Bill Scott's blog
Thoughts on learning, sustainability and the link between them
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Net Zero Scepticism
When I used to travel to the USA regularly, I was often accused of cynicism by academic colleagues. In response, I usually said that I was merely being sceptical, pointing out that this was an Enlightenment virtue much needed if...
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G20 Green League
Did you see the news of the UK's becoming the first G20 economy to halve its greenhouse gas emissions with the average household using less energy than in the mid-1990s – even when you factor in imports? The UK's output...
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Reflections on Activism in Education
As I noted before Christmas, a recent workshop on activism which I listened to was disappointing. It might have begun by exploring what activism entails (what it is and isn’t) as a prelude to the discussion, but it didn't, and...
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Housing Failures and Mrs T
In our house, Mrs Thatcher gets a reasonably balanced obituary. One persistent negative feature is regret that her policy of selling council houses – which we welcomed — was not balanced by an equivalent house-building programme to ensure a continuity...
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Net zero challenges and opportunities for education
Late last year, I moderated a panel discussion in an on-line workshop organised by NAAEE /GEEP. Net zero challenges and opportunities for education. How can climate change education help achieve global net zero goals and work towards a just transition to...
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New Year Reading
From my various readings over the holidays, I’d particularly recommend two long articles from The Economist double Christmas issue. The first, The Green Man's Burden, is an evaluation of the options available to anyone who'd like to live a “good...
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DfE says that Biology is Real
Glory Be. The DfE has published guidance for schools on sex and gender which says that schools must tell students that biological sex is a fact, whereas gender identity is merely a set of contested beliefs linked to the equally...
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COP28 refractions
Thank goodness that's all over for another year. How effective the meeting will prove to have been we shall see in time, but on balance I remain positive. As good as might realistically have been hoped for, given all the...
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CHMM Blues
The Government aims to install 600,000 heat pumps a year from 2028 as gas heating is phased out. That is, it plans that the public will pay for and install these in their homes. This is not going well despite...
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The Friendship of Models
In a recent Times article, Juliet Samuel argues that a "new modelling army is leading us astray", and that, "be it policy for lockdown, net zero or immigration, it must be ministers and not scientists or analysts who lead the...
