Charles Clover



Profile:
Full name: Charles Clover (not to be confused with Charles Clover, FT foreign correspondent)

Area of interest: Environment

Journals: The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times

Email: [mailto:charles.clover@telegraph.co.uk charles.clover@telegraph.co.uk]

Website: Earth | Earthcomment | Charles Clover

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Biography:
Education: Westminster School; University of York: English and Philosophy

Career: The Spectator: Editor; The Daily Telegraph: features writer

Current position: Environment Editor

Advisory/Other posts: Co-founder of the Agricultural Reform Group; Member of the Fisheries Reform Group; Founder and chairman of the Spitalfields Society - a civic society trying to rebuild the social and architectural fabric of the area; Trustee of Dedham Vale Society - dedicated to protecting the Dedham Vale area of outstanding natural beauty on the Essex/Suffolk border

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Controversy:

TV/Radio: Frequent contributor to BBC TV, Sky and BBC Radio news, including BBC2's Newsnight

Awards/Honours: British Environment and Media’s National Journalist of the Year award, 1989, 1994 and 1996

Other: His father was a conventional farmer and his mother was an early member of the Soil Association



Books & Debate:

 * Highgrove: An Experiment in Organic Gardening and Farming OCLC 27172511, 1993 (with Charles, Prince of Wales)
 * Highgrove: Portrait of an Estate OCLC 248269512, 2002

Latest work: The End of the Line: How Over-fishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat OCLC 67383509, 2006. See: Underwater treasures - Documentary makers look for the next eco-blockbuster, The Economist, 22nd January 2009 and In video: The End of the Line - A new documentary looks at the dangers of the fishing industry, The Independent, 3rd June 2009

Speaking/Appearances:

Current debate: 

The Sunday Times:
Column remit: Environmental issues

Section:

Role:

Pen-name:

Email:

Website:

Commissioning editor:

Day published:

Regularity:

Column format:

Average length:



Articles: 2011

 * up a natural beauty at 250mph'' - It’s Birmingham or bust for Philip Hammond, who must today convince us a limited high speed rail link money well spent - 27th February
 * done, now our forests really are in jeopardy'' - We need to create a new vision for our woodlands — if they go back to being run by a state industry, the battle is lost - 20th February
 * a pint of Old Tax Cut will revive us all'' - Gordon Brown really stuffed the pubs, but George Osborne could revive them to help bring a slightly sozzled nation back on board - 12th February
 * Down go the forest sale disaster myths'' - The disturbing thing is that the celebrities and politicians seem to know so little about the history of state-owned forestry in Britain - 6th February
 * have all been betrayed to the planning muggers'' - Does localism mean power to the people, which the coalition advocated when in opposition, or does it mean power to local businessmen? - 23rd January
 * hypocrisy — celebrity chefs’ dish of the day'' - Are celebrity chefs the solution or the problem, when it comes to our urge to strip every living creature from the sea and serve it up on a plate? - 16th January
 * with filthy lucre, rail chiefs foul our tracks'' - If you dropped raw sewage on the road you'd find yourself facing stiff fines. So why are there slicks of raw sewage all over the rail network? - 9th January
 * our cash leaking from Ulster’s pipes'' - Northern Ireland has more rainfall than most of the UK and it gets its water from a lake that is full at this time of year, so how did it run out of water? - 2nd January



Articles: 2010

 * news — electricity bills are on the rise'' - The rise is not just because of the price of fossil fuels, but because, by 2020, 31% of the price of electricity will consist of policy-driven charges - 19th December
 * Jaws in the eye — he’s not such a monster'' - The paradox is that we are attracted by sharks as last symbols of wilderness, but our new-found blue-green correctness is skin-deep - 12th December
 * small taste of revenge against the tuna mafia'' - When it comes to what happens in the oceans, EU politicia
 * whale is stuck, so let’s talk about trees'' - There is cause for optimism on climate change legislation. Expectations are so low that politicians feel able to aim for modest achievements - 28th November
 * little nudge in our cars can save a fortune in fuel'' - Most drivers are willing to drive more fluidly and economically if they are nudged into doing it in a helpful, non-preachy way - 21st November
 * safety con lurking under the street lights'' - The assumption that splashing lots of light about at night deters crime and prevents road accidents is only partially true - 14th November
 * scalping of Scotland in the scallop war'' - If you worry about the destruction caused by harvesting scallops, you will be heartened by how the Isle of Man won its scallop war with Scotland - 7th November
 * a deal. But what does it mean?'' - As a response to the species extinctions we face, Nagoya is still no more than a tentative brush with a branch as our boat careers towards the rapids - 31st October
 * rising — the oil firms’ toxic secret'' - It is quite conceivable that the oil and gas industry produces as much mercury as the world’s coal-fired power stations - 24th October
 * issue few dare confront: population control'' - Environmental thinkers have long argued that a growing human population is one of the main reasons for the erosion of natural diversity - 17th October
 * energy mess letting solar spivs into your home'' - The idea of selling us energy 'services' rather than just energy is an idea whose time should have come years ago - 10th October
 * nature lesson for us all from the veldt visionaries'' - About 210 rhinos have been killed by poachers in South Africa this year — Rhino horn is now more valuable by weight than gold - 3rd October
 * Frankenfish is feeding us a monstrous folly'' - Will the people who complain about GM one day be seen in the same light as those Luddites who smashed automated looms? - 26th September
 * the Beatles can stop the bulldozers now'' - The saving of Madryn Street, birthplace of Ringo Starr, could signal the beginning of the end for a brutal and insensitive policy of demolition - 11th September
 * are the fall guys for vanishing hedges'' - It is only the European Union’s rural development funds that have prevented Britain's loss of biodiversity from being worse - 5th September
 * recycling policy goes up in flames'' - You have only to go on holiday in a different part of Britain to realise that rubbish recycling is in a state of anarchy - 29th August
 * real green heroes dwarf Prince Preachy'' - Individuals make a difference and the reality is that dedicated rich individuals can make more of a difference than dedicated poor ones - 22nd August
 * hazards back on the road improves traffic'' - If you take away traffic lights and introduce risk by making it clear that pedestrians share their space, motorists instantly behave better - 1st August
 * few home truths about that new paint on your wall'' - The paint that is in every day usage around the country is both out of date and harmful to the environment. An overhaul is essential - 18th July
 * green way to revive towns hit by Prescott’s blitz'' - Edge Lane’s elegant Victorian houses will now be bulldozed to be replaced by new homes of a shockingly mediocre design - 11th July
 * power firms set on keeping us in the dark'' - If smart people can't work out how much they are paying for gas and electricity, what hope is there for everyone else? - 4th July
 * the whale — slap sanctions on Sony and Toyota'' - The next time Japan doesn’t abide by the spirit of the whaling moratorium, its companies should be punished - 27th June
 * and shame may scupper Japan’s whalers'' - I confidently predict that it will affect its standing in international negotiations for years — no wonder Japan is madly denying it - 20th June
 * mackerel war has started in Cornwall'' - The generous mackerel will oblige anglers, provide a delight on the barbecue and a lump of cash for commercial fishermen - 13th June
 * Charles, the people’s streetfighter'' - My advice to anyone with anything horrible planned to be built for their back yard would be to write to the Prince of Wales - 6th June
 * countryside withers as bees buzz into town'' - there are now more bumblebee nests in cities, towns and suburbs than there are in the countryside. This is not good news for wildlife - 30th May
 * march straight through a green dream'' - Green ambitions are all very well; it’s paying for them that hurts - 23rd May
 * green bill catches oil-covered wave'' - Come Tuesday, we can expect to hear US senators asking many questions about the realities of deep water exploration - 9th May
 * different attitude to travel'' - Precaution is generally wise when dealing with nature. It doesn’t pay to poke it, as it is ultimately bigger than us - 25th April
 * litter has just got a lot messier for you'' - If we don't want Britain to look like a dump, then it's down to us to stop the slovenliness of our fellow citizens - 4th April
 * toothless West watches as Japan guts fish stocks'' - Somewhere along the line we have lost the understanding that science, not politics, should determine the common good - 28th March
 * death sentence for the bluefin'' - Their victory raises the question of whether rationality can ever prevail in preventing endangered species from being obliterated - 21st March (see : Briefing: Trouble in Tokyo)
 * of green warms to eco-sceptics'' - I couldn’t help wrestling with the irony that James Lovelock was actively cheering on those who would knock science from its pedestal - 14th March
 * first sound of spring is illegal bird slaughter'' - Tests of marksmanship include eagles, harriers, ospreys and honey buzzards. Even flamingos are regularly shot - 7th March
 * off the big polluters works'' - The EU’s emissions trading scheme is cutting emissions significantly below the levels they would otherwise have reached - 28th February
 * are being bulldozed and no one listens'' - In a country where housing is in short supply, good houses are being knocked down and not replaced at public expense - 21st February
 * trust these bright sparks to keep our lights on'' - You wonder why Ofgem couldn’t have told us a bit earlier that we could be running out of gas - 14th February
 * Food Inc should make us all retch'' - There are signs that the downside of super-efficient, globalised agriculture is coming our way - 7th February
 * tormented eel is slithering out of existence'' - It seems as if we are beginning at last to value this extraordinary fish just as it may be about to disappear - 31st January
 * science is seeping into the climate watchdog'' - The drip, drip of error gives ammunition to even the most scientifically illiterate Republican who wants to talk down Obama’s climate bill - 24th January
 * the pub or let it die? You decide'' - A crackdown on supermarkets advertising cheap alcohol could turn back the clock and draw people to more civilised drinking - 10th January
 * thief – the night sky is a great jewel'' - We are losing part of our heritage. The night sky is an amazing spectacle that 90% of the population doesn’t get to see - 3rd January



Articles: 2009

 * can build his green legacy on coral reefs'' - Labour has the opportunity to create a legacy as great as Yellowstone national park, but can they pull it off? - 27th December
 * US and China leave us in a world of trouble'' - It’s a new world and you can’t fix the deals the way the big players used to - 20th December
 * climate change's evil twin'' - Ocean acidification has been quite scandalously left out of the reckoning in the past few weeks - 13th December
 * how to gauge success at Copenhagen'' - Carbon trading may have its drawbacks but it is one of the few things to have cut greenhouse gases since the world first promised to do so in 1992 - 6th December
 * out the high priests of climate change'' - It is up to the scientific establishment to set out better ground rules and insist on more openness - 29th November
 * of deceit drives Labour’s green energy plan'' - It looks as if, just before the Copenhagen climate conference, Labour is at last doing something aggressive about climate change - 22nd November
 * vanish as their protectors samba'' - Those who are setting catch limits for Atlantic fish belong to the most dysfunctional environmental organisation on earth - 15th November
 * wonder food to be taken with a pinch of salt'' - Hunger, poverty and nutritional problems in the developing world can’t be fixed by growing commodity crops. What is needed are better diets - 8th November
 * needn’t mean murder to the planet'' - It felt like a political act to order an English breakfast last week after Lord Stern of Brentford’s remarks about a vegetarian diet - 1st November
 * modern moral dilemma: ordering fish'' - Is it really so outrageous to ask where our food comes from or to rate restaurateurs who give you that information? - 18th October
 * bodges green homes'' - Why is it that the government has been so slow on energy-efficient homes given its constant preaching on climate change? - 11th October
 * minister – a lynx is not just for conference'' - What on earth was Hilary Benn doing suggesting the reintroduction of such species as the lynx to built-up, crowded, congested England? - 4th October
 * sudden whiff of optimism amid the CO2 in the air'' - What matters most at Copenhagen is the inclusion once again of the United States in a global effort to tackle climate change - 27th September
 * King Johns trample over Magna Carta'' - Thanks to Magna Carta, citizens may take their governments to court if they believe they have misapplied the law in Britain but not in the EU - 20th September 2009
 * cutting CO2 before Captain Bonkers does'' - Personal responsibility does come into it when we are talking about climate change and many of us have been ducking that for too long - 6th September 2009
 * thinking behind the new lightbulb laws'' - Why bleat that in tests people can't tell the difference between the light of a new fluorescent bulb and an incandescent one? The fact is that many people can - 30th August 2009
 * a pair of shears to the green advisers'' - We can no longer afford to pay for non-governmental organisations within the government - 16th August 2009
 * exposes EU guilt in a fishing disaster'' - The irony underlying Sarkozy’s conversion is that it is France’s fishing fleet that is principally responsible for over-fishing the giant bluefin - 19th July 2009
 * mother nature with our creed'' - It is surprising that Britain has got as far as it has in considering a scheme to cause state-funded environmental damage - 5th July 2009
 * just put fishing in more peril, M’lud'' - Cornwall’s isolated position still means it has its modern equivalents of smugglers and excise men - 28th June 2009



The Daily Telegraph: 'Earthlog'

 * column ceased February 2009

Column remit:

Section: Earth

Role: Commentator

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:charles.clover@telegraph.co.uk charles.clover@telegraph.co.uk]

Website: Earth | Earthcomment | Charles Clover

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Friday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length: 650/700 words



Articles:

 * is the blue whale of our time'' - The Atlantic bluefin tuna is a dark, steel-blue teardrop of a fish which migrates across whole oceans and can swim at speeds of up to 45mph. This top-level predator's only problem is that its flesh is one of the most delicious things on earth, eaten raw as sushi or sashimi, The Independent, 3rd June 2009 (See: Revealed: the bid to corner world's bluefin tuna market)
 * evidence battles with belief'' - The balance of evidence does strongly suggest that humanity's activities are leading to changes in our climate, despite the extreme rhetoric on both sides of the debate - 13th February
 * Britain: Cold snap leaves birds on thin ice'' - advice on how to help birds which are struggling in the snowy weather - 6th February 2009
 * is the time to think big about man-made climate change'' - If we want to halt global warming, we should expect surprises - 30th January 2009
 * for compliments'' - There were times during the making of our film, The End of the Line, when I have felt that someone up there was looking after us - 23rd January 2009
 * pirates of Newlyn caught in law's net'' - Newlyn fishermen fooled themselves that quota rules were unworkable and so it was morally acceptable to break them - 9th January 2009
 * the fire sales of March'' - Our cash-strapped Government may be tempted to flog the forestry commission, but at what cost to the environment - 2nd January 2009
 * are second-class citizens now'' - Many of us have dreamed of becoming farmers. Well dream on - 19th December 2008
 * security matters after all'' - For years those who argued that it was important food was farmed in Britain were ridiculed. The Government is now changing its tune - 12th December 2008
 * should let the US car industry die'' - The American car industry, like its banks, is an example of the failure of government regulation. Now it's time for a reckoning - 5th December 2008
 * bluefin tuna: too valuable to save'' - The body that presides over the large fish of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic has decided to allow the magnificent bluefin tuna to continue being hunted to extinction - 28th November 2008
 * visit to Farne Island is no surprise'' - It is entirely believable that an otter has swum from the mainland of Northumberland to the Farne Islands, which start about a mile and a half off the coast - 22nd November 2008
 * the house sparrow trail'' - The fall of the house sparrow is a mystery that is at last beginning to unravel - 21st November 2008
 * - nothing to panic about'' - Every week for five years an email has dropped into my mailbox raising awful fears about "nanotechnology" - 14th November 2008
 * Obama faces a daunting task on the environment'' - It is too early to conclude that Barack Obama’s election to the White House represents America’s return to the international fold on the environment and climate change - 7th November 2008
 * crisis sees return of simple pleasures'' - Simple, homely pleasures enable us to rediscover our real, non-monetery values and take confidence from our own resourcefulness - 30th October 2008
 * Palin: her clothes, her shoes and her odd attitude to facts'' - on Sarah Palin's 'facts' that relate to endangered species, an oil pipeline, climate change and Alaska's contribution to the US energy supply - 23rd October 2008
 * 25 years ahead of EU on fish conservation '' - environmental groups have challenged the executive when it breaches its legal obligation to conserve fish - 17th October 2008
 * Miliband truly has his work cut out'' - there's something preposterous about creating a Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change - 10th October 2008
 * from the financial crisis'' - How can the financial crisis help us tackle environmental problems such as man-made climate change - 3rd October 2008
 * the price of sea eagles'' - Protecting endangered species and areas of natural beauty can have considerable financial benefits - 26th September 2008
 * to be cheerful during credit crunch'' - A little research uncovers plently of reasons to be cheerful despite the current economic crisis - 19th September 2008
 * trial embarrasses Brown'' - Collapse of the case against Greenpeace activists for causing criminal damage is embarrassing to the Brown Government - 12th September 2008
 * Palin, enemy of the greens'' - Ms Palin's extreme anti-conservation stance may prove to be John McCain's Achilles heel - 5th September 2008
 * John Prescott know he was right?'' - Britain's population could exceed 77 million in fifty years. We will must plan for the future - 29th August 2008
 * year for British truffles'' - It is a bumper year for the English truffle, or so we are told by people in the know - 8th August 2008

archive



Links:

 * Spectator.co: articles
 * New Statesman: articles