miscellaneous

What we learned this week

In case you missed it, an article from me on the promise and the perils of hydrogen energy, for Mint Magazine.

I was under the impression that Scotland was the only country to put any money behind loss and damage at COP26. But not so: the Belgian region of Wallonia put up a million alongside them. First I’ve heard of this regional climate leadership.

I wrote recently about innovative approaches to plastic in Africa. Practical Action have something similar here on new approaches to waste.

Not everyone has got on board with the post-industrial aesthetic of the winter Olympics, but Dezeen celebrates the re-purposing of old industrial plants as high profile recycling.

I’ve been getting press releases about potato milk. Apparently it’s going to be a big thing. I don’t know.

I’ve been on half term this week and doing other things, so a slow week. Nevertheless, some highlights:

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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