tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62993103342965501812024-03-12T19:54:25.112-07:00A Daisy Through Concrete"To tell the truth is dangerous; to listen to it is annoying." (Danish Proverb)Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.comBlogger116125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-25774394100303369752016-01-18T05:43:00.001-08:002016-01-18T05:43:08.790-08:00A morning in court with the Heathrow defendersI just spent the morning at Willesden Magistrates Court for the first day of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Heathrow13?src=hash" target="_blank">#Heathrow13</a> <a href="http://planestupid.com/" target="_blank">#planestupid</a> trial. Here are some initial thoughts on how the first couple of hours went:<br /><br />- There was a lively, noisy crowd of supporters outside the court at 9am, and many stayed to watch the trial itself. The public gallery has 26 seats, but by 11am it was crammed with around 40 people.<br /><br />
- The defendants are facing two separate charges for their <a href="http://planestupid.com/blogs/2016/01/13/heathrow-13-trial-but-who-are-the-guilty-ones" target="_blank">protest on the Heathrow runway in July</a>: trespass in a restricted zone and aggravated trespass. <br /><br />
- Their defence against both charges relies on the idea of necessity – they are arguing that their actions were justified because by blocking the runway they were preventing a greater crime, in the form of climate change and local air pollution from Heathrow.<br /><br />
- There is no automatic right to run a justification defence for these particular offences, it is up to the judge to decide whether it is appropriate. So one of the first concerns for the defendants was whether the judge would even allow them to run their chosen defence, or throw it out at the start.<br /><br />
- Fortunately, the judge has not (yet) thrown out their defence. In fact, she started the trial by clarifying an important fact relating to this defence: to be found not guilty, the defendants would not have to prove that aviation emissions cause climate change – they would need to prove that *they believed* that the impact of Heathrow’s emissions was so large that they were compelled to take action to stop them. <br /><br />
- The judge used this point to argue that she may not need to hear live evidence from the defence’s climate sciece expert – instead, she wondered, could the prosecution and defence not simply come to an agreement that aviation makes a significant contribution to climate change?<br /><br />
- As a supporter of the defendants, I have mixed feelings about this. While it’s helpful that the judge recognises that climate change is real and serious, it is much more powerful to have a live witness on the stand giving expert testimony. I hope the judge changes her mind about this.<br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XMIxaZyiV2o/VpzrvboQ7kI/AAAAAAAAAYA/f11Jpxy1Pec/s1600/CY_4yy5WUAATYDv.jpg%2Blarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XMIxaZyiV2o/VpzrvboQ7kI/AAAAAAAAAYA/f11Jpxy1Pec/s320/CY_4yy5WUAATYDv.jpg%2Blarge.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Two of the defendants on the runway, July 2015</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
- The judge also mentioned the local residents who are due to give defence evidence about the health impact of Heathrow’s pollution. She stated that she did not consider that their statements counted as “expert” testimony because they did not themselves have professional medical training. I’m not sure if that has any legal significance or was just a semantic point, I guess we’ll hear more about it if/when those witnesses give evidence.<br /><br />I left at 11.30am, by which time the prosecution had begun to make their case. They’re expecting to complete their side of the case in the first day or two, because no-one is disputing the basic facts of the case – that the thirteen defendants went onto the runway and disrupted airport operations for six hours. Everything hinges on whether the judge can be convinced that the defendants’ actions were necessary and proportionate to the threat the airport poses to people’s health, lives and property around the world. It’s very hard to tell her position at this stage, but at least she seems willing to acknowledge the possibility of a defence along these lines. Which is a good first step. <br /><br />I won’t be back in court again so keep an eye on the following places for updates:<br /><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/planestupid" target="_blank">@planestupid</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/nodashforgas" target="_blank">@reclaimthepower</a> on Twitter<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/PlaneStupidUK" target="_blank">Plane Stupid</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ReclaimThePower/" target="_blank">Reclaim the Power</a> on Facebook<br /><br />Much love and solidarity to all the defendants. Airport expansion is simply not compatible with a liveable climate, and whatever the outcome of this trial the #Heathrow13 have already done us all a huge service by stopping a swathe of aviation emissions and throwing a spotlight on this urgent issue.<br />Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-37395818410192756572015-05-11T04:18:00.001-07:002015-05-11T05:06:05.144-07:00Despite the election result, most people in the UK want an end to austerityWe shouldn't ever put too much weight on the findings of a single poll. However, there's some <a href="http://www.conservativehome.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/LORD-ASHCROFT-POLLS-Post-vote-poll-summary1.pdf" target="_blank">very interesting stuff in here</a> about why people voted the way they did on May 7th.<br />
<br />
54% of voters want an end to the Government's austerity measures - including more than half of UKIP voters and even 1 in 6 Tory voters(!). This matches with <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e05843de-6423-11e4-bac8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Zp2OwIsI" target="_blank">other recent polls</a> that have shown support for austerity steadily falling since 2010.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A4d3ISVv04M/VVCW_kRkP4I/AAAAAAAAAXo/GzEUdrL3jhE/s1600/austerity%2Bkills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A4d3ISVv04M/VVCW_kRkP4I/AAAAAAAAAXo/GzEUdrL3jhE/s400/austerity%2Bkills.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So how have we ended up with a Government that will now try to push through even harsher cuts and privatisation? The first-past-the-post voting system is the reason why the Tories have a majority on just 37% of the vote, but the deeper problem seems to be that many simply trusted the Conservatives more on the economy. When asked their top three reasons for voting Tory on Thursday, only 49% of Conservative voters said that the party's promises (i.e. their policies) were a significant reason. In other words, half of Tory voters thought that other factors were more important than policies - they just trusted the party more in general, or preferred Cameron over Miliband as Prime Minister.<br />
<br />
I find this both depressing and encouraging, in different ways. The depressing bit is that the Tories have managed - with the help of the corporate media - to set the terms of the debate, present themselves as generally more trustworthy than the other parties, and persuade a lot of people that - whatever you might think of their specific policies - they're just "safer" to vote for when it comes to the economy, jobs and so on (despite the fact that in reality they're actively destroying these things). Many seem to believe they were helping improve conditions for the vulnerable and defending the NHS by voting Conservative, because however bad things were now, a Labour (or Labour/SNP) government would be worse. This is unbelievably frustrating, but does mean that not all Tory voters are necessarily cruel and heartless; many are just misinformed. Not that a Labour government would have been *that* much better, but still.<br />
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The encouraging bit is that Thursday's vote didn't represent the ringing endorsement of austerity that the Tories will now pretend that it did. This is important, because it means that when we take to the streets, the picket lines and the occupations to fight back against against the horrific cuts and privatisations that the Tories are about to throw at us, we know we have the support of the majority behind us. More than half of voters - including 83% of Labour voters, 54% of UKIP voters and even a sixth of Tory voters - want austerity to stop. If we include all the non-voters in the equation, the majority against austerity is probably much higher.<br />
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The scariest poll result is that 41% of voters put "controlling immigration" as one of their top three priorities for the country, and 29% even believe it is one of the top three issues affecting themselves and their family. To change this, we'll need to get out of the echo chamber of social media and into our communities, finding ways to support people who are struggling and to challenge the creeping racism and xenophobia being whipped up by politicians and the media. If we want a different sort of government (rather than a choice between Tory and Tory-lite), we need to start building the kind of society that we want to see. Start by changing people's hearts and minds, challenging the media lies, building new hopeful narratives and supporting each other, and the politics will follow.<br />
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See you out there folks... xxx Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-70335697336082186932014-11-24T08:31:00.002-08:002014-11-24T09:36:37.886-08:00Today's anti-anti-immigration rantI've been getting annoyed by the whole "it's not racist to go on and on about immigration" thing, so I looked at some numbers.<br />
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The supposedly "non-racist" arguments around immigration seem to focus on the "extra pressure" that immigration creates on welfare, public services, jobs etc.<br />
<br />
Putting aside the fact that this is massively over-simplistic (it ignores how the economy actually works, whose fault it is that there's so much unemployment and underemployment, all the tax that immigrants are paying etc.), it boils down to this: a concern about rising population. So when people make these (ahem) "non-racist" arguments around immigration, they're essentially saying they're worried about the UK's rising population. <br />
<br />
But if that's the case, then why focus solely on immigration? Last year, the UK population grew by around 400,000 people (in a population of 64,100,000), <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27972335" target="_blank">according to the Office for National Statistics</a>. More than half of this growth was due to births with only 46% from net immigration. <br />
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This means that all those people who claim to be worried about the impact of immigration on schools and hospitals and the welfare budget need to ask themselves: why is the extra impact of someone born overseas who moves here a "problem", but the extra impact of someone born in the UK is no problem at all? I don't hear any UKIP politicians calling for a slowing of the birth rate to "ease pressure on services", even though UK births account for more than half of the "problem", especially when you take into account the fact that all the people being born are children, who are just a bloody drain on the country compared to immigrants (who are mostly adults and want to work, contribute to the economy, pay taxes etc.).<br />
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So...you're not being racist but... you're saying there's some sort of difference between the UK population being added to by someone from abroad (which is an outrage) compared with someone born in the UK (which is totally fine). <br />
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It isn't racist to want to talk about immigration. However, to use anti-immigration arguments based on the idea that people from elsewhere create some kind of "problem" that UK-born people don't...that's a different matter. Some people might point out that strictly speaking, these could be seen as "only" xenophobic rather than racist arguments, to which I would reply: get a grip. If you're using these arguments then you're basing your point on irrational prejudice against others, and contributing to a climate of suspicion and fear against people born in other countries. The label we give it is less important than the effect it has, which is a deeply divisive and negative one. Whether or not these kinds of arguments are "racist" according to some strictly semantic definition ignores the fact that airing them helps to bolster and promote a deeper thread of racism that runs through our society.<br />
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Yes, I know that facts and figures alone won't do much to change people's minds on this (we also need different, more compelling narratives about <a href="http://www.dannydorling.org/books/onepercent/" target="_blank">who the real enemy is</a> and why they want to distract and turn us against each other with immigrant-bashing rhetoric). I just wish that journalists would ask UKIP politicians these kinds of questions.<br />
<br />
PS Of course, if I actually confronted a UKIP politician with these arguments I suspect they'd change tack and start going on about Eastern Europeans being willing to work for lower wages and take people's jobs, but that's a whole different argument to the "pressure on services" thing that's been annoying me today, and is a route into a whole other discussion about <a href="http://www.dannydorling.org/books/onepercent/" target="_blank">whose fault it REALLY is</a> that there's a lack of decent employment, falling real wages etc. and how there are more meaningful, compassionate and effective things we could do about it than some doomed and hateful quest to restrict immigration.<br />
<br />
PPS Just to make things clear before anyone jumps on me, this is not a rant about population growth. That's a whole other complex nuanced issue that would need an entire post to itself...Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-77304901492370672012014-09-09T09:34:00.003-07:002014-09-09T09:34:48.943-07:00A double-bill of poetic mischiefThe Edinburgh Fringe has passed, and already I'm remembering it with a rosy glow. I seem to have forgotten the hours spent standing in the rain, attempting to find new and interesting ways to say "please take my flyer"; instead, I seem to recall it as a whirl of excitement and shows and smiling audiences. Even the occasion when we got locked out of our venue and I ended up shepherding the audience into a small shed and performing in the pouring rain has become, in my memory, a fun adventure rather than a soggy headache:<br />
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<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KcL3SGeFuow/VA8oy3RFCdI/AAAAAAAAAW8/cFboMwPUTtE/s1600/Busge7RIUAAmNd5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KcL3SGeFuow/VA8oy3RFCdI/AAAAAAAAAW8/cFboMwPUTtE/s1600/Busge7RIUAAmNd5.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />But however selective my memory may be, one definite positive thing to come out of my first proper run at the Fringe has been the reviews. It's usually not easy to get reviewed as a spoken word artist, but the Fringe is awash with reviewers and I managed to somehow tempt a few into my venue, which means that now I can use the following words whenever I want to plug the show:<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />_______________________________________________________________________<br />
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***** "Genuine and passionate, a must-see...makes this serious subject matter not just light-hearted but bordering on hilarious." - <a href="http://edfringereview.com/r/U9tP18iQSUWJuSSXXDx6yg" target="_blank">edfringereview.com</a><br />
**** "Exciting, enraging and inspiring...he changed the way I
perceive activists." - <a href="http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2014-spoken-word-review-arrest-that-poet-pbhs-free-fringe-2014/" target="_blank">ThreeWeeks</a><br />
**** "Infinitely better than Deep Throat Live" -
<a href="http://theatrereviews.co.uk/arrest-that-poet-2014-edinburgh-fringe/" target="_blank">theatrereviews.co.uk</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
exciting, enraging and inspiring tales of his life as
an activist. Am I praising him because its my moral duty to?
Partly, but thats because Chivers was convincing enough to make it
my moral duty; he changed the way I perceive activists. - See more
at:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2014-spoken-word-review-arrest-that-poet-pbhs-free-fringe-2014/#sthash.MqEYqJsk.dpuf">http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2014-spoken-word-review-arrest-that-poet-pbhs-free-fringe-2014/#sthash.MqEYqJsk.dpuf</a></div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
exciting, enraging and inspiring tales of his life as
an activist. Am I praising him because its my moral duty to?
Partly, but thats because Chivers was convincing enough to make it
my moral duty; he changed the way I perceive activists. - See more
at:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2014-spoken-word-review-arrest-that-poet-pbhs-free-fringe-2014/#sthash.MqEYqJsk.dpuf">http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2014-spoken-word-review-arrest-that-poet-pbhs-free-fringe-2014/#sthash.MqEYqJsk.dpuf</a></div>
A top five Edinburgh Fringe spoken word pick for both <a href="http://www.wow247.co.uk/blog/2014/08/06/5-spoken-word-shows-to-catch-at-the-fringe/" target="_blank">WOW247</a> and
<a href="http://www.fringereview.co.uk/pageView.php?pagename=Our+Spoken+Word+and+Literature+Recommendations" target="_blank">Fringe Review</a><br /><br />
Shortlisted for the <a href="http://www.creativecarbonscotland.com/projects/sustainable-production-award/" target="_blank">Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Practice Award</a> and
the <a href="http://www.amnesty.org.uk/freedom-expression-award" target="_blank">Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award</a><br />
<br />
______________________________________________________________________________ <br />
<br />
<br />
For which I am very grateful. I'm particularly grateful to all the amazing volunteers and performers on the <a href="http://freefringe.org.uk/" target="_blank">Free Fringe</a>, without whom I would not have been able to perform at all (to put on a show in one of the paid Fringe venues, you have to stump up thousands of pounds in advance; the Free Fringe, by contrast uses free venues and asks performers for just a small donation to cover costs). Huge thanks also to everyone who came to see the show, wrote about it, talked about it, and persuaded others to come along. Without you I would be, well, bellowing rhyming couplets at an empty room. More than usual.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OcltLC9vE80/VA8rzS-VcbI/AAAAAAAAAXI/1iNWcZYsFnU/s1600/Bu3Cb_6IQAAB_dU.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OcltLC9vE80/VA8rzS-VcbI/AAAAAAAAAXI/1iNWcZYsFnU/s1600/Bu3Cb_6IQAAB_dU.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
So what next? Well, a Very Exciting Thing: I'm going to be performing the show as a double-bill with the wonderful whirlwind of lyrical energy that is <a href="http://www.petethetemp.co.uk/" target="_blank">Pete The Temp</a>. He's touring his excellent show "<a href="http://www.petethetemp.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/eflier-Pete-The-Temp-England-Tour.jpg" target="_blank">Pete The Temp vs. Climate Change</a>", and we'll be performing both our shows back-to-back (not literally) at the Free Word Centre in London on Friday November 21st. If that sounds like the sort of thing you'd like then you can <a href="http://www.freewordcentre.com/events/detail/spoken-word-double-bill" target="_blank">book tickets here</a>.<br />
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Hope you're all well, and maybe see you soon...Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-12872882021822012752014-08-08T03:23:00.002-07:002014-08-08T03:23:53.101-07:00My first mini-review at the Fringe!Ooh look - WOW247 have got me as one of their <a href="http://www.wow247.co.uk/blog/2014/08/06/5-spoken-word-shows-to-catch-at-the-fringe/" target="_blank">"5 spoken word shows to catch at the Fringe"</a>.<br />
<br />
<i>"Danny Chivers may appear to be a foppish young man from Bristol – partly
because he is. But as well as this, he is also a politically active
slam poet who has been chained to a construction company’s staircase and
sued for five million pounds. Danny talks about his scrapes with the
‘powers that be’ (and Richard Madeley) over the issues of climate change
and environmental causes in a show that’s both funny and
thought-provoking."</i><br />
<br />
Particularly excited to be described as "foppish" for the first time in my life. Makes me want to rush out and buy a silk handkerchief and top hat forthwith.Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-73556233077219695052014-07-24T10:34:00.001-07:002014-07-24T10:34:49.576-07:00I've been shortlisted for an award!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ooooh - I've just learned that my show, <a href="http://freefringe.org.uk/new/edinburgh/arrest-that-poet-2/2014-08-08/" target="_blank">"Arrest That Poet!"</a>, has been <a href="http://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/62788-longlist-announced-for-the-edinburgh-fringe-sustainable-practice-award-2014" target="_blank">shortlisted</a> for the Edinburgh <a href="http://www.creativecarbonscotland.com/projects/sustainable-production-award" target="_blank">Fringe Sustainable Practice Award</a>. This award, supported by the Centre for Sustainable
Practice in the Arts and Creative Carbon Scotland, aims to highlight and celebrate
artists who are engaging with the topic of climate change in creative and
innovative ways.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here's the full press release about my show. If you're in Edinburgh this year between the 2nd and 13th of August, it would be brilliant to see you there! It would be especially nice to get a good crowd on the 13th, when the award's "assessors" will be coming to watch the show...</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ARREST THAT POET!</span></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At last, a performer
with conviction(s)</span></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Have you ever climbed up a power station, D-locked yourself
to a construction company’s staircase or been sued for £5 million? Until
recently, slam poet Danny Chivers certainly hadn’t. So how did a quiet boy from
Bristol end up being spied on by undercover cops, battling criminal charges and
trying not to thump Richard Madeley, all in the name of a safer planet? </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Ksoz9-Z9qY/U9FCIuoNo8I/AAAAAAAAAWk/SjEbkOyM9M0/s1600/Image-1(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Ksoz9-Z9qY/U9FCIuoNo8I/AAAAAAAAAWk/SjEbkOyM9M0/s1600/Image-1(2).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Obviously, the only sensible way to stand up to oppressive
police tactics is to turn them into an Edinburgh Fringe show. So now storytelling
meets poetry in this darkly funny true tale of rhyming and rebellion, featuring
insider stories from anti-fracking protests, outrageous mass arrests and a
close encounter with notorious police spy Mark Kennedy. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Feisty,
thought-provoking and politically rounded ... a seriously funny rising star”
(New Internationalist Magazine).</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Danny Chivers has been performing stand-up poetry since
2006. He’s an Oxford Hammer & Tongue Slam Champion, and was a semi-finalist
in the BBC Radio 4 National Poetry Slam. In his first full-length stage show,
Danny weaves together lively, humorous poetry with real-life tales of the strange
events surrounding his four arrests at environmental and social justice
protests. </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"I can think of
few people who can talk so earnestly about activism whilst keeping an audience
in stitches." - Leo Wan, Flipping the Bird theatre company</i></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Danny’s show, “Arrest That Poet!” is part of the <a href="http://freefringe.org.uk/new/" target="_blank">PBH FreeFringe</a>.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Twitter: @chiversdanny</span>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ARREST THAT POET! by Danny Chivers</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Venue: The Stafford Centre, 103 Broughton St</span>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Date: 2<sup>nd </sup><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– 13<sup>th</sup> August (not 7<sup>th</sup>)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Time: 6.15pm (60 mins)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Entry: free, unticketed (PBH Free Fringe)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Half master of
witty banter, half eerily reasonable prophet of environmental armageddon"
- Radio Foreplay</i></span>
</div>
Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-12053178950973842272014-02-20T05:04:00.002-08:002014-02-20T05:04:58.591-08:00I'm doing a two-week run at the Edinburgh Fringe...which is quite exciting. Here's the blurb for my show, which is called "Arrest That Poet!":<br />
<br />
"Danny Chivers is a slam poet and environmental activist. His attempts to battle injustice using dodgy rhymes and D-locks have seen him arrested four times, spied on by undercover cops and sued for £5 million. His new show blends storytelling, poetry and politics into a darkly funny true tale of rhyming and rebellion."<br />
<br />
It's a mixture of storytelling, poetry, and daft jokes, and includes this poem that I first wrote and performed whilst occupying a power station chimney:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ujsCbjsNuR0" width="420"></iframe>
<br />
I'm going to be part of the Free Fringe in Edinburgh, which is brilliant - there's no door fee, you just put some money in the bucket as you leave, based on how much you can afford and what you thought of the show.<br />
<br />
As you can see in the list to the right of the screen, I've also got warm-up performances of the show lined up in Cambridge, Manchester, Norwich and Newport (Shropshire), and should be adding London and Oxford to that list soon.<br />
<br />
Hope to see you, all you fine fine people...Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-74289009587058620302013-07-24T04:48:00.001-07:002013-07-24T05:24:52.888-07:00An interactive graphic showing why we don't need fossil fuels<span class="userContent">OK everyone, this is it! I've been working on this for a long time with the <a href="http://www.no-tar-sands.org/2013/07/two-energy-futures/" target="_blank">UK Tar Sands Network</a>, and now it's finally here...<br /> <br /> Don't let anyone tell you we need fossil fuels to power the world. We don't.<br /> <br /> Today we are launching a brand n<span class="text_exposed_show">ew website that shows another energy future is possible: <a href="http://twoenergyfutures.org/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://twoenergyfutures.org </a>.
Please take some time to explore this infographic, based on the
latest research, which demonstrates we don't need to stay on the path
to climate disaster. We can power the world's growing population and
give everyone a good quality of life, all with renewables.<br /> </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-arn67H0PwXs/Ue_BtdV0xPI/AAAAAAAAAWM/JuZKWizVZNY/s1600/Facebook+image2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-arn67H0PwXs/Ue_BtdV0xPI/AAAAAAAAAWM/JuZKWizVZNY/s640/Facebook+image2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">I've written a blog that explains a bit more about the website and the research behind it, which you can find at the <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/newsdesk/energy/analysis/guest-post-another-energy-future-possible" target="_blank">Greenpeace Energy Desk</a> (as well as a few other places).</span></span><br />
<span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> A cleaner fairer future is possible - let's make it happen!</span></span>Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-23697792791585886492013-07-22T04:54:00.004-07:002013-07-22T04:54:52.511-07:00Exciting new thing coming soon<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">I've just been going through the numbers from the brand new shiny <a href="http://www.zerocarbonbritain.org/" target="_blank">Zero Carbon Britain</a> report from the <a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=48933285145&extragetparams=%7B%22directed_target_id%22%3A0%7D" href="http://www.cat.org.uk/" target="_blank">Centre for Alternative Technology</a>.
I'm using it (along with various other bits of research) to work out
whether it's possible to give everyone on the planet enough energy for a
good quality of life without fossil fuels, nuclear power, large-scale
agrofuels, destructive mega-dams or scary geoengineering. Guess what?
It's totally possible, if we use energy more sensibly and share it more
fairly.<br /> <br /> This is all part of a project I'm working on with the <a href="http://no-tar-sands.org/" target="_blank">UK Tar Sands Network</a> that will be launching later this week, it's going to be exciting, watch this space...!</span>Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-23596370995708989612013-04-05T07:18:00.002-07:002013-04-05T07:18:46.675-07:00Sorry, should have mentioned here earlier......that we won! EDF are <a href="http://www.nodashforgas.org.uk/blog/energy-giant-edf-in-dramatic-climb-down-as-5m-damages-claim-is-dropped" target="_blank">no longer suing us for £5 million</a>. Thanks so much to everyone who supported this part of the campaign.<br />
<br />
But it isn't over. Although we've beaten EDF's civil claim, the criminal charges still stand and so I'm going to be <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/549817328384415/?ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank">sentenced on June 6th</a>, along with my fellow 20 power station invaders. More news on all of this to follow soon...Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-5203785141742092602013-02-27T12:03:00.000-08:002013-02-27T12:05:27.283-08:00I'm being sued for £5 million by an energy giantYou may remember that back at the end of October, I was one of sixteen people who <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/05/no-dash-for-gas-protesters-interview" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">occupied a power station chimney for a week</a>, in protest at the Government's proposed <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/13/uk-dash-gas-illegal-climate-committee" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">massive expansion of gas power</a>. While I was up there, I wrote and performed <a href="http://adaisythroughconcrete.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/so-while-we-were-occupying-west-burton.html" target="_blank">this poem</a>. There's an awesome video of the action on the Guardian website - <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2013/feb/21/occupy-power-station-no-dash-for-gas-video" target="_blank">check it out</a>.<br />
<br />
Last week, the sixteen of us were in court, along with five other people
who had entered the power station but not climbed the chimney. All
twenty-one of us pleaded guilty to Aggravated Trespass, and are due to
be sentenced on March 20th and April 2nd*. However, the company who
run the power station - the French energy giant EDF - seem to think that
this isn't punishment enough for us, and have started the process of
suing us for an estimated £5 million in supposed "lost earnings".<br />
<br />
Now, I've done some badly paid gigs in my time, but if EDF win then this one is going to be hard to beat.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UO4qFBHLzSk/US5husm52TI/AAAAAAAAAVg/1aKjNNtTKiw/s1600/Chimneytop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UO4qFBHLzSk/US5husm52TI/AAAAAAAAAVg/1aKjNNtTKiw/s640/Chimneytop.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Obviously, we don't have £5 million. Despite our glamorous lives as
performance poets, community volunteers and charity workers, we're never
going to earn that kind of cash. That means that if EDF's (un)civil
claim is successful, we stand to lose our homes plus any savings we
might have, and then either declare bankruptcy or be in hock to a power
company for the rest of our lives.<br />
<br />
So we can't let them win. This is about much more than just the 21 of us
- it's about the freedom to protest. If campaigners can be slapped with
lawsuits every time they take part in civil disobedience, then that
will make it much more difficult for people to stand up and be counted
on the issues that matter.<br />
<br />
Luckily, the backlash against Greedy-F's repressive tactics has already
begun - since we announced the lawsuit on Wednesday, we've appeared on <a href="http://www.channel4.com/news/edf-sues-activists-for-5m-an-attack-on-peaceful-protest" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">Channel 4 News</a>, the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/20/activists-police-edf-law-suit" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">Guardian</a>, Radio 2's <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qqc2m" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">Jeremy Vine show</a>, the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9884730/Gas-power-station-activists-being-sued-by-owners-of-plant-for-5m.html" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">Telegraph</a>, the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9884730/Gas-power-station-activists-being-sued-by-owners-of-plant-for-5m.html" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">Independent</a>, and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/zion-lights/edf-energy-british-freedom-to-protest_b_2748644.html" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">lots</a> <a href="http://brightgreenscotland.org/index.php/2013/02/we-must-make-edf-regret-their-choice-to-sue-activists/" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">of</a> <a href="http://nakedvegancooking.com/2013/02/27/no-dash-for-gas-basic-bread-recipe/" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">other</a> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/02/21/edf-sues-no-dash-for-gas-protestors_n_2731691.html" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">blogs</a> <a href="http://www.redpepper.org.uk/climate-activists-fight-5-million-lawsuit/" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">and</a> <a href="http://www.utilityweek.co.uk/news/news_story.asp?id=198197&title=EDF+sues+activists+for+%26%23163%3B5m+over+West+Burton+shutdown" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">magazines</a>. A petition launched on Friday night already has <a href="http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/tell-edfenergy-to-drop-legal-action-against-no-dash-for-gas-activists" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">more than 37,000 signatures</a>, and is still rocketing upwards. We've had support from <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/21/edf-legal-action-democratic-protest" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">NGOs</a> and big Twitter hitters like Naomi Klein and Richard Dawkins, and George Monbiot wrote a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/25/edf-west-burton-streisand-effect" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">powerful article</a> in support of us. EDF's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/edfenergy" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">Facebook page</a> is now a hilarious delight to behold, plastered with sarcastic messages and customers <a href="http://storify.com/KevinSmith/people-leaving-edfenergy-over-nodashforgaslawsuit" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">pledging to switch suppliers</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kaq3q5watM4/US5h-f31HVI/AAAAAAAAAVs/B4vVdeb_5LM/s1600/Activist+Cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kaq3q5watM4/US5h-f31HVI/AAAAAAAAAVs/B4vVdeb_5LM/s640/Activist+Cat.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to Pete Speller for this one...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's all great, but it probably isn't enough, not yet. We need to make this into such a <a href="http://maydayblog.com/edf-energys-reputational-armageddon-5847" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">massive PR disaster</a>
for EDF that they drop this like a hot uranium rod (oh yeah, they're
big into nuclear as well as coal and gas). If you want to help rescue a
performance poet and his friends from financial ruin whilst
simultaneously defending the right to protest and giving an
unaccountable energy giant a well-deserved headache, here are a few
simple things you can do:<br />
<br />
IF YOU HAVE 30 SECONDS:<br />
<br />
- Sign the petition at <a href="http://www.change.org/edf21" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">www.change.org/edf21</a><br />
- "Like" our Facebook page at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Dash-for-Gas/301820216584422" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">https://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Dash-for-Gas/301820216584422</a> <br />
- Follow us on Twitter at @nodashforgas, and help us retweet updates
about our case<br />
<br />
IF YOU HAVE A FEW MINUTES:<br />
<br />
- Please share the three things above - the petition, the Facebook and the Twitter<br />
- Watch and share our two videos - <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2013/feb/21/occupy-power-station-no-dash-for-gas-video" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">this one</a> showing the action itself, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kTZgMIn4Go" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">this one</a> explaining how we're being sued.<br />
- Share your favourite media story about us, from the links above<br />
- Leave some messages for EDF <a href="https://www.facebook.com/edfenergy" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">on their Facebook page</a> or <a href="http://twitter.com/edfenergy" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">via Twitter</a>.<br />
- We have reason to believe that EDF's corporate mascot "Zingy" has decided to rebel against its corporate masters in support of
us, and so is now being held hostage and forced to dance in EDF's
adverts! Show your outrage by joining the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FreeZingy" target="_blank">"Free Zingy" Facebook page</a>, and demanding Zingy's release <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ZingyedfEnergy" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">here</a>.<br />
<br />
IF YOU'RE AN EDF CUSTOMER:<br />
<br />
- Please change your supplier (ideally to a green company like <a href="http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">Ecotricity</a> or <a href="http://www.goodenergy.co.uk/" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">Good Energy</a>)
and tell EDF why - preferably in a nice public way on Facebook,
Twitter, or at the bottom of the petition. You'll probably be happier
for it, because EDF apparently have the <a href="http://www.which.co.uk/news/2013/02/edf-energy-worst-for-energy-complaints-310759/" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">worst customer service</a> of all the energy companies.<br />
<br />
Thanks everyone - any small thing you can do would be a massive help.<br />
<br />
With love and chimney rhymes,<br />
<br />
Danny x<br />
<br />
* Protesters in these situations often try to run a "necessity" or
"justification" defence - i.e., they admit to blockading a piece of
polluting infrastructure, but argue that they were preventing a greater
crime, such as the damage caused by CO<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span> emissions. Unfortunately, it
wasn't really feasible for us to run such a defence in this case as we
were up in front of a District Judge rather than a jury.
As a result, we decided that our time and energy was better spent on
other aspects of the campaign, and so we pleaded guilty to get the
criminal trial out of the way and get on with other stuff.Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-43230135004111191332013-01-21T04:03:00.001-08:002013-01-21T04:03:11.877-08:00A bright white living nightmare<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Walking down the street yesterday, I felt a thump on my shoulder.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I spun round to see a couple of giggling kids wielding snowballs. Immediately, I ducked behind a car, scooped up some snow and fired one back. It soared away to the right, way off target. I pulled a face, the kids grinned back, and so began several hilarious minutes of snow-flinging in which I did eventually manage to get a few shots on target (though the youngsters were way better). Then suddenly I realised: what on Earth were we doing? How DARE we enjoy the snow when, as all the media is telling us today, it's costing the economy MILLIONS OF POUNDS?!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here's a two-minute poetic explanation, filmed in the snow yesterday, with the text below (some of you may have heard this before; it was great to finally get to film it in the appropriate weather!):</span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WK63NmkOTcQ" width="560">#</iframe><br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><b>A billion pounds so far, apparently </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Today
I awoke into a bright, white, living nightmare.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
stared, horrified, as the fat flakes settled gently</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On
my driveway and lawn</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Topping
each gatepost with a fluffy white fez</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Transforming
the hedgerow into an indigestible</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But
beautiful</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Christmas
cake,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And
I cried “Oh my God!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">What
about the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">economy?”</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As
I walked to the park I stared with mounting panic</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">At
the parked cars adorning the street</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Each
coated three inches deep</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Or
with patches swept clean</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Arsenals
for snowball fights</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
almost wept to think of the petrol not being burned</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Of
the mindless tasks not being performed</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In
offices thirty miles away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In
the park, it only got worse.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Children
and adults were laughing together</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Whole
streets united in play</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Great
snowy constructions were rising from the ground</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As
the treacherous flakes continued to fall</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Ramps,
forts and igloos, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">A
menagerie of assorted snow-beings</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Icy
sculptures of ethereal beauty</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Or
lumpy majesty</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">My
head went light and I struggled not to faint</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">At
the thought of all that creativity</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Hard
work and productivity</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Not
being spent on the tedious administrative tasks</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And
the learning of pointless facts by rote</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So
vital to the functioning of a modern economy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">A
newly fostered sense of community</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Of
shared experience and humanity</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And
the kind of childlike wonder</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">That
reminds us that it’s good to be alive</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Is
all very well</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But
it’s not going to revive the flagging FTSE 100 share index now, is it?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
went back home to get my snowplough</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">They’ll
thank me for this one day.</span></div>
Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-15316158494420826872012-11-19T07:01:00.002-08:002012-11-19T07:01:40.217-08:00Making BP historyI was honoured to be one of 200 people who took part in an anti-BP version of Macbeth, in <a href="http://bp-or-not-bp.org/news/shakespearean-flashmob-hits-bp-sponsored-british-museum/" target="_blank">yesterday's flashmob outside the BP-sponsored Shakespeare Exhibition at the British Museum</a>:<br />
<br />
Chorus: "Double, double, oil is trouble / tar sands burn as greenwash bubbles"<br />
<br />
First BP Executive: "When shall BP meet again? / In oil spills, tar sands, toxic rain?"<br />
<br />
Second BP Executive: "When the sponsorship is done / PR battle fought and won."<br />
<br />
Here's a rather delightful little film of the action, featuring me with a beard I grew especially for the occasion...<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/e9cznrBq7rQ" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
This comes at the end of <a href="http://bp-or-not-bp.org/" target="_blank">seven months of pop-up theatrical protests at BP-sponsored Shakespeare plays</a>. The campaign seems to have been successful: the Royal Shakespeare Company last week stated that: <a href="http://bp-or-not-bp.org/news/rsc-backs-away-from-worlds-biggest-corporate-criminal/" target="_blank">“We have no further sponsorship [with BP] confirmed”</a>. Next year’s programme of plays has been announced, and none are sponsored by BP.Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-78991017863794036382012-11-13T04:55:00.000-08:002012-11-16T10:38:12.238-08:00Poem up a power station chimney<span class="userContent">So while we were <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/29/climate-activists-west-burton-gas" target="_blank">occupying</a><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/29/climate-activists-west-burton-gas" target="_blank"> the West Burton power station chimney</a>, while the rest of the crew put their amazing climbing,
filming, solar-panel-building, daredevil rope-dangling and media skills
to work, I sat down and wrote a poem. Hmmm. Here's a video of me
performing it under our windswept tarpaulins, 80 metres up a chimney, in
front of my action companions - possibly the most captive audience I've
ever had...</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ujsCbjsNuR0" width="420">F</iframe>
<br />
<br />
For more info on why we were up there and what happened next, see the No Dash For Gas <a href="http://www.nodashforgas.org.uk/" target="_blank">website</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/nodashforgas" target="_blank">Twitter feed</a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Dash-for-Gas/301820216584422" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>...Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-66266109936182551132012-10-26T12:30:00.000-07:002012-11-03T06:20:15.021-07:00Why we don’t need to leave the gas on<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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This week,
we learned from <a href="http://www.icmresearch.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/10/ICM-poll_Renewable-Energy_Wind_Shale-gas-Oct-12.pdf">an
ICM poll</a> on energy sources that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/23/wind-shale-gas-icm-poll">two-thirds
of people would rather have a wind turbine near their house than a shale gas
well</a>. Overall, 64% of people would prefer their energy to come from
renewable sources, with only 7% preferring fossil fuels.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
That’s all
very well, say the fossil fuel proponents, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">of course</i> we all want clean energy <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eventually</i>, but for now we need coal, oil and gas because
renewables just can’t fill the energy gap. Burning carbon is just a necessary
evil, right? Right?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Wrong. The
“necessary evil” argument is, in fact, a bucket of pure distilled cobblertosh.
Here is my attempt to debunk a few myths about gas power vs. renewable energy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1) There is enough renewable energy to power
the world. </b>This can be demonstrated by a simple calculation. According to
figures from the Centre for Alternative Technology's <a href="http://www.zerocarbonbritain.com/">Zero Carbon Britain
report</a>, it’s perfectly possible to pow<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">er a good, “Northern-style” quality of
life with around 16,800 KWh per person per year<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6299310334296550181#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>.
This assumes that we live less wastefully – with good public transport and
car-sharing schemes, efficient and comfortable homes, more local food and
manufacturing, less throwaway consumerism, less frequent flying, and so on –
but that we also continue to have stuff like fridges, TVs, good public
services, hospitals, sports stadiums, cinemas etc.</span> </div>
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<br /></div>
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Meanwhile,
according to Government energy advisor <a href="http://www.withouthotair.com/" target="_blank">Professo</a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6299310334296550181" target="_blank">r</a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6299310334296550181" target="_blank"> David Mackay</a>, there is enough wind, solar, tidal, wave, hydro
and geothermal energy out there to provide 22,000 KWh/person/year, even on a world of 9 billion people. This assumes that we use existing generation technology only, on a realistic scale, and is still more than enough to give
everyone on the planet a good quality of life. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2) We already know how to solve the
variability problem. </b>The wind doesn’t always blow, the sun doesn’t always
shine (well, it does, but you know what I mean). Renewables don’t always give
us power exactly when we want them. There are at least five solutions to this:
energy storage, demand management (e.g. using smart appliances that only draw
power when energy is abundant), a good source mix (sun plus wind plus hydro
plus tidal), energy sharing between countries/regions, and using wood, grass or
waste gas in back-up generators. According to the Zero Carbon Britain Report,
the combination of these five options is already good enough to allow us a zero-carbon
electricity grid. The best of the five options is probably storage, and so as
this technology improves we’ll be able to rely less on the others (especially
wood/grass/biogas-burning generators, which come with sustainability risks of
their own).</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3) There are perfectly good heating alternatives. </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Buildings and/or water can be heated by solar power, ground
and air source heat pumps, and a limited amount of sustainable wood fuel, with
electric heating to fill the gaps.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">4) The technologies will improve as we go along. </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We need </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">to get to zero carbon as fast as possible, to have a decent chance of avoiding runaway climate change. For example, leading climate scientist James Hansen states in his recent book <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/27/entertainment/la-ca-james-hansen27-2009dec27" target="_blank"><i>Storms of my Grandchildren</i></a> that we can only afford to burn the conventional oil and gas we have already found, and should immediately stop drilling for any more; we must also immediately pull out of "unconventional" fuel sources like shale gas and tar sands, and halt global coal use by 2030. The
technologies we have are already good enough for this transition, but will almost
certainly improve as we go along – allowing us to minimise the riskier options
like bioenergy. The important thing is to get started, and begin moving in the
right direction by shutting down fossil fuel extraction and consumption
infrastructure, and replacing them with efficiency and renewables.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The main
problem with the Government’s proposed new “dash for gas” is that it takes us
in exactly the wrong direction. Yes, we probably want to shut down the coal
plants and coal mines first, and leave existing gas-fired power stations
running for a little longer; but building new ones would lock us into decades
of new carbon-burning infrastructure and shut out the clean solutions that we
desperately need. These solutions already exist, and – if fairly shared - are
already good enough to give everyone on the planet a good quality of life. Don’t
let anyone tell you otherwise.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Much of the research in this article is based
on a not-yet-released project I’ve been working on with the UK Tar Sands
Network and a graphic design team. This will show how the world can be powered
without fossil fuels, in the form of an infographic and accompanying briefing.
Watch this space for updates...</span></i></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6299310334296550181#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> The final page of the Zero Carbon Britain
report shows a total consumption of 804 Tera-Watt hours (TWh) per year plus
exports of 174.4 TWh per year. When this total of 978.4 TWh/year is divided by
the predicted 2035 UK population of 71 million, it comes to just under 13,800
KWh/person/year. However, according to </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/08/carbon-emissions-carbonfootprints"><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">a recent study</span></a><span style="font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, the UK’s CO<sub>2</sub> emissions (and
therefore energy use) should be counted at about a third higher than is usually
reported, because of all the energy used to manufacture goods overseas that are
then imported into the UK. In Zero Carbon Britain 2030, this “overseas
factories” figure should be significantly lower, as many more things are
produced locally and more efficiently; however, to ensure that I am being
absolutely fair and as cautious as possible, I’ve added 25% to the amount of
energy needed for a good quality of life, to make sure it definitely includes
all the manufacturing required. This brings the total to around 16,800 KWh per
person per year.</span></div>
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<![endif]-->Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-56558142374995606612012-08-27T06:41:00.000-07:002012-08-27T06:41:03.605-07:00New poetry video!One year on from the UK riots, and the looting continues. I mean, of course, the looting of our public services by the Conservative government and their corporate allies. <br />
<br />
Here's my new poetry video all about it, featuring me prancing about on the streets of London, fighting back with the power of dubious rhymes. If you like it, please share and help me get this message out there!<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="275" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/48089862" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/48089862">smash and grab</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user12650796">rikki indymedia</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks so much to the wonderful Rikki for filming and editing this.Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-59289750629793593342012-08-23T05:28:00.001-07:002012-08-23T05:28:30.560-07:00Performance video round-upI've got a new poetry video on the way - it'll be here very soon, but in the meantime here's something I've been meaning to do for a while: a round-up of my performance videos.<br />
<br />
Quite a few people have pointed cameras at my wild prancey rantings over the last few years. Here are some of the ones I can bear to show you. If you've been vaguely following my adventures you'll probably have seen some of these before, but probably not all of them. Unless you're stalking me. In which case: thanks! I did wonder where all those YouTube hits were coming from. <br />
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This is the first of my videos that anyone actually watched: it's "Lifestyle Choice", live at the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/apr/02/g20-climate-camp-protest-london-police-bishopsgate" target="_blank">April 2009 Climate Camp at Bishopsgate</a>, London during the G20:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BQcGPcXpCYY" width="420">A bit la<br></iframe>
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A few months later, there was a longer <a href="http://climatecamp.org.uk/actions/london-2009" target="_blank">Climate Camp at Blackheath</a>, and I performed "Risk Assessment" there in a rather noisy marquee:<br />
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Continuing the theme, here I am at another Climate Camp - this time in Edinburgh in 2010, with "Consumed", a poem about consumerism and greenhouse gas emissions (oh yeah):<br />
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Stepping back to 2009, I worked together with Vicki at <a href="http://www.tennerfilms.com/" target="_blank">Tenner Films</a><cite></cite> to make "A Modest Proposal", on location at Dungeness nuclear power station. It went on to win a Limelight Short Film Award in 2011:<br />
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In Spring 2010, I made this video of "Election Day" with the excellent Jamie from <a href="http://pheme.org/" target="_blank">Pheme Films</a> and the sound tech skills of Cameron Hills. Despite being a bit out of date it's still my most popular video, with over 5,300 views:
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As a contrast to that, here's a video from April 2011, of me performing "No!" - a poem about climate change denial - in the <a href="http://www.risc.org.uk/" target="_blank">RISC bookshop</a> in Reading. Even though it's a wobbly handheld camera and it's split over two videos, I'm still very fond of it because the audience participation is flipping great:<br />
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Of course, we mustn't forget the poem that led to my being <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/pete-speller/the-most-intimidating-poe_b_1344238.html" target="_blank">arrested and hit with a £1,500 fine</a>! Well, <a href="http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/blog/first-two-days-of-fortnum-and-mason-trial-b" target="_blank">sort of</a>. Here's "Shop a Scrounger", filmed by Zoe Broughton and edited by Pete Speller:<br />
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/17295443">Shop a Scrounger</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/petespeller">Pete Speller</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Here's something a bit different. As well as performing my own poems, I've recently been part of an activist troupe called the <a href="http://bp-or-not-bp.org/" target="_blank">Reclaim Shakespeare Company</a>. We've been invading the stage before BP-sponsored plays with our own short "guerrilla" performances about oil and the arts. Here's a performance from the Roundhouse in June 2012, involving me in a giant BP-logo-shaped ruff:<br />
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...and here we are again in July 2012, this time at a BP-sponsored Shakespeare Exhibition at the British Museum:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/46239547" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/46239547">RSC at the British Museum</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user12650796">rikki indymedia</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Finally - for now - this is me at Lushfest in July 2012, performing one of my oldest poems, "Don't Buy It". Happily, I think more people have woken up to this message since I first performed it in 2006, but I was at a festival run by an ethical soap company so I couldn't resist (I should note that Lush do in fact fund a lot of great activist stuff, including - ahem - the Reclaim Shakespeare Company, so this poem is probably aimed more at their customers than at their staff):<br />
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Thanks everyone for all your support over the years. If you like any of this stuff, please do feel free to share it around. And, of course, there's more on the way soon...Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-35431752129453088982012-04-27T10:32:00.001-07:002012-04-27T10:32:21.346-07:00BP or not BP? That is the question...This is probably my favourite campaign of the moment, and something I'm proud to have played a small part in. In protest at BP sponsorship, members of the "Reclaim Shakespeare Company" have been getting on stage at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and performing anti-oil interventions before the start of the play. You can watch the debut performance here:<br />
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Check out the awesome website at <a href="http://bp-or-not-bp.org/">http://bp-or-not-bp.org</a>, and follow @ReclaimOurBard on Twitter to stay updated on the latest shenanigans as they unfold. Oh, and if you fancy taking to the stage yourself sometime, email info@bp-or-not-bp.org and let them know...Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-3806260831274267012012-04-18T04:59:00.002-07:002012-04-18T05:04:40.891-07:00Why I told BP to come clean about its interplanetary escape podLast week, I went along to BP's Annual General Meeting with some friends. My story of what happened has now been published by the New Internationalist, here:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.newint.org/blog/2012/04/16/bp-space-ship/">BP, tar sands, exploding drilling stations and secret spaceship schemes</a>Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-80309940429485322902012-02-17T02:59:00.002-08:002012-02-17T03:05:00.870-08:00An Open Letter to the OlympicsThis has been sent off today, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/feb/17/olympic-games-protest-bp-sponsorship">as reported in the Guardian</a>.<br /><br />It was initiated by the <a href="http://www.no-tar-sands.org/category/latestupdates/">UK Tar Sands Network</a> and I was very happy to be one of the signatories. Let's see if the Olympics organisers respond...<br /><br />*************************************************************************************<br /><div id="post-2322" class="post-2322 page type-page status-publish hentry single-page"> <h2><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.no-tar-sands.org/campaigns/british-petroleum-bp/bps-sponsorship-of-london-2012-oilympics/letter/" rel="bookmark" title="An open letter to the organisers of the London 2012 Olympics">An open letter to the organisers of the London 2012 Olympics</a></span></h2> <div class="entry"> <p>Dear International Olympic Committee, London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and Commission for a Sustainable London 2012,</p> <p>Given the recent controversy about the Dow contract, and following the resignation of Meredith Alexander from the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, we are pleased to see that the CSL’s Chair has acknowledged that this has <em>‘raised wider questions about corporate behaviour, past and present, and how ethical issues are effectively factored into decision making,’</em> and that the Commission is going to address the challenge of considering <em>‘new approaches that incorporate a broader range of ethical issues into decision making’</em> in its forthcoming Annual Review, to be published in May.</p> <p>The IOC’s Code of Ethics states that <em>‘The Olympic parties recognise the significant contribution that… sponsors… make to the development and prestige of the Olympic Games throughout the world. However, such support must be in a form consistent with the rules of sport and the principles defined in the Olympic Charter and the present Code.’</em> The present Code of Ethics includes protecting the environment, and the Olympic Charter states: <em>‘Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles’</em>.</p> <p>Bearing all this in mind, we feel that neither the CSL, LOCOG nor IOC have lived up to these standards and effectively responded to the challenges posed by the choice of sponsors for London 2012. This is made clear by the scant attention to sponsors other than Dow, and the lack of an ethical sponsorship policy addressing the broader ethical and environmental impacts of a potential sponsor that could prevent such problems in the future. We are heartened that the CSL is now looking into this, but are concerned about the lack of similar action on the part of the IOC and LOCOG.</p> <p>So as part of the process of addressing these issues, we would like to bring to your attention the question of BP’s sponsorship.</p> <p>While BP may have won its bid with an impressive list of proposals, the company’s ethics and history seem to have evaded scrutiny. BP has long used its sponsorship of the arts as a method of building a positive reputation amongst the elite and in influential cultural circles, especially in London. This has effectively acted as a buffer to soften the reputational damage it suffered in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and will help divert attention from the imminent court case against the company over its responsibility for the catastrophe, which begins in New Orleans at the end of February.</p> <p>Sponsorship acts as a smokescreen, obscuring embarrassing political and human rights slip-ups such as its formerly close relationships with the Mubarak regime in Egypt and the Gaddafi regime in Libya. BP’s positive reputation also allows its investments in controversial new ‘frontier oil’ projects to go virtually unquestioned by the media, the government and the public. Examples include the recent decision to go into Alberta’s highly carbon-intensive and locally destructive tar sands, despite the calls by local Indigenous communities for no new tar sands extraction projects; and the announcement this month that BP’s Russian partner organisation TNK-BP will accelerate development of five giant oil fields in the pristine and vulnerable Russian Arctic, in a deal said to be worth $12 billion. BP’s business model involves continuing to extract fossil fuels long into the future, playing a central role in ushering in irreversible climate change. In other words, it is one of the least sustainable companies on earth.</p> <p>In order to distract us from this fact, BP’s multi-faceted sponsorship of London 2012 provides a number of new opportunities for the company to associate itself with the excitement of the Olympics shared by millions. Yet in virtually every element of BP’s involvement in London 2012 there is cause for alarm as to how it got LOCOG’s blessing and slipped past the Commission’s watchful eye.</p> <p><strong>1. Sustainability Partner</strong><br />As well as furthering BP’s projection of a trusted, well-loved, ‘British’ company, this aspect of Olympic sponsorship provides a unique opportunity for this environmentally unsustainable company to promulgate its own highly dubious interpretation of sustainability.</p> <p>As London 2012 Sustainability Partner, BP is promoting biofuels and carbon offsets as the main solutions offered to the public, ignoring what many see as genuinely sustainable solutions: political and social reform, major shifts in energy and transport infrastructure, an end to the myth of infinite economic growth and large-scale reductions in consumption. Arguably, putting a corporation like BP – which recently closed down its solar division because it felt it wasn’t profitable enough – at the helm of the sustainability agenda does not just slow progress towards environmental goals, it reverses it. Environmentalists have long worried that the co-option of the term ‘sustainable development’ has meant that companies can both continue to exploit the environment while appearing green, and also dictate how governments and society will envisage solutions to environmental problems.</p> <p><strong>2. Oil and Gas Partner</strong><br />As Official Oil and Gas Partner, BP has the responsibility of providing fuel for more than 5,000 official Olympic vehicles. Yet an ENDS Report analysis discovered that over 99% of the fleet would be using conventional fuel, and that of BP’s three listed ‘advanced’ biofuel projects, two can realistically be considered ‘first generation’ (and thus much less sustainable) rather than ‘advanced’. In any case, extensive research has concluded that ‘advanced’ biofuels could not be produced on a large enough scale to meet the world’s current level of oil consumption – we need to start reducing our liquid fuel dependence.</p> <p><strong>3. Carbon Offset Partner</strong><br />As Official Carbon Offset Partner, BP promotes the seductive idea that barely any behavioural change is needed to combat climate change because offsetting effectively eliminates carbon emissions. Yet not only is carbon offsetting considered notoriously unsuccessful as a tactic for reducing carbon emissions, it is known to create many more problems than it solves, by disrupting communities on the sites of these projects. To date, carbon offsetting has allowed companies to rake in substantial profits, while overall emissions remain relatively unchanged, and local communities suffer devastating impacts – both from badly-conceived offset projects and from the fossil fuel extraction that is thereby allowed to continue unabated.</p> <p><strong>4. Cultural Olympiad</strong><br />As Premier Partner of the Cultural Olympiad, BP is able not only to strengthen its existing relationships with the Tate, Royal Opera House, British Museum and other London venues, but also host events all around the UK, including at the Aberdeen Art Gallery, Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and Newcastle Theatre Royal. Within the context of Olympic hype, BP is able to maximise its exposure as a supporter of the oft under-funded arts. However, this is taking place against a backdrop of increasing numbers of people from within the arts speaking out against BP’s long-standing involvement in arts sponsorship. This further entrenchment goes against the tide of those in the worlds of arts and the environment who are coming together to prevent cherished cultural institutions being used as a vehicle for greenwashing some of the most destructive and controversial companies on the planet.</p> <p>Ultimately, to address the twin problems of peak oil and climate change, overall use of liquid fuel must be diminished. This would devastate BP’s business model, not to mention the politically influential oil industry. By allowing BP the opportunity to continue to shape the debate on sustainability, alternative and more effective visions remain largely obscured to the public.</p> <p>For these reasons it is disconcerting to see that LOCOG, the IOC and even an independent Commission has so far let BP’s sponsorship deal go unchallenged. We request that you reconsider the terms of the partnership with BP, and put in place a more stringent ethical sponsorship policy that is in line with Olympic principles and the Code of Ethics, that will prevent BP and similar companies basking in such undeserved glory in the future.</p> <p>Yours sincerely,</p> <p>Tom Antebi, Counter Olympics Network<br />Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians<br />Liam Barrington-Bush, People & Planet<br />Craig Bennett, Director of Policy & Campaigns, Friends of the Earth<br />Carbon Trade Watch<br />Sam Chase, Art Not Oil<br />Julian Cheyne, Games Monitor<br />Danny Chivers, author of The No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change<br />Tony Clarke, Director, Polaris Institute<br />Mark Gee, criminology consultant and writer<br />Tom B. K. Goldtooth, Executive Director, Indigenous Environmental Network<br />Hannah Griffiths, Head of Policy and Campaigns, World Development Movement<br />Siobhan Grimes, Climate Rush<br />Jenny Jones, London Assembly Member<br />Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Greenpeace Canada<br />The Liberate Tate collective<br />Michael Marx, Beyond Oil Director, Sierra Club US<br />Winnie Overbeek, World Rainforest Movement<br />Occupy LSX Energy, Equity & Environment Working Group<br />Robert Palgrave, Biofuelwatch<br />Nick Reeves OBE, Executive Director, The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM)<br />John Sauven, Director, Greenpeace UK<br />Dr Debra Benita Shaw, Senior Lecturer, Cultural Studies, University of East London<br />Andrew Simms, author of Eminent Corporations and Fellow of New Economics Foundation<br />Kevin Smith, Platform<br />Richard Solly, London Mining Network<br />Jasmine Thomas, member of Saik’uz First Nation (affiliated with the Yinka Dene Alliance)<br />Steve Tombs, Professor of Sociology, John Moores University<br />Dr Julie Uldam, Postdoctoral Researcher, London School of Economics and Political Science<br />Stewart Wallis, Director, New Economics Foundation<br />Diane Wilson, shrimper from the Gulf Coast and member of Calhoun County Resource Watch<br />Jess Worth, co-founder, UK Tar Sands Network<br />Murray Worthy, War on Want<br />Kenny Young, founder, Artists Project Earth</p> </div> </div>Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-56282214171832131252012-02-09T04:05:00.000-08:002012-02-09T04:16:24.526-08:00Something's going on out there...Will 2012 see a return of high-profile climate action here in the UK? I rather believe it will, and plan to write about exactly why that is (and why it's so important) rather soon. In the meantime, I've written a short "hey everyone - climate change is still, like, happening, you know" <a href="http://theglobalherald.com/signs-of-hope-on-climate-change-in-unexpected-places/27530/">piece for the Global Herald</a>; I've spent quite a bit of time running climate action workshops with the good folks down at <a href="http://occupylsx.org/">Occupy London</a>; and am looking forward to hearing the latest news from the <a href="http://climatejusticecollective.wordpress.com/">Climate Justice Collective</a> (the network that formed out of the last <a href="http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/">Climate Camp</a> meetings) about the action they are planning for the Spring - there's a <a href="http://climatejusticecollective.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/climate-activism-is-back-and-we-need-you-to-be-a-part-of-it/">meeting about this</a> in Oxford on February 18th which interested people should go along to.<br /><br />Stay tuned everyone, more updates to come soon!Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-70376612375736908102011-05-27T06:46:00.000-07:002011-05-27T06:54:27.342-07:00Hay on Wye Festival!Hi folks,<br /><br />I've got a new wave of tour dates to put up here soon, but here's a quick one for next Tuesday - if you're at the Hay Festival then come and see me in the This Is Rubbish tent!<br /><a href="http://www.thisisrubbish.org.uk"><br />This Is Rubbish</a> is a brilliant project that rescues "waste" (i.e. surplus) food and transforms it into fantastic feasts. Here's their full timetable for Monday 30th and Tuesday 31st May - note that I'm scheduled for 2pm on the Tuesday, and may also be performing at the Tuesday night feast (tbc):<br /><br />MONDAY 30TH MAY:<br /><br />11am - 12pm Breakfast Roundtable: Talk food powers - policy makers vs supermarkets<br />with guests including Andrew Simms, author of Tescopoly. Served with breakfast bites.<br />12pm - 1pm Waste Drama! acting on our waste with rubbish games and waste wordplay<br />1pm - 2pm Lunch Roundtable: Talk food production - methods and madness<br />with special guests including Harriet Lamb, Director of the Fairtrade Foundation. Served with light lunch snacks.<br />2pm - 3pm Is This Rubbish? Re-Writing Waste; writing and performance workshop<br />3pm - 4pm Low Carbon Cook Off Compete and eat!<br />4pm - 5pm Varied Veggies and Fanciful Fruits vegetable puppet making and stories<br /><br />TUESDAY 31ST MAY:<br /><br />11am - 12pm Speak with your Mouthful Food love and poetry play for all ages<br />12pm - 1pm Low Carbon Cook Off Compete and eat!<br />1pm - 2pm Lunch Roundtable: Talk food future with special guests including<br />Clare Patey, artist & curator, Iain Cox, Ecostudio & Martin Bowman, Food Not Bombs. Served with light lunch snacks.<br />2pm - 3pm Food Off! Surplus snacks and quiz with Danny Chivers, legendary performance poet & author of the ‘No Nonsense Guide to Climate Change’<br />3pm - 4pm Tea & Tales with Talia Dream up delicious poetry & eat your words over tea.<br />7pm - 9pm FEAST Dine on delicious discards transformed into delectable dishes in a 3 course intimate feast. Entertainment by ‘Bard’. Text 07966071073 to book.<br /><br />Hope to see you there!<br /><br />Danny xDannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-28983621620875018162011-04-18T13:53:00.000-07:002011-04-18T14:40:13.078-07:00New tour dates for April/May<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">Just a quick post to update you all on my ongoing book / performance tour! I’m roaming around the country doing a rather unusual series of talks/gigs, mixing poetry, tales of protest, climate change news and bad jokes. It would be great to see you at any of the times and places listed below.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the meantime, remember you can read the first chapter of my new book for free <a href="http://www.newint.org/books/no-nonsense-guides/climate-change-2011/">here</a>, see me performing my anti-cuts poem <a href="http://vimeo.com/17295443">here</a>, and watch me wearing a terrifying T-shirt at last week’s BP AGM <a href="http://www.no-tar-sands.org/2011/04/bp-overwhelmed-by-criticism-at-agm/">here</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thanks so much to all of you for your ongoing support,</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Danny x<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">***************************<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">LIVERPOOL, Saturday 23<sup>rd</sup> April, 7pm: Talk and performance at the Next To Nowhere Social Centre (next door to News From Nowhere bookshop), basement of 96 Bold St, L1 4HY -<span style=""> </span>http://www.newsfromnowhere.org.uk/noticeboard/bookshopevents/index.php</p> <p class="MsoNormal">MANCHESTER, Sunday 24<sup>th</sup> April: Talk and performance at the OKasional Café, tbc (email me for more info)<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">CAMBRIDGE, Monday 25<sup>th</sup> April, 7.30pm: Performance for Headstand, at The Emperor, Hills Road. https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=106539526099131</p> <p class="MsoNormal">ST ALBANS, Tuesday 26<sup>th</sup> April, 7.30pm: Performance at Rrrants at the Goat Inn, 37 Sopwell Lane, AL1 1RN. https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=108247199260634<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">WALTHAMSTOW, Friday 6<sup>th</sup> May, 7.30pm: Night of the Green Poets at the Hornbeam Café, 458 Hoe Street, E17 9AH. https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=152139374849507</p> <p class="MsoNormal">LONDON, Monday 16<sup>th</sup> May, 7.30pm: Talk and performance at Pogo Café, 76 Clarence Road, Hackney, E5 8HB.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, Thursday 19<sup>th</sup> May, 7.30pm: Performance at Rrrants at the Olde Kings Arms, 41 High Street, HP1 3AF</p> <p class="MsoNormal">WOOD FESTIVAL (TBC), 20<sup>th</sup> – 22<sup>nd</sup> May, Braziers Park, Oxfordshire. http://www.thisistruck.com/wood/<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">UPPSALA UNIVERSITY, Sweden, 24<sup>th</sup>-25<sup>th</sup> May: Talk, workshop and performance at the “Challenging Uncertainties” conference for Education in Sustainable Development, http://www.challenginguncertainties.se/</p> <p class="MsoNormal">CARDIFF, Thursday 2<sup>nd</sup> June: Talk and performance organised by local Friends of the Earth groups, details tbc (email me for more info)<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">LONDON, Sunday 5<sup>th</sup> June: Performance at the London Green Fair, Regents Park, precise times tbc (email me for more info) <a href="http://www.londongreenfair.org/">http://www.londongreenfair.org/</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">That’s probably enough for now, but there are more gigs and talks in the pipeline for Edinburgh, St Andrews, Birmingham, Leeds, Narberth (oh yes) and of course the Glastonbury Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe. Watch this space…</p>Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-25961083325492078002011-03-02T06:04:00.001-08:002011-03-02T06:31:03.745-08:00It's here!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.newint.org/books/no-nonsense-guides/nn_climate_change_science_solutions_way_forward.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 819px;" src="http://www.newint.org/books/no-nonsense-guides/nn_climate_change_science_solutions_way_forward.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">It starts arriving in shops this week. It's all rather exciting.<br /><br />The book is a friendly pocket-sized overview covering climate science, targets, solutions, history, politics, and what action we can usefully take, all in one handy little guidebook. It's intended both as a primer for people new to the topic (or confused about it) and also as a "where are we at and where do we go from here" update for more experienced campaigners. As you'd expect, I've scattered the text with as many weird analogies, bad jokes, cheeky asides and snippets of verse as possible, and have done my best to leave the reader feeling positive and empowered rather than sunk in doom and gloom.<br /></div><br />We're pestering various media outlets to review it, I'll let you know how that goes. It's already had <a href="http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/02/no-nonsense-climate-change/">a very positive review in Green Prophet</a>, a Middle East environmental magazine.<br /><br />It's available on Amazon, and direct from the <a href="http://www.newint.org/books/no-nonsense-guides/climate-change-2011/">New Internationalist website</a>, but it's much better to support your local independent bookshop if you can. You can find your nearest independent bookstore on <a href="http://localbookshops.tbpcontrol.co.uk">this website here</a>. If your local bookshop doesn't have a copy yet, they should be very happy to order it in for you (why not suggest they order a few more for the shop while they're at it...?).<br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">New Internationalist is a publishing cooperative that puts out all kinds of great books but has only a small marketing budget. That means that I'm relying heavily on word of mouth to get this out there. Do you have friends or relatives who ought to read this book? If so, please put a good word their way (or maybe buy them one as a super-thoughtful gift). While you're campaigning to save your local library from the spending cuts, why not drop in and suggest they buy a copy (this works far more often than you'd think)? Plus, of course, once you've read the book it would be wonderful if you could write up your thoughts in a reader review on Amazon, and of course share it all over the Twitbookosphere.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I'm also launching into a major run of talks and performances to plug the book all over the UK. Why not come and say hi at one of the events below? If there isn't one near you yet, drop me a line on dannychivers@excite.com with any suggestions for likely venues and we'll see what we can sort out.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Thanks for all your support everyone!</p><p class="MsoNormal">Danny x<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Wed 2nd March, 6.30pm: Talk at the Dialogue Society, London on the topic of social movements</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Friday 4<sup>th</sup> March, 7pm: Panel member, “A Million Climate Jobs” meeting, Environmental Change Institute, Oxford</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sat 5th March, 8pm: Evening poetry performance at 6 Billion Ways, London. http://6billionways.org.uk/</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Tue 8th Feb, 6.30pm: Panel member at "Energy Union" event, Darwin Lecture Theatre, Malet Place, University College London</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Fri 11<sup>th</sup> March, 7.30pm: Short talk at the opening night of the Conversations with the Earth festival, The Old Book Binders, 9 Green Street, Oxford</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sat 12th March, 7pm: Poetry performance at Re:Versing The Damage, part of the Conversations with the Earth festival, The Old Book Binders, 9 Green Street, Oxford</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sat 19th March: Climate activist poetry workshops, Visions for Global Justice (Scottish campaigners’ convention run by WDM), Renfield St Stephen’s Centre, Bath Street, Glasgow, near King’s Theatre. http://www.wdm.org.uk/events/scottish-campaigners-convention.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sun 20<sup>th</sup> March, 2pm: Talk and performance at the Manchester University student anti-cuts occupation, Roscoe Building, Brunswick St, Manchester, M13</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mon 21st March, 8pm: Talk at Green Drinks Newport (Shropshire), The Royal Victoria Hotel, St Mary’s Street, Newport TF10 7AB. http://newport21.org.uk/</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thursday 31<sup>st</sup> March: Performance in support of Pete The Temp’s great new poetry show “Pete The Temp verses Climate Change”, Ovo Theatre, St Albans, http://www.ovotheatre.org.uk</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Fri 1st April, 7pm: Book launch event at RISC, 35-39 London Street</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Reading, RG1 4PS</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Weds 13<sup>th</sup> April - Weds 20th April: Various dates to be confirmed as part of the Tar Sands Speaker Tour, featuring Indigenous activists from Canada and organised by the UK Tar Sands Network and Indigenous Environmental Network: www.no-tar-sands.org.uk</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Tues 26th April: Poetry performance at Rrrants, The Goat Inn, 37 Sopwell Lane, St Albans, http://www.rrrants.com</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Friday 6<sup>th</sup> May: Poetry performance at the Hornbeam Café, 458 Hoe St, Walthamstow, E17 9AH. http://www.hornbeam.org.uk </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sun 15<sup>th</sup> May – Weds 18<sup>th</sup> May: Talk and performance sometime this week at the Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth (tbc) http://www.cat.org.uk/</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thurs 19th May: Poetry performance at Rrrants, The Olde Kings Arms 41 High Street, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP1 3AF. http://www.rrrants.com</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Fri 20<sup>th</sup> May – Sun 22<sup>nd</sup> May: Poetry at the Wood Festival, Braziers Park, Oxfordshire (tbc)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sat/Sun 18/19 June: Speaking and performing at the SW Friends of the Earth regional gathering (tbc)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thurs 23rd - Sun 26th June: Poetry at the Speakers' Forum, Glastonbury Festival, various times</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Weds 13th July, 7.30pm: Talk at Warborough & Shillingford WI, The Greet Hall, Sinodun View, Warborough, OX10</p> <p class="MsoNormal">August: Talk and workshop at Methodist Fellowship event, also possible performance at the Edinburgh Fringe (if I get my act together)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6299310334296550181.post-83555091869271264772011-01-12T09:52:00.000-08:002011-01-12T10:01:50.878-08:00Undercover and over-the-top<pre style="font-family: arial;">This week, I was meant to be on trial at Nottingham Crown Court on a bizarre trumped-up protest<br />charge. However, the trial spectacularlycollapsed due to revelations about an undercover cop<br />who had infiltrated the UK environmental movement. Yes, my life has become a dodgy spy novel.<br /><br />I’ve written up the full story for the New Internationalist. To my knowledge, it's the only account of<br />the whole bizarre affair from beginning to end that you can find online. Check it out:<br /><a href="http://www.newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2011/01/12/undercover-and-over-the-top-collapse-of-ratcliffe-trial/"><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Undercover and over-the-top: the collapse of the Ratcliffe trial</span></a><br /><br />Weird weird world.<br /><br />My other exciting news is...I’ve written a book! It’s called “The No-Nonsense Guide to Climate<br />Change”, and it’s my attempt to write an accessible and fun pocket-sized overview of this<br />complex scary mega-subject, combining all the basics with the latest facts and analysis. It goes<br />through the science step-by-step in non-technical language, explaining the key evidence and<br />debunking common misconceptions with the help of (inevitably, for me) bad puns and daft<br />analogies. It then covers climate targets, solutions, history, politics, and the way forward, with<br />top tips on how you can go beyond recycling and lightbulbs and actually change stuff for the<br />better, all in one handy little guidebook. It’s also got a poem in, obviously (I wonder if you can<br />guess which one?).<br /><br />The book hits the shops in March, but you can read the first chapter for free and/or order an<br />advance copy from the New Internationalist website here:<br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><a href="http://www.newint.org/books/no-nonsense-guides/climate-change-2011/">The No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change</a><br /><br /></span>Please do spread the word to anyone who might be interested. I’m thinking about organising a<br />book tour, so if you’re part of any sort of local group that might be interested in a combined<br />climate talk and poetry performance, let me know!<br /><br />Finally, if you haven’t already seen it my poetry video on the government spending cuts and tax<br />dodgers is still online <a href="http://vimeo.com/17295443">here</a>.<br /><br />Best wishes for 2011 everyone!<br /></pre>Dannyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09576844505273423952noreply@blogger.com0