Cheltenham Science Festival events

It's been a week of meetings - last night two - after a Transition Stroud Energy group meeting planning the Open Homes it was a Green party monthly meeting, tonight it was Woodcraft Folk and kite flying on Minch Common then straight to Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish Council - anyway I'll try and catch up on the blog soon but wanted to list the Cheltenham Science Festival events - a Friends of the Earth colleague sent this of events that might particularly interest.....anyhow a few more emails to look at before bed....

All events at the Cheltenham Town Hall (or in the tents immediately behind the Town Hall). Wednesday and Thursday are so so but Fri through Sun looks excellent.

Wed 4th June
2:15pm-3:15pm – 100 Years of British Aviation £5/4 – Following the history of flight right up to the A380 monster, with a Concorde pilot and Rolls Royce engineer to put a positive spin on it all. Hmmm this must be one for Staverton campaigners.....

Thurs 5th June
4:14-5:15pm – Sustainable World: John Beddington £7/6 – The new chief scientific adviser to our government talks to Jon Porritt about the challenges of protecting the world’s resources.
(sponsored Amec)
4:30-5:30, - Future Cars £5/4 - A Formula 1 engineer and Telegraph motoring correspondent indulge in fantasies about going to Tesco in a hydrogen fuelled carbon fibre car.
(sponsored Messier Dowty)

Fri 6th June
2-3pm – Sustainable World: Sustainable China £6/5– Jon Porritt talks to the ARUP engineer responsible for developing China’s first ‘sustainable city’. How can China develop sustainably?
(sponsored environment agency)
4-5pm – The Prince and the Rainforests £7/6 – Beginning with a video introduction from our future King, a great bloke from Papua New Guinea talks about the urgency of protecting the forests.
(in association with the Prince’s Rainforest’s Project)
7-8pm – Sustainable World: Too Many People? £8/7 - Jon Porritt must be very brave or quite mad, as he dares to ask how we can reduce the world’s population in a way that is fair, democratic and fast!
(sponsored environment agency)

Sat 7th June
4-5pm – Sustainable World: The Hot Topic £7/6 – Former chief scientific advisor to the government David King on the technological and political measures to tackle climate change and keep the lights on. (sponsored Environment Agency)
4-5pm - Learning From Other Planets £6/5 – What can the runaway greenhouse effect on Venus tell us about climate change on our planet?
(sponsored Research councils UK)
8:45pm-10pm – Mark Watson, Crap at the Environment £10/8 – Award winning comedian Mark Watson on the humourous aspects of his personal mission to halve his carbon footprint in a year.
(sponsored Taylor Brothers colour printers)

Sunday 8th June
2:15pm-3:15pm – Climate Engineering £7/6 – Jon Porritt joins various scientific types to discuss the merits of climate techno-fixes like George Bush’s crazy mirrors in space plan.
(sponsored Royal Academy of Engineering, Natural Environment Research Council)
4-5pm - Living With Nuclear £6/5 – A debate that needs to be challenged as it assumes that nuclear power is a climate solution, concentrating on the tawdry business of how to do it.
(sponsored Amec – yuck!)

To get tickets or request a programme contact the Town Hall Box Office on 01242 227979 or see the festival’s website:
http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/whats_on/science_festival.html