10:10 Vote in Parliament - What are they playing at?

Guardian Article on the 10:10 vote in the Commons yesterday

The fact they can't even agree to a simple motion, which would have shown amazing unity, to the world, and to the population, and in view of the fact that most front benchers have already signed up to the 10:10 target. It's a target, its non-binding and it has incredible value in signaling to the country and the world as a whole that we are serious about this, in a non-partisan way. Particularly in view of the fact Copenhagen is fast coming up.

I was particularly disappointed to see that Ed Miliband voted against it. This beggars belief.. considering he has spoken for it, asked councils to sign it, etc. We would very much like to hear his reasoning!

"I’ve been backing the 10:10 campaign - I was really pleased when the whole cabinet signed up to cut their CO2 emissions by 10% in 2010, and I know the campaign has been going from strength to strength." from EdsPledge

Some resources - The vote on Public Whip which is an awesome site for trying to make it plain and simple what is going on.

where you can have the fun of finding your MP and seeing which way they voted it!

(and they are voting on the first 'motion' not the 'amendment' which 'welcomed' it.)

So, what went wrong? Parties playing off against each other? Did our Conservative MP only vote for it because it was Anti-Labour? Do we really have a chance if big decisions get reduced to this playground level? Answers please :)

Wake Up, Freak Out, then Get a Grip

Wake Up, Freak Out - then Get a Grip from Leo Murray on Vimeo.

this is an awesome animation. explains the feedback and tipping points very well. as well as super stylish!

Can you eat a painting?

So I was listening to a chap singing at the Fitzwilliam Museum here in Cambridge. The setting is amazing. The walls are adorned by fine paintings of great people, in ornate golden frames. The room was filled with people who were enjoying this demonstration of what happens when society has the resources to allow some of it's members to reach the peak of their abilities.

Yet all I could think about was where this was all going to be in 10 or 20 years time. The science about climate change is now lagging behind the speed of the change itself. Reading Mark Lynas' Six Degrees introduces you to the sheer terror of a world blighted by 4, 5 or 6 degrees of warming. We will not be worried about how to tune our pianos or where we can get a tube of red ocher, we will be worried about where our next meal comes from as we fight for resources on a massively over-crowded planet with a collapsed eco-system.

Last year I read a book, recommended by Monbiot, called 'The Road'. It's the most wrenching, tragic yet compelling book I have ever read. Testament to this is the rather frank text I got from Francis when he read it at my suggestion. A post-apocalyptic world where people have to do anything to survive.

Is this really the gift we want to give our children?

I do everything I can do reduce my personal emissions but I have recently joined the whirlwind that is Francis Irving to help create: http://seriouschange.org.uk in order to help effect political change. Join us. Write to your MP/representative to let them know you care (http://writetothem.com).

If we don't sort this out, as Starbuck herself would say, "It's the end of the world".