Earth at night viewed from space.

Credit: NASA Johnson

#space #nasa #timelapse #science

Here's a thought.

Perhaps if we had NO private schools in the UK, then the (predominantly privately educated) Tory govt would be more inclined to make sure that state education was properly funded.

Buying privilege does nothing but increase inequality.

#ukpolitics #charitable

So just in case you lovely tooters can help me along…I’ve been campaigning for a ban on disposable bbqs over the last year or so.
Just a bit of clarity about what started this campaign and my own circumstances. 
I don’t represent any other group or institution. I’m not funded. 
I’m a dad, a teacher. And my little 9 yo boy got badly injured by a disposable bbq in 2020 
Will received his injuries by running through sand where a disposable bbq had been used several hours before. The bbq had cooled and the owners had removed it to dispose of properly.
The surface of the sand was cool but the thermal nature of dry sand meant that the heat had retained deep down.
Wills accident could happen to anyone. The nature of these items (no legs etc) means that they are usually used straight on the ground causing a range of issues (see parks and moorlands also). 
When they are used on sand like in this instance and then cleared away/taken home, an invisible danger remains on the site for those arriving. 
They have prohibition restrictions in some localities but the problems with environmental damage, waste and injury persists…simply because restrictions are incredibly hard to enforce/police. As long as these are available they will be used and will cause problems often to people or environments that had nothing to do with its original purchase and use. 
And I’m not in any way anti BBQ. I just think it should be done safely. And banning these items would go a long way to helping.
I suppose I think of this like fireworks. 
All fireworks have safety instructions, disposal instructions etc etc. They’re obviously dangerous in some circumstances so you assume people will be sensible.
But in spite of this and in spite of the control measures that are put in place - some types of firework are still just too risky to have available. Sometimes because ‘people’ can’t be trusted to be sensible with them.
And sometimes simply because they’re just inherently dangerous (eg the good old ‘jumping jacks’ back in the 70’s). Eventually you have to draw a line somewhere and say that the cost/benefit balance isn’t quite right with some items…
So we don’t have to ban everything and all fireworks by any means - just the jumping jacks that we watch every year and say “Nah…this ain’t right” 
Not all - but some aren’t worth it.
We’re not raising this just because of our experience… it’s because it’s so many peoples experience. These injuries are frighteningly common (4 that have been similar in nature in the last 10 days).
So these problems alongside the huge amounts of litter they cause, the vast amounts of single use waste the produce and the catastrophic wildfires they cause. 
We simply want to help stop this happening to be anyone else - because it happens very regularly unfortunately 
I hope that clarifies things 
Please do take a minute to sign our petition

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/618664
#environment #waste #bbq #BanDisposableBBQs #firedanger #litter