As a frustrated would-be user of the government’s Green Homes Grant, I am saddened but entirely unsurprised by the confusion around the scheme at the moment. Might still be salvaged, but at the moment it looks like yet another wasted opportunity on refurbishment and energy efficiency.
I mentioned recently that Ikea had opened its first secondhand shop. It will soon be launching a buy-back scheme for unwanted furniture, taking responsibility for its goods at the end of their useful lives.
The Campaign Against the Arms Trade have re-designed their website, which makes it a good time to recommend their work generally. Among recent stories, the fact that Britain has given Yemen £1 billion in aid, while selling £6 billion in arms sales to its aggressors.
I’ll be on half term next week. Not sure if we’ll get away as a family or not, given the uncertainties of Covid, but if all goes to plan we’ll be in a cottage in the Midlands. There are some posts scheduled, but I hope to be offline and won’t be replying to comments.
Something a little bit different – Woodkid is a French musician and film-maker who I rather like. I’ve been listening to his new album this week and thought I’d share the music video to the track ‘Goliath’. It’s shot at an open cast coal mine, and it’s cinematic, industrial and striking. “This song refers to our individual and collective responsibility in creating a monster and in finding ways to defeat it”, he says.
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What we learned this week
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Orienting building for energy savings
I’ve been doing quite a lot of work around summer overheating recently, looking at how we adapt buildings for a warmer climate. For the day job that’s with schools, and I have a personal interest in it in homes as well. Our own house has a tendency to get too hot in the summer, and…
Trump’s accidental boost to the energy transition
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Book review: Two Wheels Good, by Jody Rosen
There’s no shortage of histories of the bicycle out there, but this is a fun one. Published in 2023, Two Wheels Good brings the story of the bike right up to the modern day, with elements of travelogue and personal memoir, and a curiosity about the eccentric corners of the cycling world. The book covers…
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The Earthbound Report 
You might like the new album from iliktrains the Leeds based indie group called Kompromat . It’s about a post truth world and it’s impact on our fragile unsustainable world 🌎