Sometimes I ask myself: how can we live surrounded by so much water and still be unable to provide a safe glass of water? Beneath the ground, there is groundwater. In front of us, there is the Mediterranean Sea, stretching endlessly. But accessing groundwater requires functioning wells, pumps, electricity, or fuel. Desalinating seawater also requires equipment, energy, maintenance, and infrastructure. In Gaza, these basic systems have been severely affected by the destruction of infrastructure and the lack of electricity and fuel. But children do not think about pumps, desalination plants, fuel, or infrastructure. My young niece does not ask why there is no functioning water system. She only knows that she is thirsty. And when safe drinking water is unavailable, children can end up drinking salty seawater simply because they need something to drink. This leads me to a question: Can we desalinate seawater without depending on electricity or diesel fuel? The answer is yes, at least on a small scale. Solar distillation can use the heat of the sun to evaporate water and collect the condensed freshwater. Other solar-thermal systems can also use sunlight directly as a source of heat rather than relying entirely on electricity. The technology exists. But the real question is not simply “Can seawater be desalinated?” The question is: Can we build a simple, low-energy system that can provide safe drinking water for families living without reliable electricity or fuel? Can we use the sun that is above us every day? Can we use the sea that surrounds us? Can we repair existing wells where possible? Can we develop small, decentralized water systems that can continue working even when fuel is unavailable? We are not asking for luxury. We are asking for something much simpler: A safe glass of water for a thirsty child. Maybe the problem is not that there is no water. Maybe the problem is that we have lost the ability to reach it. https://chuffed.org/project/help-fatima-and-her-family

Please welcome @Suki Zoe. Suki is a fellow Green Party member and our social media Director for the East Hampshire Green Party. But she is also my girlfriend. So I am a very biased. All members are equal, but some are a little bit more... special. Sorry, but it is true. We live in a world of individuals, some of whom have close family, but even they may be scattered across a nation or even across continents. One of the greatest challenges facing us as we try to reduce the impact of the Climate Crisis is the need to connect with others, build alliances and friendships, build communities, and work together. Village life, for most of us, is not even a memory. So our understanding of what community looks like may be sketchy at best. I have found recently that even when ideals overlap, you can have conflict. The sense of urgency battles with the concept of the right or wrong way to do things. Even when I feel our efforts are minuscule and will have no impact at all, I still want to do the right thing, say the right thing, treat others with respect, and yet I want to move forward quickly. We are in an emergency; tipping points loom on the horizon. When my efforts seem thwarted by my colleagues, I feel panicked. We can battle over the minutiae of wording and intent, or we can do the best we can and keep moving. But the cost of haste can result in weeks of delay. The need to align efforts, again and again, is vital in order to avoid the kind of conflict that can tear nascent communities apart. I find this requirement agonisingly frustrating, but I have found this last month even more painful as I see the results of pushing for speed, rather than understanding, have set us back. The broken nature of our modern lives means that trust is low. Intention is doubted and tested. We are willing to offer some leeway, but we seek the proof that the other is genuine. We are ready to pounce at the slightest hint that ill will is intended. It is understandable; there are so many examples of deviousness and self-serving actions all around us. The only way to overcome this is self-reflection, owning our own actions, then seeking to understand the other. When a conflict occurs, time is needed for this process to run its course.

I am feeling overwhelmed. I wrote about the making of billionaires, and it is still valid for the old school billionaires of just one year ago. But now what is going on in the USA is creating a whole new batch of billionaires that is no longer constrained by any morality, concern for reputation, or sense of honour or duty. But it would be foolish to think that it is restricted to the actions of one person, one leader. But it is a step change in scale and speed. No longer do you have to wait a decade to become a billionaire, or another decade to 10x that. If you are willing to sacrifice people's lives, whole nations and not give a damn about the enviroinment ot legacy... You can become a billionaire within a year. The old billionaire system seemed so hard to change - the systems put in place over the last decades, the ones that allow tax evasion, offshore accounts, public subsidies, exploitation of foreign or domestic workers, were all constrained by the desire to look good and noble - there was at least a nod at public service, public good. Drop that, and can get rich so much quicker. You could get richer by buying shares in planet-destroying industries. But you can join the billionaire class by buying a drone company, then starting a war and then getting a share of a $35 billion contract for new armaments. You just need to ignore the impact on human lives, nature and the environment. And you need complicit political leaders who are willing to disregard the duties and laws that they swore an oath to uphold. That is the big - the world stage, the leaders of the world's richest and most powerful countries. Now to the small. We have managed to get a candidate elected to local office. Her first days in office have been beset by political shenanigans, as those in power felt threatened by her energy and demands, which made them look ineffective or incompetent. We have moved to elections for seats on a council two levels up, past the district level to the county level.

Please welcome @Kaushik Sayeemohan, a self-proclaimed optimist - like myself! Is there any other way to be? I read and write about a lot of the issues facing the - and there are many and sometimes it can feel as though we are in deep trouble. But then I read about the increasing number of people taking action and the strangest thing happens - I fear that this group may become redundant. ...and then I think - what if that is the real aim of this group - to make ourselves redundant.. We help produce the people that bring about change - we are the people that bring about change - and we are so succesful this group becomes obsolete. Welcome to the group Kaushik!

Please welcome @Ben Wills our very newest member. I have known Bne for a few years and we have managed to chat from time to time on Climate Change issues, politics and the way of the world. I feel that there have been too few conversations! Welcome Ben!