Hello, my name is John Booth!
Thankfully, more and more people are waking up to the horror of man-made climate change and the Catastrophic impact our societies are having on our own health, our children’s and the health of the natural world that sustains us all.
Some have leapt into action locally and are working with others from their community to raise awareness and develop practical projects which benefit the local and global environment. Some, however, are not leaping anywhere.
This blog is intended to be a celebration of positive action taken by local people making the impossible possible. A chronicle for future generations to identify those of us that refused to go quietly into that good night but instead through deeds raged raged (peacefully) against the providers of the light.
We chose the name Boiling Frogs because (a) it is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of sinister threats that arise gradually rather than suddenly. And (b) it’s cool and we thought it would be fun.
Our objective with Boiling Frogs Blog (BFB) is to raise awareness and hopefully encourage lots more people to get involved in local community action for the environment by simply blogging about people getting involved in local community action for the environment.
We will assemble a smorgasbord of stories about local grassroots environmental activism to promote existing initiatives and to inspire and motivate people to join in or even get together with others and start a brand new project in their own area.
I have been campaigning on environmental issues from local to global since the mid 70s. I’m extremely tempted every now and then to print off a few thousand “We Told You So” T-shirts. Other than that I was not sure for a long time what I could possibly do next to convince more people to take action to protect our dying planet.
The recent uptake in concern and protest about the Climate and Ecological Emergency, especially from young people has been encouraging. I have attended many of these protests with my family over the past few years and there is always a great feel good factor and a fantastic atmosphere with the opportunity to connect with some amazing people. However, are they having the desired effect? We thought we had to do more and speak out to more people.
In my humble opinion we have gambled for far too long with the fate of our future generations and the fragile health of our beautiful blue green home by putting far too much faith in the idea that we can somehow change the minds of politicians and big business. It just isn’t working at all.
The idea for BFB came from the amount of time that I was spending online trying to find out what was going on and realising how difficult it must be for people either new to environmental solution-based thinking looking for ways to get involved locally or even people already active but too busy with other life demands to find new projects to support. Simply by sharing the wonderful stories of people in communities far and wide coming together to take action we will provide new ideas for some and inspiration and impetus for others.
We are all involved with this project. My wife with her technology expertise, my stepdaughter’s art and photography and my years of experience and maybe my own brand of silliness. We hope you like our contribution and a bit of fun hopefully you will find it useful. We have made our company a not-for-profit just in case we make loads of money and we can use it to do more.🤞
Local people taking action in their communities across the world is proving time and time again to be the only way to realise true and lasting change.
I must be honest that over the years I have sometimes felt that all we were doing in the first 50 years of the “Environmental Movement” was slowing the consumption monster down a little. With the news as of 08/01/23 that the top fossil fuel companies have made lifetime profits from the quadruple gas prices and because of the promise of more profits to come that they have reneged on their pointless and meagre carbon reduction targets for 2030. It makes me wonder if the insane globalists capitalist carbon dependent ideology has up to now only been clearing its throat.
I have tried to remain positive during lockdowns, social distancing and the almost extinction of public gatherings, especially in pubs which I am sure £7 a pint hasn’t helped. I came out of Covid with a reduced sense of smell but a renewed sense of purpose. The first Essex Green Weekend @ Othona in 2022 reminded me that there are many within the Essex community who are passionate about environmental issues. All we need is cohesion, a sense of direction and a continued fighting spirit.
Our Essex outreach
The past couple of years my wife and I have been watching closely the re-emergence of the Transition Towns movement in the UK. Taking part in their #TogetherWeCan summit back in May 2022 we realised that their formula along with the tools and support they offer ticked lots of essential boxes. We believe that it is the initiative with the most potential in bringing people together to develop a diverse citizen-led response to the climate and ecological emergency at the local level.
Working in partnership with TransitionNetwork.org we will be inviting community stakeholders across Essex to join us on the Transition Together Vive online platform. Our aim is to encourage debate, brain storming and collaboration in a shared vision of a more positive future. We hope together we can design and fund resilience building community-owned projects that will benefit the whole Essex community and the generations yet to come. We will do all we can with Boiling Frogs Blog to help our community build more resilience to the changes that are coming and we look forward to working together with old friends and new towards a future that we know deep within us is positive and possible.
There is so much going on out there but for us it’s all about diversity of choice or in other words different strokes for different folks.
After over 20 years as a clinical support worker I know that community is all about just ordinary everyday people who want to live their lives in peace and see their families live long and happy lives.
We need to come up with new and imaginative ways to engage with as many people as possible across our communities and enlist their support if we are to face the environmental and financial challenges of an uncertain future.
Simple things like litter picking can be quite enjoyable and rewarding if organised well. I have enjoyed it in the past and hope to again in the future. However, some people may think it’s a waste of time, the council’s responsibility, that’s why I pay my taxes, etc., etc. Or even that they would not be seen dead picking up other people’s rubbish, what would the neighbours think? I know the same can be said about noisy, potentially violent though peaceful home-made placard waving demonstrations which are not everyone’s cup of tea.
My lovely wife and soulmate has persuaded me through constant reminders (aka nagging) that she has absolute faith in me because after so many years campaigning on environmental issues I have had an incredible amount of Experience and that my Insights, my Story if you will, would be helpful and interesting to others. She also believes I have other rather unique qualities that make me an ideal candidate for blogging. They are that I know nothing about blogging or social media. I call my writing style informal and conversational because I know nothing about grammar or writing. My spelling is on a par with Winnie the Pooh. I have absolutely no academic qualifications to give credence to my concerns about the Eco Armageddon happening around us. I don’t have two brass farthings to rub together… Finally, and probably most importantly, she says is that even after so many years I still know I have to speak out and I still refuse to sit idly by while societies continue to slip into a coma concerning the Climate and Ecological Emergency.
I have always believed that in a crisis those with the ability to act have the responsibility to act. I also have a responsibility as a husband, a father, a stepfather, a grandfather, a neighbour and a human being to help change the global narrative.
We know many have a story to tell. What’s your story? Why not write a guest blog for us to share?
Some are new to the uplifting effects that taking positive action and rediscovering a sense of community can bring. Others like me who have been doing it for years are a bit worse for wear and tear and welcome the moral boost from new reinforcements.
We will be reaching out to community initiatives across the UK to provide us with regular updates of their activities.
We are busy working on the nuts and bolts of the blog. Just to give an idea of the things we will be covering:
If you still believe in home-made placard waving and parliamentary petition signing
Info on organised demonstrations and the issues behind the latest petitions.
International days
Find out all about special days, where you can help, celebrate, raise awareness and take action and if you’re doing it right have fun.
Be the change campaigns
The simple action you can take locally by joining a national campaign like Say No To The Mow and that doesn’t involve getting a plastic lawn. Oh, don’t get me started on what I think of those!
Community energy
For those a little more adventurous, we will help you find out how to set up local energy cooperatives.
Come back soon or better yet join our boiling frogs bulletin below.
Join us on social media and help us spread the word about taking local action. Join those making a stand against climate change and the relentless destruction of the natural environment.
Well, lots to do so I better get on with it.
Have a great week!
March 2023
More to follow….🌍