticism this week when it caused a 95 tonne oil leak from its Clair Field into the North Sea. The company decided not to clear up the spill, and wait for the oil to wash further out to sea. The new spill comes as BP no longer pays net taxes to the…
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The new is being born – reflections on Paul Mason’s ‘Postcapitalism’
In these days of constant turbulence, in which what is nonsense on Tuesday becomes common sense on Wednesday, and what is common sense on Thursday becomes nonsense on Friday, I have found Paul Mason’s ‘Postcapitalism’ a valuable touchstone. This is a book profound, provocative and demanding a response. With boldness and a breadth of…
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Power Station Giant Down… and commemorate!
Last Wednesday, at 11am, another giant landmark in the history of UK fossil-fuel power crashed to the ground. Never mind a landmark, this was also a giant seamark that aided navigation at the start of the Thames and Medway estuaries for hundreds of vessels every day. Its end came with two huge bangs that juddered…
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Everything in Motion – of Swallows and resistance to the Lower Thames Crossing
Looking up through the skylight I catch only a glimpse of it soon after dawn. Less than a second. The effortless power of a confident killer. The shape of the dark sickle wings against the depth of the blue. A Hobby passing over the house, flying south down the Hoo Peninsula. It is only at…
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The changing wind – shedding the carbon skin
I am cramming chocolate into your mouth. I feel the dampness of your lips against my fingertips and see the brown squares tumble into the darkness. It takes seconds to complete the task, but the time draws out, slows down. All around is mayhem. The wind makes the shrouds howl. The sound thrusts a…
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“Unprecedented Change”? What does a corporation in transition look like? – notes from the Shell AGM 2016
“Innovation and care are in our DNA”, says the soft female voice-over that accompanies the new promotional video by Shell. We, the attendees at the corporation’s 2016 Annual General Meeting in the Circus Theater, Scheveningen, sit comfortably in our red velvet seats watching the massive screen above the heads of the Shell directors on the…
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Ffos-y-Fran and Nant Llseg – the struggle to #keepitintheground
On the morning of 3rd May 2016 there was a successful occupation at the Ffos-y-Fran opencast mine in South Wales by Reclaim the Power. This blog was written in the build up to that action. We’re heading for our tent in the incessant drizzle, weaving between clusters of newly sprouted tents and trying hard to…
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Drawing Red Lines – from Paris to Ffos-y-fran
I watched the twitter feed and followed the news early last December filled with a mixture of excitement at what unfolded in Paris and mild envy of companions who were immersed in the ebb and flow of events around COP 21, the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC. As the reports of the…
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“You come from the premise that we are guilty already” – notes from the BP AGM 2016
Bob Dudley, Chief Executive, who appears tired, pale and jowly, looks up from his notes and addresses a set of questions that have been put to the Board. This particular set from delegates at the Annual General Meeting of BP, are grouped together under the bracket of ‘concerned with climate change’. He peers out at…
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New opinion poll: 2/3 of Londoners ration their heating; 3/4 want mayor who cuts bills
New opinion poll reveals Londoners’ anger over high energy bills 2/3 of Londoners rationed their heating due to high bills 3/4 of Londoners want a Mayor who will lower bills New polling conducted by Switched on London reveals that 87% of Londoners feel they are paying too much for their energy and there is cross-party…