Radio Plays - The Environment

There are few radio plays which have been written on the subject of the environment.

This is surprising since the 'Green' agenda until recently (Copenhagen 2009) threatened to sweep away all reason and most of our money in the name of saving the planet. Even so, our Prime Minister Gordon Brown managed to pledge £1.5 billion of our money to an EU climate project, in spite of the recession.

Most of this will be spent in attempting to limit carbon dioxide, a trace gas, which will have absolutely no effect on global temperatures (around 95% of the greenhouse effect is caused by water vapour).

The question is not whether the planet has warmed, but whether man has caused it. For that there is no evidence; none, not any of any kind.

If you are interested in the global warming debate, see www.habitat21.co.uk .

Anyway, back to radio drama. One or two writers have set plays in the not-so-distant future, where the earth has warmed and regions have flooded. I recall something by Mike Walker, and will try to remember the title and find a description...something about drowning, I think. Meanwhile, here are some other plays loosely fitting into the same category.


ICED....2011
22 Oct 2011. By Kate Clanchy. A Finnish teenager goes on a low-carbon expedition to the North Pole to look at the melting ice. She blogs during the journey. Samantha Dakin, Felicity Montague, Colin Stinton, Adam Billington. I was away and missed this one; a pity. Details from Radio Times.Producer Jonquil Panting.


THE KINGSNORTH SIX....2011
24 May 11, R4. In 2007, environmental activists broke into Kingsnorth Power Station to protest about government proposals to build more coal-fired power stations. They believed that man-made carbon dioxide emanating from such stations was altering the planet's climate. They scaled the chimney - no mean achievement - and subsequently were taken to court for criminal damage. Good to see another play about energy - a very important topic - on the schedules.

Cast: Daniel Rabin, Federay Holmes, David Seddon, Brian Bowles, Mark Carey, Sean Baker, Rob Swinton. Producer Fiona Kelcher. 45m. More information about this play on the 2011 plays page.


THE CONTINGENCY PLAN....2009
R3, 13 Dec 09. By Steve Waters. Britain faces catastrophic floods, and scientists and politicians argue about what to say and what to do. A glaciologist arrives in London determined to convince the authorities that they must act straight away. But .... do they listen?

Cast: Joseph Kloska, Vineeta Rishi, Robin Soans, Susan Brown, David Bark-Jones, Stella Gonet, Michael Elwyn. Producer Peter Leslie Wild.

There's an undeniable thrill as the UK hurtles towards possible devastation under 7 metre high waves. The play raises serious questions about climate change. A young glaciologist researching ice melts in the Polar regions leads him to predict that British coasts will be destroyed by increased sea levels and changes in the weather.....(Jane Anderson, edited review, Radio Times, 12 Dec 09).

ND comment - Found this play engrossing. Steve Waters mentions David Cameron as P.M., setting the play in 2010. He didn't commit any scientific howlers, either. A good play. 120min

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