Photos of the Heath Before and After Climate Camp

As suspected, the climate camp clean up was pretty much perfect.

As published on Indymedia, here’s a photo during the camp:

And here’s the same location afterwards:

Photos by Indymedia, who I think operate a copyleft image policy.

Climate Camp -The Aftermath

… or not. All in all, Blackheath seemed to do pretty well out of the Climate Camp. The people in Provender looked as though all their Christmases had come at once (well, they said they’d been busy). The Hare and Billet looked busier than I’d seen it for a long while, despite the worsening choice of beer (all seems to taste like vinegar these days), and the miserable sign on the loos “toilets are for customers only”.

What I’d really like to know is- has anyone taken any before & after shots of the Heath? I reckon the protesers will have cleaned up pretty well after themselves, save for the odd strands of hay and a couple of fire-pits. It would be nice to compare the two photos.

Personally, I went to some great workshops, saw more people on my patch of the interweb than ever before, and now have a strong desire to go and build a wind turbine. Maybe they should hold it in Blackheath every year, like a kind of Blackheath Burning Man.

Photo by Flickr user Eddie C

One Wedding, Four Funerals and a Compost Toilet

This is a film that should be made.

Missing You Already, a former Blackheathen has come up with an epic tale of hippies and wedding confusion. I’d go and watch it. Bet it would contain more Blackheath (and more laughs) than The Boat That Rocked.

Building Bridges on the Heath?

Owen has some very interesting suggestions somewhere between the camp and the funfair. And apparently the Climate Camp is a Temporary Autonomous Zone. Last time he came to Blackheath it was considerably snowier.

Prosperity without growth, in a tent on Blackheath

I attended David Fleming’s talk at the Climate Camp Is economics without growth possible?. The place was packed. It was really interesting to hear someone playing with big ideas, and asking difficult questions.

I’m the first to admit that I was out of my depth at this talk. The Wind Turbines talk was much more understandable to me. Nonetheless, here are my notes:

Those hooligans, they’re a menace!

Oh no, it’s ok, don’t panic Mayor Steve… They’re having a tidy up:
Climate campers clean up the Commons

Things to do at Climate Camp on Monday

Here are my suggestions if you fancy attending a workshop at the climate camp today.  More ideas here.

Future Scenarios: Science, Permaculture and Economics
London, 10:30-11:30
Exploring future scenarios in the context of climate change. Various futures as predicted through three lenses: science, permaculture and economics. Based on the work of Six Degrees author Mark Lynas, permaculturalist David Holmgren, eco-economist Herman Daly as illustrated by artists for the travelling exhibition: Futures Scenarios.

David Fleming: is economics without growth possible?
Space 9, 14:30-16:00
It is widely agreed that our economy cannot continue to grow indefinitely. Environmental damage and resource depletion will see to that. And yet, if growth were to be halted, then the economy would be destroyed in another way: it is a dynamic system which (like a bicycle) depends on forward movement to maintain its stability. This is the growth curse. The market economy is damned if it grows, and damned if it doesn’t. There are solutions to this, but they are very difficult ones, extending far beyond a reform of the financial system. The workshop will explore them. David Fleming is an economist, inventor of Tradable Energy Quotas (TEQs), and author of Lean Logic: The Empowerment Dictionary (forthcoming).

Bike Maintenance for kids
Kids’ Space, 14:30-16:00
Learn some basic bike maintenance skills.

Training: How to use tripods
Field, 16:30-18:30
Learn how to climb a tripod – an iconic symbol of the camp for climate action, and handy for securing occupations and blockades.

The “Economics without Growth” one looks particularly interesting, and isn’t just some angry protester shouting about injustices in the world, but is a respected academic talking about his suggestions as to how to fix things.

Photo by Flickr user Bagelmouse

Less of a Cornish Rebellion than a Welsh Outsourcing

From WalesOnline news:

Welsh cops have been drafted into London to deal with up to 3,000 environmental protesters.
Nearly 30 officers from North Wales Police were sent to the Climate Camp at Blackheath in east London, overlooking the capital’s Docklands and Canary Wharf, earlier this week.

Dafauxdils photo by flickr user Zimpenfish

Cinema in Blackheath?

Sort of… There is a strange brown tent in the Climate Camp, with a van poking out of the front of it, furnished with two solar panels! It appears to be a mobile cinema, showing various eco-movies! Sunday 9.30pm Doctor Strangelove anyone?

The optimists

A couple of much more upbeat pieces in The Times:

Giles Hattersley: Why we are all climate camp followers now
(which wins the Bugle award for least imaginative headline).

As I walked up there, I did hear a load of people shouting “get a job” from the safety of their cars as they drove past the camp… Didn’t hear anyone reply “get a bike” though. The article also mentions the number of planes over Blackheath.

Jonathan Leake: From margin to mainstream
Claiming that the protest gives the government the “political space” that they require to get tough on climate change.