Protection should be the default state of the oceans.
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 13th June 2025
I have been saying this a lot recently: “At last!” At last, a mainstream film bluntly revealing the plunder of our seas. At last, a proposed ban on bottom trawling in so-called “marine protected areas” (MPAs). At last, some solid research on seabed carbon and the vast releases caused by the trawlers ploughing it up. But still I feel that almost everyone is missing the point.
Ian Leslie has released what looks to be a fascinating book about the Beatles and more specifically the relationship between Lennon and McCartney. I thought that I too might as well get in on the act and talk about the … Continue reading →
By Cameron Murray and Tim Helm This article was originally published on Fresh Economic Thinking. Posted here with permission. A recent working paper by Schuyler Louie, John A. Mondragon, and Johannes Wieland has been making waves in urban economics circles. The paper title might provide a clue as to why— “Supply Constraints do not Explain House Price […]
Keir Starmer has accidentally given us four years in which to build a new political system. We should seize the chance.
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 27th May 2025
This feels terminal. The breaches of trust have been so frequent, so vast and so decisive that the voters Labour has already lost are unlikely to return. In one forum after another, I hear the same sentiments: “I voted for change, not the same or worse.” “I’ve voted Labour all my life, but that’s it for me.” “I feel I’ve been had.”
I try to replicate my more substantial posts on Substack here, but forgot this from a few weeks ago. So I’m now making amends. When it comes to Magna Carta clause 39 is the one hanging in the foyer. No … Continue reading →
Psychology Professor Michael Inzlicht has a confession to make. He’s been peddling shoddy wares – his words. And he’s feeling quite bad about the whole thing. The work wasn’t just intellectually weak. It did real harm. Though his own proposals … Continue reading →
I came upon this explanation for millennials’ lack of a work ethic. I don’t want this to seem censorious of millennials. In fact I have no such complaint about millennials – but if my comments seem a little censorious of … Continue reading →
Keir Starmer’s attack on our planning system is an almost-perfect repeat of Boris Johnson’s disaster. Why can’t he see that?
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 15th May 2025
The precedent is uncanny, and the failure to learn from it downright mystifying. Keir Starmer is rushing gladly towards the catastrophe Boris Johnson inflicted on himself in 2020. Had he set out to stymie Labour’s chances of re-election, he couldn’t be doing it better.
Dartmoor National Park is not dying; it is being killed, and these are the killers.
By George Monbiot, adapted from a Bluesky thread, 11th May 2025.
This is Piles Copse, the largest remaining fragment of high-ground temperate rainforest on Dartmoor. It’s a tiny speck of green in a dismal, human-made desert. Prepare yourselves for a story of breathtaking perversity.
