‘BUILD BACK BETTER’: GREEN NEW DEAL NORWICH’S PROJECT TO TRANSFORM THE CITY

Posted on December 9, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Community and tagged build back better, Chris Saltmarsh, climate, climate breakdown, climate change, climate crisis, climate emergency, decarbonise, environment, environmental sustainability, environmentalism, Extinction Rebellion, featured, Green, green jobs, green new deal, Green New Deal Norwich, Green New Deal UK, Green Party, jobs for all, Leon Sealey-Huggins, Livvy Hanks, Norfolk County Council, norfolk network, norwich & district trades council, Norwich City Council, norwich green party, Norwich Greens, Norwich Labour Party, Sabine Virani, sustainability, UEA Labour, XR.

By Sean Meleady

Environmentalists and green activists in Norwich have been coming together to discuss ways in which the city could address climate breakdown, and how, in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city could ‘build back better’. Green New Deal UK’s Norwich hub is part of a nationwide network of groups hoping to combat climate breakdown. Describing a Green New Deal (GND) as ‘our map for a future worth fighting for’, they have five key goals they hope to achieve within the next decade, which they describe as ‘a fork in the road for humanity’.

KANAKA MAOLI AND MĀORI SOLIDARITY IN PROTECTING SACRED LAND

Posted on August 31, 2019 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged activism, colonialism, demonstration, environmentalism, Hawai'i, indigenous rights, indigenous solidarity, land defenders, land rights, Maori, Maunakea, New Zealand, protest, sacred land, sacred sites.

by Lotty Clare

Towering out of the ocean at 13,796ft, Maunakea is the tallest point in Hawai’i, and one of the most culturally and spiritually important sites in the archipelago. It is considered to be the piko (umbilical cord) of Hawai’i. It is also seen as kūpuna (ancestors/elders), and is the home of deities as well as the site of various shrines and burial grounds. Furthermore, the mountain is also an important habitat for several endemic species of animals. If you were to have driven down the road to the summit on the 15th July, you would have been stopped by a line of kūpuna blocking the road with their bodies. They were protecting this sacred site from the construction of a 30 meter telescope (TMT) which was given the OK by Hawai’i governor David Ige. Since then, this group has gained traction, and crowds have grown from a few hundred, to thousands. If you were to go there today, you would find a large camp on the site, with tents, cultural ceremonies taking place, traditional food being prepared, and a community run day care and school.

AGAINST POPULAR ENVIRONMENTALISM

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged canada, capitalism, climate change, coffee cups, corporate, ecology, economy, environment, environmentalism, Erik Solheim, Europe, featured, grassroots, India, levy, Mark Fisher, Michael Gove, Naomi Klein, Narmada, Narmada Bachao Andolan, NGO, non profit, Paris Climate Agreement, policy, private sector, profit, science, South Africa, Tar Sands, uk, UN.

by Scott McLaughlan

The earth is facing major – and quite possibly irreversible – environmental catastrophe and ecological breakdown. No need to panic. The Paris climate agreement was a resounding success, was it not?

On the one hand, one set of researchers estimate that at our current trajectory, we have about a 5% chance of remaining below the 2C threshold set out in the Paris agreement in 2015. On the other, a recent audit of the agreement conducted by the United Nations (UN) made it clear that even if the Paris agreement was to be met in full, it won’t be enough of a shift to avoid a total planetary clusterfuck of epic proportions. In his statement on the matter, head of UN Environment Erik Solheim suggested that “if we invest in the right technologies, ensuring that the private sector is involved, we can still meet the promise we made to our children to protect their future”.

What if the “private sector” is the problem? In order to decode the question we need to be clear what the private sector is, what its objectives are, and the kind of power it has over environmental policy.Continue Reading

UEA: BANKING ON IMMORALITY

Posted on December 8, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged Apartheid, banking, Barclays Bank, BDS, boycott, climate change, climate research, Dakota Access Pipeline, divest, Divest Barclays, divestment, Elbit Systems, environment, environmentalism, Ethical Consumer, ethical consumption, ethical investment, ethics, extreme fossil fuels, finance, fossil free, Fossil Free UEA, fossil fuels, fracking, Green, investment, israel, Israeli-Palestine conflict, morality, norwich, occupation, palestine, people and planet, profit, profiteering, Ryedale, sanctions, Sheffield Students' Union, student money, students' unions, Third Energy, tuition fees, UEA, UEA SU, war, yorkshire.

by Robyn Banks

If it’s not one thing it’s another with UEA. Weeks after their announcement that they’ve finally divested from fossil fuel companies, People and Planet UEA have discovered that the university has nearly £23 million invested with Barclays Bank. This won’t be particularly surprising to most – there is a branch on campus after all – but it shows the university’s ongoing decision to disregard the unfolding environmental and ethical situation of the world it operates in.

SELF EDUCATION, NEW SOLUTIONS

Posted on September 26, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged adulthood, books, Brexit, capitalism, ChildLine, collective action, connectivity, consumerism, conversation, coping, corporations, democracy, disaster, education, environment, environmentalism, events, facts, free thought, globalisation, government, hope, ideology, individualism, information, information overload, knowledge, knowledge is power, learning, local groups, mental health, Naomi Klein, news, No Is Not Enough: Resisting The New Shock Politics, politicians, politics, power, reading, resistance, schools, security, self education, social consciousness, society, sociopolitical situation, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate, Trump, truth, voters, voting, young people.

by Laura Potts

Schools stand as institutions of education, aiming to enhance and aid growth in various forms. Children growing through the school system will eventually leave as adults. However, in my generation, there is a trend away from exploring a key part of adulthood: continued self education.

OUR LEADERS ARE DRAGGING US BACK TO THE COAL AGE

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Student and tagged activism, barack obama, climate, climate change, coal, collectivism, COP 21, corporations, creative subjects, creativity, democracy, Donald Trump, Earth Day, environment, environmental literacy, environmental sustainability, environmentalism, equality, fossil free, free thought, freedom of expression, future, future generations, global warming, government, individualism, media, national interest, paris, Paris Climate Agreement, people and planet, people's climate march, Pittsburgh, progress, progressive, qualifications, selfishness, student activism, trade deals, UKYCC, USA, West, youth movements.

by Laura Potts

We expect time to encourage positive progression, as new minds surface and opportunities ripen. But recently we are seeing more of the opposite achieved by the leaders of some of the greatest western ‘powers’. Last week, the current president of the United States announced the country’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate deal. This will have seriously detrimental effects on the environment and the future of our planet.

THE FAILINGS OF GREEN GOVERNMENT – AN INTERVIEW WITH CARL SCHLYTER OF THE SWEDISH GREEN PARTY

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged Carl Schylter, caroline lucas, climate change, coalition, economy, environment, environmental sustainability, environmentalism, gdp, Global Greens, Global Greens Congress, GMOs, goal, Green, Green Party, Green Party of England and Wales, green politics, greens, Gustav Fridolin, immigration, Isabella Lovin, Jonathan Bartley, Lib Dems, Liberal Democrats, liberals, migrants, migration, military, miljopartiet de gronne, Nato, politics, privatisation, sustainability, Sweden, Swedish Green Party, swedish politics, Swedish Social Democrats, tax.

By Olivia Hanks

There were inspiring stories from Green parties all around the world at the Global Greens congress in Liverpool, but arguably one of the most uplifting came from Isabella Lövin. The Swedish Green Party spokesperson has been minister for international development cooperation since her party entered government in coalition with the Social Democrats in October 2014.

Lövin recounted how, despite being by far the junior partner in the coalition (25 seats in parliament to the Social Democrats’ 113), the Greens have brought about numerous changes in policy: “We have put forward a climate law obliging all future governments to achieve net zero emissions by 2045,” she told delegates. “We also have a broad cross-party agreement to have 100 percent renewable electricity by 2040. And, mind you – without nuclear power!”

EASTER EGGS AND THE CAMPUS CONVENIENCE CONSUMERISM CONUNDRUM

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged beauty, berlin, bins, chocolate, climate change, coffee, coffee cups, consumerism, convenience, Easter, Easter eggs, environment, environmentalism, excess, food industry, food waste, future generations, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, individualism, life, luxury, Milena Glimbovski, nature, NUA, on-the-go, Original Unverpackt, packaging, plastics, recycling, Sara Wolf, spring, student life, students, UEA, universities, Wake Up and Smell the Waste, waste, young people.

By Laura Potts

As spring approaches, so do the grasping hands of Easter and the shelves full of egg-shaped chocolate treats, in a hundred sizes and colours. But the main thing I notice as I walk through the supermarket is the quantity of packaging that comes with them. Each egg is sealed in plastic and stored in a cardboard box, and most come with other individually wrapped chocolates. The brightly coloured decorations upon the eggs and boxes are reminiscent of nature and the beautiful colours of spring.

The great irony, of course, is that the packaging boasting this decoration directly contributes to the destruction of that natural beauty. Through this attitude to resources, companies are investing in a ‘throw away society’, and future generations will have to carry the burden.

UEA VOTES 2017 – ETHICAL ISSUES & ENVIRONMENT CANDIDATES

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged #UEAvotes17, campaigning, elections, environment, environmentalism, ethics, student activism, student politics, students, UEA, UEA SU.

The Norwich Radical contacted all candidates in this year’s UEA Students Union officer elections for comment on why they’re running and what they stand for. These articles are intended to offer an insight into the current and future state of the union and of the UEA more broadly.

UEA Students can vote at uea.su/ueavotes until Tuesday March 21st.

BRITAIN’S FUTURE PROSPERITY REQUIRES REVOLUTION. A RENEWABLES REVOLUTION.

Posted on December 14, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged borders, Britain, british politics, climate, climate change, climate crisis, coal, community energy, ecotricity, electricity, emissions, energy, environment, environmental, environmental sustainability, environmentalism, gas, immigration, international, inter|national, migration, nuclear, oil, ovo, renewable, renewable energy, solar, Sports Direct, wind, work, workers.

By Natasha Senior

It’s high time we talked about our future. Forget about border control or the free market, they offer no insight. If we want this tumultuous, divisive year to mean something, we need to think bigger, bolder and shape our decisions around our vision. Let’s talk about an end to the draconian sweatshop conditions, imposed by the likes of Sports Direct, who have exploited free movement of labour to keep profits high and wages low. Immigration control is a quick fix and a distraction. They will always find a way to exploit and profit. What if instead we did away with these common low-skilled low-wage jobs, altogether. What if we put our faith in British industry again, but instead of labourers going down into the stuffy pits, lining their lungs with coal dust, they were breathing the cool, crisp air on the surface on a wind farm. I am talking about creating a thriving, prosperous renewable energy industry.Continue Reading

environmentalism

‘BUILD BACK BETTER’: GREEN NEW DEAL NORWICH’S PROJECT TO TRANSFORM THE CITY

By Sean Meleady

KANAKA MAOLI AND MĀORI SOLIDARITY IN PROTECTING SACRED LAND

AGAINST POPULAR ENVIRONMENTALISM

UEA: BANKING ON IMMORALITY

OUR LEADERS ARE DRAGGING US BACK TO THE COAL AGE

EASTER EGGS AND THE CAMPUS CONVENIENCE CONSUMERISM CONUNDRUM

UEA VOTES 2017 – ETHICAL ISSUES & ENVIRONMENT CANDIDATES

BRITAIN’S FUTURE PROSPERITY REQUIRES REVOLUTION. A RENEWABLES REVOLUTION.

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