Mallen Baker's Blog

Who's to blame for all the Copenhagen blaming?

22 Dec 2009

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In a post just before the Copenhagen Conference I said that the battle over climate change could be lost. "A perfectly likely future is one where the climate deteriorates whilst the human race expends energy pointing the finger of blame, arguing and fighting over the diminishing spoils, and finally breathing its last utterly confused about what happened". (1 comment)

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Does a socially responsible company rewrite history on demand?

18 Dec 2009

I had a fascinating conversation last week with the CSR manager from a company that produces educational software. The company, I was told, had to leave any mention of Charles Darwin out of versions of the software that are sold in certain states in the US. (1 comment)

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Don't be a galloping midget

17 Dec 2009

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Greenpeace crashed the Heads of State dinner at Copenhagen, apparently, in order to unfurl a banner because they said that 'the voice of civil society' has been marginalised. Friends of the Earth took part in protests earlier, and complained that they got banned from the summit as a result. These groups have had their highly effective moments in the past, but on this occasion, they are not helping. (6 comments)

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Carbon wars

8 Dec 2009

We wanted to avoid this, but it looks like the fight over climate change is going to get ugly. When that happens, you have to understand that the game has changed.

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Why the mobile companies ignored the dangers of car phones

7 Dec 2009

Bob Lucky, a former Bell Labs engineer is quoted in an excellent article in the New York Times. "If you're an engineer, you don't want to outlaw the great technology you've been working on. If you're a marketing person, you don't want to outlaw the thing you've been trying to sell. If you're a CEO you don't want to outlaw the thing that's making a lot of money". (1 comment)

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Who's knocking at your door?

5 Dec 2009

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The latest example of irresponsible selling came knocking at my door recently. (3 comments)

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What's the market value for an investment banker?

4 Dec 2009

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So the CEO and board of Royal Bank of Scotland are threatening a walk-out if the government - which has a majority stake in the company at the moment - vetos its proposed massive bonuses for its investment bankers.

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