Bøker av Andrew Simms

Advertising is selling us a dream, a lifestyle. It promises us fulfillment and tells us where to buy it - in international flights, beef from (what was once) the Amazon, and a vast array of goods we consume like there was no tomorrow. And if advertising succeeds in keeping us on our current trajectory - there may not be a tomorrow. In Badvertising, Andrew Simms and Leo Murray raise the alarm about an industry that is making us both unhealthy and unhappy and driving the planet to the precipice of environmental collapse. The book explores the psychological impact of being barraged by thousands of advertisements daily. How does the commercialization of our public spaces weaken our sense of belonging? What are the pitfalls of regulation? How are car manufacturers, airlines, and oil companies lobbying to weaken climate action? And most crucially of all, what can we do to stop it?

From Anita Roy's introduction... On 11 March, 2020, Andrew Simms created a WhatsApp group. He and his fellow poets and co-conspirators, Nicky Saunter and Nick Robins, decided to call it, with admirable clarity, One Poem a Week. Each of the friends posted one poem every week, on a theme randomly chosen by one of them, a theme often sparked by the news of the day, or the time of the year - and sometimes both. It was a way of staying connected - with each other, and with the wider world - during those crazy months of the Covid pandemic when everything was going pear-shaped and viral. When I was added, a few months into the project, the first image that arrived was a photograph of bright green acorns. "Turn your back for a second and these are everywhere..." said Andrew, with a surprise- face emoji. To which Nick shot back a poem, 'Hum', punctuated liberally with emojis of his own, featuring sizzling sunbeams, syncopated galaxies, and the skitter of beeswings. They were on a roll. The rolling and scrolling kept on, gathering momentum, as this renga of renegades passed the poetic baton to and>What grew from these green acorns was a project that has, til date, produced a small forest: hundreds of poems, images, jokes, and - yes - emojis, that together have created a sort of tapestry, not quite Bayeux in its scope but like it, conveying a vivid snapshot of lived experience. You will find in both the first selection (entitled Plague Poems) and this current crop, a slice of the times: political events, seasonal shifts, the upswing and downturn of moods, personal and societal. Many of the poems deal directly with the stark contemporary reality of climate change and ecosystem collapse. This forms the sort of tone, the background hum, the energy behind the poems themselves: it is the colour, or ground, against which everything is set - like the pale linen upon which the needleworkers of Bayeux embroidered their coloured yarns. But the overall result is far from despairing or dark. You will find here laughter, surprise, joy even. There is in this collection of poems a reflection of the variety of responses we all have to these crises, as we swing between hope and despair, resilience, anger, resistance, love. And always the sharp reminder of nature's continuance, her ever-changing, ever-generous sharing of beauty and abundance - against all odds. So, defrost your soul. Discover what opens hearts as easily as pub doors. Kick up your heels in glorious>In other words: read on. Anita RoyApril 2023

'Why do we allow adverts that actively promote our own destruction? Halting climate catastrophe is hard enough without ads selling things that pollute more. With Badvertising, Simms and Murray have done the world an urgent favour. Funny and readable, it will make us all see advertising in a very different way' Dr Chris van Tulleken, doctor, broadcaster and author of Ultra-Processed People'Hugely timely and important ... Grapples with advertising's role in enabling climate crimes - and sets out why and how we need to stop the industry's complicity in its tracks, for the sake of a liveable future' Caroline Lucas MP'Simms and Murray are clear-headed guides. Learn the history, be enraged at the tactics, and join the struggle for a less polluted public sphere' Sam Knights, writer, actor and activist'A much-needed book whose time has come. The continued advertising of high-carbon products at a time of climate crisis is a form of insanity. The authors are absolutely right' Bill McGuire, Professor Emeritus of Earth Sciences, University College London'This book was a watershed moment for me. Since it can't have an advertising campaign, we all need to tell our friends about it' Jeremy Vine, broadcaster and journalistAdvertising is selling us a dream, a lifestyle. It promises us fulfilment and tells us where to buy it - from international flights to a vast array of goods we consume like there is no tomorrow. The truth is, if advertising succeeds in keeping us on our current trajectory, there may not be a tomorrow.In Badvertising, Andrew Simms and Leo Murray raise the alarm on an industry that is making us both unhealthy and unhappy, and that is driving the planet to the precipice of environmental collapse in the process.What is the psychological impact of being barraged by literally thousands of advertisements a day? How does the commercialisation of our public spaces weaken our sense of belonging? How are car manufacturers, airlines and oil companies lobbying to weaken climate action? Examining the devastating impact of advertising on our minds and on the planet, Badvertising also crucially explores what we can do to change things for the better.Andrew Simms was called a 'master at joined-up progressive thinking' by New Scientist magazine. He co-authored the original Green New Deal, came up with Earth Overshoot Day, and jointly proposed the Fossil Fuel Non- Proliferation Treaty. He is the author of several books including Ecological Debt, Tescopoly, Cancel the Apocalypse and Economics: A Crash Course. He co-directs the New Weather Institute, is Assistant Director of Scientists for Global Responsibility, coordinates the Rapid Transition Alliance and is a Research Fellow at the University of Sussex.Leo Murray co-founded climate action charity Possible, where he is currently Director of Innovation, as well as noughties direct action pressure group Plane Stupid and pioneering solar rail enterprise Riding Sunbeams. Murray is also the creator of the Frequent Flyer Levy and the brains behind the Trump Baby blimp which rose to global fame during Donald Trump's US presidency.

An eye-opening and enlightening examination of the best of society from the acclaimed author of Cancel the Apocalypse.

Ever get the feeling that things are falling apart? You're not alone. From bad banks to global warming it can all look hopeless, but what if everything could turn out, well, even better than before? What if the only thing holding us back is a lack of imagination and a surplus of old orthodoxies? In fascinating and iconoclastic detail - on everything from the cash in your pocket to the food on your plate and the shape of our working lives - Cancel the Apocalypse describes how the relentless race for economic growth is not always one worth winning, how excessive materialism has come at a terrible cost to our environment, and hasn't even made us any happier in the process. Simms believes passionately in the human capacity for change, and shows how the good life remains in our grasp. While global warming and financial meltdown might feel like modern day horsemen of the apocalypse, Simms shows how such end of the world scenarios offer us the chance for a new beginning.

The real story of the companies that run our everyday lives by the author of Tescopoly.

Economics sometimes seems to be stacked against social, environmental and individual well-being. This book describes the problems and bizarre contradictions in conventional economics as well as the principles of new economics, and it tells real-world stories of how new economics is being successfully put into practice around the world.

Millions of people in the West are running up huge ecological debts: from the amount of oil and coal that we burn to heat our houses and run our cars, to what we consume and the waste that we create, the impact of our lifestyles is felt worldwide. *BR**BR*Whilst these debts go unpaid, millions more living in poverty in the majority world suffer the burden of paying dubious foreign financial debts. Ecological Debt explores this great paradox of our age. Highlighting how and why this has happened, it also shows what can be done differently in the future. *BR**BR*Now updated throughout, this is a passionate account of the steps we can take to stop pushing the planet to the point of environmental bankruptcy.

You can shop anywhere you like -- as long as it's Tesco The inexorable rise of supermarkets is big news but have we really taken on board what this means for our daily lives, and those of our children? In this searing analysis Andrew Simms, director of the acclaimed think-and-do-tank the New Economics Foundation and the person responsible for introducing 'Clone Towns' into our vernacular, tackles a subject none of us can afford to ignore. The book shows how the supermarkets -- and Tesco in particular -- have brought: "e; Banality -- homogenized high streets full of clone stores "e; Ghost towns -- superstores have drained the life from our town centres and communities "e; A Supermarket State -- this new commercial nanny state that knows more about you than you think "e; Profits from poverty -- shelves full of global plunder, produced for a pittance "e; Global food domination -- as the superstores expand overseas But there's change afoot, with evidence of the tide turning and consumer campaigns gaining ground. Simms ends with suggestions for change and coporate reformation to safeguard our communities and environment -- all over the world. This book has been written and published independently from the Tescopoly Alliance and is not endorsed by them.