December 2020

  • December 21st – a Happier New Year

    It's the winter solstice today – at 1002 in Greenwich.  This is the day I look forward to more and more as I get older; the day when the world begins its new year even if we humans are forced...

  • Vaccination, GMOs and the EU

    Some of the most promising anti-Covid vaccines under development Covid-19 use a form of genetic modification.  For example, the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is based on a virus that infects chimpanzees where some of its genetic instructions have been altered.  But hang on,...

  • When the wind fails to blow

    Pity National Grid managers the other week when the country was blanketed by thick cloud and the wind was barely above a breath.  At 0830 coal was already being burnt in power stations to keep the lights on and trains...

  • The Chicago Principles

    Now and again you come across a statement that is so important that it demands attention and celebration.  One such is the report on freedom of expression by the University of Chicago.  This is the background. The Committee on Freedom...

  • Ashden's zero carbon 2030 journey

    This email arrived on Wednesday Dear Bill, Lots of us remember the misery of a dreary, draughty classroom, or struggling to keep our eyes open in overheated, stuffy rooms. But inefficient school buildings and heating don’t only make lessons uncomfortable...

  • Is there harmony about Harmony?

    There was a webinar last night: Teach the Future meets the Harmony Project.   The event was supposed to be looking at systems change in education, asking what an ideal education system looks like and how we can get there, but it...

  • Ofsted Head commandeers attention

    The Head of Ofsted launched the organisation's annual report on Tuesday.  You can read what she said here (it's not long), and read the actual report here  (very much longer).  There was a report in the Guardian.  Understandably, most people saw...

  • Tbilisi 1977

    2017 saw the 40th anniversary of the Tbilisi conference and associated declaration which offered environmental educators everywhere such hope and promise for the future.  Now that the future is here, it's clear that the promise is unfulfilled. The Tbilisi Declaration...