miscellaneous

What we learned this week

Portugal had a goal of ending coal power by 2030, but this month it closed its last coal power station, nine years ahead of schedule. It’s the fourth European country to stop using coal, joining Sweden, Austria and Belgium.

Can you raise Christmas turkeys through regenerative farming practices? This company in California is claiming that by using native grasses rather than farmed feeds, their turkey farms are a net gain for nature.

Credit Suisse have been fined £147 million for fraudulent loans to Mozambique, which have cost the country billions. But since it was the London branch of Credit Suisse, the fine will be collected by the FSA and given to the UK Treasury to spend as they like. Sign the petition from the Jubilee Debt Campaign to send the money to Mozambique where it belongs.

“We need to be alert to context and not ask ‘what will work, generically?’ but ‘what will work and be right for this place and contribute to the bigger picture?’ – because population size, landscape, climate, skills, identity and culture all hold opportunities and barriers for change.” Josie Warden at the RSA asks questions about making global change in specific places, something I often consider here in Luton.

An upcoming talk for this week – in conversation about climate and race with Greta Arena, for the Festival for Change, on Youtube at 9:50am on Wednesday 1st of December.

What if we stopped talking about growth?

Andy Burnham has become Britain’s new Prime Minister, promising to “put a laser-like focus on growth”. It’s a full reset from his predecessor Keir Starmer, who told the country that “the defining mission of this government is to grow the economy.” Keir replaced Rishi ‘Seven Bins’ Sunak, whose advice was to “relentlessly focus on growth”.…

What we learned this week

France made planned obsolescence illegal as part of its push for a circular economy, and Epson are the first company to go to court over it. It is claimed their (already criminally overpriced) printer cartridges stop working before they have run out of ink. A map showing legislation for balcony solar in each US state,…

Inequality and the planetary boundaries

It’s no great secret that climate change is predominantly caused by the world’s richest. Carbon footprint tends to expand along with wealth, as people fly and drive, eat more meat and run more appliances. It’s no surprise that other environmental limits see a similar pattern. A study in Nature offers this useful visual summary of…

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