The Disraeli Room
Environment
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Cultivating Revolution
Havana’s lessons for food localism in the UK
"... The opportunities for reconnecting people to the process of food production are vast. But when considering the achievements of Havana there is one key ingredient that seems often absent in the UK: the infrastructure and state support, and a prominent initiative to provide services and resources to those who want to become involved in urban agriculture ..."
A Green Change
Who to watch in the environmental policy area
"...the people of Brighton Pavillion proved that a green vote is not wasted, as they elected Caroline Lucas as their MP..."
Budget 2010 - Environment
Get ready for the Green Investment Bank
"...£2billion will only buy two-thirds of a nuclear power station and we cannot rely on private sector investment at a time when the economics of nuclear, wind and clean coal do not add up and the financial markets are still fragile. The Government really needs to drive this – as nobody else is in a position to do it.” No good news there then..."
The Climate Conundrum
Why discourse on climate change needs to step away from the scandals - and the stereotypes
"...The uproar around these scandals comes in part as a result of the perception that the environment is sacred and we have an associated duty to protect it. This view places the issue of ‘climate change’ on a pedestal, removed from the everyday and ordinary. For those of us living in cities, ‘nature’ is often removed from the ordinary everyday experience of our lives, which only goes to elevate the pedestal. In fact, scientists themselves hold a rather 'pedestalistic' position in our discourse and so the second part of the uproar/shock is tied to a more general shock that scientists, too, improvise, extrapolate, hold prejudices - or even guess..."
The Local 'Local'
Secretary-General of Co-Operatives UK, Ed Mayo, on how co-operatives are getting the rounds in
"...The pub closure rate has increased over recent years, from 316 net closures in 2006, to 1,409 in 2007 and 1,866 in 2008. The UK currently has around one pub for every 1,100 people, but pubs stand or fall by being local. Research I have put together for Co-operatives UK shows that consumers are less concerned with what drinks are on offer than that the ‘local’ is in fact local..."
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The Disraeli Room is ResPublica’s blog, dedicated to radical, progressive ideas and analysis. ResPublica’s experts, fellows and friends of all political stripes from the worlds of policy making, social innovation and entrepreneurship meet here to swap ideas, debate and provoke.
