Jackie delighted in the strange plants and they explored the diversity of New Zealand, the beautiful lakes and mountains of the south, glaciers, communities, boiling mud pools, Maori dancing, gannets on the wild west coast near Auckland and sailed to an island that surfaced as a volcano only a few hundred years ago.

At Adelaide in Australia, Jackie presented two papers at the International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists.

They went swimming with elephants in the River Kwai, Thailand and – on a sea kayak  – braved the crocodiles near Cape Tribulation, NE Australia. Then they spent a few days in Northern Queensland in a campervan, platypus sightings, sea kayaking, coral snorkelling, a trip to the Whitsunday Islands and sailing in Sydney Harbour.

The final call was a month in India, during the monsoon season which is not normally recommended! They were welcomed to the country by lovely Servas hosts in Mumbai, then headed off south on the Indian Railways which was an experience in its own right (mostly positive). Their stay in Kerala was a real delight, a great place by the Arabian Sea, a trip on the backwaters and a visit to a wildlife park with real wild elephants! Finally they trekked to the Valley of the Flowers in the Himalaya. After struggling up a steep 14 km path, on foot and mule, they saw some beautiful flowers, but were quite ill and decided to come down early from the mountains. A few road blocks later they made it back to Delhi, friends in Mumbai and home.

Home

Earlier in the year there was a country fair at Trelay with shire horses and the first Cornwall-wide Transition conference held there were memorable events.

Their strategic plan for next year includes wind turbines, a large PV roof, a farm shop and a mutual home ownership plan.

During 2012 they have much to do to make Trelay a secure and sustainable venture and we seek some new people to join us and try to develop our farm. They have some great new people, lots of interest and enthusiasm. That should do it!

Jackie’s verdict:

It has been great being back in Trelay – we decided that Cornwall is best: it is paradise with drizzle!

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Lifting the Lid on Menwith Hill: the strategic roles and economic impact of the US Spy Base in Yorkshire, by Steven Schofield
 
Report launch: Thursday 1st March 2012, 7.30pm 

Harrogate Friends Meeting House 
12a Queens Parade Harrogate

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The panel discussed a range of issues including the global economic and environmental crises, the Big Society, the role of charity, the ‘two Indias’ rich and poor – and the ideas of radical economist E.F Schumacher, author of “Small is Beautiful – economics as if people mattered” which called for economies to be decentralized, human-scaled, and based upon appropriate sustainable technologies.

The event attended by more than 200 people was held at Duke Street Church, on the 26th January, and was organised by the Jeevika Trust in order to celebrate the birth centenary of E.F. Schumacher. 
  
Commenting Zac said: “The Schumacher thesis, that small is beautiful, holds more true than ever. We have allowed a situation where our banks have grown too big to fail, single supermarket firms control nearly a third of the retail market and distort policy, political decisions are taken at a level that ordinary people can never influence, and industrial-scale agribusiness is tearing up the planet. The issue of scale is of paramount importance and relevance.” 

Jeevika’s Director, Andrew Redpath  said, “Jeevika was delighted to host the panel discussion on “Is Small still  Beautiful.  Time and again small organisations, human-scale initiatives and local community engagement are showing that things can get done without big government and corporate power. This is as true in village India as it is in Britain.”

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Yorkshire CND has commissioned Steve Schofield to research and write a report about Menwith Hill, said to be the largest electronic monitoring station in the world, which provides intelligence on terrorist activities to both the UK and the USA. It is alleged to scan emails, phone calls and faxes for keywords. 

At present the draft has been read by a few and comments coming are: 

• absolutely fascinating and
• very well written.
• The numbers are a revelation.
• hugely informative
• a remarkable account of the growth of America’s ‘reach’ and strategy since the 2nd World War.

 We look forward to its publication.

He opened: “Spiralling inequality, chaos in the financial world and the Occupy protests force us to engage with economics. A Guide to the UK Monetary and Banking System is about money itself, a subject that has, surprisingly, received little attention and about which there is widespread misunderstanding.”

Selected extracts:

Tony Greenham, Richard Werner and Andrew Jackson, studied the implications of bank-created money through talking to key people in the City, including members of the Independent Commission on Banking, and referring to 500 documents from central banks and regulators.

On receiving a copy of the completed book, David Miles of the Monetary Policy Committee, Bank of England, said, ‘the way monetary economics and banking is taught in many – maybe most – universities is very misleading and what your book does is help people explain how the mechanics of the system work.’

Banks charge interest on loans, necessitating the amount of money in circulation to increase each year in order to cover this interest. The choice is either growth or recession. It was a Quaker philosopher, Kenneth Boulding, who quipped, ‘Anyone who believes in indefinite growth in anything physical, on a physically finite planet, is either mad or an economist.’

The government wants banks to finance the productive sector but ‘the government has in practice no involvement in the money creation and allocation process’. It is not surprising that little of the vast sums given to banks have been loaned to small businesses, which they regard as risky. The banks have invested most of their windfall in assets such as prime property, the value of which is enhanced by Russian oligarchs.

The book discusses financial instruments that ‘are increasingly traded in a money-like fashion, moving around the world at great speed and frequency by investment banks and hedge funds’. The financial elite, joined by African dictators and corporations, have salted away £3 trillion tax-free in secret locations, many – perhaps most – of which are UK protectorates or ‘British Overseas territories’, the City of London itself being one of them. The UK loses £70 billion in tax annually. The value of trade in financial derivatives is ten times the value of all goods and services in the world. No one knows what’s going on but these activities are the cause of global instability and deprive governments of funds to help those in need.

James concluded that the present monetary and banking system is at odds with Quaker testimonies to integrity, justice, equality, community and the environment and called on Quakers to help to develop an alternative to laissez-faire capitalism that relates to real life in all its local variety, provides social welfare, and encourages cooperation, creativity, relationship and play.

A Guide to the UK Monetary and Banking System, by Josh Ryan-Collins, Tony Greenham, Richard Werner and Andrew Jackson is published by nef publications for £14.99.

The whole article may be read here. 

The occupation is a collective “No” to those in power. It is a refusal to forget that the solutions proposed by politicians are more of the same things that caused the crisis in the first place. 

The occupation is the beginning of a conversation the whole world needs. Whatever happens, we cannot rest until we have built a world based on mutual respect for all in which no one is forgotten. 

Several networkers have given presentations or just conversed with Occupy LSX. Now Mary Holmes writes, sending photographs she took there: 

“I know rather a lot has been written and said about Occupy, but I’m impressed with the fact that the people there really do have a very open approach.

 “It is more an opportunity to discuss alternatives than to set out some particular doctrine.”

With a professional eye, Mary noted that the medical tent was much improved  – & less damp underfoot – compared to an earlier visit.

Other visitors included Molly Scott Cato: “the level of organisation is phenomenal – like at Climate Camp” and Colin Hines – whose comment ends this post.

Today the City of London Corporation won the first round in its attempt to evict them from the cathedral churchyard. Occupy London protesters camped outside St Paul’s have vowed to carry on their legal fight. John Cooper, QC for Tammy Samede, the principal named defendant, said said an appeal would be sought on whether the actions taken by the corporation were proportionate: “This is an important judgment. It marks the start of a legal analysis as to the extent of protest in this country. What Occupy have done is push the boundaries of public law on protest.” 

In a statement, Dr Giles Fraser said: “This judgment is disappointing. In a world where there is such a gap between rich and poor, the voice of protest needs continually to be heard. The church must not be seen to side with the 1% rather than the 99%.” 

Colin Hines’ conclusion

Winston Churchill identified a stable society as the balance required between what he termed the ladder and the net. Today the ‘Occupy ‘ movement is clear that the ladder has rungs that need to be brought very much closer together and the net dramatically strengthened  . . . 

In Future Money James Robertson explains in plain language and convincing detail how our money system is propelling us toward the self-destruction of our species – and what we should do about it. 

Our present money system frustrates the well-meaning efforts of active citizens, NGOs and governments to deal with our present ills and problems – including worldwide poverty, environmental destruction, social injustice, economic inefficiency and political unrest and violence within and between nations.  

Failure to reform the world’s money system urgently and radically – that is, from its roots up – could bring disaster for human civilisation before the end of this century.  

Future Money shows clearly how our money system operates and how it could be reformed so that it acts for the benefit of people and society rather than the opposite, and describes the obstacles that currently prevent that reform. 

The world’s financial experts and leaders in politics, government and business, and most mainstream academic and media commentators, have demonstrated that they are not yet able or willing to diagnose and treat the profound and pervasive problems that are directly caused by the money system.

Future Money speaks explicitly to active, independent-minded citizens, including young people, with the hope that it will help them to understand why people committed to careers in almost every important walk of life today find it difficult to recognise the problem and grasp the nettle.  

It shows why we have to take the initiative now, and urgently, to get the issue on to mainstream agendas worldwide.

 -

Introduction and summary: the basics 

Part 1: The historical and ethical background

Part 2: National money reform – model for a democratic world

Part 3: Worldwide money system reform

Part 4: Objections, complications, abstractions, distractions

Part 5: Dealing with obstacles to money system reform

Conclusion: What are we to do? 

Hear more on this video: http://www.ethicalmarkets.tv/video-show/?v=1167

“Tradable personal carbon allowances could make a big contribution to reducing energy consumption and therefore carbon emissions in Britain” – Tim Yeo MP, Chair, House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Select Committee. 

He wrote, earlier in December: 

“As global emissions continue to rise, the latest round of international climate talks are nearing their end in Durban.  The Secretary General of the United Nations has admitted that “The ultimate goal of a comprehensive and binding climate change agreement may be beyond our reach – for now”. 

”And just as in Copenhagen two years ago, even if they do cobble something together in the next day or two, an agreement actually in line with climate science isn’t even close to the negotiating table.  It is painful to see our collective future being deemed too expensive or politically difficult to preserve.  If your economics deems catastrophic climate destabilisation the cheapest option, then surely something is wrong with your economics?” 

Ed: The conference agreed to a legally binding deal comprising all countries, which will be prepared by 2015, and to take effect in 2020.There was also progress regarding the creation of a Green Climate Fund (GCF) for which a management framework was adopted. The fund is to distribute US$100 billion per year to help poor countries adapt to climate impacts. Scientists and environmental groups warned that the deal was not sufficient to avoid global warming beyond 2°C as more urgent action is needed.

The focus must soon turn from agreeing them to actually achieving carbon budgets

“Some are starting to argue that given the ongoing failure to reach an international agreement, countries or groups of countries should just go it alone and get on with reducing emissions.  I can see both sides of that particular debate, but the fact remains that whether carbon budgets are agreed nationally or internationally, the focus must soon turn from agreeing them to actually achieving them.  As yet, I still see no realistic alternative to TEQs (or something very like it) for doing so, so while the political circus plays out, the quiet work of spreading understanding of the scheme continues, through the efforts of our global team of TEQs ambassadors.”

Video conference with Ontario Environment Commissioner and Tyndall Centre

”As mentioned in the previous update, our friends at the Niagara Climate Change Network organised a video conference with me, John Broderick of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Research (UK) and Gord Miller, the Ontario Environment Commissioner (Canada) to discuss the latest information on climate change and TEQs.  A productive conversation was had, of which a recording can be found here, and the Network are pursuing possibilities regarding funding for a regional trial of TEQs, supported by Sustainable Niagara.

Parliamentary report translations for Spain, Italy and the Amazon(!)

“The work of translating January’s Parliamentary report on TEQs into Italian is now complete.  We are now just awaiting the final graphic design before making it available for all Italian language readers.

“A team in Peru, led by TEQs Ambassador Mark Turner, has also undertaken translating the report into Spanish.

“Finally, after a number of requests, I have made the report (in English) available on Amazon.co.uk  However, you’d still be well-advised to head over to www.teqs.net for hard copies at a cheaper price, and free downloads in pdf format.

TEQs will be featured in three new books

“Following on from earlier highlights like David Strahan’s The Last Oil Shock and the Centre for Alternative Technology’s Zero Carbon Britain, three new books featuring TEQs are being published in late 2011/early 2012:

“Already published is Grow Small, Think Beautiful: Ideas for a Sustainable World from Schumacher College, which contains a chapter from me putting TEQs within the wider context of the cultural changes required for true sustainability.  This felt a very appropriate project, as I first met David Fleming, the inventor of TEQs, when he taught me on Schumacher College’s Life After Oil course in 2006.

“The first forthcoming book, Colin Campbell’s Peak Oil Personalities, is a collection of biographical essays by some of the key figures who have played a crucial role in raising awareness globally about the impact of Peak Oil.  David Fleming was invited to feature, but sadly passed away before completing his contribution to the book, so my obituary for him, as carried in The Ecologist and The Times, is included instead.

“Also due out in Spring 2012 is Pluto Press’  What are we struggling for?: Utopian and practical visions for the future, which “collects proposals and intuitions from a global selection of radical thinkers to offer the first radical, yet pluralist, collective manifesto for the new decade”.

“Look out for all three!

Actuarial Climate Literature Review

“We have also granted permission for the Institute of Actuaries to include a summary of the Parliamentary report in their second Actuarial Climate Literature Review, which will be freely available, both online and in hard copy, once released.”

Shaun Chamberlin

TEQs Development Director
The Lean Economy Connection
www.teqs.net
TEQs Forum
TEQs Facebook group
TEQs LinkedIn group

Top Post for 2011 

The Soil Fertility Project: James Bruges and David Friese-Greene 

oOOo

Early this month John Bunzl was interviewed by Dr Nicholas Beecroft of the Democratic Reform Movement which sets out its reasons for initiating such a movement here.

It is already ‘under way’ but will be ‘launched’ in the new year.

The video can be seen here.

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Highlights from John’s Occupy Wall Street. Occupy your mind  

We live in interesting times; I would almost say evolutionary times; times when people’s understanding of the world they live in is struggling to catch up with a reality that has largely left them behind. For the reality today is that power substantially resides beyond the nation-state; the reality is that individual governments simply aren’t in a position to unilaterally influence global events, be it global energy markets, bond, or currency markets. In other words, events now occur in the ungoverned global space, as it were.

And yet people’s understanding still operates largely in the national space. It’s little wonder, then, that they still cling to the out-dated belief that the government still has the ability to act effectively. . .

Rather than competing with one another to remain relatively more attractive to global markets and corporations, and so necessarily favouring banks, global investors and the rich in the process, nations need to cooperate to implement robust global rules and taxes to ensure global markets and corporations operate for the common good rather than just for the benefit of the globally mobile few. Until nations learn to cooperate, then, the markets will continue to pick nations off one by one; until they cooperate, the market tail will continue to wag the government dog. . .

Now is the time for all of us—bankers and street cleaners, rich and poor, protesters and wider public—to start talking; maybe it’s time for all of us to stop blaming one another and start working together to find a way through.

Read the whole blog: http://simpolinternational.blogspot.com/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-occupy-your-mind.html

Pat Conaty 

In response to news I sent of the progress of a Community Land Trust in Bristol, he wrote: “Here is one of the first articles on CLTs in the US where you will see in Irvine, California (where I was at University doing post graduate work in the 1970s), they are developing a CLT for almost 10,000 homes. This is the size of Letchworth Garden City.” I found a link to the pdf he attached: http://communityrenewal.ca/affordability-locked-in .

A further search revealed news about the forthcoming book from its New Society Publishers: The Resilience Imperative: Cooperative Transitions to a Steady-state Economy by Michael Lewis & Pat Conaty.

The reviewer writes: 

“We find ourselves between a rock and a hot place – compelled by the intertwining forces of peak oil and climate change to reinvent our economic life at a much more local and regional scale. The Resilience Imperative argues for a major “SEE (Social, Ecological, Economic) Change” as a prerequisite for replacing the paradigm of limitless economic growth with a more decentralized, cooperative, steady-state economy. 

“The authors present a series of strategic questions within the broad areas of:  

• Energy sufficiency
• Local food systems
• Low-cost financing
• Affordable housing and land reform
• Democratic ownership and sustainability. 

.

“Each section has case studies of pioneering community initiatives rounded out by a discussion of transition factors and resilience reflections. 

“With a focus on securing and sustaining change, this provocative book challenges deeply embedded cultural assumptions. Profoundly hopeful and inspiring, The Resilience Imperative affirms the possibilities of positive change as it is shaped by individuals, communities and institutions learning to live within our ecological limits.”