A year or two ago, I wrote a piece about ‘The Day after Tomorrow’- that ‘B’ movie style Hollywood take on climate change, in which a single mega-storm ushered in a new ice age.  Absurd though the science was (to say nothing of the acting) the film did at least attempt to put a serious issue into a popular entertainment form, which is not a bad thing. Two weeks ago, I took my twelve year old and his friends to see another film on the same theme, this time, starring the man who, in his own self-deprecating words, ‘used to be the next President of the United States’, but who is now touring the world with a compelling slide show about the true science and impact of global warming. Al Gore’s film, ‘ An inconvenient truth’, may lack the dramatic scenes of tidal waves sweeping through Manhattan, but if anything, it is even more  sobering in its assessment of the problem, and what we need to do to respond to it. (more…)

That this House welcomes the Global Action for Darfur Day initiative undertaken by Crisis Action and supporting organisations; welcomes UN Security Council Resolution 1706, which provides for a UN mandated force in Darfur; is seriously concerned by the deteriorating security situation in the country, which has lead to the recent and abhorrent killings of civilians and of humanitarian aid workers; agrees with the African Union’s own assessment that the AMIS force is under-resourced to fulfil its role and condemns the Sudanese government for its failure to protect its citizens from an escalation of violence; therefore calls on the international community, especially the UK Government, to place pressure on China and Russia at the UN Security Council to ensure that the Sudanese government adheres to the Darfur Peace Agreement and allows UN forces to take over from AMIS in the region once its mandate has expired; calls on the government of Sudan to provide unimpeded humanitarian access to the victims of the conflict; and further calls on the European Union to consider targeted sanctions in the event of continuous breaches of the peace agreement by Khartoum, thereby demonstrating a true and lasting commitment to ending a conflict that has cost over 180,000 lives and affected four million others.

That this House notes that driving a 13 miles per gallon (Mpg) 4×4 rather than a 25mpg car for a year will waste more energy than leaving the refrigerator open for seven years, leaving the television on for 32 years or leaving the light on for 34 years; notes with concern that urban 4×4s are involved in 25 per cent. more accidents than saloon cars and that if a pedestrian is hit by a 4×4 they are twice as likely to be killed as if they are hit by a saloon car; further notes that sales of 4×4s grew by 12.8 per cent. in 2004 but only five per cent. are ever taken off road; and congratulates the Mayor of London on his plan to impose a higher congestion charge on 4×4s in order to cut carbon emissions in the capital.

That this House warmly welcomes the Good Childhood Inquiry recently launched by the Children’s Society to renew society’s understanding of childhood for the twenty-first century; congratulates the Government for its achievements in improving the lives of children, including lifting more than 800,000 children from poverty and creating Sure Start; nevertheless is concerned by the increasing pressure on young people and the British Medical Association’s finding that one in 10 children aged under 16 now suffer from mental health problems; and looks forward to an inclusive and balanced national debate about how to give every child a good childhood.

To the Annual General Meeting of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, to mark another year in which a small and dedicated team of staff and volunteers stand between thousands of anxious and sometimes desperate people, and debt, repossession, arrears, eviction and more. What an impressive bunch they are. Like their counterparts in the local law centre and other key advice organisations, such as CHAS and the Central London Advice Service in Church Street, they offer services which range from simple signposting to high level support with appeals in what must be one of the most challenging environments in the whole country.
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