Eco-parables for children: Old King Coal

Old King Coal was a merry old soul,
And a merry old soul was he.
He called for his pipe,
And he called for his bowl,
And he called for his fiddlers three.

Continuing my little series, this one writes itself. The great age of King Coal is a double reference to the geological time periods required to create coal and other fossil fuels (yes, they are renewable if you have millions of years) and to the age of the industry itself; the king became the father of the industrial revolution in his youth.

Why is he merry? Because coal is king, comprising the single largest source of energy currently employed by humans. At least for now.

His pipe? Emissions, of course: burning coal contributes the lion's share of all carbon dioxide emissions causing dangerous climate change (as well as having all kinds of other nasty side-effects).

His bowl speaks of the great wealth of the coal industry. Or perhaps it could be the begging bowl that the industry takes to various governments to ensure ongoing subsidies and political support.

And his fiddlers three are the spin doctors, think tanks and lobby groups that maintain his position of privilege.

Revenge of the Blackbirds: Eco-parables from Mother Goose

Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,
Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?
The king was in his counting house counting out his money,
The queen was in the parlour eating bread and honey
The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes,
When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose!

It is the world's poor who suffer the first ecological consequences of over-consumption by the rich.

The opening line of this dark parable announces its theme: the relation of economics ("sixpence") and food production ("a pocketful of rye"). The second line then introduces the problem: excessive or extravagant consumption. Once we have correctly identified the industrial capitalist ("the king"), the western consumerist ("the queen") and the worker from the two-thirds world whom they keep in subjection ("the maid"), then the tragic moral of this biting social commentary becomes clear.

Innocent children's nonsense song or a devastating critique of contemporary economics? You decide.

Of course, we could go on and identify the potent warnings and analyses found in other eco-parables from Mother Goose:

• Jack and Jill - rising tensions over dwindling supplies of fresh water.
• Doctor Foster went to Gloucester - climate change and de-globalisation, or the re-localisation of economies due to shifts in precipitation and sea level rise.
• Hey Diddle Diddle - the deleterious effect on food security of astronomical beef production and excessive numbers of domestic pets.
• The Grand Old Duke of York - indecision at Copenhagen.

Although I've indicated that points are currently on pause, I'll offer up to twenty for the best suggested readings of the hidden ecological messages encoded in other traditional nursery rhymes.