June 2015

  • Weecly Update 1

    If so minded, you can follow the official outpourings of WEEC 8 on Twitter: @WEEC2015  – but you really should be outside.  Here are a few of the highlights so far (and my indented comments ...) Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson talks about...

  • Introducing, momentarily, the 'Amazon Second'

    Amazon, in addition to selling stuff, is now in the time-shifting business.  From 1200 today, 30th June, to 1200 on 1 July, the universal second, according to Amazon, will be slightly longer than seconds everywhere else.  This is because of the...

  • Another WEEC, another two conferences

    Three conferences in one WEEC – and what to do? There's WEEC 8 in Göteborg at the start of the weec, but enough's been said for now about that.  Then there's the National Sustainable Schools conference in Bristol, and the International Outdoor...

  • On Care for Our Common Home

    This is my first comment on the Pope's encyclical: On Care for Our Common Home.  In a sense, it is much too soon to prejudge it.  I have, however, been impressed by the range of commentators. There's George Monbiot, writing in...

  • More on GM and that Panorama programme

    I feel, in that sense of balance that seizes me now and again, to refer you to Guy Watson, an organic farmer, who has written an article for the Telegraph's Food 'n' Drink page.  Its focus is the BBC Panorama programme on GM that...

  • More about UNESCO's forthcoming GCE Decade

    I wrote the other day about UNESCO's latest enthusiasm: Global Citizenship Education [ GCE ].  I've read the report: tedious stuff, mostly; full of long lists of things like: 1. Key Learner Attributes Informed and critically literate Know about local, national and...

  • Less than a WEEC to go

    I wrote a while back about the best conference I have ever attended as far as keynote addresses were concerned.  There were 3 stunning ones.  I won't repeat any of the detail – but it's here.  Most of the rest have...

  • Another Unesco report – another acronym – another decade?

    UNESCO has published a new report: Global Citizenship Education: Topics and learning objectives.  This promotion of GCE begins:  This publication ... is the first pedagogical guidance from UNESCO on global citizenship education.  It is the result of an extensive research and consultation process...

  • Walking the walk

    Those readers concerned that business is not taking climate change seriously enough might find some (probably small) encouragement from an article [ Walking the walk ] in the Economist which looks at European business and climate change.  It begins: "SIX big...

  • Paris UN conference text update

    I noted back in February that UN negotiators had produced "an early draft" of the text for the climate deal in Paris next December.  Their initial text had been 38 pages long, but negotiators managed to whittle it down to 86 pages to make...