Monday, December 28, 2009

Revelations

a crystal ballIf you want to check on how I did with my 2009 predictions,
click here.

So, what jollies await us in 2010 I wonder?
Here’s my baker’s dozen predictions.

1. The colour of the year 2010 will be Blue.

2. England will get knocked out of the World Cup on Penalties.

3. There will be blue ribbons on the Premier League trophy.

4. There will be Light Blue ribbons on the FA Cup.

5. Esso Blue will make a comeback.

6. At the General Election there will be a Green Party candidate in every London constituency except Barking.

7. But there will be no Westminster breakthrough for the Greens, UKIP or the BNP.

8. The General Election will produce a Conservative government with a tidy majority.

9. There will be a photocall for Cameron’s Cuties, all wearing a blue Mrs T suit and power heels, [a bit like that Virgin ad only a different colour] which will be branded as sexist by the opposition.

10. Gordon Brown will not resign in defeat and will vow to lead Labour into the 2015 election.

11. John Prescott will issue a press release written in CAPITAL LETTERS.

12. Locally, the next Mayor of Redbridge will be a Liberal Democrat.

13. Redbridge libraries will be outsourced and run by a Supermarket chain.

Please feel free to add your own in the comments.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

That was the Year that was

a magnifying glass
Yes folks, it’s time to look back at 2009, and also 2008, and assess whether or not our council deserve their Christmas bonuses and if we want to give them the prestigious B21 Gold Star. Here is the forward look for 2008 and here is the end of term report for 2008 and a look forward to 2009.

So, how have we progressed? Not much changes, but there are some.

The absent Public Toilet at Fullwell Cross.
- the council are to issue an anti-diuretic to all residents
Barkingside Regeneration Feasibility Study.
- underway via Dr Who Consultants
Completion of Barkingside High Street Road works
- still waiting for the works at the Fremantle traffic lights
Improvement of the High Street Alleyways.
- worse than ever
A Regular Market in the High street
- Pah! Where are the "Business" Partnership when you need them?
Putting the Plan into Action at Fairlop Waters
- Progress, Yippee! But you’re gonna have to pay to park
The Fairlop Waters memorial
- None, but an excellent memorial service
King George Hospital A&E
- yet again!
A Bus route along Forest Road.
- Bah! But Cllr Sladden is on the case
Handover of Claybury Park to the Council.
- Completed. About bloody time.
The Clayhall Avenue/Woodford Avenue junction
- still a nightmare
A new Swimming Pool
- a generation missed
Adopting the Sustainable Communities Bill
- Not sure
Scrapping Unity Square
- disunity
Webcasting
- awaiting make-up contract or automatic digital picture enhancement

And a few surprises:
The excellent new green waste collection service.
The refreshing new open style of leadership.
Counter-balanced by the lock-down of the Redbridge-i Forum

Happy New Year

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Believers, Sceptics and Deniers

I’ve kept a little quiet on this month’s Muppet Show Copenhagen Conference. I never really expected it to come to much, such is the nature of these things. But this piece in the Guardian is worth a read. It’s all China’s fault. Or is it? Do you actually look at where the stuff you buy is made? Mostly China, that’s where. Except for English Ale of course which is about the only thing we do still make ourselves, apart from a mess at which our politicians excel. Perhaps we should export it? The Ale that is!

Anyway, there has been a spat exchange of views in the local Wanstead & Woodford Guardian on the subject between Mark Dawes, local Green chappie and Nick Jones, local UKIP chappie. The thing is they are both wrong on Climate Change, or at least not quite right. Or it may just be a dysfunction of language or perhaps they just don’t understand how science works?

Mark’s first letter is about the role of Animal farming in the production of greenhouse gases and promotes a meat free Monday campaign. Fair enough, that is a legitimate point of view, and one you would expect a vegetarian to make, possibly even from a local BNP vegetarian councillor.

Nick, though is having none of it. He charges the greens as having an anti-capitalist agenda “seeking to undermine Western economies” and “wishing to impose a vegetarian diet on us all by demonising cows and meat production”. Over reaction or what? But this is the phrase that Mark objects to in the context of the compensation agreed by western nations “for unproven man made global warming”.

Mark responds: “He is wrong. There is now a consensus of thousands of scientists with overwhelming proof that climate change is human made.”. I won’t bother with Nick’s reply to that.

My turn. The only place round here where you will find “proof” is in mathematics. Science does not do proof. Period. The best you can get in science is “not yet disproven”. That’s the way it is. We can never be sure we have all the evidence so we can never be sure our theory or hypothesis is correct. It is always subject to the challenge of new evidence. Of course some hypothesis stand the test of time better than others, they become established but they are not, any of them, beyond being demolished by an observation or evidence newly acquired. Sorry to disappoint but that’s the way it is.

So, Nick, making a claim that a theory or hypothesis is "unproven" when it cannot be proven in the first place is a non sequitur.
"Unproven" is a whole bunch different from “not yet disproven”. The fact is we have a man made global warming or AGW hypothesis and nobody, but nobody has managed so far to put a dent in it. Not you Nick, not UKIP nor any self respecting scientist. Of course we could degenerate here into conspiracy theory where research is being
“directed” and that is a possibility, but we need evidence and not conjecture.

To Mark, right now there may well be overwhelming "evidence" that climate change is human made, but there is no "proof" and we don’t know what evidence will emerge tomorrow or the day after that.

Here is a link to an hour long lecture by a physicist, Jasper Kirkby, sent in by a respected sceptic, Judith. It is mis-titled “Climategate: Revolt of the Physicists”. It is nothing of the sort. I have sat through the whole hour and perhaps remarkably I followed it and understood it. But then I do have a physics background.

What you have to listen out for is not what you want to hear but what he says. Repeatedly he says this does not disprove AGW, it merely raises more questions that need to be addressed. That is the difference between science and politics.

All new scientific theories or hypotheses go through this burn-in stage. Where the contemporary vested interests of those who stand to gain or lose lock horns. It takes time to settle down. But this one has an extra dimension – do we have time?

Nineteen years ago:
“The threat to our world comes not only from tyrants and their tanks. It can be more insidious though less visible. The danger of global warming is as yet unseen, but real enough for us to make changes and sacrifices, so that we do not live at the expense of future generations.
Our ability to come together to stop or limit damage to the world’s environment will be perhaps the greatest test of how far we can act as a world community. No-one should under-estimate the imagination that will be required, nor the scientific effort, nor the unprecedented co-operation we shall have to show. We shall need statesmanship of a rare order. It’s because we know that, that we are here today.“
Now. Who said that? Someone with a science backgound I shouldn’t wonder!

..you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk? ...

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

More UFOs in Barkingside



Photograph taken in Barkingside back garden on Monday 21st December, the shortest day. It was snowing and there was thick cloud cover. I've no idea what it is!! Spooky!

UPDATE: Mystery solved. It was the luminous sun thingy on my shed.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Get Boris

A few weeks ago Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, visited Redbridge and was accosted by a well dressed gentleman and former Justice of the Peace. He was complaining about the suspension of works at Newbury Park Station and had to be restrained from giving Boris a “suspended” sentence. Now’s your chance.

Next month, in fact next year, Boris will be back here in Redbridge. It’s an event entitled:

It’s your Environment – Have your say

"London needs to be recognised as a world leader in improving the environment both locally and globally. The Mayor and guest speakers will take questions from the audience in this lively debate." Hmmm, who are they expecting?

Monday 18th January 2010 7-8:30pm
Kenneth More Theatre, Oakfield Road, Ilford, IG1 1BT

To request FREE tickets please call the box office at the Kenneth More Theatre on 020 8553 4466. You can have 2 tickets posted to you. There are 500 but auditorium holds 360. The latest arriving 140 will watch a screen in the foyer!

Meanwhile Boris announces another freeze on what City Hall takes from council tax payer’s pockets while blowing his own trumpet on achievements and having the inevitable dig at his predecessor. Here is the budget consultation.

But the Conservative Assembly members don’t seem too keen to save money and cut out unnecessary bureaucracy? Roger will correct me if I’m wrong but only 11 members voted for a motion proposed by the other Johnson [Darren] calling for the Government Office for London [GoL] to be abolished.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Santa’s Valentine

Not been to Valentines Mansion yet? Well, now’s your chance with the added bonus of a meet up with Santa.

Santa Trail & Grotto
Start at the Mansion for a 30 minute trail and finish at the Dovecote Grotto to meet Santa for a present
Sunday 20 December &
Wednesday 23 December
12 pm to 3pm

£5 per child, up to 10 years
Booking & payment in advance is essential
Bookings & enquiries: 020 8708 8100

Valentines Mansion & Gardens, Valentines Park, Emerson Rd, Ilford, Essex, IG1 4XA

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Goodwill to All Men

Last Thursday morning I received an email from Redbridge Council containing the draft Community Cohesion Strategy that is now out for consultation. I parked it in my Bring Forward file but one thought struck me straight away. The key to community cohesion is communication. Now, Redbridge council did have a really good facility to allow members of the community to communicate with each other. It was a Forum on their website. But at the end of October they effectively shut it down by removing the ability of residents to create and discuss subjects of their own choice. Contributions from residents to the forum are now negligible. At the same time they introduced the “Ask my Neighbour” facility and some of the contributors migrated over to this. But on that same Thursday, in the evening, that facility was also effectively shut down. It was borough wide but is now limited to neighbours within a 1Km radius of your postcode, assuming you have provided one.

Is Redbridge Council serious about its desire for Community Cohesion or is it merely concerned with ticking boxes in order to obtain the resultant government funds?

Highlights:

To design services that foster the coming together of people of different ages and backgrounds.

Community cohesion is strongest where people have the opportunity and the capacity to participate in their community as they wish and on an equal basis with others.

Redbridge is a diverse place where people do generally get on well together. We have not experienced the serious tensions that have cause difficulties in other parts of the country. We do recognise, however, that there are pressures on cohesion created by population growth and the increasing ethnic and religious diversity of our communities.

Our Local Area Agreement (LAA) includes action areas requiring a commitment to community cohesion. Achieving our LAA targets will lead to governmental reward money. The LAA targets related to community cohesion are:
- People from different backgrounds getting on well together in their local area (NI 1)
- The number of people who engage in civic activities (NI 3)

The Equalities Act will place a new duty on Government Ministers, departments and key public bodies, including local authorities and NHS bodies, to consider what action they can take to reduce the socio-economic inequalities that people face. The duty will affect how public bodies make strategic decisions about spending and service delivery. It will enshrine in law the role of public bodies in narrowing gaps in outcomes resulting from socio-economic disadvantage.

Since the 2001 census, the population of Redbridge has grown rapidly, particularly in the south-east of the borough. The growth is similar to inner London growth and approximately double that of other outer London boroughs.

Our population has grown twice as fast as that of Outer London during the same period. Using 2001 as a base year, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) forecasts Redbridge’s population to grow by 11% and 16% by 2011 and 2016 respectively.

The borough is currently ranked as the 9th most diverse borough in the country. In 2001, more than 36% of the people in Redbridge came from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups compared to 29% for London. The 2006 ethnic estimates showed that BME groups accounted for 41% of the population in Redbridge. This is projected to rise to over 50% by 2012 and to almost 60% by 2026.

Young people in the borough are especially diverse, with 70% of primary and secondary school students coming from BME backgrounds. This number is also rapidly rising.

A significant number of migrant workers from Eastern European countries are living and/or working in Redbridge. It is difficult to estimate their population but National Insurance registrations indicate that there are over 1,000 Eastern European migrants entering the borough each year. The largest numbers come from the Republic of Lithuania.

Race and religiously aggravated crimes are relatively low in comparison to London and similar boroughs.

On average, the population of Redbridge is relatively prosperous with 73% of residents aged 16 to 74 being economically active. 7.2% of economically active people are unemployed. The Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) claimant rate was 4.6% in August 2009, ranging from 2.1% to 6.1% at ward level. The JSA rates are higher in the south of the borough. Those in employment are well remunerated with a mean household income of £40,000 per annum. However, the mean household income is below £35,000 per annum in some wards.

The results show that in Redbridge 74% of respondents believe people get on well together. The area where most people agreed that people of different backgrounds get on well together was Area 1 (Snaresbrook and Wanstead) with 84%. The lowest percentages agreeing with this statement were in Area 3 (Fairlop, Fullwell, Hainault) with 65%.

Evidence from the research suggests that A10 [Accession states] migrants are unprepared to deal with the multiculturalism of London.

The influx of new migrants and the consequent competition for scare resources was identified as a potential source of tension. Another issue raised by the research was the level of tension between the well-established Black Minority Ethnic groups (BME) and new migrants from Eastern Europe.

To summarise. We are already doing quite well on this front; racial crime is quite low. That’s why people want to come and live here and why our population growth is twice as much as other comparable boroughs. But that is also our Achilles heel. And a tricky problem for the politicians because the tension appears to be between the established ethnic groups and new migrants.

Monday, December 14, 2009

No Room at the Inn


Time is running out for tigers

"There could be as few as 3,200 wild tigers left in the world."





Another bird of prey killed

"There was a rabbit next to it, also dead with its body cut open. I knew then the red kite had been poisoned."






Dead foxes are being found on a local allotment site. There is evidence to suggest they have been poisoned.




Addition: I knew there was another one I'd seen recently. Australian Camels are being killed for being thirsty.






And on the seventh day God realised that sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something, badly.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

The Nativity Hoodoo

The above is a photograph of a nativity play taken in 1956. My mate, who played Joseph, died in the summer of this year and we still await the coroner’s verdict. [That is not a joke]. Whether or not the taking of his photograph in a nativity play had anything to do with him dying 53 years later is not something that the authorities can take any chances about. Accordingly schools up and down the country are banning photographers, parents, grandparents and relatives from taking photos and videos of their children in nativity plays. It’s a precaution – we must never let this happen again.

Meanwhile the Gestapo anti-terrorist Police are rounding up any stray photographers who dare to flash their telescopic lenses in public. That they know these people are out there and where to find them is because, wait for it…., they were spotted on police CCTV cameras, the sort that are now installed in most schools. So, you parents, just ask for the CCTV footage under the Freedom of Information Act.

R.I.P. Anthony William Hughes, 1949 – 2009

Friday, December 11, 2009

King George Rally

There will be a Rally, Protest, Demonstration, Mass Tantrum, call it what you like, on Saturday 9th January 2010 between 12:00 noon and 2:00pm in Ilford Town Centre outside the Town Hall to register disapproval at the proposals to downgrade King George Hospital and remove its Accident & Emergency Facility. This is a non party political event organised by Ilford South Businessman Wilson Chowdhry. Lee Scott MP Ilford North has confirmed his attendance. All parties and many other local groups have been invited.

Remember, that our councillors passed a cross party resolution on this at last Full Council and that Cllr Sladden’s survey of General Practioners showed a whopping majority opposed to these proposals.

There are also two on-line e-petitions. One created by Mr Chowdhry and one created by Redbridge Eye. [That’s not Redbridge-i the council, they seem to be pre-occupied with stopping local residents talking to each other].

The two petitions are worded differently, so please have a look and sign one or the other, or both if you like.

Save King George Hospital – Wilson Chowdhry

Save King George Hospital – Redbridge Eye

Please, also, if you feel so inclined, pass one or both of these links onto to your friends, neighbours and relatives.

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Seasonal Greetings

a pre-1930s Green SantaThe committee of Barkingside 21 wish all our readers a safe and enjoyable Christmas followed by a Happy New Year. Please be extra careful on the roads, you may have left the car keys at home while attending the office party, but others may not.

Our hardcopy newsletter number 28, December 2009, is currently popping through letterboxes. If you would like a printable version in either Word or PDF please email.

Any items in the newsletter that are not already published on this site will appear in due course – it’s timing you know. A blog is much more flexible.

And a reminder of the 6 advice sheets from last year given out by the Barkingside Crime Prevention Office

Be Safe, not sorry this Christmas
Bogus Callers
Cash Point Security
Internet Crime
Steer Clear of Car Crime
Street Wise

Winter Coffee Mornings

coffee pot and mug Yes I know it's nearly Christmas and you are all busy making toys for the children or baking puddings and mince pies, but having booked them up I thought I’d let you know now so you can ponder the delights we have to offer while roasting your chestnuts over an open fire.

Thursday 21st January 2010

Guest speaker: Adrienne Noon
Communications Director Redbridge Primary Care Trust


Thursday 18th February 2010
Guest speaker: Geoffrey Munnery
The Referenda Society


Thursday 18th March 2010
Guest speaker: Tom Platt
from Living Streets


These are all held in the Hainault Room, Fullwell Cross Library 10:00am – 12:00noon

We do Tea and biscuits too, and it's all Fairtrade.

There is no charge for these events and they are open to all.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Oh! Ho! O’s

Well, that’s my 2010 April 1st post up the swanney!

Statement on Home page of Redbridge-i website.
"Redbridge Council regularly talks to a wide range of companies about development opportunities in the Borough. We are aware Leyton Orient is interested in relocating to Redbridge but have not had any formal approach about Fairlop Waters or any other site in the Borough. We would need to see a firm proposal before considering the idea, and any development proposal would be the subject of wide public consultation. The Leader of the Council has categorically stated that Leyton Orient will not be going to Fairlop Waters."
Report in Tuesday's "The Sun".

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Hot Air and Wind

Well, December has crept up behind me and slapped me on the head. Apparently there are a couple of events this coming weekend which had, up to now, escaped me. There is to be some sort of Parade or Procession in Central London on Saturday 5th and a load of people waving flags and scarves and things outside Parliament. Why they just don’t go to a football match like everyone else I don’t know.

Anyway, it seems to have somethng to do with Copenhagen, which is in Denmark, but since they have already qualified for next years World Cup fest in South Africa I was a bit bemused so had to do some more research.

It would appear to have something to do with a load of fat cats and freeloaders exercising their size 12 carbon footprints and descending upon that fair city on Monday 7th for an orgy of indulgance, consumption and self gratification. From what I understand the process is geared to using vast amounts of fossil fuels whilst at the same time urging us ordinary folks not to use EasyJet and turn down our heating control by 1 degree, not forgetting that they encourage people like me to turn it up by giving me a £250 Winter Fuel Allowance. Have they not heard of Damart and Cocoa?

Ah, more news. It now seems to have something to do with a chain email hoax about Global Warming. But the exposure of a bunch of unscrupulous scientists at the University of East Anglia, who have been cooking the books as well as the planet, now appears to have settled the argument and Global Warming has stopped. At least according to the Daily Mash.

Right, now I’m getting it. Those fat cats and their entourages of security, consultants and advisors are worried that the price of the infinite supply of fossil fuels will be driven up by loads of poor people having lots of babies and increasing demand, thereby threatening their cheap summer holidays at Cliff Richard’s villa and their daily trip in the 4x4 to the liquer store to stock up on Champagne and Pate de Foi Gras, not to mention the horror of having to raise their fees on the lecture circuit to cover the cost of petrol.

Or perhaps not? To add to the Climate Confusion a leading Green up in Norwich compliments the local Tories for recognising there is a “climate emergency”, while another Green castigates a leading Tory for not liking renewable energy in the form of wind turbines, at the same time that his mate Boris is down at Ilford Fire Station marvelling at the building's carbon-busting measures. Roger gets it: "saving fuel saves money".

Agreement? Action? Don’t hold your breath! But do get yerself a decent pair of Wellies.

The James Leal Centre

For those of you who don’t know, James Leal was a Conservative Councillor for Bridge ward from May 2002 to 2006. He was re-elected in May 2006 but sadly died shortly afterwards. He was in his 30s. I often bumped into him on the Central Line. A very nice bloke. That is why the new re-build of the vandalised and burnt down Ray House is named after him.

The Redbridge Press Release starts:

The eagerly awaited James Leal Visitor Centre will be officially opened to the public in a special ceremony on Saturday 12 December, between 11am and 3pm.
Yes, eagerly awaited. It’s only 9 months late!

It goes on:

The Centre has been crowned the most environmentally-friendly building in the Borough due to a number of features including solar panels, earth tubes which regulate the building's temperature and a biomass boiler which provides energy by burning recycled wood pellets.
Oh really! The last progress report I sat through from a Council Officer said that some of these environmental features had been abandoned due to the usual state sponsored cost overrun. But I will be very pleased to be proved wrong when presented with the evidence that they actually exist.

Mixed response from park users as new visitor centre nears completion

Remembered:

Healthy Signs?

The consultation on the new Health proposals was due to kick off on 1st December and last for 14 weeks up to 8th March 2010. It appeared, fleetingly, on the Redbridge Council webite and then disappeared. Our thanks to Mark for taking a record of the link and putting it up the Redbridge Eye site. Here it is. From here you can access the consultation document itself and complete the online questionnaire.

Public consultation on A&E axe WILL start today

Public consultation launched last night

A public consultation has been launched to examine plans to close the A&E at King George Hospital

As part of this consultation we have Adrienne Noon, Director of Communications for the Redbridge Primary Care Trust coming to our January coffee morning on the 21st. Book it!

Comment from someone in the know:

I have to say that those of us with years of experience examining the NHS can understand some of the points being made in the review of North East London Health Services, particularly the fact that our Hospital Trust was so badly managed that it is virtually broke beyond mending, and that whoever wins next year's election is going to have to severely reduce spending.

That's that then! We're ****ed!

Barnado's Development

As well as the High Street being up for improvement there is also a Development plan for the Barnado's site. This one though is much more likely to go ahead as they own the land and have control.

Highlights are:

Their rather unloved Head Office building is to be demolished and relocated at the north east corner of the site. Hopefully they will engage a decent architect this time.

More residential housing on surplus or under-utilised areas of the site, including between the new headquarters and the Children’s Church, land to the south of the Children’s Church, and at the corner of Horns Road / Civic Way (the former New Mossford School).

Re-siting of the memorial on to the village green. The green to be much more open for community and public access.

The children’s church to provide enhanced community uses and space.

Read all about it here.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Fairlop Square

The draft version of the Barkingside Town Centre Improvement Plan has now been published and is available on the Redbridge-i website:

It breaks down into:
Barkingside draft reportv2 - section 1 (pdf, 2.11mb)
Barkingside draft reportv2 - section 2 (pdf, 1.11mb)
Barkingside Vision Drawing (pdf, 397kb)
Barkingside draft reportv2 - section 3 (pdf, 4.38mb)
Barkingside draft reportv2 - section 4 (pdf, 7.14mb)

Section 3 is the interesting bit.

If you would like to view a hard copy, 3 are available at Fullwell Cross Library for reference.

The Plan has been developed by the Council and their consultants: studio REAL, DTZ and MVA based on a programme of research and a series of consultation workshops. The Plan has been based around a series of short and long term projects which can be found in section 3 under the headings:-

  • Public Realm and Access Improvements
  • Land Use and Development Projects
  • Business, Community and Image Improvements

The Plan will be aimed at directing future changes to promote a more attractive, prosperous and sustainable town centre.

As you are probably aware, you will have a chance to contribute to the development of the Plan at the forthcoming meeting of the Planning and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee at 6.30pm on Thursday 10th December at Ilford County High School on Fremantle Road. An early viewing of a display of the proposals will be available from 5.45pm. We hope that you can attend this event. The agenda and committee report is now available from the Redbridge-i website:

There will also be a further opportunity for you to find out what is being proposed and to give your comments at a Public Meeting in the new year organised jointly by the Council and Barkingside 21. This will be at 7pm on Monday 1st February 2010 in the Aldborough room, Fullwell Cross Library.

Now where, you might ask, are the Barkingside Business Partnership in all this. Good question. Nowhere is the answer. If you read those reports above you will find the diplomatic phrase under the heading “Weaknesses” – “Need for stronger Business Partnership”. Well, aside from one notable exception a Business Partnership that actually exists and engages in the art of digital extraction might be a help. You'd think, wouldn't you, that those who stand to "profit" might actually pay some attention.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Message in a Bottle

I expect that most of us have at one time or another drunk bottled water. The thing is that when I go walking I take a plastic bottle of water with me. It’ll have tap water in it but I did have to buy the bottled water in the first place to get the bottle. This is what is known a Re-Use which is much better than recycling.

Anyway the point of this post is that I received an email titled “Water Disasters” containing a Powerpoint Presentation compiled by PM Architecture in New York and telling me how bad bottled water is for me and the environment and how for e.g. chemicals can leach out of the plastic into the water and cause breast cancer. You can view it here.

Now, I’m not one to take these things at face value and as I’m sitting in front of a huge resource of information known as the Internet, I thought I’d have a look round. Sure enough the bottled water producers and the plastics industry were none too pleased with it.

Tom Lauria, the Vice President for Communications at the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) wrote to PM Architecture to complain. You can read his letter here. They have also produced their own Powerpoint slide show “Thirst for Truth” with the same graphics but a different interpretation, some of which are pretty fundamental Home Truths.

See what you think? Compare the two.

There is also some debunking, although not entirely, on the plastic bottle thing here.