2013-05-23T11:53:53-04:00 Damien Clarkson http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=damien-clarkson Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Damien Clarkson Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2780946 2013-02-28T08:50:14-05:00 2013-04-30T05:12:01-04:00

Damien Clarkson http://www.huffingtonpost.com/damien-clarkson/ soaring gas bills, all this whilst smug energy companies announce record profits.

Ok, so this isn't an earth shattering revelation. For the last 40 years neo-liberal economics has firmly put the interests of business before those of hard working people.

But still week after week, leading politicians and think tanks declare the only way to end austerity and return to prosperity is to trust free markets and cut red tape. They want us to forget that it was the reckless financial speculation and de-regulation of business that was largely responsible for the financial crash. They just keep on the spinning the narrative that if we trust in big business things will be ok.

Why do we accept this thoroughly raw deal presented to us by big businesses? Only this month David Cameron was asked by the oil company Shell to intervene in their tax dispute with the Indian government. I would be inclined to suggest that a company, who last year declared profits of $18.9 billion and took advantage of $200 million in tax breaks, does not need his help.

As I write this article 23 environmental activists from the groups No Dash For Gas are being sued for 5 million for their part in shutting down an EDF power station last October. EDF know there is no chance in hell these activists could ever pay the sums they are being sued for. It is a tactic used to purely intimidate and put off those who may stand up to corporations as George Monbiot astutely points out on his blog.

You don't hear David Cameron or Ed Miliband condemning EDF for intimidating and persecuting those who are standing up for cleaner energy future. In 20 years time if we do manage to make a transition to a low carbon energy system and seriously curb our global carbon emissions, the activists will be lauded as heroes.

Increasingly the tentacles of corporations reach into the lives of those who dare to stand shoulder to shoulder with communities in opposing corporations. This week it was announced that my friend and fellow Climate Rush activist, Tamsin Omond is on a secret blacklist which is shared between police, government and corporates.

Tamsin honestly has nothing but love in her heart for life and everyone she comes into contact with. The fact that she is persecuted for standing up for her belief in people and nature I find upsetting and worrying.

Increasingly we are living in world dominated by money and acquisition of material assets. If you are stand against this ideology business the media and politicians are likely to be lining up to persecute you.

But this is why it is more important than ever that we question the increasingly prominent role of business in our everyday lives. Big oil companies are already in our schools teaching kids to become oil traders and they continue to sponsor our science education at a time when we need to be moving away from our reliance on fossil fuels. These companies have proven to be poor stewards of our planet and they shouldn't be allowed anywhere near our education system.

I believe we should all adopt a healthy skeptism towards large corporations. I believe they have become too powerful and dictate an agenda to politicians that puts rampant profit making before the wellbeing of people.

A good example would be supermarkets. Just because there is an abundance of them, does not mean they provide the best quality food. Their primary concern is with profit margins, in offering staff zero-hour contracts, taking part in workfare schemes and squeezing farmers to the point where they have to outsource. Is it really a surprise we end up with horsemeat in our food?

It felt timely that yesterday that after watching a new play about the excesses of market capitalism 'If you don't dream they won't let you sleep', my friend Tom received an email from Tesco. In this email they declared that they are going to return to British sourced meat products. Putting aside my vegetarian smugness this should always have been the case.

What can we do? Firstly we need to re-connect with our local businesses, create more co-ops and community growing schemes. We need to challenge the neo liberal economic doctrine of de-regulation and austerity that punishes the poor. Targeting the large corporations who play master to our politicians.

We need to dig below the surface by carefully listening with focus to people in our communities. If we do this we will find many people are struggling due to the austerity squeeze. Through moving away from the notion of providing something in exchange for something else, we can begin to support those most in need to help and rebuild a kind society.

As for the politicians just when you hear them defend large corporations. Just ask yourself are these the people who really need help?

Thanks for listening and tonight dare to dream of a country where love and kindness are the things that matter not your material wealth.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1469284 2012-05-01T19:02:39-04:00 2012-07-01T05:12:24-04:00

Damien Clarkson http://www.huffingtonpost.com/damien-clarkson/
Which leaves Londoners facing either four more years of Boris Johnson or a return to office for Ken Livingstone. As an environmentalist the prospect of Boris returning to office fills me with dread. His failure to address London's air pollution problem has led to what could described as a public healthcare emergency. The fact is that every year over 4000 Londoners are dying early because of London's poor air quality.

Rather than address this problem, Boris has chosen to focus on suppressing pollution levels around air quality monitors, misleading Londoners about the very real health risks. Since coming into office he has implemented a host of unfriendly environmental policies including scrapping 6-monthly taxi inspections and delayed the introduction of stage 3 of the low emission zone. All of this whilst lobbying for his crowning environmental disaster the building of a new airport in the Thames estuary.

All of the above policies demonstrate two things very clearly which voters should be aware of. Firstly Boris has no green credentials or desire to implement environmentally friendly policies. Secondly Boris is exactly like the Tories in government with a zeal for business first policies and de-regulation regardless of how it impacts on the environment or the lives of ordinary Londoners. Let us remember Boris was one of the most prominent Tories lobbying for a reduction in the 50p tax rate. And a recent analysis of Boris Johnson's diary revealed since coming into office he held just 15 public meetings with Londoners and 86 meetings with financial institutions.

Boris may claim he is 'different' from the Tories' but on the evidence of the last 4 years he certainly doesn't appear to be. In casual discussions with friends I am occasionally confronted with a friend who is considering voting Boris. What is clear is that they don't consider a vote for Boris as a vote for the Tories.

I hope this blog makes clear a vote for Boris this Conservative government by backing him you're by proxy backing the NHS reforms, tuition fees hike, public sector cuts and the scrapping of the 50p tax rate. If you want more environmental degradation, business first policies and a Mayor who considers bankers more important than citizens for London that is what Boris will offer you.

A friend attended the cycling hustings on Monday, when I asked about Boris's performance he said; "he looked knackered and alienated the crowd". We discussed Ken and agreed that perhaps Labour would have been better selecting a fresher face as their candidate. But when it comes to the environment although not ideal Ken will reduce public transport by 7% and work closely with Jenny Jones to create a cycling friendly London, which is badly needed. London cannot afford to gamble with another 4 years of Boris, he may give interesting interviews on TV but the health of Londoners is worth more than an occasionally laugh.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1400281 2012-04-04T19:00:00-04:00 2012-06-04T05:12:02-04:00

Damien Clarkson http://www.huffingtonpost.com/damien-clarkson/
Enter the Proctor and Gamble's Capital Clean Up in partnership with the Mayor of London. What is this you ask? Well, P&G have had their 'cool hunters' hard at work and discovered, clean art known as reverse graffiti. Yes, that is the same reverse graffiti we at Climate Rush have been using to raise awareness of our clean air campaigns over the past year.

Boris and P&G have arranged a number of different activities for Londoners to participate in whilst helping to plug various P&G cleaning products. In addition to taking to the streets to clean in corporate advertising messages, the public can also download the Ariel Love Clean London App. This app will enable Londoners to report grime and environmental crimes, unfortunately for Londoners if Boris Johnson remains in power after May's election they will find a Mayor who clearly has little time for green initiatives despite much PR bravado.

The fact that Boris is attempting to use tactics used by activists to highlight his ineptitude in tackling London's air quality to promote Olympics sponsors and portray himself as a Mayor of the people cleaning the streets of London stinks of arrogance. Throughout his Mayoralty Boris has resisted calls from politicians such as Jenny Jones asking him to seriously address the London's air quality. Just last month air quality monitoring stations in London recorded record levels of nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide particles.

Since coming to power Boris has scrapped the western congestion zone, and continues to push his vanity project of an airport in the Thames. And despite claims for being a cycling friendly Mayor, cycling is as dangerous as it ever was. Following the publication of Boris Johnson's transport manifesto sustainability transport charity Sustrans accused Boris Johnson of being "intent on bringing the capital to a standstill".

Stealing 'cool' is one thing but showing blatant disregard for the environment is another. Last November a report released by the International Energy Agency warned that at this rate we risk increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere beyond the maximum safe level of 450 parts per million by 2017. They warned if we were to overstep this mark, irreversible climate change would be a certainty.

With Boris Johnson as Mayor of London, I believe we would be gambling with the environmental wellbeing for future generations. The time for comedy interviews and PR stunt has ended, let's elect a Mayor ready to listen to people not big business.
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1259879 2012-02-07T19:00:00-05:00 2012-04-08T05:12:01-04:00

Damien Clarkson http://www.huffingtonpost.com/damien-clarkson/ announced record profits of £18.1 billion representing a 54% increase from last year's revenue. News of these recession busting profits was followed by a statements of intent to pursue a new aggressive growth strategy.

In these bleak economic times some may see this announcement as a gasp of growth for our failing economy. However Shell's plans to pursue a new aggressive growth strategy are sure to send shivers down the spines of environmentalists and people living in the communities where Shell operates.

Shell is a historic company. Sadly for the people of Nigeria and for our environment, their history is tied to the exploitation of both people and nature, focussed on the ruthless pursuit of huge profits. Thanks to the great work of Platform and Amnesty International there is now a growing dossier of evidence against Shell. Theirs is a culture of alleged corruption; a blatant disregard for human life and the environment which is endemic throughout the company.

Since 1960, Nigerian oil exports have generated wealth estimated to be valued at over $600 billion, yet poverty is rife in the Niger Delta and local communities are lumbered with the devastating fallout of irresponsible oil extraction led by Shell. Our government claims to be the greenest ever and recently pledged to crack down on predatory capitalism. Yet still they sit idle as the exploitation continues. It seems revenue in the treasuries coffers is all that matters.

Just last December Shell spilt a reported 44,000 gallons of oil off the coast of the Niger Delta with satellite images indicating the spill spread over 356 square miles. This was only the latest in a long line on environmental recklessness by Shell in the region. Last year The United National Environment Programme (UNEP) analysed the damage caused by oil pollution in Nigeria's Ogoniland. They estimated that it will cost $1 billion dollars to start the clean up process in Ogoni, and the full cost of cleaning oil spills in the Niger Delta is estimated to be 500 times higher.

This is just the tip of the iceberg as in 2006 independent environmental and oil experts visiting the Niger Delta put the figure for oil spilt both onshore and offshore, at nine to 13 million barrels of oil over the past 50 years. Further to this, the 2009 Friends of the Earth Europe report found that Shell is the world's most carbon intensive oil company.

It's depressing to read but it isn't inevitable. In the coming week, environmental activists across the UK will 'Occupy Oil', standing up to oil companies whose pursuit of profit at any cost jeopardised the livelihoods of the poorest people and the environment for future generations. At Climate Rush we believe Shell has become the living embodiment of environmental hell for people living in the communities in which they operate. Throughout this week we will be using Twitter to remind Shell of the Hell they are creating around the world, we urge you to join us in tweeting @shell our "Shell Hell Facts" using the hashtag #occupyoil

If politicians are looking to turn rhetoric into action and crack down on irresponsible capitalism then in Shell we have found a corporation ripe to be held to account. It's time Shell were told to clean up their act, because failure to do so to do so will only lead to more environmental and humanitarian disasters. We need a transition now to a low carbon economy, so allowing Shell to create climate hell is something we as a planet can ill afford. ]]>