Author: iwin1961
Writer. Communications professional. Policy wonk. Problem solver. Father. Cyclist. I like the music I like and playing football.
Government ignores London’s pollution cloud
London has suffered two major air pollution episodes so far this winter and the Government appears to have ignored both. I have written a series of questions asking about health warnings to the public and advising people to avoid driving in polluted areas. Also, why they haven’t released the figures from a study into deaths related directly to the air pollution episode in 2012. Continue reading “Government ignores London’s pollution cloud”
Do the police work for us, or for the Fracking corporations?
Fracking is being imposed on people by a government that doesn’t care about local democracy or climate change. This has led to legal challenges and protests as local people try to resist, with the police giving the impression that they are working on behalf of the fracking companies, without understanding their crucial role in supporting peaceful protest. It also appears that the police are using all the tools of anti-terrorism legislation to monitor and repress these protests. It is the biggest example we have of how the measures supposedly put in place to protect us are being used to protect the profits of the corporations from actions by ‘us’, the people.
Image by Randi Sokoloff
Continue reading “Do the police work for us, or for the Fracking corporations?”
Iran’s ecology under threat from oil rush
This is a crucial time for the local people and environment of South West Iran, as the area faces an oil rush prompted by the lifting of sanctions. I agreed to host a meeting in the Lords (alongside Peter Tatchell) to launch a new report on the Ahwaz region because it makes clear that Iran’s ecology matters most to its minority communities whose lives and livelihood are at risk. Continue reading “Iran’s ecology under threat from oil rush”
Driving should be a privilege you can lose
Drivers who cause death by dangerous or careless driving could get life in prison under new government proposals, but it won’t be enough to bring down casualties.
Continue reading “Driving should be a privilege you can lose”
Creating NICE pollution free towns
The NICE guidance could have been written at any point during the last sixteen years, from any number of organisations putting the case for incremental change. It is sensible stuff and yet completely inadequate as a road map for local authorities acting belatedly to deal with a huge public health scandal. It is a set of good ideas without any sense of priority for cash-strapped councils. For example, driver training to reduce fuel use and emissions is equivalent to congestion charging for congested areas, while planting vegetation in open areas is alongside parking controls, or creating the infrastructure for zero emission vehicles. All very sensible. Continue reading “Creating NICE pollution free towns”
Green Baroness on pollution monitoring tour
I joined Matt Newell from the London Cab Drivers Club (LCDC) on a tour of London’s pollution hotspots today, using a Chinese made handheld pollution monitor (measuring PM2.5). I wanted to get a realistic picture of what pollution is like for the people who have to put up with air pollution in order to make a living. The taxi trade has become increasingly concerned about the impacts of air pollution in recent years on the health of drivers, their passengers, and the Londoners they serve. Continue reading “Green Baroness on pollution monitoring tour”
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb 