November 2022

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Big News 
COP27 - disaster or success? With the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, British politics has calmed down and other news has had the opportunity to dominate the headlines this month. The biggest headlines focused on COP27, the 27th United Nations Climate Change conference, which was held in Egypt from 6 November until 18 November 2022. Ideally, the annual conference is an opportunity for world leaders to come together and agree on policies which limit global temperature rises and help the world adapt to the devastating impacts of climate change. This year negotiations centred around a fund that would compensate developing countries for loss and damage caused by climate change. There was some success on this front, but not as much as some nations would have liked. Leaders agreed that this fund was needed but there was no specific agreement on how it will be financed. There was also no progress regarding the 2021 Glasgow climate pact which promised to “phase down unabated coal power.” Likewise, the conference set no new targets or commitments to limit global temperatures rises to 1.5°C, an agreement made 7 years ago in Paris. This mixed bag of outcomes has attracted heavy, and justifiably, criticism. Sadly, when it comes to minimising the damage done by climate it appears that this year's conference was a bit of a failure.

8 Billion. Alongside climate change the ever increasing human population has featured heavily in headlines this month as we finally surpassed a global population of 8 billion. For some this is a growing concern; increasing population means finding space for everyone to live as well as managing the impact that many people have on the environment. On the other hand, it has been predicted that in the coming years we will reach a peak population and experience a slow decline in birth rate. There is ongoing debate about which side of the argument is more justified - is overpopulation actually the existential threat it’s made out to be or is the risk of underpopulation a greater concern?

Little News
Artemis 1 program a success. In more positive news, this month NASA launched the Orion spacecraft, as part of the Artemis 1 program. This is the first step in an attempt to reestablish our exploration of the moon. The programme will consist of three stages, Artemis 1 which is currently underway consists of an uncrewed test flight which will orbit the Moon and collect data for future missions. This will be followed by Artemis 2, expected to launch in 2024, which will take a crewed flight beyond the Moon. Finally, Artemis 3 which has an estimated launch of 2025, will land a crew on the moon, and will feature the first female astronaut and first astronaut of colour to ever set foot on the moon's surface. The dates of the future missions depend heavily on the success of previous missions; which will collect data and determine how feasible further missions are. Thus far the first stages of Artemis 1 are going according to plan, and could be laying the groundwork for humanity's future in space.

What I’ve been enjoying this month 
Rings of Power. I’m a bit behind on TV this month so I’ve only just finished watching The Rings of Power, the Lord of the Rings series set thousands of years before the LOTR trilogy. When it was first launched I saw a lot of discontent and anger around the series. And I have to ask - why so much hate? It looks beautiful, the characters are fine and the plot, while not fully fleshed out, is engaging enough. Yes it has its flaws, but given time to grow (which it will have given that 5 seasons are expected) it could be a spectacular show. I’ve seen the complaint that “It’s not the world Tolkien designed” (an argument which has strong undertones of racism). I find that an odd complaint given that at least a few members of the official Tolkien society are accepting when it comes to adaptations. All I can say is that I enjoyed it and ’m looking forward to future seasons. If that means I should be cast into the fires of Mount Doom, then so be it.

Until next month - Bye!