Andrew Thomas Blowers (born 1940) is a British geographer and environmentalist and Emeritus Professor of the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences at the Open University.
Early life and education Blowers attended Colchester Royal Grammar School and won an Open Exhibition to read Geography at Durham University. He graduated in 1962 with a 2:1 degree.
Career After periods teaching at Newcastle Polytechnic and Kingston Polytechnic he joined the Open University, where he eventually became Dean of Social Sciences.
His academic work has focused on environmental protection, particularly nuclear waste management. In 1993 he campaigned against the opening of the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant at Sellafield.
Alongside his academic career, Blowers served for almost 30 years as a councillor on Bedfordshire County Council, where he was at various times chair of the Environment Committee and leader of the Labour Party group. He was involved in the council's successful opposition to a proposal by Nirex to establish a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility at Elstow, near Bedford. From 1992 to 1995, he was vice-chairman of the Town and Country Planning Association.
He later became chair of the Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group (BANNG), which campaigns on nuclear development and radioactive waste issues around the Blackwater Estuary.
Honours Blowers received an OBE for services to environmental protection in the 2000 Birthday Honours. In 2004, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and received an honorary DLitt from De Montfort University.
He was the 2018 recipient of the Alexander & Ilse Melamid Medal of the American Geographical Society.
Selected publications Books Authored
Edited
Journal articles
References