Tag Archives: Owen Paterson

Paterson fails to see wood, only trees

Happy New Year everybody. Let’s hope 2014 is better than 2013. I was wondering what to write for my first blog post of 2014 when my usual supplier turned up. Yes, you’ve guessed it – Owen Paterson Secretary of State … Continue reading

Posted in Ancient Woodland, anti-environmental rhetoric, banking crisis, biodiversity offsetting, enlightenment, Matt Ridley, neoliberalism, Owen Paterson | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

EFRA fails to grill Sells, more of a light poaching

As  I recall there was a lot of effort involved in turning Parliamentary Select Committees from a cross-between talking shops and clubs, into an influential element of Parliamentary procedure and ultimately an addition to the British Democratic process. Watching the … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Sells, Natural England | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Owen Paterson: Enlightenment Man

Owen Paterson is Enlightenment Man in the modern day. OP believes that the environment needs to be improved and repeats this at every opportunity. He also promotes individualism and the public benefits derived from private profit-making. This is his central … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, badgers, biodiversity offsetting, Charities campaigning, conservation, deregulation, enlightenment, environmental policy, ethics, George Monbiot, management, neoliberalism, Owen Paterson | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Biodiversity Offsets and the Antique Woodland Roadshow

What exactly is an Antique Woodland? The other day I found myself at a recent event put on by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Biodiversity to discuss Biodiversity Offsets. The Consultation is out at the moment and you can … Continue reading

Posted in barry gardiner, Biodiversity APPG, biodiversity offsetting, housing, Owen Paterson | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Biodiversity Offsetting – some further thoughts

Today’s blog appears on the Woodland Trust Blog site. http://wtcampaigns.wordpress.com/2013/10/26/biodiversity-offsetting-some-related-issues/.

Posted in agriculture, biodiversity, biodiversity offsetting, Charities campaigning, ecosystem services, environmental policy, forest elephant, George Monbiot, housing, management, meadows, neoliberalism, Owen Paterson, rewilding, scrub, spiritual value, straight tusked elephant, uplands | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Paterson: Badgers ate my credibility

  By BadgerHero (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons “It woz the badgers wot dunnit ossifer, honest.” It’s embarrassing isn’t it, when a Cabinet Minister appears on national TV and makes such crass statements. Owen Paterson … Continue reading

Posted in agricultural pests, agriculture, anti conservation rhetoric, anti-environmental rhetoric, badgers, David Heath, environmental policy, farming, George Eustice, Owen Paterson, Richard Benyon | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Party Time 2: Owen Paterson’s Speech at the Tory Party Conference

I don’t have time to write an analysis of Owen Paterson’s speech at the Conservative Party Conference, but you can read it here. I’ll try and take a look at it this evening. At a fringe meeting Paterson also appeared … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, Common Agricultural Policy, Conservative Party Conference, farming, Owen Paterson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

GMOs again: the myth of herbicide tolerant crops

A more serious GMO story after yesterday’s frippery. One of the many myths about GMOs, and one which Owen Paterson used in his GMO lobbying speech earlier this week, is that GMOs will be friendlier to the environment because they … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, farming, GMOs, herbicide resistant weeds, herbicide tolerant crops, Owen Paterson, rubbish weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

GMOs can bring Owen Paterson and George Monbiot together

Has our esteemed Secretary of State for the Environment Owen Paterson been reading George Monbiot’s new book Feral, where he rewilds himself in order to attain an enlightened state that reveals a vision of a rewilded future? For me this … Continue reading

Posted in climate change, farming, George Monbiot, GMOs, Owen Paterson, rewilding | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments