For those of you not lucky enough to buy the Manchester Evening News every day; there’s been a campaign by them about a possible threat to close the Museum of Science and Industry.  Is it pre-next-round-of-cuts brinkmanship?  Is it an effort to soften everyone up for entry charges?  I don’t know.

What I do know – and it must be true because I read it in the Manchester Evening News – is that some bloke from D-ream and off the telly, Brian Cox, has said that closure would be “reckless disregard for our future for short-term gain.”

Erm, is it just me, or does that PRECISELY describe this city’s (in)action on climate change?

How many organisations have endorsed the Manchester Climate Change Action Plan? (the target was 1000).  Answer; 220 ish.

What has the City Council done to increase that number? Nothing.

How many of those endorsing organisations have got their own implementation plans? Two (the Council itself and its housing off-shoot).

What is anyone doing to get more implementation plans created?  Nothing

What is the “Steering Group” doing? Nothing

What is the Council doing?  Encouraging the totally insane “Airport City” development.

What action is being taken on adaptation (conferences and discussion papers don’t count). Nothing.

Besides endless plugs for the “digital economy,” what is the Executive Member for Environment choosing to write in the Manchester Evening News about climate change?  Nothing.

Who in the Council is holding anyone to account?  No-one (yet).

Unable to wean itself from the “spatial fix” of inward investment, the only phrase that fits the actions (as opposed to the endless boosterism) of the political leaders of our city, a city that used to pride itself on being innovative and thinking ahead of the game,  is what Cox said –

“reckless disregard for our future for short-term gain.”

Our children? They will curse us with every breath in their bodies.