planet impiazzi

car sick by lynn sloman
Originally uploaded by northern green pixie.

In 'Car Sick: Solutions for our car-addicted culture', Lynn Sloman presents us with an examination of the car-clogged society that is Britain at the start of the 21st century. She contextualises the state we are in, describing the way the car culture has developed over the past 50 years, accommodated by enthusiastic town planners and civil engineers eager to pander to the appetite for driving that the British public has been encouraged to develop. Sloman explains how the motorist has been given priority over pedestrians, cyclists and communities, and how developers, big business and politicians have used the British yen for more cars and more roads as an excuse to 'steer' society towards a situation where more and more driving is a foregone conclusion. Shops move out of town, public transport deteriorates.
Sloman looks at the environmental, social and economic cause and effect, using excellent examples of alternatives and good practice elsewhere to demonstrate that it doesn't have to be like this - that we don't have to live in a car-clogged, car-controlled culture, that by taking responsibility for our travel choices and putting pressure on the 'decision makers' we can begin to re-focus our communities away from cars and develop cleaner, quieter, safer, more people oriented places to live and work.
'Car Sick' is an intelligent, sensible, easy-to-read book, full of clear and practical solutions. Sloman sets out a positive vision of a better way to live. This book should be a must-read for anyone concerned, whether personally or professionally, with improving our travel choices and the world we live in.

Just do it ;-)
Originally uploaded by Hugo*.

Hugo is on a street art kick at the moment, and has collected some excellent shots on his wanderings around Paris. If you click on the photo it will take you to Flick where you can see the rest. The interesting thing about this one is that it appears to have been edited (not by Hugo), as an earlier shot of the same art shows that a certain part of the runner's anatomy has been removed!

Green and Sustainable
Originally uploaded by tricky (sovietuk).

Wind turbines at Ovenden in West Yorkshire - not too far from where I live. On the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster this is a timely reminder that there are much better - cleaner, safer - ways to generate electricity. People are still dying - will do for many years yet - from the effects of Chernobyl.

Red as red
Originally uploaded by bricolage.108.

the alchemy of desire by tarun tejpal
Originally uploaded by northern green pixie.

Got to page 106 on this then gave up. Bored. Although there are rave reviews quoted on the back, and V.S Naipaul apparently said, "At last - a new and brilliant original novel from India", I'm afraid I didn't find it quite so stimulating. The blurb on the back talks of a young man "thrust into another world and time" , but the 100 pages I read were just some bloke talking about how he stopped desiring his woman, and flashing back to happier times. Reminded me a bit of Vikram Seth's 'An Equal Music'. Very precise writing, but also very conventional and unispiring.

we all want something better
Originally uploaded by northern green pixie.

There's not much to add to that, is there? We do all want something better, but most of us aren't going to get it. City centres are being colonised by wealthy young professionals, while the rest serve them capuccinos and clean up after them, then go home to look after the elderly relatives who the NHS can't afford to help, dodging discontented and disillusioned youths on the way.

One of the things I found interesting about visiting this area of Manchester at the weekend (there are more photos on Flickr - link on the left)was the surreal familiarity conjured by my recent reading of Jeff Noon's Manchester set novels.

PS Another Bookcrosser is, at this very moment (I hope) posting me Noon's Automated Alice!!

Yay :)

pollen by jeff noon
Originally uploaded by northern green pixie.

‘Pollen’ reads like a mutated Chandler, or like Jasper Fforde’s Nextian universe seen through a glass darkly (although Fforde, of course, comes after Noon, hehe!). A sequel to Vurt, again set in Manchester, this is a witty and stylish crime novel packed with references to modern popular culture – to late 20th century music and a whole host of literature. Based loosely on the Greek myth of Persephone, Jeff Noon manages to fuse all this into a cyber-fantasy that is fast moving, challenging in its inventive language, and very entertaining. Some of the origins of the Vurtual world are explained, which helped me to retrospectively understand some of the concepts introduced in ‘Vurt’, and some of the characters from the earlier book are present here, though not centrally – but nonetheless this gave a sense of familiarity and continuity that enhanced the reading experience for me.

Excellent. I want more!!

perfume by patrick suskind
Originally uploaded by northern green pixie.

With hints of magic realism, this novel grabbed my attention - I read it in a day! - and swept me away like the scents in the book captivate the protagonist Grenouille. Reminiscent of Marquez, Rushdie - and of Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume - Suskind's picaresque novel illuminates life in 18th century France, despite the totally bizarre premise on which the story is based. A thoroughly enjoyable and easy read.

Man you wouldn't believe the night I just had...
Originally uploaded by 62Lofu.

That's just how I feel at having to go back to work tomorrow after the easter break.

Out by Natsuo Kirino
Originally uploaded by northern green pixie.

'Out' is a dark & intense crime thriller about a group of working-class Japanese women, and what happens when the violence in her marriage pushes one of them too far.
Kirino presents a cast of well-drawn characters, each struggling against poverty & debt, drudgery, convention, and the back-breaking weight of domestic responsibilities. The characters have psychological depth, and the changing relationships between them are carefully examined and detailed as the tragic events unfold.
Set in contemporary Tokyo, the lives & plight of the women is, nevertheless, universal, and women from many different cultures & countries would, I'm sure, be able to relate to their lives (though hopefully not to the horrific events they become involved in!)
Kirino's novel is stark, and filled with a brooding fear, but at the same time celebrates the ability of women to cope with harsh reality, their adaptability and their resilience.

Twilight
Originally uploaded by tommy martin.

Gorgeous photo from Tommy Martin on Flickr. Reminds me that I must get out of Leeds at some point over the Easter weekend instead of sitting around reading or doing housework! I need to see some trees.

Just a quickie before I go to bed. Did you see Robert Newman's History of Oil on More4 tonight? If you didn't you really missed a treat. Well researched & politically astute, and funny too. Newman really knows his stuff - I learned from this programme. His website is useful too, with links & writings that are thought provoking. The Guardian has a podcast of an interview with him that is worth listening to. Intelligent, articulate, relevant.

wet street
Originally uploaded by northern green pixie.

One of my photos, to make a change. There are so many beauties on Flickr that are much better than mine. But I like this one, taken in Leeds city centre yesterday evening after an April shower.

Turquoise Tunnel Silhouette
Originally uploaded by monkeyjunkie.

Happened upon the Carbon Disclosure Project whereby manufacturers have been asked for their views on climate change and details of the company co2 emissions, among other things. Really quite interesting. I randomly chose to look at Cadbury-Schweppes' response and was interested to note that in their opinion, global warming could be good for beverage sales, but that any increase could well be balanced out by a decline in chocolate sales. The responses from the companies involved (Cadbury again) include such thrilling facts as “emissions produced by the transport of cocoa beans (a major ingredient for our chocolate business) by sea from West Africa to the UK represents only 1.5% of the total carbon dioxide emissions of our UK operations”. Cadbury-Schweppes total output, by the way, amounted to 853,999 tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2001. I’m sure if I had my maths head on I could try and work out how much co2 that is per chunk of Dairy Milk.
Many companies ‘declined’ to take part in the data collection exercise.

Leaving fizz & chocolate behind, I found an article about fossil fuels for breakfast. I read that; "According to researchers at the University of Michigan's Center for Sustainable Agriculture, an average of more than 7 calories of fossil fuel is burned up for every calorie of energy we get from our food. This means that in eating my 400-calorie breakfast, I will, in effect, have consumed 2,800 calories of fossil fuel energy. (Some researchers claim the ratio is as high as 10 to 1.)"

Looking on the positive & practical side, I came across this local group, which sounds like a step in the right direction. Part of an international network, the group has been looking at options for sustainability. On the issue of fuel & energy I read "There are some alternatives that can be used for many of the jobs that oil currently performs. However, there are problems, and in terms of the amount we currently use, nothing comes anywhere close. For example, biodiesel can be used to power lorries and cars, but it comes from crops that are currently grown using oil-derived pesticides. Even if they were grown organically, it would take an area 3 times the size of the UK to provide enough for just Britain's current petrol use. And then where would we grow our food?". What we have to do, of course, is reduce consumption and rethink our lifestyles across the board.

Which is what the Camp for Climate Action is about. I spent all last weekend at a planning meeting for the event. I met some lovely people, and experienced lots of positive energy. No doubt it will be mentioned again here over the coming months!
Regular readers may be wondering what is happening with Northern Green Gathering - well, that is happening too. Northern Green is the week before Climate Camp. Do I have enough energy to help organise both?!?

face
Originally uploaded by northern green pixie.

I found this wall this afternoon. Amazing, isn't it?

vurt by jeff noon
Originally uploaded by northern green pixie.

The bastard child of 'Alice in Wonderland', this trip of a novel completely blew me away. Sci-fi doesn't often grab me but I was utterly captivated by Vurt. Noon's first novel, published in 1993, is an enthralling, weird chase through a dark, fabulously realised future-world populated by robodogs, virtual cops, and psychedelic feathers. I could hardly bear to put it down, and in between reads it lurked on the edge of my reality like an acid memory. Totally stunning & original. My book of the year so far.

A story in the Independent today tells of, “Helen and Sylvia, the new face of terrorism”. New legislation means that you can be locked up for a year for trespassing on a military base, Royal palace grounds and at various government buildings. As the article explains, Helen and Sylvia are veteran peace activists. Can this (and other) governments seriously believe that the way to democracy and freedom is via repression and restriction of civil liberties?

Of course, freedom is very important, especially when it comes to the freedom to trade. Another story in the Independent tells of life in Sudan, where a kalashnikov is now an essential accessory for the average cattle herder, thanks to the likes of the UK which was happy to supply arms until very recently.

The Independent says:
"Britain has played its own, inauspicious part in the plight of the Mandari and others in southern Sudan. Until the mass killings in Darfur provoked an international arms embargo in 2003, the UK was a significant arms exporter to Sudan. Figures based on customs records kept by the UN and obtained by The Independent show that between 2001 and 2003, Britain sent arms worth £515,000 into Sudan, the bulk of it a single consignment of bombs, grenades, ammunition and mines worth £420,000."

While the UK is, apparently, not exporting arms to Sudan at the moment, I have no doubt there is plenty of trade going on elsewhere.

And while British women in England are getting arrested for setting foot on a military base, as I mentioned earlier this week Korean farmers are being evicted from their land to make room for the US military.

April 4, 2006 - 13:03: The Republic is on fire
Originally uploaded by Hugo*.

Equality burns in France.

Trishaws - Thailand
Originally uploaded by 62Lofu.

Sustainable transport!

Via Schnews, at save the pyeongtaek farmers
"The farming town of Daechuri, Korean for "Great Harvest Village", will never reap its famous rice harvest again, if the United States military continues with the
planned expansion of its Camp Humphreys Army base. This concentration of U.S. troops in the Pyeongtaek region of South Korea will destroy the farming communities of
Daechuri, Doduri, and others. Over 500 households and thousands of residents live within the zoned areas.
The rice farmers have chosen to resist the occupation of their homeland and stand up to the Korean government and the United States military. Facing the imminent
onslaught of bulldozers, riot police, and two nation's militaries, the farmers of Pyeongtaek have decided to risk imprisionment and death before they will willingly
surrender their homes and their way of life. These peaceful villagers have fought the expansion of the base and the theft of their land through all possible legal means while being deceived and ignored. On February 7th, 2006, the farmers, having realized that the Korean government was not listening to their pleas and would not help them, declared autonomy and renounced their Korean citizenship.
They have since been organizing the daily life and the defense of their land and community through general councils, independently of the local government."

USA, champion of democracy, supporter of freedom? I don't think so. This is about the US digging in on the doorsteps of North Korea and China. This is about economic & military domination. Here, a peaceful community is being forcibly evicted. Again. Please go and sign their petition.

The Independent appears to have had a Daily Mail moment . It ran a special feature today on ‘green’ motoring (yes, I know, oxymoronic). While “Eco-friendly transport: The greener way to get around”
is sensible-ish (if not entirely positive, and somewhat contradictory in places), discussing less damaging fuels & engine types and , encouraging the use of public transport, the article by James Ruppert “Car Choice: 'I only want a car part time'” in which, we are told; “There are a range of options for drivers who only need to be on the road occasionally“ is a prime example of lazy, biased journalism, more suited to the nimby selfishness of a rag like the Daily Mail. The article doesn’t seriously consider the ‘range of options’ for part-time driving. There is a cursory nod towards liftsharing, a brief mention of a car club – which actually suggests that there is only one in existence, and that is in Leeds. While Ruppert mentions that running a car is expensive, he makes no attempt to examine the costs, or make a comparison with car club membership, or liftshare contributions, or equivalent costs for using public transport.
Ruppert makes no secret of his antipathy towards any form of car sharing – he admits “car sharing is coming, whether I like it or not.”. He makes no attempt to answer the questions he has posed at the start of the article, ie what are the best options and alternatives to car ownership. Ruppert completely misses the point in liftshare matching websites by suggesting that these only provide lifts with people who live miles away and that it would be better to ask around your neighbours (if only it was that easy!). He misses completely the fact that Bristol, on which the article purports to focus, has a car club so doesn’t raise this as a possibility for a Bristolian looking to live without a car.

I don’t expect everyone to be wildly keen & excited at the prospect of being carfree (although I wish they were), but for a quality paper such as the Independent to publish such an unhelpful, badly written, poorly researched piece as this is thoroughly disappointing.

IMG_1464
Originally uploaded by junku.

Crazy cats!