Texas judge rules atmosphere, air to be protected like water, may aid climate change lawsuits

The ruling described in this Washington Post article is based on the idea that the climate is a natural commons which needs to be protected for public use – an approach that ties in with the arguments made in Feasta’s book Sharing for Survival. The lawsuit which brought about this ruling was part of a campaign by the Oregon-based non-profit Our Children’s Trust. It’s carrying out similar lawsuits in a number of other US states. Perhaps a similar approach could be effective in other countries? …

Climate Change and Peak Oil: two sides of the same coin?

This talk given by David Knight on July 4th describes three possible future scenarios: runaway climate change; collapse triggered by peak oil; and "green future". He takes into account recent claims that peak oil can be postponed by the adoption of unconventional methods of oil production, and he concludes by presenting a wish list of actions by governments and citizens.

Tax – and Spend Better

Wessex Regionalists say .....Talk of plugging loopholes suggests that the tax system requires nothing more than a little fine-tuning. In fact, it could do with a major overhaul. A Land Value Tax to deter speculation and prevent derelict land lying idle, for the first time integrating planning policy, land ownership policy and revenue-raising across the board. [..]