Alliance for Green Socialism
The AGS believes that global warming and other threats to our environment could destroy our society. We know that capitalism is deeply unjust and leads to the gross inequality we see today. We understand that these two problems are interconnected aspects of the same thing. We will never solve the environmental problem under capitalism, which is based on the ludicrous idea of endless growth. By definition, capitalists will always put profit before workers and the ecosystem on which we all depend. The AGS campaigns locally, nationally and internationally for a radical transformation of society. We work on the streets and we fight elections. Join us.
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The Power of Protest
Fighting racism and police brutality in lockdown from Minneapolis to Hong Kong By Hugh Barnes The history of protest is as old as the history of anything. People have always protested against oppression because it has always existed. Unless you have a vote, and sometimes even if you do, demonstrating in public is the bestContinue reading “The Power of Protest”
Editorial
The pandemic kept most of us locked up indoors for several months, yet also provided a glimpse of freedom. The airline industry was brought to an almost total standstill. The precipitous contraction of the global economy saw carbon emissions plummet: by the end of this year, they are likely to be 8% less than inContinue reading “Editorial”
A World Turned Upside Down
A look at the unexpected impact of covid-19 on political and economic orthodoxies By Malcolm Christie The impact of coronavirus has turned economics upside down. Until recently, the Conservative Party stood for privatisation, cuts and balancing the books. Now public spending and state ownership top the political agenda. Our libertarian prime minister has imposed aContinue reading “A World Turned Upside Down”
Climate Change Notes
By Bryn Glover The first fully, peer-reviewed analysis of the impact of the covid pandemic on CO2 emissions has just been published, and it indicates that these have fallen at almost exactly the appropriate annual rate that will need to be sustained till 2050 if we have any hope of restricting global heating to 1.5°C.Continue reading “Climate Change Notes”
A Microplastic Marine Mystery
By Juliet Boddington Scientists have known for a long time that the human race is polluting the world – land, atmosphere and sea – and one of the worst examples is the disposal of plastic waste in the form of polymer chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms that are not biodegradeable. Now an international researchContinue reading “A Microplastic Marine Mystery”
Will Labour under Keir Starmer Become a Hostile Environment for Green Socialists?
By Mike Davies The Alliance for Green Socialism rejoiced when Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party because we shared his vision of a better, fairer society. For five years we campaigned alongside Corbyn’s Labour to build a nationwide political movement. But a political movement is different from a political party. A politicalContinue reading “Will Labour under Keir Starmer Become a Hostile Environment for Green Socialists?”
How Did the Tories Get It So Wrong?
As the coronavirus warnings grew louder, Boris Johnson’s government was distracted by Brexit triumphalism. On testing, contract tracing and equipment supply, there was a scandalous failure to prepare By Hugh Barnes The coronavirus known as Covid-19 (or Sars-CoV-2 to epidemiologists) is a new virus that attacks the respiratory tract. It resembles influenza in some waysContinue reading “How Did the Tories Get It So Wrong?”
Editorial
In medieval England plagues and epidemic diseases were a common scourge. More recently, however, outbreaks like Ebola happened in far-away regions of the Global South. Now the impact of disease (as of climate change) is being felt closer to home. Suburban roads melt in heat waves, storms flood the Peak District, and fires rage inContinue reading “Editorial”
The Italian Job: home truths from abroad
Italy’s Covid-19 crisis, with the highest death toll in Europe, fuelled by right-wing populism and a decade of austerity is painfully reminiscent of Britain’s unfolding public health catastrophe, writes Toby Abse Italy has been more severely affected by Covid-19 than any other European country – 22,170 deaths by 16 April. Even if Spain has alsoContinue reading “The Italian Job: home truths from abroad”
Milan Diary by Riccardo Cappelli
I come from the southern region of Apulia, the heel of Italy’s boot, but am now living in Milan. Since 9th March, I have been self-isolating at home. It feels strange. Two months ago I’d never even heard of the coronavirus. Then, one day, at the beginning of February, when I was still working forContinue reading “Milan Diary by Riccardo Cappelli”
Brave New Post-Pandemic World
By Malcolm Christie The world has changed beyond recognition in the last few weeks, at least in terms of economic activity (or lack of it). There has been a sudden halt to most of the things we do to earn a living and to transactions we carry out as part of day-to-day life. We areContinue reading “Brave New Post-Pandemic World”
Climate Change Notes
By Bryn Glover The COP26 conference in Glasgow, which was scheduled to take place in mid-November, has now been postponed until 2021 as governments around the world struggle to contain the spread of Covid-19. Indeed the conference centre that was set to host the UN climate talks has been converted into a hospital for coronavirusContinue reading “Climate Change Notes”
The Rise of Euro-Tribes
Brian Elmer on how the ‘Balkanisation’ of Europe is boosting separatist movements Imagine you are looking at a globe. The rotating map shows the world’s land mass and oceans. Different colours help you to spot the political boundaries so your eye goes immediately to the largest countries in terms of geography: Russia, Canada, Australia, China,Continue reading “The Rise of Euro-Tribes”
Syria’s refugees escape out of the firing line into a pandemic
By Liz Peck On 27th February, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey would no longer stop refugees trying to cross its borders into Europe. The borders in question, with Greece and Bulgaria, have been closed since 2016. Inside wartorn Syria, meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of displaced people have fled their homes in Idlib provinceContinue reading “Syria’s refugees escape out of the firing line into a pandemic”
A Brief History of Ecology
By Bryn Glover Forty years ago, Stephen Croall and William Rankin described the relationship between humanity and the Earth in a nutshell. The biosphere surrounding the planet is like a thin coat of paint over a football, they suggested in Ecology for Beginners. The image is typical of the way they allude to the delicacyContinue reading “A Brief History of Ecology”
