Margot Hodson

Milliband is trying real hard and maybe the arrival of Hannah Spencer in parliament might make Labour realise that voters really do want action on climate change

This must be Martin's prettiest paper yet! If you click on the link on the Journal page for it, you will find in the paper actual videos taking you through leaves and stems in full colour.

UK must stockpile food in readiness for climate shocks or war, expert warns Prof Tim Lang says country produces far less food than it needs to feed population and is particularly vulnerable

I've been concerned about UK food security for a long time. In addition to the factors in this article, we are also building over our farmland. We only just fed the nation in WW2, we need to take this issue seriously.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Yes, I'd agree with you on that. Our local farmers have "easy care" sheep, who shed their own wool because it costs more to sheer than the wool is worth. This has had a major impact on sheep farming and might have also pushed up the cost of lamb.

Sheep are disappearing from the UK's hills - and its dinner plates Have we have passed

This is interesting. UK lamb consumption has plummeted in recent decades. A little is reduced meat overall but a much bigger factor is change in style of weekly meat consumption - fewer weekly Sunday roasts, more global recipes with chicken.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Read these words from 100 years ago about immigrants in Britain – and see how history is chillingly repeating itself | George Monbiot Shabana Mahmood’s new rights clampdown looks outlandish until we remember that this kind of hardline action is part of our country’s fabric, says George Monbiot

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Much better to build more renewable energy and promote electric cars

St John’s Church, Woodbridge, is holding a "Cherishing the Earth" day conference on Saturday, 21st March 2026 (9.30am to 4pm). Lord Deben will be giving an address, and the keynote speakers are Martin & Margot Hodson from JRI. There are all kinds of wonderful workshops being arranged, and it will be a great day. All welcome! It is only £5 each to cover refreshments and expenses.

St John’s Church, Woodbridge, is holding a "Cherishing the Earth" day conference on Sat. 21 Mar. 2026 (9.30am - 4pm). Lord Deben, me & @margothodson.bsky.social from @johnrayinitiative.bsky.social are speakers. All welcome! £5 each. Book here: stjohnswoodbridge.churchsuite.com/events/nylt1...

Two ships hit near Strait of Hormuz as fears grow of oil price rises International shipping is said to have come to a standstill at the strait's entrance, with fears of disruption already pushing up global oil prices.

An important reason for needing to transition to renewable energy
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Thousands of pollution incidents in England downgraded without site visit, data suggests Exclusive: Whistleblower figures show large rise in ‘serious’ to ‘minor’ downgrades based on water company evidence

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Labour Party members who think the Green Party is extreme have themselves moved to the right

Waitrose suspends sale of mackerel because of overfishing Supermarket chain says it will point customers to herring and other species to protect threatened Atlantic stocks

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Child, 4, arrived alone for heart surgery. His doctor became his mom. “I think he is alive today because of Amy and Ryan stepping up to the plate and taking him in,” said Jason Cole, True’s cardiologist.

This story restores your faith in human nature. .

www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/20...

Good news. I hope they plant a lot of trees, though. London needs shady avenues for its ever hotter summers.

Earth's heat to produce electricity for homes in UK clean energy first Water super-heated by rocks will also provide the UK's first domestic supply of the critical mineral lithium.

BBC News - Earth's heat to power 10,000 homes in renewable energy first for UK
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Emperor Penguins moult to survive, but scientists fear it may now be killing them Each year the birds must stay on floating ice long enough to replace their weather-beaten feathers.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

NT environmentalists ‘gobsmacked’ at federal green light to bulldoze nearly 3,000 hectares of tropical savanna Daly River region is home to threatened species such as the ghost bat, Gouldian finch, pig-nosed turtle and red goshawk

This makes a mockery of Australia's nature laws
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Channel 4’s Dirty Business is a clarion call to nationalise the water industry As the drama shows, private firms no longer able to pollute the coast of England of Wales just switched to rivers instead

It is madness to have our water industry in private hands.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The Great Olympic lie: untold story of Winter Games’ huge environmental impact Rivers drained dry to create artificial snow, a forest cut down for the bobsleigh track – IOC’s claims to prioritise sustainability at Milano Cortina exposed

www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...

there's a nugget here which helps to explain Brown's character and why he was so incensed by the allegations against Mandelson from their time in office

I agree, he was an outstanding PM and we had him for far too short a time.

An image of a scenic Chinese river channel running through a traditional Chinese village, with few boats docked with a green text overlay that reads: “China’s decade long commercial fishing ban for China’s “Mother River” has already seen success, with endangered species already making a return.” The YPCCC logo, a circular band of five colors, is in the upper right hand corner of the image.

China’s 2020 ten-year commercial fishing ban on the Yangtze River has already led to a doubling of fish biomass, along with the gradual return of several endangered species. insideclimatenews.org/news/1202202...

‘Tinderbox’ UK may be one shock away from food riots, experts say Weakened food security could tip into unrest after a cyber-attack, extreme weather or conflict, analysis finds

The combination of climate change, risk of cyber attacks, war and having left the EU all leave the UK vulnerable to food shortages. Poor support of British farmers, building on farmland and supply chain management, exacerbate the situation.
www.theguardian.com/food/2026/fe...

This year's winter storms could prove a disaster for UK puffins Hundreds of dead and dying seabirds are washing up on British beaches.

Sea birds face a 'perfect storm' of increased severity of storms combined with loss of food and safe feeding grounds from human overfishing.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Floreana giant tortoise reintroduced to Galápagos island after almost 200 years Subspecies driven to extinction by hungry whalers returns after ‘back breeding’ programme using partial descendants

Such wonderful news!
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

How Birmingham is getting ahead of measles by encouraging vaccine uptake Nurses and doctors are trying to understand and assuage the concerns some patients have over vaccines.

Very impressed with how NHS staff in Birmingham UK are seeking to increase vaccination rates. My great aunt lost her only child to measles. It is not a mild disease
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Durrell teams caught up in Madagascar cyclone Conservationists have been displaced after a tropical cyclone that devastated much of the island.

We hear about the severe storms affecting the US and Europe but less often hear about those that affect Africa and Asia. This creates an imbalance in our perception.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Yes, I saw that. I do worry about the number of new developments on ground susceptible to flooding. There should be legislation to block it.

KFC, Nando's, and others ditch chicken welfare pledge as demand soars Wingstop, Burger King, and others have walked away from an industry commitment to avoid using fast-growing chickens

This is very disappointing, the suffering of factory farmed, fast growing chickens is appalling.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Court Rules Trump Administration’s Secret “Climate Working Group” Violated Federal Law Court declared today that the Trump administration violated federal law when it secretly formed the “Climate Working Group” and tasked it with writing a dangerously slanted report used as the basis fo...

A big win today: a federal court found that the Trump administration’s sham report attacking climate science was created in secret by a hand-picked set of climate policy opponents, violating the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Read our statement here: