Magnificent Revolution raises people's awareness about the complex issues behind energy: how we use energy and how our energy resources today have a profound effect on people's lives and on our planet in the future. They develop practical, unusual and fun ways to engage people with renewable technology - a key step towards a low carbon economy. We are recruiting for the following four positions to start with us in June. Deadline for applications is Sunday 15th May.

1. Events Coordination Intern – will work closely with one of our directors to support the Events function. This voluntary internship offers an excellent introduction to environmentally minded events coordination and the opportunity to further develop organisational and production skills.
For more info download the document here: Events Coordinator Internship
Role Description
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2. Workshop Coordinator Intern – will work closely with one of our
directors to support the aims and ambitions of the organisation. This
voluntary internship offers an excellent introduction to environmental
education via different modes of teaching, and the opportunity to
further develop presentation and effective communication skills.

For more info download the document here: Workshop Coordinator
Internship Role Description
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e076304784bfff9d&id=e7a0c98fbb&e=8a924a7d74>

3. Fund raising Volunteer - will conduct research and make
recommendations for new funding opportunities and to help with
obtaining funding via bid writing and relationship building so that
Magnificent Revolution reaches, and exceeds, its funding targets.

For more info download the document here: Fundraising Volunteer Role
Description
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be076304784bfff9d&id=f7025c36ec&e=8a924a7d74>

4. Sales and Marketing Volunteer - will advertise and pitch innovative
products to new and existing customers; to identify new markets and
businesses opportunities.

For more info download the document here: Sales & Marketing Volunteer
Role Description
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e076304784bfff9d&id=d04848eea8&e=8a924a7d74>

If you are interested in any of these positions get in touch with
Barbora at volunteer@magnificentrevolution.org

LBH is proposing to build another bridge across Old River Lea between Hackney Marsh, specifically the South Marsh sports hub, and the East Marsh Olympic site. But this new bridge is to be located just 500 metres from the existing White House Bridge and 500 metres from the existing road bridge at Eastway. (See Hackney Marshes map.PDF)

The Old River Lea - once tidal, but not since construction of the barrage at Prescott Channel - is a priceless, unique asset in Hackney and its wildlife should be protected from further damage by construction, tree-felling and tarmac at all costs. (See photos in Old River Lea.PDF)

Sports players have been walking from the hub to the White House bridge in the past, to access their pitches. It takes under five minutes. In the interests of encouraging spectators to exercise, a walk of 500 metres is surely a good thing.

If you agree that this bridge is not only unnecessary, but damaging to open space and wildlife, please send your views to the Project Manager no later than 15th September:
David.White@hackney.gov.uk

A copy to info@hackney-environment-network.org.uk would be appreciated, and help to ensure that your views are counted. Thank you.

This notice is adapted from Mike Trier of the Tree Musketeers (www.treemusketeers.org.uk ) and the Lea Valley Federation (www.leavalleyfederation.org).

Big Kudos to anyone who can tell me [no Googling] which obscure science fiction writer used the title. He was obsessed by P. K. Dick too, man had quite good taste.

Anyways, people from Okcon came over on Sunday, after the conference, and one of them showed me, Window Farms, what great fun and a good mixture of the geeky and the greenie, all in one package.

To quote the BBC website, verbatim:

Monthly forecasting

The weather beyond about a week ahead stretches even the most experienced weather

forecaster. Complex numerical weather forecast models from the Met Office and the

European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) are run many times for

the month (and season) ahead to build up a picture of the likelihood of different weather

types affecting the UK.

So, when your 'government' or 'industry', either national or local tells you that they are going to mitigate, you may reply 'mitigate what, exactly?' If there are man-created instabilities we don't know exactly what they will bring, a good reason to rachet back all our economic nonsense. However, if we manage to break the Atlantic conveyor and our winters start getting really cold (this year is nothing much, think Moscow), this may solve some of our problems for us.

Well, with the sacking of the drugs advisor we see a certain pragmatic absurdity (big tobacco and big alcohol are fantastic revenue earners and a large slice of what we jokingly call 'industry') creep into government's thinking. Science yes, but not if it involves (makes quote gesture) 'evidence' and 'independent thought'.

Why does this matter so much to environmental activism? Well most of the descriptions of the current problems, likely outcomes and remedies are science-based.They are not based on what would suit us (although I suspect that life without cars might be rather pleasant) or pragmatic/political deals with the devil or (our current political/industrial posture) greenwash and tokenism. We're going to actually have to do something and measure it.

Went to Oxford to a meeting at OSS Watch. This is an open source advisory service for higher education and further education. During this, and all the associated anoraky discussions that make these things such a pleasure (to me, anyway), I met Paul who has written a fine apple map for Frome.

I think in the next few weeks, we might think about an adaptation for Hackney or for the whole East End?

Team Hackney's Sustainable Environment Group, on which the Environment Network has 3 representatives, is planning a half-day workshop in October/November to devise a work plan for the coming year. To date (this is the 3rd mtg) the Sustainable Environment Group has considered a pilot carbon reduction awareness raising scheme and the council's climate change strategy. (I will try to embed the papers from the September meeting below, or email me for a copy.)

The coming work plan is open to all suggestions, and anyone who would like to put forward ideas is very, very welcome. For example, the issue of water quality was raised after the last meeting as a possibility. Please reply here or directly to me if you'd like to get involved.

Interview at Buddhist Economics Conference This is a transcript of the interview I gave in April during the Buddhist Economics conference. I've put it here because radical-economic-replumbing (to coin a phrase) should be (my opinion, of course) part of any comprehensive green agenda.

It's the hard bit though, we believe so firmly that economics works in only one way. My central tenet is that exchange and storage of value is merely technology but one that we have allowed to master us, in recent (well, 500 years or so) times. It's within our gift to correct it, if we should so decide.

Actually, Schumacher said it a lot better than anyone, up to now, bringing us back to a Buddhist Economics conference in a predominantly Buddhist country.

Since I've been talking to a number of people about this recently, I thought I'd post it, as well. For example, the goal of an ALMO or government department is to spend the budget by the end of the fiscal year, energywise, anyway this is the 'wrong' goal, a deep defect which will always lead to waste and inefficiency.

Secondly, on the level of saving energy, this observation about the visible meters, is immediately useful and has many wider implications about visible feedback (real-time pollution levels, for example).

Here's a link to the recent book, too.

About three years ago in Thailand, I was talking to Professor Apichai about community currencies, especially the village coupon currencies (which are low-tech, no computers there). He explained to me that some of the national currency  that entered the system to back the currency was generated by the sale of manure. So I've been thinking of adapting this idea to the western city.

Simply put, we make a deal with the council to be credited for the kitchen and green waste that is mass-composted. Them we use the credits and compost for further projects, starting a small but very virtuous circle.

This is unlike Recyclebank because it is large scale and the credits are not used for consumer 'rewards' (which creat other negative externalities) they are used for green projects and, in general, for collective benefit.

I'll post the complete paper, when I've finished it!