Hi Readers,

Thank you for your many letters offering support and suggestions for The Hourglass newspaper. Here’s a selection of some of the comments you’ve sent in.

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Hello. Just a quick thanks to whichever lovely person decided to put the BSL (British Sign Language) sign for ‘help’ on the back page. It makes someone like me (a Deaf BSL user) very happy to be included in this movement. Thanks

Anon UK

The back page artwork was designed by Charlie Waterhouse of the XR Art team. Glad you liked it! – Ed

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Dear Sir,

I find myself in agreement with most of Donnachadh McCarthy’s article (Nov 2019) on how the creation of a national cycleway network would be the single most effective solution to the carbon emissions causing the climate crisis.

In Copenhagen and Amsterdam, about 50% of all urban journeys are taken by bike, because they have direct, safe and continuous cycleways. Here in West Sussex we are campaigning for a direct cycle route between Havant and Chichester. Unbelievably, at the present time there is no continuous cycle lane between these two cities, even though they are only 11 miles apart! We need a big UK-wide investment in cycle lanes.

However, the one thing the article got wrong is the calculations on
the carbon emissions of electric vehicles. According to ‘How Green are Bananas, the Carbon footprint of Everything’ by Mike Berners-Lee, it costs 6000 KgCO2 to manufacture a small car, whether it is petrol or electric. The carbon footprint of running an electric car powered by electricity from, say, Good Energy (100% renewable) will save you about 3000 KgCO2 per year if you travel 10000 miles p.a. (Petrol cars emit about 0.31 KgCO2 per mile).
So an electric car pays back the carbon footprint of its manufacture in about 2-3 years.

Yours Faithfully,

Andrew Gould Bosham, W Sussex

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Hi, I picked up a copy of the Hourglass newspaper by chance and was mightily impressed!

Many thanks & best wishes,

Russ Berry Coventry, West Midlands

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Dear Left-Wing Politician,

I’m not a politician, nor a person who has been involved in a lot of political discussion with people of your stature. But, I try my best to understand current events, so please do correct me if I am wrong in anything that I suggest.

Obviously, together we are devastated by the results of the last election. People are clearly scared of what the future holds; what will become of our NHS, how people earning less than minimum wage or are unemployed will be able to close the gap with those above them, and what has happened to basic ethical values.

Somehow the view of left-wing politics has been skewed by those who opposed them, painting a picture of old style communism, and socialism that will do the exact opposite of what socialism stands for.

There are certainly enough of us that share similar left-wing values. Many of us that seek a different future to what we are being given, and believe that this is attainable through honest discussion of the issues we face. There are enough of us to gain the majority. So why don’t we?

I put some of the blame down to the division in our parties. We split ourselves, and so our votes are cast far and wide. I respect each party on the left side of the political spectrum, and I would hope to cast a vote for each one.

Right-wing believers have one strong party to get behind.

So let’s unify our ideas, unify our beliefs, and gain the majority under one banner. We are one split consciousness that could become one unified party for a better tomorrow.

If not, we’ll forever remain divided, letting those in power reign for too long.

I hope it’s not too late for us to make a difference.

Regards,

Adam Martin Moseley, Birmingham

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Dear Hourglass Editors,

I came across your newspaper at a tube station while staying in London and just wanted to email you to say THANK YOU for getting this vital information out there. Now more than ever we need to take back the media from the fools who have taken hold of it. Please let me know how I can send you a donation to support your great work.

Yours Beth

Hants

Hi Beth,
Please send donations to support our climate reporting to the main site at: https:// chuffed.org/project/ extinctionrebellion – Ed

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Hello Hourglass team,

I showed your newspaper to my father, who doesn’t use social media, but read the paper cover to cover and then asked for more issues. Well done and please let me know how I can spread the word far and wide.

Maria

Camden Town, London

Hi Maria,
We’re so glad you and your father enjoyed the newspaper. The Hourglass is distributed by regional volunteers, so the best way to coordinate this is to get in touch with your local Extinction Rebellion group, or email distributionxrnewspaper@ gmail.com to find out who coordinates distribution in your area. Back issues can also be accessed online at hourglass.news – Ed

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