Hi all,
with a truly awe-inspiring efficiency the confirmation of invites for the Stakeholder “conference” (3.5 hours, including Leese, Liverpool and Leeds) have gone out. People have been given… three weeks notice for the “event” which happens on the afternoon of March 4th. #epicfail.
Sadly, we have been told we are banned from attending. So it goes. We’d like to quote the aphorism from Marx (Groucho Marx, that is), that “we wouldn’t be the member of any club that would have us as a member.” Still and all, there’s a principle at stake here – who gets to be a stakeholder? Who decides that? We, perhaps immodestly, think that we’ve done more work than some in trying to get Manchester moving on climate. For instance, in a normal week we put up as much content (written by us and others), as the Steering Group – led as it is by a maestro of public relations – has managed in… two years. #epicfail.
Watch the next post for a few more questions on all this…
See you at the coalface.
Arwa Aburawa and Marc Hudson
Coming up this week
Mon 11th, 7pm AGM of Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign at Friends Meeting House, Mount Street, M2 5NS, close to Manchester Town Hall.
Tues 12, 6.45pm to 9pm Manchester Friends of the Earth Full Group Meeting, Greenfish Resource Centre, Oldham St. http://manchesterfoe.org.uk/
Tuesday 12th, 7.00–9.00pm — and the same time each following Tuesday — Manchester Green Party and Manchester Young Greens members, friends and supporters meet at Kro Bar, 325 Oxford Road (opposite the University of Manchester students union building). There’s no agenda — just meet, talk, share information & ideas.
Weds 13, 6pm ‘Does the UK have a credible Strategy for Energy: What is the Future of Nuclear Power?’ Professor Martin Freer
The UK faces a major challenge in reshaping its energy portfolio to meet climate change targets, replacing oil and coal and the existing nuclear power stations. Renewables will be part of the picture but are expensive and involve the simultaneous construction of back-up power systems. The development of shale gas resources could place the UK in the top twenty nations in terms of reserves and might suggest that gas should be the solution but carbon capture and storage remains problematic. It would thus seem there is an important role for nuclear power (if acceptable to public opinion post-Fukushima) but the time-scales are very challenging.
ManDec – Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
3rd Floor University of Manchester Dental Hospital
Higher Cambridge Street
Manchester
M15 6FH
Stories you may have missed on the MCFly website
- Upcoming Event: AfSL stall in #Manchester Arndale Sat 9th March. Volunteers needed…
- Upcoming Training: “Making Science Communication Funny” £45. #Manchester, Fri 22nd Feb
- Upcoming Event: Geek Fun Fair, #Manchester @madlabuk Thurs 28 Feb.
- Razing trees and credibility: Alexandra Park protest, Sat 9th February #Manchester #mcc #insultation #consultation
- The Onion: “2012 Was Once Considered Hottest Year On Record, Man In 2024 Remembers Wistfully” #Manchester #acretinfuture
- Upcoming Event: Steady State #Manchester at Ragged University, Tues 19th Feb, Castle Hotel,
- The Year Ahead – Carbon Co-op
- “News” “flash”: MCFly editors not welcome at “Stakeholder” “Conference” – was it something we said? #Manchester #climate #farce
- We Need To Talk Beyond Kevin
- Guardian: “Has the axe fallen on the Green Spaces of #Manchester?”
- PMT #6: How to keep morale up among existing activists? #Manchester #climate #movement-building
- #Manchester City Council’s latest de-pressing #climate blunder
Local news
Mancunian Matters on the trust cost of Metrolink
Jan 30th – International companies “poised” to take space at Airport City
International news
Stephen Chu (Obama’s Energy Secretary) resigns and tells it like it is
Things to read while the algae grows on your fur
“Being Green Has Nothing to do with Wealth” (as in, gosh, poor people give a damn. Who knew?)
Dave Pollard has a map of the politics of climate thought
manchester climate monthly 
‘Manchester – A Certain Future’, is an apt title for what Manchester City Council is doing and what they are failing to do. The Future is certainly going to very bleak within a few years, not decades. The climate and the atmosphere will become totally hostile for the human, we could be headed the way of the dinosaurs.