Imagine that you are walking through a forest at dusk. Pine and larch trees loom above you. There is birdsong and a river somewhere nearby. It is spring, or autumn, always an in-between season. And you are tired. It has been a long journey, and soon you must find shelter and sleep. Then, as…
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It’s the evening of the 12th of December and I am with a close group of friends waiting to see in the results of the election. Despite the mulled wine and a few tentative jokes there is an air of tension in the room, all of us thinking about what climate and social policy will…
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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, eco-fascism is “Radical environmentalism of a type perceived as excessive, intolerant, or authoritarian”. When a government uses a threat to the environment to justify autocratic rule and the removal of rights, we call it eco-fascism. Attaining net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 would be easy if we…
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We live in a strange world where nuanced discussion of important topics is typically sacrificed in favour of reductionist bickering, with extremist leaders and the media at large pitting the most extreme views against each other to boost ratings. The BirthStrike message, calling for collective action and a just, systemic- level response to our…
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They say don’t meet your heroes.Perhaps this is because you can’t have a relationship with someone on a pedestal: it’s much easier to worship from afar. When I go to meet Margaret Atwood at the Covent Garden Hotel in London, I have forgotten this wisdom and my head is full of fantasies. I am here…
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People have a fundamental right to be protected from climate change, according to a ruling by the Dutch Supreme Court. Upholding previous rulings made in 2015, the court announced at the end of December that the government in the Netherlands must hold to a promise to cut emissions by at least 25% from 1990…
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Reusable Theatre came into existence in response to the climate emergency, when I asked myself that difficult question: what can I do? As a theatre maker, my instinctive answer was to create a theatrical response, with the aim of spreading the word and inspiring others to take action. I called the piece This…
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Friday 6 December 2019 saw an important victory in the battle to address the climate and ecological crisis. Denmark’s new Climate Act will entirely revamp Denmark’s climate policy by law, and thrust it onto the world’s centre stage by showcasing the only effective political solution: changing the system itself. Eight out of the ten…
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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. 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…
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The van is cold and uncomfortable. We wait outside the prison gates for what seems like an age. My anxiety builds. Eventually I’m led to the main process building. The staff are friendly. I’m escorted to a waiting room. Five other prisoners are chatting. We introduce ourselves. They ask me what I’ve done. When…
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