Author Archives: simonbrett
The coalition seems intent on presenting cuts in public spending as a necessary evil. They neglect to recognise that the way we approach the budget deficit is a reflection of the world we choose to live in. You know the story, I’m sure. A fiscally irresponsible Labour government left us in a terrible financial pickle. [...]
Nowadays, it is pretty much taken as read that the ‘glass ceiling’ prevents women from attaining the professional success – and commensurate financial reward – that they deserve. An article by Sarah Arnott, published yesterday in The Independent, reinforced this perspective, describing the “stark inequality” of the gender balance in UK boardrooms and quoting Nan [...]
Below is a piece I wrote as a guest of Birds on the Blog. I found it an interesting challenge to write about a subject potentially so emotive in a way that, I hope, allows people who might be less aware of ecological concerns both to accept it and to find something of value in [...]
I wrote the following column for Sublime Magazine. Unfortunately, Jeremy Leggett wrote one that was remarkably similar. Mine’s better, though, of course! So I’m publishing it here. – – – – – For years we’ve been told that we can live with fewer and fewer limitations on our freedom and our consumption. Climate change and [...]
I recently read The End of Nature by Bill McKibben. The book was originally published in 1990, just two years after James Hansen testified before the senate that human-caused climate change was a genuine phenomenon. I was amazed to realise how much we already knew about the impact of our activities on the planet’s ecology [...]
The more I explore the subject of climate change, the more I notice two distinct (and dangerous) ways of perceiving it. On the one hand, there is the ‘end of the world is nigh’ position, which I am occasionally guilty of lapsing into. At the furthest extreme of this position lies a conviction that human [...]
I’ve been particularly busy this week, and haven’t got around to producing any new material for this blog. On the other hand, I have written a piece for Sublime Magazine on the aftermath of Copenhagen – inspired by this extraordinary piece of journalism from Mark Lynas. I’ve also realised that I haven’t yet posted the [...]
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the likeliest outcomes of the next century or so, and reflecting on how the possibilities they hold out seem to run the gamut from large improvements in the way we live now to total societal collapse. Duncan Campbell, host of the Living Dialogues podcasts, is a keen proponent [...]
I listened recently to a fascinating dialogue between Duncan Campbell and George Lakoff (it consists of three episodes, available here, here and here). In it, Lakoff mentioned that a key reason for the success of the Republican party in the US in recent years has been their ability to capture the imagination of the American [...]
In general, I think of myself as a fairly peaceable person. I’m fairly thoughtful, and I rarely act before engaging my brain. Over the past few days, however, I’ve noticed the red mist descending more than once. The trigger? Discussions about climate change over the internet. I’ve resorted to telling one person to ‘fuck off’ [...]
