I watched some of these satirical 1 minute videos starring a French writer for Libé calling herself Bridget Kyoto.  Donning a military helmet, she advocates the use of ecologically friendly weapons of mass destruction, so that we can wipe dirty countries off the map and replace them with greener ones!   Or she’ll share statistics about energy dependency as she puffs a gauloise and prepares to shoot heroin.  A little over the top, but maybe it can get some people to talk about the environment.  More on her environmental blog.

Oh, and she’s not afraid to get naked, which is naturally the best way to get people to treat your environmental beliefs seriously.

The video series was brought to my attention by Vigneron Blog, the generically named winemaker blog now managed by Pierre Fabre, the owner of Chateau de Gaure.

Her manifesto:

Bonjour,

à travers mon métier de journaliste environnement à Libération, je réfléchis depuis longtemps à une manière efficace d’alerter le grand public sur la catastrophe écologique en cours. 
J’écris des papiers depuis dix ans sur le sujet, j’ai collaboré à plusieurs émissions télévisées d’écologie et j’en ai proposé d’autres dans l’espoir saugrenu de toucher le plus grand nombre.

A la télé, on m’a répondu :
« L’écologie, on n’en veut pas, c’est trop anxiogène. Les annonceurs veulent du positif. Quant au public, il veut du fun.  Alors laissez-le consommer tranquille, il a déjà bien assez de problèmes comme ça. La réalité écologique, les espèces, la pollution, le réchauffement, tous vos trucs, là, ça l’ennuie. Ça l’indispose, même »

Alors, un jour, je me suis dit que, puisque le journalisme ne suffisait pas, je passerai par la dérision. J’ai inventé  Bridget Kyoto et tourné ses premières vidéos.

Bridget est comme nous, désespérée par le crasse aveuglement de notre “civilisation” mais elle est trop sérieuse pour ne pas en rire. D’elle-même et du reste. Pour ne pas pleurer.

Elle cultive la vie, l’autodérision, l’absurde et se moque de tout, y compris de l’écologie et de ceux qui la font ; elle plaisante depuis le pont du Titanic qui s’incline. Il n’y a pas assez de canots de sauvetage pour tout le monde, de toute façon.
Mais surtout, Bridget a besoin de VOUS :

Exposez-la sur vos pages, e-mailez-la, relayez-la sur Facebook, faites-la connaître, PARTAGEZ SES VIDEOS, critiquez-la, donnez-lui des frères, des soeligurs, du bouche à oreille, du bouche à bouche, n’importe quoi, mais FAITES DU BRUIT, du bruit médiatique, du bruit tout court mais du bruit, pour qu’au moins, on entende un peu le chant de Bridget Kyoto, petite sirène d’alarme.
Bien à vous,

Laure Noualhat
le 25 novembre 2012

PS Et puisque pour attirer l’attention du public ces derniers temps, il faut se mettre à poil, je l’ai fait <http://t.ymlp230.net/jbearauqjjakauyeafauuhsh/click.php>  (photo ci-jointe). Non mais.

This is another quick update on the quarry project in Villemoustaussou.

I’m trying to find the study about the project.  The DREAL office that conducted the preliminary studies is out of the office this week so I can’t get in touch with them until after the deadline for reading it.  There is a physical copy of the 300 page dossier in a box in the Chambre of Agriculture. which I can view up until tomorrow.  But I haven’t had a chance yet.

The Chamber of Agriculture assured me that if this were a risky operation, the DREAL would have said so.  So they insist that there are no worries.  We’re also in a preliminary consultation phase.  The actual enquete publique for the quarry project is from June 7 to July 7.  Currently, the ODG Cabardes is being sent this information just so we can give a viticultural assessment of the project.  So it’s actually a courtesy call and I do have a lot more time than I originally thought.  We only have a few days to contribute information about how the project may affect the Cabardes appellation, but we’ll have lots of time to talk about the project in June when everybody has a chance to learn about it.

The project is located much closer to Rivals, another Cabardes producer.  I haven’t gotten in touch with Rivals yet but other Cabardes producers alluded to the fact that they might actually be happy about the quarry.  Typically, after 12 years the quarry will be filled with water and turned into a pretty lake that can increase property value and also serve as a water reserve to irrigate nearby crops.  I don’t have any details about how the quarry will be used after the 12 years, but we’ll probably see more information soon.  The other producers concerned are the new owners of Domaine La Mijeanne.  The truck route looks like it goes right by them.  But I don’t know how much that affects the viticulture.  It’s more of a general environmental issue, and that’s not what we’re being consulted about.  A neighbor of mine notes that La Mijeanne, under its previous ownership, successfully fought the installation of a different type of project near their domaine on the grounds that there were environmental issues.  But that was a much more harmful project where materials were treated on site.

I’ve talked to a couple people familiar with quarry projects and they seem to think this current Villemoustaussou quarry project is a very safe installation.  It’s basically a gigantic hole where they’ll get sand and gravel.  The materials will be processed elsewhere (in Valmy) and those installations can have a much more significant impact on the environs.  The Villemoustaussou installation will not be like this. Apparently, there will be no dewatering or any kind of pumps.  All this to be confirmed, but sounds like good news so far.

I got an alarming email about a quarry project in the town where I make my wine.  It’s very short notice!  I have to respond by Monday and I don’t know anything about this project.

I got this email from the person at the Chamber of Agriculture who has been acting as a general manager for the Appellation Cabardes for the past couple of years.  Basically, it would seem that somebody is asking to create a quarry in the south of Villemoustaussou, the town where I make my wine.  It’s specifically a “carrieres de tout venant alluvionnaire” but I have no idea what that means.  A quarry where anybody can come and pick up alluvial deposits?  The details of the quarry project are 300 pages long and aren’t included in the email. Instead, there is a short summary of this proposed project and a map of its location attached to the email.

The project is on the opposite side of Villemoustaussou from my vineyard.  But I’m still concerned.  What does it mean for my vineyard?  What can I do?  Why do I only have three days to respond to this email?!  Why did they wait til Friday afternoon (after my lawyer clocks out for the weekend)?

Here’s the email I received at 6:52 PM:

Bonsoir ,

L’INAO nous a transmis dans le courant de la semaine un dossier de projet de carrière(cf principales caractéristiques en pj)sur la commune de Villemoustaussou. Comme d’habitude il y urgence car il faut rendre une réponse écrite avant le lundi 6 juin donc pratiquement avant le vendredi 3 juin( L’ODG est organisme consultatif.)

Avec Robert Gianesini nous pensions organiser dans l’urgence une réunion lundi soir mais faute de salles disponibles, cela ne sera pas possible.

Je vous propose donc de prendre connaissance des 2 documents qui sont un résumé très condensé du projet qui comporte 5 rapports soit 300 pages et de transmettre à Robert et à moi-même votre avis par mail avant lundi 30/05 14H afin de rédiger un courrier officiel de l’ODG.

I’m so confused.  How will this affect the environment around my vineyard?  Will we all be consumed in a cloud of dust for twelve years?  Or will this have virtually no effect on my vines?  How will it affect Brau and Donjon who grow their grapes slightly closer to the affected area?

These are the two documents attached to the email:

• map of project
• Summary of project

What on earth am I supposed to do?  I don’t have the 300 page document from the INAO detailing the project.  I don’t know any of the consequences of this type of project.  I don’t know what I’m supposed to say.  I only hope that the winemakers more closely affected by this project will see this email before Monday and know better how to respond.