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Bagpuss and Political Reality

  bagpuss 
  Originally uploaded by sanyasi.

Oliver Postgate put an interesting and provocative advert in the Guardian this week.

I only recognised his name because he's the guy who invented Bagpuss, the Clangers and Noggin the Nog. Not only were these favourites of mine as a child, but I remember my Mum had a professional respect for him given her own activities as a soft toy designer for BBC shows.

His ad had a simple idea. As a child he can remember the gasman banning the use of the family gas fire because it was emitting deadly carbon monoxide. They had a miserable, cold, winter. But at least they weren't dead. Now, given the problem with greenhouse gases, we need a global gasman before it's too late. He doesn't shy away from the consequences (recession, petrol coupons, misery). But at least we'll live.

His site is full of equally passionate and opinionated stuff (the piece on Political Reality is worth reading). And, incongruously, links to buy videos of Ivor the Engine.

Blood, Gore and Sustainable Investment

I went to an interesting seminar last night hosted by David Blood. He's recently set up Generation Investment Management with Al Gore to focus on sustainable investing.

I hadn't appreciated the difference between socially responsible investing (investing in important projects that may not have an appropriate economic return) and sustainable investing (investing for the long term in projects or assets that think carefully about their environmental, social and geopolitical impact).

I had a few minutes of feeling disappointed: I'd thought that this was a form of corporate altruism that would invest in worthy projects, but found it was 'just' an investment management philosophy. But I was soon really intrigued.

In a world that is becoming flatter, Generation indicates that the capital markets are starting to respond to the fact that we are increasingly inter-connected. Their belief is that over the long run companies who think holistically about their activities, and their impact on the planet, will generate superior financial returns. If they can also attract money from investors who are starting to become concerned by the same issues then a virtuous circle can be created.

Given that capitalism has won, this is a nascent but really hopeful development. It may be the start of a tangible economic incentives to save the planet which could really work.

The event was partly organised by the HBS London chapter, but also by a group I'd never heard of: NetImpact . I know that all this is fashionably zeitgeisty at the moment, but it's encouraging all the same.

An Inconvenient Truth

If you haven't seen the Al Gore movie about climate change, you should.

It's an unusual movie (it's mostly a filmed powerpoint presentation). But the argument that global warming is real, dangerous, and risks getting out of control is powerfully made. Scary, in fact.

I'd seen Gore give the presentation live at TED, and he's even better in person.  We also interviewed last night him for a slot on Yahoo! Answers in the UK next week.

The challenge is what to do about it. We're going to try and make our new house a bit greener as part of its rebuilding work. And there are lots of steps outlined at climatecrisis.net which we'll try and be diligent about. But it doesn't feel like much. Particularly when our household probably produces at least 25,000 pounds of carbon a year.

There's a first world war recruitment poster where a child is asking her father "What did you do in the war, Daddy?". When it relates to global warming, I'm not sure I'll be able to answer that question in twenty years time in a meaningful way. And that worries me.

UPDATE:

The UK press reviews have been strong, but have also dug into the political overtones of the movie: what if Gore had won. The double meaning of the title is striking home to some: another inconvenient truth is that the world would be a much better place if Gore had won.

Santa's Screwed

Sam asked me today why I curse Chelsea Tractors when I see them driving around. I gave a surprisingly measured response about their ridiculousness in narrow streets, how most people don't need their 4*4'ness, and how they're more likely to kill pedestrians. In other words, that Ken Livingstone was right.

It led on to a conversation about global warming. I asked him what would happen if the North Pole melted. He replied immediately: "Well I suppose that Father Christmas would be in trouble".

Who's lobbying for Santa and Rudolph?

Ashes and Snow

  Ashes and Snow (and Joseph) 
  Originally uploaded by devpd.

Gregory Colbert has spent the last 13 years capturing some astonishing photos and films of animals interacting with humans. The resulting exhibition is travelling the world, and I managed to see it in a spare couple of hours in Santa Monica before a flight home.

It's astonishing. The 'museum' is built out of stacked containers, and inside it is reverential, dark, and pebbled. Very atmospheric. I'd already seen Colbert talk about the project, and had seen some of the video. But seeing it on giant screens, at times frustratingly slow and long, hauntingly beautiful, and shared with dozens of others standing in silence was very moving. Not everything struck a chord, and some sequences seemed a little too 'arty'. But overall it was extraordinary, and yet again I particularly enjoyed its uncompromsing production values and integrity.

You can get some idea of it at Ashes and Snow and when it arrives near you, make the effort to go and see it.