Pete Postlethwaite RIP

A sad day. A massively inspiring figure who stood in front of Ed Milliband and threatened to give his OBE back to the Queen if Labour agreed for dirty coal at Kingsnorth to go ahead. That is a moment I'll never forget.

Go 4 mins in for the speech:

Age of Stupid shown in Maidstone

About 100 people came to Age of Stupid at the Hazlitt in Maidstone last night. My thanks, once again, to Satu who organised the event and it was great to see many new people that I haven't yet met on my green campaigning in Maidstone.

I was asked to do a Q&A session after the film and the range of questions was excellent. We started with (and continued with) discussions on peak oil. Given that almost no-one was talking about peak oil just a couple of years ago, it was great to be listening to a wide ranging discussion on its impact and whether it will happen. (Of course it will happen...)

Probably the most interesting question, and one that I wish we had explored more, was about our relationship as individuals to the rest of the world. The man who posed the question started to discuss a level of consciousness that needs to be attained in respect of our understanding about our actions. While I have seen good evidence of this 'awakening' beginning to happen, e.g. the Fairtrade movement, I suspect this will increase exponentially over the coming years. If it doesn't and the majority of the world's people continue to live as though the world was their dustbin and free superstore rolled into one, then there is little chance for a good future.

Age of Stupid comes to Maidstone

Age of Stupid comes to Maidstone next week...

17th Sept 7pm at the Hazlitt. £5 on the door.

YouTube coverage of the OBE speech

The footage of Pete Postlethwaite threatening to return his OBE is now on YouTube. Do watch it!

Franny Armstrong, director of the Age of Stupid, has called for a Green government, but Alistair Campbell is not happy...

STUPID GOVERNMENT!

Despite the launch of Not Stupid campaign after the premiere of Age of Stupid last night, it seems that the government is actually very stupid.

Today it turned down a wind farm in Dover... Stupid!

Last week plans for another power station in Kent were announced... Stupid!

And don't forget the third runway, the road building, bailing out the car industry and bankers while public services suffer... Stupid!

Are they trying to make is all look stupid?

Not Stupid

It was great to attend the premiere of The Age of Stupid last night and to see Ed Milliband squirming as the hypocrisy of Labour's record on climate change was unpicked. Of course the Climate Change Act is ground breaking, but actions speak far louder than words and the actions to expand airports, build more roads, bail out the car industry rather than invest in renewables and public transport are damining.

Pete Postlethwaite, who stars in the film, gave a particularly emotional speech at the end and declared that if Labour built dirty coal Kingsnorth, he would be handing back his OBE. Milliband was visibly shaken.

The film was great too!

Set in 2055, the archivist is the last man alive after the ravages of climate change have destroyed most life on the planet. He is reviewing footage showing just how stupid we were and how we failed to act despite the increasing climate catastrophies around us.

The footage included a nimby campaign against a wind farm with a woman suggesting that tackling climate change is important, but we mustn't spoil the view.

This film should be seen by everyone.