This photo, taken by Katya Evdokimova, won the category of lsquo;Changing Climatesrsquo;, called After The Floods.

More than 55,000 properties were flooded in England in the summer of 2007 and £3bn worth of assets damaged. More rainfall is expected in the future as a result of human-induced global warming, deforestation and over development.

Over 70 images from the competition will be on show in London from September 17th.

Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, recently addressed the governmentrsquo;s plans for new coal and nuclear power plants.

ldquo;The government has spooked everyone into thinking that we need nuclear by saying: lsquo;Therersquo;s going to be a terrible energy gap. The lights are going to go out in the middle of the next decade.rsquo;

Therersquo;s actually no evidence that that is the case at all. They have raised the wrong problem in order to push the wrong solution.

The real problem is that our energy mix is not green enough and that we are overdependent - as many people now realise because of the crisis in Georgia - on oil and gas from parts of the world that arenrsquo;t very reliable.

I think it is a question of political will. If we have been able to put a man on the moon, been able to create the welfare state, we could revolutionise the way in which we produce energy.rdquo;

Coal definitely is the (out of) flavour of the summer.

First at the Australian Climate Camp, then outside the proposed site for the first of eight new coal-fired power stations in the UK, Kingsnorth - and now Colorado is on the clean energy map too!

Traditionally a mining center, this state is now demonstrating how to move to a new economy. A major utility company announced it would shut down two coal-fired power plants and in their place build one of the worldrsquo;s largest utility-scale solar power plants.

Good news all round, especially since theyrsquo;re also adding wind power to the game!

Full story here.

This is how itrsquo;s presented: now that people are watching their money a little more closely, they arenrsquo;t going to buy that organic salad anymore.

Well, that may be - but nor are they buying the ten flat screens and three electric hat stands. As Nyree Ambarchian writes in her column lsquo;Shades of Greenrsquo; in the Peterborough Evening Telegraphhellip;

lsquo;Supermarkets are recording a slump in the sale of ready meals with more customers choosing to cook rather than ‘ping’ their evening meal. Sales of teddy bears and spinning tops are up with parents favouring longer lasting toys. UK camp sites are enjoying a 10% increase in bookings as holidays abroad are substituted for the simple pleasures of the great outdoors. People are also taking the greener, cheaper option when it comes to transport with 14% flying less and 6% driving less. Even the amount of junk mail we are receiving through the letter box is decreasing, particularly items from credit card companies.

All this is great news for the environment! We are all doing less of the things that are really damaging (shopping, driving, flying) and doing more of the things that are greener and healthier (cooking from scratch, cycling, enjoying nature).

And really this is all we need to do - a bit less, a bit slower. The credit crunch might have shunted the environment off the front page, but it’s doing wonders for changing the way we live; making us greener, healthier and, dare I say it, happier.rsquo;

True dat.

Irsquo;ve talked before about Colleen Patrick-Goudreau and Compassionate Cooks, but I thought Irsquo;d share this little clip from a BBQ cooking show. Notice how it talks about the deliciousness of the food, the fun and friends, the health benefits and, oh, by the way, itrsquo;s vegan.

Make it cool and desirable, and people will want it. My mouth is watering!

By the way - Colleen later talked about the experience and it turned out, one of the camera men was thinking of going for a vegetarian diet, and after seeing Colleen at work - he went for it!

When we spoke to our Universityrsquo;s Registrar, he asked us to put together an environmental vision for the University of Warwick.

So, itrsquo;s great to read about awesome stuff like this: Oregon University is going to be 100% powered by geothermal power.

This technology uses heat stored under the ground or in the oceans to heat buildings, or generate electricity. They plan to have this up and running within a few years, which would make Oregon Tech the first university in the world to be powered completely by geothermal energy.

Letrsquo;s hope Warwick sees the sense in this kind of thinghellip;

If yoursquo;re the kind of person who enjoys manga or lsquo;graphic novelsrsquo;, then this is for you.

Funny Weather is a brilliant cartoon which takes you through everything you ought to know about climate change, but donrsquo;t.

Filled with dancing old men on top of graphs (rsquo;feeling hot, hot, hot!) - this is definitely for those who prefer Tin Tin to science class.

I am as guilty as anyone else when it comes to waste, but what on earth am I thinking?

That somehow, once Irsquo;ve thrown away my over-packaged, over-priced, average-tasting food item in the bin - it magically goes away?

Well, obviously not. Scientists have found a ldquo;plastic souprdquo; of waste floating in the Pacific Ocean, and itrsquo;s growing at an alarming rate - so much so, that it now covers an area twice the size of the continental United States.

The Independent reports,

lsquo;The vast expanse of debris – in effect the worldrsquo;s largest rubbish dump – is held in place by swirling underwater currents. This drifting ldquo;souprdquo; stretches from about 500 nautical miles off the Californian coast, across the northern Pacific, past Hawaii and almost as far as Japan.rsquo;

I do think if we labeled all bins with lsquo;Waste for Landfillrsquo;, or lsquo;Waste for Oceanrsquo;, wersquo;d think twicehellip;

Full article here.

This is a wonderful example of real grassroots action. Go West Virginia!

When Emma and I started out, we were pretty excited.

Some of that excitement, I have to admit, came from creating a logo. Neither Emma or I are the best at drawing - let alone design, so we are so lucky to know Emily Wilkinson and Lulu Kitololo!

We sat down with Emily this week (Lulu is on holiday), and shersquo;s so talented. Wersquo;d done some brainstorming the night before, and Emily picked up exactly what we were looking for and then added something we didnrsquo;t know we could!

Precisely what you want from a designer :)

Irsquo;ll post up the final logo design for the UK YCC when itrsquo;s done (somewhere near the end of the month), and Emily has also said shersquo;ll do our website!

Thank you!

The more that I read about climate change, and how wersquo;re going to solve it, Irsquo;m beginning to see that by fighting it - wersquo;re able to transform our society anew. Full of the things we really want, and less of the things we donrsquo;t.

Tonight, as I read one of the most beautiful texts on this (download it here), I feel so empowered, and positive, excited even - that I am joyous at the thought that I can play a role in this.

What a gift.

Just one quote, (it could have been hundreds!)

lsquo;At its deepest level, if we are to address the linked environmental, social, and even spiritual crises, we must address the wellsprings of human caring, motivation, and social identity. To understand these issues, we must seek the help of fields not regularly associated with environmental issues. We have many sophisticated scientific and policy analyses of climate change, species loss, and other environmental issues, but our situation also requires the knowledge and wisdom of psychologists and philosophers, poets and preachers, historians and humanists to help us see and communicate hard truths and inspire individual and social change.rsquo;

Thursday was yesterday.

On Thursday, people in suits from all around the world travelled to Accra in Ghana for the next thrilling and important United Nations Framework Conventhellip;.snooozehellip;.

Basically - the next big climate change talks. According to

This is a major milestone in terms of what wersquo;ll see in Copenhagen in 2009, and we need real commitments from truly committed countries. We need viable proposals to be brought to the table by engaged participants, and we need it now.

If you are interested in the process (and I hope you like acronyms!), then head over to this awesome TakingITGlobal blog with all the news from the Accra talks.

This is a (not-so) pretty picture of Accra. (Irsquo;m kind of glad Irsquo;m in Sussex).

A fantastic op-ed in the Guardian, written at the time of the Kingsnorth Climate Camp.

lsquo;With climate change, in order to be ldquo;seriousrdquo; you need to acknowledge that the end of the world is an interesting detail in the broader pattern of economic ldquo;progressrdquo;, but never succumb to the incredible naivety of the protesters, who fail to realise that the survival of life on earth is a bourgeois luxury which we can ill afford in these times of economic constraint.rsquo;

It reminds me very much of George Marshallrsquo;s point that, although we know climate change is happening, and we know we need to do something, part of us still doesnrsquo;t entirely believe it. Irsquo;ve just bought his (apparently excellent) book in the hope that I can learn exactly how to convince our inner-skeptic.

I love how the people are demonstrating, and as soon as the fossil-fuel stops burning, things turn around.

We can turn things around.

Spain suffers worst droughts in 40 years, and experiences lsquo;water warslsquo;.

Northern Ireland is hit by flooding after extreme downpours.

Tourists in the Canadian Arctic are evacuated as permafrost melts, ice disappears and the risk of flash floods increase.

Climate change is likely to provoke more illegal immigration, destabilize governments and increase terrorism, says a report by the U.S. National Intelligence Council.

And Irsquo;m still asking what happened to the British summer?

Time to do something about it!

Thought China was a lost cause?

Think again!

Who likes the Green Finger?

Well, wersquo;re looking for a couple of eco-heroes to collect as many as they can at the The Nike Human Race on August 31st (a summery Sunday).

The event will see around 40,000 participants run 10K through the streets of London, and WWF and cool people like you will be getting as many people to do a Green Finger!

Whorsquo;s in?

This IBM ad is spot on. It speaks to itrsquo;s audience at an appropriate level, with humour - and urgency.

This piece from the New York Magazine, (which ticks the box demanding new heroes!),

“Just a few years ago, only a celebrity chef could have stirred up so much epicurean excitement. Back then, the food chain extended only as far back as the restaurant kitchens we viewed—sometimes literally, at, say, the Mercer Kitchen or Café Gray—as staging grounds. But we’ve come to realize that dinner originates in the planting row, not on the prep line. We’re increasingly conscious of how our food is produced, and where—and who—it comes from. So New Yorkers are now beginning to fetishize farmers the way we once did chefs. Some of us make ritual trips to buy our wares at the Greenmarket, nod with recognition when our favorites are name-checked on menus, and turn out to hear them speak when they make meet-the-farmer appearances in town.

The meet-the-farmer mania is characterized by a desire for personal connection. “In the past, people would call me and ask, ‘Where can I pick apples? Where can I pick pumpkins?’?” says Coop produce buyer Allen Zimmerman. “The thought of a farm being ‘our’ farm is new.” Our farm. Meet your farmer. I went to hear Hepworth speak at the Coop because I really had come to consider her my farmer: It was like a brand preference; I’d buy anything she grew, from a purple cauliflower to a doughnut peach. I liked the idea that I was buying from an actual person, from an Amy. “Farming for the most part is a man’s world,” says Zimmerman. At the Coop, “Amy is a legend. People meet her and they swoon.rdquo;

Contact your MP here - and tell them to make sure that

• we make an 80% cut in carbon by 2050


• we include international aviation and shipping

I love the Olympics. I just canrsquo;t help myself!

lsquo;Oh yeah - 16.850 on the pummel horse!rsquo; is something Irsquo;ll only say once every four yearshellip; and itrsquo;s amazing how I can get into diving or the cycling team sprint or even the timely beach volleyball match between Georgia and Russia.

The most foolish amazing of them all has to be the marathon, where reigning world champion Catherine Ndereba from Kenya will be going for gold. Irsquo;m cheering her on because shersquo;s one of the UNEP Champions for the Environment.

She said, lsquo;more people need to use their legs rather than cars, whenever possible!rsquo; We might even end up running at the Olympicshellip;

Also check out the 14 other athletes in Beijing who are passionate and acting on environmental issues. 350.org has got some North American athletes to spread the message - I like!

This was filmed at the Schoolrsquo;s Question Time which Emma and I attended.

This week I spoke to a very cool person.

Nicola Davies is an author, but trained as a Zoologist and writes mostly for children. One of her current projects is working with James Lovelock to produce a book on Climate Change for 11-15 year olds.

Knowing that graphs and pie charts wonrsquo;t engage with her readers - shersquo;s telling the personal stories of artists, campaigners and young people and how they got involved with fighting Climate Change.

We had a fantastic chat on the phone, and I hope I gave her some useful ideas. Itrsquo;s so cool to realise that actually, I kind of know what Irsquo;m talking about!

So thanks, Nicola! And good luck!

By the way, shersquo;s sending me a little something in the post - and I suspect it might be this magnificent publicationhellip;.

Thomas Friedman is an interesting guy.

Great writing style, good ideas, but sometimes a little off the mark.

In this piece for the Observer, he wrote,

lsquo;My trip to see the effects of climate change on Greenlandrsquo;s ice sheet leaves me with a very strong opinion: our kids are going to be so angry with us one day. Wersquo;ve charged their future on our Visa cards. Wersquo;ve added so many greenhouse gases to the atmosphere for our generationrsquo;s growth that our kids are likely going to spend a good part of their adulthood, maybe all of it, just dealing with the climate implications of our profligacy. And now our leaders are telling them the way out is lsquo;offshore drillingrsquo; for more climate-changing fossil fuels. Madness. Sheer madness.rsquo; (my emphasis).