SUMMERS OF FIRE, AND CHAOS IN THE U.K. PART 2.

Britain has become rather different from the way it was when I left 20 years ago. It was decided recently, that Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, would have to go because some considered him to have had a tenuous relationship with the truth -- he could no longer be taken seriously. A handful of people (members of the Conservative Party and less than 1% of the British population) were given the pleasure of electing a new leader. In the end this came down to a choice between two individuals, and neither appeared much interested in the current environmental problems.…

Denaturing: The Fast-Track to Economic Growth… and the Snow Geese Bucking the Trend.

When I first moved to the Lower Mainland of British Colombia I wondered what Canadians did for a living; as a child brought up in Britain, I was led to believe that what they mostly did was chop down trees. I remember Monty Python singing a song about it: 'lumberjacks' apparently were O.K. -- but as the verses progressed a different story emerged -- all nonsense for comic effect, but even in the real world things aren't always what they seem and mostly not quite so funny. There are very few trees like this on the Lower Mainland. A couple…

Belize: Bye-bye Mangroves – Viva Vacation!

On a recent trip to Belize, the mermaids - that would be my wife and daughter, sought out any excuse to immerse themselves in the Caribbean Sea; and my daughter's desire to swim with a whale shark featured prominently on her list of reasons for our visit. It's a rather hopeful wish on her part, but if you don't think big there's not much chance of experiencing anything out of the ordinary. Alice had booked her place on an organised whale shark trip months in advance, and when the day arrives we all make the road trip to get her…

Is Every Rotten Tree in the Forest Really Out to Get You?

The modern world has noticeably changed. We all have rights now; should a tree fall upon us somebody else will almost certainly be responsible, and if an appropriate scapegoat can't be found we can at least expect to sue our local authority. There is very little left in the developed world for which we are responsible - becoming fat, having too many children, getting run over when jogging across a busy intersection whilst listening to a stereo system plugged into our ears; even spilling hot coffee over ourselves in a public place clearly has nothing to do with us. Read the…

If You Can’t Take a Photograph – Will a Painting Do?

Well... Maybe. A photograph can be targeted to help save the Planet, or more precisely, benefit present bio-diversity, but what about a painting? Perhaps a painting can provide a more imaginative approach and demonstrate truth more effectively than photography. Our minds relate to stories and a photograph sometimes tells a good one, but paintings can be honed more precisely - nothing need be left to chance - creating an image that really sticks in the mind. When a few years ago I started photographing eagles on a local nest where generations of birds have reared their young for as long…

The Plight of the Eagle – Urban Development.

After I wrote my first blog my daughter told me that I would need to write new ones quite regularly, because, as Punch said to Judy, ‘That’s the way to do it ...’ This was quite a shock, although it has nothing to do with Punch sounding loud and shrill, and everything to do with ‘quite regularly’ sounding like a job. The blog started over concerns about an environmental issue and rather stupidly I hadn’t thought much beyond that. There are a couple of other concerns as well, and my friend Colin put his finger on one of them straight…

Don’t know what’s going on? Take a picture – it might be useful.

Many years ago I went out into the desert and there I met a man who had a vision. I'll have to stop doing that... building up my story before I've started. More prosaically, I was setting up to film a sequence on elf owls for a movie about, well, what else but owls... and the man I met in the desert was Bill Peachey, one of those experts the B.B.C. seek out when their freelancers aren't sure what they are doing - pretending to know is useless and in any case, you can't know everything. Elf owls nest in…