Last Thursday I went to a very well-attended meeting run by GREN (Greater Reading Environmental Network) called 'Calling Copenhagen' in RISC in the ward. It featured Reading climate scientist Dr Jonathan Gregory, Phil Thornhill from the Campaign Against Climate Change and a certain Martin Salter MP.
As the only other PPC present (amazingly, not a single Conservative known to me was present: whatever happened to 'Vote Blue, Go Green'?), I was asked to give some thoughts on the priorities.
One of the key issues I raised is one I've raised in the past and which really affects Katesgrove - making homes warm. With our old housing stock, energy wastage is a huge issue for the planet and for people's pockets, and we have a commitment to tackle this massive task over 10 years.
Dr Gregory's presentation was informative and the discussion generally very constructive in talking about the enormous shift in attitudes and resources required to prevent the sort of disastrous damage being predicted with ever greater certainty by scientists. And unlike certain politicians, I do take scientific advice when given it.
The only sour note was struck by M Salter, who repeated a lie he has often told about the showing of the Al Gore film 'An Inconvenient Truth' by Reading Borough Council in early 2007; claiming that the Council had shown it and the Liberal Democrats had followed suit. I have seen evidence that Salter himself emailed his colleagues and twisted the Council's arm to show the film, having read media coverage of the showing we held.... in late 2006. He didn't like it and reacted badly when I raised this!
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