Coming soon: The climate credentials of Rishi Sunak’s cabinet

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It appears that Sunak has assembled a cabinet of facilitators of climate destruction – like Rishi Sunak himself and Grant Shapps – as well as some outright climate-change deniers like Suella Brverman. Still being a climate-change denier is ridiculous or insane and most definitely shows defective judgement.

Continue ReadingComing soon: The climate credentials of Rishi Sunak’s cabinet

Jacob Rees-Mogg’s GB News show under Ofcom investigation

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/07/jacob-rees-moggs-gb-news-show-under-ofcom-investigation/

Image of Climte-change denier and Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Image of Climate-change denier and Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg. Chris McAndrew public-domain image via WikiMedia. Please see Notes.

An episode of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s State of the Nation GB News show faces an Ofcom investigation on whether it complied with the rules of the broadcast regulator.

The programme in question covered a breaking news story about the civil trial verdict involving Donald Trump, which led to 40 complaints being made to Ofcom. The investigation will focus on whether the programme complied with rules which prevent politicians acting as newsreaders.

The regulator said, “our investigation will look at the programme’s compliance with our rules which prevent politicians from acting as newsreaders in any news programmes, unless exceptionally, it is editorially justified”.

The right-wing news channel that boasts Nigel Farage as a presenter and most recently Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson, is no stranger to Ofcom scrutiny. An investigation remains ongoing into the Saturday Morning show with Esther and Philip broadcast on GB News, related to the same rule.

https://leftfootforward.org/2023/07/jacob-rees-moggs-gb-news-show-under-ofcom-investigation/

Notes. I claim that Jacob Rees-Mogg is a Climate-change denier and Brexiteer. These claims are confirmed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Rees-Mogg

Continue ReadingJacob Rees-Mogg’s GB News show under Ofcom investigation

Online Safety Bill: Whatsapp, Signal issue stark final warning against mass snooping of messages

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Image of GCHQ donught building. Doesn't look like a doughnut. Look. Oh c'mon, can't you see - open your eye.
Image of GCHQ donught building

https://www.standard.co.uk/tech/online-safety-bill-whatsapp-signal-element-breaking-encryption-mass-surveillance-messaging-apps-b1091873.html

The heads of three major messaging apps have exclusively told The Standard that the Online Safety Bill, which is facing one of it’s final votes this week, will lead to the mass surveillance of every private online message and London’s reputation as a place to do business will be destroyed if the bill passes into law.

They also say Prime Minister Rishi Sunak can forget about the UK becoming a technology superpower if that happens, as tech firms will leave London and no one will want to start a business here.

“If the Online Safety Bill does not amend the vague language that currently opens the door for mass surveillance and the nullification of end-to-end encryption, then it will not only create a significant vulnerability that will be exploited by hackers, hostile nation states, and those wishing to do harm, but effectively salt the earth for any tech development in London and the UK at large,” Meredith Whittaker, president of not-for-profit secure messaging app Signal told The Standard.

“Passing the bill as-is sends the clear message that the UK government would rather make law based on magical thinking, than honor longstanding expert consensus when it comes to issues of complex technology.”

https://www.standard.co.uk/tech/online-safety-bill-whatsapp-signal-element-breaking-encryption-mass-surveillance-messaging-apps-b1091873.html

Continue ReadingOnline Safety Bill: Whatsapp, Signal issue stark final warning against mass snooping of messages

Met Office confirms June as the hottest on record

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Yet another record broken and governments do nothing … We need to get rid of the useless b’stards who are actually making the climate crisis worse by expanding the use of fossil fuels.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2023/fingerprints-of-climate-change-on-june-temperature-records

June has been confirmed as the hottest on record for the UK.

According to provisional Met Office figures, the average mean temperature of 15.8°C for June 2023 in the UK is the highest in a series since 1884, with England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also reporting their respective warmest June on record.

This eclipsed the previous record by 0.9°C, while the previous top three Junes were separated by just 0.1°C.

June 2023 UK provisional statistics. Hottest June on record for UK. Fourth sunniest June on record. Drier than average for most. This is according to provisional Met Office figures.

Fingerprint of climate change

A rapid study by Met Office scientists found the chance of observing a June beating the previous record of 14.9°C, like we have this year, has at least doubled since the period around 1940. The previous record of 14.9°C was recorded in 1940 and 1976.

Paul Davies, Met Office Climate Extremes Principal Fellow and Chief Meteorologist, explains: “We found that the chance of observing a June beating the previous joint 1940/1976 record of 14.9°C has at least doubled since the 1940s. Alongside natural variability, the background warming of the Earth’s atmosphere due to human induced climate change has driven up the possibility of reaching record high temperatures.

“Using our UKCP18 climate projections, we can also see that there is a difference in the frequency of these sort of extremes depending on the emissions scenario we follow in the future. By the 2050s the chance of surpassing the previous record of 14.9°C could be as high as around 50%, or every other year. Beyond the 2050s the likelihood is strongly governed by our emissions of greenhouse gasses, with the chance increasing further in a high emissions scenario but levelling off under mitigation.”

The rapid study used the UK’s climate projections, UKCP18, comparing the chance of surpassing 14.9°C during the period 1925-1955 to that for 1991-2020.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2023/fingerprints-of-climate-change-on-june-temperature-records

Continue ReadingMet Office confirms June as the hottest on record

Extinction Rebellion UK target Wood Group for “utter contempt” for UK taxpayers

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Extinction Rebellion UK protest at Wood Group Aberdeen 3 July 2023
Extinction Rebellion UK protest at Wood Group Aberdeen 3 July 2023

Extinction Rebellion are protesting the Wood Group’s Aberdeen and Staines offices after Wood Group significantly reduced it’s renewables operations and expanded it’s fossil fuel operations weeks after receiving a £430m government-backed “green transition loan” in 2021.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/07/scottish-firm-expands-oil-and-gas-business-after-green-transition-loan

… After receiving the £430m loan, Wood grew its upstream oil and gas business by 17% so that it accounted for more than $3bn (£2.4bn) in revenue in 2022, up from $2.6bn in 2021, according to an analysis of the company’s financial results by the Guardian and the investigative journalism organisation Point Source.

Over the same period the company reduced the size of its renewable, hydrogen, and carbon capture business units by 35% so that they only accounted for revenues of $222.8m in 2022, down from $344.6m in 2021.

The five-year loan, which was the first of its kind and was designed to help Wood transition away from fossil fuels, was announced in August 2021 by Liz Truss when she was international trade secretary.

At the time, Truss said the engineering company had “already made great strides in repositioning its business for a low-carbon future”.

After being awarded the loan, Wood announced a string of at least 20 major contract awards for work on oil, gas and petrochemical infrastructure.

Continue ReadingExtinction Rebellion UK target Wood Group for “utter contempt” for UK taxpayers