The Bristol Festival of Ideas has a number of interesting talks coming up end of May.
A selection of the environmentally themed events is shown below including a talk by the ever-interesting Mr Monbiot plus discussions of fast fashion, the protest movement, local food and green urban design.
Some events are free, some are not.
Booking information can be found on: http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk
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George Monbiot's Left Hook
17 May 2011, 19.30-21.30 (with 30 minute interval)
St George's Bristol
George Monbiot is in pugnacious mood. One of our foremost thinkers and environmentalists, unbeaten intellectual champion of free speech, and polemicist supreme, Monbiot comes to Bristol for a special double bill. In the first half he addresses a hot topic of the day and then, in the second, takes on all comers in bouts of verbal fisticuffs with the audience. Possible issues range from the Avonmouth biofuel plan to badger culling, short-selling and the banks to climate change deniers, and why he tried to arrest an American neoconservative when he spoke in Britain.
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The Real Cost of Fast Fashion
18 May 2011, 19.30-20.30
Watershed
How do we create a new world when we have so much waste? Is our passion for clothes ruining the world? Julie Hill, government adviser, campaigner and now author of The Secret Life of Stuff: A Manual for a New Material World, loves ‘stuff’, but we’ve gone too far. Whether it’s ‘affluenza’, hoarding, replacing not repairing, we all have too much. Clothes are a special problem. Lucy Siegle, ethical columnist for The Observer, looks at the global epidemic of unsustainable fashion, taking stock of our economic health and moral accountabilities to expose the pitfalls of fast fashion. Refocussing the debate squarely back on the importance of basic consumer rights, Siegle reveals the truth behind cut-price, bulk fashion and the importance of purchasing decisions, advocating the case for a new sustainable design era where we are assured of value for money: ethically, morally and in real terms.
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David Babbs, Dan Hind, Shiv Malik and Laurie Penny
The New Protest Movements
19 May 2011, 18.00-19.00
Arnolfini, Bristol
Since the coalition was formed in May 2011, and as it responds to the crash and implements the largest programme of public expenditure cuts ever, new forms of protest have emerged. Whether it’s traditional demonstrations or new online campaigns, the results have been significant and in some cases, such as the proposal to sell off forests, have already resulted in change: large numbers of students have been radicalised, MPs have been inundated with email letters of protest, banks have been raided and there’s much more to come. But will it change things significantly? Is online activism just ‘slacktivism’? Will student protest fizzle out? And what’s next? David Babbs, Executive Director, 38 Degrees, discusses the new protest with Dan Hind (author of The Return of the Public), Shiv Malik, activist and co-author of the book on intergenerational conflict, The Jilted Generation, and Laurie Penny, journalist and activist whose reports often come from the front line of protest.
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How We Can Feed Bristol in the Future
20 May 2011, 18.00-19.00
Arnolfini, Bristol
How will cities feed themselves in the future without endangering the future of the planet? Is there a role for greater production locally? The Soil Association is 65 this year – and it’s based in Bristol. Tom Andrews, Programmes Director, Soil Association and Joy Carey (author of Who Feeds Bristol? Towards a Resilient Food Plan) look at where our food comes from, and how cities can become more self-sufficient and make food production more sustainable and welfare-friendly. This builds on considerable work being undertaken currently in reducing Bristol’s food miles and food wastage.
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Retrofitting Bristol to Make a Green Capital
21 May 2011, 17.00-18.00
Arnolfini, Bristol
The task of retrofitting cities is set to become an important part of managing our transition to a low-carbon future. We know what future green cities look like – ‘cities of short distances’ where you can reach work and services within walking or cycling distance of home; a series of denser communities linked together by ‘green infrastructure’ corridors of wildlife, food growing and rapid public transport. Easy if you are building a new city from scratch, but how do we retrofit a city like Bristol to become a green capital? This future vision requires a new approach to planning. Paul Rainger, Forum for the Future, guides us through this, but needs your help as well. Bring your own demolition ball.
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