Green Economist website launched by Stroud blogger

Here's the comments below to the press that Molly and I sent out this last week re the recent blog poll - see more about poll here. But this blog entry is more about drawing attention to a great new Green Economics website that Molly (pictured) has set up...

The Green Economist has just been launched - see it at: www.greeneconomist.org

Take a look - it is a great simple introduction to some of the key issues we face - and why we cannot shy away from grappling with this issue. Indeed it is, of course, fundamental to Green Politics yet all too often can get sidelined by other debates and issues which dare I say are often trivial by comparison. The environmental crisis is caused by our economic system. It is there we need to look for some of the solutions.

TWO STROUD BLOGGERS MAKE TOP 10 IN TOTAL POLITICS POLL OF GREEN BLOGGERS

Stroud's bloggers Molly Scott Cato and Green party District councillor Philip Booth came away with positions 6 and 10. The poll results are based on more than 2,200 people who voted in the Total Politics Annual Blog Poll during the second half of July. There are now millions of blogs worldwide. They are a form of website or part of a website that is usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, debate, thoughts or reports.

Philip Booth, whose blog Ruscombe Green, sees over 3,000 visitors a month, said: "The poll is only a bit of fun, but I'm delighted with the result. I started the blog when I was first elected as a local Green councillor in May 2006 as a way to share what I was doing with local residents. The blog tries to give a flavour of what I'm doing as a local councillor, - it is a way to share stuff that interests me, local projects and campaigns. I get a number of emails daily about the blogs: some challenging, some supporting. It is another way to be in touch with people."

Philip Booth, who has over 2,500 blog entries to date, added: "In the last few weeks for example I've covered numerous campaigns and lots of local stuff like the Motorway Services, a biodiversity walk along the Ruscombe Brook, the Council's contract with Veolia, the Eco-Renovation Open Homes on 11th/12th September, the Bread Street Street party, the campaign for 20 mph and even a video of Kevin McCloud opening the Hamwell Leaze Boardwalk."

Molly Scott Cato, Economics spokesperson for the Green Party, who came in at number 6 with her 'Gaian Economics', ahead of Guardian blogger George Monbiot, said: "As Bloggers who share our inspiration in nature and our vision of a world of justice and peace, it is rather tricky when the annual competition of political blogs comes around. Perhaps the heartening news is that so many of the messages we put out this year become the big stories of next year. We may not have the most readers, but those we have will get the 'news' before everybody else."